Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
“We had a deal, Soul Collector!” I shout into the shadows. “So, let us go! At least let my Anna go. Keep me if you must, but return her. Now!”
“We had a deal and The Soul Collector never reneges on a deal. Your time as a Reaper is over, Grim. Your scythe has been destroyed. Your soul is no longer enslaved to me. I release you from your bondage.”
I take a breath of relief as tears fill my eyes. I’m so relieved, but I’m still weary. There’s always a catch with this demon. I’m just waiting for it to drop.
“But,” he says with delight in his voice. Here it comes… “The mark of the Reapers will be on your human skin for everyone to see.”
“The mark? What mark? That wasn’t part of the deal!”
“As you pass through the light,” he continues, ignoring me, “you will become human again. Never speak of this place and your souls will be at peace. They will be where they belong, together.”
Anna screams as the cave shakes and the long cracks snake through the ceiling, spilling orange light on our heads.
The forceful grip seizes our arms and we cling to each other as we’re yanked up through the ceiling and back into the plane of existence.
We wake up on Anna’s kitchen floor. The place is still trashed, but we’re only focused on each other, making sure that the other is okay.
My eyes are quickly darting over my lover’s body, making sure that she’s unharmed.
“Are you hurt?” I ask in a breathless tone.
She shakes her head, but her eyes are wide as she stares at my neck.
“What is it?” I ask as I feel my neck. There’s heat. There’s a pulse. Soft skin. I feel… human. I put my palm on my chest and water fills my eyes when I feel a heart beating.
“Why do you look so alarmed?” I ask with a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“Your… neck. It’s his mark, I think.”
I race to the bathroom, barely noticing that I no longer feel any pain. I’ve been transformed back to my human self and the wounds and bruises are gone.
“What?” I gasp when I see my reflection in the mirror. My skin looks human once again. My hair is brown, my eyes blue, my lips pink, but there’s something new. A skull is tattooed on my neck. Bright orange eyes stare back at me over my Adam’s apple—the mark of the Reapers.
If having this mark is the price it takes to be with my girl, then I’m willing to pay it. I just hope it doesn’t scare her.
Anna creeps up behind me and slides her palm up my back as she looks at my reflection in the mirror.
“It’s kinda sexy,” she says with a warm smile. “I like it.”
I turn and stare down at her, brimming with love. My heart is pounding in my chest, each beat thumping for her.
“This is real, right?” I ask as I look at my palms, at the light skin, at the human skin. “Tell me this isn’t a dream.”
Anna slides her hands into mine and stands on her toes to reach my mouth. “This is a dream,” she whispers as her lips hover under mine. “But it’s also real. But just in case I’m wrong, kiss me before I wake up.”
With a grin on my face and a hungry growl in my throat, I lean down and kiss my sweet soul.
EPILOGUE
Anna
* * *
One Year Later…
* * *
I love watching William when he cooks me breakfast. I smile as I watch him moving around our kitchen like a natural, plucking a spatula out of the holder and then flipping my chocolate chip pancake while he stirs up some scrambled eggs with his other hand. He’s come so far since that first morning together when he made a disastrous mess that ended up in Pop-Tarts.
He’s been a human for about a year now and I no longer call him Grim. Only when we’re in the bedroom does that old name sometimes slip out in the lustful screams and cries he pulls out of my throat. He doesn’t mind though. I think he kind of likes it.
“You don’t have to do this every morning, ya know?” I say as I cup my orange juice in my hands.
He looks at me over his shoulder and my body tingles all over when I see those bright blue eyes gazing at me. He’s so freaking hot. Even in the morning, he wakes up looking like a god. It’s not fair.
“Yes, I do,” he says as his warm watchful eyes drop down to my swollen breasts and pregnant belly. “You’re eating for two now. I have to keep you well fed and healthy. It’s my duty.”
“Does that duty come with maple syrup for those chocolate chip pancakes?”