Chapter Twenty
Elliot
When I entered the living room, Ossy sat on the floor, holding his lower leg and glancing at Miles as if he were a deadly animal ready to strike.
Miles sat on the couch, all the way at the end, hugging his knees to his chest and glaring at Ossy.
As soon as Miles saw me, his glare shifted to me. “What the fuck did you do?”
I sighed. “Exist.”
Miles shook his head. His glare deepened. “Tell me, Elliot. Now.”
I smiled. “You don’t have the right to make demands on me. You never did when we were together. You certainly don’t now that we’re not.”
Joel came around the corner, eating my moose tracks ice cream. He gave a little wave with his spoon and smiled around the bite he’d just taken. He finished the food in his mouth before speaking. “What’s going on, man?”
I sighed, sat in the chair, and gestured to the couch.
Ossy stood and then sat in the chair in the corner of the room.
“Where is everyone?” I asked. Explaining wasn’t easy, and I wanted help. Morgana would do a better job.
“Morgana is in her office.” He gestured among me, Joel, and Miles. “I’m here for your protection. Grym, too.”
“Got it.” I met Joel’s and Miles’s gazes.
“Ferry souls? Seriously?” Miles met my gaze with no small amount of skepticism. He directed it all at me, placing the blame squarely at my feet.
“Yes, Miles. Reapers exist. So does the afterlife. That’s part of why you’re here.”
“You have smoked way too much weed.”
“And you’re a skeptical, vanilla shithead.”
I heard the stairs creak before Grym rounded the corner. “Thank god. Will you explain reapers?”
I stood and gestured to the chair I’d been in. As soon as Grym sat, I plopped onto his lap. My legs straddled his, and I leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. “What should I explain to them, A stor?”
“Explain why they are here.” I was a little tired after all the fucking.
When Grym started talking, I shut my eyes and let his voice wash over me.
“Ossy brought you here to protect you. Your lives are in danger.” He explained who he was, what the Soul Management Bureau did, and why it was dangerous to them.
“Beloveds?” Miles still sounded skeptical, but a little less so. It pissed me off that Miles found Grym more believable than me. It wasn’t like I’d ever lied to him.
“You are one of my brothers’ beloveds, like a husband or boyfriend. Some would also call you a fated mate.”
I opened my eyes to see Miles dart a glance at Ossy. His lips curled. “Not you.”
“Right back at you, dickhead.” Ossy didn’t sound offended. Instead, he seemed downright angry. I didn’t know Ossy well, but even I had a hard time imagining him mad at anyone. Apparently, Miles brought it out in other people, too. At least I wasn’t the only one.
Joel shook his head, then took another bite of ice cream. He gave his brother the side-eye. “You could be a little nicer, Miles.”
“He could, but that would go against his character.” I smirked.
Miles flipped me off. “So, I take it you guys are a thing?”
Grym tightened his grip. “Elliot is my beloved.”
I snuggled into him and smiled. “That’s right. We belong together.”
I’d never felt more attached to someone in my life.
Grym was half in love with me already. I could feel his emotions as though they were mine.
I was right there with him, loving him right back.
I could feel Grym’s jealousy, even though he didn’t show it.
He didn’t like Miles, but he did like Joel.
Before we’d made love, I would have thought it would be the other way around.
Grym and Miles seemed to share a regimented nature.
That nature didn’t extend into the bedroom.
And maybe not into life, either. Maybe he’d been a little ordinary in his workaholic life before, but he might have come back to himself after meeting me. Uptight and I didn’t get along.
Miles averted his gaze when I glanced at him, as if he’d been watching us. “Fuck my life,” he mumbled under his breath.
Joel winced, then stood, carrying his bowl and spoon into the kitchen. “Anybody want anything?”
“A bullet to the brain. Thank you very much.” Miles smirked as Joel left.
Joel shook his head. “I’ll get you a glass of water and maybe some Xanax.”
Miles raised his eyebrows and met my gaze. “Can he actually get those kinds of drugs?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure he’s joking.”
“I only sell weed. Jesus, Miles. Relax,” Joel yelled from the kitchen. The only illegal part was the selling. Having and smoking pot was legal in Michigan.
“How the fuck am I supposed to relax when my ex’s new boyfriend kidnaps me and makes up an asinine story about reaping souls?”
I shook my head, then stood, straddling Grym’s lap. This time, I faced him and smiled, wiggling my eyebrows. “I want to go back upstairs.”
“Absolutely.” Grym stood with me in his arms, which was totally hot, as if I weighed nothing.
Ossy chuckled. “Stable boy is back in action.”
“Shut up, Os.” Wait. Did Grym’s cheeks turn pink?
I had to look at him twice, but yep, there it was. It was a handsome shade of pink, too. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing. I was a stable boy at my last job. I told you that.”
Ossy chuckled. “You left out the part where you played a lot before deciding the Bureau was your life.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Grym’s disgruntled expression. “You’re so cute.”
A smile cracked through his mood. “I’ll kill you later, Os.”
Ossy’s salute turned into the middle finger. “Sure thing.”
Grym stopped walking and stiffened. I turned to see what had made him stop when the demon from earlier appeared in front of us.
Miles screamed, then scrambled to get behind Ossy. “What the fuck is that thing?”
I knew our little sex bubble really had popped and that things were about to take a very nasty turn.