7. Claiming
7
CLAIMING
TESSA
A t the end of the workday, I’ve finished with the stack of training books.
Death comes to fetch me instead of Megan. “Hello, my little pupil. How did you enjoy your reading material?”
“I managed.” I eye him, wondering if this was some kind of test. “I’m not averse to learning, you know. I might not have finished high school because I was on the streets, but I do enjoy reading.”
A deep chuckle emanates from his hood. “I wasn’t suggesting you were some feral thing. I know you spent time in libraries and greedily consumed whatever knowledge you could in your short life.”
“Oh.” I relax my shoulders. “I suppose I’m a bit more defensive than I need to be.”
Once again, I’m reminded I no longer have to live like everyone’s an opponent. Perhaps, I can allow the gentler side to show now.
“I understand. You’ve had to fight for everything—for your survival. But you don’t have to fight with me. My aura might not radiate warmth, but I want what is best for my employees and their mental health. This can be a demanding job. I don’t wish to make it harder on you.”
I allow a smile to grace my lips. His aura doesn’t exactly broadcast ‘chill boss’, instead you pick up on the fear that most people have about what he represents—the end.
“Thank you for saying that. After everything that happened with Instant, I’m wary of gods.”
“You have a right to be wary. Gods are not to be trifled with. Some might be mostly benevolent, but ultimately, we are not human. Even the best of us forget to be thoughtful. The majority are narcissistic parasites with no regard for your lives or the condition of your souls.”
“Yet you’re there when we meet our end. You pay attention to the souls you reap, don’t you?”
“I do.” I can almost hear his smile beyond his shadows. “I’m happy you understand me so well already. It will make your time working with me more enjoyable.”
I place a hand on the top of the reading stack and wonder how I fit into his group of reapers. “Am I odd for having the ability to harvest souls without your power to aid me?”
“No one on my current staff has your unique ability. It’s been a century since the last person who had a similar gift decided to move on from their position and passed through to the veil.”
“How do you pick a person to be a reaper from all the humans on Earth?” I ask, curious how his hiring process differs from Instant Karma’s style of entrapment.
“I sense when a potential candidate is available. When they die, I watch for awareness. If it is there, then before I take them to the afterworld, I give these souls the option to work with me. You will find that many souls are confused. It’s rare for them to be fully conscious of what is happening.”
“So, they’re dead?” I dare to interrupt.
“Technically, yes.” He continues his explanation. “Some people decide to work with me, and others choose to see what awaits them beyond the veil.”
“None of these books were clear about what’s beyond. Can you tell me?” I know it’s a long shot, but I have to see if he’ll confide in me.
“I believe you had a peek when you accidentally delivered those souls. What did you see?” Clever, turning the answer back to me.
“It looked… peaceful.” I run my finger over the cover of a leather-bound book. “But is it what it seems? And do we come back in another life as Karma suggests?”
“I cannot answer your questions to your satisfaction. However, I will say that the afterlife is what we make it, just like your life is what you make it on Earth.”
“I know the gods can screw with our lives. So how much is what I make it and how much is tampered with?”
Death lets out a booming laugh. Unnerving .
“Wise, little one. Remember, you also choose how you react to the tampering. Humans have so many ways they can handle an incident. They may experience a failure and become stronger, learning from it. They could change how they deal with that sort of situation in the future. Or they may avoid certain things because of it. They may shrink and believe they are always failures. They may believe the world is out to get them. Or they may not even react to it at all.”
“Okay. I get it. But what about when Instant was out to corrupt me so she could use me to kill people under the guise of karmic justice?”
“That was a travesty. And blasphemous to me. Unfortunately, with the billions of human souls on the planet and so many gods or entities, the benevolent gods can’t monitor all interactions and prevent abuses. Instant Karma distorted and corrupted her power to a horrifying degree.” His voice becomes louder as he speaks, and his already huge body seems to grow even larger. “That is why I tore her energy apart.”
We stand in an unsettling silence, giving him time to calm down. He’s been triggered by this chat.
Finally, when I sense he’s calmer, I ask, “How likely is it that she might reappear one day?”
“Depends on too many factors. All we can do is stay vigilant.” His voice has settled back into his normal cadence. “And that will have to land mostly on Original Karma’s shoulders. It is her domain. Unless she tries to reap souls again, then it is mine. Ours . And if you believe she has reconstituted, alert Karma or me right away.”
I nod my understanding.
“Very well.” He straightens his cloak’s bell sleeves and reaches out for my shoulder. “Tomorrow is your first reap. Rest well tonight.”
And with a tap on my shoulder, I’m back in my room at Karma’s mansion.
I flop back onto my bed, not ready to face Dante or anyone else in the house.
Within moments, I’m asleep.
“Welcome back, little reaper,” the strange dark-winged god greets me.
This time, I’m waking up on a massive, silk covered bed. I throw myself upright and launch off the bedding. “Why am I back here?”
“You aren’t excited to see me?” He steps closer. This time, he’s shirtless and his straight black hair drapes around his broad shoulders like a cape.
If I were into gods, he would be tempting, but fuck that noise.
He gives me a wink as he slides his hand over his washboard abs. Yeah, he knows what he’s putting down, hoping for me to pick up.
“Uh, I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that I’m into this schtick, but I don’t swing that way.”
He blinks at me. “What way?”
“Gods. Sorry, bro. I’m sure you think you’re irresistible and usually no one can say no to your charms. And I get it, your charms are not… insignificant.” I glance down at his perfectly formed body. But it doesn’t get me revving because I have a hot-as-sin boyfriend at home. “I’m not in the market for a self-centered god.”
“Oh, love. Aren’t you precious?” He side steps me to sit on the edge of his bed, pretending he wasn’t just stalking toward me like I was prey. “No. I don’t have any interest in rolling around naked with you and giving you the best orgasm of your life and ruining you for mortal men. Because, no offense, even as a demigod, you aren’t my type.”
Yep. I got it right—egomaniac.
“Reverse psychology isn’t going to work on me.” I smirk, crossing my arms.
An invisible rope loops around my waist, pulling me to stand between this god’s long, muscular legs. Our noses are close to touching. His voice drops to a threatening tone. “I don’t intend to act like the others in my pantheon, but if I choose to make you my plaything, I could make you worship at my feet. Make no mistake about that.”
I don’t flinch. I don’t give him the shiver of fear he wants to elicit. “Is there a point to this dream-napping?”
“Oh!” His entirely black eyes twinkle with mischief. “I love that phrase. Such a play on words. I’m keeping it.”
His hold on me is released, but I don’t immediately rush to take a step back. That will only confirm he’s rattling me. And he isn’t… not yet.
“Why am I here?” I say as evenly as I can. I suspect he’s much like the guys when I first arrived at the Karma house. He enjoys taunting me. He wants me to squirm.
He reaches out and trails a finger down my cheek and neck, stopping at my cleavage. “I thought you were going to claim all that luscious man meat down there in that big ole house,” he drawls.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why do you care who I fuck?”
“I don’t. I’m just a facet of your subconscious. You want them, and I’m bubbling up to remind you of that.”
“So you really aren’t a god fucking with me?” I’m pretty damn sure that this is a god playing with me for pure entertainment or for some payback for helping to end a god’s life.
“Why would a god like me waste my time with a little, insignificant thing like you? What could I gain from you being with three guys? Logically, I’m only a dream. Existing only in your twisted head.”
“I don’t know. You could be the god of lust or something.” I tap my lip in thought. “But I’m not getting that vibe from you.”
He grins like we’re playing some game. “Silly, I represent the god of dreams. Isn’t it obvious? I am in your mind. You should have figured that out. And why wouldn’t your mind dream up a dream god? You think of everything in context to divinity. Is it surprising that I would be a character?”
“I suppose not.” I give up.
“Good. Now go after your dreams and all that delicious sex.” He dismisses me with a wave of his hand.
With that, I’m awakened to warm lips on my neck.
“What the fuck!” I bolt forward, knocking Dante off me and onto the floor.
“Tessa!” he gasps. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Cautiously, he climbs back up onto my bed.
We’re both on top of the covers. I remember that I passed out after returning from work. Dante was probably trying to snuggle with me when I woke from my strange dream.
“I didn’t mean to wake up and send you flying.” I reach out to help him off the floor.
“My fault for sneaking in, thinking I’d wake my sleeping beauty with a kiss.”
He finally makes it all the way onto the bed, and I take in that he’s completely naked. I grin, thinking back to the first time he was in my bed—uninvited that time too—and he tried to haze me with his nakedness.
“You’ve come to offer me cookies and hot cocoa?” I recall what I said in my sleep that night.
“I’ll give you any treat you desire, my love.” Dante leans down and claims my mouth.
I arch into him, missing his beautiful body against mine. “Fuck me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He rips the shirt from my body and makes quick work of my pants and underwear. After he’s stripped me down, he pauses, kneeling between my legs to take me in. “Damn, you’re gorgeous.” He dips down and bites the swell of my thigh. His fingers dig into my hips, tense with need. “These curves fucking wreck me.”
He moves his mouth to my inner thigh and nibbles up until he licks my center.
I suck in a breath and tilt my hips to encourage him to continue. “Yes, that’s heaven.”
His huge hands pin down my thighs, spreading me wide. He consumes my pussy like I’m his first meal in weeks. His teeth scrape against my clit. Then he clamps down with his lips, humming, and I’m so worked up and needy for him I explode with bliss.
After licking me through my orgasm, he crawls up my body, making sure to suck on my nipples and neck. Then he lines up his cock and slowly sinks into me. Thank goodness for magical contraception, because I love feeling all of him.
The wonderful stretch has me whimpering and moaning, trying to wiggle my hips to make him take me faster, but he holds me still and continues his torturing pleasure.
“You’re going to come around my cock when I come,” he commands.
“Yes. Yes,” I murmur, and he finally begins a punishing rhythm, fucking me how I asked him to. Hard.
“Let me hear you fall apart around my cock.” He fucks me even harder, and it’s as if he’s proving something beyond just being with me right now. “Tell me how much you want my cock. Tell me you’re mine.”
I’m about to lose the thread as I wonder where this possessiveness is coming from, but then his hand dips down between us, and he strums my clit like a maestro.
“I want all of you!” I shout as I shatter for him.
My pussy clenches around his thickness, milking him. He follows me over into bliss, crying out my name and releasing inside me.
His face lands on my shoulder, in the pile of my thick hair, and he sucks in deep breaths.
I stroke his dark cropped hair and his upper back, sensing he’s going through something. “You okay?”
“I am now,” he pants.
“Rough day?” I ask as his cock softens.
He thrusts a few times to keep himself firm enough to stay inside me.
Dante lifts his head so he can stare into my eyes. “I love you.” He dips down and kisses me before I can say the same. Then he continues, “I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. And now, you’re mine.”
Unsure how I feel about his intense claiming, I decide to change the subject. “Did something happen today?”
“First session with Karma.”
Oh. I doubt that was a walk in the park.
Holding him for several minutes, I don’t press for more. He’ll let me know when he’s ready to talk. If he ever is.
His softening member finally slips free, and he scoops up the cum leaking from me and coating my inner thighs. Then he presses it back into my pussy.
“Uh, Dante? What the hell are you doing?”
“Don’t shower. Go down to dinner like this. Let everyone know I’ve marked you.”
I raise my eyebrows until they reach my hairline. He sounds like some werewolf boyfriend claiming his mate in front of the pack in a romance novel.
When I’m about to protest, he nuzzles my neck. “Please, babe. I know it’s weird, but I just need this right now.”
“Just this one time, but after dinner, you’re taking me to the showers and cleaning me up yourself.”
His brilliant grin lights up the darkening room. “You’re fucking perfect.”
“Perfect? Not really. Tolerant? Abso-fucking-lutely.” I shake my head and pull on my clothes to head down to eat the evening meal. Hopefully, this little display calms whatever is riling him up.