Chapter Eight
“ A re you two ready? We’ll move in on the count of three,” Rhodes asked as he pulled twin blades from the hidden sheaths in his combat boots.
Lochlan and I nodded. This wasn’t our first time facing the unknown.
We could have taken the path of the other collectors and traveled from one natural disaster or catastrophe to another. The reapers always lost track of enough souls during those events to keep most of my species fed. It would be so easy. A life of traveling the world and collecting ghosts without the threat of violence or even breaking a sweat.
Instead, our circle had embarked on a far more difficult path. We tracked anomalies in the ghost plane and areas with unusually high ghost activity or locations where ghosts were acting out of character. Then we headed out to investigate what was going on.
More times than I could count, we’d found the issue and saved the lost ghosts, only to burn more energy rectifying the situation than the ghosts left behind after moving on from this plane.
I knew deep down in my core that this was going to be one of those situations. Which sucked, because it had been almost a month since I’d last eaten. Our last case had wrapped up two weeks before, and both Loch and Rhodes had been injured. They’d needed additional energy to heal the injuries that would have taken months to recover from without the benefit of our energy-fueled abilities.
I had claimed I’d already eaten and allowed them to divide the energy left behind by the ghosts. It wasn’t the first time I’d told them that very same lie. They were large men, always running into danger head first, and it was rare to have a case where neither of them sustained some sort of injury.
Because of their protectiveness, I usually made it through our investigations without being sliced open, stabbed, shot, or blasted with magic. And through my training as a youth, I’d learned how to survive on lower feedings and minimal amounts of energy. It was a skill I was thankful to have and almost made the cruelty I’d faced under my parents’ instructions worth it.
If we didn’t wrap this case up soon, I’d need to come up with some type of excuse to leave for a few days so I could feed.
“One. Two. Three! ”
The door flew open, slamming against the wall. Bricks worked themselves free and clattered onto the floor. Even through the dust billowing around us, the glowing scythe was visible as it sliced through the air.
Adrenaline shot through my body, and I pulled at my dwindling energy reserves, trying my best to force my body into action. But it was as though this moment in time had slowed and I could do nothing but watch in horror as the dark-cloaked reaper swung his weapon in what he intended to be a killing blow to the two men who’d become my brothers.
If a reaper’s scythe drew blood, it also drew out the soul. Even a paper cut from the arched blade would be fatal.
Loch and Rhodes tried to dodge, but the attack was too fast and unexpected. Reapers had never attacked a collector before. And since my species weren’t human, we didn’t have our souls reaped at death. Never in a million years would I have imagined that one would be waiting on the other side of the door to murder us.
Torchlight caught the blade’s edge, and it glinted as it sang the song of death itself. I wanted to close my eyes, but my body might as well have been frozen in ice.
A woman appeared out of thin air, standing in front of us, her body wrapped in golden light. Without hesitation, she reached out, pressing her hands to the reaper’s scythe.
“No!” she screamed.
The goddess in front of us shoved hard at the blade. The reaper, having put all his muscle power into a swing meant to kill, was thrown off balance. He stumbled, giving us time to throw ourselves out of the range of his curved blade.
“What is wrong with you?” The reaper’s voice shook with fury and… confusion?
Join the club, buddy.
He lifted his blade, ready to swing it again the moment he spotted an opening. Despite the way he towered over her, the tiny woman refused to back down. She crossed her arms and popped her hip out on one side. It was the pose of an angry parent at a school meeting, or that of a cocky cheerleader getting ready to throw down and knowing she was going to win.
What paranormal species did she belong to? Some type of warrior race was my guess, based on the steel spine she possessed, combined with her unsettling lack of fear.
The reaper swung again, and with an angry shout, she rushed straight at him. Reapers were at the top of the known food chain on Earth. They weren’t used to being challenged or disobeyed, so he clearly wasn’t expecting her attack.
She leaped forward and ducked beneath the blade, not even flinching as it sliced into her shoulder. Grabbing his extended arm, she turned and bit into his flesh. Hard. The reaper’s scythe clattered against the stone floor as he roared in pain and tried to shake the woman off him.
Seizing the opportunity she’d given us, we scrambled off the floor. We rushed to help her, although I’m not sure she truly needed our help.
A reaper’s blade was their most powerful weapon, but it wasn’t their only weapon. Grabbing a knife from the folds of his cloak, he pulled back his fist, preparing to bring it down on top of her skull.
“Axelle!” Rhodes roared.
So this was the ghost who’d captured the interest of both my brothers?
I watched in awe as Rhodes and Lochlan moved in perfect harmony, protecting Axelle, while dodging the knife blade and delivering their own punches. It looked like a violent dance they’d practiced hundreds of times.
Despite our extensive skills, a reaper was as close to a final boss as you could encounter on Earth, and this one was powerful. We needed an escape plan so we could regroup.
“What’s going on?” an unfamiliar voice boomed.
My blood turned to ice. I didn’t need to see the speaker to know I was in the presence of Death with a capital D.
The first reaper took advantage of our distraction caused by the newcomer’s arrival. With renewed energy, he lashed out with his knife. This time, the blade sliced into Rhodes’ skin, opening his chest.
Rhodes stumbled back before dropping to his knees.
Axelle let go of the reaper and rushed to his side. “Rhodes!”
The reaper grabbed his scythe and rushed forward, lifting the blade over my fallen brother.
“Enough!” the new reaper shouted.
The first reaper was too caught up in his bloodlust to care. Lochlan and I lurched forward, raising our blades in a final fight. If he planned to take Rhodes, he’d have to take us all.
Before our blades could connect, the air was sucked from the room. Like water on the beach being pulled back into the ocean before a tsunami unleashed its fury on the land, it was all the warning we got for what was coming.
A heartbeat later, an unseen force slammed into Loch and me, flinging us through the tunnel walls like we were toys. My eardrums threatened to burst as his power flowed over and around my prone body. It burned as hot as a furnace, melting the blade I still clutched in my fist.
What kind of reaper was this?
Just as quickly as it had come, the power crushing me into the stone floor vanished.
I searched the room, worried the first reaper would launch another attack, but both cloaked figures were gone.
Axelle kneeled over Rhodes’ prone body, her shoulders shaking and her cries echoing around us.
Rolling to my side, I tried to push myself off the floor, but my body was drained of energy. Across the chamber, I saw Lochlan was facing the same struggle.
The reaper hadn’t killed us with his blade, but he might as well have. We wouldn’t have the strength to get ourselves out of the tunnel until we fed.
There was a chance a ghost might wander by, but I didn’t have the energy to teleport it to any of the vortexes. If a collector fed on a ghost, the ghost would fade and be lost forever. My kind had sworn to protect the ghosts in our care and could only feed on energy the ghost left behind after moving into the beyond.
No matter how desperate the situation, we’d starve to death in these forgotten tunnels rather than break our oath.
My trembling muscles gave way, and I collapsed on the stone floor. Twisting my head, I watched the tiny female ghost lay down beside Rhodes’ motionless form.
I would’ve thought he was already gone if not for the nightmarish gurgling that accompanied his slow, labored breathing. He was dying, and I was powerless to save him. If I’d been well fed, I could have used that energy to heal Rhodes.
Lochlan’s gaze met mine, and the same grief and hopelessness I was drowning in also shimmered in the depths of his eyes.
The dim chamber grew brighter, as though a dying fire was being stoked.
Sliding my cheek against the grime covered floor, I took in the heartbreaking scene in front of me.
Axelle had turned Rhodes’ face toward her, and she was kissing him as though it was their first and last kiss.
Which was exactly what it was.
The kiss that had started gentle, quickly turned demanding. With a heroic effort, Rhodes lifted his hand to cradle the back of her head. I felt like a creep for watching such a private moment between them, but I couldn’t summon the strength to look away… nor did I want to.
Rhodes was a force to be reckoned with during battle, but privately, the man was a teddy bear who stopped the car to help turtles cross the road and had spent weeks bottle-feeding a litter of orphaned kittens around the clock. Which was why I was shocked to see the fingers of his right-hand hook into her hair, roughly hauling her toward him.
He hungrily devoured her mouth with an energy that seemed impossible for a dying man. As I continued trying to make sense of what I was seeing, his left arm grabbed her waist and hauled her on top of him.
It was when her glow flickered that the pieces clicked into place, and I understood what I was seeing.
He wasn’t just devouring her mouth; he was devouring her energy.
“Rhodes! Your oath!” I sucked in a layer of dust from the floor and coughed.
“He’s not breaking his oath.” Lochlan’s eyes glittered dangerously. “She’s feeding him.” The muscle in his jaw jerked as he clenched and unclenched his teeth.
“Oh,” I wheezed.
He would drain her in a matter of minutes. Her energy would save him, and us, but she was sacrificing herself.
A flush traveled over Rhodes’ gray skin as strength returned to his body, but the pair didn’t break the kiss. Rhodes’ hands traveled over her back, touching and exploring the body of the first woman he’d ever been enamored by.
It had been nearly ten minutes since they began kissing when Rhodes broke the kiss and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. He brushed the dark hair from Axelle’s face, then pulled her tight against his chest.
Her glow had dimmed, but she’d healed him without fading away.
“You saved me, love.” He tucked her head under his chin and held her close. “My life belongs to you.”
She pulled back and stared up at him. “I just did it for the kiss.” A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Totally worth it. I 10/10 recommend.”
Axelle jumped as Lochlan’s laughter bounced around the tunnels, reminding her they had an audience. An adorable blush spread across her pale cheeks, and she scrambled off Rhodes’ lap.
“I can help you two.” She caught her lip between her teeth as her gaze bounced between Loch and me.
Sensing her indecision, Lochlan made the decision for her. “Take care of him first. I can wait.”
With a shaky jerk of her head, she moved toward me. Dropping to her knees, she gently rolled me onto my side.
I looked up into her face and caught my breath. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, and not just because of her outward appearance.
She was clad in a pair of white sweatpants, an oversized T-shirt with the words ‘If you’ve got it, haunt it’ printed across the chest, and a pair of fuzzy leopard-print socks. Dark hair fell around her face.
She was a free spirit in all senses of the term and my heart twisted with a longing to be close to her. Rhodes and Lochlan’s reactions to her made perfect sense.
“Hi. We haven’t met. I’m Axelle, but you can call me Axe.” She was struggling to make eye contact, but that didn’t stop her from accomplishing what she’d set out to do.
Lying down beside me, she slowly scooted forward until her body brushed against me. Her chocolate eyes locked with mine, and another flush traveled across her cheeks.
“Is it okay if we kiss? Well, it doesn’t have to be a kiss, I just need to stick my lips on yours. Or at least that’s what worked to heal Rhodes, so hopefully it will work for you…” She was rambling, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
Lochlan barked a dry laugh. “Axe, take a breath. I can assure you Evander wants nothing more than to feel your lips all over him.”
“She can do whatever she needs to in order to feel comfortable, Loch. Shut up and wait your turn.” I glanced at Rhodes just in time to see him glare at Lochlan.
“You’re okay with it?” Axe whispered.
With her lips mere centimeters from my mouth, my mind short-circuited. Unable to speak, I simply nodded.
Her lips pressed against mine. The moment our skin touched, her energy arched up to meet me. It flowed through me, easing the pain caused by the yawning hunger that was my constant companion.
I discovered feeding from her energy differed greatly from all my previous feedings. Axelle’s energy spread through me, stroking and caressing everything it touched. It was comforting, yet also insanely erotic.
I wanted her to know how she was affecting me, and I craved more. Not of her energy, but more of her touch.
Hoping I wouldn’t make her uncomfortable, I gently placed my hand on her hip. I moved slowly, giving her plenty of time to bat my hand away or give me a sign that she didn’t want my touch.
Instead, when I didn’t make another move, she pressed tighter against my body. When her body made contact with the bulge in my pants, I couldn’t swallow back my groan. Axelle stiffened.
It was my turn to flush. I couldn’t control what that part of my anatomy did, but what if she thought I was a pervert for getting aroused while she was trying to help me?
Axelle wiggled her hips as though confirming what she’d felt pressed against her. My hand on her hip jerked, and her shirt must have ridden up because my thumb brushed against bare skin.
In response, she made a sweet whimpering sound that stirred another kind of hunger inside me. My lips moved against hers, teasing and tasting.
To my relief, Axelle eagerly kissed me back. We were strangers, but I felt as though I’d known her forever. Her hands moved to cup my face, deepening our kiss with a wild abandon that was such a turn on.
Grasping her thigh, I hooked it over my hip and impulsively ground my erection against her. We were separated by our clothing, but the movement still managed to steal the air from my lungs.
My muscles trembled as I fought the all-consuming desire to thrust against her again.
Tightening her leg around me, she hesitantly rocked her hips. The gentle friction sent pleasure zinging through me.
“Axelle.” I breathed her name between kisses.
“Evander.” Her voice was husky with need. “Please don’t think badly of me?—”
“Never,” I assured her.
“I’m so turned on.” She moaned as I moved to suck and kiss my way down her neck.
Her hips rocked against me again, her movements stiff and unsure. Did she think I was going to get mad if she used my body for her pleasure?
“Is this what you want?” Gripping her thigh, I ground against her.
I took my time and watched her face to see what movements pleased her most.
“Oh!” she gasped. “Please…”
Axelle had given me permission to do exactly what I’d longed to do. Without wasting a second, I rolled her onto her back. I tucked my left hand under her butt and supported my weight on my left hip and arm.
Gripping her thigh again, I wrapped it around my waist and lined our bodies up. The first time I thrust against her, I was slow and gentle. She trembled and her right hand slid beneath my shirt to press against my bare skin.
This woman had protected us, saved our lives, fed us, and now she was asking me to give her release. I rolled my hips hard and fast, a thrill shooting through my chest at the soft sounds of pleasure the move elicited from her.
If I’d been an experienced lover, I would have known how to draw this out and tease her. Enthusiasm and raw desire were all I had to offer, so hopefully it would work for her.
I ground against her, my movements hard and fast until we were both gasping from the delicious friction. My erection was engorged to the point of being painful, and I was fighting a losing battle against the pleasure that was building embarrassingly fast.
“Axelle, I’m so sorry. I won’t last much longer,” I panted.
My words seemed to send her over the edge. “Evander!” she moaned my name as she climaxed.
Her back arched off the floor, and her nails dug into my skin. She was beautiful in her pleasure, and I couldn’t help but imagine how amazing it would be to feel her bare skin against mine.
I rocked against her once more and felt my body go stiff as the intensity of my orgasm turned my vision dark and roared in my ears.
For however long I lived, I knew this was the only woman I wanted to share my life with. If she was willing to accept us, I preferred the idea of her being loved, satisfied, and protected by our circle. But if Rhodes and Lochlan tried to keep her from me, I was prepared to fight.
I was certain this woman was ours to treasure.