Dark Kiss Of The Reaper (16 page)

“What is it?” she asked.

He dropped the French fry back onto his plate. “Would you like to come to my house for dinner?”

Chapter Fourteen

She leaned forward. “You mean like in the Underworld?” she whispered.

“Something like that, yes.” Why he hadn’t thought of this sooner, he didn’t know.

She sat back. “Sounds a little scary.”

Maybe that was why. “There’s nothing to be scared of. You’d be perfectly safe.”

Her mouth bunched to one side and she made ketchup dots on the rim of her plate with a fry. “It would be interesting to see where you live. How would I...”

“I’d have to bring Pallidus for you.”

The dots stopped. “Nothing could happen to me, like my soul getting trapped there or something like that?”

A woman at the next table gave Sara an odd look.

Azrael slid to the edge of his chair, bumping his knees against hers. “Nothing. Perfectly safe. You have my word.”

“In that case, okay, I’d love to.” She pulled a small leather bound book from her purse and paged through it. “Does it have to be dinner exactly? I’m off all day Sunday and if you picked me up after work on Saturday, I could stay over and spend the end of the weekend with you.”

With a shake of her head, she closed the book. “That was dumb of me. I’m sure you have souls to—” The woman at the other table leaned closer, obviously listening. “—work to do, I mean. It’s not like you get a day off.”

Sara glared at the woman, who immediately retreated to her sandwich and drink.

He wanted to jump up and shout, even though the thought of doing something like that shocked him. “It’s a great idea. Don’t worry about my schedule, it’s very adaptable.”

Sara laughed. “You’re smiling like a kid at Christmas.” She shook her finger. “Don’t get any ideas. Nothing gets unwrapped until I say it does.”

“I would never assume otherwise.” He tried to smooth his grin but couldn’t. She was coming to his home.

And of course, Saturday night took forever to arrive. There was only so much instruction to give his staff and preparation to be done before he went to get her – especially since his home was
never
untidy or unkempt. He did want to be sure he had everything she liked, including coffee. She seemed to have a particular fondness for the stuff, and he knew most mortals, her included, couldn’t function in the morning without it.

He was early to her apartment, so he kept his Reaper form. An unknown man hanging around a woman’s apartment door might arouse suspicion.

At last, her car pulled into the parking lot. Finally, she was done with work and all his. He used the shadows of the stairwell to take on his human form. She winked when she saw him, but didn’t say anything as she headed toward the stairs. Once they were hidden by the stairwell he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her hello, the taste of her adding new fire to the anticipatory heat that had been building in him all day.

“Hi to you, too,” she whispered when the kiss ended, her lids heavy with what he hoped was her own anticipation.

“Ready to go?”

“You bet. I just need to change and get my bag. C’mon up.” He followed her into the apartment, relaxing on the couch while she changed.

She came back out dressed in jeans and an ivory top. She plopped a small overnight bag on the arm of the couch. “Okay, I’m all yours.”

He’d never heard sweeter words.

His low whistle brought Pallidus through in a portal of mist. Squeezed between the sofa and dining table, the horse overwhelmed the small apartment.

She laughed. “I hope none of my neighbors can see in. Horses definitely violate the no pets over twenty pounds rule.”

“Don’t worry. Just like the way only you can see me, you’re the only mortal who can see him.” Azrael took her bag and held out his hand. “Your ride awaits.”

He helped her onto Pallidus’s back, then mounted behind her. “Shall we?”

Sara nodded. “I’m really looking forward to this.”

“So am I.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned back. He brushed the top of her head with a kiss. Tonight had to go well. He needed her in his life. Wanted her to be a part of his world in whatever way possible.

And if she’d let him, he’d give her everything she ever dreamed of.

* * *

Mist enveloped them as Pallidus took flight and Sara knew there’d be nothing to see until they came closer to their destination. And as eager as she was to see Azrael’s home, she found contentment in the moment, in being back in his arms. The irony of finding a sense of safety with Death himself wasn’t lost on her.

The mist swirled away sooner than expected. The land beneath them unfolded in a bruised wash of umber fields and amethyst hills. Twilight dusted the horizon with muted violet and heather.

She leaned forward to get a better look. A mansion sprawled across the land below, all curves of gray stone and rounded turrets like a Disney-inspired castle. Intricate gardens surrounded the home. Hedge mazes that seemed to have no solution wound out from the west and east ends of the building, their ordered lines tightly controlled. A wide, half-circled path in the front served as a sort of drive. In the fading light, it luminesced like a river of moonlight.

It was all very peaceful and yet a sense of melancholy lingered in the air with the perfume of old roses. His home was both beautiful and haunting.

“This is your home?” She asked not because she wasn’t sure, but because she needed affirmation that he truly lived in this place.

“Yes.” His voice held a note of uncertainty.

He must wonder what she thought of it. “It’s beautiful,” she reassured him, meaning the words down to her heart. “Like something out of a dream.” And that was exactly what it was. A dreamland. No place like this could exist anywhere else but here. She couldn’t wait to see it when the sun came up.

Pallidus set down on the luminous circular path. Beyond them stood the mansion’s great arched double doors. Azrael slid off first, then helped her down. Gravel rolled beneath her feet. She glanced down at the odd, rounded stones that seemed to hold their own light.

“Isn’t that odd?” she asked, mostly to herself. She bent and scooped up a few, rolling the soft shapes in her hand for closer inspection. Her jaw fell open. “Are these what I think they are?”

“Pearls? Yes.” Azrael hefted her bag, then patted Pallidus’s hindquarters. The horse trotted off toward the fields.

“You paved your driveway with pearls.” She let the precious gems trickle out of her hand and back onto the ground. His driveway was wide enough for two cars and easily as long as a football field. Creating the pathway must have taken hundreds of thousands of pearls. Pearls that somehow didn’t slip or roll under foot.

He shrugged. “I like the light they give off.”

“You must have to replace them all the time. One big vehicle and...” She paused, realizing she had no idea what kind of automation existed in his world.

“I have no visitors.”

“None?” A ghostly figure without much real shape drifted past, the barely visible face drawn and anguished. She pointed to the thing as it disappeared around the corner of a hedge. “What was that?”

“A Shade.” Before she could comment further, he swept the hand holding her bag toward the double doors while offering her his other arm. “Welcome to my home.”

She rested her hand in the crook of his arm and walked with him toward the house. The Shade was a little freaky but his earlier confession still rung in her head. No visitors. What a lonely existence he must live. “So I’m the first mortal to see your home?”

“You’re the first to ever step foot in my world. No mortal could be here uninvited.”

The doors opened as they climbed the marble steps. He nodded toward the pale figure in the doorway. “Vitus, my butler, is a Shade, as are all the other staff, although they’ve been granted much more substantial forms.”

He turned to her at the threshold and brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “My home is yours. Anything you need, you have simply to ask me or any of my staff.” He squeezed her hand and smiled. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” Treading where no human had ever been before gave her an odd thrill. If this was the Underworld, it wasn’t all that bad. In the bright light of day it would probably be a very lovely place.

Vitus bowed and opened the doors further, revealing her first glimpse into Azrael’s home.

“Oh...” she whispered. “Oh my.”

The foyer beyond was awash in silver gilt moldings and decorative trim. An enormous chandelier hung from the high, frescoed ceiling like a crystal wedding cake. She stepped through the door still holding Azrael’s hand. Unable to keep her gaze from roaming, she stared unabashedly, trying to take it all in. The subtle scent of spice permeated the air.

The plaster walls were the color of pale blue slate and as smooth as glass. A thick wool runner spanned the hall’s length in a woodland scene of deer and pheasant. The floor itself seemed to be tiled with great squares of mother of pearl. Delicate strains of chamber music floated in from another room.

“This is gorgeous.” She tore her gaze from the room long enough to meet Azrael’s eyes.

He grinned, clearly pleased. “I’m glad you like it. Would you like to see the rest?”

“Yes, definitely.” If the foyer looked like this, how much better could the rest of the house be?

He handed her bag to Vitus, who clutched it like a priceless object. “Take that to Sara’s room, then see that dinner is underway.”

The Shade nodded and disappeared.

“He doesn’t talk much, does he?”

Azrael’s dark gaze stayed on the spot where Vitus had been. “He doesn’t talk at all. None of the Shades do. They can’t.” He blinked, then offered her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Come. I’ll show you the rest.”

She didn’t budge. “Do all souls turn into Shades?”

“No, mostly those taken before their time.”

“Like the ones Kol reaps.”

“Yes.” He gestured down the hall, clearly done with the topic. “Shall we?”

But she had more questions. “What happens to the other souls then?”

He dropped his hand to his side. “Some pass on to a heavenly paradise as a reward for a faithful life well lived, some pass on to Hades’ Underworld—what mortals think of as Hell—to be punished for their evil ways. And some, the very youngest, are sent to the Fates to be reborn into mortal life for another chance.”

“Hades? As in the god Hades?”

“Yes, but his portion of the Underworld doesn’t touch this one.” He raised a brow. “Any more questions?”

“No. Not for now anyway.” She took his hand, her head stuffed with the information he’d just given her. “Lead on.”

Each room in Azrael’s house was more impressive than the last, but it reminded Sara of a museum after closing hours. The home bore little evidence of being lived in, no signs of any human touch. She chided herself for that thought. What human touch could there be in such a place? With every new and beautiful room, her heart broke a little more for Azrael. Beauty was no substitute for companionship, and clearly his mute staff couldn’t supply much of that either.

They stopped at the end of a long hall filled with grandly framed mirrors and stood before two opposing sets of elaborately carved double doors. He moved to the pair on the right, rested his hand on the knob and inclined his head slightly. “Your room.”

She lifted her chin and slanted her eyes to the other set of doors. “And those?”

“Mine.”

He turned the knob and pushed the door open, letting her in first.

“I hope you find the space to your liking.”

Her hand went to her throat. The room was a morning sunrise of blush and ivory and rose. Thick cream carpet latticed with gold covered the floor. Pale pink silk shot through with gold thread swathed the canopied bed and walls. An impressive star-shaped chandelier hung from a ceiling frescoed to resemble a dawn sky. Pinpoints of light set into the plaster picked out the constellations. Bouquets of white and shell pink roses unfurled their decadent scent into the air. If she’d designed the room herself, she wouldn’t have done anything differently, not that she would have ever imagined something this beautiful.

“It’s a fairytale,” she breathed. Her bag, looking completely mundane and out of place, rested on the plush bed. She twisted to face him. “If you never have visitors, how is it you have a room like this?”

“It’s for you.” He shifted uncomfortably, not quite making eye contact.

“I understand that, but why even have such a room if no one ever comes to visit.”

“It’s
only
for you.”

“You don’t mean that this room was created for me, do you?” That couldn’t be right. Would he do that? The possibility was too overwhelming. Her breath caught at being the focus of such attention.

His gaze stayed on the floor as he pointed toward a single arched door. “The guest bath is through there.”