followed her line of vision to the pink goat. “Oh, Hades.”
I pointed at the tattoo. “Did you do this?”
Her voice rose. “No.”
“But you know what it is,” I stated, dropping down on one knee before her. Her eyes widened as she gazed at my cock. Desire surged in my belly. She was as drawn to me as I was her. The lust I had for her was unlike anything I’d experienced before. Trembling with the need to touch her, I reached out and let my fingers flow through her pink soul, seeping around her. I murmured, “The goat is even the same color as your soul.”
The flush on her cheeks spread down to her neck as she covered her eyes. “Shit!”
She didn’t seem happy about the goat. And for some reason, that bothered me. “I think I deserve an explanation on why I’m here…wherever here is. And I’d really love to know your name too.” I leaned closer, and her arousal filled my senses. I’d never been around such a creature. I crowded her with my presence, and she reacted to me. It was addicting.
“You weren’t supposed to see me,” she said again. “Why didn’t you touch the blonde I gave you?”
“Because of you. All I see, think, and desire is you. For the last week, you’re all I’ve obsessed about. Why would you create an illusion of another woman for me?”
“You don’t understand.” She trembled. “I need... I—”
“Tell me, and I’ll give you whatever you desire,” I begged, desperate to soothe the heartache I sensed within her. “I don’t know why, but I can’t handle your sadness.”
She stopped shaking and studied me. “Shepherd….”
There was hesitation and need all within those two syllables. My head spun. Was it me, or did her smell keep getting stronger? My body was an inferno, and her blue orbs staring at me became ecstasy itself. She’s mine. Her vibrant soul caught my attention as it floated close. It brushed against my cheek, tingling my skin. I inhaled sharply. Of course it smelled delicious. Every fucking thing about her was delectable.
My skin evaporated and pulled apart. I didn’t ask or want the transition. It just happened. Her eyes widened as she scrambled away from me. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t know,” I murmured, but as I spoke her soul wrapped around my form. My shadow wanted to tease her skin. Without thinking it through, I let my desire guide me. Hands formed in my miasma. She gasped as they inched beneath her shirt. Her skin was like warm silk. I groaned. I needed to explore more of her.
It was there I inevitably made a mistake. The second my shadows moved through hers, I groaned as her candy-flavor rolled through me.
“Did you—” She glared, and I knew what she assumed.
I froze as my mind processed the situation. I didn’t devour her essence, but when our souls slipped through one another I tasted her perfection, anyway. Regardless, by the fury darkening her eyes, this was a great offense. “Ah… Your soul came to me,” I stated. “I didn’t eat it, okay? Maybe nibbled…Your taste just came to me when we—”
A scythe materialized in her hand. Somehow, I got the feeling she wouldn’t take too kindly to anything else I had to say. It didn’t help that I still ached from the inside out for her.
“Put that away. I don’t want to eat you,” I told her. Mostly.
Her knitted brows and stern glare were the last things I saw as the room spun black.
Four
Prudence
Jolting from my bed, my knees thumped the wood, and I gasped. Slowly, my breath reached my lungs, but it didn’t fill me with calm—something I needed above all else.
My body tingled and ached for the same person I ran from.
The stupid, stupid soul reaper!
His phantom caress lingered all over me. Whatever he did in his reaping form still electrified my skin. I didn’t know a soul reaper could touch flesh. I felt his shadowy mass all over me. Although it was just a dream, all of my senses were intact. Before he could continue, I pulled myself together and shoved us out of the dreamworld. The act left me an aching mess with no relief.
Dematerializing my clothes, I collapsed onto the bed and summoned my vibrator. “Please, please,” I panted, splaying my legs wide and turning on my toy. “Shepherd.” Closing my eyes, I pictured the soul reaper exactly as I left him—tousled sandy-blond hair and piercing green eyes. The way he