someone I could feel like this with.”
I sucked in a breath. “Well, you did eat some of my soul.”
“And you tasted divine, but I promise to behave and cherish what I’ve been given.”
I watched my pink essence move toward him. Slightly worried for my soul’s sake, I took a step back. “Do you have the urge to eat more of it?”
“Devour you? Yes. Your soul? No, but I do want to explore it in this form,” he admitted. “Maybe that’s what I wanted to do in the dream but got a little consumed by you.”
All at once, his mass drew together, taking the shape of the male I was used to. Shadows became skin and bones. Even his clothes appeared. “How do you keep your clothes?”
“I’d assume it’s similar to the way you materialize your scythe,” he said.
“Werewolves don’t keep their clothes after a shift,” I stated.
His mouth stretched wide as he came closer. “Because their clothes tear during their change. Hardly the same thing.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Why do I get the sense you’re a little disappointed I’m not naked?”
Liquid fire shot through my bloodstream. While I hadn’t been thinking of him naked before, suddenly I envisioned cutting off his dark gray T-shirt. My gaze traveled over his chest. Why couldn’t I have stripped off his shirt when mindless with lust? My wicked mind tried to imagine the muscles beneath. Sparse hair or completely bare? Just how strong was he? I licked my lips.
“Prudence.” My eyes lifted to Shepherd’s.
My pulse quickened. “Well, I wasn’t disappointed until you mentioned it.”
Shepherd’s cheeks flushed. Green and purple flickered within his gaze, fighting to see which color would remain. He pulled me into his tight embrace. “You make it hard to control myself.”
He smelled of smoke and spice. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck as his head dipped to my collarbone. I didn’t know what brought on the hug. Being with him like that was like walking through the front door of home. Welcoming.
Saliva pooled in my mouth and my skin tingled. Digging my nail into his shoulders, I tried to ignore the sensation, but then his muscles rippled beneath my palms. Oh, Hades. Without thinking, I slid my hand down and slipped it inside his shirt. Chest hair rubbed my palm as I stroked his hard flesh.
“You good, princess?” He gripped my hips tightly.
I froze.
“Relax. I’m just making sure you’re still here with me.”
“I’m still me,” I whispered into his neck.
Shepherd sucked in a deep breath. “Good… But I only have so much restraint when it comes to you and your smell.”
I was glad he couldn’t see my face when I asked, “Will you take care of me?”
I’m afraid, I wanted to say.
I didn’t want to risk blacking out on Shepherd again, and my arousal kept returning too often to ignore. Besides, I wanted to feel him without being trapped within my curse.
“Such a silly thing to ask, Princess. I’m yours to use how you wish.”
My pussy clenched.
“Are you finished for the day?”
“No.”
“Then we’ll work quickly.”
God, he made everything so easy. If I had been an ice queen, I would have melted on the spot.
_______
Shepherd was so refreshing. He ate demon souls for me everywhere we went. While it might not be romantic, it was oddly pleasing for a Reaper who killed on a daily. He didn’t make me feel ashamed for ogling him every time he shifted into human form again either. Since my arousal was evident, the entire time we worked, we didn’t talk very much, but the silence was nice. I could get used to it.
The nerves didn’t hit until I brought him to my place. Well, I faded, and he followed. I walked over to my bar and plopped down on the stool.
“Your home is beautiful,” Shepherd commented as he sat beside me. “Figures you would have a black chandelier. Is black your favorite color?”
My heartbeat roared in my ears. I couldn’t look at him, knowing the reason I invited him to my home. “Thanks. And yes, I do. I’ve missed my house and privacy since Dad decided that my sisters and I were safer at the castle.”
“Is this Harvest guy that dangerous?” Shepherd asked.
“Harvest is the reason for all the disasters happening in the human world.”
“So the unusual weather and plagues have been because of him? The witch Melinda mentioned something about the Reapers trying to prevent the end of the world.”
Nervousness forgotten, I gaped at him. “Did you say Melinda?”
He frowned. “You