Beta. Reaper

KISS OF DEATH

I needed clothes and today was the day I was going to get them. All I had to do now was convince Grey that shopping was a fun exercise and he had to visibly come with me. I wouldn’t want to freak out a poor child in the mall by talking to a being neither of us could see. I also did not want people to begin to question my sanity.

“Explain to me again how you managed to get me to agree to this” He grumbled, yet I could feel his hostility towards the idea of going shopping with a girl starting to fade. In it’s place was curiosity. I’m sure he’s had to harvest a soul from a mall in his lifetime but he never got to experience what it was like to be the shopper or be an accomplice to the shopper.

“I told you how fun it’ll be and how much you’ll enjoy picking out outfits with me,” I replied with a smug grin. It made me kind of happy that I was able to influence his decision even if he had vehemently refused to come with me at the beginning.

“Kelly Black, I am again starting to doubt if you have not involved a mage in dealing with me,” He muttered in a downcast manner. I chuckled loudly as I was in high spirits. Nothing would be able to bring my spirit down.

I was basking in a cloud of happiness at the prospect of going shopping again. I hadn’t gotten a single new outfit in over eight months because of Ken. He had been my shopping partner and once he became beta after our uncle resigned, shopping trips with me were pushed to the back of things. He had been my only friend and even though he often threw tantrums before we got to the mall, whining and complaining incessantly, I could tell that after the first two trips, he had become invested in shopping with me even though he made it a point to always stump his feet and disagree before agreeing. He had even become a sort of fashion police within his own right because our shopping trips had brought out his great fashion sense.

Until Grey the Grim Reaper popped into my life, I had no one who was close enough to me to invite on a shopping trip and going shopping alone was the height of loneliness. I could have invited one of the girls that greeted me in the school hallways, but how was I to approach a semi stranger and say ‘Hey, fancy going shopping with me even if we’ve only ever said three words to each other?’ Yeah, that would have been too awkward.

“I have better things to do than this. I should pop out of here and relieve those buffons who are definitely out there doing an amateur work,” He said in a deep grumble.

"You pinky promised Grey! There's no going back now," I sang because he hated it when I did that and I was in a mood to annoy him. Plus, it would be evil –completely and honestly evil– to break a pinky promise and I was all about doing good. I wouldn’t let him desecrate the sacredness of a pinky promise. I laughed at my crazy thoughts. Man, I was in a great mood!

“Pinky promises mean nothing to me, “ He answered in irritation. Well, he wasn’t going to break it anyway! "Shopping," He scrunched up his face like he just witnessed something unpleasant. His nose wrinkling in distaste was the cutest thing ever. “I don’t like shopping,” He said with child-like petulance which make me grin. He fixed me with a scary glare but I was passed being afraid of him so I simply stuck out my tongue and started the car.

A valid thought occurred to me so I asked “Have you ever gone shopping?”

His eyes glazed over as they usually do when he is deep in thought. “No, not as far as I can remember,” He answered quietly. Yes! I was taking him on his first shopping trip.

Another thought occurred to me. “How do you have clothes to wear if you never go shopping? Do one of your assistants get your clothes for you?” I asked. It was the first question I ever asked about the dynamics of his job and I truthfully did not expect him to answer.

"I steal them," He said seriously. There was neither a hint or trace of mirth in his voice.

My eyes blew wide at the implication of that. ‘I am a lot of things, Kelly Black, but I am not a thief,’ He had said. If he stole his clothes then not only was he a thief, he was also a liar and that was two category of people I could not trust.

"Steal?" I blabbed "But you said you don't steal," I continued.

It was his turn to laugh and he did so, lowly and richly. His eyes crinkled as he shut them, laughing heartily. Again, I could feel the foreign feeling of heat and warmth pool in my guts and it made me dizzy, restless and confused.

“You should have seen your face,” He snorted out a final laugh. "I'm kidding, Kelly," He said but I wasn’t even focused anymore. I wanted to hear him laugh again. I wanted to feel that foreign feeling that intoxicated me again. "My clothes are part of the deal of being well – They are part of the deal of being me” He answered with all the humour gone out of his voice. “It isn’t particularly a great deal but at least when I change forms and the darkness can no longer cloth me, it ensures I’m not naked,” He said with a shrug and a scowl.

I didn’t know what else to say. We had an unspoken pact about not digging deep into the duties of each other and even though my tongue was beginning to itch and I quite literally had to swallow down questions, I had to consider my words. They could either make him uncomfortable or make him talk and after that, our pact would be broken and if he ever wanted to know about how Silver Day was run, he would expect me to tell him. I trusted him to a degree, but he was still the Angel of death, destruction, I could not trust him with the lives I was sworn to protect.

It was a fifteen minutes trip to the mall, but Grey made sure those fifteen minutes were excruciatingly annoying. "Stop changing the song!" I exclaimed in frustration. He was not used to sitting still in a car and I had generously granted him permission to use my car radio and it was turning out to be a very bad decision.

"It's fun," He said simply and I sighed. He changed the stations back and forth, increasing the volume till my car vibrated and decreasing it till no sound came out of the speakers, before increasing it to the max again. He didn’t stop till the car was safely parked and we were out of it.

He stared at the colourful clothes displayed on windows with mixed emotions dancing across his face before he shuddered. “Come on, they don’t bite,” I answered. I grabbed him bicep and pulled but I might as well have tried to pull a house for all the success I achieved.

“Too bright," He said, shielding his eyes dramatically to emphasize his point. 

“A little brightness has never killed anyone,” I sassed

“I know better than you when it comes to that though,” He replied, but he did allow me pull him into the store and he sat down dutifully when I started to try on the clothes I picked out.

The first three dressed were condemned within every inch of their lives and when I tried on the fourth dress, a cute rainbow coloured short gown, I knew I had brought the wrong person to the mall.

“I collected a p********e yesterday. She covered more skin than this flimsy disco outfit you have on ever can,” Was his smart reply as he stared me dead in the eye.

“Grey, this dress is really pretty and I’m going to take it,” I answered in annoyance. Everything I tried on seemed to remind him of someone or something.

“I guess if you’re trying to be a colourful hooker then it’s the right outfit for you,” He shrugged as if hadn’t just called me a hooker.

"Oh shut it Grey," I snapped. The colourful gown was the first cloth in a pile of clothes that I was getting, all of which Grey didn’t approve of. I would have to get a new shopping buddy because the one I had was a certified disaster.

Annoyance started to snake through my system when the sales personnel looked at Grey from under her lashes and giggled coyly for the second time. She was working excruciatingly slowly but no one on the queue seemed to mind. The ladies stood a little straighter with their chests hanging in the air, giving Grey suggestive looks whenever he turned around, something he was doing often for no justifiable reason.

Leaning across the counter, he spoke in a tone I never thought he was capable of using. “You want me to do things to your body that no one has ever done before?” His tone was low and husky and as he spoke the words sounded sweeter than honey with that tone. Again, I felt liquid hot fire pool in my tummy and my cheeks reddened at his suggestive words.

“Yes,” The sales personnel moaned sultrily, running a hand on her shirt collar, lowering it to flash him the top of her pink bra. The liquid hot fire brewed hotter and this time it was with an emotion i could identify. Anger.

“I can do that if you don’t hurry up with your work and it wouldn’t be an experience you’ll live to forget,” The huskiness was replaced by a dangerous, a certain predatory, quality, as well as unbidden anger that made me shiver. The girl’s eyes dilated in fear and her hands mechanically started to shove clothes into a bag.

We left the store with four bags and the eyes of women trailing lustfully after Grey. 

I was about to start up my car when I perceived the most amazing smell in the world. It was the smell of freshly juiced lemon and my wolf started to howl. My feet hit the gas pedal and my tires screeched out of the mall’s parking lot, escaping the scent that was about to draw me in.

I could feel Grey’s curious look at the side of my face but I didn’t turn or say a word as I sped back to my place like a maniac. I felt him try to say something countless times but he thought better of it.

It wasn’t until I had put my bags away that he decided to speak. “Can I know why you started to reek of happiness and then fear before you started driving like a person trying to invite my presence?” He asked

"None of your business. Look, I got you something," I quickly changed the subject, flinging a dark blue jacket at his face. It froze before it could hit him. “I figured a different colour could spice up your wardrobe,” I added with a self-conscious blush. “They might not fit because I had to guess your size,” I concluded, staring at my beat up vans

"Thank you," He said. There was awe in his voice as he stared at the clothing, cradling it like a child in his arms. “No one ever gifted me anything,” He whispered, looking intently at me. My face heated up but even if it felt like he was looking into my soul, I held his gaze. My mouth became dry and I swallowed before wetting my lips with my tongue. His eyes trailed the movement of my tongue and he mimicked me.

“Kelly,” He whispered as his voice caught. I can’t tell who moved first but we crashed in a tumble of teeth, tongue and saliva. The cold of his touch burned and I lost my head in the feel of his lips on mine. They were a red cherry, a soft and plump one, and he tasted heavenly, like cool mint and a rich flavour that I couldn’t place.

I rose on my tiptoes, chasing his lips as he drew back, pressing harder against him. Hot liquid pooled at my core at the feeling of his hard body moulded with my soft one. My hands snaked under his shirt to claw at his back, hungering for more, more, more. I sucked desperately at his lips as the cold of his body made me tremble and burn with lust. I wanted this feeling to last forever, to consume me, fill me till I couldn't take it anymore.

He swallowed up my gasp when his hands finally made contact with my skin, grabbing me roughly below the waist and pulling me flush against him. His tongue thrust harshly into my mouth, swirling around and creating slick heat. A breathy moan escaped my throat and hooded red eyes snapped to mine. I could feel the internal struggle eating away at him as he fought to control himself. I knew the exact moment his restraint began to fall away as he slowly started to caress my skin again.

“Please,” I panted breathlessly, pressing harder against him as I arched my back. When he spoke, I felt my body vibrate with the rumble of his voice.

“Kelly Black, what have you done to me?”