Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians Book 1) (26 page)

Her father nodded. “She did. I got the quick version, but enough to comprehend what is going on between you two.”

“I need him to stick around for a while until we can figure it all out. It’s too hard for me to not have him near me.”

Even as a soul, her father managed a sarcastic grin. “I would love to know what’s happening here as well.” He turned and gazed off into the cemetery for a moment and then continued. “I can’t make these decisions for my children. I also can’t tell you that I’m completely all right with a Reaper among us, but I don’t really see any other option at the moment. He helped our family tonight and that is a debt we must pay back.”

Jack held his free hand up. “No, there is no debt. I helped with the rescue, but I would have gone by myself if I had to. Lucy will never be any part of a debt that is being repaid, ever.”

Wow, this was just getting better and better with each passing moment.

Her father nodded and looked to his other children. “All right then, no repayment. But, I have to agree that if this pull is as strong as Lucy and the Reaper both say it is, it’s
probably more dangerous for them to be apart.”

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Dad and his name is Jack.”

“Well Jack, I would shake your hand, but …” He held up his wavering and transparent hand in explanation of his lack of manners.

Jack interrupted him with a wave of his own. “No worries. I understand.”

“Just mind yourself, Reaper. We are far from alone and if you make one wrong move with my daughter or my family, I’m calling in more Keepers.”

“Yes
sir,” Jack acknowledged him with a nod.

“Now, tell me everything about what happened during the rescue.”

The siblings took turns explaining to their father what had happened when they broke into the Empress’s mansion. She did notice that the other’s put in good words for Jack, all except Dan and Ethan, who took every opportunity to make a case for Jack not to be around.

After the story was told once again, Greg Sr. furrowed his brows with worry. “This is not good.”

His eldest son nodded in agreement. “We know Dad, we all need to get showers and rest, and then tomorrow we are going to go over planning for Reaper attacks.”

“And what do you think of this girl and what has been foreseen for the Reapers. Do we think there is truth in it?”

Hannah yawned and then answered. “I highly doubt that she would have even been in that place if there weren’t any truth in it. She obviously knew that the Empress was a Reaper, and I’m fairly certain that she could see the auras.”

Jack agreed with her
. “Yeah, she could see them. When we tried to get her to come with us she didn’t want to at first, because I was there. She called me ‘one of them.’”

Greg Sr. smiled. “Well, you are ‘one of them
,’ so I don’t blame her. Too bad she didn’t stay with you guys.” He paused and eyed all of his children carefully. “All right, we are going to discuss this tomorrow. You guys look awful.” He waved them off toward the house. “I love you all, glad you’re safe, now go get some rest.”

The goodnights took another few minutes and then everyone headed back into the house. On the way in, as the first light began to make its way into the sky, Lucy realized that she was getting used to having her father around again. When it was time for him to cross over, it was going to be even harder than losing him the first time.

Back inside, Steph, James, Dan and Liv all said they wanted to go home to get their showers and rest, but that they would be back as soon as they could. Greg, Hannah and Ethan opted to stay, although Ethan didn’t seem happy about it.

Lucy cornered him in the kitchen when Jack left her alone for a minute to use the bathroom. “Why don’t you just go home if you’re going to be a dick?”

“I’m not being a dick, Lucy, I’m being careful,” he shot back at her.

She felt her spine straighten in defense. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what it means.”

“The fuck I do.”

“These feelings aren’t even real and your letting this guy sleep in your room for fucks sake. You don’t even know him.”

Their eyes were locked in confrontation and she wasn’t going to back down. “Well, I want to know him, Okay. I’m an adult, Ethan … like I told you before, I can have him in my room if I want.”

“Well, sorry then, I’m sticking around just in case. I don’t trust him.”

“Dam
mit, Ethan. That isn’t what this is about and you know it.”

“It is about that, but yeah, it’s also about you and me. So fucking what?” He spread his arms wide. “Fucking sue me for caring about you.”

“Ugh!” Lucy almost stomped her foot she was so frustrated with him.

“Go ahead
.” He stepped away from her. “Go ahead and do what you want, just don’t think that I’m leaving you alone with him.”

“Greg’s here, I’m not alone.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

She rolled hers back. “Yeah, I do.”

He turned and started to walk out of the kitchen. “I’m going to bed. I’ll be in James’ room. Don’t do anything I have to listen to all fucking day. I need to get some sleep.” He pushed out the door.

“Well, get some ear plugs then!”
she called after him as the kitchen door swung back and forth. “

She turned around and pounded a fist into the counter top. “Dammit
,” she whispered to herself. She hated it when Ethan’s feelings were hurt. No matter what, he would always be a best friend to her … but, it seemed like he would always want her as more than a friend.

She heard a cough, like someone clearing their throat
, and spun around to see who dared invade her moment of breakdown.

Jack stood there, leaning against the doorjamb, staring at her with a glint in his deep, dark eyes. “So, what is this I hear about ear plugs and not getting sleep?”

His red headed Keeper spun around to face him. Her eyes wide with shock and her mouth hanging open. After the surprise had passed, she gathered herself together and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

God she was adorable.

And when the fuck did he start using the word
adorable
. “I don’t know who
didn’t
hear it,” he told her with a smile.

“I…” Her sentence trailed off as he strode across the kitchen to where she stood at the counter.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her, “I’m not taking that as an invitation.” He placed his fingers under her chin and gently lifted until she was staring up at him.

“What if it is an invitation?”
she boldly asked.

He lowered his head until his lips gently touched hers. Damn, her lips were so fucking soft. He stepped forward again, backing her into the edge of the counter. Her lips parted, letting his tongue graze tenderly over hers.

She moaned a little beneath his lips and wound her arms around his neck, pulling his body even closer, so that their bodies were pressed up against each other.

Oh fuck. He had to get her out of this kitchen. Right fucking now. He broke away from the kiss, breathing heavily and already feeling the intensity of how much he wanted her. He reached down and grabbed her legs, pulling her up so that she could wrap her legs around him. “Where’s your room?”
he whispered.

She nipped his ear and whispered back. “Out the kitchen door and up the stairs, third door on the left.” She kissed him again, this time with more urgency. Somehow, he managed to get out the kitchen door while holding her
and
kissing her.

He broke away from the kiss long enough to pause in the living room and look for the stairs. Spotting them near the front door
, he practically ran toward them with Lucy kissing his neck. The stairs were even harder, but he made it up those fuckers and found the third door on the right.

The door was open so he strode right in, kicked it shut behind him and then fell onto the bed, crushing her beneath him. “Tell me to stop
,” he asked her, his voice gravelly. “Tell me to stop and I will.”

She shook her head against his lips and arched her back. “I don’t want you to stop.”

He couldn’t get enough of her. He kissed her lips, her neck, and the exposed area of her breasts. Then, he forced himself up, kneeling before her so that he sat between her open legs, looking down at the phenomenal woman before him.

Her legs were bent at the knee and her skin was almost glowing with a sexual sheen. Her lips were parted, pink and swollen from kissing. He met her eyes and silently questioned her. She gave him a nod without hesitating.

Then, he went to work on her jeans. He pulled the button loose and lowered the zipper. She gasped and thrust her hips up, as if the mere thought of being naked before him was enough to cause an orgasm.

Taking the waistband in both hands he tried desperately not to simply rip them off of her
, lowering them with excruciatingly slow movement. Once those jeans were down over her ass, it was his turn to gasp. She wore black lacy panties that stood out against her pale skin, and were fucking sexy as hell.

“Still ok, with this?”

Her eyes darkened with frustration. “Stop asking me that. I want this and I am not made of glass.” With that, she reached down and pulled at the bottom of her tank, revealing her perfectly soft stomach and then, as the tank went over her head, a matching black lace bra which encased the most perfect breasts he’d ever seen in his life.

Whoosh
, the jeans came off … all the way.

He was on top of her again and her fingers were clawing at his pants, unbuttoning and pushing them down. With one hand, he helped her get them off
, and then used his leg to kick them off all the way. His boxer briefs came off the same way.

Lucy’s legs snaked up around his back and her back arched as if she were unconsciously trying to get as close to him as possible. He ran one hand up the side of her torso
and over the mound of her breast. He pushed the fabric away, found her nipple and swept over it with his thumb, feeling her stiffen at his touch.

This was insane and he had no idea how it could be happening, but it was and he wasn’t about to give it up for anything … unless she told him to stop.

His other hand crept around to her back and flicked the snap of her bra open. With a little bit of jiggling, which he didn’t mind at all, she helped slide the bra straps down her arms.

Staring down at her, he took in every inch of bare skin, then lowered his head and began to kiss every
part of her that he could get his lips on. She pushed at him, turning to the side and rolling so that their positions were switched and he was now on his back.

She looked down at him, a slight smile twitching at her lips and then began to lower her panties.

Oh, holy fuck. He hadn’t thought he could get any harder, but … yeah, it happened. She maneuvered out of her panties and then leaned down to kiss him again, staying just far enough over him that their bodies weren’t quite touching.

Holy fucking hell. He groaned and rolled his hips, wanting to be inside of her more than he’d ever wanted anyone.

She pulled her lips away from his and looked into his eyes, still panting from the sexual tension.

Suddenly, and surprisingly, he was hit with
a conscience. This was the heat of the moment. What if she woke up tomorrow and regretted being with him? He had to make sure she knew what she was doing.

“I could have your soul right now
,” he told her “I could take it without you even knowing I was doing it.” His breathing was heavy too. But she had to know … she had to know that he wasn’t safe. He was a Reaper and she a Keeper, the two species which were born enemies.

He knew these facts, but for some reason that couldn’t be explained, this woman was his and he knew it. This moment sealed his fate … there would never be another woman for him if it wasn’t her.

Her eyes didn’t stray from his, not even once and she whispered, “I think you already have my soul.”

That was it. He pulled her down to him and kissed her with more passion than he’d ever kissed anyone. She moaned softly and then reached down until she found the rock hard length of him. She gripped him in her hand and stroked, up and down, rubbing the tip with her thumb.

What in the hell was she doing, trying to make him come before he even got inside her. Well, fuckin’ two could play at that game. He caught her around the waist and threw her off to the side, then moved over until he was the one on top. She gasped in surprise, but then relaxed against the bedding. He braced himself above her so that their bodies were several inches apart.

Slowly, he lowered his head until their lips touched. He kissed her, long and hard, trying to let her know how much he wanted her. When he broke away, he didn’t take time to catch his breath, he went right to kissing her neck. Then, he moved down to her collar bone trailing his tongue over the prominent bone. Next he moved lower and found her breasts
. He reached up and cupped one with his right hand, simultaneously using his tongue on the left one. He flicked her nipple gently with his tongue and then circled around it.

While he would have loved to have stayed in that spot all night, he had better, far more enjoyable plans for her.

He continued his trail of kisses down over her belly, and then down one thigh. She opened her legs wider to accommodate, so he switched back and forth between both her inner thighs, kissing his way to the sweet spot.

She had already been releasing soft moans of pleasure, but when his tongue swept over her clit, she bucked and grabbed his hair in her hand, letting out a small cry.

He fought the urge to take her then and there. He wanted her so fucking bad. Not that he wasn’t enjoying the taste of her, or loving the feel of her grinding against his mouth. Oh no, he was totally enjoying that, so much that he wanted to give her even more.

He braced himself up with one elbow, not letting his mouth separate from her. With his other hand he slid a finger inside her. She let out another cry, this time a little louder and gripped his hair even tighter.

After another minute or so, he felt her pulling him upward. “Get up here,” she ordered in a low, husky voice.

Yeah,
she didn’t have to tell him twice. He moved up and hovered over her, leaning down to kiss her. The kiss was long and hard, filled with urgency that neither of them were ready to deny anymore.

“I want you
,” she whispered, looking up into his eyes.

He reached up with one hand and used his fingers to push a lock of stray hair out of her face and told her, “I want you
back.”

And then, keeping his gaze locked on hers, he slid into her. He groaned, feeling her so hot and slick against him. Her eyes went wide when he entered her, then she relaxed and started to move against him, setting the rhythm for the both of them.

He could have stayed with her like that forever. But, far sooner than he would have liked he felt her body tense, and her back arched beneath him. Her eyes glazed over with passion and she bit down on her lip to keep her cries from being too loud as she came.

Holy shit, no holding back now
, he thought as he felt his own orgasm building.

She had climaxed and then relaxed back down into the comforter when it was over. Her arms had fallen down into the blankets above her
, so he reached up and grasped her around the wrists, one in each of his hands. She gasped and rolled her hips.

“You ready?”
he whispered against her ear.

She nodded. “Hell yeah.”

That was the only cue he needed, he couldn’t hold back any more and pumped his hips getting as deep into her as he could possibly get. She bit her lower lip again to keep herself silent, but little moans and whimpers escaped anyway.

He rocked her body, his thrusts getting harder and harder with each one, until she arched upward, her breasts lifting and he felt the molten warmth clench against his cock again. He came at the same time. Feeling the sweet release of orgasm had never felt more amazing than it did with her.

Breathing heavily, he stayed inside her until both of them stopped quaking from the aftershocks of their orgasms. Then, he lowered himself down so that he was laying flush on top of her and kissed her.

“Mmmm, thank
God,” she murmured when he pulled his lips away from hers.

He chuckled and then rolled off of her. “What?”

She turned on her side and smiled. Her cheeks were flushed and pink from the sex, and it seemed like her skin was fucking glowing. “I just don’t know how much longer I could have gone without doing that.”

He lay on his back and laughed again. “Same here, trust me!”

She pulled the comforter that they had been on top of over their bodies and then cuddled up to him, laying her head in the crook of his arm with her cheek on his chest. “You’re amazing,” she told him. “I know that’s sorta cliché for after sex, but I don’t mean that, I mean you … everything about you is amazing.”

He lifted his head and looked at her. “What? You mean the sex wasn’t amazing, cause I thought it was fucking phenomenal.”

She slapped at his abs. “Of course it was! You know what I mean.”

He couldn’t keep the grin from his face. “Yeah, I know what you meant. And for the record,
you
are the amazing one,” he told her, and then rolled her over so that he could show her again just how amazing he thought she was.