Page 30 of Reaper
“Open your eyes, beautiful,” he said.
When she did, a gasp exploded out of her throat and she clutched onto Reaper’s shoulders with strength that made him flinch.Her eyes shut and her breathing sped up.She hated heights and she started to shake when she glanced down at her feet perched on the top railing of the staircase and noticed the distance to the floor below.
“Why are we up here?” she whispered.
“Ara?”
“I am…deathly afraid of heights.The look I gave you when Hunter asked if I could levitate myself wasn’t one of excitement.”Her voice came out clipped and she wanted to apologize, but she couldn’t get the words past her throat to do so.It closed up immediately after her last word.
Instead of the nurturing comment she expected from him, he shocked her into opening her eyes when she could feel his chest and arms shake.She clutched onto his shoulders and glanced down to see whether they were falling.
His body shook harder with laughter.He happened to glimpse her face at that moment, and he buried his face underneath her long hair before he released another roar of laughter.
She thought about pinching him, but instead, she found herself smiling at his happiness.He had been reserved with her and from what she noticed, around his friends as well, and this side of Reaper was new and fascinating.
“Not…laughing at you,” he choked out.
Without thinking about it, she flipped him upside down and moved him to hover above the couch in the living room, watching as his wide eyes met hers.
“Not nice, especially when I can do this.”She flipped him around three times in fast succession before she settled him on his feet.
Instead of glancing at her with distrust, the smile that lit his face and reached his eyes said everything.He trusted her with her powers and what she could do with them.He held his arms out and indicated that she should jump.
Fear had dictated her life until this moment, but her trust in Reaper and in herself gave her the strength to overcome it.She nodded once as an indication that she was ready, and leapt off the railing.
His hoarse shout had her eyes opening.She gazed around and noticed that she hadn’t moved from the spot where he’d placed her, but he had bounded to her and wrapped her in his arms.
When she had felt the tremors that shook his body, she drifted them toward the chair in the corner of the living room, keeping their movements slow until he was seated on the chair with her in his lap.She cupped his chin and raised his face, and the fear etched in his features worried her.He had wanted her to levitate herself, another step in the process of learning about what she could do, and yet it had scared him.
“I’m okay.”
“Well, I think I had a heart attack.”
She learned the inflection of his statements, and this one told her that he had been scared for her.She understood the fear of losing him, but refused to think about the night before.He was alive and well, and she needed to keep him that way.
“Can you put me back up there?I want to try it again.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.I’m always going to want to protect you, and I’ve realized that this was a stupid idea,” he said.
“I trust you.”She swallowed before she continued.“You believe in me, in my powers, and I want to show you that I can do this.”
A flash of surprise passed over his features before he cupped the back of her neck and brought her in for a fiery kiss that left her shaking and wet with need.He stiffened as her scent reached him, but instead of having him distract her, she broke the kiss and nodded toward the stairs and her newest challenge.
With a strength that took her by surprise every time, he jumped to the spot where he had taken her before.With hesitation, he dropped to the living room floor and glanced up at her with expectation.His hands were fisted against his hips, and although his stance was casual, she could feel the trepidation coming from him in waves.
“You’re really sexy when you worry,” she said.
He lifted one eyebrow, making the mundane movement seductive when it should have been funny.“Stop trying to distract me.”
“If I were trying to distract you, I would tell you that I’m not wearing any panties.”
He straightened, his hands falling to his sides, and his gaze narrowed in on her.Pushing aside her desire, she took a deep breath and stepped off the railing.Without meaning to, she had closed her eyes, but instead of feeling Reaper’s arms around her, she felt…nothing.
“Beautiful, you can open your eyes,” Reaper said.
With excruciating slowness, she opened her eyes.For a moment, she became disoriented and her brows drew down in confusion.She wondered whether she had flipped upside down, but when she happened a glance down, she yelped with fright.Instead of floating down to the ground, she hovered near the ceiling at a terrifying height.
It took her several moments to get her fear under control, and when she was able to listen to Reaper’s encouragement, his words settled her nerves.
