When we reached the third door on the right, we went inside. Ossy locked the door behind us. As soon as the lock clicked, Ossy pressed me against the door. His knee came between my legs, pressing against my balls. He knew I loved the pressure there. I sucked in a breath as pleasure hit. He cupped my cheek. “Hi.”
I smiled at his attempt to charm. I always knew what to expect from Ossy. Whenever he tried to be charming, there was a slight awkwardness that came with it. It was endearing because it wasn’t fake. Ossy didn’t play-act at anything he did. What he presented to the world was who he was. He was a surf bum at heart who loved waves more than anything. Take him or leave him. And I always took him. As much as he exasperated me, I wouldn’t change a thing about him.
“You saved us from Tech Duinn.” Ossy ran the back of his finger down my cheek. He had hisI want to fuck youface on, and I was totally on board, but I didn’t know why Ossy was talking instead of getting us naked.
“Cael saved us. And not only that, but Donn had to have let us out. His attempt at stopping us was pretty nonexistent once wewere in Tech Duinn.” I suspected Cael had something to do with that. He seemed to soften Donn’s resolve.
Donn didn’t know how to handle beloveds. We upset the system. There was no straightforward answer. Not even the god of death knew. As much as it would be tempting to villainize Donn for not wanting the reapers to have beloveds, the situation wasn’t that simple. If I were the god of death, I wouldn’t know what to do either. Donn didn’t want to hurt anyone. If he had, he would have made our experience in Tech Duinn terrifying, but it hadn’t been. It was just dark. Really, really dark.
Ossy rested his hand on his chest, over his heart. “I feel you again. Your emotions are loud.”
The bond was unmistakable. I could feel Ossy’s emotions. They were difficult to separate from my own.
“I don’t want you to think I brought you up here just for sex.”
“But you brought me up here for that, right?”
Ossy wiggled his eyebrows. “Yes, but I meant it’s not just sex. It’s making love.”
“Right.” I opened Ossy’s robe to reveal his baby-blue shirt underneath and began unbuttoning it. “So we’re talking because...”
“We never have before, and I want you to know it really will be different from now on.” Ossy really was trying.
The last of my doubt slid from my mind.
I pushed his shirt back, revealing his tanned, chiseled chest. “I don’t need conversation, but you can talk dirty to me.”
Ossy waggled his eyebrows and raised his knee just enough to press more firmly against my balls. I hissed as pleasure built in my core.
I ran my fingers over Ossy’s nipples before tweaking them.
“Lick them.” I loved how dominant Ossy was in the bedroom. That alone would have turned me on, but the combination of everything heated my blood. Ossy pulled back just enough tomake me chase him. The new proximity made my cock press against his knee, too. “You’re hard already. I miss tasting your cock.”
Ossy held my nape, moaning as I licked one nipple before moving on.
“I miss you tasting my cock.” I bit his nipple gently. “I miss you.”
I wrapped my arms around him and held on, pressing my cheek to the center of his chest. Why was I so emotional?
Ossy’s knee disappeared from my balls, and then he lifted me off my feet.
I wrapped my legs around his waist. His reaper robe was whopper-jawed around me, trapping me against him. I’d been tangled up with my reaper for a while already. Long enough to form a bond neither of us had even been aware of.
“Please don’t do what you always do.” If Ossy pulled away now, I don’t know if I could handle it.
“I promise I won’t.” Ossy tightened his grip. “You don’t have to believe me. I’ll prove it to you. I have a caveat, though.”
Oh, gods. “What?”
“We have to live here. On the farm, I mean. It’s safer if all the reapers stick together. This is our room. So yeah. Now we’re living together. And what’s worse, it’s with all the brothers.” Ossy pressed his cheek to mine. “Tan is lactose intolerant and can smell up a room, so slap dairy out of his hand, or everyone will pay the consequences. Grym is a bit of a neat freak, which is ironic because Elliot couldn’t care less about the mess until it gets out of hand, and then he cleans in a frenzy. We had to start a cleaning rotation because he kept yelling at all of us. I’m sorry, but you’ll be added to the rotation. Morgana is surprisingly easy to live with. One beloved has a hellhound now, and he’s growly and sort of an asshole. The beloved and the hellhound are not working out. It’s... stressful. For all. We eat a lot of pizza. I neverthought I’d say this, but I’m tired of them. I think we all are, because the other day Francis bitched about wanting something else, and you know how he is. Very easygoing. You know about Aziel’s coffee obsession, but you haven’t lived with it yet. It’s not the same. Trust me.”
Ossy wasn’t done. I could tell. Not that I wanted him to stop. Everything he said was comedy gold. Well, except for the part where I’d actually have to live with it all. I was accustomed to living alone, but I’d adjust. I hadn’t experienced any of it yet, though, so I still found it hilarious, which I was sure would change soon. “I knew about Tan’s intolerance.”
“His ass smells like something died inside him. He can really clear out a room.” Ossy’s serious expression made me laugh even harder. “You find it funny now, but just wait until dinnertime and he eats cheese.”
“Oh my gods, Ossy.” I laughed so hard that tears formed in my eyes.
“That’s another thing. The beloved with a hellhound, Joel? He’s the pizza wizard. Don’t tell him your favorite pizza toppings unless you want your whole life analyzed. And don’t freak out, but he sells marijuana. Or did. I doubt he does anymore.”
