Page 45 of XO Karma

My lip quirks. “You wore white again.”

“So, what? You bribed the waitress to topple a mimosa on me?”

“Best hundred bucks I’ve ever spent.”

Her eyes squeeze shut, and when she opens them, her voice is shaky. Body rigid. “So you were watching me—us—the entire time?” I shrug, and her hands tremble slightly. “Like I said before, do what you have to do to me, but leave Amara and her family alone.”

My brows pull together. “What?”

“Zuri’s just a kid,” she pleads, voice a whisper. “Please, just don’t hurt them.”

I blow out a heavy sigh. “I’m not going to hurt your friends, Lily.”

She clenches her jaw. “I don’t believe you.”

“Why not?” I ask, fingers flexing against her waist, the satin of her dress begging to be rumpled.

Her mouth drops open, cute little nose scrunched. “I watched you kill a man. In cold blood.”

“We’ve been over that. He deserved it.” More than.

“Says you.”

“Says anyone with a single brain cell or a heart.”

“So you’re saying I don’t have either of those?!”

Frustration settles in my core. “I’m saying there are things you don’t understand.”

Her gaze holds mine, a crease forming on her forehead. “Is that why we’re here? So you can scout for your next kill?”

“No.” My expression matches hers. “A friend invited me.”

She raises a brow. “The Grim Reaper has friends?”

“Grim?” I huff a laugh. “Really?”

Her eyes drop to my chest, then return to mine. “Are the morbid tattoos just for show?”

“I don’t reap souls, I destroy them.”

“And I don’t give two shits about a technicality.”

My grip on her waist tightens, and her breath hitches as I tug her closer. “Does that mouth do anything but smart off?”

Her grin is wicked. “I bite.”

Heat flushes through my veins, settling deep in my core. That silk dress looks easy to rip off, and the image of her dropped to her knees in front of⁠—

“Earth to psycho,” she coos, pulling me out of my wet dream.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop calling me those names.”

Her jaw ticks, eyes hardening. “Would you prefer I call you Kodak Killer?”

“What?” My head rears back. “Why the fuck would you call me that?”

“Shall I list the reasons?” She holds up a finger. “First of all, you murdered someone the⁠—”