Page 49
Story: Till Death and Daisies Bloom
Juniper frowned. “Your brother? Kind of figured that, since he’s like you–no boundaries, struts around like he’s a gift to the world, and handsome in that stupidly boring way.”
I jerked at that, and so did Lust, who recovered quickly.
“You think I’m handsome?” he purred, leaning into her from the edge of his desk.
“In that perfect, Disney-prince boring way that no one likes!” she fired back, trying to bury herself further into the paper files next to her electronic device. Her face turned red though, belying her emotions.
Lust looked like he’d just been given tickets to one of Adonis’s orgies. “Handsomeandperfect? All in one conversation?”
The way she sputtered and fidgeted was so adorable, I couldn’t look away.
“Uh, Juniper, would you excuse us? Family business,” Lust said, pulling her chair out from his desk, and slapping a crisp twenty in her hand. “Here, take a break and get some coffee, as an apology for the interruption to your schedule.”
Juniper looked like she wanted nothing more than to get away anyhow, but clutched the money in her hand and stalked out of the office, clinging to whatever shreds of dignity she had left.
The moment she was gone Lust and I spoke at the same time.
“What were you going to say–”
“She doesn’t know she died?—”
I froze, taking in what my brother had just said.
“She doesn’t know shedied?” I parroted, my voice going an octave higher.
Lust threw himself into his chair, running a hand through his hair. He gestured vaguely with the other to the open seat next to him.
We sat in silence for a moment.
“She thinks she just lost unconsciousness and woke up, buried alive,” Lust finally said.
I took that in. “Gods. Wouldn’t it be better to know the truth? That sounds just...traumatic.”
Lust shrugged, trying to appear casual. But I noticed the tension in his shoulders, and the hard tic in his jaw.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DIED?”
My stomach dropped into my feet as Juniper stormed back in the office, fists clenched. If I thought her face had been flushed, it was nothing compared to the blood red rushing into her cheeks and ears now, her entire face turning puce, almost purple.
Like a fig,I thought wryly.
Magick sparked and curled in the office, like a smoke that we couldn’t see, only feel.
Lust laughed, but it was a nervous sound— not like him at all.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Did Lust have feelings for Juniper?
She was my mate. Mine. I saw her first. I gave her life. Lust got everything, especially when it came to women. Well, not this time! I would tell her just how much she owed me, and not him.
“I am Pride, and I am Undersecretary of Hell. As my brother so crudely put,” I shot him a glare, and he made a face at me. “You turned up in the Underworld some time ago. I re-animated you, and sent you back.”
She just stared at me.
I waited for the gratitude to come flowing forth, but...nothing. I cleared my throat, my collar feeling tight around my neck.
“I...brought you back,” I said again, unsure if she hadn’t heard me, or didn’t understand.
Her face stayed blank for another awkward moment, before twisting into anger. Puffing up, she strode right up to me and stuck her finger in my chest. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49 (Reading here)
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150