Page 1 of Brush with Death (Not Quite Dead #3)

VALE WAS GETTING USED to waking up with a skull on his chest.

He didn’t even open his eyes to look anymore.

He reached down and stroked the top of Oscar’s body—or was it his head—and smiled when he felt Oscar’s tentacles moving with excitement.

Just a few months ago, this situation would’ve freaked him out.

It still did a little if he thought too hard about the fact that there was a being made of reanimated bones sleeping on his chest.

He tried not to think too hard about that, but sometimes, it was impossible not to.

Vale did live with a necromancer, after all.

He turned sideways and smiled at the sight of Cyril sleeping next to him.

Oscar skittered off the bed after falling to the mattress, making an irritated sound because Vale had dislodged him.

Vale ignored him.

He had better things to do, like staring at his boyfriend.

That was something else Vale wouldn’t have believed a few months ago. He had a boyfriend. He’d retired and was putting down roots, something he couldn’t have imagined himself doing. Meeting Cyril had changed his life so completely that sometimes, he could hardly remember what he’d done before him.

“I hate when you do that,”

Cyril grumbled.

“When I do what?”

Cyril blinked his eyes open. He smiled, reminding Vale just how completely in love he was with him.

“Watching me sleep. It’s creepy.”

“What’s creepy is your pet.”

“Let it go, Vale. Oscar was here before you, and he’ll still be here after you and I die.”

Vale grimaced.

He was tempted to ask what would happen when Cyril passed away since it was his gift that had reanimated Oscar, but he didn’t really care.

He didn’t want to have to think about Cyril not being here anymore.

“Can we not talk about either of us dying?”

Cyril snuggled close.

“Whatever you want.”

This was what made life worth living.

Before Cyril, Vale only had work.

It had been easier and safer, but he’d been lonely, even with his friends.

He’d never be lonely again.

It had been easy to get used to having Cyril in his life because Cyril was a delight.

It had been less easy to get used to Cyril’s job and Oscar, but Vale would never regret any of it.

He was happy for what felt like the first time in his life.

He didn’t want that to change, and he’d fight to ensure that it didn’t.

Their morning was soft and lazy.

After cuddling in bed for a while and listening to Oscar’s tentacles skittering on the wooden floor, they got up, and Vale cooked Cyril breakfast.

It was disgustingly domestic, and Vale loved it.

Gone were the days of following people in dark alleys and killing them—not that Vale had ever killed anyone in a dark alley.

He’d planned his hits better than that.

But he was done with that part of his life, and he was happy about that, even though it left him at a loss.

It also left him available to protect Cyril and spend time with him, which was good.

The problem was that they couldn’t be attached at the hip, even though Vale didn’t like the thought of Cyril not being in his sight.

“When’s Russell getting here?”

Cyril asked as he sipped his coffee and played with one of Oscar’s tentacles. The bony pet was in his lap, and his tentacles inched toward Cyril’s plate every so often.

The damn thing didn’t even have a stomach, for fuck’s sake.

“Later. Are you sure you have to go to work?”

Vale asked.

Cyril grinned.

“One of us has to.”

Vale loved that Cyril teased him. He’d been painfully shy and a bit awkward initially, but he’d relaxed in their relationship, which was what Vale had wanted. Cyril was it for him, and he wished to make him happy and for Cyril to feel like he could be himself when they were together. They both should. Vale didn’t want them to hide anything from each other—the good or the bad. They were supposed to share all of it.

“I can’t say I don’t enjoy my time as a kept man,”

he said, joking.

Cyril’s smile widened.

“Will I find dinner on the table when I come home?”

“If you want. I did put breakfast on the table, so why not dinner, too?”

Cyril was still smiling when he leaned forward to press a kiss on Vale’s lips.

“I don’t think I’ll be that late. Maybe lunch?”

“You know Russell is going to insist on having lunch with us.”

“You love him.”

“Sometimes.”

And sometimes, Vale was annoyed by his best friend, especially when Russell wanted to spend time with Cyril. Vale knew Russell and Cyril would never do anything to hurt him, but he couldn’t help it. Russell had always managed to know exactly what to say to get under Vale’s skin.

Cyril patted Vale’s arm.

“You can have me all to yourself tonight.”

It was like Cyril could read Vale’s mind. Vale didn’t think he’d ever get enough of Cyril, and thankfully, he’d never have to find out what it was like to live without him.

He wasn’t sure anyone would survive if he had to.

CYRIL NEVER WOULD’VE thought that he’d enjoy having someone watching his every movement, but he did. He liked feeling Vale’s gaze on him as he got ready for work. He liked knowing that Vale would be waiting for him once he was done and that he was worried about him, even though Cyril had been doing this job for years.

Of course, Vale was probably right to be worried. Considering what had happened since the two of them had met, he wasn’t wrong in thinking that something might happen to Cyril. Cyril didn’t go looking for trouble, but trouble seemed to come looking for him. It wasn’t his fault, but he still had to deal with the outcome.

“Robbie will be with you the entire time?”

Vale asked.

“He will be,”

Cyril confirmed as he pulled his hair lower on his forehead before rechecking his reflection in the mirror.

“Remind him to call me if anything happens.”

Cyril didn’t roll his eyes. He would have if his mother had been the one saying that, but it was Vale. Cyril found his mother worrying about him irritating and unnecessary, but the same couldn’t be said about Vale.

Cyril wanted Vale to worry about him. He wanted him to fret and to call just so he could hear Cyril’s voice. He wanted Vale to check in on him. It made him feel loved.

“He knows what to do,”

Cyril reassured Vale. Vale had told Robbie so many times, in fact, that Cyril wouldn’t be surprised if Robbie remembered it until the day he died.

Satisfied with the way he looked, he turned and patted his boyfriend’s arm.

“You went over it with him several times, remember?”

“So? It won’t hurt anyone to go over it one last time.”

“It might hurt Robbie if he decides he’s had enough of it and strangles you.”

Vale huffed.

“Robbie wouldn’t do that.”

Because he knew that Vale could kill him in about a hundred ways and make it look like an accident. Vale would never do that, but that didn’t change the fact that he could do it if he changed his mind.

“He wouldn’t,”

Cyril confirmed.

“And he wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt me. He has you on speed dial. He’ll let you know if anything happens, but in the meantime, you need to relax.”

“I’m not sure I can. Remember how we met?”

“You can’t hold that against me. I didn’t want to reanimate a very bad guy, and the other bad guys didn’t take no for an answer.”

“I never said it was your fault.”

Cyril slipped his arms around Vale’s waist and squeezed.

“I’ll be fine. I did this job before meeting you, and I can continue doing it now. Robbie will let you know if something’s wrong, but the majority of the time, my job is very boring.”

Vale snorted and pressed a kiss on Cyril’s forehead.

“Your job is anything but boring.”

Many people thought that. Cyril reanimated dead bodies for a living, and people were either fascinated or horrified. To Cyril, it was a part of him. He’d been reanimating cadavers since he was a child, and he’d turned it into a job that paid pretty well. There was nothing horrifying about death except the way it sometimes happened.

“I could come with you,”

Vale offered.

Normally, Cyril would’ve said yes, but today, Vale couldn’t come.

“You’re seeing Russell.”

“I can tell him to come later.”

“You can, but you won’t. There’s no reason for you to.”

“Fine. Call me if anything happens.”

“I will.”

Cyril had already promised to do so several times, and Robbie had done the same, but if it made Vale feel better, Cyril would promise it another dozen times.

“And don’t let Robbie talk you into doing anything stupid,”

Vale added.

“Robbie isn’t the kind of person who would do anything stupid, so that won’t be hard. You really should have more faith in him.”

Vale sighed and squeezed Cyril harder.

“I like Robbie. I just don’t trust anyone but me to watch your back.”

Sometimes, Cyril still couldn’t quite believe this was his life.

Before meeting Vale, he’d only had his mother and Oscar.

He’d initially been scared of Vale because his boyfriend killed people for a living while Cyril’s job was to reanimate them, but by some miracle, they completed each other in a way neither of them had expected.

Vale had become central to Cyril’s life, and he brought people that Cyril considered friends along with him.

Cyril’s life was full of laughter and love, and he’d never do anything to jeopardize that.

He wanted to be happy more than he wanted to help people.

Maybe that made him selfish, but he didn’t care.

If he had to choose between helping people and having allies with Vale, he wouldn’t even have to think about it.

Vale continued hovering as Cyril finished getting ready.

Thankfully, by the time Cyril was leaving the apartment, Russell had arrived to distract Vale.

Vale didn’t look particularly happy, and he was grumbly, but he often was when Russell was involved.

Cyril was pretty sure it was the way Vale showed his love to Russell.

“You need to let your man go,”

Russell teased Vale as he and Cyril said goodbye.

Vale turned to glare at his friend.

“Have I asked for your opinion about anything in my life?”

Russell grinned.

“You haven’t.”

“Then keep your mouth shut.”

“You’re touchy this morning. Is it that hard to be away from Cyril for a few hours?”

“It is when I don’t know what might happen to him while we’re not together.”

Cyril kissed the corner of Vale’s lips.

“I survived before meeting you. I’ll be fine.”

Vale didn’t look convinced, but he let Cyril step away.

As soon as Cyril was out the door, he wanted to go back inside.

Instead, he checked one last time that he had everything he’d need in his bag, then headed for his car.

He had a job to do, and the sooner he did it, the sooner he’d be back with Vale.