Page 33 of Reaper's Claim

“Don’t play mind fucking games with me. You know what I mean. This. What isthis?” He moved a hand behind me and him. “We have tea and then what? Where exactly do you see this night going, Abby, cause I can fucking tell you right now, this isn’t a date.”

If I was to decide or label this night as something, I would label it as me clinging to the one chance I have at being with him. Hell, might as well just bring it to him.

I leaned in and made sure to lower my voice. “I see this night ending in a cheap motel somewhere, with you and I finishing what you started all those years ago.” I made sure to keep my tone in check, and it didn’t waver once. My emotion also stayed out of my eyes.

He blinked, then blinked and looked speechless.

“That sound ok, Reaper?” I raised an eyebrow and sneered at him from across the table.

Finally, that taunting smirk of his graced his lips. “It sounds like we are skipping dessert.”

I laughed and shook my head. With flushed cheeks, I looked back down at the menu. My stomach flipped and flopped, but my mind was set on the idea, and I wasn’t backing down.

***

Reaper

I was nervous. Never been this nervous. I always held a gun with a steady hand when I was about to take a man’s life and always made decisions with a clear mind. But when it came to Abby, my mind was fucked.

Failing to work.

It hadn’t been working since she said the words‘finish what we started.’You don’t say that to a man. Especially not me. I never left things unfinished. Abby was different. I never considered us to have unfinished business.

I just considered myself an idiot for having feelings for a woman completely out of my reach. Hell, this was the first time ever I felt something for someone. Of all people, it just had to be her.

“I need you to piss off.” I walked up to the motel reception desk. The old guy behind the counter just looked at me with wide eyes. I guess I was abrupt. Maybe I needed to talk in a way he would understand. “How much will that cost?”

“You want to hire the place for the night?”

“You vacant?”

“Yeah, we are empty. Not our rush period.”

I doubted this place ever had a rush period. But it was my only option. The other motel, which was slightly better than this, was occupied by The Club. So I couldn’t take Abby back there. And this place didn’t even have a hotel, or something flash.

This was it.

She deserved better. Hell, she deserved better than me.

“So you still interested in renting the place? Won’t be cheap for every room.”

My eyes gazed out the window. She was at the pool, putting in one foot, testing the temperature.

“You got cameras?” I looked back at the old man, who was summing up whether to give me a straight answer or not. I wasn’t stupid. I knew when people were about to lie to me.

“Yeah we do.”

“Turn them off and you have a deal.”

He was debating about it. I could see it in his eyes.

“I’ll be back at eight in the morning. If there is any damage, I’ll be calling the cops. Hand over the cash and some ID.”

That problem was now sorted. I had secured a place to spend the night with her. Now what the hell was I going to do? I couldn’t let my guard down. I WOULDN’T let myself feel any more of her. If we did have sex, that is all it would be. Wasn’t like I was making a commitment to her.

Then again, I had just put more effort into securing a place for her to make sure she felt safe. Normally I wouldn’t even care if the girl felt safe or not. Again, I was lying to myself when I said Abby wasn’t different.

Abby