A Grim Love: Can't Fight Time Read Online Free PDF

Amazement and wonder colored her tone, with a hearty dose of attraction she just couldn’t hide.
     
    The man was an irresistibly sexy, walking history book! And Nina could appreciate that as the fact it was. Of course she wasn’t blind, and neither was she celibate. In all honesty, if the reaper sitting in front of her blatantly asked her to drop her pants and fuck him on the coffee table in front of God and everyone, Nina would have been hard pressed to say no.
     
    Grim chuckled, dark and exotic with that hint of an accent she had detected a few times and which he had admitted came from his time in Athens. “ Amica , I was in the flood. Died a few times, actually, but that was when I was first getting used to the reaper’s power. I was still a newbie back then and didn’t know my hand from my ass.”
     
    Nina hoped her jaw didn’t dislocate from being dropped so long, but goodness the man was interesting! And funny, sexy, smart... Nina swiveled her stirring straw around in her cup as she regarded him through the curls covering her eyes. If only he wasn’t Death and I wasn’t going to die.
     
    The thought came unbidden and added a harsh light to the last five hours. The truth was that he was here, which meant that, very soon, she was going to die. And even if he told her all of his knowledge, all of his memories, what good would any of that be to a corpse? But that was the point. He had the luxury to tell her all of his secrets, all of his weaknesses, and just watch them die along with her.
     
    She finished off her now tepid latte, and thought about her next question. Grim was relaxed, sipping at his drink of choice mint tea. At one point she remembered asking him “Why mint?” His response: “Because it calms me.” The line had been almost comical. Death needed calming? I thought he was the very definition: silent, deadly, and calm.
     
    “Tell me about the Underworld,” Nina said, stuffing a napkin in the now empty latte cup and turning to him.
     
    Grim seemed to think about it, stroking his slight five o'clock shadow, while leaning forward to place the tea on the table. “It’s not very interesting,” he said finally with a shrug.
     
    Nina paused, looking at him for any sign that he was lying to get her away from the topic. He was completely relaxed, watching her through half lowered lids, like a lion might watch a mouse. But Nina wasn’t scared by that, because the fact still remained that he was a lion, and she was a mouse, and at any time he could readily slaughter her.
     
    But Death doesn’t kill. Grim had told her that. It wasn’t their aim to kill, but to guide. They were mediums for spirits (basically ferrymen without boats) who shuffled souls that wanted to go on; because, even after death, some souls still clung to this world even though they could not be a part of it. Everything she’d learned from Grim; freakin’ walking encyclopedia.
     
    “It doesn’t matter if it’s not interesting. It’s something that we haven't talked about.” Something I don’t know about you.
     
    Nina watched Grim pause and then get up. “We’ve been here forever. Why don’t we take a walk and I tell you all about it?”
     
    Nina was up in a heartbeat, stiff muscles protesting their use. He’s right. We have been sitting too long! “Sure. A walk would be nice.”
     
    What's he trying to hide? Nina thought as she gathered up her school bag, their trash, and threw everything away, trying to be as quick as possible. Damn! Now I really want to know!
     
    What she’d learned over the course of five hours with Grim was that he didn’t sugar-coat the harsh realities he had faced, or try to make it more palatable for her to digest. He spoke from experience and answered her questions outright.
     
    They were outside walking, with the midday sun shining a bit too brightly overhead, when Grim finally began. “Like I said before, the reaper kingdom is ruled by three monarchies. Sort of like your