Dark Kiss Of The Reaper Read Online Free PDF

and leather.
    “That’s Pallidus, my horse.” He reached out and rubbed the beast’s snowy neck. “Nothing to be afraid of.”
    Azrael slipped his arm around her waist and drew her out from behind him. The intimate touch melted her knees. She grabbed hold of his bicep for support, her fingers barely spanning the muscle.
    “Pallidus knows you are to be protected.”
    “He does? How do you know? What are you, the horse whisperer of grim reapers?” She tried to back away, but Azrael’s arm didn’t budge. “He looks...hungry.”
    Azrael gave a short laugh, softening the edge of her nerves. “He hasn’t eaten anyone yet.”
    “It’s the yet that worries me.”
    “He’s very partial to having his nose rubbed.”
    She inched her hand toward the animal. His gray eyes focused on her. He dipped his head. Swallowing, she let her fingers brush Pallidus’ nose. Warm and velvety. It seemed impossible that a creature with a nose like a baby’s bottom could mean her any harm. She gave him a little scratch and let out the breath she’d been holding.
    “Okay, you have a horse. That doesn’t prove you’re the Angel of Death.” How he’d gotten the animal in the hospital, she had no idea. Manda would have a freakin’ fit if this animal dropped its business on her floor.
    “We’ve only begun.” Azrael mounted the horse in one fluid movement, then held his hands out to her. “Come.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding. I’m not getting on that thing.”
    Pallidus snorted and stomped a hoof.
    She held her hands up. “Sorry, you’re not a thing. You’re a very lovely animal. Really. Can’t say when I’ve seen a more beautiful stallion in my life.” Now she was apologizing to a horse. How much further could the weird envelope be pushed?
    Pallidus whinnied softly and Azrael laughed and patted the horse’s side.
    “Are you two...talking?” Apparently, there was tons of room left in that envelope.
    He nodded. “In a sense, yes.” He held out his hands again.
    “No.”
    “Sara.”
    What was it about the way he said her name? Reluctantly, she took his hands. He lifted her easily, seating her sidesaddle in front of him.
    “Bring your other leg over.” He patted Pallidus’s other side.
    Good thing she’d worn pants today. She did as he asked, settling onto the horse’s back. Azrael’s muscled thighs cradled hers. His warmth seeped through her trousers, melting her nerves into an acquiescent puddle. She exhaled, hotter than she’d been in a long time. “There aren’t any reins. What am I going to hold onto? I don’t want to fall off this thin—horse.”
    “Take hold of Pallidus’ mane if need be.”
    Threading her fingers into the horse’s thick white hair, Sara glanced over her shoulder.
    “Where exactly are we going?”
    And why didn’t I ask that before I got on this beast?
    * * *
    Azrael hesitated. What to tell her that wouldn’t frighten her? He realized what she was about to see might scare her more than was healthy, but then again...it might not. And it would undoubtedly prove who he was. “I have work to do. I’m taking you with me.”
    He slipped an arm around her waist to keep her secure. The move pressed her further against him, connecting them thigh to thigh, bottom to groin, back to chest. The feel of her seduced him with a fierceness that took his breath. He inhaled sharply, drinking in air as he searched for a safe place to focus.
    There was none.
    He sank into her rich warmth, let it flow around and through him until it possessed him like a dragonfly trapped in amber. The softness of her curves set his hands to trembling. But the scent of her was what threatened to undo him.
    Life. The very essence of it perfumed her. Joy and happiness, sorrow and pain, laughter and tears. Vibrant and electric, it buzzed through him, nothing like the faint hum of life left in the mortals whose souls he reaped. This was hot and thick and real. No wonder his brothers craved mortal touch.
    Already