Something wasn’t right. My body had a certain twitchiness to it, almost like I needed to reach down and touch the person beneath all the black. Inside me, magic and darkness mingled and collided over and over. I backed away immediately. This person wasn’t a human, and my insides were begging for me to touch and lay claim to whatever power he was harnessing. I didn’t want to, but my magic was doing so for me, peeling away at my armor preventing me from seeing people’s energy so I could see the color of his.
Blue.So blue. So strong. So much of it.
Ignoring the need to touch the unconscious someone, I hastily made my way to the werewolf, hovering my hand above his body to take back the traces of my magic while trying my hardest to give back what I’d stolen. Only it wasn’t easy. The dark magicthat ran through me didn’t like to give, it liked to take. As it was taught to do.
After I was positive I erased the traces on the dead werewolf, I turned back to the person on the floor.
Twitchy fingers, twitchy fingers.
Just walk past him… That was all I had to do.
Just what was he?
I couldn’t read him at all. I was trying, and so was the darkness crawling through me. Whatever he was, the darkness wanted it. Whatever he was, I should get far, far away for his sake and mine.
So why was I on my knees next to him?
Twitchy fingers, twitchy fingers.
Oh, God. So powerful.
Need it. Want it. So, I’ll take it.
He was lying on his stomach. I rolled him over, removing the black material that covered his entire body to see him. My hands found his cheek, and the moment our bodies connected, a wave of heat—nothing like the familiar darkness licked over me. The hair on the nape of my neck stood on end as I bit back a sound that would have been embarrassing.
He jerked immediately, gasping, then he raised forward, way, way, too fast.
Our heads collided. I saw stars, quite possibly the Big Dipper as I continuously rubbed my forehead trying to ease the pain coursing through it.
“Ow!” I cried the same time he said, “Fuck!”
With the pain, I landed back down on Earth. I could remember what I had been doing and jumped away from him so quickly I tripped backward, falling on my butt.
Our eyes met. Blue. The ocean.Help… I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.That was the effect I was having from staring at this man. Looking into eyes like those, you were going to get lost. Dark, dirty blond hair. A perfect jawline that would probably make the angels sing… Just who was this crazy, beautiful man?
“What are you?” I breathed out. “Who are you?”
Those translucent, ocean eyes studied me, up and down they roamed over my scrubs before taking in the room and the werewolf behind him. “I’m already… awake?” He sounded surprised.
“… You were sleeping on the floor?” I asked, dumbfounded. “You looked sorta dead.”
“Wait…” His forehead wrinkled as he tilted his head at me. “You can see me… Isabella Wen… Lone survival of a powerful witch clan, right?” He tipped his lip to one side, a partial smile. “No wonder you can see me.”
Dozens of spells whirled around inside my head as I decided which was best to get away from this man that I had no clue who or what he was—I only knew he was powerful. He radiated with it. And somehow he knew who I was.
I was feeling twitchy all over again because of the power inside him. It seemed worse now that he was awake and alert.
I placed my hands to my sides. “How do you know my name?” And everything else.
“It’s kind of my job to know everyone’s life and death, name included.” His words made him sound dangerous, but then he smiled. “You’re a witch and you don’t know of Reapers?” he asked.
My eyes widened. “You’re the Grim Reaper?”
He laughed. “No.” He leaned over, awfully close, too close, and held my eyes hostage with his. “I’m the boogeyman.” The expression I’d given him must have been funny because he burst into deep, rumbling laughter. Then he stopped abruptly, his entire body falling. His face landed on top of my legs, his nose pressed between my thighs. I stiffened and flushed with embarrassment all at once.
What just happened? Did he just pass out?
I felt the warmth of his breath on my scrubs and felt my blood boil. I picked up his head in a hurry, and just like that, he startled awake again, his expression dumbfounded. “What the—” He studied me with a touch of something in his gaze that worried me. “How do you keep waking me up?”
