“Speaking of trouble. Manual labor is kind of bullshit. Love has about a hundred of those pink fuckers doing her bidding. Do you want to show me around for a little while before we have to do actual work?”
I squeeze his hand. “Do you want to see my favorite place in Cupidale?”
“Please tell me there are no swans?”
“Absolutely not. Follow me.”
We slink away, as I take him down a back path in the park. There are no bugs in Cupidale, however, there is the artificial noise of cicadas in the background.
“What’s Purgatory like?” I ask him, his hand still comfortably in mine.
“More urban, lots of rain, quiet.”
“Do you like it?”
“I used to think it was the best place someone could live.”
“And now?”
“I’d call anywhere home for the right people. And Cupidale isn’t much of a hardship either.”
I smile, feeling so unlike myself at the moment, but I don’t hate it.
“Just through there,” I say, pointing at the cave entrance.
“A cave?”
“Ah, not just a cave. You trust me, don’t you?”
He looks at me and nods his head as I take him in the entrance. You can hear water dripping, and thankfully there are enough gaps above that there’s natural light as we make our way deeper.
Gloom stops in his tracks as we reach the light pink waterfall, the water trickling into the grotto below.
“Pretty, isn’t it?”
“It is,” he replies, but when I turn and face him, he isn’t looking at the waterfall or the pool in front of us. He’s looking at me. “Should we get in?”
I’d usually say no, I’m not spontaneous or particularly fun. But there’s something about Gloom that brings out a side of me I didn’t know existed.
“Unzip me,” I tell him, turning my back.
He’s slow, dragging his knuckles against my back and pressing a kiss against my shoulder as he relieves me of my dress. My heels are quickly knocked off as I stand confidently in front of him in my pink, lacy undergarments.
“It seems wholly unfair that I haven’t seen you undressed,” I tell him.
“Is that what you want, Ladybird? Do you want to see a reaper naked on his knees for you?”
I take a few steps toward him, grabbing his black shirt and bringing my mouth close to his jaw. Close enough that he can feel my breath. “No, not just any reaper. I’m sure most of them aren’t good boys who are excellent listeners. Isn’t that right, pet?”
The seductive breath that whooshes out of him tells me everything I need to know as he grabs the hem of his shirt and throws it over his head.
His body is a fucking work of art, devoid of any markings or scars. Only perfectly sculpted abs and a v shape leading down tohis pants. His abdomen is clenching as he breathes heavily and his gaze meets mine.
I know we haven’t fully kissed, and part of me is getting a deep satisfaction out of making him wait.
“That’s not naked,” I remind him.
He eagerly unfastens his belt, and it clunks to the floor. I wonder if it reminds him of the night at the restaurant. I know it’s all I can think about.
