at him when he sits down on the underwater bench that circles the tub with me on his lap. “You know, taking a bath fully clothed is not very comfortable.”
“Is that better?” he asks when I’m suddenly naked.
I scurry off his lap. “Very funny.” He can’t see me because he’s filled the tub with so many bubbles, but that’s beside the point. “I don’t find this any more comfortable.”
Feigning insult, he says, “I was simply trying to be helpful.”
“Uh huh, I think I have to have at least a bikini on if we want to keep things from going in certain directions.”
He shakes his head. “Oh, how fickle you are.”
I splash him with water and he laughs. But I am suddenly wearing a bikini. “Better?” he asks.
“Much,” I say as I make my way back over to him. I sit on his lap, straddling his legs, and wrap my arms around his neck.
He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer. “How much better?” he asks as his lips start to nuzzle my neck. Goosebumps rise on my arms regardless of how warm the water is.
Gently pulling his face back to mine, I capture his lips. My hunger for him grows each time our tongues meet. With a small moan, I press my body closer to his as I reach behind me to untie my bikini top. Now it’s his turn to groan as his hands begin to explore, causing me to gasp and arch my back.
And then he stops moving. Completely. His mouth, his hands, they’re like stones. My eyes shoot open, thinking the worst. But he’s not dead, he’s just in a different time.
“Humanoids are such awkward creatures. Is that pawing and clashing of tongues really worth the effort it takes?”
I narrow my eyes, which I hope look as annoyed as I am. “Perhaps you should try it. Then you wouldn’t need to pull people out their times for your entertainment.”
Her eyes become cold. “You are a nasty, unpleasant creature at times. I do not know why I bother to help you.”
Because her boss told her to. “I said thank you for your help earlier.”
She’s pacing back and forth along the edge of the bath now. “You did, yes. Yet, you disparage me now when I offer my aid once again.”
Uh oh. My voice is much nicer when I say, “What do you mean?” At first I thought she looked haughty, now I can see she looks worried.
A frown has set up camp on her beautiful face. “I should not be here. Rashnu would not be pleased.”
Okay, now I’m scared. Without even hardly thinking about it, I rise and step from the water; a blue sun dress appears on my body as I walk. “Adriel, what would Rashnu be upset about.”
She stops and sighs. “An Angel of Death was dispatched to this house. I intercepted the message and came myself. I am not supposed to do that.”
There is no amount of warm water that could take the sudden chill from my heart. “Why was an Angel of Death dispatched here?”
She looks at me like I’m stupid. “Because someone here is meant to die.”
Screaming probably wouldn’t help the situation. Neither would threatening her with violence. With my voice as even as I can possibly make it under the circumstances, I ask, “Who?”
She looks torn. I want to throttle her. Again, probably not the best course of action. “Adriel, please.”
With a heavier sigh than last time, she says, “I am only here because this is an unfated death.”
That itching in my palms is my hands wondering why they are not wrapped around her neck yet. “What is an unfated death?”
I can tell my ignorance is rankling her again, but she tells me anyway. “Each creature is fated to live so long. There is a complicated equation that is used to measure how long each soul should live in its realm – depending on whether it is a life of a fresh soul, or the life of a soul that had been too damaged to
“Is that better?” he asks when I’m suddenly naked.
I scurry off his lap. “Very funny.” He can’t see me because he’s filled the tub with so many bubbles, but that’s beside the point. “I don’t find this any more comfortable.”
Feigning insult, he says, “I was simply trying to be helpful.”
“Uh huh, I think I have to have at least a bikini on if we want to keep things from going in certain directions.”
He shakes his head. “Oh, how fickle you are.”
I splash him with water and he laughs. But I am suddenly wearing a bikini. “Better?” he asks.
“Much,” I say as I make my way back over to him. I sit on his lap, straddling his legs, and wrap my arms around his neck.
He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer. “How much better?” he asks as his lips start to nuzzle my neck. Goosebumps rise on my arms regardless of how warm the water is.
Gently pulling his face back to mine, I capture his lips. My hunger for him grows each time our tongues meet. With a small moan, I press my body closer to his as I reach behind me to untie my bikini top. Now it’s his turn to groan as his hands begin to explore, causing me to gasp and arch my back.
And then he stops moving. Completely. His mouth, his hands, they’re like stones. My eyes shoot open, thinking the worst. But he’s not dead, he’s just in a different time.
“Humanoids are such awkward creatures. Is that pawing and clashing of tongues really worth the effort it takes?”
I narrow my eyes, which I hope look as annoyed as I am. “Perhaps you should try it. Then you wouldn’t need to pull people out their times for your entertainment.”
Her eyes become cold. “You are a nasty, unpleasant creature at times. I do not know why I bother to help you.”
Because her boss told her to. “I said thank you for your help earlier.”
She’s pacing back and forth along the edge of the bath now. “You did, yes. Yet, you disparage me now when I offer my aid once again.”
Uh oh. My voice is much nicer when I say, “What do you mean?” At first I thought she looked haughty, now I can see she looks worried.
A frown has set up camp on her beautiful face. “I should not be here. Rashnu would not be pleased.”
Okay, now I’m scared. Without even hardly thinking about it, I rise and step from the water; a blue sun dress appears on my body as I walk. “Adriel, what would Rashnu be upset about.”
She stops and sighs. “An Angel of Death was dispatched to this house. I intercepted the message and came myself. I am not supposed to do that.”
There is no amount of warm water that could take the sudden chill from my heart. “Why was an Angel of Death dispatched here?”
She looks at me like I’m stupid. “Because someone here is meant to die.”
Screaming probably wouldn’t help the situation. Neither would threatening her with violence. With my voice as even as I can possibly make it under the circumstances, I ask, “Who?”
She looks torn. I want to throttle her. Again, probably not the best course of action. “Adriel, please.”
With a heavier sigh than last time, she says, “I am only here because this is an unfated death.”
That itching in my palms is my hands wondering why they are not wrapped around her neck yet. “What is an unfated death?”
I can tell my ignorance is rankling her again, but she tells me anyway. “Each creature is fated to live so long. There is a complicated equation that is used to measure how long each soul should live in its realm – depending on whether it is a life of a fresh soul, or the life of a soul that had been too damaged to
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