Reaper

Saphira sat in her hotel room, staring blankly at her phone as she hung up.

How was she supposed to tell Sawyer this? After all that had happened in the last few hours, this was definitely the most significant. It wasn’t something she could just spring on him. She had to plan it carefully, choose her words correctly, so she wouldn’t set him off.

Because she knew he would hate her for this.

She jumped as she heard Jesse walk back into the room, scratching the back of his head. “They’re both asleep, I think,” he muttered, annoyed, as he shut the front door behind him. “Mind if I crash here?”

Saphira sighed and nodded. “Sure. I’m not going to need the bed much anyway.”

Jesse thanked her and sat on the edge of the mattress, rubbing his eyes. It was obvious he was tired, though she couldn’t imagine how, considering he had slept nearly the entire night, except for about an hour. Saphira watched him out of the corner of her eye as he stripped away his shirt, revealing a sculpted chest that she hadn’t been expecting. Of course, she had seen attractive men unclothed before – she was a Reaper, after all, and they were bred to be beautiful – but she hadn’t imagined that a human could possess a body like that. She glanced at his angled nose and square jaw and big, blue eyes before scolding herself.

It’s not polite to play with your food. Someone should tell Sawyer that.

She knew Sawyer’s and Charlie’s relationship was more than platonic, though it took a lot for her to admit that to herself. At the end of the day, all she wanted was Sawyer’s happiness, but sometimes it was hard to bite back the real words she wanted to say to Charlotte. She was a nice girl, yes. But she was putting everyone in her pack in serious danger. She was putting Sawyer in danger.

And Saphira was left to watch as Sawyer turned to mush over a human.

She thought Jesse had fallen asleep when he spoke up suddenly, laying back on the pillows with his hands behind his head. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with me. This probably what you signed up for, either.”

She sighed, and gave him a half-smile. It was earned. “You could say that, yeah.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, smiling in acknowledgement, before awkwardly looking away. Saphira fidgeted on her armchair, trying to get comfortable, as she picked up her drawing pad from the table next to her. She had been reluctant to bring it, but she supposed she might need it, and sketching was a good outlet for her.

After a pause, Jesse spoke up again. “Does he know how you feel about him?”

She nearly dropped her pencil in surprise. Was it really that obvious? Surely a human couldn’t see through her so well. Granted, she was used to Reapers, who could Sense what someone was feeling at any moment, but she wasn’t used to a human being so intuitive, especially a man about a woman. It was simply a lucky guess. She suddenly felt vulnerable in a way that she wasn’t quite accustomed to. Normally, she held her guard up as far as she could, unwilling to let anyone in. And here this human boy shattered the façade in less than five minutes.

She blinked at the paper before looking up at him. “Does she know how you feel about her?”

Jesse smiled that damn smirk of his that made Saphira question herself and closed his eyes. “Touché.” He sat up a little bit straighter, folding his arms over his chest, suddenly very interested in the beautiful woman sitting a few feet away from him. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed her before.

“Why haven’t you told him?”

Another pause.

“Because… he loves her.”

Neither of them knew it, but hearing that sentence hit both of them squarely in the chest. It was a fact that they both knew but didn’t want to admit out loud. Saying it would make it too real. Hearing it from someone else would be even worse. Both of them knew, though, that it was irrevocably true.

Jesse sat back, admiring Saphira’s concentration on whatever she was drawing. Her wrist flicked gracefully as she curved her lines around the paper, her brows furrowed in concentration.

“Can I ask you one more question?”

Saphira snorted. “You’ve already read me like an open book, what more do you want to know?”

Jesse chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. Saphira glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, marveling at how the muscles on his bare chest contracted with the motion of his arm. “Why do you do this? Watch him fall for her? Don’t you just want to… I don’t know, do something about it?”

Oh, what it must be like to live in that pretty little head.

Saphira suddenly slammed the cover of the leather sketchbook shut, turning her full attention to Jesse. She sat up a little straighter and tried to calm the anger that was buzzing along her fingers, curling them into tight little fists. “Of course I’d like to do something about it,” she muttered. “But I never would. I have watched Sawyer brush away people who care about him left and right for years. He writes people off in two seconds. He lets no one into his world, not even his own pack. Not even me. But that’s exactly what he did for Charlotte. She changed him. This girl – she means the world to him.” She leaned forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees. “As much as it might bother me, Sawyer is my closest friend. All I want is for him to be happy. And if Charlie can do that, then you bet your ass I’m there to help.”

And with that, she went back to her sketching.

Jesse sat, speechless, his mind reeling from her words. He felt embarrassed that he had even asked something so childish. He was surprised that Charlie’s relationship with Sawyer ran so deep – he had no idea they were even really in one, let alone how much Sawyer had sacrificed for her. Hell, all Jesse had done was cheer her up for a night. That was hardly on par with her knight in shining armor.

Perhaps Saphira was right. Maybe the best thing for Jesse to do to show he cared about Charlie was to let her be with Sawyer. And if something ever happened to them, he would be the one there to pick up the pieces. It just seemed time to grow up a little. Move on.

Saphira looked up again after a few moments, puzzled. “I thought you said you were tired?”

Jesse smirked. “I tend to find talking to a beautiful woman more important than sleep.”

Instead of being flattered by what Jesse had hoped was a smooth compliment, Saphira rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Nice try. You must think you’re pretty damn hot, for a human, huh?”

He was a little taken aback by her tone of voice. His ego slightly wounded, he pushed himself to the edge of the bed, closing the gap between them so that their knees were almost touching. She quirked an eyebrow at him in question as he did so, her face clearly unimpressed. However, on the inside, she was noting how all of the muscles worked on his chest and fought the urge to stare as his big, blue eyes watched her.

“I don’t know,” he said softly, his smirk returning, “You tell me.”

Damn, he was good. Saphira was never this flustered around men before, let alone humans. It was always she that lured in her prey, not the other way around. She was now being hunted. And while a normal, rational Saphira would have abhorred the idea of being someone’s conquest, she suddenly was considering what being submissive might feel like. To be dominated.

Their eyes locked for a moment of pure electricity, two pairs of blue eyes locked in trance.

“Fuck,” Saphira breathed, and in one swift motion was on top of him, straddling his waist and winding her fingers in his soft blond hair.

Jesse kissed her hard, working his way to her jawline. Her breathing was suddenly heavy, lustful, blowing in hot puffs against his face. She was having a hard time controlling herself as her senses were suddenly heightened, feeling his lust surround her like a thick fog. It was a lovely sensation – she wasn’t Feeding, but the feeling enough was intoxicating. She began to wonder why she had never bothered to do this with a human before. At least, not without the intention to Feed afterward.

“This means nothing, right?” Jesse mumbled into her skin between kisses, his voice husky and clearly full of lust.

Saphira moaned quietly as he hit just the right spot on her neck, smiling. “Right. One time. That’s it.”



I woke up the next morning slowly, blinking away the sunlight that streamed into my eyes. I raised one of my hands to rub the sleep from my eyes, only to find that it was weighed down by an unknown force.

I turned over to come face-to-face with Sawyer, who appeared to be fast asleep.

My mind quickly fought to catch up with the situation. It took me a moment to remember all that had occurred the night before. Fleeing the casino. Arriving at the cabin. Kissing Sawyer. Running from Isis. Driving to the motel. Kissing Sawyer again. And then I remembered that he promised to stay with me as I slept, next to me. I couldn’t fight the smile that spread across my face as I looked up at him, his eyes half-lidded and his lips slack, looking more peaceful and vulnerable than I’d ever imagined.

“You know, it’s not polite to stare,” he suddenly said.

I blinked up at him in surprise, not realizing he was awake. I felt my cheeks grow warm – he’d caught me. I bit my lip and fought back a laugh. “I wasn’t staring,” I protested, pulling myself closer to his chest.

“Your nose is indicating otherwise.”

“It doesn’t do that!” I buried my face in his chest in embarrassment, suddenly inhaling his scent. He smelled like soap, crisp and clean, but also like rain, and like the forest on a cold night. I tried very hard to memorize what he smelled like – it was so comforting, in the moment.

He chuckled, and I felt it vibrate through his chest. He wrapped both of his strong arms around me, circling me in warmth, and pulled me closer to him so that our bodies were flush against each other, our legs tangled beneath the sheets. I felt the warmth radiating from his core in waves, making me feel safe and secure and protected. And it was definitely a feeling that was well-timed, especially after all that had occurred the night before. All I wanted was a little peace, and it seemed like there, in that moment, in his arms, I had found it.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he placed a small, tender kiss on my forehead. “I am truly sorry for what happened last night,” he murmured into my hair, his voice still gravelly from recent sleep. “If I had known-“

Suddenly feeling braver than normal, I leaned up a few inches and kissed him gently, if only to stop his train of thought. It seemed to work as he kissed me back, his arms suddenly tightening their grip on me as he did so. I felt him smile into the kiss, innocent and assuring. I pulled away, looking up at him shyly through my lashes.

“Don’t blame yourself, Sawyer. Please.” It was a small request, but an important one.

Once again, he seemed to weigh it over in his head before he finally grinned, kissing me again lightly. “Alright. If you say so.” He stared down at me with those eyes of his, a dopey smile on his face. “God, I love how it sounds when you say my name.”

And suddenly I was embarrassed again. I giggled. “Sawyer.”

He leaned his head back and his eyes slid shut. “Ah. Say it again.”

There was a knock at the door. “Sawyer!” The person to say his name that time was not me, that’s for sure.

His face fell as he glanced between me and the door a few times. “What is it?”

I heard Saphira’s irritated groan outside the door. “I need to speak with you. It’s important.”

Reluctantly, he relinquished his grip on my waist and pulled himself out of the bed, stretching his arms above his head as he did so. I realized then that he must have taken off the rest of his clothes at some point while I slept, because he was now only in a soft white T-shirt and boxers. I tried to avert my eyes, but all I could do was marvel at him, and how hot he looked from this angle. It was something I could definitely get used to.

He opened the door slowly. Saphira stood in front of it, her face paler than I’d ever imagined. She looked alarmingly nervous, shifting her eyes back and forth hastily. Sawyer closed the door behind her as she walked in, her phone clutched to her chest. I could see that her knuckles were white, as well, from gripping it so tightly. I wondered what the hell could scare a Reaper so much.

“Simon and Lina are outside,” she said quickly, nodding to the door, “But that’s not what I have to tell you.”

Sawyer looked at her expectantly. “What is it?”

Saphira exhaled loudly. “I just got a call from Tobias. Sawyer, the vampires know about Charlie.”