Read Online Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent - Free Book Online Page A

alive.”
    “That was never part of the plan,” I said. “We just didn’t know
it.” Not until he’d seen my name on the list of souls scheduled to be reaped.
And because I’d already had my one allowed death-date exchange, there was
nothing Tod, or my dad, or anyone else, could do to save me. “Besides, there are
advantages to the afterlife. For instance, if I were to do this—” I pushed him
gently but firmly onto his back, then I straddled him “—no one could see us
unless we wanted them to.” And we did not.
    “A valid point…” He reached for my hips, and I hated both
layers of clothing between us almost as much as I loved the look in his eyes,
part surprise, part heat, and no hint of an objection.
    “And if I were to do this—” I leaned forward and kissed the
edge of his jaw, and Tod groaned as my shift in position created a delicious
friction between us “—and you were to make that sound you just made, no one
could hear you unless you wanted to be heard.”
    His hands tightened on my hips, pressing me tighter into him as
my lips trailed down his jaw toward his neck, over the pale, late-night stubble
he’d died with. “What happened to the good little girl who blushed and covered
her face at the thought of what you’re doing right
now?”
    “She died,” I whispered into his ear.
    That girl had felt alive with every breath she’d taken, even
knowing she’d soon breathe her last. This one—the restored me—only felt alive
when she experienced very strong emotions, which Madeline had assured me was
perfectly normal. And so far the only strong emotions I actually enjoyed were
the ones I felt when I was with Tod.
    “Why? You like the good girl better?” I asked.
    “I know her better.” Tod’s hand
slid up my back beneath my shirt. “But this one’s certainly making me wish I’d
shown up for invisi-lunch.” He’d texted me halfway through lunch to say he
couldn’t make it.
    I laughed, then rolled off of him and onto my side, watching
his profile from inches away. “What could possibly compete with the lure of
cafeteria food, adolescent conversation, and hostile company?”
    “I spent two hours trying to question reapers without sounding
like I was questioning them. What do you think it says about us as a group, that
every reaper I know is either irritable, egotistical, voyeuristic, or some
combination of the three?”
    “That you fit in well?”
    “Ha, ha.”
    “So, had any of them seen Thane?”
    “Not that they told me. But I can’t be sure, because I couldn’t
come right out and ask. It was probably a waste of time that would have been
better spent with you. What did I miss at lunch?”
    I shrugged with the shoulder not pressed into my mattress.
“Nash is still mad. Sabine is still blunt. And I met Madeline’s necromancer. His
name’s Luca.”
    “A death detector?” Tod made a face. “That’s creepy.”
    “Says the living dead boy.”
    “I’m serious.”
    I pretended to study his expression. “So that’s what that looks like… .”
    “You know you can’t hide from him, right? He’ll see you,
whether you’re corporeal or not, and he’ll hear you if he’s close enough. Tell
me that’s not creepy.”
    “It’s a little creepy, but he’s the one who found Thane this
morning. I’m thinking a necromancer on our side is infinitely less creepy than
one working for the bad guys.”
    “I guess…”
    “It gets weirder. He’s dating Sophie.”
    “On purpose?” Tod looked horrified. It takes a lot to scare a
reaper.
    “Looks like it. She knows what he is and doesn’t seem to care.
Oh, and we ate with Em’s new boyfriend, too.”
    “These are the days of our lives…” Tod announced in a false
baritone, and I smacked his shoulder. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s Em’s boyfriend
like?”
    “His name’s Jayson. He’s human. Normal and nice. He’s probably
perfect for her.”
    “But…?”
    “But nothing.” I shrugged. “She’s safer with him than