Page 8 of Demon Rider

“She seems tough.” He says drawing my attention back to him.

“She is. Went into foster care at an early age, because of shitty parents, but he foster family did her good.”

“Your mate huh?” he grins.

“Yeah.” I nod, scrubbing my hand over my head. “We get told that Reapers do find love, but the job is hard, and we lose ourselves, but a small parentage do against all odds. The pull was instant brother.”

“Can’t see it on the cards for me, but you had a wife before your time was up, so you knew what loving someone was like. I had the army.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” I grunt. “My wife died because of the shady shit I was pulling, it is why I ended up in Hell, and was giving a chance at redemption. Kristina is my second chance, Zeke,”

He slaps me on the shoulder, if I was human, my knees would have buckled from the weight.

“Go to your woman.” He leaves joining the party.

“Oh, Tyson, I have missed you, baby.” I hear Lisa, turning to see her strutting towards me. “You were gone so long.” She whines stepping closer.

I inch back from her touch, not wanting her hands on me which makes her frown and then pout. Yeah, until recently she used to be my go-to club girl but now that I have found my mate, her touch is not wanted.

“Baby, I need you.” She tries again.

“Not your ‘baby,’ so just fucking stop.” My gaze moves towards the room where Kristina is, to find her looking at the interaction playing out between me and Lisa.

Her face gives nothing away, but I can see how tense her shoulders are, and her fingers flex on her thighs. Jealousy seeps through the building bond. Stepping back from Lisa, her gaze follows mine and she laughs.

“Oh, you brought a straggly stray home. You are such a good Reaper, Tyson.” Her hand lands on my arm and I snap.

“Stop fucking touching me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Kristina

My body is starting to feel the effects of the pain pills Doc gave me, my body starts to relax and for the first time in days, I feel safe enough to sleep.

I know I should be scared. After everything I've been through, worry should probably be weighing heavily on my mind. But instead, I feel oddly safe here.

Maybe it’s because Tyson is close by. There’s something about his presence that settles the storm inside me, a quiet reassurance I can’t quite put into words. Just knowing he's near is making everything feel a little less overwhelming.

I don’t really know how to explain it. His presence has this soothing power over me, one that makes me feel protected, grounded, and calm, even when every reason tells me I should be afraid.

“How’s the pain?” the older man asks, pulling me back into the room.

He has a kind smile, one that no doubt eases any tension or worry from his patience.

“It is okay. I think I am crashing through, I feel sleepy.” He nods at my explanation.

“You will after what you went through. You sure that he did nothing sexually?”

I nod. “Yeah. He was more into leaving his mark on my skin.”

I hear a woman approach, calling Tyson by name, I look towards the door.

“Oh, Tyson, I have missed you, baby. You were gone so long.” Her voice is that sultry sound that men love.

I have no doubt that Tyson has been with her, I know about motorcycle club, seen enough on TV and read about them.

To my surprise, Tyson flinches back from her touch, I keep my face neutral, just in case he looks my way. I do not want to let him know that this woman touching him is bothering me, making my skin itch more.