Free Jack A Grim Reaper Romance by Calista Taylor Page B

keep her entire body from stiffening. “What do we do now?”
     
    He took both her hands in his. “First, I’ll need you to think of an intimate moment between yourself and Jack.”
     
    Her brow furrowed and her guard went up. “What does that have to do with anything?”
     
    Mason’s eyebrows drew close in frustration. “Lilly, we don’t have a lot of time left. Please. ”
     
    “Fine, but let it be known that I’m none too happy about having my intimate memories linked to such horror.”
     
    Mason rolled his eyes in frustration. “Duly noted.”
     
    There were plenty of intimate memories Lilly could choose from, however her heart ached to think the man who held her so tenderly could be such a monster. She thought of the time he’d taken her away to the shore for the week. They’d stayed at his cottage by the ocean, walked on the sandy beach and made love to the sound of crashing waves. There was nothing and no one to bother them—not even their reaps. For an entire week, she once again lived a normal life, allowed to forget what she’d become.
     
    She chose her moment—a thunderstorm. They’d spent the day holed up in the cabin as the rain streaked down the windows and thunder rumbled above, the dark sky flashing with light. He’d made love to her, slow and tender, their bodies pressed together for warmth in the chilled air, the smell of peat burning in the fireplace.
     
    She held onto that thought. Held onto it as proof against the crimes of which he was accused. Held onto it as a shield against the images of brutality.
     
    “What now?” There was a pang in her voice for what she’d had with Jack, and she cared not that Mason heard it. He should know it cost her dearly to be doing this.
     
    But it mattered not. She was not dealing with the sweet and tender man, but rather The Chancellor . Any emotions he may have had were hidden behind a cold hard mask.
     
    “I need you to replay that moment in your mind while capturing the feel of Jack—his touch, his emotions, his words. Once you feel like you have him, I need you to turn to the scene and find Jack’s essence.”
     
    “I don’t understand what this will accomplish. It’s—”
     
    “Just do as you’ve been asked, Lilly. You’ll see soon enough.”
     
    Her jaw clenched in frustration, but she did as she was told. The sooner they completed their task, the sooner she could leave this horrible place.
     
    Closing her eyes to get a better hold of the memory, she played it over in her head—the movements of their bodies, the warmth of his skin, his soft kisses. When it felt as if she were there in the moment, she slowly opened her eyes upon the scene of the murder.
     
    “I’m going to help you now.” Mason squeezed her hand and she felt a tingle travel up her arm. “Do you feel it?” She nodded and he continued. “Find Jack’s energy. You should be able to not only feel it, but also see it.”
     
    He was right. It was like a thin thread of white light, woven and tangled across the street before her. Her entire body went taut with tension. “I can see it.”
     
    “Good. Now I want you to picture Jack’s form, and then visualize it attached to his energy.”
     
    She did as he asked, concentrating on Jack’s image, but could not manage it. “Nothing’s changed.”
     
    “Give it time, love. Stay focused and it will come. Let me help.” She felt another tingle make its way up her arms radiating from their linked hands. “There. Is that better?”
     
    She nodded, for indeed, Jack’s form started to materialize out of the thread of energy. “Now what? I do not think I can keep this going for long.”
     
    “Think about the body of the woman you just saw.”
     
    When she did as he asked, the scene before her started to play out. The woman already lay in the road, dead, her throat cut. Lilly then saw Jack bend down and hover over the woman. It all faded in and out of her vision as she tried to hold onto the image. He