Free My Tethered Soul: Volume 2 (Reaper's Rite) by Dorothy Dreyer

it. Only there were no trees directly outside my window. Instinctively, I whipped my head around, searching my room for shadows.
    Another tap at the window, and I jumped to my feet. Swallowing back my anxiousness, I slowly moved forward, craning my neck to see if I could spot whomever—or whatever—was outside.
    Wide eyes stared back at me.
    I couldn’t get a scream past the lump in my throat. Luckily, I focused on the face through the window and was glad I had kept quiet. Biting my lip, I rushed forward and threw open the window.
    “Gavin? What the hell? You freakin’ scared me to death!”
    He scooted forward on the portico roof and stuck his head into my room. “Sorry.”
    “What are you doing here? If my dad catches you…”
    “Then lower your voice.” He held his hand out to me, and I helped him inside. “I need to keep an eye on you. I’m worried. Naomi can’t stay over, so just think of this as my turn.”
    He dusted off his pants, and I stepped back. My eyes searched my room, taking a quick survey of its state. Thank goodness I didn’t have any dirty laundry on the floor. Gavin had caught my room in its rare clean phase.
    Then it hit me: Gavin and I were alone in my room. And I was in a T-shirt barely long enough to cover my underwear. Red-hot fire scorched my cheeks. I turned away from him, then sprinted to my door to lock it. It was bad enough to worry about a Reaper unleashing his fury; I didn’t want to have to deal with Dad’s wrath if he caught Gavin in my room.
    “So.” I stood with my back pressed against the door, feeling silly while he looked around at my things. The Hello Kitty alarm clock Naomi gave me as a joke was particularly embarrassing. “What’s the plan? You, um, sleeping here?”
    Was I imagining things, or did the same blush that slapped me moments ago claim territory on Gavin’s face?
    “Well, I’ll stay up as much as I can. I just had two cups of coffee, though, so that should help me out.” With a self-assured gait that made my heart flutter, he closed the distance between us. The soft touch of his hand caressing my cheek made my skin grow hot. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Zadie.”
    I put my hand over his. “And I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, either.”
    The side of his mouth inched up, and suddenly I had a strong desire to put my lips there. But before I could even move, he pulled me toward my desk.
    “I, uh, got you something.”
    “You got me something? After I pulled the biggest no-no as a girlfriend?”
    The smile left his face and he seemed not to be breathing. “What do you mean?”
    “I sort of…lost the bracelet you gave me.”
    “You lost it?”
    “More like, I can’t find it. I wore it to bed that first night when I wandered in my sleep. When I woke up, it wasn’t on my wrist anymore.” My eyes darted over his features, waiting for a response.
    He let out a small breath, as if relieved. “That’s not your fault.”
    “You’re not mad?”
    His hand came up to cup my cheek. “Under the circumstances, you’re forgiven.”
    I offered him a thankful smile. “Okay. What did you get me?” I searched my desk, wondering if he placed something on it when he stepped through the window, but I didn’t see anything that wasn’t there before.
    “It’s in here.” He tapped on the closet door next to my desk.
    What could he have gotten me, and how did he get it into my closet? Curiosity nagged me. I pulled the closet door open. Inside, a white garment bag hung, wrapped in clear plastic.
    “What is that?”
    He stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and elbowed me. “Check it out.”
    Hesitating because of his mischievous smile, I reached for the garment bag. I laid it out on my bed and pulled the plastic away. Gavin hovered over me, watching what I was doing from over my shoulder. When I unzipped the garment bag, my hands flew to my mouth. The beautiful dark blue dress I’d tried on during my shopping trip with Naomi was inside,