Adrian didn't realize just how much of the world he'd missed out on. Death was the equalizer of human kind. No one escaped it. All destinies led down the same road, all merging with death. When Adrian removed souls from bodies, he never questioned their humanity. He'd seen horrible ways that people die, whether self inflicted, murder, disease, accidental, or old age. 

        When he'd first received the gift of the Reaper, he'd been afraid. He knew his duties but could not complete them. Adrian believed that children shouldn't die. He believed that war was a waste of precious life. He believed that men could be wicked monsters when left to the whims of their ego. But it didn't matter what he believed. He had duty and he was bound by a most viscous and all encompassing power. 

        His frustration led him to bury his feelings. Other Reapers did the same. You could not possess compassion and be capable of stealing a child from his mother. After many years, Adrian managed to feel almost nothing at all. 

        Until Geneva. 

        He was avoiding her now. She was so angry at him for spying that he'd been ashamed of himself. Even at the turn of the century, spying a woman was frowned upon. She called him a stalker and he felt very much like one. His obsession with her was dangerous. Not that he was dangerous. Too much time with Geneva was dangerous. He was falling behind on his work. 

        To make matters worse, Brian Ruiz was befriending him in a most persistent manner. They'd talked at the bar that first night, exchanging superficial conversation. The topics were so light and airy that Adrian didn't see the harm in returning for more. It was companionable. Adrian blamed the Cupid. She'd reminded him of all the feelings he'd locked up. The most poignant of these hidden emotions was loneliness. The bartender was adept at amicability. 

        Before he knew it, Adrian was ensnared in a friendship with the man. They spent a lot of time in bars. Brian was teaching him how to be an effective wingman and Adrian could not quite conceive of why Brian would need such support. He was clearly a good looking man. Tan and tall with broad shoulders and clearly defined muscles. The stature of a laborer. 

        Adrian was suspicious that these trips were for his benefit. More often than not, Adrian found himself declining the drunken affections of women while Brian looked on with amusement. 

        "I'm just trying to help you get over Gen," Brian said with a charming if somewhat distant smile. 

        "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Adrian replied before he took a half-hearted gulp of his beer. 

        "Listen, I know what a guy looks like when he's been dumped. And you, Adrian, have been capital D, dumped. It's okay, man. I get it. Gen was a heartbreaker and a half."

        "She was more than that. She was..." Adrian paused. He didn't know how to find the right words. There were too many jumbled feelings that welled up when he thought of her. It'd been too long since he could last separate and analyze them but Brian was ever patient.

        "She was?" He prompted very gently, very quietly as if her was afraid Adrian would close off again.

        "She is always on my mind. She drives me crazy! I can't touch her, but she can do as she wishes with me. I hardly know her and I worship the ground she walks on. I am enslaved by her smile!" It came out in a rush of unabashed exclamation. The other patrons turned to give him a strange look. Only Brian seemed to understand. He nodded solemnly as if he too felt these things.

        "I've been taking you to the wrong bar. I think I know exactly what you need. Ever been to the Ball and Chain?" Brian asked with a wicked glint in his eyes.

_______________________

        Lizzy was spending too much time alone. The only time she seemed even a little bit interested was when Geneva talked about kinky sex. She'd only teased her friend about becoming a dominatrix but Lizzy seemed almost invested in that fantasy. 

        "I'm telling you, Genny, you'd look hot in black leather. You've got nice boobs," Lizzy said as she scooped a heaving spoonful of triple chocolate fudge ice cream into her mouth. They indulged after particularly grueling physical therapy sessions.

        "I don't really like black. I prefer peach or cream...Or gray," she replied, her mind pictured Adrian's eyes. A deep dark gray, full of want.

        Geneva joked with Lizzy about BDSM to get some of her input. Lizzy was more experienced in that regard and she seemed to have a lot to say on the matter of being a good Mistress. But Geneva didn't want to be a good Mistress, just a distracting one.

        "Dark gray would look nice on you. I'll see what the Pro Shop has in stock. You might have to get a special order. Most people just wear black," Lizzy said as she reached down to rub her left calf. Her face twisted with irritation and pain.

        "Do you want more of those painkillers?" Geneva asked as she slid off the kitchen stool.

        "No. No, I hate those things. They make me so groggy." It'd been a few months since the accident but Lizzy was still struggling. Her leg had been broken in two different spots. Her shin was her main issue. The bone had torn through ligaments, through muscle. The scar was ugly and pink. Each step was a struggle. There was talk of the pain being consistent, a daily part of her life. The calf muscle was most likely unsalvageable. 

        "Do you want me to make an appointment with Dr. Reese? He wanted to check up on your status anyway," Geneva asked very carefully. She knew the intimate details of Lizzy's injuries. She knew that Lizzy might not be able to walk unassisted again. 

        "Hey, you know what you'd look really hot in? Skin tight latex. They make those in all sorts of colors," Lizzy said while hogging the ice cream. 

        Geneva didn't push her. She'd yet to call her brother to inform him of her injuries. Geneva was more than happy to help Lizzy for the rest of their lives, but she wondered if her brother might be able to provide better care. Or be close enough not to allow the current descent Lizzy was taking. Her friend was almost always cringing in pain but too afraid to enter that hospital again. 

        "There are a lot of guys out there who would love to get dommed by a black girl," Lizzy said with an arched brow. "You could quit your job at the paper and make three times as much working only two days a week," she added.

        "If it's so lucrative, why didn't you quit that other job?" Geneva asked.

        "I really liked Bilbo. I miss him so much. I don't think my boss walks him half as much as I do," Lizzy sighed and toyed with her partially melted ice cream.

        "I'll get you a puppy." Geneva suggested casually.

        "Don't even joke about that, Genny. I can barely walk myself, how can I walk a dog?" Lizzy spoke with such derision that Geneva was caught off guard. Never had she heard her friend so bitter, it almost didn't even sound like her voice.

        "Tell me more about latex. Is it like wearing a giant condom?" Now it was Geneva's turn to change the subject. 

        Lizzy paused a moment and stared at Geneva then she erupted with laughter.

        "You're so cute, Genny. Of course it's not like wearing a giant condom! It's a bit more substantial than that. I have a pair of evening length black latex gloves, I'll get it for you," Lizzy said.

        Lizzy grabbed her crutches and swiftly worked her way through her apartment and disappeared into her room. When she returned, she held two very shiny pairs of gloves and a container of baby powder. They worked together, both of them laughing and coughing from too much powder, to slide the gloves up Geneva's arms. 

        "See? You look hot," Lizzy claimed. 

        The latex felt very interesting. When she ran her fingers over her arms, they slid so smoothly that Geneva thought the latex was oiled. The black material caught the light on it's polished surface and shined almost like metal. Her fingers looked long and elegant and her arms looked graceful and hypnotic. 

        What would Adrian do if she reached for him with something like this? Geneva thought before pushing him from her mind. She was suppose to be mad at him. He was a total creepy stalker and she was not going to forgive him for it. 

        "Hey, can I borrow these?" Geneva asked suddenly. Lizzy laughed again. 

        "You can have them. They're too big for my hands anyway. They fit you perfectly," Lizzy praised again then arched a brow and leaned forward. "What are you going to use them for?"

        "I have this guy who was being a total creep. So I thought I'd teach him a lesson," Geneva said in her darkest voice. She had no knack for harshness. She sounded silly and contrived when she spoke of revenge.

        "I knew there was a reason we were friends," Lizzy said with good humor. She knew that Geneva sounded unconvincing but there was no need to point it out.

______________________

                        Dear Reaper,

                        Come see me. You know where I live.

                        Love, Cupid

        Adrian read the letter a hundred times and drew his fingers over her cute curly cursive. He felt shame and excitement. Beneath all those contrary thoughts, he felt the undercurrent of wariness. What he was doing was wrong. He shouldn't have allowed her to bargain with him. And he most assuredly should waltz into the lion's den.

        But she'd called him and Adrian knew he could not resist her.


______________________

Author's Note: 

So last week's chapter was a scorcher, huh? This week is tame but some very important things have happened. Brian and Adrian are friends. How is that going to change the dynamic between Adrian and Geneva? And Lizzy is sporting some permanent damage! How will she cope? 

Find out on the next episode of All My Kinksters. Okay, I'm clearly exhausted. Going to join my sweetie in bed. I have mountains of work tomorrow. 

See you next Wednesday!