Yours for Eternity

By Devon Cross

It took Aiden an entire semester to ask Brandon out to the Winter Formal and a split second for a drunk driver to pull them apart. Now, three years after arriving in Limbo, he's one of the top reapers—case workers for the dead—helping the recently deceased come to terms with their death before moving on to whatever awaits them in the afterlife.

Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have a choice. Caught in a dead end job and a waiting room that never ends, Aiden's had enough.

Until Brandon steps back into his life.

Becoming Brandon's reaper is the second chance Aiden's been waiting for, but as things heat up between them, being stuck in Limbo isn't the problem.

Can he confess his love for Brandon before it's too late, or will his friend move on without him?

Yours for Eternity is a steamy friends-to-lovers gay bisexual romance of approximately 34,000 words, with an HEA and no cliffhangers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Devon Cross
• Release date: Aug 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386005056

Book preview

Prologue

The only time Brandon ever kissed me was when he tried giving me mouth-to-mouth. I say tried because, honestly, he wasn’t very good at it. Even as he slammed his fist onto my chest, my life slipped past his lips into the fading light.

I stood there for a long moment, looking between his body and the semi that had carelessly run us off the road. The driver of the truck was unresponsive, possibly because he’d fallen asleep at the wheel. The dude didn’t even try to slow down.

As for me, I knew better than to drive in the freezing rain, but after hounding Brandon for weeks to go out with me, I was afraid he’d change his mind. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Shards of glass lay across the pavement, shining like stars as they reflected the truck’s high beams. I focused on them, on the way the rain bounced off their flat surfaces—anything to keep my mind off Brandon and how hard he tried to keep me alive.

It was no use of course. I knew this and as Brandon rocked back on his heels, he knew it as well. I couldn’t see his face, but the way he held himself—crouching with his elbows propped on his knees—I knew he was about to go down.

He looked in my direction, staring right through me as his brow knitted above his eyes. I swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to look away from the pain etched on his face. I didn’t move. As the world shattered around him, Brandon fell to his knees.

I reached out to touch him, but my hand never made contact. My body was broken in at least three places. The driver’s side of the car was unrecognizable. But it didn’t matter.

Avoiding my own eyes which stared into the night, I looked at Brandon. At his mop of curls, now plastered against his forehead. At a gash on the left side of his face and the sizable tear in his denim jacket, stained with blood.

I focused on him and let everything else file to the back of my mind. The skin under his fingernails was blue. His teeth chattered. Even as the sobs he’d been holding back finally came, I didn’t look away.

I would’ve stayed with him until the paramedics arrived. I would’ve stayed with him as they drove to the hospital. I would’ve stayed forever, but something pulled me away.

As though I’d dreamed the entire thing, the images got smaller. The sounds grew distant and, soon, I woke up in my own bed.

Chapter One

Aiden M. Scott

Loving son and friend.

1983–2001

I ran my hand across the headstone that was supposedly mine. Hell, I wasn’t even sure why I was here. I’d been dead in the ground for over three years, and I still came back to look at it as though it could shed some light on why I remained—stuck in Limbo.

I’d tried everything. Confessing my sins. Telling my reaper all my secrets, but for whatever reason, a door never opened for me.

And now, as a caseworker for the dead, it was my job to help drifters—better known as the recently deceased—to move on. With every door that opened, mine drew further and further away.

Three years is a lifetime in Limbo. The friendships you make are short-lived. You end up saying goodbye more often than not, and there’s not a whole lot to do. That’s why I work. I could’ve traveled. Gone sight-seeing.

Instead, I kept my emotions in check as just about everyone around me fell apart, let go, and moved on.

Sighing, I stood and dusted my hands off on my pants. Why I kept coming here was anyone’s guess. If I was lucky, I’d get to work with a new client today. It’d been weeks since Miles handed me a new assignment, and I was itching for a distraction.

Anything was better than looking back at my pathetic life—cut short by a drunk who just had to get behind the wheel instead of sleeping it off.

Unfortunately, for us reapers—Miles included—the pickings had been rather slim. People just don’t die like they used to.

It should’ve been a happy thought, to realize folks were living longer and being more cautious than when I’d first arrived. But with the population in Limbo decreasing, it wasn’t just the lack of clients that bothered me—it was the whole damned town.

I needed something to do. Anything. Hell, I’d even settle for a brief stint with a coma patient if it meant taking my mind off what was or wasn’t happening in my personal afterlife.

And so, after offering my resting place a final glance, I turned on my heels and headed for the café. Even at close to nine in the morning, the sidewalks were bustling with the current residents of Limbo.

Missy at the flower shop turned the sign on her door to OPEN as I walked past. Trevor, who delivered the papers, made his way up the other side of the street. I smiled when I passed Mr. and Mrs. Dyer on one of the benches just outside the café.

Aside from the residents being a little older, everything in Limbo was the same. Shadows of what once existed in our own lives: places to work, large office buildings, and the climate changed depending on the time of year. In fact, one of the office buildings that had been used in my past life by the district attorney was also where I worked now.

It was the same, but different.

Taking a breath, I ducked into the café. The bell on the door jingled as I stepped underneath. I hated coming here for new assignments, but it worked because it was neutral territory. It also gave reapers a front-row seat when it came to seeing the new arrivals as they found their way into Limbo.

I nodded to the baristas behind the counter and sat at a vacant booth, not entirely surprised when one of them came over to offer me a cup of coffee. I was about to place an order when the hint of movement caught my eye. My heart stopped, and I was ninety-nine percent sure I’d seen the whole thing.

Brandon. His hair may have been longer, but I’d know that gait anywhere.

He had the same look most newcomers do—lost. Confusion scarred his face as he ambled by the coffee shop. To him, the town may have looked the same. As though nothing had changed. No doubt he still lived in his folks’ apartment on the other side of town and excused the absence of his neighbors with work or some other daily activity.

It has to be a mistake. There was no way he’d had his life ripped away from him the same way it had happened to me. Then again, I hadn’t checked the papers yet this morning.

I craned my neck to see as far outside the window as I could, but Brandon was already gone.

Seeing him after so long was a kick in the nuts. I wondered then if he remembered me. If he’d looked back on that night or forgot it completely. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did, but still...

I had to meet him before he finished his stay in Limbo. Or you could work with him.

My gut twisted. Miles would never allow it. Working with someone we knew wasn’t the norm. Things got personal way too fast and, more often than not, hindered the client from moving on.

And that was the point—to help them get over whatever held them back without getting in the way. Meeting with Brandon again, even without being his reaper, would put me in the way of progress. His chance—his only chance—to ascend. I couldn’t take that away from him, no matter how much I missed him or how badly I wanted a second chance at our first kiss.

Still, my thoughts lingered there a moment. Just because it wasn’t the norm, that didn’t mean it was prohibited. You could always ask. I’d never requested a client before, so maybe...

Gathering my nerves, I drew a slip of paper from my back pocket, jotted down a few words, then set it along the edge of my table.

The barista came by and offered to top off my coffee, per our usual cover, then took the paper away. Hugging the mug with my hands, I stared at the dark liquid, looking away before I could meet my own reflection. The shop was rather quiet, and aside from myself, there were only a handful of other reapers waiting for new assignments.

I jumped when Miles appeared beside me. You have got to stop doing that. You’re going to give me a heart attack.

Miles gave me a pointed look. Only if you weren’t already dead. You wanted to talk? Down to business, as always.

I swallowed and casually met his gaze. I did, sir.

Out with it, then.

I glanced out the window, but I knew better than to search for Brandon. No doubt he’d already rounded the corner and was halfway home by now. Brandon Jamison. I’d like to work with him.

Miles cocked an eyebrow at me. "As in the Brandon? When I didn’t reply, he continued. Don’t give me that look. I know all there is to know about my reapers. Isn’t it a bit early to be asking for personal favors?"

I averted my gaze and played with the corner of a napkin until it tore. Made eye contact again. I’ve never requested a client since you hired me, sir.

He nodded. This is true, but there is a reason most reapers work with those they don’t know. Things can get messy, Aiden. If I allow this, do you think you can take on Brandon’s case and keep things professional?

My heart skipped a beat, and it wasn’t just because of the way Miles had asked, either. If there was one thing you couldn’t keep from him, it was the past. He had files for everyone here, including the other reapers.

Aiden? Miles lowered his voice. "Can you keep