“Wait, you aren’t wearing anything under there?” Fate asks, her eyes dipping to the hem of my mini dress.
“Babe, we don’t own any underwear,” Levi states.
She licks her lips, and we groan in unison. “Guess that answers that question. No matching boxers or boxer briefs for you guys.”
“Babe, you’ve already seen us without our clothes on.”
“But I was too distracted by...well...you,” she says, waving her hand up and down. “I wasn’t paying attention to the underwear situation.”
“Alright, fuckers. Enough.” Cole takes a deep breath, releasing it as he studies her. “Let’s have Fate show us what she found. There have been secrets on both sides, but maybe from this point on we can all try to be a little more honest with each other.” Cole heads toward the door, and a guilty look crosses her face, but she quickly masks it before she turns and heads down the hallway. The rest of us follow in her wake, Levi trailing behind until he gives up, kicking off his heels.
Yup. Totally the better twin.
When I turn back to the hall, I hear Fate begin to explain her first encounter with Nick, and my blood boils at the thought of her being here alone with a strange spirit. Makes me want to bend her over my knee and maybe knock some sense into our headstrong woman. We may need to learn to trust her, but she needs to learn to trust us too.
Walking into the office, she heads over to the bookshelf and places her finger inside a little dish. When she jumps slightly, I almost can’t stop myself from rushing over to make sure she’s okay, but she just scowls as she places her finger in her mouth.
My dick, having ignored my quick bout of panic, immediately focuses on her mouth sucking on said finger and sends a signal to my brain that says that warm wetness should be wrapped around it instead.
Down, bro.
No. Dick wants mouth.
Soon.
Now!
Good god. Now I’m having arguments with my own dick. The woman really is a drug, and I’m apparently going through withdrawal.
A soft click echoes through the room, and Cole walks over, pulling open a hidden door in the bookcase. The rest of us follow as he walks into the small space that looks like something straight out of some old movie with witches and magic.
“What the fuck is all this?” Knox asks as he leans over the desk, shuffling through old papers.
“Apparently, it's a room I use to store my very own magical trinkets,” Fate says from the doorway, watching all of us as we look around, our eyes landing on the hundreds of drawers built into the wall.
“What’s all in here?” Macklin asks, his fingers skimming across row after row of drawers of all sizes. Dude’s probably ready to cream his pants with all of the possibilities hidden within those tiny wooden boxes.
“I don’t know,” Fate says, walking up to the shelves and scanning for the one Reggie pointed her to. “It’s not like I can prick my finger hundreds of times to search them all. Fucking bloodthirsty bitch,” she mutters softly to herself. “And the Gateway isn’t exactly forthcoming with information. I’m not sure it fully trusts me quite yet.”
When she finds drawer V, her finger lifts the small loop, and she flinches again as she’s once again poked. Before she can move, I walk over to her, lifting her finger and placing it in my own mouth. The coppery tang of blood hits my tongue, and her pupils dilate as her tongue peeks out to lick her pouty lower lip before dragging it between her teeth.
I groan, the sound echoing in the small room. Leaning forward, I wrap my arm around her back, pulling her into me while my lips caress her ear as I whisper, “Don’t think I won’t take you right here up against the wall, woman.”
Her quick intake of breath has my dick rock hard, but my twin has to ruin the moment, hitting my shoulder to effectively knock me away from Fate.
“What the fuck, bro?” I growl, glaring at him.
“Keep your dick in your skirt a little longer, dipshit. Fate needs to help Knox first.”
Sobering, I glance toward Fate who has a guilty flush spreading across her cheeks.
“Right, let me see what’s inside,” she says, turning away from me and pulling open the drawer.
Her delicate hand reaches in and pulls out a small velvet bag. She lifts out a silver chain with a black crystal at the end.
“So, do I just put it on him?” she asks the room.
We all wait in silence as she has a one-sided conversation with the Gateway. She nods then walks up to Knox, lifting the chain over his head as he bends down, making it easier for her to reach. It settles around his neck, and he straightens, his hand coming up and his fingers wrapping around the pendant.
“Whoa!” he says, his eyes going wide.
“What is it?” Cole asks. “How do you feel?”
“I feel...nothing. No emotions. No auras. It’s like...this vast emptiness.” His brow furrows as he studies the black crystal.
“That’s a good thing, right?” I ask.
“Yes?” he quietly answers, but it sounds more like a question.
“Knox, why don’t you try to project an emotion?” Fate suggests, walking over and tentatively laying a hand on his shoulder.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. We all hold our breath, waiting to see what happens.
“Did it work?” Fate asks. “No one’s feeling any crazy surge of anger or sadness or anything, right?”
We all answer in the negative. Knox’s shoulders relax even though he still has a worried look on his face.
“Anyone else need one? There are more in here.”
“Grab another one and let’s keep it with us, just in case anything else happens,” Macklin suggests.
“Good idea.” Cole walks to the door. “Now it’s time to get Reggie back here and get that address so we can go pay a visit to our old friend, Death.”
The craftsman I’m staring at is way too fucking cheery to belong to Death. It’s white, with a porch that spans the whole front of the house and two rocking chairs in the corner, along with an honest to fucking god porch swing. The bushes lining the front are neatly trimmed with budding flowers littering the space between them. And then there’s the picket fence. I think Reggie punked us.
“Anyone else feel like we just walked into Mayberry?” Fate asks softly, her eyes taking in the house then glancing up and down the street.
“Maybe Reggie gave us the wrong address?” Levi asks, walking up and grabbing Fate’s hand. She smiles up at him, and for a split second my gut twinges. Once again, we’re at odds, and while it’s not totally my fault, I feel guilty. Maybe Knox is right. Maybe we did push her into keeping things from us, simply by keeping things from her. Fucking empath is always right!
“Are we just going to stand here staring at it, or are we going to see if he can help?” Knox asks, fidgeting with the crystal around his neck.
“Let’s go,” I say, leading the way up the sidewalk. The stairs don’t even so much as creak under our feet, and that’s saying something considering how damn big the twins are. Fate walks up next to me, still holding onto Levi’s hand, a box of donuts in the other. Mack is on my other side, and Knox and Thad bring up the rear.
Glancing down, I catch Fate worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as I reach forward to ring the doorbell. It chimes as I step back, shifting my body slightly so I can face the woman who’s always the focus of my attention. Lifting my hand, I run my thumb along the plump pink skin, pulling it to safety. Her eyes meet mine, and I’m lost. This woman owns my soul even though I struggle to show it.