Ahh. So it’s like that, is it? My new bestie has a thing for older men. Wonder what Daddy is going to think about that.
“Everything okay, Asher?”
“Uh, yeah. I mean...yes, of course it is. Sutton, this is Fate.”
“Nice to meet you,” he says, glancing at me briefly before eyeing the guys again. “And who are they?”
“They’re with me.”
“And what do you all want with Asher?” he asks, walking further into the boutique which is starting to feel a whole helluva lot smaller with all these huge men in here.
He places himself by her side, arms crossed and posture defensive.
Macklin, ever the peacekeeper, steps forward. “We came here to talk to Asher. We need her help with…” He trails off as Asher vehemently shakes her head. When Sutton glances her way, she looks around the room like she wasn’t just doing a bobblehead impression. “With...uh...a situation we have.”
“Sutton, I’m fine, really,” she assures, placing her hand on his arm. “I need to talk with these guys, and it’s going to take us a bit. Why don’t I give you a call later?”
His eyes drop to the contact, and I get a rush of desire so strong, I suck in a breath. Knox looks at me, his eyebrow raised, and I shake my head slightly, telling him I’m fine. Hot damn, that’s some intense chemistry right there. Oh, do I get to play matchmaker? Please say yes!
He turns, assessing all of us once more before he reluctantly nods. “You need anything, you call, you hear?”
“Of course.”
He walks out slowly, eyeing each of the guys on the way. Opening the door, he takes one last glance at Asher over his shoulder before he’s gone.
“Oh god. That was close. He’s too damn observant.” Her hand comes up, rubbing her brow.
“He’s totally got the hots for you,” I say with a grin.
Her head whips my way. “He does not!”
“Oh, he so does!”
A blush creeps across her cheeks and down her neck as she bites her bottom lip. “I couldn’t...he doesn’t…” Releasing a heavy sigh, her desperation hits me with the force of a wrecking ball, her loneliness gutting me. She takes a deep breath and straightens her shoulders. “We can talk about my love life, or lack-thereof, later. You said you need my help, though I’m not sure what I could possibly do for all of you.”
“We have a slight problem with our souls, and your dad said you’re the only one that can help,” Cole explains, his deep voice eliciting a stirring in my girly bits. Dammit. Not the time, Fate. Not the time.
Her hands come up to smooth her ponytail, her nerves skyrocketing. “Your souls? How on earth can I help with your souls?”
My eyes catch on the sparkling gem on her right hand, and for the first time in almost a week, I let my hope soar. Our eyes meet, and I point to her hand. “With that ring on your finger.”
Asher’s tiny apartment above the shop is pretty much what I expected. Lots of pinks and reds, hearts scattered throughout the place, tons of frills and lace, sparkly pillows, and loads of glitter. Oh god, the glitter. If I’m being honest, it kind of looks like Cupid came in and threw up everywhere. But hey, if the daughter of Death, successor to the Grim Reaper himself, wants to live in Barbie's Dreamhouse, who am I to judge?
“It’s so soft and squishy,” I say, grabbing a giant crocheted heart pillow and rubbing my cheek on it.
“I have something soft and squishy you can rub your face on, woman.”
My eyes dart to Thad, my brow raising. “Pretty sure it wouldn’t be soft or squishy for long.”
The guys all snicker.
“Oh, but that gives me an idea!”
“Oh great, here we go,” Cole mutters under his breath.
“I heard that, but I’ll ignore your snark because you’re under heavy stress at the moment. Asher, where did you get this?”
“Oh, I made it to sell in my shop. Crocheting relaxes me.”
“Do you think you could crochet a dick?”
A thoughtful look crosses her face before she cocks her head to the side, which gives me another idea. Cock.
“We can call them Cuddle Cocks!”
“Oh my god. That’s hilarious! Yes, I can totally do that. And I’ll make a tag that says ‘Inspired by Fate.’”
“Yes!”
“Can we focus here?” Cole gripes from the floor.
“You should be thankful I love you because sometimes you make me feel a little stabby.”
His lips tilt on one side, giving me a hint of smile that is rare for him. “Murderous looks good on you, love.”
Asher laughs. “Y’all are seriously entertaining to watch. You need your own reality show.”
My eyes get as round as saucers as another idea strikes me, but before I can explain it, Knox cuts me off. “Little ghost, hold that thought until after we fix ourselves and can get up off the floor, yeah?”
“None of you appreciate my genius.”
“We appreciate you, echo, but we’d appreciate being able to get off the ground too.”
“Fine. Okay. Where do we begin?”
The furniture has all been pushed to the outer edge of the room. The Fearsome Five are laid out in the center, shoulder to shoulder, on the cream carpet, making the room feel smaller than it already is. Asher circles around them, worrying her lip with her teeth and twisting the ring around and around her finger. She walks up next to me, and I can feel the uncertainty and the concern now radiating off her.
“I only know what I’m doing in theory,” she says quietly, leaning in so only I can hear her. “My mom gave me a brief rundown on how to work the ring, along with a stack of books she said would help me if I ever wanted to learn more about my powers, but that was years ago. What if something goes wrong? It’s not like I’ve had much opportunity for practice around here. I tried to mix a smidge of my power in one of my lotions once. Let’s just say I won’t be doing that again. Poor Gus was nearly catatonic for an hour!”
“I can always call your dad. It won’t take him any time at all to get here, and he can walk us through this.” That was apparently the wrong thing to say since her anxiety damn near shoots through the roof and her eyes go black with a hint of purple around the rim. Just like Nate’s, only slightly less terrifying. “Or not...”
Darting a quick look at the guys, then up at the ceiling, her eyes land back on me. With a deep breath, she exhales. “I’ve got this. I think.” She mutters that last part as she walks back toward the guys, but I still catch it.
“Why are we on the floor again?” Thad asks as he lifts his arm to push his hair out of his face and almost hits Mack in the chin.
“Watch it!” Mack cries, elbowing him. “She’s going to be messing with our souls. Would you rather lie comfortably on the ground to start with or let your giant body crash in a heap on the floor if things get a little out of control?”
Thad nods. “Point taken.”
“Do we need to remove our necklaces?” Knox asks.
Asher looks at me, and I shrug. “They’re some sort of power nullifier. Without them, all hell will break loose. I would suggest hiding your food and beverages. Especially any wine you may have. Actually, you can just hand any bottles over to me now, and I’ll take care of them for you.”