Free The Company of Darkness by Lisa Olsen

we broke the couch in,” she said.
    “And the kitchen counter.”   The reaper, Ash was sure of it. 
    “Imagine how great it’ll be when we finally make it to the bed,” she chuckled and suddenly Ash understood the connotation of the words.  She had filled the reaper’s senses with a physical expression of love, and some of that love extended to Ash.  It had to, otherwise – how would he have felt it while the others slumbered on?
    “It doesn’t matter where we are as long as we’re together.” 
    “I take it back, there’s definitely nothing wrong with your social skills.” 
    “There are some things you don’t forget.” 
    The light banter between them made him ache to be heard, but Asherik had no voice.  No matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn’t make himself heard.  He focused again and again, but couldn’t so much as move a single muscle of the body he was trapped in.   
    “Again?  Already?”
    “Just give me twenty seconds to go find another condom and we’ll test the bed out.”
    White hot rage consumed Asherik as he understood she was about to give herself to the reaper again.  In that instant he lost all contact, the voices fading, the nothingness returning with an emptiness that threatened to swallow him whole.  I’m sorry, come back! Ash tried to say, but she was gone, leaving him with nothing but a hollow ache to keep him company. 
    I’ll be good, I promise, Ash screamed into the void, but he had no voice.  I only want to love you… 
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    “Ugh, it’s so boring, come down and keep me company,” Kelli complained, and Cady’s gaze flicked to the clock on the wall. 
    “It’s supposed to be boring, it’s three o’clock.  Normal people do not hang out in bars at three in the afternoon.”
    “They do if they’re super cool and want to keep my brains from leaking out my ears from boredom.”  Kelli’s job at La Colmena had only lasted a week, the be your own boss stint selling knives had been a total bust, and now she’d found a job tending bar at D’Bar.
    “Kelli, I can’t come down there, I’m at work.”
    “So?  Blow it off early, tell your boss you have cramps or something.”
    Cady looked up at the closed door to her boss’ office, glad no one was around to see her taking the personal call on her cell.  “I can’t.  This isn’t Spanky’s, this is a real job.  I’m pretty sure I’m expected to be able to answer the phone if I have cramps.”
    “Oh, come on, I’ll give you two free drinks for every one you buy.”
    “You want me to entertain you by drooling on the bar?  That’s how I’ll end up if I drink that much.”
    “Please!  I’m so bored I’m starting to organize the booze by flavor.”
    There were definite perks to having a friend who worked in a bar, but even the lure of free drinks wasn’t enough to send Cady into amateur theatrics in order to leave work early.  “Why don’t you call Penny?”  Not that she didn’t have a real job too, but anything that deflected Kelli’s attention had to be a good thing.
    “She already shot me down, she has to go to some dumb wedding thing tonight.”
    “Oh, I see how it is.  You’re giving me the guilt trip when I wasn’t even your first choice?  Nice.”
    “Only because I knew you’d say no.  You know you’re my girl.  You’re way more fun to hang out with anyway.”
    “I’m going to tell her you said that.”
    “No you won’t, because you wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings,” Kelli retorted, and Cady had to acknowledge that was probably true. 
    “Look, I’ll stop by after work.  Will that make you happy?”  From the sound of Ethan’s earlier texts, he wouldn’t be free to meet up with her tonight anyway.
    “Great, what am I supposed to do for the next two hours?”
    It was like having to remote babysit and she wasn’t even getting paid.  “Um, your job?  What are you supposed to be doing in your down time?”
    “I don’t