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“DON’T YOU KNOW? EVERYONE WHO HAS SEX WITH HIM DIES.”
It was the kind of absurd gossip that most would laugh at—but for Aries Ambrosius, the rumor couldn’t have hit closer to home.
Every man Aries had ever taken to bed died.
Sometimes the next day; sometimes a month or two later—but the Grim Reaper paid each of them a visit no later than three month’s time.
At first, he assumed it was just a morbid coincidence, but the funeral invitations kept coming. Every single time Aries opened his heart, death took another horrifying swing at it. Eventually, others took notice—and so began Aries’ plunge to the bottom of the social hierarchy, courtesy of the town’s unforgiving rumor mill.
Even though he spent most of his time cooped up in his home writing novels, the way others avoided him whenever he stepped outside made Aries feel like a carrier of an infectious disease.
“Seriously?” The hunk with gorgeous blue eyes and striking blond highlights glanced back over at Aries and frowned as he took another sip of his drink. Until two seconds ago, he’d practically been begging Aries to go home with him for the night... Now, he scooted his barstool away and avoided eye contact.
After Aries had made a conscious decision to ignore the guy’s SaltLife board shorts and matching shirt, he was offended by the stranger’s sudden repulsion.
“Seriously. One of my exes died the night he went home with him,” affirmed the source of gossip—a lithe man with curly brown hair and dark, slitted, snake-like eyes. “I’d watch your dick around him if I were you. He’s got the face of an angel, but don’t let it fool you.”
To Aries, nothing was slimier than gossip. It had the power to destroy lives—and although he had avoided a complete catastrophe by working under a private pen name, Aries knew firsthand the damage rumors caused.
He had a list of estranged friends and a slew of enemies—all because of something beyond his control. Others believed the rumors blindly; and even those who supported him held a level of skepticism about the matter, far from neutral.
No one bothered to ask Aries what he thought about it. For reasons beyond everyone’s understanding, Aries’ one-night stands kept dropping like flies. Soon, they associated his presence with death and avoided him as much as possible.
The only person who had stuck by his side owned the very bar he sat in that evening. Aries’ chances of making another friend dissipated in the snap of a finger, the blink of an eye, a span of mere seconds.
Aries felt deflated.
Snake Man sat back with a satisfied smile, watching with pleasure as the Blue-Eyed-Hunk recoiled at his words. Just like that, someone Aries had just met was turned against him. Just like always, no one asked him about the rumors—not even the Blue-Eyed-Hunk.
The benefit of the doubt did not exist for Aries when it came to the others in town. As a result, his life had transformed from one of a social butterfly to a recluse. His isolation only worsened because of people like them.
The thought turned Aries’ stomach.
“I guess it’s your lucky day, then,” Aries told them with a small grin, raising his shot of whiskey up into the air. “I’m just here to support my friend’s bar. Besides, I have a No-Fuck policy when it comes to ugly souls.”
The handsome hunk’s nostrils flared. “What did you just say?”
And here I was just trying to enjoy my drink alone... What a buzz-kill.
At the far end of the bar, Aries noticed his friend who owned the establishment moving towards them but waved him off.
He could handle the situation without Raegan Reeves intervening again.
Aries downed the rest of his shot in one gulp. “Get out of my face.”
“Or what?” Snake Man asked, smirking. “You’ll have your friend kick us out?”
Aries stared at him. “Maybe I will.”
The lithe gossiper clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. His face said it all. “See? I told you. This one’s a devil in disguise.”
“You’re right,” the stranger agreed, “and I have a feeling he’s going to spend the rest of his life alone.”
That last bit stung and played heavily on Aries’ insecurities, but he took it like a champion.
Ever since the strange happenings around his love-life caught notice of the small town he lived in, Aries wondered if he’d ever find true love, or die a lonely man surrounded by stacks of his novels.
As a romance author, the irony of such a death would be hilarious to him if it wasn’t so sad.
He’d considered moving to get away from assholes like them, but the articles detailing the rumors would haunt him wherever he went. Running was futile.
Still, that didn’t mean he would let two strangers in a bar humiliate him. Not when he’d been minding his own business.
Aries had no interest in screwing anyone else to death—let alone entertaining them any longer. But before he could respond, an unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind them.
“Seems to me like the bullies picking on a stranger at a bar would have higher chances of dying alone than their poor target. What do you think, Brava?”
Startled, Aries turned toward the unknown voice. What he saw made his heart skip.
Four men stood behind the three bar stools occupied by Aries and the two hecklers. The one who’d spoken watched him with interest. The man’s bright green eyes and chestnut curls drew the tipsy author in. Then he noticed the glowing halo hovering above his head and mindlessly rubbed his eyes. Doing so didn’t make the halo go away, though.
For a long moment, the alluring man held Aries’ gaze. Studying him. A shiver crawled up Aries’ spine as goosebumps blistered along his arms.
He could stare into those beautiful eyes forever, but...
Aries’ eyes drifted back up to the halo.
I must be drunker than I realized... he thought.
“Picking on a man enjoying a drink doesn’t seem very buddy-like to me,” the one named Brava answered with a bite of honesty.
Aries turned his attention to him and almost fell off his stool when he noticed the man’s cool, amber eyes, abnormal pointy ears and demonic horns poking from his temples—like realistic Halloween makeup, complete with props. Yet Halloween was nowhere in sight, and the bar wasn’t hosting a costume party that night.
How strange.
Brava’s eyes shimmered in the light as their gaze met.
Aries felt butterflies flutter in his stomach.
“What do you think, Shen?” the green-eyed stranger asked a man to his left.
Shen stared at Aries like a predator analyzing its prey. The sun-kissed man shrugged his shoulders. The silent type, Aries realized. Yet while his sharp face remained stoic, his dark eyes spoke volumes. He cast a threatening gaze toward Snake Man and the Blue-Eyed-Hunk and crossed his arms over his chest.
The gesture drew Aries’ attention to Shen’s well-defined body. Only someone who had spent years honing their strength could have developed muscles like that—and Shen had muscles for days.
Beside him, the Blue-Eyed-Hunk slipped off his barstool and puffed out his chest. Like a small dog threatening one three times its size, he alone was oblivious to the clear mismatch of power.
But much like little dogs—that didn’t stop him.
“Do you wanna go?”
“Go?” Brava quirked an eyebrow and glanced back towards the entrance. “But we just got here.”
“Are you fucking with me, man?”
Brava looked down at himself and then at his three companions. “No, sorry—I’m not an incubus.”
“Brava!” one of them snapped.
“Sorry,” he apologized. For what, Aries wasn’t sure.
The author cracked a smile and bit his lip to stifle it. He didn’t want to add fuel to the fire when his friend’s bar could pay the price.
“That’s not what he meant,” snapped the snake who’d metaphorically tossed Aries’ dirty laundry all over the bar.
The green-eyed stranger donning a halo slipped between Brava and offered the two men a wide smile. “Allow me to clarify. We do not want to go anywhere—and my friend does not want to have sexual relations with you.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You two need to go,” said the fourth man of the group suddenly, snapping Aries out of his daydreams about Shen’s alluring form.
He stepped closer to the bar stools and smiled at Aries. “Were you waiting for us long... Aries?”
Out of the four, this man stood out like a sore thumb.
His shoulder-length white hair and piercing silver eyes looked out of place compared to his athletic figure and olive skin.
Then Aries realized the man knew his name and his heart about stopped.
“You’re with him?” asked Snake Man incredulously.
The stranger with silver eyes turned his sights on him and put his hands on his hips. “Do you have a problem with that?”
The two heckling Aries gaped at the four men who’d come to his rescue. The expressions on their faces told Aries they’d finally realized the situation.
“Whatever. I’m out of here,” Snake Man hissed. Without another word to anyone, he left.
The Blue-Eyed-Hunk followed quietly after him.
Aries watched them go.
“What a bunch of losers,” Brava grumbled, his stare lingering on the door for a few moments longer.
“Are you all right?” the silver-eyed man asked, placing a gentle hand on the author’s shoulder. Upon touching Aries, the man stiffened, and he quickly withdrew his hand.
Aries nodded. “Thanks to you four. But... how did you know my name?”
“You’re quite the famous author, aren’t you?”
His observation wouldn’t have been odd at all—if Aries had ever shared his pen name before. That he hadn’t made the stranger’s question even more of a surprise.
“How do you know about that? What I do for a living isn’t public knowledge.”
“Is that so?”
“Not to mention—you four are dressed pretty strangely for this time of year. Pointy ears, horns, halos... It’s not Halloween.”
“You can see them?” the man blurted.
As if realizing he’d made a mistake, he gasped and clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Uh... yes?” Aries blinked at him, confused. Why wouldn’t he be able to see them?
The man’s eyes widened with surprise, and worry bloomed across his face. He glanced nervously at his three companions. Then his hand reached out for Aries once more.
He squeezed harder on Aries’ shoulder this time.
“That hurts,” Aries complained, but his grip didn’t loosen in the slightest.
As he watched, the man’s eyes flickered to a brilliant purple. A blink later, and the color was gone.
They shared a moment together, gazing into each other’s eyes. Then his hand dropped to his side, and a sad smile played across his full lips. “Forget all about us, Aries.” Then, to his companions, he snapped, “we need to go. Now.”
Brava opened his mouth to protest but decided against it. One by one, they headed for the entrance. Without even a backwards glance, the four left the bar, and a stumped Aries behind.
Watching them go filled Aries with a sadness and loneliness he couldn’t understand at that moment. Was he that desperate for company?
He swiveled back around to face the bar. Not long after the four strangers departed, Raegan sauntered over with a fresh drink in hand. He placed the shot in front of Aries and leaned against the bar. “Story time. Who were those delectable men that just left—and were any of ‘em single?”
“Rae...” Aries groaned with a roll of his eyes.
“Don’t ‘Rae’ me,” his friend quipped. “You might not want to take anyone to bed, but I’ve been dying for some action. Uh, no pun intended.”
Raegan was one of the finest men in town. He had a textbook attractive face, complete with a well-defined jawline, a gorgeous smile, and strong, warm eyes. The meaty forearms and abs of steel were just the icing on the cake.
To Aries, the genuine mystery was why a guy like Rae was still single.
“I didn’t find out,” Aries replied, accepting the drink.
Rae’s lips pursed into a pout. “What a shame. Ask for me if you see them again.”
Aries chuckled and downed his shot. He clapped the drink onto the counter and sighed. “I doubt I’ll see them again. You know what my lifestyle is like.”
His friend snickered. “Ah, yes—Mr. Never Leaves His House. Speaking of that, what brings you by the bar? Finish another manuscript?”
“You know me so well.”
“Then you’ll probably be disappearing into that vortex of a house again. I’ll bring you by some food and check up on you in a few days. You know, to make sure you’re alive,” Rae mused thoughtfully.
Aries rested his arms against the bar and smiled tipsily back at Rae. “What would I ever do without you and your bar?”
“Starve, maybe?” Rae teased.
“Probably.” Aries could hardly remember when the last time he used his own stove was. He’d grown so accustomed to getting his meals at the bar or having Rae bring by supplies that he rarely cooked for himself anymore.
“So I take it you’ll be having the usual tonight?”
Aries nodded.
“I’ll get your order ready. Be back in a bit.”
When Rae returned, he carried a plastic bag with the bar’s logo on it—a clam that looked like a burger. The pub was well-known for its surf and turf themed menu.
Inside, Aries found two boxes more than he ordered. Quirking an eyebrow, he glanced back at Rae’s grinning face. “I thought you said you were giving me the usual?”
“I said that—but then I got to thinking: you’re probably not eating your vegetables, right? And what kind of friend would I be if I let you die of malnutrition? So I threw in some healthier sides, dessert, and a leaner dinner for tomorrow. On the house, of course.”
“Oh, come on Rae! That’s no way for me to support your bar.” He dug for his wallet but his friend stopped him.
“Just take it, okay? If you have to, consider it a congratulatory gift.”
“For what?”
“For completing your novel and not dying while doing it?” Rae teased, grinning.
“If you say so. You know I can’t say no to you.” Aries slipped off his stool and rounded the bar. He threw his arms around Rae for a quick hug, then backed up and held his hands out for his friend’s gracious offering.
“I don’t think so,” Rae tsked and raised the bag of food above his head. “You’re too tipsy to walk yourself home. I’ll take you.”
“But it’s just down the street!”
Ignoring Aries’ protests, he turned back and called out to one of his employees who’d been assisting with the bar. “Biggs, watch over the place for me, will ya? I’m walking this one home.”
Biggs grinned at the two of them and gave a dopey wave. True to his name, Biggs was an absolute monster of a man. He towered over the bar with a cut figure that dared anyone to put it to the test. No one knew where the scars covering his arms came from—but before Rae gave him a job, according to him—Biggs lived on the street.
“You didn’t have to do this, you know. My place isn’t far from here,” Aries said outside.
“I know,” Rae told him, grinning.
“Then why not turn back—go watch over the bar?” Aries suggested. “I can handle a walk down the street.”
Rae turned his nose up and kept walking. “I’m escorting you home out of the kindness of my heart, all right? ‘Sides, people in this town have been dropping like flies. Doesn’t feel right letting you go off on your own with a killer on the loose.”
“A killer?” Aries shuddered at the thought.
“You haven’t heard about it?” Rae’s eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.
“I don’t have time for the news when I’m writing.”
“Right, right.” His friend whistled. “Figures.”
Aries walked along in silence. The idea that a killer was prowling the town unnerved him. His eyes swept from alleyway to alleyway. Every sound and shadow stood out to him as he strained his senses—searching for any sign of trouble.
“You ought to text me more often,” Rae said. “If you hadn’t showed up at the bar tonight, I would’ve stopped by after we closed.”
“Were you worried about me?” Aries teased.
“I was,” Rae admitted with more honesty than Aries expected. “I figured you were caught up in a deadline, again—but the news had me wondering...”
Aries shrugged and shook his head. “Well, you aren’t wrong about the deadline bit. Time got away from me.”
“See, it’s that kind of thing that makes me worry in the first place. You get so sucked into your novels you forget everything around you. What if someone broke in?”
“Ugh, you’re starting to sound like my mother.”
“Someone has to,” Rae told him firmly.
“Oh, come on—you’re exaggerating.”
“Am I? When’s the last time you used your stove to cook?”
Telling Rae he’d only used it once in the past year would only strengthen his friend’s argument. Unable to come up with an adequate answer, his silence said everything Rae needed to know.
“See? You’d starve if I didn’t bring your meals by and you know it.”
They approached a dead end with a worn, dirt path that veered off towards a lake behind Aries’ house. A sign at the end of the road advised against littering, warning of a hefty fine to those who disobeyed.
To the left of the sign sat Aries’ home: a cozy cottage on Mulberry Lane.
It wasn’t a home most with his kind of wealth would have chosen—but Aries preferred the minimalist lifestyle he’d grown accustomed to over the years. Besides, if he could never truly have a lover because of his curse, Aries had no reason to live bigger than he already was.
The small property had everything he needed.
The exterior of the brick fireplace—reaching up towards the sky—cast a long, dark shadow along the asphalt below. Luscious green hedges lined the walkway leading up to the stairs, continuing along the home’s wrap-around porch.
Bay windows to the right of the front door provided a look into Aries’ mostly unused kitchen. To the right sat a cute bench and table. The dead end he lived on was fairly private—and often Aries sat outside at night watching the stars.
Rae escorted him up the walkway to the front steps. He held out the bag, but pulled it back at the last second. “From now on, I’d like to bring your food in when I visit—if that’s okay.”
Aries couldn’t help but smile. “To make sure I’m still alive?”
“And to make sure you’re not hiding any black eyes or somethin’. I saw how those two at the bar acted towards you. Was worried I’d have to step in, but those four got the job done.”
Aries laughed and retrieved a spare key from his pocket. “Fair enough. Here, use this when you come by.”
Rae took it.
He waited while Aries shoved a different key into the lock on the front door. As it creaked open, Aries reached inside and felt along the inner wall. He flipped on the porch light, illuminating the front yard.
“Thanks for walking me home,” he said.
“Anytime.”
At long last, Rae handed over the bag he’d prepared for Aries. The author’s stomach growled hungrily as he accepted it.
“You know something, Aries?”
“Hmm?”
“Those assholes treat you like you’re the only man in town with demons—but if you spend any time at the bar, you’ll learn they’ve all got theirs. Only difference is a lot of them made their own beds. ‘Sides, you’re no Grim Reaper. You can’t help what’s not in your control, Aries. Always remember that.”
His words comforted Aries, who couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Rae. That means a lot to me.”
“I’ll be back around by the end of the week,” Rae promised, jingling the spare key in his hand.
Aries watched him go before retreating into the comfort of his home. After dinner, he climbed into bed and thought about the four men who’d come to his rescue until sleep forced his eyes closed.
Little did he know, it would be the last normal night of his life.