Absolute Surrender (21 page)

“What is it with you men?” she snapped, picking up a gauze. Saturating it with the solution, she cleaned the blood off the scorched, open flesh. “Are you born thick-headed, thinking macho pride will make this better?”

“Macho pride?” he repeated, raising a dark brow. “Hardly. Echo, nothing can happen to me. I’ve had worse. Getting hurt is a side effect of what I do.”

“What? You have nine lives now?” She tossed several bloody cotton gauze pads on the counter. Why couldn’t he ever answer her questions in straight English?

His silver-flecked eyes skimmed over her face. Warm and inviting, they made her want to drown in them. She huffed out an annoyed breath. Lethal is what he was. He made her forget why she was mad.

“Nothing’s so drastic when you can’t die.”

She glared at him. “Did taking too many
demonii
-bolts make you delusional, too?” Pouring more solution on a piece of gauze, she slapped it on his wound, making him wince. Then she threw him a venomous look before stalking out.

He thought he was so damn funny. Giving her crap about
her
safety. Demanding
she
not spend her nights hunting
demoniis
.

And now he can’t die?
Ah
!

***

Damn, his female was fast. Aethan caught her before she’d made it halfway through the bedroom and swept her up into his arms. She yelped, her flaying arms fastening around his neck. “Put me down.”

“No.” He carried her back to the bathroom and let her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor.

“Are you crazy? Your shoulder’s bleeding again!”

Aethan sat down and tried to ignore the erection straining against his leathers.

She reached over for more gauze and staunched the slow trickle of blood he could feel trailing down his shoulder. Whatever she did to his wound stung big time, but it paled in comparison to the emotions churning inside him.

He took in her flushed face, her eyes sparking with irritation. Oh yeah, she was pissed as hell, and it only made him want her more. By the gods, she was magnificent. Had he really thought he could walk away from her? Let her go?

Tenderly, he brushed the hair away from her eyes. And a heart he’d thought long dead started to beat once more. Emotions crowded him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressed his face in her chest, and simply held her. Her tensed body softened and she sighed. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“I hardly felt it.”

“Liar.”

He heard the smile in her voice, then her hands slipped around him and she held him close.

No one had ever made him feel this way. He took pleasure in her touch and slipped his hand under her tee, needing the skin contact. “You wear too many things.”

She laughed. “It’s a T-shirt. You can’t get any less than that.”

“Like I said, too many clothes.” He wrapped a hand around her neck, pulling her face down to him, and nipped at her bottom lip. The catch of her breath had his sex growing harder. He slid his mouth along her jaw.

Her fingers combed through his hair, gently tugging at the ends. Distracted as he was, he almost didn’t hear her soft murmur,
“Why did you cut it?”

Grateful at least some part of his brain was functioning, he answered, “
Demonii
-bolts scorched it. Hedori sorted out the mess.”

He licked the rapid-fire pulse at her throat then nipped it.

She shivered. “The fiends,” she muttered, leaning against him as if her legs could no longer support her. “Next time, let me cut it for you.”

“I’ll end up with hair like yours.”

Her laugh was a husky caress on his already sensitized skin. He took the hand destroying his peace of mind and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Your answer, Echo?”

“All right, I will live here with you.”

“Why?” He held her gaze, wanting more than just words.

“Because I want you, too,” she said softly. “God knows why. You’re bossy, arrogant and you like getting your own way far too much.” She stopped when she saw him smile. “What?”

Aethan shook his head. “You make me happy.”

The twitch at the corner of her mouth slipped into a reluctant smile.

“See. There’s something wrong with you. No one likes me—at least, not the real me.” Her mouth snapped shut. Uneasiness crossed her face. The pain behind her words was like a physical blow to his gut. Memories of what Lila showed him came rushing back.

“I don’t care what others think. You are what matters to me and all I want.” He skimmed the dent in her chin, pleased when the sparkle re-appeared in her eyes. “Will you do something for me?”

“What is it?”

“Take out your contact lenses. You don’t need them.”

She stiffened as the color drained from her face.

“I need them.” Her gaze skated away from his and she tried to step back.

Aethan didn’t let go. He searched her face, her mind, and didn’t like not being able to read her thoughts. This had to be about her foster family.

“Who hurt you?” he asked, unable to control the roughness in his voice.

She shook her head. “It’s not important, all in the past. You were telling me about yourself,” she said, changing the subject.

The pain, the desperation she tried to hide, hammered at him. Aethan clamped down on his frustration when she refused to say more. He’d let it go for now.

“Whatever I say, no screaming or running out of the house, okay?”

“Yes, I’m the type to run from danger.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You really don’t want to remind me of that.”

She sighed. “I’ve known
demoniis
existed from a young age. What can be scarier than them?”

Me.

He looked at her for a long silent moment. He could lay down all the rules he wanted, lock her up for the rest of her life so nothing could ever harm her. But could he save her from himself?

“I am one of the Guardians of this realm. We protect this world against any supernatural evil—keep the innocent safe.”

“What do you mean ‘this realm’?”

“There are many, Echo. Earth is just one of them. I come from a different world, called Empyrea.”

She pushed away from him. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Aethan, I was attacked by a demon. I might’ve hit my head but I didn’t lose my mind. Do you honestly expect me to believe that old fairytale?”

Echo couldn’t have shocked him more if she picked up a tanker and dropped the thing on him. She knew about his world? “What fairytale?”

She rolled her eyes and gathered up the soiled gauze from the marbled counter. “Okay, maybe not exactly a fairytale. But, you know, about a race of immortal beings with unbelievable powers who live in a magical place called Empyrea.”

“Who told you this?”

She frowned, touching the scar on her forehead, as if trying to remember. “I–I don’t know. Look, they’re just tales told to a little girl who needed to believe something else existed out there. Something wonderful, instead of demons and cruel people. Tell me the truth, Aethan. Or drop it, but don’t lie to me.”

“It is the truth,” he growled. “I’m immortal. That’s why this—” he said, gesturing to the bloody hole in his shoulder, “—isn’t a big deal. “

Empyrea,
magical—peaceful
?

Gods, he’d hate to disillusion her on that score.

When she learned the truth about him, the whole thing would blow up in his face and shatter her illusions. A helluva gift for an unsuspecting human—mated to a nuclear weapon.

***

Immortal? Why would he say that? Sure, his aura was different. But that had to be because of his strong psychic abilities.

“Aethan, I don’t—” Echo broke off as the hair on her arms rose. “What was that?” Her gaze darted around the bathroom, veered back, sensing the minute change in him. The annoyance in his gaze was replaced by one so lethal, it scared her. “Aethan?”

He didn’t answer, just moved her aside, and rose to his feet. Grabbing his discarded, bloodied shirt, he yanked it on.

The tattoo on his biceps shifted, startling her and she jumped back. Then it shimmered and slid down his arm, materializing in his hand.

Holy crap
! The thing was alive. Riveted, she watched as the scrolls and intricate markings glided down his arm and onto the guard and blade.

“Stay here. Don’t leave under any circumstance, understand?”

“Wait–wait–wait! Aethan, what’s happening?”

When he didn’t answer, her gaze raced to the trio of elongated windows above the bathtub and she knew.

“Demoniis.”
She sucked in a harsh breath. “They found me. I told you they would. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Lose that thought, Echo. Here’s where you belong.”

“No, I don’t. I just bring trouble wherever I go. You’re hurt and now, because of me, you have to go out there—”

“Echo.” He cut her off. “I’ve been doing this for three thousand years. I’ll be fine.” He leaned down and kissed her hard. The next minute, his body wavered, dissolved into a shimmer of blue sparks, and he vanished from the room.

Rooted to the floor, her lips still tingling from his kiss, Echo stared at the spot where Aethan had been only moments ago, feeling as if she’d just been shoved off a mountain.

CHAPTER 15

Immortal
?

Three-thousand years
?

Echo exhaled sharply, the reality of her situation overwhelming her. There was no way she could deny what she’d just seen. Her heart raced at the implications. Was everything he’d told her true?

Aethan had become irritated when she called Empyrea a fairytale. But how did she know about Empyrea to begin with? Even
she
couldn’t dream up something like that. Someone had to have told her about it—that old childhood dream!

The tall man with the navy robes, carrying her after Clyde had hurt her. She struggled to put the pieces together and thought back to her dream from yesterday morning: men fighting, there were flashes of light, and he told her something, something she was capable of doing...

Then nothing. Argh! She pushed those thoughts aside for later. Aethan was out fighting
demoniis
with a gaping wound in his shoulder. It got her moving. Hurrying into the bedroom, she saw the obsidian dagger on the bedside table, grabbed the thing, and sprinted from the room.

Echo leapt down the stairs, grateful she didn’t trip and break her neck. Sliding down the corridor, she skidded into the study and hurried to the huge windows but all was quiet and dark outside. She tried the rec room next. Still nothing. Panicking now, she stopped in the library, and through the windows, she saw
demoniis
ruining the gorgeous, landscaped garden. She growled as her eyes searched for Aethan. The knot in her stomach grew when she couldn’t find him in the swarming horde
.

Then she saw him—them. Her mouth dropped open. She’d never seen anything like it. Aethan, Týr, and another man fought like a symphony in motion. Swirling through the masses, they attacked, charging into the
demoniis
in a speed she hadn’t believed possible.

Aethan, she easily made out, his sword blazed with the white light she’d seen once before. Týr’s sword glowed a deep amber. The dark-haired man, she hadn’t met yet, fought them the conventional way, with his fists. Blood oozed down his face, but he didn’t seem to care as he dove into the mass of
demoniis
.

Her gaze darted back to Aethan and stayed, her eyes glued to his every move. Her heart seized when she saw him stagger as a
demonii
slammed into him.