Absolute Surrender (23 page)

Her hand slid restlessly down, pushing between them to stroke his heavy erection. He grabbed her hand.

“I want to touch you,” she protested.

“No. It’s your punishment for disobeying me.” He carried her to the bed. The moment her bottom hit the mattress, he reached out and ripped her T-shirt down the center.

Shocked, she gasped. “You tore my shirt.”

He flung the tattered remains away. “I’ll buy you more.”

Desire stole her breath at the thought of being the sole focus of a man this powerful. His scorching gaze trailing over her bare skin made her tremble. Going down on his haunches, he hooked his fingers into the waist of her sweats. “Lift, if you want them intact.”

Her elbows braced on the bed, she lifted her bottom.

Aethan tugged her sweats down, his fingers stroking the length of her skin from her thigh to her ankle. He removed her pants and tossed them aside, revealing the tiny white panties she wore.

“Move up,” he ordered in a hoarse tone.

Echo dragged herself farther up the bed. A gentle push of his hand on her chest had her falling back. She broke her fall, bracing herself on her elbows, and watched him. Holding her gaze, he licked his way up from the inside of her knees, stopping midway. “Spread your legs for me.”

At his words, Echo blushed, her face growing hotter. Unwilling to miss out on the experience of all he would show her, she spread her legs a little.

He spread them wider. His hair like silken fingers caressed her thighs as he leaned down. He licked the tender skin on her inner thigh, trailing little kisses and sharp nips, making her squirm as a voracious hunger swept through her.

“I’m dying to taste you.” His voice was raw. Edgy. “You smell incredible.”

Any other time, she would have cringed that he could smell her arousal. Now, her lust spiked dangerously high, as anticipation of what would follow filled her.

He reached the juncture of her thighs and sucked the tender skin there, close to where she wanted him and far enough away to torment her. He ran a finger down the center of her cotton panties and cupped her heated core. Strong strokes with the heel of his hand had her breath seizing up. Then his thumb pressed down firmly on her clit.

Lights exploded behind her closed eyes at the pleasure flooding her. Echo wondered if she’d survive the storm she’d unleashed in him. A ripping sound filled the air and her eyes snapped open. Her panties were gone. She no longer cared that she was so exposed to his gaze.

He licked her, a slow, decadent stroke of his warm tongue. A scream tore from her throat. She gripped his hair tightly, fighting for control against the overwhelming pleasure consuming her.

Aethan became single-minded in his focus to take it all from her, tormenting her with his intimate kiss. The heat of his body surrounded her, filled her. Pinpricks of sparks sent tingles racing up her arms and down her body to pool in her core. Her pleasure heightened, driving her insane with need.

Her body a teeming mass of sensations, Echo let go of her grip on reality. She moaned, moved her hips, her legs sliding over his shoulders, giving him better access to her most feminine part.

***

Male that he was, Aethan took full advantage of her vulnerable state.

He flicked his tongue over her sensitized nub, held her down when she would have squirmed away, and taught her what it was like to be possessed by an immortal like him. Her pleasure his ultimate aim, he licked and suckled, leaving no parts of her unexplored.

Slipping his hands under her bottom, he tilted her pelvis up to take more of her into his mouth. Her thighs fell open. Her surrender tasted as sweet as her honeyed skin. After today, she would never doubt whom she belonged to.

Beneath his sensual haze, he felt his powers gathering force. He clamped down his shields as the pleasure in his mate drove him on. Her strangled scream deepened his arousal as he pushed her closer to the edge. He wanted her so badly, it became a testament of how much she mattered, of his willpower, that he wasn’t already sliding into her welcoming heat.

Aethan glanced up at her, but her eyes were shut tight. He needed to see her eyes. “Echo, look at me.”

Her eyelids flickered open. Hazy with desire, they locked on his.

He eased a finger into her tight, silken heat. “Know always, how much I want you.”

She cried out, her body arching off the bed. His hand splayed over her stomach, he held her down, felt the ripples at the start of her orgasm. He slipped another finger into her throbbing heat, felt her feminine muscles squeeze around them. He slid his mouth over her clit and worked her with his tongue. His fingers thrusting harder, faster, he took her over the edge.

Her cry of passion resonated in his being as she fell into a mind-shattering orgasm.

Slowly, he eased off and gently brought her back to him. His heart raced along with his rioting powers that battered at his shields. His vision blurred, became cloudy, a streak of pain shot through his head. His eyes were changing, becoming inhuman, he knew it.

She raised a hand and touched his face. “Come inside me, Aethan. I need you.”

Her husky words, a whisper of seduction, tortured him. His eyes squeezed tight. Anger filled him at the unfairness of having the only female he’d ever wanted with his heart and soul in his arms, yet unable to love her with his body. Gods, he’d so foolishly thought he’d be all right. Thought he could finally claim her after expending some of that cursed energy when he’d wiped out the
demoniis.
His erection unbearably hard, with release nowhere in sight, the pain in him intensified. He had to get out.

***

Aethan rolled away from her and moved off the bed in a speed that baffled her. It took Echo a moment to realize he was leaving.

“Aethan, wait!” She scrambled off the bed, dragged the sheets with her and nearly fell onto her knees, still weak from her orgasm.

He turned, and Echo saw his eyes. White had trickled into the gray irises. “What’s wrong?”

It was a moment or two before he spoke. The tendons in his neck stood out, the muscles of his body tensed. Made her realize he was straining, holding himself together.

“I have to go.” His words were hard, flat, the sensual lover gone.

“What? Why? Don’t you want me?”

A harsh laugh left him. He looked ready to tear something or somebody apart with his bare hands. The wall sconces sputtered, flickered on and off at an alarming rate. The air around him shifted, changed.

He turned away. “I can’t stay. I have to go.”

In desperation, she hurried after him nearly, tripping on the trailing navy sheets. He was hauling on a T-shirt in the dressing room with none of the finesse she was used to.

“Aethan, talk to me. Please.” She gripped his arm. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

This wasn’t just about the abrupt ending to the most fantastic experience in her life. Something was seriously off.

The tingles in her increased and her legs trembled as his powers shimmered across her skin. Aethan turned, his irises more white than gray. But the horror filling his face when he saw her holding him, Echo knew she’d never forget as long as she lived.

He reared back so fast it sent her stumbling to the floor. The recessed lights overhead shattered. “Don’t touch me!”

No! Her head spun and her heart constricted in protest.
No. This can’t be happening.
Pain erupted as tears welled in her eyes.

A blinding flash brightened the room, so brilliant it hurt her eyes and left her reeling. When the white light faded, she was alone in the dark.

Aethan had disappeared.

CHAPTER 16

Lazaar made his way to Andras’s chambers, easily navigating the dark passages. It wasn’t guilt that made him help Andras look for the psychic girl. Or brotherly love. He just wanted the bastard out of his hair. His sire chose right by making him the one to inherit the sin of greed, instead of Andras.

A
demonii
as a Sin. Really? The idiot couldn’t even control his urges around mortals. Helping Andras find the human female who could break the spell keeping him bound, was a small price to pay.

Whatever prophecy his brother guarded, like it was his own life, did not interest Lazaar. He just wanted Andras out of the Dark Realm. He didn’t care what damage Andras did to the mortal world. But with those Guardians around, hopefully Andras wouldn’t be a problem for long.

***

Andras’s veneer of patience evaporated. Agony spread from the pit in his chest and rocketed. He tugged at his hair as a shudder tore through him. He needed another soul to ease the pain.

Flames flickered from the torches on the wall, casting an ominous, orange glow throughout the black chamber.

He glowered at his brother. “You’ve been topside in the human realm and you’re telling me you haven’t found her?”

Lazaar shrugged and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. “All humans smell delicious.”

At his glib answer, Andras had to suppress the urge to tear off Lazaar’s face.

“Bael,” Andras snarled at the demon standing beside him. “Get me a soul.”

He collapsed into his chair, as the pain in his chest grew worse. Bael hurried out of the chamber, only to return moments later, dragging in a moaning human male. He tossed him on the floor at Andras’s feet.

With a flick of his hand Andras callously cut off the mortal’s vocal cords.

Lazaar shook his head. “You cannot aspire to greater things if you can’t see the big picture. You need a clear mind. All that clouds yours is when you can feed off the next human.”

“Need I remind you to
whom
you speak,
little
brother?” Andras snarled.

“What is it you want?” Lazaar asked, his expression growing bored.

“Did you find the psychic girl?”

Lazaar rocked back on his heels and smiled. “Just one. However, free will makes it impossible to bring her through the portal. And she resisted my mind manipulation.”

Andras glared at him. “What do you mean she resisted? We are powerful—we can make anyone do our bidding. Yet, you stand there and tell me you cannot bring one from that feeble race to me?”

“She is under the warriors’ protection. One came to her rescue.”

“Guardians do not consort with humans.”

Lazaar shrugged. “Then I suggest you go after her yourself.”

“You think to mock me because I’m bound to this place? Be careful, Brother. Be very careful you don’t get on my bad side.”

“Believe what you want, Andras. As always, you chase after rainbows in Hell. The girl can’t break the curse of the binding. I’m done helping you.” Lazaar strolled out of the chamber.

Andras scowled at his brother’s retreating back, his hatred growing. Lazaar dared to mock him? His gaze shifted to Bael. The demon nodded and followed Lazaar. A loud grunt echoed through the open doors, followed by a thud. A moment later, Bael reappeared, Lazaar’s body draped over his shoulder.

Andras glanced dispassionately at his unconscious sibling. “Lock him up. I’ll deal with him later.”

Then he crooked a finger at the cowering human and captured his gaze. The human’s eyes bulged in terror, his mouth opened in a soundless scream. Andras smiled. Fear, it spiced up the mortals’ wonderful energy, made them tastier. His eyes aflame, he allowed his true appearance to show. Black scales took over his skin and his face stretched and reformed into a deranged parody of a dragon’s. As his curled black claws embedded into the human’s flesh, Andras slowly siphoned out the mortal’s life force. He had to hold himself back from sinking his fangs into the man’s throat.

Light filled Andras as the stolen soul settled into his psyche, easing the pain in his chest. He tossed the human husk away, basking in the intoxicating light, but already he could feel the dimming of the soul. No matter, soon he would have it all. “Bael? My new lair?”

“Is almost ready,” Bael said.