Absolute Surrender (44 page)

Dagan leaned against a dingy wall, pulled out a thin cigar, and lit it. A spiral of smoke drifted into the night air. From the shadows of a building, he watched the human female who was the Realm Healer.

Michael had asked him to babysit her. He would never understand how prophecies were always tied to a human. Weak damn species. And there she was, walking right into the pits of Hell. If he were Michael, he’d just send her human ass off to the Celestial Realm and be done with it, since she chose to walk away from the Empyrean. Aethan could do better. She wasn’t even of his race.

The female and her group of friends approached the entrance of the club. She glanced around as if sensing him. Dagan paused. His gaze sharpened. Straightening, he sent his senses out, probing. Something didn’t feel right. One of them was different. He stared at the taller female with the braids, frowning.

Before he could pinpoint what it was, the group reached the dark orifice that masqueraded as an entrance. He scanned again for that sensation. Nothing. Had to be the Healer’s psychic vibe he’d picked up on, he decided.

The female stopped to speak to the bouncer there. He’d hoped she’d turn around and head back home. No such luck. The blond male came back to get her. His hand settled on her waist in a proprietary way.

Dagan drew his cell from his leathers, rubbed his thumb over the display of his phone for a sec as he debated his choices. Then he did what needed to be done. He made a call.

“You’ll want to head over to Anarchy—” His eyes narrowed as he watched the couple at the club entrance, and listened to the irritated male voice on the other end of the line.

“Why?”

“This shit’s your deal.”

***

Inside the club, the air was thick with musky perfume and liquor. The heavy beat of rock music pounded in Echo’s head as multi-colored laser beams and strobe lights assaulted her eyes, guaranteeing a headache by the end of the night.

Resting her elbows on the table, her hands around her Pepsi, Echo wished she was back outside in the cold air. She really didn’t want to be here in the frenzied excitement of the club, with unhappiness eating at her. She blinked rapidly and saw Jon pointing to the dance floor.

Why couldn’t have fallen for someone like him? Quiet, considerate, and charming.

His gaze filled with admiration when she stood and he took in the short, black leather skirt, side-laced halter-top and icepick-heeled, knee-high boots she wore.

“You look amazing,” he said, leaning close so she could hear him above the heavy rock music.

“Thanks.”

He led her to the dance floor. And just her luck, a slow, dreamy song started. She inhaled a deep breath, about to tell him she’d changed her mind when she saw Jon’s hopeful blue eyes and his hesitant smile. Then she remembered his broken pinkie. What was one dance after the hurt she’d caused him?

A few seconds into the dance and she couldn’t breathe. With Jon’s arms around her, the sea of bodies closed in on her, pushing her nearer to him. His spicy aftershave enfolded her. She had to clamp down on the urge not to push him away.

She yearned for the scent of rainstorms. Tears clogged her throat—
no
! She had to be strong and thrust aside thoughts of Aethan.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Echo wished she could lean on Jon for a moment without the complications. Then he took her hand from his shirtfront, opened her palm, and pressed a gentle kiss in the center.

***

Aethan surveyed the bodies moving around in the VIP section of Anarchy. Their frenzied movement had little to do with the hardcore-rap music splitting his eardrums from below.

He’d only been here a short while and already he felt like smashing his fist into something again. The writhing couples in the closed booth next to them pushed his edginess up to dangerous levels. Then the music switched to a ballad of some kind. He hated that shit. Made him yearn for what had slipped out of his grasp.

Well, no longer.

Blaéz lifted a finger and a waitress appeared. He ordered another shot of scotch then leaned back in his seat. He studied the inch of amber liquid that remained in his glass, distorted by the whipping strobe lights. “Found whatever Dagan wanted?”

“No,” Aethan growled. “The Sumerian is as tight-lipped as a damn vault. Said nothing, just to check the club out.”

Whatever the hell it was, Blaéz and Týr could handle it. Though Týr would first have to detach himself from the female straddling him.

The scent of sex and lust on this level battered at him, Aethan ignored the blatant invitation from the females trolling the place.

“I’m outta here—” Then he staggered to a standstill. Dagan’s clipped message hit him square in the chest.

She wouldn’t dare! He didn’t care if it
was
Kira’s birthday.

He strode to the gallery over-looking the dance floor, scanned the place—and the brittle hold on his sanity fractured. His vision turned red. Fury crashed through him like a huge wave. His hands clenched on the railing. The lights in the place dimmed for a second.

‘
Yo, man. Aethan, you okay
?’

Týr’s voice came to him from a distance. He didn’t answer. He walked out, death on his mind.

CHAPTER 29

Echo pulled away from Jon. She had to get out. “I’m sorry. I–I need to go.”

“Echo, wait.” He tried to hold her back.

She shook her head and bolted from the dance floor then stumbled to a halt. Aethan stood several feet from her. Everything in her froze, even though her foolish heart rushed around like mad in her chest. He looked dangerous and wild as the storms that so often visited New York.

He had to have seen her with Jon, seen him kiss her hand. And she had a moment of terrifying clarity. It didn’t matter that she told Aethan it was over, she’d always be his mate, and that meant he could hurt Jon.

She cast a desperate glance to her friend. Jon smiled wryly, raised a hand, and headed for their table.

Then she met Aethan’s lethal gaze. His anger lashed at her. And she realized too late she shouldn’t have looked for Jon. She fled for the corridor.

***

Aethan went after her, blood pounding in his veins. He caught her arm, hauled her down the dim corridor to the back exit, and killed the lights.

She struggled to break free. “Don’t touch me.”

He grabbed her hands, manacled them behind her. “So soon you forget. Two days—two fucking days and you’re with someone else?” he snarled.

“I’m not doing this ag—”

“What is he to you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“None of my business? You dress like this, let another put his hands—his fucking mouth on you? And it’s none of my business?”

“At least Jon won’t kill me when we become lovers, right?” she yelled, her eyes hot with anger.

At her words, unadulterated rage cracked his control. His vision took on a white haze. “That will never happen. He touches you again, I will kill him.”

He clamped his arm around her waist like a vice and dematerialized. Taking form in his room back at the castle, he took her mouth in a merciless kiss, slamming her back against the nearest wall.

“No!” She pushed at his chest, broke free of his kiss. “I’m not going through this again.”

Aethan grabbed her hands, pinned them above her head. The image of the human kissing her, stroking her face was a punch in his gut, knowing what could happen. But she was his. Every inch of her belonged to him.

“You think I don’t want you?” His voice was harsh. “I died a little every minute since you left me. Every breath I take hurts because you’re not with me.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Don’t. Please don’t say that. You know it can never be.”

The broken note in her voice got to him. He remembered her crying in the bar toilet. Heard every anguished sob that tore through her and knew it wasn’t the asshole in the bar, or the one she came there with who hurt her, but him.

“You have to let me go. I can’t live like this.”

“That’s the one thing I cannot do.” The agonized whisper left him as his fury dissipated. He lowered his head to hers, eyes squeezed tight. “I can’t go on without you. I just can’t.”

***

“Aethan?”

He exhaled roughly and looked at her.

Echo sensed the change in him, but she couldn’t read his expression. He’d reached some kind of decision about them, but with her luck, it could only go one way.

The embers sparked in the fireplace and flared to life. The soft crackle of wood broke the silence in the room.

“Whatever you want,
me’morae.”
A whisper.

Her breath caught in her throat. He agreed?

She wanted to smile as relief sung its way into her heart. But she wasn’t foolish enough to let it distract her.

Echo watched him carefully, saw the fear in his gray eyes, and understood he hated being so helpless. Hated the thought of what could happen to her. But if they were to have a chance at a life together, he needed to trust her. She rested her hands on his chest and hesitated.

‘
You can handle us, little one, remember that.
’

It struck her then. The man in the navy robe had said those words to her after he had healed her. Maybe this is what he meant. Christ, she hoped so.

“Echo—what is it?”

She blinked and shook her head. “Would you let me do this?”

A suspicious look entered his stormy gaze. She wanted to smile. God, she loved him. “Promise me you won’t poof out of here, disappear when you think you’re losing control.”

His turbulent stare didn’t waver, nor did he respond.

She didn’t give up and pushed on. “If
I
think I’m not able to handle anything, I’ll stop, okay? Think of it as...” A wicked smile curved her lips. “As
domination and submission
. Only I’ll be the Dom and have a safe word, too.”

A scowl appeared on his handsome face, then he gave a stilted nod.

“Oh no, say the words, Aethan.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, and a muscle worked his jaw. “Yes.”

Her head tilted to him, she slid her hands up the hard muscles of his chest and pushed his coat off his broad shoulders. The leather fell to the floor in a rustle. He stood there like a statue. No matter. By the time she was done with him...well, she planned to have him begging for mercy.

Echo trailed her hands up his chest, unfastened a button on his black shirt to reveal tawny-gold skin. She worked the rest of the buttons free then glanced up. Not a flicker of emotion showed on his stone-like features.

“What do you think of
blue
as a safe word?” Her fingers tracing over his pecs caused those flat male nipples to harden. Unable to resist them, she flicked her tongue over one little nub, then she did the same to the other, and saw the goose bumps on his body.

“You taste so good.” She closed her teeth over one and tugged with just enough of a sting. His entire body shuddered. Well now, so her statue had life. She didn’t let him see her smile as she licked the pain away.

“What was I saying? Yep, I think
blue
would do as a safe word.” She leaned in close to whisper. “Because I like the color of your hair.”

She tugged his shirt off, tossing it on top of his coat, and went down on her knees in front of him. He was already aroused and rigid. The prominent bulge in the front of his leathers beckoned her. She wanted badly to touch him, to feel the power of his erection as her hands encircled his hardness.

Echo concentrated on his boots instead of the temptation of his sex. She tugged and got them off easier then she expected. But then he only moved when he wanted to