Echo, Mine (10 page)

When she braced herself on her elbows, he
lowered his head, hair caressing her thighs like a thousand
fingers, he ran his tongue down the side of her clit and up again,
then lightly over the bundle of nerves. She shuddered and grabbed
his hair, tugging at him.

He thrust two fingers into her, stroking her
inner muscles. Her body tightened around his fingers as release
hovered. He eased back.

“
Nooo
,” a keening wail left her. She
desperately needed that push over, but he kept her on the edge,
continuing to circle his tongue lightly around and over her
sensitive flesh until she was trembling beneath his mouth—unable to
bear the torment—her body wracked with want. But he avoided her
clit.

Whining, she tried to push harder into his
mouth, to find her release, but his grip on her hips tightened.
“Don’t make me stop.”

At the threat, Echo wondered what she’d set
herself up for. Aethan could draw this out for a long time—until
she was mindless with need and didn't know which was up or down.
She moaned and held still. A grunt of satisfaction left him.

He ran the flat of his tongue over her
bundle of nerves. Without warning, his lips tightened around her
clit and he bit down. At the sharp nip, she came off the hood, a
cry tearing from her throat as everything inside her burst out in
waves of pleasure as she climaxed.

Aethan didn't give her time to recover.
“Hold.”

“Wh-what?” she panted, her body shaking from
her furious release, her mind not connecting with his demand. He
simply took her hands and put them on the edge of the hood and away
from the windscreen wipers. She curled her fingers around the
metal.

“Keep them there.” Aethan unzipped his
leathers and yanked her bottom closer to the edge of the hood. Her
arms straightened.

“Don’t let go,” he snapped, tone dark with
warning. He fisted his painfully erect cock and stroked her cleft,
once, twice with the head. Her body, tensed. Then, in one swift
move, he thrust into her. A gasp tore from her throat as her inner
muscles parted and gave way to his rigid invasion and he sheathed
himself completely inside of her.

Joined to him so intimately, a hum of his
power bled from him and swept through her body—a dangerous bite of
a deadly man. It was heady, knowing it could kill another but take
her
to indescribable heights when he let go.

***

Urias!
She enclosed him like a sweet
fucking glove. Desire, hot and dangerous, buzzed through Aethan’s
blood. But the sight of his beautiful mate uninhibited in her
ecstasy held him in awe. Her skirt was bunched around her waist,
and her thighs splayed wide open. In the silvery moonlight, he
could clearly see the flush on her honeyed skin.

He undid more buttons of her top and pressed
his lips to the scar above her breast with its spidery black marks.
He pulled down her bra, her breasts spilled free. Her body arched
up, and he grasped her nipple and sucked hard before letting go. He
groaned, voice rough, “I'm so glad we decided to come out and have
fun tonight.”

A wobbly laugh left her as she wrapped her
legs around him. He lowered his hand to where they were joined and
thumbed her clit. Laughter turned to low moans of need.
“Aethan…”

He pulled out and drove back hard into her.
A feral, possessive growl left him. “Is this what you want?”

“God,
yes
. Faster…harder.”

At her low, throaty demand, he gave her want
she wanted—what they both needed. In and out, harder, faster he
thrust into her, creating a delicious friction with their bodies.
Her whimper filled his ears, but her gaze remained fastened on
his.

Emotions, raw and powerful, swelled his
chest.

This woman in his arms wasn’t just his other
half, she was the reason for his entire existence.

Echo sat up, making his cock slide in even
deeper. She put her arms around his neck, her legs tightening
around his hips. He captured her lush mouth in a deep and voracious
and carnal kiss, angling his cock so he massaged her clit with
every thrust. Her inner muscles tensed, squeezing around his sex.
She freed her lips from his, panting for breath. She was close
again.

His own release barreled down his spine.
Tightening his hold on her hips, he rocked harder into her. A thin
cry left her as she fell, he gave a low guttural growl, thrusting
deeper into her and came in violent jerk…

Breathing hard, he held her close, his face
buried in her neck.

After a long moment, he kissed her mouth
then slipped free from her warmth. Leaving her on the hood, he
opened the SUV door and found another of his spare t-shirts inside.
He cleaned himself, zipped up, and went back to her, smiling at her
lying on the hood, the moonlight highlighting her wanton disarray
of clothes and bare limbs.

He cleaned off the evidence of their
lovemaking from between her thighs.

“Good thing you did that,” she said, her
voice huskier than usual as she sat up. Her eyes glowed warm with
amusement, with love, and all he could do was just stand there and
breathe. She picked up her underwear from the hood and pulled it
on. “Can’t have my other half knowing about this.”

Shaking his head, he helped her off the
hood. She clutched his arm, a little unsteady on her feet. Aethan
wasn't surprised. It had been far too long since he’d loved her so
thoroughly.

He deftly buttoned her top, then got a
bottle of water from inside the vehicle.

She straightened her skirt, smoothing it
over her hips. He handed her the water. She drank some thirstily
then gave it back to him. “So, what did Týr want?”

He chugged back some of the cool liquid
before he answered. He didn't evade her question or lie. “Nothing
much—mentioned that a small horde of demoniis was spotted near the
Bronx tenements this evening. And to let me know he saw the demon
after me.”

She stared, motionless for a second.
“What?”

“Don’t worry, he’s dead.”

“When did you...?” She narrowed her eyes.
“That’s why you took so long to come after me,” she said as if
finally understanding his delay. Then she laughed. “Great. And I
saved one of the twins.”

He exhaled roughly. Only Echo would think
something that dangerous was
great
. “What twin?”

“The collagen one. She left with a
demonii.”

“You killed
two
demoniis?” Aethan
yelled, feeling as if his heart had stopped.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She
sniffed, shoving the hair away from her eyes. “I'm still standing,
aren’t I? And without a scratch, I might add.”

“By the heavens, Echo—” He crushed her to
him. “You will be the death of me.”

“Well, no worries there since you can't
die.” She patted his chest. “Are you going back on patrol
tonight?”

“No, not unless they need me. But if a
portal opens up and spews out—” She slapped her hand over his
mouth. “Don’t jinx it. Too many things have already disrupted our
night.”

Aethan tossed the empty bottle in a dumpster
and dropped his arm over her shoulder. “Next time, I'm chartering a
damn yacht so there’ll be no interruption of our time
together.”

Smiling, she slid her arm around his waist.
But when she stopped at the door of the SUV, he steered her past
the vehicle, out of the alley, and up toward the club. She looked
up at him with curiosity in her eyes. “Why are we going back
there?

He rubbed her upper arm as they passed the
line of people outside the club. The two hefty demon bouncers let
them through again without a word.

“We want good memories in this place,
right?” he asked as they headed down the short, dimly lit
passage.

“Yeah…so?”

He pushed open the inner door and rock music
deafened him, making speech impossible.

Aethan?
she mind-linked with him.

So impatient.
A smile tugged his
mouth when she gave him a suspicious look.

Tightening his hold on her, he wound their
way down the stairs, endured the crush of bodies, and drew her onto
the dance floor and into his arms, well aware of the stunned
expression on her face.

He didn't care what type of music was
playing, or that it wasn't suited to slow-dancing, he simply pulled
her close as everyone else jumped around as if hooked up to liquid
adrenaline.

A smile played on her lips. Her beautiful
eyes glowed as she slid her arms around his neck.
I like
this,
she said in his mind.

He lowered his head. His tongue slid across
her lips, and he could feel her smile widening as he kissed
her.

Let’s go home.

Her low, sultry words were a whisper of a
caress in his mind. Aethan didn't waste a moment. He grasped her
hand and headed for the club exit.

***

Back at the castle, Echo headed for the
kitchen first. The hunger gnawing at her belly made her aware just
how much energy she’d used that night. Fighting, then Aethan making
love to her in the alley—she still couldn’t get over that. He’d
turned her body to Jello with his sensual onslaughts. And now she
was famished.

She opened the fridge and retrieved half a
meat pie, from which she cut off two slices and warmed them in the
microwave. Turning, she found Aethan leaning against the kitchen
counter, studying her.

“I'm hungry,” she grumbled sheepishly then
gave him a taunting look. “Someone had me working overtime
tonight.”

He said nothing, merely crossed his arms
over his chest. That surprised her. She half expected him to react,
say something. Hmmm… Strange. She got out sodas for them from the
fridge then walked past him and opened the top cupboard for
glasses. The microwave dinged. She’d just turned for their meal
when Aethan snatched her, a startled shriek tearing free from her
throat. “Christ, Aethan!”

He locked his arms around her waist, keeping
their lower halves connected. A single eyebrow rose. “I tire
you?”

“Yes.” She sniffed, trying hard to hold back
her laughter. “On the beach, on the hood of your SUV.”

“I see. Well, then…” He released her. “I
thought you could handle my needs since you seemed completely back
to normal, but obviously, I was mistaken—”

She pressed her fingers to his lips,
stopping him. “Don’t you dare! Normal is annoyingly overrated, I
want you like you were tonight, and before…well, before you became
Florence bloody Nightingale. You treated me like I was
breakable—what?” She scowled. “Why are you shaking your head?”

“Echo, you might as well get used to it. You
are mine. I'm never going to treat you any differently.” He swept
her into his arms, heading for the stairs. “And
I
have
worked up quite the appetite.”

Today, the day that mattered the most to
her, and Aethan wasn't there.

A little cranky, Echo left the bedroom.
She’d really wanted to awaken with him in bed next to her, like she
had for the past few days.

Huffing out a breath, she made her way down
corridor, but just as fast, a smile curved her mouth when she
thought about the past week. It had been different, surreal. The
troubles that weighed her down—most directly linked to Aethan—had
lifted. That date night had been the catalyst. They’d spent most of
the time together. If not in bed, Aethan was at her side, helping
her with her studies. He still hadn't started training with her
yet, but she was sure he would soon…

She ran down the stairs and nearly crashed
into him as he jogged up, appearing a little sweaty. He smelled of
sea and warm man with a hint of his own unique scent of rainstorms.
His dark gaze caressed her face. “Where are you off to in such a
hurry? You're supposed to be in bed.”

Standing two stairs above him, she was
almost his height. “You left, so I got up.”

Her heart dipped a little that he still
hadn't wished her a happy birthday. Being immortal, birthdays
probably didn't matter to him, but they did to her. Sounding more
down than she intended, she told him, “I'm going to get coffee,
then read some of those notes Lore wants me to go through. Later,
I’m meeting Hedori in the—
eeek
!”

Aethan grasped her waist and tossed her over
his shoulder—her breath escaping in a rush of air. “What are you
doing?” she wheezed.

“Change of plans.” He took off up the stairs
with her bouncing uncomfortably on his rock-like shoulders.

“Aethan, put me down!” She smacked his back
and came in contact with his damp tee—
ugh
! “You're making me
sweaty—”

“Good thing then that I'm heading for the
shower.” He squeezed her ass. Her belly clenched as desire flared
awake. An exhilarated smile widened her mouth. Glad that he
couldn’t see her face, she snorted. “I can walk, you know.”

“Why bother?” he asked conversationally.
“When I have you exactly where I want.” He bit her lightly on her
hip, and she yelped at the sting. He laughed as he headed down the
corridor to their quarters.

A half hour later, Echo threw herself on the
bed. A towel wrapped around her body, she frowned at the vaulted
ceiling, completely baffled. Aethan just showered with her,
although he washed her thoroughly, taunting her with touches and
kisses but he didn't make love to her, like he usually would when
they showered together.

At the sound of his soft footstep, she
turned her head. Aethan approached her like some predator on the
prowl, a towel draped low on his hips, muscles sliding beneath his
damp, tawny skin.

“You know, at this rate, I'm never going to
get any work done, and Lore will bitch—”

“Lore can take a hike. Get dressed.” He
dropped a change of clothes on the bed before heading back to the
dressing room.

Sighing, Echo sat up and raised an eyebrow
at the blue bikini she found there. She put it on then slipped into
the shorts and tee. Finger combing her damp hair, she stepped into
her flip-flops and called out, “Are we going swimming?”