“Close your eyes and sleep, Echo. Jet and Pax will bring help soon. I’ll wake you when they get here.”
“You sleep, too.” Echo rubbed circles over Syx’s belly. “I know you haven’t been sleeping. You’re exhausted, love. Just a small nap, and maybe things will be clearer when we wake up.”
“Is it getting warmer in here?” Syx wiped at back of his neck, frowning when his palm came away sweaty. It was definitely getting hotter. The warmth washed over him, relaxing his muscles and making his eyelids droop. Some part of his subconscious screamed at him to fight against sleep.
Echo yawned hugely and cuddled closer to his side. “Just a little nap,” he mumbled.
Syx struggled for a few more minutes, but three days without sleep combined with the sudden rising temperatures, and he couldn’t fight it. With a deep sigh, he let his eyelids drift closed and let the exhaustion claim him.
* * * *
“Hello, love,” Echo whispered over Syx’s lips. They lay in a field of lush grass, completely nude as the sun beat down on their bare skin.
Syx nestled between Echo’s spread thighs, covering his body and brushing kisses over his mouth. “And hello to you, sweetheart. Where are we anyway?”
“Who cares?” Echo sighed, arching his back and rubbing himself against Syx like a cat in heat. “It’s just a dream, Syx. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
“If this is a dream, that means I control what happens, right?”
Echo smiled and lifted his eyebrows. “What did you have in mind?”
In the next heartbeat, Echo found himself kneeling in the middle of a field of flowers, with his wrists bound behind his back. Even a few short weeks before, the mere thought of being restrained had sent him into hysteria. Now, there was only a passing unease that faded quickly when Syx pressed against his back and began stroking his skin.
“You are so gorgeous like this,” Syx breathed as his lips and tongue moved over Echo’s neck. “Your skin glistens in the sunlight, your hair shines, and your body quakes for me. You need me, baby.”
“Yes,” Echo hissed when Syx’s fingers trailed over his hip and down to encircle the base of his jutting cock. “Always need you.”
“That’s right, Echo. Your entire being yearns for me. Your ass is hungry for my cock, begging to be stretched and filled. You love the burn, the pressure, feeling every vein and ridge sliding over your needy hole as I push inside you.”
Dropping his head back on Syx’s shoulder, Echo moaned and jerked his hips, pumping his throbbing dick into Syx’s loose grasp. The man was going to make him come with his words alone. Syx was the only person Echo knew who could turn talking dirty into an art form. He bet his mate rocked at phone sex. Maybe they’d try it sometime.
Two slick fingers slid along the line of his crease before they pushed through the muscled globes and traced tight circles around Echo’s fluttering entrance. Damn, he loved dream sex. The ability to just wish a bottle of lube into existence was awesome.
Then the two slippery digits pressed inside his greedy hole, zeroed in on his prostate, and began rubbing it relentlessly. Echo howled, his cock flexed, and clear beads of pre-cum seeped from the swollen head.
Syx pumped the finger in and out of his heated channel in tandem to the long, languid strokes his other hand delivered to Echo’s prick. “Mmm, love the way you just suck my fingers right in. Your cock is so hard, baby, throbbing in my hand and begging for more.”
“Please,” Echo whimpered as he rocked between Syx’s hands.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Beg me for it. Beg for my cock.”
“Syx, please!” Echo’s heart pounded against his sternum, his legs began to shake, and his balls ached as they drew tight to his body. “Gonna,” he grunted.
Syx’s hand tightened around the base of Echo’s cock, and his fingers stilled inside Echo’s hole. “No,” he growled. “Not until I say you can come.”
Who knew the normally passive demon had such a dominant streak in him? Echo began to tremble in earnest as Syx’s commanding tone washed over him and sent his head spinning.
“You like that,” Syx whispered roughly. “You crave being dominated. You like it slow and gentle, but you love it hard and dirty.” A third finger pushed inside Echo’s clenching ass with enough force to rock him forward. “Tell me how you want it, Echo.”
Even if he’d wanted to, Echo couldn’t speak. All the air rushed out of his lungs on a surprised huff when Syx extracted his finger and replaced them with his steel-hard cock in one swift movement.
In the next instant, Echo’s bound wrists were around Syx’s neck, his back pressed firmly against the warrior’s damp chest. Sweet hell, this dream stuff rocked!
Syx didn’t start out slow and gentle as he normally did. His thrusts came quick and demanding, burying his cock inside Echo’s clenching passage over and over, harder and faster. One arm wound around Echo’s chest, holding him up, while the other jerked his pulsing cock in time with every snap of Syx’s hips.
Lightning strikes of pleasure and lust bombarded him, and Echo cried out to the bluest sky he’d ever seen. His inner walls clamped around Syx’s invading length as he moved with his mate. His skin burned, his dick throbbed, and nothing else mattered but the climax racing toward him.
“Love how your ass squeezes my cock,” Syx panted. “You’re going to make me come, baby. Is that what you want? You want to milk my dick until I fill this sweet hole with cum?”
“Oh, gods,” Echo screamed. “Yes! Fuck, please!”
Syx drove into him with lightning-quick movements as his hand became a mere blur over Echo’s straining shaft. “Then come for me. Come on my cock and milk me dry.”
“Syx!” Echo screamed, dropping his head to his lover’s shoulder as his muscles tensed. His orgasm raced from his churning balls and up his swollen cock to shoot long ropes of creamy semen from the slit.
“Ah!” Syx roared, pounding into Echo’s spasming channel as he pumped through his own release. “Mine.”
The feral quality of Syx’s voice just before his canines sank into Echo’s shoulder sent him into a tailspin of desire, prolonging his orgasm until he thought he’d pass out from it. Again and again, he screamed in pleasure until his throat felt raw and his voice became hoarse. Never-ending streams of cum poured from his erupting cock, and his body jerked and bucked as scorching lava splashed against his inner walls.
Suddenly, his back and shoulders pressed into something soft and wet, and water splashed over his face. Echo threw his eyelids open, staring in astonishment as Syx hovered over top of him. “What?” he rasped.
“My dream.” Syx smirked at him before he hooked his arms under Echo’s knees and spread them wide, pushing them back toward his chest.
The wet sand beneath him felt cool and welcomed against Echo’s heated skin. The sun beat down on his face, and the tide of the ocean washed over them, splashing around them as it broke against the sands.
Syx leaned closer, spreading Echo open wider, and claimed his mouth in a tangle of lips and tongues. He moved slowly, tenderly, his thick cock gliding in and out of Echo’s hole in gentle movements.
Time seemed to stand still in their own personal paradise, and Echo never wanted to leave. He missed his mates, though. If he could bring them here with him and Syx, life would be perfect. There were no tests to think about, no wars to win, and no one to interrupt their happy existence.
As his climax ripped through him once more, Echo moaned into Syx’s mouth, feeling truly peaceful for the first time in weeks. “I’m hungry,” he murmured as he pushed the wet hair back from his lover’s face and smiled up at him. It was more than just hunger though. His stomach cramped painfully, and he suddenly felt lightheaded.
“So am I,” Syx said, but he wasn’t smiling. “This doesn’t feel right. We shouldn’t be hungry in a dream, especially after only an hour or so.”
“Echo! Syx!”
Pushing at Syx’s chest, Echo hissed when his mate’s flaccid cock
slipped from his hole, but he kept going. Scrambling to his feet, he spun around in circles, looking for the owner of the voice. “Did you hear it?”
Syx stood and rushed to his side, scanning the shore as well. “It sounded like Hex.”
“Echo! Wake the fuck up!” Hex’s voice demanded.
Closing his eyes, Echo couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face. He knew his men would come for them. Hex was here, and they were rescued. Then a sharp sting started in his cheek as though he’d been slapped in the face.
Opening his eyes, Echo glared up at Hex. “You hit me.”
“Oh, thank fuck,” Hex breathed as he gathered Echo into his arms and crushed him against his chest.
Taking in his surroundings, Echo realized he was back in the cave, but he could see. The light was dim, but sunshine spilled into the cavern, illuminating the men gathered around him. With a sharp gasp, Echo threw his arms around Hex’s neck and squeezed with everything he had. “You came for us.”
“Oh, gods, baby. I’m so sorry. I’m here.” Hex stroked Echo’s hair and nuzzled their cheeks together. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
“Syx is coming around,” Eyce said from behind them.
Echo whipped his head around and began to squirm out of Hex’s embrace. Hex gave him a kiss on the temple and passed him to Eyce without his feet ever touching the ground. Echo slung his arms around Eyce, hugging the man fiercely as he peppered kisses over his face. “Missed you, big guy.”
“Missed you, too, baby. I was so worried about you.”
“How did you find us?”
“Let’s get you guys out of here, and we’ll explain, okay?”
“Yes, please.” Echo didn’t want to spend another second inside the cave. “Syx and Mac, are they okay?”
“Everyone is fine. C’mon, love.”
“Please,” came a soft plea from beside them, and Echo looked over to see Fiero looking at him with a pained expression.
Reaching out, Echo wrapped his fingers around the back of Fiero’s neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Eyce’s arms went around the warrior as well, and before Echo knew it, he had all of his men surrounding him and lavishing him with touches and kisses. “I’m so glad you’re back,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Syx murmured against his temple.
Before Echo could respond to chastise the man, Hex dragged Syx away and crushed their mouths together in a passionate kiss. “You did good,” Hex said a moment later when they broke away. “You kept your head, and that’s what’s important.”
Syx cradled Hex’s face as he rested their foreheads together and groaned. “Don’t ever fucking leave me in charge again.”
Soft chuckles went around the group and then they were moving, heading out into the waning sunlight. “Wow, you got here fast,” Echo commented. No one said anything, but he saw his mates exchange worried looks. “What?”
“Echo,” Eyce said gently, “it’s been almost nine days. The new moon is only three days away.”
“No.” Echo shook his head frantically. “It’s only been a few hours. I was dreaming, and then you woke me up.” He looked over his shoulder and jerked a thumb at Hex. “He hit me.”
Hex rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You wouldn’t wake up, sweetheart. Mac was going off his rocker, said you and Syx had been like that for days. Remind me to buy him a really nice thank-you present, too.”
“Uh, okay.” Echo’s brow scrunched in confusion. “Why?”
“He was damn brave and fucking smart, too,” Hex answered. “He went into the darkest part of this cave by himself and found a small stream, just a little runoff. He’s been pouring water down your throat while you were sleeping.”
“Nine days?” Echo couldn’t wrap his mind around it. What had felt like no more than an hour or so inside his dream had been days in the real world. Had they seriously been asleep for that long? What if the others hadn’t come for them? Would they have continued to sleep until they eventually died of starvation?
“I think just until after the new moon, and I had failed my test.” Syx growled from somewhere behind him. “This is all my fucking fault.”
Echo wanted to tell his mate to cut it out, but before he could open his mouth, Eyce carried him out of the cave, and even the gray skies of dusk made Echo blink against the brightness. He closed his eyes when they began to burn and water, and laid his head on Eyce’s chest. For someone who had been asleep for over a week, he felt damn tired. Maybe he’d find the energy to reprimand Syx later. None of this was the warrior’s fault, and he needed to realize that.
His stomach snarled painfully, causing him to groan into Eyce’s neck. “Hungry,” he mumbled.
“We’ll get you something to eat, baby. Just hold on.”
“So, this is him.” The voice sounded snide and snarky, and Echo instantly disliked whoever it belonged to.
Blinking open his eyes, he turned his head and sized up the man standing in front of him. Tall and muscled, with short blond hair and piercing blue eyes, Echo had to admit the man was gorgeous. The qualities did nothing to endear him to Echo, though. There was only one person this could be, and Echo wanted to claw the man’s face off.
“Craze, I’m guessing.”
“The one and only.” The asshole held his arms out wide and smiled arrogantly. “Aren’t you just a whole mess of trouble?”
“Hey, Craze?”
Craze continued to smirk at him as he cocked his head to the side in question. “Yes?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
Chapter Twelve
Syx watched Echo curl up in Fiero’s lap and gnaw at the beef jerky clenched in his small fist. Echo looked thin and pale, his face and hair coated in dirt and grime. He hadn’t said another word since he’d told Craze to fuck off, and Syx worried about him.
Gods, this entire mess was his fault. He’d screwed up big, and he couldn’t blame his lovers if they never forgave him for it. How many of them would have been stupid enough to allow Echo into that cave in the first place? Not a one of them, if he was willing to guess.
“Stop beating yourself up,” Vapre said quietly as his arm went around Syx’s shoulders and squeezed. “I may not be able to read your mind, but I know what you’re thinking. No one blames you, so you have to stop doing this to yourself.”
“You’re not the one that got our mate trapped inside a cave with no food or water. Just look at him.” Syx spoke softly as he nodded his head toward Echo. “I can’t believe he doesn’t hate me right now.”
“What’s he thinking?”
“Nothing about me.” Syx chuckled and shook his head. “He’s thinking about how much he hates Craze though he just met the guy. He’s wondering if that makes him an asshole, but then he doesn’t really care.”
Vapre laughed so loudly everyone turned to stare at him. He waved his hand at them as he continued to laugh. “Don’t mind me,” he gasped.
“Tell me what happened,” Echo said, and the mood around the small campfire sobered instantly. “Where’s Mac? Why did it take you so long to get us out?” Echo pointed at Craze and glared. “And why the fuck does he keep staring at me?”
“Don’t mind him,” Hex said casually. “He just thinks you’re cute.”
Craze snorted, but Syx didn’t really find anything humorous in the situation. “How did you stand to drive all that way with him?”
“Myst kept him frozen,” Fiero answered.
Myst puffed out his chest and beamed. “It sucked. I had to stay awake the entire damn drive, but it was well worth it.”
“Where’s Mac?” Echo asked again. “Did you find Gage?”
“How about we just start from the beginning,” Eyce suggested. “Vapre called the day after the full moon and told me and Onyx to get our asses out here, that something bad had happened.”
“I didn’t know what was going on, but we could all feel it,” Vapre added, motioning around the circle to include Myst
, Hex, and Fiero.
“Well, Sony wasn’t about to take no for an answer when he heard something was wrong, so we loaded up and headed out here.”
“You just left Jinx and Syn alone?”
Eyce winced at Echo’s tone but dipped his head. “Sorry, babe, but we didn’t really have much of a choice. Anyway,” he hurried on when Echo looked like he would speak again. “Jet called about an hour after we’d been on the road and gave us the whole rundown. We met them where you first made camp, and they took Sony out to look for Gage.”
“We must have walked miles through these woods.” Onyx took up the story. “Jet told us how to find the cave, and I still say we walked right past it a dozen times, but it was like nothing was there.”
Syx nodded his understanding as he thought about how many times he’d felt like they were walking in circles trying to find that cave. He wished they’d kept right on missing it until they’d given up and went home.
“It was four days before Hex and the others showed up.” Eyce frowned and shook his head. “The shifters found Gage and showed up the next day. I swear I don’t know whether I wanted to hug Jet or strangle him when he led us right to the cave.”
“So, it took you five days to find the cave?” Echo bobbed his head a few times. “You did better than we did.”
Eyce smiled crookedly but didn’t comment.
“Gage was pretty banged up,” Hex said. “I guess he’d gotten himself lost on the full moon and had been stumbling around trying to find his way back. This place is damn creepy.”
Syx shuddered in sympathy. He wouldn’t dispute that. Whether it had been a trap to lure him to the cave or not, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something lurked in the woods, just waiting for them.
“It took you four days to dig us out?” Syx’s eyebrows drew together. “Not that I’m complaining, but with Onyx and Myst, that seems like a bit much. What went wrong?”
“What didn’t go wrong?” Fiero grumbled. “First we had to move that damn tree just so we could get to the rocks. Then it was like every time we started making progress, there would be another rockslide, and the hole would close right back up. A storm blew in on the third night and knocked another tree down right in front of the entrance. It felt like…”
Evans, Gabrielle - Shades of Black [Fatefully Yours 5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) Page 10