“Go away.”
“You’re acting like a child. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and just talk to us,” Fiero yelled right back.
Eyce closed his eyes and groaned. That wasn’t the way to get through to Syx. The harder they pushed, the more the demon retreated into himself. Putting demands on him and calling him names was not the way to get the response they wanted.
“I’m not feeling sorry for myself.” Good grief, Syx even sounded whiney. “And I’m not whining!”
Eyce couldn’t help but chuckle. He was a little ashamed to admit it, but Syx’s behavior was something he expected from Echo. That didn’t mean he thought Echo was a child or less of a man, but his mate was young, impulsive, and overemotional at times. It was to be expected. A three-thousand-year-old warrior pouting in his room was beyond hilarious.
“Syx, just open the door.”
Eyce jumped again at Vapre’s softly spoken request. People really needed to stop popping up on him. Couldn’t a man worry in peace?
“Not in this house they can’t,” Syx called.
“Huh?” Vapre’s eyebrows drew together, and he tilted his head to the side.
“I think he was commenting to my thoughts, not your verbal request.” Eyce rolled his eyes and pounded on the door. “Just open up, damn it!”
To his astonishment, the door swung open almost immediately. Syx stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a frown. Even pissed off and disheveled, he looked good enough to eat. Eyce swallowed hard and tried to ignore the swelling of his cock.
“Don’t think you can sway me with sexual favors,” Syx said haughtily. He turned his nose up and sniffed. “I will not be wooed by hard muscles and throbbing erections.”
Eyce grabbed his lover by the hips and jerked him forward, mashing their groins together and grinding against him. “Are you sure about that?”
Syx sighed and rested his forehead on Eyce’s shoulder. “Just tell me what you want and go away.”
“We want to talk.” Vapre moved around Syx and molded himself to the man’s back. “We’re just worried about you.”
“You mean worried that I’ve gone off the deep end and will hurt someone.”
“What?” Eyce jerked back and lifted Syx’s face with both hands. “What are you talking about? No one thinks that.”
Syx glanced past him to Fiero. “Are you sure about that?” he repeated Eyce’s words from seconds before.
“Huh?” Fiero stepped closer and scowled. It appeared Eyce wasn’t the only one confused by the statement.
“You held Echo back when he tried to come to me, like you were protecting him. I don’t know what I did to make you think I’d ever lay a finger on him in anger, but I assure you, I wouldn’t.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Fiero growled and threw his hands up in the air.
It wasn’t the reaction Eyce had expected. He saw this rendezvous going south in a hurry, and opened his mouth to intervene, but Fiero beat him to it.
“Is that why you’ve been sulking in your room? Dude, you really need to get over yourself. I held Echo back because you didn’t look exactly welcome to contact. It had nothing to do with you hurting him. I was trying to protect you, dumbass!”
“You…me…I…” Syx stammered.
“You, me, uh, uh,” Fiero mocked. “Yes, you! If you’d bothered to use some of those communication skills you’re so fond of spouting off about, maybe you’d have saved everyone a lot of worry. For a genius, you’re damn thick sometimes.”
Syx launched himself at Fiero and attacked his mouth like a starving man. Eyce watched, rubbing the back of his neck and shaking his head. No one was reacting the way he thought they would or should. They were confusing the shit out of him.
“Thank you,” Syx panted long seconds later. “I love you.”
“Uh, okay,” Fiero mumbled, looking completely debauched. “Love you, too.”
Syx just laughed and kissed him again. “Now, where’s Echo?”
“Hiding in his room,” Vapre answered immediately. “He hasn’t come out since you two argued.”
“Great.” Syx sighed as he pushed back into his room and began dressing. “Now I feel like an even bigger asshole. I’ll talk to him.”
“I’m thinking you’re the only one he’d listen to right now,” Eyce admitted.
“Yep, and it’s my mess. I’ll fix it.” Syx finished buttoning his jeans and pulled a black T-shirt over his head. “Let me talk to Echo, and then we can all have a little powwow where I grovel and beg for forgiveness.”
Eyce didn’t know where the sudden attitude shift had come from, but he wasn’t going to question it. As long as Syx was back, Eyce was happy. “So, we’re good now, right?”
Syx grabbed Eyce around the back of the neck and crushed their mouths together. “We’re good. I was a dickhead, and I can admit that. Some things are going to have to change, but we’ll talk about it later.” He started to walk away, but paused and looked up toward the ceiling. “I need to apologize to Craze, too.” Then he shook his head and hurried down the hall to Echo’s bedroom.
“Should we follow him?” Fiero asked. It was obvious the demon wanted to, but he was deferring to Eyce’s judgment.
“Let’s give them a minute.” Eyce jerked his thumb in the opposite direction. “Let’s round everyone up and get dinner started.” He looked down the hall and smiled indulgently when he saw Syx slip into Echo’s room. “They’re fine.”
Fiero shrugged, but he did look toward Echo’s room in longing. “Then let’s eat. I’m starving.”
As Eyce led the way to the staircase, he couldn’t help but wonder which one of them would be the next to crack under the stress.
* * * *
“You’ve been saying that for weeks now!” Mac shouted. “I have friends in that damn compound. They don’t deserve what’s happening to them. I can feel it. I dream about it. Why won’t you help them?”
The post-makeup-sex smile slid from Echo’s lips as he entered the kitchen with Syx in tow. There hadn’t been many words spoken, but then again, he figured they didn’t need them. They’d both said and done things that they didn’t mean, and there was no reason to drag bad memories to the surface.
It seemed that Mac didn’t share his sentiments, though. His friend had a lot to say, and he was saying it very loudly, much to the displeasure of Echo’s mates if the frowns on their faces were any indication. Unfortunately, Mac was right. Even more unfortunate was the fact that Echo was going to have to tell his men that.
“He’s right.”
All heads snapped toward him, and Echo actually flinched. He wasn’t afraid, but they’d just made up, and he really didn’t want to cause another argument. No matter if the residents were part of this war or not, they needed to rescue them.
“Can I ask you a question?” Syx spoke softly, without judgment, but Echo had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what the warrior had to say.
“I suppose.”
“Why is it so important to you that we save these guys?”
Echo sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Like Mac said, they’re our friends. If they’re being hurt, it’s most likely because of me. I wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t try to help them.”
“What about your first lover?” Vapre asked. “You sent him back to the lab without a backward glance. So, why do you suddenly have a conscience now?”
Echo bit his lip as the guilt swamped him. He’d second-guessed his decision from the moment he made it.
“C’mere, baby.” Hex scooted back from the table and held his arms open.
Echo hesitated for only a moment before climbing up in his mate’s lap and resting his head on Hex’s shoulder. “You think I’m being selfish.”
“No.” Hex kissed the top of his head and sighed. “I know he betrayed you and hurt you, but what choice did he have? They’d hurt him, baby. I didn’t get the impression that he’s very strong.”
“Hex, you do remember that he tried to kill you in a filth
y alley, right?” Echo wanted to growl in frustration.
“What if he’s being forced to do those things, though?”
“They didn’t beat him.” Echo growled under his breath.
“Baby, he was covered in bruises and cuts.”
“I didn’t get the impression that they’d beat him to make him help. His thoughts were almost smug when he was pushing them at me.” Here came the hard part. “I lied. Well, not so much lied as just withheld some things, but our relationship was so new at the time. Even though he hurt me and tried to hurt you, and I guess he was my friend at one time, and…”
“Shh, baby.” Hex pulled him closer and smoothed his palm down Echo’s spine. “Take a deep breath, and just tell me.”
“I was afraid if I told you the truth, that you’d hurt him or worse. He was my friend, and I thought I loved him in the beginning. Even if he hurt us, I didn’t want him dead.” Echo took a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly. “He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was eager to help. He was, or maybe still is, sleeping with the head of security.”
No one said anything for a long time, and Echo buried his face in Hex’s neck so he wouldn’t have to see the scrutiny or disappointment in their eyes. “I’m sorry. I was too pissed off at the time to realize it, but I think he wanted me to believe that he was just doing it for candy bars and video games. There was something dark inside his mind, though. I don’t know how to explain it, but I knew we couldn’t trust him. I don’t think anyone forced him to do those things in Spokane, either. There’s something bad going on. I just don’t know what.”
“Get Gage,” Hex said quietly. His strong hands never stopped in their stroking, and after a few minutes, Echo began to calm down. “Just breathe, Echo. I’m not upset with you. That is the Echo I fell in love with, and I understand why you didn’t say anything. I got the same impression from him, and it would have been damn hard for you to talk me into helping him, anyway. We’ll get the residents out, and I even promise that we won’t purposely hurt your friend until we find out if he’s acting on his own or being used by someone else.”
“He’s not my friend,” Echo stated firmly. “I just don’t want anyone to die if there’s a way around it. He is definitely the enemy, though. I really just want my friends out unharmed.”
“I won’t lie and promise you that. We’ll do our best, though.”
Echo clung to Hex’s shirt and nodded against his mate’s shoulder. “I know you will. I trust you, big guy. I’m sorry that I lied.”
“Hush. It’s all over with, and none of it matters anymore. We need to talk to Gage and work out a plan. Do you want to stay?”
“Yes. Where is Gage anyway?” Mac and Sony were in the kitchen, and the three were usually inseparable.
“Sleeping,” Sony said icily. “Sleep wasn’t exactly easy to come by last night.”
“Don’t start,” Echo said just as coldly as he looked up to glare across the table at his friend. “Syx feels bad about what happened, so just drop it.”
Sony shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about Syx.” His lips snapped together, and he looked in the opposite direction when Gage entered the kitchen.
Echo didn’t know what the big werewolf had done to land himself in hot water, but apparently Echo wasn’t the only one with trouble in paradise. Though the curiosity ate at him, he kept his mouth closed, and didn’t ask the questions that were burning his tongue. It wasn’t any of his business, and if Sony and Mac wanted him to know, they’d tell him when they were ready.
“You wanted to talk to me?” Gage didn’t sit at the table or acknowledge his lovers’ presence in any way. He stood in the kitchen doorway, his hands shoved in his pockets, and his head hung like a whipped dog.
“What did you do?” Echo closed his eyes and groaned at his outburst. Damn it, he hadn’t meant to say that. It hurt to watch his friends suffering, though. It might not be any of his business, but he wanted to help. He knew from experience just how stubborn alpha males could be.
“Echo,” Eyce chided softly from the chair beside Hex. “Not now.”
Echo sighed, but winked at Mac when the man giggled. “You see what I have to put up with? I can’t even ask a simple question.”
“You talk too much.” Fiero grinned as he said it, though, then turned his attention to Gage. “So, what did you do to land your ass in a sling?”
“Fiero!” Hex, Eyce, and Syx all yelled in unison.
Echo was having a hard time containing his laughter, and Mac was right there with him. Even Sony was biting his lip as he stared resolutely in the opposite direction.
“What?” Fiero demanded. “I see what Echo means. A guy can’t even ask a damn question around here.” He waved his hand toward Gage. “The man looks like someone dick-punched him. Sony looks like he wants to shake the person’s hand who did it. Mac’s about to fall off his damn chair from trying not to laugh. I just want to know what happened.”
“Did it ever occur to you that it might not be any of your business?” Onyx asked.
“No.” Fiero crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head stubbornly.
Echo lost it. He fell against Hex’s chest and laughed until he couldn’t breathe. Of course Fiero wouldn’t understand that the world didn’t revolve around him. The demon wanted answers, and he just expected everyone to serve them up hot with a side dish of ass-kissing.
“Gage told Sony that—”
That was as far as Mac got before Sony reached over and covered the guy’s mouth with his hand. “Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it.”
“Oh, and the plot thickens.” Fiero rubbed his hands together and sat forward in his chair. “So, what did you tell the runt?” He jerked his head from Gage to Sony as though there was no question as to whom he meant.
“Nothing,” Gage grumbled. “I said nothing.”
“Should I just dig it out of his head?” Syx volunteered.
“No!” Sony, Hex, Eyce, and Gage all shouted together, while everyone else yelled in the affirmative.
Syx started choking. “You did not!”
Gage winced, but nodded.
“Well?”
Syx looked at Echo, back to Gage, then back to Echo again. “Gage told Sony…”
“He told me that his ex-boyfriend used to do this thing with his tongue when he was giving Gage head, and asked if I could try it.” Sony glared at Gage for a moment, then flopped back in his chair and averted his eyes.
“Oh, wow,” Echo breathed. He didn’t even know what to say to that, but he could definitely understand why Sony was so upset. He hoped to hell his men had more brains than that.
“What wrong with that?” Fiero asked. “Don’t you want to know what he likes?”
Echo rolled his eyes. Well, there went that theory. “Fiero, sometimes you have all the social sophistication of a bag of rocks.” He looked his mate right in the eye as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. “My ex-lover did this thing where he swiveled his hips while he was rid—”
Fiero jumped up from his chair and snarled. “Shut up! I do not want to hear about you having sex with someone else!”
Echo arched an eyebrow and smirked.
“Yeah, I get it.” He pointed his finger at Gage. “You’re a bastard, and you should be on your knees groveling.”
“Believe me, I’ve tried.”
“Well, try harder,” Echo countered. “Would you rather be with your ex?”
“No!” Gage roared. “I don’t want anyone else.”
Hex chuckled as he combed his fingers through Echo’s hair. “We’ll meet again later. I think you have more important things to do right now.”
Gage nodded once, strode across the room, and lifted Sony over his shoulder. He left the room without a word. Sony wasn’t nearly as quiet, though. “Put me down, asshole!”
Mac stood from the table and smiled at Echo. “Sony’s not really that mad about it. He just likes the attention.”
“Oh, I get it.
” He winked at his friend and mouthed, “Watch this.” Then he glanced over at Onyx and took a deep breath. “Screw you.”
Onyx didn’t even blink, but his voice was deep and commanding. “You know the drill. Upstairs, naked, and make your choices.”
“Yes, sir.” Echo hopped out of Hex’s lap and darted out of the room, smiling like an idiot the entire way up the stairs and to the playroom.
Chapter Nine
“You know he’s playing you, right?”
Onyx rose from the table and shrugged. “I know.”
“It’s not exactly the same if he asks for it, though.”
Onyx cocked his head to the side and smiled. “Why is that? It’s all a game, Eyce. I have no desire to dominate him outside of that room. We can give each other something that we need. I don’t think it really matters how we get there, as long as we’re both on the same page.”
“I just…” Eyce trailed off and looked away. How could he tell Onyx that he was feeling a bit jealous? It wasn’t as though he resented the time Echo spent with the warrior, but sometimes he wanted to be the one to give their mate what he needed. However, it seemed Echo turned to him less and less these days.
If he made a big deal about it, he looked like an overbearing, jealous idiot. If he said nothing, things would continue on as they were, and it would eventually drive a wedge between them. Either way he lost, and either way, he’d end up the bad guy.
“Eyce?” Onyx rested his hip on the table beside Eyce, and looked down at him. “You just what?”
“I…just want you to be careful with him. I know you wouldn’t hurt him, but I don’t think he knows his own limits.”
“Go.”
Eyce jerked his head up to stare at the demon. “What? Go where?”
“Go get Echo.” Onyx cupped Eyce’s cheek and smiled. “You’re not fooling anyone. I was right where you are a couple of months ago, and I know how much it sucks. Echo needs you just as much as he needs the rest of us, but I know you won’t believe me. So, go get him and talk it out.”
Syx shuffled over and bent to kiss Eyce’s cheek. “Don’t let it build up and do something stupid like I did.”
Evans, Gabrielle - Reckoning [Fatefully Yours 9] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) Page 7