“Kiss me.” The demand left him in a rough tone.
She smiled now. The hand stroking his backside moved between them to caress his cock. Growling, he grabbed her hands, pinned them over her head and covered her mouth in a deep, erotic kiss.
The white heat of his powers raced in him, along with the iridescent light of the mating bond, urging him to claim her.
She moaned, her leg sliding restlessly over him. He stroked her silky thigh, up over her hip, teasing the edges of her panties.
“Aethan, please...”
With quick movements, her underwear disappeared. He moved lower, parted her thighs. Focused on her pleasure, he licked her from top to bottom. Once, twice, then he clamped down on her core and suckled. She came off the bed, her cry of pleasure filling him.
***
Her fist tangled in his hair, she pulled him up to her and saw his eyes. His gray irises were already mere specks as a burning white flame took over.
So fast, they changed? Her heart kicked up in panic.
No–no–no!
She didn’t give a damn if she blistered or burned, she wanted him desperately. Reaching up, she clamped her mouth on his, deepened the kiss.
He broke away. “I can’t, Echo.”
His words were like a sword in her heart.
“No. Don’t say that. Please. I can’t stand this anymore, being unable to touch you, to love to you.”
He sat up and dropped his head in his hands. His hair fell forward like a dark blue veil, hiding him from her.
***
Aethan squeezed his eyes shut. He was so desperate for her. His cock strained painfully, making its wishes known. He could almost feel the feminine muscles of her silken core gripping his sex. Sparks shot through him and battered against his shields.
“Why won’t you believe me when I say your powers don’t hurt me?” She crawled up behind him and laid her cheek on his back. At her touch, a burst of light flooded his vision.
No!
He jerked away so fast he fell off the couch, landing on the floor. He was glowing like a light bulb!
“Aethan!” She dropped to the floor beside him. “Please, let me near you. Your powers don’t hurt me—it just tingles. See?” She crawled closer, the light enclosing her fingertips.
“No!” he roared, fear seizing him by the throat. “Get out!”
She froze. The pain in her eyes ripped him apart.
A tormented groan erupted from his throat. “This is one light you can never walk into. It’s fucking treacherous. It will eat you alive. You die and I will wreak havoc on the planet unlike anything seen before. Now go. Please.”
A heart-wrenching sob escaped her before she snatched up his discarded tee, wheeled around, and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
CHAPTER 24
Echo crossed over to East First Street and headed for the Peacock Lounge after work.
Her head pounded despite the pain meds she’d taken earlier. She needed to be among people, get lost in the crowds, and forget her misery for a while. And try to get her mind off this disaster her life was shaping out to be. Thank God Kira had the afternoon shift. Being with her friend would give her much needed time to get her emotions under control.
She hefted her gym bag over her shoulder, zipped up her windbreaker, shoved her hands into her pockets, and encountered the soothing warmth of her stones.
It was just past noon and she’d be safe from any demonii attack. Those fiends didn’t come out during the day since it was a death sentence for them.
Pushing open the door to the lounge, she was welcomed by the smell of fried food and alcohol.
At this time of the day, the bar was relaxed. There were a few empty tables but that would all change and the frenzy would set in, in another hour.
Waving at Kira, she took a seat in her friend’s section. Moments later, Kira danced over, her hazel eyes sparkling. She set a Pepsi down.
“On the house,” she said. Then she leaned closer, her eyes narrowing. “Or by the looks of you, definitely something stronger.” She grabbed the Pepsi before Echo could open her mouth and bopped off again.
On her way to the bar, Kira laughed and flirted with some regulars, and for the first time Echo felt envy.
Why couldn’t she be like Kira? Carefree, taking life as it came and being able to have fun without sending out mixed signals.
Sighing, she traced the grooves of the wooden table with her finger then stopped to look at her hands. They appeared to be normal, the tanned skin smooth, her fingernails cut short. No, she didn’t get hurt. When she’d touched Aethan, a light current streamed through her, more arousing than painful. It was only when he grew aroused that the tingles became sharper and sent her libido skyrocketing.
Her fingers balled at the sudden, sharp ache in her chest. What was the use of being a descendent of an angel when she couldn’t even be with the man she loved? She craved him so badly. It hurt far worse to know he would never belong to her, never be part of her in that most intimate way.
“There you go.” Kira set a glass of clear liquid and tonic water before her. Echo glanced up from the scarred table, as Kira popped open the tonic and poured it into the glass. A slice of lime floating happily in the fizz, she pushed it toward Echo.
“A good antidote for what troubles you. Drink up. Ten more minutes, then we can leave, and you’re talking.” Her warning delivered, Kira bounced back to work.
Talk? She didn’t want to talk. Talking would only bring back the pain she was desperately trying to bury. And which disaster of her life did she tell her friend about? How the man she loved wouldn’t touch her, because he feared he’d hurt her, or that she was the Healer, a descendant of an angel—hell, she seriously doubted Kira would believe any of this!
Sighing, Echo glanced up to find Neal watching her from across the bar, his brows lowered in a scowl. Argh, definitely not the person she cared to look at, let alone think of. She had too much going on to worry about his spiteful little digs. She turned away and picked up her drink, taking a tentative sip.
“Echo?” Jon slid into the chair opposite her.
She smiled, glad to see a friendly face. “You just got here?”
He nodded. “I have a few minutes before I clock in, so—” Then his gaze widened.
She’d forgotten she was no longer wearing her contacts. “That bad, huh?”
Color rushed to his face. “No–no! I like them. I’m guessing they’re real, right?”
She nodded.
“Better,” he said smiling. “So hey, it’s Kira’s birthday soon and I managed to get a table at Anarchy for Saturday. I told her about it, but she’s worried you won’t agree.”
Echo groaned and dropped her head on the table. Kira had that right. A low growl rumbled in her throat. Club Anarchy was the last place she wanted Kira to go to. The only reason she’d gone there before was because she’d been hunting demoniis.
She lifted her head and glared at him. “She’s right. I don’t like that place. What about the one in Soho? Blitz, I hear is good.” And safe.
“For my gramps,” Jon snorted, but his blue eyes caressed her face. “So, are you willing?”
Echo dropped her gaze to her glass, wishing Jon wouldn’t look at her in that way. “Who’s going?”
“A few of us from here.”
“Neal, too?”
“No.” A short pause followed before he asked the question that took a while in coming. “What happened between you two?”
She sighed, traced her fingertip over the rim of her glass. “One date. He doesn’t like the word, ‘no.’”
“Asshole—” He grimaced, brushing at his blond hair. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I slapped him.”
“Ah. That explains the venomous attitude toward you.”
“He doesn’t bother me.” She shrugged. Then sighed. “About Kira’s birthday, count me in.” Someone had to keep an eye out for them. Might as well be her. Then she winced. There’d be hell to pay
when Aethan found out.
“So, what time are we meeting?” she asked. The bar was starting to fill up fast with the happy hour rush.
When he didn’t answer, she turned to Jon and found him staring at her with a glazed look. “Jon—hey? What’s wrong?”
“He’s under my control. They all are.”
At the sound of the voice behind her, the hair on her arms rose. She became aware of the abrupt silence, the acrid odor of sulfur stinging her nostrils. Her head snapped to the right.
And there, among the still figures of the bar’s customers and staff, stood Lazaar. The demon leaned against the bar, dressed in black slacks again and a buttoned-down shirt. His dark dreads hung about his face.
She knew about demoniis proclivity for bars and clubs but they never came out during the day because the sun incinerated their sensitive corneas and caused instant death. And yet here he was. No demonii horde with him this time. She tried to look past his aura to see his demon self and failed. Realizing just how powerful he truly was to have such complete control, Echo stiffened her spine and waited.
“Let’s go.” He beckoned her with his head.
Her fists clenched. Please let Aethan be right and about free will preventing him from taking her to Hell. But the motionless bodies around her didn’t bode well. She held onto her composure. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
In response, Lazaar strolled across to her then shoved a man, who sat frozen with a glass to his mouth, off his seat. The man toppled to the floor, liquor spilling down his shirt. Lazaar dragged the chair close to her and sat down. The stench of sulfur was so strong, she wanted to hurl. But she remembered what happened the last time she did and swallowed hard.
Her heart thumped violently. She didn’t dare look for Kira and risk him noticing her friend.
“Here’s the thing,” He crooked his finger, and the girl sitting at the opposite table walked to him like a puppet on strings. Sharp black claws extended from Lazaar’s fingertips. He smirked, traced a talon down the girl’s arm.
“Refuse me again and I’ll kill her.”
No! Her throat closed on a scream, her mind trying desperately to find a way out of this nightmare.
Flames leapt from his eyes at her silence. His brow cocked up.
“Very well.” He pointed to the floor. The girl knelt. A blur of movement and blood seeped from the gash in her neck that stopped just short of her carotid. Several more slashes appeared on her chest, saturating her white sweater. “Shall I release her from my command and let her feel the full effect of my fun?”
***
Aethan’s eyes snapped open in the darkness. He stared at the familiar rough granite walls of the Catskill Mountains. Power, bleeding out of him, ricocheted against the walls, causing momentary bursts of light. His mind filled with uneasiness. Whatever it was had pulled him out his comatose Grounding for the first time in three thousand years. He scanned the surrounding area but picked up nothing. Then his heart jack-knifed. Only one person could do that to him. Echo.
While he fought the restraints of his Grounding, he tried to mind-link with Blaéz, but the buzzing static electricity hurt his head and wouldn’t allow him to connect. He tried Týr. Dagan. Nothing.
Urias! He was trapped in a prison of his own powers, unable to get to his mate.
***
Echo glared at the bastard looking around the bar as if he was enjoying a relaxing afternoon and wanted nothing more than a frothy beer. He flipped back the dreads from his face with an impatient hand.
“Hmmn, let’s get another to join in, shall we?” Lazaar glanced around, his flaming gaze settling on Jon. “He’ll do.”
No! Terror rushed through her as he seized hold of Jon’s hand across the table and stroked his pinkie. “Each time I call and you don’t respond, I will do something to them.”
The sound of a bone snapping filled the quiet place.
“Stop it!” She jumped to her feet. Jon sat there, not a flicker of a response from pain that must be excruciating.
“I’m glad you see this my way,” Lazaar said, standing.
Free will might keep her here, but she’d be damned if she let him hurt anyone else. She reached to the back waist of her jeans and palmed the obsidian dagger.
He laughed. “You think to do what with that little weapon?”
She flew at him, fury raging through her. He evaded her attack, swung around, and grabbed her wrist, his arm clamping around her waist. Echo inhaled sharply, gritting her teeth against the puke-inducing reek of sulfur and...coppery vanilla?
Her heart pounded with a fresh surge of adrenalin. This was the son-of-a-bitch who’d killed Tamsyn. She didn’t care how he changed his appearance, but his stench didn’t lie. Echo elbowed him in the ribs then head-butted him and, hearing a satisfying grunt, hoped she broke his fucking nose. His grip loosened a fraction. She wheeled around and drove her dagger into his chest.
Crap! She missed.
He snarled and flashed several feet away, sending furniture scattering about. She jumped over the fallen chair, anger charging through her, and attacked. His eyes changed, the brown became the eerie red of demoniis. He released the patrons from his hold and the bar came alive again, buzzing with noise and confusion.
Screams started. People got in her way as she hunted for him.
“Echo!” Like a squall, Aethan came rushing toward her. Her heart hammering, she spun around. He grabbed her. “Are you hurt?” The words were a hiss of power.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She pushed away from him, searching frantically for the fiend. “Lazaar, he’s here!”
“No, Echo. He’s gone.”
Before she could protest, a sudden hysterical scream of pain broke from the girl kneeling on the floor.
Don’t move.” Aethan left her and headed for the wounded girl as the ruckus in the bar grew. He crouched in front of her and laid his hand over the lacerations on her chest. Familiar healing light seeped out of his palm and the girl stared at him in a daze. The noise level changed when the other Guardians walked into the bar.
Týr took over from Aethan. The girl transferred her dazed attention to him. At least his beauty would keep her mind off her pain. Echo turned, searching the crowd for Jon. The agony in his blue eyes had her hurrying to his side.
“Oh Jon, I’m sorry,” she whispered. He held his hand against his chest, his pinkie sticking out at an odd angle.
“I broke my finger?” he asked in confusion, his voice thick with pain. Echo did the only thing she could. She held him, offering comfort, while she looked around for someone to heal him. Guilt and anger raged like a whirlpool in her, making it hard to answer.
“Echo?”
At the terse tone, she turned her head and met Aethan’s hard gaze. “Heal him,” she begged. “He doesn’t deserve this.”
“Then you should let him go.”
She stepped back from her friend and reached for the stones in her pocket, her fist clenching around them, but nothing could calm her.
Blaéz came over and nodded to Aethan. “I’ll see to him.”
She was responsible for all this. For pretending everything was normal in her life. By wanting to get away from her pain, she’d hurt others instead.
Aethan drew her aside.
“It’s my fault,” she whispered. “I was waiting for Kira, so we could leave. I didn’t expect any demoniis to be out here at this time of the day—” She broke off when she saw all of them were back in a trance-like state. Jon’s expression had glazed over again. “What? What is it now?”
“Dagan. He’ll hold them, while Blaéz and Týr do a mind sweep. We can’t let them retain their memories of this.”
She nodded. Knowing Jon and the girl wouldn’t have any memory of the horrible experience gave her a small measure of relief. Her eyes swept over the still figures of the customers.
“Kira? Where is she?’” Echo broke away from Aethan in panic and stumbled into Dagan. The dark warrior didn’t even look at
her. He merely stepped back. She mumbled an apology and rushed past him into the passage leading to the staff bathrooms. Shoving open the door, she hurried inside and looked into each stall.
Nothing.
She dashed back into the corridor. Aethan grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Echo, slow down. Breathe. She’s all right.”
Meeting his steady gray eyes, she closed hers in gratitude. He’d know. She didn’t resist when he pulled her into his arms. The strength of his embrace steadied her. His earthy scent calmed her. But his hand caressing her back had desire flaring again.
She gritted her teeth and stepped back. “Where is she?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw at her retreat. “In a room farther along this corridor.”
She hurried to the locker room and found Kira humming an off-beat tune while she swapped her black work shoes for her fur-lined Uggs.
A smile lit her face. “Hey, I’m almost done here and we can leav—Hi, Aethan,” she said, looking over Echo’s shoulder. A wry smile curved her mouth. “Guess this means you’re not coming home with me.”
She grabbed Kira in a fierce hug. “Yeah. Something’s come up. I have to leave, but I’ll walk out with you.”
Echo watched the tail lights of Kira’s cab disappear. “I did this,” she said, standing on the busy roadside as the sheer horror of what had happened crashed over her, adrenalin finally flat-lining. “Go ahead tell me what a fool I am for insisting on having something that was never mine.”
“You’re not a fool for wanting normalcy or for caring, Echo. Just human.”
“And now I want to kill him so bad, make him hurt for what he did in there.”
“I know, me’morae, but he’s an old one. They’re much harder to kill. It will take time, but we will get him, make no mistake.” He dropped his hand to her lower back. “Come, let’s get out of here.”
“Aethan, wait.” She stepped in front of him and frowned as she looked him over. His shirt and jeans had dirt smears. His hair was freed of its tie and hung limp on his shoulders. The scent of earth clung to him as if he’d rolled in soil.
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