Absolute Surrender

by Georgia Lyn Hunter

  She dragged her feet when it was time to leave, knowing Aethan would be waiting for her. Unable to put it off any longer, she left the gym and headed up the steps, her heart thudding dully.

  He’d parked the Range Rover on the opposite side of the street and leaned against it, watching the gym entrance with a grim stare. Men passing on the sidewalk eyed him warily. The women gaped at him in sheer fascination, drawn to his sexual magnetism and that angelic allure.

  Aethan had tried to teach her to shield her allure, which was a miserable failure. It wasn’t pheromones, after all. Well, she didn’t care. She’d been taking the suppressant Gran made for her, so she’d just stick with it.

  He straightened when he saw her.

  Echo stood on the curb, watching the afternoon traffic, her heart not ready to face what was to come. She buttoned her coat against the chill that seemed determined to take over her body. Clients shuffled up the steps behind her and she mumbled in response to their goodbyes.

  Aethan crossed the road and took her gym bag, ushering her toward the Range Rover. She’d expected some kind of argument from him, about leaving that morning without informing him. But he remained silent for the entire journey, one hour of sheer torture.

  Finally he parked the car in the enormous garage. She didn’t get out like she normally did. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her waist, staring at the black Lamborghini Reventón parked in front of them. The one she’d driven a lifetime ago.

  “We—” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “—we need to talk.”

  “Echo, I know you’re upset—”

  Upset? It didn’t even begin to describe how she felt. She couldn’t be near him without begging him to make love to her. She was wound up so tight, any more and she would snap.

  “It’s beyond that now. I can’t do this anymore. I tried, and I just can’t.” She fumbled with the door handle and scrambled from the vehicle, slamming the door behind her.

  He caught up with her seconds later and grabbed her arm. His eyes flared with frustration. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it already is.”

  “I make this difficult?” She glared at him. “Tell me how? ’Cause you sure as hell won’t let me touch you!” She tried to hold back the bitterness and failed. “If I just needed sexual satisfaction, I could see to it myself, or find a one night stand. It’s just as gratifying and empty. At least, I don’t have to suffer the humiliation afterward.”

  “Echo, no—”

  She shook her head, cutting him off. “Do you know what it feels like, yearning for the one person who means more to you than anything else in this world but he won’t let you in? You’re left with nothing but a longing for what could have been—” She stopped, took a deep breath. “I can’t live like this anymore.”

  Breaking away from him, she pushed open the door to the basement and hurried past the gymnasium to the elevator.

  He followed behind her, stepping into the elevator. The silence hung heavy and strained between them as the door swished closed.

  “Echo—”

  She shrank into the corner of the metal box they were caged in. She didn’t want to breathe in his tormenting scent. Didn’t want his excuses.

  “Every time I reach out to you, are you going to disappear or tell me to get out? I’ve touched you, felt your powers sweep over me. I. Didn’t. Get. Hurt! Do you hear me?”

  “Don’t you get it? I will be inside you—inside you. There’s no escaping then. And I will not take that chance.”

  “So, your solution is to touch me with no emotions involved? Like you did this morning?”

  “What the hell would you have me do?” His temper blazed. “Tell me! I saw what my powers do, how it shocks the human heart. I can’t risk you. I won’t!”

  Pain made it hard to speak as she asked the question that had been gnawing a hole in her heart since their first night together. “Where do you go when you need relief, Aethan?”

  His mouth tightened, he didn’t answer.

  She nodded, battened down her emotions, and met his turbulent gaze. “We both know you will go to someone else soon. You may not want to, but you’ll have to. I can’t live with that. I won’t.” She took a deep breath. “So for both our sakes, let it be. We are over.”

  “Echo, don’t do this. I don’t want anyone but you.”

  The pain in his voice, the devastation in his eyes was a punch to her stomach. She couldn’t breathe. Better to rip the Band-Aid off now, she told herself. She looked at him through a haze of tears. “I’m sorry, Aethan. I love you too much to destroy us both.”

  She walked out of the elevator and headed for the dressing room to pack.

  ***

  Aethan materialized in a building under construction on the Lower East Side. He headed outside, no particular destination in mind. Anger, frustration, and misery pressed down on him. He didn’t know what to do, had no idea where to turn. She left him because she thought he couldn’t keep his damn fly zipped and would go after another.

  No. She left you because you wouldn’t take a chance on your love for her and make her yours, dumbass!

  Fuck off!

  His control teetering on a blade’s edge, he saw Blaéz and Týr waiting for him at the corner of Broome and Eldridge Street. He should have headed in the opposite direction.

  He slipped on his shades, knew his eyes were inhuman just then, since everything he saw was hazy.

  “Your demon would speak to you, said you weren’t answering your cell,” Blaéz said, his ice-pale eyes watching Aethan closely. “Said he’ll be at the usual place.”

  Answering his cell was the last thing on Aethan’s mind, when Echo was ripping his heart out. He shook his head. “I can’t. Reschedule, speak to him, whatever. I don’t care—”

  The tattoo on his biceps shifted. A cold insidious vibration snaked over his skin. Demoniis were on the prowl.

  Fuck, yeah! He was so on board for this shit. A cold rage emanated from him, stirring the debris at his feet as he dematerialized.

  CHAPTER 27

  Echo stood by the window and watched as the pale morning light trickled in, chasing away the darkness. And wondered if she’d ever feel warmth in her heart again. It’d been the worst night of her life.

  After she’d packed a few of her things, she’d asked Aethan for another room. He’d stared at her, his expression tight. Then pivoting on his heels, he strode from the room, only to throw open a door to one adjacent to his before he stalked away.

  God. She squeezed her eyes tight, drew a shuddering breath, and turned from the window. Ignoring the elegant décor of her new cream and gold room, she headed for the clothes she’d tossed on the armchair and picked out a change of gear. Perhaps a hot shower would drive away the cold that seeped into her bones and made her feel like she’d aged overnight.

  An hour later, she made her way downstairs and tried not to think about Aethan, or the fact she hadn’t seen him since he’d left last night. At the thought of never seeing him, never holding him again, anguished surged through her. She clung to the balustrade for support as a haunting tune drifted to her.

  A piano? She couldn’t imagine any of the warriors having the temperament for such a pastime. Drawn by the poignant melody, she headed in the direction of the sound, pushed open the door, and stepped into the music room.

  A woman sat at the piano, immersed in her music, her elegant fingers dancing lightly across the ebony and ivory keys. Her silvery hair glimmered in the softly-lit room and trailed down her back to pool on the bench. At Echo’s intrusion, she stopped playing and looked up.

  Her ethereal features were a study in perfection. Her skin was creamy-gold, and her dark brows arched delicately over coppery-colored eyes. She rose to her feet. Her silky, pale-blue gown flowed sinuously over her tall, curvy body.

  “Hello, Týr,” the woman said softly, but her gaze was locked on Echo.

  Only then did Echo become aware that the warrior was behind her and unusually silen
t. “Hi. Uh, I’m Echo Carter.”

  The woman looked at the hand Echo held out before she grasped it in both of hers, her touch as gentle as her voice. “I am Elytani of Ademéras.”

  “Ademéras?”

  “Yes. It’s in Empyrea.”

  Echo went rigid in shock. Then she jerked her hand away as if she’d been stung.

  “You’re from Empyrea?” she asked, dread filling her at that pretty hair and stunning face.

  The woman nodded. “I–er–I am spending some time here with Aethan.”

  “You are?” Echo whispered as a pit formed in the cavity of her chest.

  “Yes. I am his betrothed.”

  Something inside Echo splintered then shattered into tiny little pieces, making her realize she’d still carried hope that somehow she and Aethan would work this out.

  Strong hands grabbed her shoulders as she swayed. Well, what do you know? She was still able to stand while crippling pain swept through her.

  The fact Elytani was here meant Aethan had to know. How could he not, when the woman was staying in his house? And he hadn’t even bothered to tell her.

  “Echo, we should leave,” Týr said softly from behind her.

  Composing herself, she pulled away from Týr and faced Elytani. “I hope you’ll be happy here. Excuse me, I must go. I–I have to get to work.”

  Pride forced her to take normal steps to the door, but her fragmented heart insisted she hurry.

  Týr followed. “Echo, hang on a sec.”

  She ignored him and headed for the front door, but he slipped his arm around her shoulders and steered her into the study.

  “Sit down,” he ordered.

  She didn’t, just wrapped her arms around herself, wishing the agony would ease, give her a moment to breathe, so she could function again.

  “This is not what you think,” Týr said, his expression drawn.

  She turned away, didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Or see his pity. She gazed through the window. Mist obscured most of the garden this early in the morning.

  “She’s the one, isn’t she?” she asked Týr. “The one Aethan’s father wanted for him? She’s an Empyrean. He–he wouldn’t have any problems being intimate with her, right?”

  “You think he’d cheat on you?”

  Her laugh was harsh. “It’s not a matter of cheating and you know it. I’m the other woman and she’s...” Echo trailed off unable to say the word fiancée. “After all, you told me exactly what helps Ground him.”

  Týr winced. “Echo, she isn’t who he wants.”

  “But she is what he needs.” She pivoted and headed for the door. She didn’t want Týr to see her weeping for a love lost. “C–could you take me to work, please? I want to leave.”

  ***

  After he’d seen Echo safely to work, Týr came back to the castle. Anger and guilt clawed at his gut. Aethan had asked him to do one thing, get Michael to send Elytani back, but he’d lost the female the very next day after she’d arrive. It was time he kept his promise. He found Elytani in the garden, near the lake. She turned, her bronze eyes pensive. “Why did she leave?”

  How did he answer that? There were no words to explain this tragedy. “Come on, sweet girl, it’s time you went home. Michael will be here in a few minutes.”

  “I don’t want to go back. I like it here.”

  “You can’t remain.”

  A weary sigh left her. “Humans get to do what they want on this realm. Have lives.”

  “It’s called free will. Something we cannot have because of who we are.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I know...” Then she brightened. “We spent time together. I’ve enjoyed your company. Perhaps—” She blushed. “You could mate with me, then I could stay.”

  A smile tugged at his mouth. “The offer is tempting, but I must decline. Elytani, remember you came to another realm, went on an exploration of a strange new world all on your own. I think—” Týr broke off as the air shimmered.

  Michael took form before them, his disarrayed hair settling over his broad shoulders, aviator shades shielding his eyes. Elytani stepped back, eyeing the dark, massive male warily.

  ‘Stop frightening the female, Arc.’

  Michael ignored Týr’s ribbing. “Ready?” he asked Elytani.

  She turned to Týr. “Won’t you change your mind?”

  The female was too damn sweet for her own good.

  “Trust me, Elytani. You don’t want one such as me. Besides, this world is not for you.”

  “But if Aethan—”

  “No.” Michael cut her off. “You cannot.” Then he shifted, his shaded gaze pinned on her, as if measuring her. “However, if you wish to remain, there is a way.”

  Týr’s amusement vanished. “No! No way. You can’t be considering that.”

  “Why not?” Michael asked. “She’d be perfect. It’s time we had one of the fairer sex.”

  “Dammit, Michael, just because Echo kills those fuckers, doesn’t mean she’ll—” He gestured to Elytani’s timid and gentle appearance. “Doesn’t mean she would be able to.”

  “I’m quite capable of doing any task you would have of me,” Elytani said.

  They both stared at her.

  “No need to look so surprised, Týr. The males of Empyrea aren’t the only ones who can fight. Besides, I’m a quick study.” She smiled a little and turned to Michael. “What must I do to stay? I don’t want to go back to Empyrea.” Her delicate jaw tightened. “It’s not the same since my brother left centuries ago.”

  Michael stared at her for a moment then nodded. “Very well. There’s someone you have to meet first before the green light’s given. However, remember, once you agree, there is no going back.”

  “Ely, wait.” Týr stopped her, determined to save her from herself. “The life Michael speaks of is brutal. There’s no pretty dresses or walks in the park. You’d have to kill or be killed. You’ll be bound to this realm, cut off from everyone you ever cared about.” Týr didn’t want her to have any regrets. The gods knew, they didn’t have much choice. “It will be lonely.”

  She smiled and smoothed a hand over her gleaming hair like he’d just promised her a trip to paradise or back to Central Park. “I understand perfectly.”

  “Let’s go.” Michael touched her shoulder and they both shimmered then disappeared.

  ***

  Echo had spent the last hour on the barstool in the Peacock Lounge, as if she’d grown roots in the seat. The noise and the laughter of inebriated men beat a warpath in her head. The smells of food combined with alcohol made her feel slightly ill. She took another sip of her ginger ale.

  Despite the danger of Lazaar finding her, it was a chance she’d taken to forget her despair. She needed to get lost in the crowd for a bit before Hedori came for her.

  “Echo? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

  She glanced up and smiled at the blonde bartender. “Hey Jess. Yeah, been busy. How’s Paul?” she asked, thinking of the woman’s three-year-old son.

  “He’s good—” Jessie stopped, and stared. “Your eyes. Wow! They suit you far better.” She grinned. “Makes you look sort of mysterious and sexy.”

  “Exactly what I always told her,” Kira said, stopping to pick up her drinks order.

  “More like a freak,” Neal added.

  “Shove it, Neal,” Kira snapped. “Who pissed in your beer?”

  Jessie leaned closer to Echo. “The guy’s weird. Half the time I don’t know if he wants to get horizontal with you or kill you.”

  Echo laughed, sputtering out the ginger ale she’d just sipped. “In his dreams. Besides, you’re more his type,” she said, looking for napkins to clean up the spills. “Heard he likes them blonde and curvy.”

  Jessie snorted. “I’d date Jon. Hell even Brian, the old geezer,” she said, mentioning the bar’s manager. “If I wanted another relationship, which I don’t. Paul is more than a handful right now, and about all the man I can handle—one sec.” She wen
t off to serve another customer.

  Ignoring Neal’s malicious glare, Echo reached for the napkins in front of her when he grabbed her hand, squeezing painfully.

  “You laugh now, but I will have you,” he hissed. “Jon’s not here to hide behind today.”

  She stared into his angry eyes. “When hell freezes over,” she said coolly. Didn’t bother tugging free. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of doing so. He flung her hand away and stalked to the other end of the bar.

  “What was that about?” Jess whispered when she came back.

  “A difference of opinion,” Echo said, wiping up the spills.

  “Right. He wants you and you want to kick his ass. Echo, you need to be careful. I’d hate to think of what can happen, if he gets you alone—” Jessie’s mouth dropped open as she looked over Echo’s shoulder, her eyes widening. “Oh, there is a God. Get a load of him.”

  Hearing the awe in her voice, Echo smiled in relief, grateful for the change in topic. In this place there were always good-looking guys about. Musicians, sometimes models. Heck, even the occasional movie stars liked to come in, kick back, and chill—the deciding factor why Kira chose to work here.

  Jessie sighed, her gaze pinned on whoever it was. “I wouldn’t mind bed-wrestling with him.”

  Echo turned around and her stomach dropped as she watched Aethan survey the bar. A low growl vibrated in her chest at the images Jessie’s words conjured up in her mind. She shouldn’t be jealous, knew Jessie was all talk, even if there was a layer of lust in her voice. Besides, what right did she have to be jealous?

  Aethan wasn’t hers, never would be.

  Dressed in his perpetual black, he put all the men there to shame. He carried off his patrolling gear with such masculine ease. But not a flicker of emotion showed on his handsome face as he glanced around. His gaze honed in on her, a determined light firing in his stone-cold stare.

  Týr must have told him what happened. Humiliation, like a wave, engulfed her.