Dusk (Hero Society Book 3)

by Jessica Florence

  “So, what’s the real deal you’re here for? We both know it’s not just for the burgers.” I didn’t mind his company, but I wasn’t one for beating around the bush.

  He nodded, understanding that I just wanted him to get out whatever he had on his mind.

  “I can’t see who that killer is. I’ve tried finding him in the visions, but I can’t go back, only forward. I saw her being attacked but knew you’d save her. I wanted to warn you that shit in Seahill is going to get worse, and we are going to need you both with us. She’s already agreed to be part of our Hero Society, but we need you, too. You are vital, actually. I’ve seen two futures for you that are most prominent: a mate, or a destiny with your coven. We both know Echo is your mate, destined for you since she was born. Her energy matches yours perfectly. You could also run from the fact that your future is set one way or the other. I can’t tell, but you need to make your move soon. Time is running out. Night is coming for us all. You will either be with us or hiding with your coven.”

  I stared at the man who seemed so young but had the knowledge of every possible future. He’d seen everything he cared about live and perish in a single thought. The man had lived thousands of lives before they’d even come to pass. It takes a strong spirit to have his power and still be standing, fighting for what he believes is right. But what if he was wrong? What if that line he walks so tightly wobbles, and he fails? If he fails, we all fail.

  “Mr. Griffin, order up!” The waitress behind the counter lifted a large bag full of the food he ordered for his crew. His family.

  “The time to make your choice is now, Asher.” Without another word, he grabbed his bag and strode out of the diner.

  Time to choose. I thought I’d already made that choice. Hadn’t I?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Echo

  Asher had been quiet as we had eaten the burgers he’d gotten us. The silence continued as we made our way back to my apartment.

  I hadn’t decided where I was going to go yet. I’d been caught up in trying to find other evidence that Amanda’s killer was Robert Burke, but I wouldn’t be able to talk to him again until tomorrow, and then it would be with his lawyer. I wanted it to be him, I really did, but something deep inside me said that this was too easy.

  “Do I need to call a moving truck for tomorrow to come grab your furniture?” Asher looked around after we’d entered my place, apparently noticing there really wasn’t much as far as furnishings went. I shook my head. Let them sort it out. My books, clothes, and a few little personal items were all I truly cared about.

  “I’ll rent a pickup tomorrow and get it all in there.”

  “Figured out where you’d going to stay?” he asked while standing by the door, waiting for me to see if I told him to go or not. He’d been oddly distant from me, and I wasn’t sure I was fond of it.

  “No. I’m not used to needing to depend on people. I could always go back to my childhood home, but I don’t want to do the long drive back and forth from the reservation to the city.”

  While part of that was true—about the drive sucking—I also didn’t care to be in the house where my last memory of my parents dying on the rug would pop up like it happened yesterday.

  I’d thought about him offering me a place to stay with him or going to the Society. He’d mentioned he’d run into Phillip at the diner, and that Phillip had space for me. I could choose the easy way and stay with them. Maybe even build on the small friendships I was beginning to form with them. Or I could take a leap of faith and choose him. Choose that this thing between us was real, continuing to give it a shot.

  I walked slowly toward his tall frame.

  His eyes watched mine as I stopped a few inches in front of him.

  “Do you want me to stay with you?”

  I wanted to know what his choice was, what he wanted.

  “I want you in my home, in my bed, and in my arms. I’ve never wanted anything as badly as that. I want you, period.”

  His words were what I didn’t even know I needed to hear.

  “I’m scared as shit, choosing a fate that’s been picked for me, rebel and all. Echo Cross, I want you to know that I’m choosing you, even if it kills me in the end,” he added, and while I didn’t quite understand what all he meant, I didn’t care right now. All I cared about was that he was claiming me. He was choosing me over whatever question had been plaguing him.

  I reached out to touch his soft ebony hair, running my fingers through the waves and over his prickly five-o’clock shadow.

  “I choose you, too.”

  I knew there was something big between us, and even though I was scared as shit like he apparently was, I was taking that leap.

  His lips crashed against mine, and there was nothing stopping us from the frenzy that took over our bodies as we grasped, groaned, and touched like there was no moment past right now.

  His hands slid up my waist, then back down, finding my ass and lifting me up to be pressed between the wall and his hard muscles. My legs wrapped around his hips, and the contact of his cock against my core, even with both of us wearing jeans, was enough to drive me over the edge.

  My hands gripped his hair as we fucked each other’s mouths with our tongues.

  “This is so much, and so right,” I groaned, and he continued kissing me anywhere his lips could touch. This was so right.

  Until a dead man broke into our sexually charged air.

  “Take it inside your apartment, Cross. Oh, wait. You don’t have one anymore.”

  Asher’s lips left my skin, and his head whipped around to give bandaged-nose Kevin a look that I bet would melt metal.

  Kevin was a dead man.

  His bugged-out eyes showed he knew it too, since he quickly slammed his door, and we heard the sound of locks clicking.

  “I’m tempted to change into a bedbug tonight and ruin his week,” I remarked.

  Whatever anger Asher was feeling toward Kevin disappeared completely. He was back to looking at me with a huge grin on his face, which made my own light up, knowing I put it there.

  “Let’s grab whatever we can and take it to my place. We can get the rest in the morning.” Asher put some space between us and started walking around the house.

  “Anxious to get me back to your lair?” I teased while grabbing the three extra boxes I had stashed behind the couch for emergencies.

  The look on Asher’s face promised there would be more happening between us once we got back to his place. My body tingled in anticipation.

  We grabbed what we could and drove to his apartment. The bar was decently busy, so as soon as I got my few boxes up into his living room, he kissed me hard against the wall then had to go down and work for the rest of the night.

  I was cool with the alone time. That was one thing Asher wouldn’t have to worry about, a needy woman. I was great being on my own, and sometimes craved that solitude.

  He’d told me I could put my stuff wherever I wanted, and to take over the whole apartment if I pleased. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. So, I hung up some clothes in the closet, our scents mingling together pleasantly, then took a shower before I grabbed my laptop and continued reading the mystery diary Janie had transcribed.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Echo

  I’d passed out long before Asher came to bed.

  The book had kept me up for a few hours; I was about a quarter of the way through.

  Delphi, as the author would sometimes call himself, was a very complex person.

  Abandoned by his family, and alone in the world except for one person he considered his enemy. Someone his family chose over him. Jealousy and loneliness were the prominent themes in the journal entries so far. Delphi had an interest in the arts and medical advances of the time. He’d even joined one of the first medical colleges as faculty, but lost the passion to help educate others because in the fifteen hundreds the medical field was not up to par with what he knew.

  Nothing stood o
ut to me, except the man had some issues.

  Asher had come in quietly at some point, and I didn’t even wake up when he climbed into bed and pulled me against him.

  We snuggled.

  It was hard for me to see myself as a snuggler in human form. As a cat, I’d let myself do as I pleased, unburdened by the emotional entanglements of humans.

  But when I woke up this morning, I knew I had indeed chosen Asher for real. I felt calm— even dare I say happy—to be wrapped in his embrace, listening to his sleeping breaths.

  My hands drifted across his bare torso, leaving goose bumps in its wake. I’d seen him half-naked quite a few times when I was a cat, and I appreciated the sexy physique. But there was nothing compared to feeling and seeing his body as a woman. He was all heat and soft skin over hard muscles.

  “Mm. You keep touching me, you’re going to have to finish what you start.” His sleepy voice was not a deterrent to stop my exploring hand.

  “How do you keep these so hard?” I was curious as my hands moved over the bumps of his abs.

  “I work out when I can, but I guess I’m just naturally blessed in that department, among others.” His eyes were still closed, but I knew if they were open they would have that mischievous glint in them.

  Feeling brave, my hand moved down and caressed his naturally blessed appendage.

  He groaned, his hips lifting to press into my touch.

  “Hm. I’m not sure blessed would be the right word,” I joked, but continued to move my hand over him, feeling him grow beneath his sweatpants. His arousal coated the energy in the room, making me grow wet just thinking about what we could do.

  “I’m teetering on a wire, kitten. I’m good waiting, but if you keep touching me, I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you.” His eyes opened and leveled me with a heated stare.

  “Or my mouth.”

  I bit my lip, thinking about his mouth and hands on me. I wanted to try; I wanted more.

  My hand gripped him hard and then suddenly I was rolled onto my back and Asher was above me. My hand still touching his cock, and his mouth was on my neck.

  He growled, still pressing himself into my hand in rhythm.

  Oh Lord, what would it be like to have him between my legs doing that?

  I removed my hands and let him settle in the apex of my thighs. He kept moving, and the friction was doing glorious things to my body that I’d never felt before. His hands touched wherever they could, kneading my breasts, pinching and teasing them until I was moaning for more.

  “If you keep moaning like that, I’m going to come in my pants like a teenager.” He groaned while nipping at that spot where my shoulder and neck met.

  I didn’t care how we both found release, only that we did. So many thoughts of what I wanted to do came to mind, but I couldn’t choose any of them. I wanted them all, and the need to orgasm was barreling into me with every grind of his cock on my sex.

  He moved slow and hard, my nails scratching his back, trying to hold onto him because I could feel release coming soon.

  I heard a loud cracking coming from somewhere in the apartment seconds before my head flew back and my orgasm hit me. I cried out Asher’s name while holding onto him as he ground himself faster and with more precision before his own roar echoed with mine. A moment later he slumped on me, holding his weight off to my side. I was suddenly aware of an odd smell.

  “I think something’s burning.”

  Asher flew off me and ran into the living room. I heard him curse and that made me chase after him, jelly legs and all.

  His TV was smoking.

  “We blew up my TV!” He reached down to unplug it and then looked at me with hooded eyes.

  “Sorry?” I did feel bad about his TV but not about what just happened between us.

  “I’m the most powerful wielder of magic there is right now, and you are my mate. Our energies together might be a little much for technology.” He systematically made his way around the room, checking outlets and appliances.

  Then his words stopped my thoughts.

  Mate?

  His mate?

  What the fuck did that mean?

  I knew he realized what he’d said out loud when panic flashed in his eyes then disappeared.

  “What did you mean, I’m your mate?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Asher

  I could see a range of emotions going through her head. Would she be freaked to find out that we were predestined for each other?

  “Let me clean up first and then we’ll talk,” I told her calmly and walked into the bathroom to clean myself up.

  I’d dry-fucked her like a savage animal. Her hand on my cock pushed me over the edge, and I couldn’t stop from grinding against her sex. Her arousal called to me on some deep level I simply could not deny. It was like I would physically hurt if she needed me sexually and I didn’t do anything. Blue balls times ten.

  I changed into another set of clothes and found her waiting at the table with two cups of what smelled like tea.

  “You know the term soul mates, right? One special person that was made for the other?” I asked as I sat down. She nodded, waiting for the rest of what I had to say before deciding if she’d run or not.

  “Well, with my people, finding your soul mate is pretty rare. To be perfect together you need matching energies, and most don’t ever find someone who is equal to their own power. So they settle with someone who will strengthen their bloodline. I am the strongest of my people. I never expected to find someone that matched me, and I didn’t want to settle. That’s part of the reason why I left. You have the energy of every animal on earth inside you. You are my match…my equal.” I took a sip of the tea she made me and watched her digest my words, rolling them over and over in her head.

  “How do you know?”

  A reasonable question.

  “We sparked. That little current you feel when we touch—it’s our energy flowing as one. Only happens with mates.”

  I prayed she understood. I meant what I’d said last night: I was choosing her, even though predetermined destinies made me jumpy.

  She sipped her tea and was quiet for a few minutes, just looking at me and apparently trying to figure out what to say.

  “Wish you had a different soul mate?” I teased, but I knew she saw through the humor down to the true vulnerability lying there. Did this change things for her? Was I not what she dreamed for a soul mate?

  “Are all electronics going to blow up every time we are intimate?” she asked so matter-of-factly, like we were talking about the weather.

  “Never had a soul mate before. But I’d be willing to experiment with you. See what chaos we could create together.” I couldn’t help but use humor as a shield. Thankfully she just rolled her eyes and drank some more of her tea.

  After another three minutes of silence, I had to know how she felt about all of this. I knew it was a lot to take in, that soul mates are real.

  “I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

  “Do you fear having a soul mate?” She chewed on her lip, and I shook my head.

  “I was at first, but I can see that we are perfect for each other. It’s just weird, thinking I was never going to have this in my life, and you just showed up outside my bar. I still chose you, though. We’re like penguins, mates for life. Even if you decide not to claim me as yours, you’ll always be it for me.” That was the honest truth. She was my only, and I knew, no matter what, I’d never want anyone else.

  I felt completely okay with that.

  But hopefully she would still choose me too, and then I wouldn’t have to pine after a woman I loved but couldn’t have.

  My body tensed, realizing what I just thought, and I knew she caught the movement.

  “What?”

  Tell her I love her, or keep it in for a bit longer?

  “I’ll tell you later. First I need to hear if you want to accept the position that the universe has offered you.”

&
nbsp; We’ll focus on that instead of confessing my love right now.

  “It’s hard to even imagine that this thing between us was preordained, if you will.”

  True. Very true. If you didn’t believe in soul mates, this would sound unbelievable, maybe even ridiculous.

  “I feel it; I think I always have. But even letting someone in is new for me, and it’s hard enough without the title of soul mates attached to it. Can we just…” She tried to think of how to put her thoughts into words, and I was frozen to that chair waiting to hear what she wanted.

  “Keep doing what we’re doing. I want to be with you, learn about you, date you. I haven’t done this before.” She chewed on her lip nervously, as if that wasn’t going to be okay with me. Like it wasn’t enough.

  “Of course. I’m happy you’re giving this a shot at all.” I reached over and touched her hand, my thumb rubbing little circles over her soft skin.

  “Good.” She smiled a little and intertwined my fingers with hers.

  We were staying as we were, and that gave me the chance to make myself that indispensable person in her life…the one she couldn’t imagine living without.

  “What time are you going to the station?”

  “In an hour. The lawyer should be there and have had time to talk to Robert. You staying?” She removed her hand from mine and got up to put her cup in the sink.

  “Yeah, I’ve got to take care of some business stuff today. So, I’ll be around here.”

  It was great running a business, but sometimes it sucked. Like the business part of it.

  My eyes were on her hips as she swayed over to me and leaned down to give me a soft kiss.

  “Thanks for this morning,” she purred as I wrapped my hand around her neck and held her lips close to mine.

  “We should do it again sometime…maybe sans clothing?”

  She giggled for a moment before our lips met in the middle and gave me a taste of what was to come.