Absolute Surrender (46 page)

Gripping her hips with a fierce hold, he thrust into her as she came down on him. He was probably bruising her, but he couldn’t slow down. Driven to possess, he had to make her his in the primordial way of his kind. He existed for this moment only.

She branded him with her very being, taking him out of his old skin, and made him whole again, imprinting herself in his heart.

Mine. Only mine
. The words drove through his head and settled in his soul.
My female. My mate. Mine.

Aethan drove himself into her, pushing her over the edge into an orgasm. She tightened around his shaft, squeezing him with such force, it triggered a fiery response in him. With a harsh groan of surrender, he went over with her, spilling his seed into her body.

A light flashed around them, brightening the room. He saw her eyes change, before her lids closed. His roar of horror was lost in the blaze of energy. Her body jerked, convulsed beneath him.

Urias, no!
He was killing her. He tried desperately to stop, to pull out of her, but he couldn’t, held by an invisible force.

Oh gods—don’t take her from me
!

Her body arched back. His erection was buried so deep inside her he swore he touched her soul. His mouth covered hers in desperation, breathing his love, his life into her. Her eyes flickered open, slumberous and passionate.

And they blazed with the power of his Whitefire.

***

The force of their joining lit Echo from within, wrapping around her and holding Aethan in place. The beautiful sound of his surrender rang in her ears as their souls began to merge into a fiery iridescent ball of light. Deep within her, she could feel his power.

Her entire being glowed, sensitized, as if someone had plugged her into a low voltage outlet.

“Touch me
, all over
. Need
you
,” she panted.
“
Don’t—
don’t
stop!”

He laid her back on the carpet and gave her what she wanted. His hands molded, massaging from hips to breasts. He tugged at her nipples, then his mouth took over suckling the hard nub. She panted, trembled, and demanded more. The friction built and the orgasm came hurtling, taking her over, and she fell once more.

But he was there to catch her.

Minutes later, the glow around them eased as their soul-bonding completed, before seeping back into them.

Echo clung to him, little jolts of pleasure still flowing through her body. She had no idea how much time had passed as she lay shuddering, beneath him.

“I think you truly killed me,” she said dreamily, glowing in contentment.

He lifted his head to look at her. And smiled. A smile of such unadulterated happiness, Echo knew she’d never forget it because he so rarely smiled. Now, she was finally joined to her mate, in body and soul.

CHAPTER 30

Aethan leaned over her, trailing a finger up her stomach to her breast, and circled her nipple. Her body trembled.

“Will it always be like that, making love with you?” She raised a hand and wound her finger in his hair. “I mean, I expected to feel some of your powers because every time we were together I felt a jolt of it. But that?”

“It’s the mating bond.” He brushed her hair off her eyes. “I didn’t expect it to be so...”

“Overwhelming? Amazing? Surreal?”

He laughed. “Yeah. All that.” He ran a hand over the curve of her hips. Stunned and grateful, she’d come out unscathed from his powers.

My powers were muted by the mating bond
, he thought as understanding dawned. “Gods, all this time wasted. My life, my mate.” He removed her hand from his hair and pressed her fingers to his mouth. “Of course, you’d be compatible with me.”

“You know, he said something similar, too.”

“Who?”

Her brows furrowed into little creases. “That man in the navy robe. I’d always believed it to be a dream. It’s why when you told me where you’re from I got annoyed. I thought you were playing with me—” She broke off and tried to squirm free.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to show you something. My backpack is in the other room.”

He pressed her back onto the rug and kissed her forehead. “Stay here. I’ll get it.”

Rolling to his feet he flashed to the adjacent guestroom she used. Locating her backpack on an armchair, he grabbed the thing and took form again beside her.

Aethan handed her the bag and sat next to her, while she hunted through pockets.

“When my foster brother hurt me—” Hearing his growl, she looked up and patted his thigh. “It’s okay. All that’s in the past. So let me say this, all right?”

He nodded. It cost him to let it go but, for her, he did.

“I’m telling you this so you’ll understand, because all the pieces came together a little while ago. After Clyde hurt me that afternoon on my way from school, I lay on the roadside, so sure I would die because of the pain. Then everything went dark...”

He stroked a hand over the curve of her spine, as much for his own comfort as hers.

“When I came to, I found myself in a ditch, close to my foster parents’ home. How I got there, I have no idea, but I’d been healed. Until recently, I couldn’t remember what happened.” She set her backpack aside and turned to him, her beautiful, mismatched eyes serious. “But I do now—being in so much pain, I lost consciousness, until a healing warmth surrounded me. I awoke to find a man, the one I told you about, healing me. I was in a place that looked like a valley surrounded by high cliffs, with boulders scattered along the base. Everything there was beautiful. Magical. The thing is, the cliffs and the rocks were white—”

She broke off, grasped his hand, and put something hard and warm into his palm. “I loved being there in the valley surrounded by the tall white trees. It was so peaceful, I didn’t want to leave. But he said my destiny had yet to unfold and I needed to go back home.” She nodded at his hand. “He gave me the stones, said they would aid me in my time of need. When I awoke in that ditch, I had those stones in my hand but no memory of what happened...Aethan? You okay?”

“This man who healed you? Do you remember his name?” Aethan could barely get the words out. His throat felt like sandpaper.

“I’m not sure. I think it started with an A. Al...”

“Allatus.” He didn’t have to look at the stones to know what they were. Already he could feel the effects of them siphoning his powers. For over three thousand years he’d searched for something to help Ground him. Now Echo had given him what he’d once desperately needed—when he no longer did.

He opened his palm and stared at the two little pieces of Empyrea. One was a river worn piece from the white boulder, and the other, an amber stone. Resin had settled over a white leaf from a Rean tree found only in that realm.

“What are they?” she asked him.

“Empyrean Grounding Stones.”

Her eyes widened at his words. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I can feel them drawing at my power,” he said, dropping the stones on the carpet beside them.

“Don’t you want them?” she asked, concern flashing in her eyes.

“Not anymore. You are all I need. You Ground me completely.”

A smile lit her face. “I’m glad.” She touched his jaw with tender fingers and crawled into his lap. “I love you.”

“You are my heart, my soul, Echo.” He could barely contain the emotions rioting within him. “I love you.”

Her eyes misted and she leaned into him.
He inhaled deeply, tightening his arms around her. Gods, he’d never expected to find his mate on this realm and yet here she was in his arms, bonded to his soul for all eternity. It made his three thousand years of hell worth it.

***

Echo pulled back and stared at him. “What do you mean three thousand years of hell?”

“It’s what life felt like until I met you.” Then a stunned expression crossed his face. “You heard me?”

“What?”

“Echo, I didn’t say that aloud.”

“But—” She blinked. “I heard you. How is that possible?”

He smiled, looking pleased. “When we bonded, our souls joined and opened our telepathic pathways. Go on, open your mind and try it,” he said. ‘
Talk to me
.’

“Okay.” She relaxed, as much as she could with all that steely, naked wall of muscles surrounding her, his erection a tempting hardness pressing on her thigh. She’d far rather he made love to her, but—he shifted and then bit her. “Ouch!” She glared at him, rubbing her sore nipple. “Why did you do that?”

‘
You’re supposed to speak to me and keep my mind off making love to you for now
,’ Aethan answered through their mind-link as he licked the tender nub, taking away the sting.

“Oh. You heard me.” Heat streaked across her face. Then she tugged him to her as he continued his slow torment with his tongue. Her hands gripped his hair, keeping him in place. ‘
So now, mate of mine, what are you going to do about it
?’

“This.” He set her aside, moved to his knees, then unzipped her boots. “You’re going to wear these for me again. The entire get-up.” He pulled them off and tossed her footwear aside.

“I’ll think about it.”

Aethan rose and carried her to the shower, but his gleaming gaze told her she would be wearing them again. Soon.

After their shower, Aethan carried her to bed and laid her down. As he rubbed the towel over her limp body, she gazed at the bank of windows. Darkness still shrouded the castle despite it being early morning. Her thoughts drifted to earlier that night—

“Kira!” She jerked up, her chest seizing in fear. “Aethan, I left her behind at that club.”

“No.” He smoothed a reassuring hand over her damp hair. “She’s here in the castle. I asked one of the others to bring her. I wouldn’t leave someone you care about, unprotected, in that hellhole.”

“Thank you.” She sagged back against the pillows, relief filling her. “Though, I can’t imagine, Kira going anywhere quietly.”

“She’s safe, that’s what matters,” he said, sitting on the bed.

Her eyes tracked the droplets of water on his skin. They gleamed in the glow of the flickering fire. She picked up the discarded towel from the bed, the one he’d used on her, crawled behind him, and rubbed him dry.

“There. Now you won’t catch a cold,” she said, running her hand over his smooth, warm skin. Tossing the towel aside, she kissed his shoulder. “Let’s go get some food. I’m hungry.”

He glanced back at her. Amusement flickered in his eyes. “All right. And just so you know, we don’t—”

“Get sick, pick up any diseases. I know. Hedori told me.” She moved to slide off the bed, so she could get dressed and go with him to the kitchen. Thoughts of roast-beef sandwiches, dripping with mayo, made her stomach grumble.

“No.” He stopped her. “Stay there. I’ll go get us food.”

She fell against the pillows and waited as Aethan disappeared into the dressing room. He came out a moment later, wearing jeans, his feet bare, and the top button of his jeans left undone. God, the man was built for sex. Her mouth watered. She found herself getting damp again just gazing at that hard body with its miles of rippling, golden skin.

Her gaze sipped back to his face and met his intense one for a long second. Then, uttering a soft growl, he stalked out of the room.

***

Aethan headed downstairs, inhaling roughly. Finally, she belonged to him. And still he couldn’t get enough of her.

Muted splashes of color brightened the foyer as pale light reflected through the stained-glass windows, announcing the arrival of dawn. He heard voices as he neared the kitchen. The others must have come in from patrol.

Aethan pushed open the kitchen door and conversation died, as if a blast of wind had blown in and swept it away. He rubbed a hand on his bare chest. Okay, forgot the shirt. So he’d be that wind, the one which snatched their vocal cords.