Echo, Mine (3 page)

No, he wasn’t human. He was her very own
Empyrean angel.

“I have to regain my strength,” she said,
swimming toward where he stood at the edge of the pool. A frown
marred his handsome face. Maybe she was pushing it today, but the
restlessness inside her grew, making her edgy. And it had
everything to do with him.

“You had a gym session earlier,” he pointed
out.

“I did take a break. There—” she waved to
the lounger where she’d left her towel with a book tossed on top of
it. “It grew too warm, so I decided to swim.”

At her bald-face lie, his eyes narrowed. She
wouldn’t put it past him to scoop her up, take her to their
quarters, and make her lie down. He was quite capable of that.

“Uh, Aethan, you’re becoming a regular
mother hen.” No way would she admit that even though she’d decided
to cool off in the pool after her training with Hedori, the plan
had always been to work on her laps. “I'm fine, really.”

In response, he hunkered before her, the
denim material straining over his thighs.

“You do realize being soul joined, I can
feel your exhaustion,” he said softly. He braced his arm on his
thigh, pulling her gaze to the mystical tattoo on his powerful
biceps. Reaching out with his other hand, he ran the back of his
knuckles along her cheek.

She wrinkled her nose at him. Much as she
loved being linked so intrinsically to him, feeling his warm
presence inside her chest, it was a pain in the backside at times.
Like now.

“Come, join me,” she coaxed, grasping his
wrist. Heck, she’d swim another six laps in this Olympic size pool,
burning muscles or not, if he said yes. Just to have a little alone
time with him and be in his arms again.

“Not today.”

At the shutdown, her mood dipped. She
dropped her hand to the pool edge. “I’ve barely seen you in the
last two days—you didn't come to bed this morning—are you avoiding
me?”

He went silent then shook his head. “No, I'm
not avoiding you, I want you more than my next breath but you are
overdoing it. And that I won't have.”

She couldn’t stop the sarcastic bite from
spilling free. “Of course.”

“Echo—” He tipped her chin up with his
fingers when she would have looked away. “You’ve been through a
helluva lot in the past few months. There’s a time and place for
everything. Can’t you see? I want you to have as normal a life as
possible. Heavens know, being the Healer, things will not get any
easier.”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “I realize
that…I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”

Right now what concerned her wasn’t her new
job, but her mate, and the unintentional distance he was putting
between them with his overprotectiveness.

Before she could tackle him about it, he
uncurled her fingers from the pool rim and raised them to his lips,
effectively derailing her thoughts as he ran his mouth over her
skin. Her breath caught. His restrained need consumed her like a
physical stroke over her body. Her other hand tightened on the pool
edge as arousal flowed through her veins, warm and thick like
molasses.

Desire flared, igniting his dark irises with
molten specks of white, a deadly reminder of the lethal power of
whitefire residing within him. An ability that could not only
destroy hordes of demoniis in a matter of seconds, but flatten and
destroy the city along with its inhabitants if fully unleashed.

“C'mon.” His grip tightened on her hand, the
heat in his expression banking down and concern replacing it.
“That’s enough physical activities for today.”

Darn it! She wanted him to yank her out of
the pool and kiss her. But his
normal
was to shore his
desire and wrap her in cotton wool!

Biting back her ire at his utter control,
she grasped his warm, calloused fingers, hardened from years of
wielding his sword, and allowed him to haul her out of the pool.
The waterlogged top of her bathing suit slid lower, she hastily
pulled it up—too late. His gaze dropped to the scar on her chest.
His mouth tightened.

“Aethan, don’t. It’s over now.” She held on
to the top of her swimsuit, trying to shield her left breast, the
reason why she’d taken to wearing a tube-style suit. Not that it
did a good job of covering the damn scar.

He didn't say anything. Crossing to the
lounger, he picked up the towel lying there amongst her things and
rejoined her. His gaze skimmed over her still too slender form,
which the red, one-piece swimsuit revealed in all its ghastly
detail.

Much to her annoyance, it was taking time to
regain the weight she’d lost while in the coma. At least the gaunt
look she’d initially sported had faded somewhat—yep, Hedori had
probably cooked all
her
food in butter and cream to fatten
her up.

She reached for the towel, but Aethan shook
his head and wrapped it around her. “You should cancel your lessons
this evening. You're pushing yourself too hard, too soon.”

“I know the perfect way to relax,” she said
in a teasing tone, hoping to pull him out of his lingering guilt.
Did he not realize he’d saved her? Had given her life again?

“Let me show you.” She grabbed Aethan by his
tee, pulled him down and kissed him, nibbling and sucking on his
lower lip. His hands on her hips stilled, then he drew her close.
She melted against his hard body, his scent of warm male, sex, and
rainstorms combined in a heady note to tantalize her senses. She
slid her arms around his neck and leisurely ran her tongue over his
lower lip before sucking on it again.

She may have started it, but just as fast,
he took control, those gray irises blazing with white specks of
desire. His tongue stroked hers, and he deepened the kiss. A slight
tingle buzzed through her body. She gasped, kissing him harder, her
need hiking. She always felt the hum of his power when he was
aroused.

A low growl escaped him. As if he’d
forgotten himself, his grip tightened around her, and his breathing
turned rougher. With his body, he eased hers over his arm, bending
her back—hips and limbs aligned together. His erection, a hard,
tempting length hit the V between her thighs. Echo grasped him
around the neck as his groin grounded into her.

God, she wanted him so much—she wanted him
to just take her and satiate this raging hunger inside her—one no
gentle lovemaking could fulfill.

Aethan trailed open-mouthed kisses down her
throat, and over the upper curves of her breast, sucking and
tasting her. Her nipples ached for his mouth, and through her
swimsuit he ran his tongue over a nub. She grasped his hair,
dislodging the hair tie. Even though his arms kept her safely
against him, desire made her shaky. The next minute, with his
teeth, he pulled down the edge of her bathing suit and his mouth
latched onto her stiff nipple. He sucked on the nub, pulling on it,
hard. A moan broke free and her grip tightened on his hair.
“Aethan…”

He lifted his head. His eyes flashing white
as his power surfaced, flowing through her body in a light buzz and
amping up her arousal—this was what had them both going wild—what
took them over the edge. And what she wanted again. But Aethan
shook his head, his breathing ragged as he eased her upright
again.

Echo stared at him blankly as he
straightened her bathing suit, covering her up once more, then he
picked up the fallen towel. Her teeth clenched with frustration,
she snatched it from his grasp and wrapped it around herself,
suddenly feeling cold. No matter how hard she tried to crack that
control, his inflexible will could not be broken. Couldn’t he see
that she didn't want those soft caresses anymore? She wanted him
wild and demanding like he used to be.

“Aethan—”

He shook his head. “Your friend’s here.”

“Hey, bestie!” Kira’s light, sunny voice
intruded.

Her chest tight, the pit in her stomach
deepening, Echo turned away. If she looked at Aethan any longer,
she’d start a fight. Or worse, she’d burst into tears.

“Kira,” Aethan greeted with a nod.

“Hey, big guy.” Her dimpled grin flashing in
her latte tone face, Kira danced over, making the black beads in
her shoulder length auburn braids jangle. She dropped her blue tote
and the pink striped package she held onto the sunbed.

“Echo—” Aethan lightly touched her arm,
pulling her attention back to him. He didn't react to her glower,
but gave her a measured look. “Think about what I said.” Then he
walked away, disappearing into the castle.

Rest. Take it easy.
Right. Her lips
tightened, maybe she should just ask for a darn wheelchair. In a
huff, she whirled around to find Kira skimming through the
A
Dance with Dragons
novel Echo had been reading earlier. “I
didn't know you were coming over?”

“Last minute change of plans.” Kira dropped
the book. She closed the small distance between them and gave Echo
a quick hug. “What’s wrong? You look…frustrated.”

Kira didn't know the half of it. Echo tossed
the towel aside, pulled on her baggy shorts and zipped up. “A
little.”

Kira’s hazel gaze rested on Echo’s chest for
a second, then she glanced at the doorway Aethan had disappeared
through, a thoughtful expression on her face. “He thinks you're
still healing and is treating you… er, carefully. And seeing that
mark doesn't help, huh?”

Echo rubbed the spot on her chest where
she’d been shot, tracing the slight pucker there. She didn't have
to look to know exactly what that scar looked like. As if someone
had deliberately inked a bullet hole in glass that hadn’t shattered
but sported spidery cracks. Yep, lucky her. That spelled bullet had
left its mark, not only at its entry but at its exit on her back,
too. Now, Aethan treated her like that same darn, cracked
glass!

“Then I have the perfect solution for you.
Guaranteed to knock the big guy off his feet.” Kira’s eyes sparkled
in mischief. She picked up the striped, Victoria’s Secret bag and
handed it over. “Here, for you. Happy birthday.”

Frowning, Echo took the bag. “It’s not my
birthday yet—”

“It’s in a week’s time, I know. But I'm not
going to be here on the twenty-first. Gran insisted I accompany her
to Seattle, so I thought I’d stop by now and give you your
present.”

Kira stuck her hands into the package, and
from the abundance of tissues drew out silky, sexy underwear. Black
and skin-tone, along with a sheer, champagne-colored baby-doll
negligee. Her eyebrows wiggled like two little dancing caterpillars
on her forehead. “What do you think, huh?”

Echo’s heart plunged. She used to sleep
naked with Aethan. These days, she wore a t-shirt because it
covered all of her. Her throat tight, she blinked away the burn in
her eyes.

No, she refused to succumb to that useless
emotion of hurt. Her teeth clenching, she swiped away her drying,
overlong hair from her eyes. Right, that would have to go. She
would not be that frail person Aethan saw every time he looked at
her. Dropping the striped bag on the lounger, she grasped her
friend’s hand. “Come with me.”

Echo headed for the bathroom just off the
pool area. Rummaging through the draw in the vanity cupboard there,
among the odds and ends of Band-Aid bandages and stuff, she found a
pair of scissors. Kira had always cut her hair from the first hit
and miss style, nearly eleven years ago.

“Here. Do it.”

“You want me to trim your bangs? They have
grown really long.”

“No, I want it all off. I want my old style
back.”

“The emo one?” Kira asked, her smile
growing.

“Yes. Long wispy bits falling over my brow
and some brushing my neck, and the rest chopped off.”

“Wonderful. I've been itching to get my
hands on your hair again. Sit, girl. Let’s get started.”

Snorting, Echo pulled the towel from the
rail, covered her shoulders, and sat on the closed toilet seat.
Kira went to work. Soon, strands of hair littered the marble floors
like strips of black satin…

A while later, Kira stepped back and smiled.
“All done. It’s good to see you back.”

At her words, Echo’s heart lifted. If her
friend saw the difference, surely Aethan would, too. He had to see
she was all right now and getting stronger.

After cleaning up the mess, Echo collected
her things from the poolside and they made their way back into the
castle’s cool corridors. Strolling past a collection of paintings
and armored suits lining the wall, they neared the rec room from
where masculine voices drifted.

“Want to go in and say hi?” Echo asked her.
“The guys are there—Týr, too.”

Kira sniffed. “Why would I care if he’s
there? He’s a barbarian who wouldn’t know the right side of a book
if a ton of them fell and whacked him on his big dumb head.”

Echo smiled. Kira avoided Týr whenever she
came to the castle. It was like she had a sixth sense or something
when he was around. It could be that he’d once called her ‘Fluff’
when he saw her reading a romance book.

Moments later, Echo entered the kitchen with
its sprawling golden oak cupboards and dark-gray granite counters.
A cool breeze, rich with thyme and other herbs Hedori grew in clay
pots on the terrace, drifted inside from the open French doors.

She set the gift bag and her book on the
island counter and retrieved a Pepsi from the enormous fridge. She
glanced back at Kira. “Want a soda?”

“I’ll get it in a moment.”

Echo pulled the tab and grimaced at the
twinge from her bruised knuckles thanks to her rigorous session in
the gym with Hedori that morning.

At the mischievous expression on her
friend’s face, she arched a brow. “What?”

“Ta da!” Kira pulled out the
Pirates of
the Caribbean
trilogy from her tote and set them on the
counter. “We can hang out while Aethan’s on patrol tonight and
feast on Johnny Depp…” Her gaze dropped to Echo’s reddened
knuckles. “Isn’t it too soon to be training?”