Authors: Gabrielle Evans
More feet hurried across the yard, and Vapre blinked up to find every member of the house gathered around him. “I know where he is,” Mac said instantly.
That, as nothing else could, calmed Vapre as he let the power drain from him, shrinking the twister until it blinked out of existence. “Where?” he demanded.
“Right here,” called a soft, familiar voice.
Everyone whirled around, and Vapre launched himself to his feet, pushing to the front of the group. “Ares,” he growled. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”
Ares tossed his long black hair over his bare shoulder—
didn’t the guy own a shirt?
—and laughed. “You’ve heard the saying about making deals with the devil.” His hand was curled around Echo’s upper arm, holding him in place beside him. Sage stood just to the left and behind Ares, grinning from ear to ear.
“Yours?” Eyce asked coldly as he motioned toward Sage.
Ares glanced over his shoulder in a bored manner and sighed. “In a way, I suppose. Much too eager and annoying for my tastes, but he’s served his purpose. My uncle is not the only one who can create demons, you know.”
“Let him go.” Vapre still hadn’t reverted back to his human form, and he used every expanded muscle and added inch to appear as threatening as possible.
“Hmm, interesting proposal, but I think not.”
“We completed the task and defeated the enemy,” Hex said calmly. “You have no claim to him.”
“Then take his place,” Ares challenged.
“Fine,” Vapre answered as once and stepped forward.
“Not you.” Ares pointed a long, tanned finger at Hex. “You.”
“You have no claim to him,” Hex repeated. “I will not bargain with you. Release him and honor your word.”
Ares gave a long-suffering sigh. “You warriors and your honor are irritating to the extreme. Unfortunately, I am bound by my own laws, as you have seemed to realize.”
“I am very aware of the laws that hold you,” Hex agreed. “Unless one of us fails in his tasks, you can’t touch him.”
“I’m assuming you mean that in a metaphorical sense.” Ares laughed and shook Echo like a ragdoll to prove he could indeed
touch
the man.
Vapre watched the exchange with half-interest. The majority of his attention focused on Echo, his neurons firing at a frantic rate as he strategized how to pull Echo from Ares’s grasp without hurting his mate.
“Fine, he’s yours,” Ares said at last, but he didn’t sound happy about it. “You will be mine,” he added to Hex, then gave a deep bow and disappeared as per his style.
At least he took the little bastard, Sage, with him.
Echo sprinted across the clearing, barreling into Vapre and gripping him tightly. “You did it!” He tilted his head back and beamed, not looking in the least afraid or unsettled by what had just transpired.
“Let me look at your shoulder,” Hex muttered as he stepped up beside them.
“It’s fine,” Echo said distractedly as he continued to smile at Vapre. “We did it.”
Holding his mate to him, Vapre closed his eyes and breathed deeply as he felt his body shrinking to its normal size. Once the shift was complete, he opened his eyes and bent down to brush his lips over Echo’s forehead. “Yeah, baby, we did it.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Why does Ares want Hex so much?” Echo smoothed his fingertips down Vapre’s chest as he spoke.
“That’s something that you’ll have to ask Hex,” Vapre said evasively as he shifted on the sofa, pulling Echo closer. The man had barely let Echo out of his sight in the three days since the new moon. It was nice at first, but Echo was beginning to feel a little smothered.
“Love, I’m not going to disappear if you’re not touching me.”
Vapre sighed heavily and turned to nuzzle his face into Echo’s neck. “I know, and I’ll be better soon. Just indulge me for a little while longer.” His tongue traced up the side of Echo’s throat. “Please?”
“How am I supposed to say no to that?” Echo shivered and pressed closer to his mate. “I guess there are worse things in life.”
“Speaking of,” Hex said as he entered the room and plopped down in one of the armchairs. “We have to find that cave.”
“I’m going,” Echo said immediately, squirming out of Vapre’s arms and jumping to his feet. No way in hell were they going to keep him away this time. He’d lose his mind if he had to be separated from them again.
“Yes, you are.”
Echo opened his mouth to argue before Hex’s words sank in, and he stared in shock. “Really?”
“Yep.” Hex chuckled and opened his arms for Echo to come to him.
Without hesitation, Echo walked up and settled in Hex’s lap. “You’re not going to give me lame excuses or half-ass reasonings of why I can’t go?”
“Not this time,” Hex said around his smirk. “Think you know everything, huh?”
“I don’t know why Ares is hell-bent on having you.” Echo arched an eyebrow, angling for information.
“I’ll tell you later,” Hex hedged.
“So, when are we leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Echo nodded as he mentally listed what he’d need to bring.
“Why weren’t you scared?” Vapre asked, seemingly out of the blue.
Switching gears, Echo tried to discern what his lover was asking him. “Oh, you mean when Ares was shaking me like a puppet?”
Vapre dipped his head once.
“Were you really going to let him just run off with me?”
“Not on your life,” Vapre growled.
Echo shrugged and smiled. “I have seven of the biggest, strongest men on the planet who would tear anyone apart that tried to hurt me. Why would I be afraid?”
“You have entirely too much faith in us, little one,” Eyce said as he strolled in from the direction of the kitchen.
Blowing his mate a kiss, Echo shrugged again. “I don’t think so. Even if he’d taken me, you’d have come for me.”
“I am honored that you trust us so implicitly, but please be careful.” Hex leaned up and kissed Echo’s temple. “Ares is not someone you want to mess with.”
“So is Sage a demon?” Echo changed the subject, steering them out of less hazardous topics. He didn’t want to argue with his men, but if they continued to treat him like a child, that’s exactly where they were headed.
“Yes,” Eyce answered, and that was it.
Oh-kay.
“So, I guess he’s kind of like Syx. I mean he can slip into people’s minds and implant thoughts and things like that?”
His men exchanged looks, all looking decidedly uneasy. “He’s a little stronger than that,” Eyce answered cautiously. “It would appear he has the power of full body possession.”
Echo shuddered and wrinkled his nose. “Eww. That little creep was inside me, and probably Mac, and not in the good, make-me-moan kind of way either.”
Loud growls filled the room, and Echo rolled his eyes. “Oh, you know what I meant!” He grumbled under his breath for a minute, then addressed the room again. “So, if we know what Sage is, and we know that he’s working with Ares, why do we need to find that cave?”
His men did that annoying thing where they gave each other meaningful looks again. It was really starting to grate on Echo’s nerves. “Oh, just spit it out.”
“We think there’s more than one,” Vapre said slowly.
“Another one like Sage? Are you kidding? And we’re what? Going to go find it and give it a good spanking?”
“Not exactly,” Hex answered vaguely, and Echo growled at them. It looked like they were in for a good argument after all.
Luckily, Fiero and Myst chose that moment to come rushing in through the front door. “It’s here,” Myst announced.
Echo looked at his men and frowned. “What’s here?”
“Remember that surprise we had for you a couple of weeks ago?” Vapre asked as he stood from the sofa.
“Yeah,” Echo answered as he nodded slowly. Then his eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms over his then chest. “What did you do?”
“Come look.” Fiero waved a hand for him to follow and darted back out the door.
Eyce grabbed Echo’s wrist, unwound his arm from his chest, and yanked him to his feet. “Come on,” he said eagerly.
“Okay, okay! You’re going to pull my damn arm out of socket.”
Eyce ignored him, of course, and continued to drag him across the room. When they reached the door, he pulled Echo in front of him, and practically shoved him through it. Echo stumbled out onto the front porch, whipping his head around to glare at his mate over his shoulder.
“Surprise!”
Echo turned his head back slowly, unsure of what he would find, and almost choked. “You…you bought me…”
“Do you like it?” Onyx asked, practically bouncing where he stood beside the shiniest, most gorgeous SUV Echo had ever seen. It was an odd look for such a large man.
“We thought about a sports car, but we wanted you to have four-wheel drive during the winter,” Eyce was explaining as he led Echo down the steps. “This is a lot safer as well, and big enough to fit us all in a pinch.”
It looked big enough to fit a freaking elephant as far as Echo was concerned. “What is it?”
“It’s a Denali, of course.” Vapre said this as though it should have been obvious. “Decked out with all the bells and whistles and anything else you could want or ask for.”
“You bought me a car,” Echo said in a tiny voice. They had actually bought him a damn car.
“Do you like it?” Onyx asked again, though some of the excitement had died from his eyes.
“I love it,” Echo said immediately, “but it’s too much.”
“Nothing is too much for our mate,” Hex said proudly. “Only the best for you, baby.”
“I don’t know how to drive.” Echo remembered back to their last lesson that had ended in utter failure.
“We’ll teach you.” Hex’s hand landed on his shoulders and began rubbing at the tense muscles. “Then you’ll take the test and get a license. We wanted you to have something of your own, something to give you a little more independence.”
“Thank you,” Echo whispered, his voice thick with unshed tears. “It’s beautiful, and I love it.”
“How about we take it for a test drive?” Vapre suggested.
“Where are we going?”
“On our first date.”
* * * *
Echo had never been on a date before, but he figured his first real outing with his men had to be the best one in history. His lovers were dressed to the nines in expensive-looking tailored suits with ties and cufflinks. They’d even thought ahead and bought a gorgeous Armani suit for Echo. He looked pretty damn good in it, too, if he did say so himself.
They’d taken him to some fancy restaurant in the city where Echo couldn’t pronounce half the items on the menu, but it had been fun. They ate and drank, talked and laughed, and Echo swelled with love until he thought it would leak out of his ears.
Then his men whisked him off to some play where the usher had led them up to a private balcony. Echo sat on the edge of his seat the entire time, his arms crossed over the railing as he watched with rapt attention. He didn’t understand all of it, but he found it amazing just the same.
Now, Echo lounged in the backseat of his new car, Eyce behind the wheel, and leaned heavily against Syx. “Thank you,” he whispered, struggling to keep his eyes open. “I had a great time.”
Syx’s arm wound around him, tucking him against his side, and his lips landed on the top of Echo’s head. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, baby. We’ll do it again soon.”
“Maybe we should have another party,” Myst suggested.
Echo turned his face into Syx’s chest and smiled. His men were forever trying to make his life as normal as possible, and he adored them for it. Being mated to seven warrior demons pretty much guaranteed that nothing in his life would ever be average. Personally, he preferred it that way.
“A party sounds like a great idea,” Eyce said from the driver’s seat. “Echo, when is your birthday?”
“I don’t know exactly. When I was younger, the people at the lab would bake a cake and give me presents, but it was never on the same day or even in the same month every year.”
“Well, your new birthday is April ninth, and we’re going to have us a hell of a party,” Fiero announced. “Maybe we can get some strippers.” He leaned around Syx and wiggled his eyebrows at Echo.
Echo started laughing and didn’t think he would ever be able to stop. When he finally got his amusement under control, he took a deep breath and let it out on a happy sigh. “What time are we leaving tomorrow?” He didn’t look forward to the journey or what they’d find when they reached their destination, but he was determined to do his part.
“First light,” Hex said from beside Eyce.
Echo closed his eyes and groaned. He was totally not a morning person. “Can we make it first noon?”
His lovers chuckled, but Echo had a feeling he wasn’t going to get his way on this one. “Fine, but I’m sleeping the entire way there.”
“Deal,” Hex answered as though Echo had been asking permission.
“Oh, and we need to make sure there’s a fresh stock of blood for Jinx and Syn before we leave, especially if we don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”