Authors: Gabrielle Evans
The words were enchanting, spellbinding, and Echo felt himself relaxing. His fear and uncertainty began to ebb as Hex’s voice soothed him and mended what he’d thought was broken. His mind floated on a cloud of serenity, his mate’s words making him calm and sleepy.
Gods, he loved his man, loved his strength and commitment. He loved the hypnotic healing power of his mate’s lovingly murmured words. Hex was his rock, his anchor, and he’d see them all through the storms to come.
“Need you, Hex.”
“You always have me.” Hex’s fingers continued to stroke lazily through Echo’s hair. “Come here.”
Echo crawled up his lover’s chest, straddling Hex’s lean waist, and bent forward until their lips met in a kiss that stole his breath. The overwhelming need to dominate this big man—claim him, mark him, and possess him—roared inside Echo, making him dizzy with it. He needed to take back some of the control in his life, and he couldn’t think of a better way than to make love to his mate.
“I want to fuck you, Hex, and I want you to beg me for it.” More than just a turn-on, Echo needed to know how much his lover still craved him. He was falling apart by the seams, holding on by a frayed thread.
Hex didn’t even blink. “How do you want me?”
“Just like this. I want to look into your eyes and know that you want this as much as I do.” Echo snagged the lube from the nightstand as he spoke and wiggled down Hex’s body to kneel between his splayed thighs. “I want to see the desire in your eyes when you stare back at me. Then I want to watch them glaze over when I make you fly.”
Hex groaned and pulled his knees back to his chest, linking his arms around his thighs to hold them in place. “You’ve been spending too much time with Syx.”
Coating his fingers quickly, Echo tossed the lube aside and began rimming his mate’s clenching hole, swirling his fingers around the muscles and nudging against his entrance. “You’re not begging me, Hex.” Echo pushed with just the tip of one finger and used his other hand to fist Hex’s thick cock. “I want to hear you, love.” Hex groaned loudly, and Echo rewarded him by leaning down and swirling his tongue around his mate’s hairless sac. “More,” he whispered.
“Fuck me,” Hex demanded raggedly. Well, that was quick. Echo thought he’d have to do a lot more teasing to get his mate to beg so prettily. “It’s not nice to tease, baby. I’ve been hard all damn day, and my ass is hungry for you.”
With a quiet growl, Echo pushed two fingers into Hex’s velvety channel and began pumping them in and out. Hex wasn’t supposed to turn the tables on him like that. It wasn’t fair. Just this once, Echo wouldn’t complain, though.
“Enough,” Hex growled. “I like the burn. Just fuck me before my dick falls off.”
Echo extracted his fingers, found the lube, and slicked his aching cock, lingering for a moment and snapping his hips into his light grip.
“Stop playing with it and use it already.”
Opening his eyes, Echo lifted one eyebrow at his mate and smacked his hip. “No topping from the bottom. Now shut up and love it.” And with that, he lined up the head of his swollen dick and thrust inside Hex’s clenching hole. “Oh, hell, you’re fucking tight.”
“Move,” Hex whispered, staring straight into his eyes.
Something wild and primal rose up inside Echo, and a feral cry escaped his panting lips. His skin tingled, his heart pounded, and lightning bolts of pleasure raced up his spine. His fingers dug into the back of Hex’s thighs in a bruising hold as he drove into his lover’s heated passage with abandon. Again and again, he plunged and retreated, growling and grunting like a wild animal. Sweat beaded across his body, his balls burned, and his dick swelled even further inside Hex’s tight grasp.
No matter how much he wanted to close his eyes and lose himself in the bliss, he didn’t. He stared into his alpha’s eyes, watching as they began to glaze over just as he’d wanted. “Touch yourself. Stroke that beautiful cock and come for me.”
Hex obeyed instantly, palming his flexing length, and jerking it in rhythm to Echo’s demanding thrusts. The man was so gorgeous Echo still had trouble believing the warrior belonged to him.
His belly tightened, his heartbeat stuttered, and Echo couldn’t wait any longer. “Come for me.” One final snap of his hips, and his entire world centered on the place where his body joined with his lover’s. His cock pulsed and jerked, and Echo cried out Hex’s name as his mate’s tunnel massaged him and milked him of every drop of cream.
Long, thick ropes of cum burst from Hex’s slit, shooting into the air before succumbing to gravity and splashing against his chest and abs. The warrior rumbled, his body shuddered, and he gave one final stroke to his softening cock before slumping back to the pillows with a sigh.
Easing out of Hex’s twitching hole, Echo climbed off the bed and padded into the bathroom to clean himself up. He’d just reached for a washcloth when Hex’s hard body pressed against his back, mashing him into the counter.
“My turn,” Hex purred. A slick finger slipped between Echo’s butt cheeks, zeroed in on his hole, and pushed in to the second knuckle. Hex stretched him quickly, adding a second finger, and then a third, sawing in and out until Echo moaned and whimpered.
His dick filled again, throbbing painfully as he gripped the counter in a white-knuckled grip. “Please,” he pleaded. As much as he liked the feel of Hex’s tight body wrapped around him, his ass begged to be stretched and filled.
Hex’s fingers disappeared, and a muscled arm locked around his waist, lifting and turning him. Echo scrambled for purchase, locking his ankles behind Hex’s back, and his arms around the warrior’s thick neck.
His back pressed against the cool wall, his mate’s body warming him from the front and anchoring him in place. Hex unwound Echo’s legs from around his hips, looped his forearms under Echo’s knees, and tilted his hips up.
The engorged head of his cock pressed against Echo’s needy hole, pushing inside before retreating until the tip brushed the outside of his pucker once more. He did it again. Thrusting just the head of his dick inside Echo’s ass then pulling out completely. On and on, Hex teased until Echo thought he’d implode.
“Fuck me,” he snarled.
Hex stared into his eyes, jerked his hips forward, and plunged in to the base. He didn’t pause, didn’t wait for Echo to adjust. Hex pounded him into the wall, driving into him with a punishing tempo.
Keeping one hand around his lover’s neck, Echo used the other to palm his heavy erection, stroking his cock roughly as he screamed his mate’s name over and over. When Hex pulled on Echo’s hips again, changing the angle and nailing his sweet spot, stars exploded in Echo’s vision, and his entire body seized.
Hex dropped his forehead to Echo’s shoulder and growled as his hips gave a few jerky thrusts before he froze completely. Molten lava filled Echo’s convulsing channel just as his own release slammed into him, and he filled the space between them with his seed.
“Gods, I needed that,” he breathed a moment later when they’d finally disengaged, and he stood on trembling legs. His muscles felt like putty, and he figured he could sleep for a week. “Love you, big guy.”
Hex bent over him, nuzzling his nose against the side of Echo’s neck. “And I love you,” he whispered. “You, my warriors, all of you are my life. I’m nothing without you.”
Leave it to Hex to go and ruin a perfectly good down-and-dirty fuck by saying something so heartbreakingly beautiful. Echo sniffled, but he refused to let the tears fall that prickled at the corner of his eyes. “Shut up and kiss me.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next week seemed to drag by, but when the night of the new moon finally arrived, Echo was confident that they’d done all they could to prepare for the battle. He’d worked ceaselessly with Hex until he felt sure the man would throttle him. Hopefully, it would all pay off, though.
He held one of Onyx’s hands and one of Hex’s as they made their way down to the kappas’ pond. Echo felt bad for neglecting the little guys. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d brought them cucumbers. He’d have to see what he could do to remedy that.
“Now, why are we here again?” Fiero asked.
“Trouble seems to find us no matter where we go,” Echo explained. “This seems as good a place as any. Besides, it’s open, so we can see what’s coming, and it’s a good distance from the house. I don’t want trouble in our home.”
“It’s our sanctuary,” Myst added, and Echo beamed at him. Even if the others didn’t, at least Myst got it.
“We have about two minutes until sunset,” Hex announced just as they pushed through the last of the trees and the pond came into view. Hex stopped, released Echo’s hand, and turned to face everyone. “If it looks like I might lose, I want you to take Echo and run. I don’t care where you go, just run.”
“You’re not going to lose,” Echo scoffed. “I put way too much effort into you for that. Make me proud, baby.”
Hex snorted and rolled his eyes. “I adore your enthusiasm, but I’m serious. I don’t want any of you hurt because I screwed up. Ares does not get his hands on Echo no matter what. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” Eyce growled. “Not going to happen.”
“Can we do anything?” Jinx asked quietly.
Echo looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Not really. You guys are more like cheerleaders. If things go wrong, I expect you to protect my men, though.”
“On my honor,” Jinx replied solemnly and gave Echo a small bow.
The sun disappeared beyond the horizon, darkness swallowed up the land, and Echo took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “This is it.”
“Yeah, but what exactly is
it
?” Hex scanned the small clearing, looking out over the pond and even searching the skies. “It’s quiet,” he muttered.
A vicious snarl sent shivers up Echo’s spine, and he turned slowly to see Jinx and Syn prowling toward him. Their eyes flashed with a crazed light, their fangs elongated, and they actually licked their lips as they stalked him.
Gage’s head fell back on his shoulders, and he howled out to the shadowed moon as his body began to contort and transform before their eyes. Echo took several hasty steps in retreat, shaking his head as he went. The sound of ripping fabric drew his attention, and he watched two enormous wolves push to their feet where Jet and Pax had been only seconds before.
“What the hell?” Myst breathed, hurrying over to stand in front of Echo and block him from the vampires’ advances.
“Their minds are all scrambled,” Syx answered. “I can’t get a lock on any of them.”
Craze tried to pull his mates back, but they swatted him away like a gnat. Mac and Sony stroked Gage’s arms and chest as they cooed to him, but the werewolf paid no attention to them. Saliva dripped from Jet’s mouth, Pax’s upper lip curled over his wickedly sharp teeth, and all eyes were focused on Echo.
“They’ve lost their minds,” he whispered. “I thought the prophecy meant rabies or something, but this is so much worse.”
“Pull it together,” Hex ordered. “If I can make freakin’ grass grow, I can heal their minds. I’m going to need help, though, so don’t fall apart on me now.”
Echo straightened his spine, pulled his shoulders back, and nodded curtly. Sidestepping toward the alpha, he motioned for Syx to join them. Syx took one step, two, then all hell broke loose.
The vampires launched themselves forward, plowing into Myst in their determination to get to Echo. Myst held them back, Craze yelling at him the entire time to not hurt his mates. Sony shifted, locking his arms around Gage and struggling to keep him in place.
Fiero and Eyce rolled around on the ground, both in demon form as they fought the gigantic wolves. Vapre jumped into the fray, and Onyx rushed over to help with Gage. “Hurry,” Echo shouted to Syx. His men were losing, and if they didn’t do something fast, someone was going to get hurt…or worse. Damn, they were so overwhelmed they couldn’t even use their powers to fight back. “C’mon, c’mon,” Echo chanted, taking Hex’s hand and shifting from foot to foot.