Free Echo, Mine by Georgia Lyn Hunter Page A

guy stepped in her path with a loopy grin
and glazed eyes. He probably saw ten of her. “Wanna h-hook up?”
    Yeah, right! Scowling, she shoved him out of
her way and stomped out of the club. As she cleared the stairs, one
of the twins was there, talking to a man—a demon. She flung a smirk
Echo’s way and stroked the dark-haired man’s chest, as if to say
‘ see, I too have a sexy man .’
    She was welcome to him. Sexy, handsome men
could be so darn impossible! Besides, Echo was well aware of how
good-looking demons were, too. She’d dealt with many during her
stint as a hunter when she pursued the demonii responsible for
killing her friend.
    As the twin sashayed off with her conquest
who sported dark shades, an acrid trace of sulfur drifted to
Echo—oh, crap!
    Demoniis. They wore sunglasses to hide their
red eyes when they hunted for prey. Echo opened her psychic sight,
and at the pulsing red aura surrounding the fast-disappearing man,
she swore under her breath.
    ***
    What the hell had just happened? Aethan
stared at Echo’s disappearing form. Why was she so riled at him?
She had to know it was always about her. No one had ever fascinated
him the way she did.
    Their first night out was turning into a
fucking disaster. He’d intended to take her out to dinner, a quiet
bar to relax, but nothing had gone according to plan. Echo,
apparently, had a whole other agenda for their evening.
    He hadn’t wanted to come here, but she was
right. It was time to let go of the past. This place always
reminded him how he could have lost Echo to that human, Jon, or
another had he not overcome his fears and claimed her. But more, it
was only a few days later that she’d died in his arms…
    Shit . He rubbed his jaw, his stomach
hollowing out. The gut-wrenching desolation that had gripped him
would never disappear. He doubted it ever would.
    So he shut it away and followed Echo then
stopped and glared at the crowd surrounding him. Unlike his mate,
he didn't care to be pushing his way through the masses. He walked
around them and took off after his fast-disappearing mate, but more
people got in his way.
    Irritated, he headed for the stairs when the
air was knocked right out of his lungs . Godsdammit— Rahvert ! Týr had mentioned seeing a scarred demon
loitering in The Bowery. Echo was heading outside alone. The fucker
just had to get a whiff of his scent on her—
    Willing people out of his way, Aethan
sprinted for the exit, hoping it was just some random demon and not
Rahvert and crew.
    ***
    Echo pushed through the swarm of people
heading for the exit and finally stumbled out into the muggy night.
Inhaling a deep breath, she squinted, peering down the shadowy
backstreet. Dark places were demoniis’ preferred feeding spots. She
sprinted down the narrow alley, turned left into a short dead-end
lane and skidded to a halt near the Range Rover. Grateful she
didn't twist an ankle.
    The demonii had the twin against the wall,
his mouth on hers. She thrashed about, hitting him. Nope, that
lip-lock wasn't about passion, and yeah, that feeble hitting
wouldn’t work either. The twin’s eyes bulged as he attempted to
suck out her soul.
    Instead of collagen, self-defense classes
would have been a far better use of the woman’s money.
    “Hey, you,” Echo called out to the fiend.
“What about me?”
    The demonii stiffened. He wheeled around
then stopped and sniffed, obviously catching a whiff of her
pheromones. His forehead had shifted partly, jutting out and
revealing his demonic nature. Lust pulsing in his red aura.
    “You smell so goooood.” His rusty tone
scraped her sensitive hearing like nails on a chalkboard.
    “Yeah, that’s me, tasty human.” She snorted,
ignoring the whimpering woman. “Why don’t you come and get me?”
Echo summoned her obsidian dagger, concealing it against her skirt.
Another demonii crept out from behind the SUV. Crap. She could take
them both, but the woman would be in danger if one chose to go
after