Free Absolute Surrender by Georgia Lyn Hunter Page B

anything to satiate—to sink deep into her hot silky heat, have those honey-toned limbs wrapped around his waist, until his hunger for her was sated. Then he saw Echo’s face frozen in terror, her legs still around his hips, where she lay dead beneath him.
    His blood ran cold.
    Pivoting, Aethan stalked from the room. He joined the males outside the office, staring at the opposite wall and trying desperately to clear his head.
    The door opened moments later and Týr swung past him, his expression unyielding. Aethan joined him. They left the club and headed into the chilly night air, the wind snapping open their long coats. Aethan stuck his hands in the pocket of his leathers.
    “Týr—”
    “Not interested.”
    The male was still pissed. Aethan couldn’t blame him. Hell, if he had to deal with someone like himself, he’d be worse.
    “Too bad. You’re going to hear it anyway.” He threw Týr’s sentiment from yesterday back at him, but got no reaction. “I was out of line, what I said—”
    “It matters little.” Cold. Clipped. “I’m on duty at the rift.”
    Týr stepped into a darkened doorway and his form began to shimmer. Before he could dematerialize, Aethan clamped a hand on his arm. “You want to take a shot at me, it is your right.”
    He shrugged Aethan’s hand off. “I have work.”
    Training. Duty. That’s what their lives amounted to. Aethan stepped back. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
    Týr didn’t respond. The air around him shifted and he dematerialized.
    Aethan rubbed his face with a weary hand. Redemption wasn’t for them. This was their life, the only one Gaia granted them. A damn cruel fate to walk amongst the freedom of others and never be able to touch it. Their existence was set in stone. Protect those whose life was forever barred from them. A life they could never have.
    In the distance, church bells rang. Drunken laughter rippled through the darkness. He tensed, glanced around. A strange sensation rushed over him, unlike any he’d ever encountered before.
    What the hell!
    His thoughts scattered as the air around him shifted and sucked him into a whirlpool of unimaginable power.
     
    ***
     
    Echo stepped out of her apartment door. The flurry of footsteps resounding through the silent hallway had her biting back a groan.
    “Darn it, Echo. Wait up.” Kira rushed after her, tugging on her jacket. She hooked her arm through Echo’s as they left the building and headed up the street. A thin layer of mist swirled around them, blurring the lampposts lining the road.
    “Sane people stay inside their homes, where it’s safe and warm,” Kira grumbled, zipping up her jacket.
    “I have to get out, need some air. Go back inside, I won’t be long.”
    “No. I know you. You’re still upset over what that jackass, Neal, said.”
    “Kira, I’m fine. I can’t sleep, so I walk. It helps settle me.”
    “At night? Echo, that’s like sticking a flashlight on your forehead, telling the demoniis a delicious human is available—no wait, your pheromones do that well enough.”
    “I know.” A smile tugged at Echo’s mouth. “And I don’t have to expend any energy looking for them.”
    Clearly not amused by her smart-ass remark, Kira’s tone was filled with irritation. “I’m afraid, one of these days, things will end badly for us.”
    “Us?” Echo asked, unable to keep the amusement from her voice.
    “Yes. If you die, I’ll be sad forever.”
    Echo lost her smile. “I’m not going to die, silly.”
    The incident with Neal had opened an old wound. If she were honest enough, a part of her would always hurt, a part that remained a child. Most times she didn’t let it bother her until she looked in the mirror...and saw her ugly eyes.
    Weirdo. Freak. She’d heard it all before.
    Memories nudged through the cracks in her mental armor.
    ‘ Stay here you little freak. ’
    ‘ No! Please, don’t please—I’m sorry. ’
    He loomed over her, tall, thin, with dark eyes