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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] Why would you even want to look at me after what I did? I honestly have no idea what you re doing in my lap right now. Instead of answering his question, Echo asked one of his own. What did I do? You didn t do anything. Then why did you get so angry? I ve never even seen you grumpy, then all the sudden you just snapped. Eyce took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he bent his head, resting his brow against Echo s. It was just a whole bunch of things. While we were laughing and joking, someone was out in the trees watching us. It scared the hell out of me. I shouldn t be that careless with you. 106 Gabrielle Evans Okay, I m going to pretend you didn t say that last part. Echo glared at his lover sternly. Next. No one comes out this far. Yeah, Syx said the same thing. So, that makes me think you have an idea of who was in those woods. I think it was the men from the lab. Echo froze, his breath catching in his throat as his heart fell to the pit of his stomach. I I don t& no& they& no! Shh, baby. Eyce stroked his cheeks, pressing a tender kiss to his lips. I got a little territorial and a whole lot possessive. I was worried about Onyx and Vapre. I was worried about getting you home. Then& He trailed off and shook his head. Then I started arguing with you, Echo finished for him. Your protective instincts were already on overdrive, and then I demanded to go back to where the danger was. I get it. You are the most amazing person I have ever met. Eyce smiled and pecked Echo s lips again. It astounds me that you are so intuitive. You see straight to the problem and work out the solution before any of us even realize there is a problem. Echo sighed in contentment as he rested his head on Eyce s shoulder. Then I guess you better keep me around, huh? Yep, baby. I guess we should. Hey, can I ask you something? You can ask me anything. Why did everyone keep thanking me the other night? Eyce sat back and looked at him in confusion. Before I got sick, Echo clarified. The wrinkles in Eyce s brow slowly smoothed away, and Echo could almost see the light click on inside the man s head. You agreed to be our mate and let us claim you. Echo nodded. Yeah, so what s up with that? I just told you. Eyce chuckled lightly as he eased Echo out of his lap and stood before holding a hand out to pull Echo to his feet as Dark Devotion 107 well. You agreed to be ours forever. You gave us a gift. We were merely showing our appreciation. So, are we good now? I could ask you the same thing. Eyce arched an eyebrow as he climbed the front steps. I m the one that fucked everything up. Can you forgive me? Already done, but if you really want to make it up to me& Yes? Echo stretched up on his tiptoes and pulled Eyce into a searing kiss. Then you ll have to catch me, he whispered. Then he backed away a few steps, smirking the whole way before turning and running for Eyce s bedroom. 108 Gabrielle Evans Chapter Twelve Something doesn t add up. Hex spoke quietly as he stood with Syx on the banks of the forest stream. Okay, a whole lot of things don t add up. Such as? Syx crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed the land around them. Vapre and Onyx are coming. Okay, then we ll wait for them to get here. We need to figure this shit out before we talk to Echo. Echo? Syx turned to look at him with his head tilted to the side. What does this have to do with Echo? He pushed his sandy blond hair back from his face as he stared intently. Hex didn t try to hide anything, but left his thoughts open for his lover s perusal. A bunch of little things had been worrying at him since Echo s arrival, and they needed to get to the bottom of them. Syx gaped at him stupidly. You think he s lying? Not lying exactly. Hex waved a hand in welcome as Onyx and Vapre stomped through the trees and into view. I don t think he s telling us everything, though. He turned to the approaching men and sighed. Did you find anything? No. Vapre shook his head and snorted in disgust. We almost had them, but they had a Jeep waiting on Marsdale Road. They fucking sped off like the demons of Hell were chasing them. Onyx chuckled. Close enough. We need to talk. Everyone sobered and looked at Hex, forming a small half-circle around him. It s about Echo. What happened to him? Vapre grabbed Hex s arm and shook him roughly. Is he okay? Did something happen? Tell me! Dark Devotion 109 Hex placed his hand over Vapre s and squeezed it gently. He s fine. He s with Eyce back at the house. There was a little incident where Eyce kind of lost it, but we ll talk about that later. Vapre calmed a little and dropped his hand away, moving back to take his original place between Onyx and Syx. Okay, so what s going on? Hex thinks Echo is lying. Syx didn t even bother to disguise the accusation in his voice. I m not saying he is or he isn t, and it doesn t mean I want him to leave. Leave? Onyx growled. You re sending him away? Would you all just calm down and listen to me? Hex yelled. No one is going anywhere. Look, we don t know anything about him other than what he s told us which isn t much. Syx would know if he was lying, Vapre said firmly. I can t always hear his thoughts, Syx murmured. He blocks them sometimes. Hex let everyone digest that for a second before he spoke again. He says he spent his entire life in that lab, right? Everyone nodded their agreement. He knows quite a bit about the world for someone who s lived in isolation his entire life. He said they taught him things, Onyx said quickly, hopefully. There are some things you can t teach. Hex fisted his hands on his hips and stared down at the ground. If you d been locked away from people your entire life, don t you think a place like the mall would freak you out a little? Or at least be new and exciting? No one had an answer for him, so Hex continued. He knows quite a bit about sex. You can teach that, but not from a book. He watched his men s brows furrow as they considered his words. He doesn t talk like someone who has been sheltered all of his life. He s feisty as hell. I love it, but it doesn t fit. None of it does. 110 Gabrielle Evans He s so little, Vapre said slowly as he looked up to meet Hex s gaze. How did he escape on his own? Another good question, Hex growled. Damn, he hated not having the answers. Then let s go ask him. Maybe he was just scared to tell us the truth. That s just it. Hex began pacing something he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. I don t think he s lying exactly. I just think there s more to his story. Come on. Syx jerked his head in the direction of the house. We need to go check on Eyce anyway. What happened with Eyce? Onyx asked as they began the trek back home. He lost it, changed, and scared the hell out of Echo. And you just left him there with Eyce like that? Vapre managed to sound appalled, angry, and amused all at the same time. That s messed up. Eyce is fine now. I don t really know the whole story, so I ll let him explain. Hex pressed his fingers to his aching temple. I need a fucking drink. * * * * Mm, this is nice. Echo molded his naked body to Eyce s, inhaling the clean scent of the man s skin from their recent shower. Eyce squeezed him and sighed. It is, but we need to get up. I heard Fiero and Myst come in, and the others should be back by now. I want to know what they found. Yeah, I guess you re right. Echo huffed in disappointment as he rolled out of bed and headed for the door. I m going to grab some clothes. I ll meet you in the kitchen in five. I hope Fiero remembered to get those little chocolate cupcakes. Dark Devotion 111 Well, since the two of you fight over them constantly, I m [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |