Echo, Mine by Georgia Lyn Hunter Read Free Book Online Page B

tonight, the way she liked it. The lights
in the restaurant highlighted the multi-toned dark blue strands. It
fell down in a silky sweep to brush the shoulders of his dark-gray
dress shirt, his only concession to semi-formal date-wear.
    The leather pants he usually wore while on
patrol stayed. To him, they were a barrier, cutting down on some of
the injuries that often occurred on the job. To her, they looked
sexy as hell.
    She rested her arms on the white,
damask-covered table. “I'm so glad you could take a night off.”
    Aethan leaned back in his chair, his brow
creasing. “We’ve always had that option, we just didn't utilize
it.” His gaze held hers. Warm. Tender. “There was no need to
before.”
    Understanding struck. “Until me.”
    “Until you.”
    She smiled. “Then I'm glad you’ve taken it.
I like this. You, me, here.”
    He covered her hand on the table. “We both
needed this. At the castle, you're always busy, training with
Hedori, lessons with that idiot Lore—”
    “Lore’s not so bad, Aethan. Just don’t react
to his taunting. You know those angels will take their enjoyment
anyway they can. As for the training, it’s important to me, but you
could always change your mind and teach me yourself, you know.”
    “I don’t think I’d be a good trainer for
you. Besides…” His gaze skimmed over her face, a sensual glint in
his eyes. “Every time I have you under me, on the floor, I get
distracted.”
    She swallowed. While that may have been true
once, Aethan no longer made love to her on the spur of the moment,
except in bed. She appreciated his care and consideration, but
dammit, she was tired of the gentleness. She wanted the man who had
a voracious, no-holds-barred appetite when it came to sex—she
wanted the downpour—the thunderstorm. She wanted all that back.
    Her gaze lingered on the untouched
strawberries…she wasn’t hungry, but she’d use whatever weapons she
had. Before tonight was over, Aethan would have no idea what hit
him. That iron will of his would be nothing but a puddle of raw
desire.
    “Fine,” she said, taking a sip of her drink
before he cottoned onto her plan and armed up. “I guess Hedori will
have to do. But I'm giving you fair warning, Aethan. I’m going to
ask one of the others to spar with me, too. I need to learn to
fight with different opponents. Týr is vicious. I like his style.”
Setting her glass down, she hid a smile as Aethan narrowed his
eyes. “And Blaéz, he’s real brutal, fights like a street
fighter—truly amazing. As for Dagan…” She frowned then shrugged. “I
haven’t really seen him fight. Guess I’ll find out soon
enough.”
    “They won't fight you.”
    “Why not? Ugh, Aethan, you didn't?” She gave
him a disgusted look. “Did you warn them off?”
    A faint smile touched his mouth. “No. I
haven’t. But they won't.”
    Dammit, they were all alike. Just because
she’d woken from a long coma didn’t mean she was helpless.
Scowling, she drummed her fingers on the table.
    His smile deepened. “And here I thought we’d
left work back at the castle.”
    She stopped her irate tapping. He was right.
This was a date, and she had only one objective for tonight.
Him.
    “Just be patient, Echo. Once you’ve had a
little more time to adjust, and gain your strength, I’ll teach you,
and then you can kick all their asses.”
    The sincerity in his gaze cooled her
annoyance. She nodded, her attention veering back to the table
farther down.
    All through dinner, she’d been unable to
stop herself from watching the family with two young children at
the next table. The father oversaw one while the mother tended to
the other. Laughter and love surrounded them, and a pang hit her.
She’d never known her parents and sometimes she wished she had
siblings, too. It would have made her horrible childhood more
bearable. Of course, that was all wishful longing. She was an only
child, and her parents had died in a shoot-out mugging, which