Evans, Gabrielle - Shades of Black [Fatefully Yours 5] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) (6 page)

“Hey,” he said quietly.

Hex looked up at him and nodded. “Hey.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“You have another headache?”

“It’s not too bad.”

Echo swallowed back a frustrated growl and crossed the room to stand between Hex’s spread knees. The man was so massive that, even though he was sitting, Echo only rose a couple of inches taller. Reaching out, he pressed his palms to Hex’s temples and closed his eyes. He used part of his power to heal his lover, while the other part focused on detangling the snarled thoughts inside Hex’s head.

He should probably feel bad for syphoning some of Syx’s power without telling him, but he didn’t. Hex was the most stubborn person he’d ever met, and if this was the only way to get answers from him, he couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty. He didn’t do it to pry or be an asshole. Hex was going to self-destruct if he didn’t learn to share some of his worries, though.

Hex hated himself for lying to his lovers. He hated the idea of Craze coming to live with them, even for a temporary stay. He wished he’d never met the asshole. He questioned the Oracle’s motives, worried about the constant headaches, and hoped he hadn’t fucked things up with Echo beyond repair.

“Oh, love,” Echo whispered, bending forward to ghost his lips across Hex’s brow. “You worry so much. Why won’t you let anyone help you?” His heart ached inside his chest and unbidden tears welled in his eyes. “Let me help you.”

Hex cleared his throat roughly. “I’m fine.” His fingers wrapped around Echo’s waist and squeezed for just a moment before he gently pushed him away. “I’ll call Craze. I don’t know if he’ll come, but I guess we don’t have a choice but to try. Go ahead and start packing. Make sure you bring your big coat, gloves, and a hat. It’s going to be cold sleeping on the ground.”

Rising to his feet, Hex arched his neck one way and then the other, popping the vertebrae. “My head feels better. Thank you.”

Echo sighed at the dismissal, but decided arguing would only make things worse. With a little tip of his head, he turned and shuffled out of the room. Maybe one day Hex would let him in, let him heal his heart instead of his head. That day wasn’t going to be this one, though.

Turning the corner out of the doorway, Echo found Syx waiting for him, leaning against the wall with a sad smile on his face. Without a word, he opened his arms, and Echo rushed to him, clinging to Syx’s shirt and burying his face in his mate’s chest. Crap, he needed to get his emotions under control.

“Shh, baby,” Syx cooed. “Everything is going to be fine.” He leaned closer and pressed his lips to Echo’s ear. “Give him time, sweetheart. You know he loves you. That’s why he’s being such a dick.”

It sounded like a lame excuse to Echo, but he could kind of understand. Hex was a big, macho warrior with too much testosterone for his own good. He didn’t like
feelings
, and he didn’t like being confused. Echo imagined Hex’s feelings were making him pretty damn confused at the moment.

“You’re supposed to be helping Vapre,” Echo chastised lightly. There was no real heat behind his words, and he was more thankful than he could say for Syx’s comforting presence.

His mate kissed his temple and hugged him tighter. “I’ll go help him in a minute. The others are almost finished loading up the trucks. Onyx and Eyce packed your bags, so you might want to check those.”

Rolling his forehead over Syx’s chest, Echo groaned. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not. I think I saw them slip a G-string in there.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Echo pushed away from Syx and growled. “I’m going to kill them.”

Syx chuckled and grabbed Echo around the wrist. “That’s not all they packed. Relax and have a little faith, baby.”

“Yeah, okay.” Echo took Syx’s hand and tugged him along toward the stairs. “I’m going to make fresh coffee, some sandwiches, and a list of things that need to be taken care of while we’re gone.” Something else occurred to him, and he stopped so suddenly that Syx almost fell over him. “Will we be back before the new moon?”

“I think so,” Syx said slowly. “It’s not for almost four weeks, and we can’t carry more than two weeks’ worth of supplies at one time.”

“Okay, good. I think I’d feel better if we were all home together before then.” Tilting his head to the side, Echo arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips. “Now, why aren’t you helping Vapre again?”

Syx skimmed the back of his knuckles along the column of Echo’s throat and their eyes locked. “You needed me more.”

Chapter Five

There was a lot of hugging, kissing, and whispered good-byes as they all climbed into the SUVs and began their journey into the unknown. Echo had to blink back a few tears as he watched Eyce and Onyx through the back windshield of his new car. He knew he’d see them again, but he hated being separated—even temporarily.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Fiero whispered to him as his hand gripped Echo’s thigh and gave it a light squeeze. “Stop worrying so much.”

Echo tried to give him a smile in return, but his heart just wasn’t in it. In fact, his heart seemed to be lodged somewhere in his throat, cutting off his airway and choking him. Logically, he knew Eyce and Onyx would be safer at home than he and the other warriors would be wherever they were going. He still worried about them, though.

Syx’s hand landed on his other thigh and rubbed soothingly. “They can take care of themselves and Craze will be there soon.”

Ah, and there was the problem. Some strange man who Echo had never met—but used to do the bump and grind with his mates—was going to be in their home with his lovers…alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his men, but the jealousy and distrust of this Craze person ate away at him.

“How long are we going to be gone?” Gods, he wanted to turn around right then and go back, and they’d barely made it onto the main road. When Hex had finally found the courage to call Craze and explain the situation, their former lover had been all too eager to catch the first flight out in his haste to return to them.

The whole situation set Echo’s teeth on edge.

What if, despite the problems they’d had, Eyce and Onyx found they wanted Craze back? What if they wanted him more than Echo? Would the others follow suit? There were so many unanswered questions. Syx said Craze had “found” them. What the hell did that mean? Then there was the whole fact that they’d been with the man for four hundred fucking years. No matter what any of them said, Echo found it very hard to believe that you could be with someone for that length of time and not have some kind of feelings for him.

And after that length of time, how could they just shut off those feelings like they never existed? No, something wasn’t adding up, and it made Echo anxious. Syx looked afraid. Hex wouldn’t talk to anyone except to bark out orders. Fiero seemed more thoughtful than usual. Myst just looked depressed, as though someone had kicked his puppy. Vapre lounged in the third row seat, staring blankly out the window.

Casually placing his hand over Syx’s where he rested it on his thigh, Echo drew little circles over the knuckles with his thumb. He kept the touch light but constant, hoping to distract his lover as he absorbed just a little of Syx’s telepathic power. After already syphoning a bit earlier in the day, it wouldn’t take much. He could already hear the others’ thoughts, but they were muffled and hard to distinguish.

Closing his eyes, he leaned against Syx, feigning exhaustion as he opened his mind and let his mates’ thoughts flow in.

“I don’t like leaving Eyce and Onyx behind, especially with Craze coming. What if he hurts them?”

Echo’s eyelids twitched, and he tensed in alarm at Vapre’s wonderings. He’d been worried about Craze stealing his men back. He’d never imagined that the asshole might hurt them. Moving on, he dipped into Fiero’s head next.

“I can’t believe that Hex is letting Echo come with us. It’s too dangerous. He should be home. Fuck! We should all be home. If anything happens to Echo…”

Echo bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. There was nothing going on inside Fiero’s head that the man wouldn’t say out loud. His concern for Echo’s safety was sweet, though.

Next, he probed Myst.

“Hex is hiding something. I don’t know why he won’t talk to me. Craze is going to ruin everything! I hate that fucker. If he lays a hand on Eyce or Onyx, I will kill him.”

Echo had never heard Myst so agitated before. He’d certainly never heard death threats spilling from the man’s mouth. His disappointment that Hex wouldn’t confide in him slipped into the tone of his thoughts. And what the fuck was Hex hiding anyway?

Sliding into Hex’s head, Echo decided to find out.

“Nothing good is going to come from having Craze here. He’s so fucking manipulative. I can’t believe I let them talk me into this. That man could talk a nun into bed.”

Echo gasped before he could stop himself. Hoping to play it off as a bad dream, he whimpered a little and curled in closer to Syx’s side. “
Syx?”
Ah, fuck!
“You were listening, weren’t you?”

“Naturally. You are a sneaky little shit. I understand, however, and I promise I won’t say anything. You can’t blame people for their thoughts, baby. Don’t judge them by their words, but by their actions. Just remember that, okay?”

With a deep sigh, Echo rubbed his face against Syx’s chest in reluctant agreement.
“I’ll try. It’s just hard. I guess you’ve had a lot more practice.”

Syx’s palm slid up and down his arm lazily.
“Only a few thousand years. Get some sleep, sweetheart. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

“I’ll try.”
He was nervous about what they’d find in the cave, worried about what would happen at home while they were away, and jealous of Craze’s former relationship with his mates. He had so much to think about, so much to obsess over, he didn’t think he’d ever sleep again.

Eventually, though, the steady thrum of the tires against the asphalt and the warmth of Syx’s body combined with his emotional exhaustion to drag him into a fitful sleep. His dreams were plagued with unwelcome depictions of some gorgeous man he’d never met but sought to take everything from him.

When Syx finally woke him, Echo felt as though he’d run a marathon instead of napping. He didn’t want to do this anymore. He didn’t care about wars, or ex-lovers, or gods, or destroying evil like some caped superhero. All he wanted was to be left alone with his men and live out their happy-ever-after.

“We’re here,” Hex announced unnecessarily as he eased off of the paved road and began bumping along a narrow dirt path. Once he’d reached the cover of the trees, he pulled to a stop and cut the engine.

No one moved. No one spoke. It was so dark under the canopy of tree limbs Echo could only make out eerie shadows through the tinted glass windows. Fighting against his sudden panic, he gripped Syx’s hand in one of his and Fiero’s in the other. It wasn’t pitch black, but it still felt oppressive.

“I’ll build a fire,” Fiero said quietly. He gave Echo’s hand a reassuring squeeze and opened his door to climb down from the SUV.

Echo couldn’t let go of him, though. He knew he should. His brain ordered his fingers to unclench, but still he held on.

Looking over his shoulder, Fiero studied him for a long time in the dim glow created by the dome light. Then he jerked his head and gave a little tug on Echo’s hand. “Come on.”

He didn’t even have to think about it. Clutching Fiero’s hand, Echo scrambled out after him, pressed close to his mate’s side, and shivered—partly from the cold, partly from the suffocating sense of complete isolation.

“Okay, give it to me,” Fiero muttered with a smirk.

Echo lifted both eyebrows. The man wanted sex at a time like this? He knew his guys were insatiable, but this was a bit much. Fiero started to laugh, and Echo finally realized the meaning. His cheeks heated, and he groaned before tilting his head and beginning the process of recycling Fiero’s ability.