Page 14 of Forsaken Dream
A beautiful musical sound, albeit little high pitched. Either way, it soothed my wary heart. Her hand dropped to the side, the utensil cluttering on the wooden floor as she bent at the waist, peels of laughter passing her kissable lips. Graceful fingers swiped the tears from the corners of her eyes as she gulped air, moving to the side and leaning her back to the wall behind her.
“Vaser.” I heard myself speak, and her snickering stopped abruptly. “My name is Vaser.” Hating the fact that my feet shuffled uncomfortably, I didn’t remove my gaze from her face, but I did step out from behind the gargoyle.
Her jeweled eyes swung to him next expectantly.
“Tyler,” the fuck grumbled, staying as still as he’d been from the second he stepped foot in our mate’s home.
“Echo,” she responded with a slight frown tugging at her thin eyebrows.
I saw Tyler’s forehead scrunch from the corner of my eye, but he opened his mouth before I could stop him.
“Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler …” The gargoyle even lowered his voice with each repetition of his name, turning the form of echoing into an art.
I bit on the inside of my mouth so I didn’t chortle in his face. The gargoyle was so serious that I fully expected him to go for it again if he didn’t do it right the first time. My body shook with suppressed laughter, and my shoulders relaxed completely when the corners of Echo’s lips twitched in the resemblance of a smile.
“My name is Echo.” It cost her to hold the humor from her voice, her lips twitching uncontrollably. “And I’d prefer to call you just Tyler. It’s too long to say ‘Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler’ every time I want to say something.”
The skin on his face darkened and he ducked his head with a groan. I’d be damned, the stone motherfucker could blush. Something I never would’ve believed if I didn’t witness it myself. Then his head cocked to the side as he regarded her while she struggled to keep a straight face. And then he had to open his mouth again, and I wished a lightning bolt would strike him so he’d shut up.
“You can fart if you need, Echo.” The dumb fuck’s voice held all the sincerity he could muster. “Vaser explained to me you have a nervous stomach. There is no shame in that.” My groan was wrenched from the bottom of my gut.
Stupid motherfucker.
“What?” All the blood drained from her face, and I wanted to punch his stony mug. “I didn’t … it wasn’t … I don’t …”
Her face bloomed like a rose, the pink hue spreading from her neck to her high cheekbones as she stabbed an accusing look my way. As fast as the mortification at his comment came, that fast it was replaced with determination. Blowing a breath, she squared her shoulders.
“You know what? Never mind. The two of you can go into the kitchen and say your peace before you get out of my house.” With a graceful flick of her hand, she pointed the way. “Call me stupid, but I’m dying to hear this story of how I was fortunate enough after decades of living in this realm to end up with an angel, a demon, and a gargoyle in my house on the same day … or night. Whatever.” Glancing into the living room where I knew the angel was, I thought I heard her mumble, “Hopefully Proto will not eat him in the meantime,” but I wasn’t sure I heard it correctly.
Echo’s invitation was enough to spur Tyler into motion. With the agility of a lump, he stomped into the room she indicated, leaving me alone with my mate in the hallway. I couldn’t take my eyes of her. Lust swirled in my gut when my gaze dropped to the thin fabric of her tank top, and my cock hardened in reaction to the pebbling of her nipples when she noticed what had my attention. The nubs strained against the cloth covering them as if calling for me to pay them homage. My fingers twitched with the need to take the perky globes and knead them as I brought them to my mouth. I almost took a step to do just that when she cleared her throat pointedly. My eyes snapped back to her face.
“After you.” Her voice was breathy, and when she cleared her throat again, it stroked my ego that I could unnerve her so. “Get moving.”
“As you wish, love.” The crooked smirk I gave her had melted many panties in my lifetime, but it only made my mate scowl at me.
The smile slipped from my face as I followed the gargoyle, throwing a look over my shoulder as I passed the entrance of the living room. There was no one there, the room filled with worn furniture and shelves stacked with books and framed photographs. I almost missed the legs and bloody boots hanging over the armrest of the sofa. The angel was still out cold, and hopefully he would stay that way until we were done convincing her that she needed us in her life.
“I don’t have all night for you to stare at my house, Vaser.” Hearing my name coming from her lips in that alluring voice made me harder than the gargoyle’s skin when he shifted. “Keep moving and let’s hear why you decided it was a great idea to break my front door and barge into my home.”
“You have Tyler to thank for that, love.” Her breath hitched when I winked as I passed her. “I make it a habit to knock when I want to visit someone. I’m a lover, not a fighter, you see.”
“I bet you are,” Echo muttered behind me, shoving me forward with a hand between my shoulder blades. Fire licked my veins at her touch, her gasp telling me she felt it too. “Move.”
My face hurt from the shit-eating grin that stretched my lips.Got ya, little mate.Silently, I gloated at the fortune the fates had bestowed on me.
I should’ve known they would never make anything easy for a demon.
