“I’m gonna be late for dinner,” Echo says to her mother over FaceTime from the bar she’s brought me to.
We’re at Elixir, a bar on Charlotte Street just down the road from where Echo lives. I’ve never been here, but from what I’m picking up, Echo loves it. She seems to know everyone who works here. Callie, who I’ve learned is the owner’s wife, threw her arms around Echo the minute she laid eyes on her and dragged her to a table in the corner before grilling her as to what she’s been doing for the past six months. That conversation went on for a good fifteen minutes, at which point Callie made Echo a mojito and told her to go slow. Since I didn’t stick around for most of the conversation they had, I’m unsure as to why she issued that directive, but I don’t need to be told that something bad has happened to Echo this afternoon. The look in her eyes when I returned to Stone HQ told me everything I need to know.
“I’m just having a drink with a friend,” Echo says as she turns her screen towards me so her mother can see me.
The screen fills with a woman who, if you asked me to describe a hippy, I’d describe. She’s got long blonde hair that’s half covered with some scarf thing, chunky beaded earrings, multiple strands of bead necklaces, and from what I can see of it, a multi-coloured T-shirt or dress.
When she smiles, it’s Echo all over. “Oh, hello,” she says, and I see where Echo gets her sexy ways from. Her mother has it all going on in the same way Echo does.
Echo turns the phone back around and says, “I won’t be too late.”
The bar is noisy, but I’m close enough to hear her mother say, “I think we should raincheck dinner, darling. We can have it tomorrow night. You stay there with your man and have some fun.”
“He’s not my man, Mum. And quite fucking honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever want a man again.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“It’s loud in here,” Echo says. “I’ll catch you up tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I really think you should reconsider. That man is delicious.”
Echo blows a kiss at her mum and says, “Love you,” before ending the call.
Looking at me as she places her phone on the table between us, she says, “What does vagina taste like?”
I’ve just taken a swig of my beer and almost choke on it.
When I don’t answer, she says, “I’m being serious.”
“Because?”
“Because if I’m never going to have dick again, I need to consider my options.” She pauses. “I honestly don’t think I’d like it, but I’m staying open. Do you like it?”
“I fucking love it.”
She takes a sip of her mojito. “Right, well that’s a good endorsement. But I still need to know what it tastes like.”
“You wanna talk about what happened to lead you to consider your options?”
“Oh, a man who likes to talk.”
“And a woman who likes to stereotype.”
She stares at me for a long moment like she’s thinking hard about what I just said. “Wow. Yes. Right. Fuck.” She swaps her sips for a huge gulp of her drink before saying, “I apologise. I seem to have become a jaded bitch since my marriage went to shit.”
I drink some more beer. “I’m guessing whatever happened this afternoon has something to do with your husband.”
She nods. “I discovered that he cheated on me with my friend. I mean, I knew he cheated on me. I just didn’t know for sure that he did that with her.”
“That’s a bitch of a thing to discover.”
“Have you ever been cheated on?”
“I’ve not had the kind of relationship where someone could cheat on me.”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I have fun. I don’t get serious.”
“So when you said you’re not looking for a relationship, you meant at all. Like, not just now.”
“Yeah.”
She drinks some more of her mojito. “Why?”
“Why not? Why complicate life? I meet women. We hang out for a while, until it doesn’t suit us anymore, and then we move on. No hard feelings. No hassles.”
“I can see the allure, but what about the intimacy that comes from building a relationship with a person? Don’t you miss that? I mean, the familiarity is where it’s at for me. I love that part of a relationship.”
“What about the pain when you lose them?”
“You don’t lose everyone, but yeah, that hurts, I’ll give you that.”
I take a swig of beer as Echo’s phone sounds with a text.
She reads it and then flashes her phone screen at me, showing me two photos of Lilith. “These are her options for her date tonight. She’s not just looking for sex, but it’d be good. Which dress screams that?”
“The black one.”
“See, that’s what I told her, but she’s second guessing it.” She madly taps away on her phone. Fuck knows how those nails of hers don’t get in the way. I’m fucking flat out typing a message using just one finger, let alone using fingers that have claws attached to them.
Echo finishes with her texting and places her phone down. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be rude and ignore you after dragging you here, but Lilith has had some weird dates this year, so she’s a little on edge.”
“Did you finish conducting your best friend work and narrow down your list of names to stalk?”
“You have a good memory, Colt. I like this about you. And no, I didn’t get back to that list. Hopefully, Lil won’t need to give me the abort signal tonight.”
“What’s the abort signal?”
“She’ll text ABORT if she needs me to call and fake need her.”
“That happen often?”
“Well, before I left town, it used to happen a little. This guy tonight is someone she works with, so I think she’ll be okay.” She leans her elbows on the table. “That’s enough about Lil. Tell me more about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
She pulls a face like she’s thinking. “Storm. How long have you been a member?”
“Eight years.”
“What made you join?”
I drink some beer while contemplating answering her question. It’s not something I generally discuss with anyone. And never with the women I meet. But Echo has something about her that causes me to loosen up and I find myself saying, “It was the brotherhood. I was young and dealing with a lot of stuff in my life. The guys had my back.”
“Your parents’ deaths?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Echo’s phone sounds with a snappy ‘Bitch’ and she says, “Shit, sorry, this is Lil again.”
“Don’t apologise. She needs you.”
The smile Echo gives me lands me in pure fucking hard-on territory. I don’t know what the fuck I said or did to deserve it, but if I did know, I’d make fucking sure to do it again.
“Yes, she does,” she says before snatching up her phone and texting back.
I finish my beer and eye her mojito that she’s almost finished. “You want another drink?”
She nods. “Thanks.”
I head to the bar, grab our drinks, and when I arrive back at the table, Echo’s found a friend. Some guy who is all the fuck over her in a way I can tell she doesn’t want him to be.
I’m about to tell him to fuck off when she spots me. As I sit my ass on my stool, she slides off hers and moves in between my legs. Bringing her hands to my chest, she says, “I thought you were never coming back, baby.”
The guy gets the message and leaves.
Once I’m sure he’s gone, I find her eyes and arch a brow. “Baby? Surely you can do better than that.”
Not moving a leg, a hand, or any body part away from mine, she grins and cocks her head. “Darling? No, you don’t look like a darling. You also don’t look like a sweetheart. Peach? Honey? Bae?” She uncocks her head. “What’s your preference, Mr Caveman?”
I slide my hand down over her ass and settle it there. “Can’t say I have one.”
“Ooh, I know.” Her eyes light up with mischief. “Mon chou.”
“What does that mean?”
She grins again. “Literally translated, it means ‘my cabbage’. But we can go with sweetie, which I’m pretty sure is how the French use it. Don’t quote me on that, though. I’ve been known to be wrong about things every now and then.”
“Only every now and then?”
“Yes. I’m fucking smart about shit FYI.” She moves in closer, practically fucking grinding herself against me. “I like your hand on my ass.”
“Your celibate ass?”
“Hmm, maybe celibacy was a rash decision.”
I press my hand to her butt, grinding her against my dick some more. “What about that other option you were considering? You going down that path?”
She bites her lip, her gaze dropping to my mouth for a moment before coming back to my eyes. “I mean, I know you said you love it, but I don’t think it’s for me. Not if I’m being completely honest.”
“You should sit this ass back on your stool before we do something we shouldn’t.”
She doesn’t do that.
Instead, she loops her arms around my neck, bringing everything she has in even fucking closer. “Why shouldn’t we?”
Both my hands are on her ass now. “There are a lot of reasons why we shouldn’t.”
She threads her fingers through my hair and fuck if my dick doesn’t like that. “One night. That’s all this needs to be. All your reasons don’t even need to worry.”
Fuck, she’s speaking my language, but I’m not convinced it’s her language. And while I want nothing more than to fuck her, I don’t want to mess with Echo.
“I can do one night, but I don’t know if it’s what you need.”
“And that right there is why I really like you, Colt.” She drops her lips to mine and steals nearly all my restraint.
Her kiss starts out slow.
Unhurried, like we have all the fucking time in the world for it.
Which we fucking do because I’m in no hurry to let her go.
She works her fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck while taking her sweet time with my lips.
The low moan she makes is like a vibration against my dick even though it’s nowhere fucking near my dick, and all I can think about is that mouth around me.
“Fuck,” I growl, taking charge of the kiss, hurrying her to give me more.
My tongue sweeps over hers as my hand curls around her neck.
My other hand is still on her ass and I glide my fingers down the middle of that sweet ass, letting them curl slightly under her.
Echo likes that.
The way she moans again and presses herself harder against my body lets me know this.
She lifts one leg and rests her foot on the base of my stool, giving me access to slide my fingers further under.
When I do, she makes another low sound. Different to the other sounds she’s made, but just as fucking hot.
This is the best kiss I’ve ever had and I’m nowhere near ready to slow shit down, but I give her another out in case she wants to take it.
Pulling my mouth from hers and bringing my hand back to rest on her ass, I say, “You don’t really want this.”
“You didn’t tell me you could read minds.”
“Smartass.”
She smiles and brushes her lips over mine. “I actually really do want this.”
“How about we sit here and drink these drinks? If you’re still feeling it after that, we’ll take it from there.”
“How about we drink really fast and then you take me back to my place and fuck the hell out of me?”
Fucking hell.
She’s intent on this and I’ve reached the end of my ability to hold back.
I grip her ass hard. “Drink the fuck up, beautiful.”
She reaches for her mojito and takes a long sip while keeping those eyes of hers glued to mine, which are just as focussed on hers.
I knew the minute I met her that I wanted her. I just didn’t know how fucking much that would end up being.
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