Echo in the Night [Echo's Song] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Tasha Blackstone

  Their faces were barely an inch apart, and she could see Henry’s lips move as he spoke but could not hear his words over the chaos of the club. She saw the stranger’s eyes widen in what seemed to be realization as she felt his hold on her loosen. He took a step away from her, elbowed his accomplice and then turned his eyes back to Echo.

  “My mistake.” He nodded at Echo then looked over behind her and shot his sleazy smile at Paige. “Maybe next time.” The two men turned and walked away without any further fuss, and Echo stood speechless as she watched them effortlessly work their way through the crowd and to the door. Before they left, the taller one turned back and winked at her and then they were gone.

  Confusion filled her mind. What the fuck had just happened?

  “Are you okay?”

  Henry Knight. Douche bag turned knight in shining club attire. Ironic. She looked up at him. His hold on her arm had loosened but his fingers still brushed gently against her skin, the dark glare now replaced with genuine concern.

  “Thank you.” Words were not enough to show her gratitude and without thinking, Echo wrapped her arms around Henry to hug him. His chiseled frame stiffed under her hold, but she didn’t care. “I was so scared.”

  With a hesitant touch she felt his arms lightly reciprocate her gesture, his hands resting softly on her back. His hands were cool against her flesh and as she rested her cheek against his chest, she could feel that his whole body had a similar chill. Tears burned at her eyes as the fear expelled itself, and she took in a deep cleansing breath to help ease her nerves. When she did, Henry’s scent filled her nostrils. She could smell the soap he’d bathed with, the subtle hint of cologne, and something she couldn’t quite place her finger on. It was an intoxicating aroma, sweet yet spicy. A cloud filled her mind and her defenses fell. At that moment, she felt a complete and total dedication to Henry and would move heaven and earth to please him.

  “What the fuck was that?” Paige’s squealed voice broke through her daze and Echo quickly pulled out of Henry’s arms and stepped back. She shook her head to try to clear her thoughts. When she looked at him, he had an odd expression on his face—a smirk like he had known what his presence did to her and he enjoyed the weakness she felt in his arms. It pissed her off.

  “I have no idea! Creepers.” She darkened her glare on Henry. “Where did you come from?”

  He loosened his stance and folded his arms across his muscled chest, not once taking his eyes off of Echo, the smirk still lingering on his face.

  “I think I was wrong.”

  “What?” All of the fear from the incident had vanished and Echo could feel the venom in her words as she spat them at Henry.

  “About the bikini. What you’re wearing is much more distracting.”

  “Bikini?” Paige had stepped up beside Echo. “What bikini?”

  She was furious. Seriously? Who was this man? He stood in front her, arrogant and beautiful, flippant about their encounters and eyeing her like she was fresh meat. It stirred an unfamiliar desire in her, but more than anything it pissed her off. Of all the men her body decided to respond to, it was this asshole. No. Way. In. Hell.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand in dismissal at Paige. “What the hell are you doing here, Henry? Are you following me?”

  He laughed like it was the most preposterous of all ideas, as if he would waste his time on someone as plain as Echo, and it made her feel silly that she’d even accused him of it. She felt her face flush with embarrassment and her resolve falter a little.

  “Well, actually,” he started, “my buddy is the DJ and he asked me to come down for support. Tonight’s his first night—like a working interview, I guess. If the crowd likes him, the club owner will discuss a contract.”

  Echo looked past Henry beyond the crowd over to the DJ booth. She couldn’t really make out the man behind the equipment, but he seemed to be in his element. There had not once been a moment of silence and the music was addicting. Even irritated by the recent events, Echo’s need to get back on the dance floor stirred in her gut. Maybe more so now—the need to forget burning through her.

  “Yeah right,” she challenged. “He doesn’t look like he needs any moral support. What are you really doing here?”

  “Fuck, Echo, give the guy a break!” Paige punched her in the arm as she reprimanded her. “He just saved your ass from those creeps. Be nice!”

  “It’s all right, Paige.” Henry laughed. “I think she’s still pissed about last night.

  “You two on a first-name basis now? What the hell, Paige?” Echo burned with fury. Paige hadn’t bothered to mention that she apparently knew Henry. She was starting to feel a little played by her friend over the whole ‘you should sell your house because I need money’ play.

  “It’s not what you think,” Paige defended herself. “Henry came by my office before you came back to town to try to pry info from me on how to get you to sell. That’s all.”

  The way Paige’s cheeks flushed when she looked at Henry made Echo’s blood boil and she didn’t buy her bullshit story for a second. It seemed more believable that they actually knew each other considering Paige’s sudden childhood-like crush symptoms and Henry’s obvious disinterest. Like they’d been down that road before, having already laid down the rules of what was and was not acceptable behavior between them. Echo admittedly felt like the random third wheel “Hey, I’m sorry.” His smiled faded and a more sincere expression covered his face. “I really think we got off on the wrong foot. Can I buy you ladies a drink?”

  “Yes”

  “No.”

  “Echo!” It was Paige’s turn to glare at her before she again smiled up at Henry. “Thank you, that would be nice. Come sit down.”

  Paige grabbed Henry’s arm and pulled him over to their table as Echo just stood there and stared. What the hell was going on? Somehow her life had decided to spin out of control and in the midst of it, this man had appeared to complicate things even more. And what the fuck was wrong with Paige? That woman had not once eyed a man besides Mark since they exchanged vows and now she was drooling over Henry. Echo was convinced now more than ever that this was all in her head and she really was locked up somewhere, rocking herself in the corner of a padded room.

  Fine. She sat down at the table, making sure to not sit too close to Henry. As her best friend rambled on to Henry about nonsense, asking him all sorts of questions that Echo found to be irritating, Echo caught the eye of the blonde bartender that had been doting over them and gestured for her to bring three shots instead of two. Money hungry, the woman did not make them wait any longer than it took for her to pour them. When she approached the table and her eyes fell on Henry, she became flustered and stumbled over her words, which were also laced with girlish giggles. Echo fought the urge to punch her.

  As she backed away, eyes locked on Henry, clumsily bumping into the table behind her, Echo saw Henry mouth the words “thank you” as he winked at her. Echo thought the bartender might drop dead from heart failure as she let out an uncontrolled giggle.

  She rolled her eyes. Who was this man?

  “Tequila, huh?” He laughed. “I have to warn you, I get a little…naughty…when I drink tequila.”

  Paige just about came out of her chair and immediately lifted her shot glass to the center of the table.

  “Well then, here’s to getting naughty!”

  Henry smiled and lifted his shot glass up to Paige’s and nodded for Echo to join them.

  Maybe it was the lingering buzz, maybe it was her weakened state of mind over fighting all of the crazy that had targeted her, but Echo could feel the fight in her loosen up. She sighed, lifted her glass, and clinked it to the other two, before dumping the liquid into her mouth.

  “What the hell.”

  For the next hour, the three of them sat at the table, Paige yelling as she interrogated Henry about where he was from, why he was in Oregon, what kind of books he wrote, and how long he planned on staying. Echo had l
ost count on the number of shots they’d taken, the numbing cloud of intoxication keeping her from having any kind of attention span, or common sense. She watched her companions interact, rarely interjecting herself, and every now and then Henry would take his eyes from Paige and stare at her. Each time, her heart fluttered. His eyes were so breathtaking, and when he looked at her, she felt vulnerable like he could see into her very soul. He smiled at her each time, his full lips turning up into a slight curve, his dimples appearing in his cheeks, a twinkle in his eyes. It melted her heart.

  After another round of shots the DJ kicked up the music a notch, disabling the ability for a conversation. Echo wished we she was good at naming songs—the one that had started booming was one of her favorites. It was completely sexual and churned her desire to be on the floor, her body pressed against Henry, feeling his hands move up her body.

  Fuck.

  “Dance with me!” he yelled over at her, his hand held out across the table, a twinkle of hunger in his eyes. She wanted to say yes, to bring her newest fantasy to life, but even compromised by tequila she held her ground and shook her head.

  Paige rescued him from disappointment, grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

  “I’ll go! Come on!”

  Mark would come unglued if he saw her. She stumbled over herself as she dragged Henry to the dance floor, her eyes were glazed over, and that ridiculous smile was still etched on her face.

  Once they were out on the floor, Paige seemed to forget that she was married. She pressed her back against Henry, pulled her hair so that it all hung over one of her shoulders revealing the long line of her neck, and placed his hands on her hips. As she rubbed her ass against him and seductively moved her body in tune with the song, she lifted her arms up and wrapped them back around his neck. Her eyes were closed and she was lost in the moment, certainly savoring the feeling of Henry against her, his hands holding tight to her body.

  They swayed and moved, and as Echo watched them everyone else in the club vanished from her sight.

  As Henry caressed his hands up along Paige’s curves, he nuzzled his face into the opening of her neck and as he brushed his lips over her flesh, he connected eyes with Echo. Her heart stopped. She was embarrassed that she was watching them and wanted to look away, but the hunger that burned in Henry’s eyes drew her in. The way he touched and moved with Paige stirred her desire, and she wished she had taken him up on the offer. He ran his hands up along the length of her arms and laced his fingers with hers, his hips swaying with hers. Paige opened her mouth in what looked like a moan, her head leaning back against Henry’s chest. She brought her arms down and then reached around, cupping his ass in her hands, and as she did, his hands trailed back down her body and back to her hips. He pulled her into him and Echo wondered if Paige could feel his dick press into her.

  Echo’s body shuddered with desire, her pussy suddenly throbbing with need. His lust-filled eyes still locked on Echo, Henry reached up and grabbed a handful of Paige’s hair, pushing her forward so that she was bent over. She pressed her ass firmly against his crotch as she continued to grind on him. Henry’s other hand was now lost somewhere between her thighs and Paige thrust her head back. Her eyes tightly closed and her mouth still gaping as she dragged her tongue along her upper lip.

  Henry leaned over her and whispered something in her ear. Paige looked up at Echo, her eyes void of anything besides carnal desire and she smiled a wickedly dirty smile before she shifted herself and was suddenly behind Henry. Echo couldn’t see her face anymore, but watched breathless as Paige’s hands wrapped around Henry’s body. She ran them along the chiseled lines of his muscles and then down the flat of his stomach, stopping at the waist of his pants for only second before she continued down to his crotch. Echo pulled her eyes from Henry’s stare and watched intently as Paige ran her hands up and down the growing bulge in his pants.

  A sudden sense of warning screamed in her mind. Paige was married! If Mark saw her, she’d have more to worry about than financial struggles. Echo could envision the hurt in his eyes as he’d yank her from the floor, demanding to know just what the fuck she thought she was doing. If Echo had to guess right now, Paige wouldn’t be able to answer him.

  She grabbed her purse, looked over at the bar and gave the bartender a “we’re done” gesture before pushing her way through the crowd to get to Paige. She didn’t understand what was happening, but she needed to get her friend away from this man. He was poison.

  On the floor, she grabbed Paige’s arm and pulled her away from Henry. She looked drugged. Her eyes had taken on a strange glazed appearance that was beyond alcohol consumption and when she lazily looked up at Echo, she stared right through her. It was frightening.

  “Let’s go!” she yelled. “Mark is waiting for you!”

  There was no response, even at the mention of Mark, and Echo panicked. She couldn’t take her home in this condition, but she had to get her out of here. She tucked Paige into her arm, and shot a dark glare at Henry. “You’re an asshole!”

  Henry stood there, almost stoic like, the familiar smirk making a reappearance on his face. “I was just playin’ with her.”

  Echo dragged Paige to the bar, signed her ticket, left a fat tip, and looked back at Henry as they pushed through the crowd to leave. He didn’t move and the smirk did not leave his face.

  Echo wondered who the true threat had been earlier—Henry or the two strangers.

  Chills of fright shot through her body and her skin broke out in goose bumps as she pulled Paige out into the cold night air.

  What the fuck was Echo supposed to do now? Paige was nearly catatonic and Echo was in no condition to be driving. She pulled out her phone and made a call that she never thought she’d make.

  On the other end, a voice groggy with sleep answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Bridgette? I’m in trouble.”

  Chapter Seven

  Henry paced his hotel room, patiently waiting for the voice on the other end of his Bluetooth to take a breath and let him talk. Corrine wasn’t known for her patience, though, and he knew better than to interrupt her, especially when she was on a tangent.

  As she squawked in his ear, bitching and complaining, making mountains out of mole hills and confirming his belief that she was nothing more than an overzealous drama queen, he walked over to the wet bar and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey. The countless shots of tequila that he’d thrown back with Echo and Paige had barely scratched the surface of a buzz, and after the night he’d had, he wished it was possible to drink himself into oblivion.

  “Are you even fucking listening?” Corrine’s high-pitched squeal made his ear ache and he rolled his eyes. Of course he was listening! How could he not be? She’d droned on and on for an hour now, the pitch of her voice getting higher and higher as she got more and more frustrated with his answers.

  “Of course.” He was calm with his answers. There was no point in telling her that she was overreacting—unless he wanted to trigger another hour-long rant. “Like I said, it’s progress.”

  “Progress! Are you kidding me? Look, Henry, we don’t have time for your fucking games! If you can’t get to her then I’ll send someone else in.”

  The thought of someone else hunting Echo filled him with a strange feeling of obsession. He’d spent years researching this woman, following her around, learning everything there was about her. She was his and Corrine was not going to take her from him.

  “No, I’ve got this. Just relax.” As the words came out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Corrine came full force at him with accusations and reminders of consequences if he failed. He downed the bottle of whiskey and enjoyed the burn as it slid down his throat.

  Visions of Echo played out in his mind while Corrine droned on. He’d never seen her like she was tonight. She was usually so tightly wound and focused on nothing but work that it had taken him off guard to see her open up in the bar.

  She was normally pr
edictable. She always wore her black hair back in a tight bun, barely there makeup that did little to accentuate her dark brown eyes, and nothing but black-and-white clothes. The black and whites hadn’t changed tonight, but the way those leather pants curved along her ass had triggered Henry to have an immediate hard-on and the white corset had caused a carnal desire in him strong enough that he’d had to take an extra minute to gather his focus before he approached her. The way her tits threatened to spill out over the top made him want to rip the corset from her body and devour her. He still salivated at the thought.

  The lust had almost caused a major problem though. Those fuckers had zoned in on her and he’d just about lost her because his dick was misbehaving. He wouldn’t admit it to Corrine for fear of retribution, but she was right. He needed to be more committed to the cause. Just because he had seen a whole new side of her tonight didn’t change anything. She was still the enemy and he still needed to get to her before it was too late.

  “Has she come into her powers yet?” There was a hint of fear in Corrine’s voice. Once Echo’s gift had been released, they were fucked. She’d be too strong and it would take the entire coven to overtake her with no guarantee at that point that they’d succeed.

  “No, not fully, but she is getting stronger. I’ve used a few light glamours on her over the past few nights and she’s broken through each of them. Next time, I’ll go all out.”

  For the first time tonight, Corrine sat in silence for a minute before she continued.

  “Henry, I’m concerned that she’ll turn you.”

  He knew it was only a matter of time before she brought it up. Until tonight, he would have argued that it wouldn’t happen, but now he wasn’t so sure. Echo had proven to be more than just a Witch with powers strong enough to obliterate his coven. She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, tempting and desirable and his need to be near her grew stronger each day. If he didn’t know better, he’d accuse her of being a Siren rather than a Witch.