Chapter Nineteen #3
I walk her upstairs anyway, keeping my voice low as we pass the closed bedroom doors. Echo’s still holding my hand, and I’m not in any rush to point it out. She seems softer than she was earlier, shoulders loose, that constant restless energy in her finally dialed down a little.
We stop outside her room and for a second, neither of us moves.
Echo looks at the door, then back at me. “Well.”
I smile. “That sounds ominous.”
“I was going to say I had a good time.”
“Were you?”
“I was. Then you made it weird.”
“Pretty sure you’re the one standing here dramatically.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Goodnight, Wolfe.”
“Night, wa?yé?a.”
I lean down and kiss her.
It’s supposed to be simple, just a goodnight kiss.
Except Echo’s hand slides up the front of my shirt and curls lightly at the back of my neck, and when I start to pull away, she doesn’t let me get very far.
I look at her and she looks right back.
“That didn’t feel very goodnight,” I murmur.
Her mouth curves. “You complaining?”
“Not even a little.”
I kiss her again, and this one lasts longer.
She presses closer, my hand settling at her waist while her back finds the door, and there’s a quiet laugh against my mouth when the handle catches awkwardly against her hip.
“Smooth,” she whispers.
“I’m working with limited space here.”
“Sure. Blame the architecture.”
“You’re the one standing in front of the door.”
“You put me here.”
She kisses me again, her fingers tighten in my hair while mine slide around her waist.
The kiss deepens enough that we both forget about the door for a second, right up until Echo reaches blindly behind herself for the handle and misses it completely.
She breaks away laughing.
“Jesus Christ.”
“Need help?”
“No, shut up. I can open a fucking door.”
“You sure about that?”
She glares at me while feeling around behind her again. “Wolfe.”
I grin and reach around her, my chest brushing hers as I find the handle.
“There.”
“Wow. So heroic.”
“Oh, I know.”
The door finally swings open and Echo takes one step backward, pulling me with her by the front of my shirt.
I almost trip over the threshold.
She starts laughing again.
“Oh my God.”
“Don’t.”
“You nearly ate shit.”
“I was distracted.”
“By the highly technical process of walking?”
“By you.”
That shuts her up for about half a second.
Long enough for me to close the door behind us and look at her properly.
Her smile is still there, but now it’s slightly smaller, warmer.
I move closer and hook my hands around her waist.
“That better?”
She tilts her face up toward mine. “Marginally.”
“Good.”
I kiss her again, slower this time, and the laughter fades naturally as her arms wind around my neck and the whole mood changes.
Not rushed or clumsy anymore.
Just her mouth on mine, my hands steady at her waist, the room quiet around us while everything else falls away.
Her hands slide higher, one curling around the back of my neck while mine settles more firmly at her waist. I kiss along her jaw, then back to her mouth when she turns toward me again, and somewhere between one kiss and the next we start moving toward the bed without either of us really deciding to.
The backs of her knees hit the mattress first.
She lets out a quiet laugh against my mouth as she drops onto the edge, catching the front of my shirt and pulling me down with her. I brace a hand beside her hip, still kissing her as she shifts farther back across the bed and I follow.
Her breathing catches when I settle over her.
“There’s my girl.”
Echo’s eyes open, bright with that same smart-ass spark. “Don’t get smug.”
“I’m not.”
“You sound smug.”
“I like when you stop thinking long enough to let me have you.”
That quiets her.
Not because I’m ordering anything from her. Because she knows exactly what I mean.
I brush my thumb along her cheek. “You don’t have to be tough with me.”
Her eyes stay on mine. “I know.”
“Good.”
I kiss her again, softer this time, letting my weight settle beside her instead of over her completely.
“Then let me take my time with you.”
Echo grins against my mouth.
“Careful, Wolfe. I might start thinking you actually like me for more than my ass.”
I laugh, low and easy, and shift us farther onto the bed until she’s stretched beneath me properly.
My hands move slowly beneath the hem of her shirt, warm against her skin as I start easing the fabric upward.
She helps by lifting her arms, but not before her fingers find my ribs and give me a quick, playful pinch.
“Fuck,” I laugh, jerking slightly. “Was that necessary?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fucking brat.”
“Still your girl.”
That wipes the complaint right out of me.
“Yeah,” I murmur, looking down at her. “You are.”
I ease her shirt the rest of the way up and over her head, tossing it somewhere beside the bed. Echo barely gives me a second before her hands find the hem of mine.
“Your turn.”
I laugh under my breath but lift enough to help her pull it off. The second it clears my head, her palms slide over my chest and around my ribs, warm and curious, like she’s been waiting for the chance to get her hands on me properly.
Then she leans up and kisses me again.
Harder this time.
Her fingers curl at my side, dragging me closer as she shifts beneath me, and when I pull back just enough to breathe, she follows my mouth with hers.
I smile.
“Impatient are we?”
“Maybe you’re moving too slow.”
“Mm.” I brush my mouth over hers again, deliberately softer this time. “I’m trying to savor it, wa?yé?a.”
Her eyes stay on mine for a beat before I kiss the corner of her mouth, then her jaw, taking my time as I move lower instead of giving her exactly what she wants.
That gets the reaction I was after.
Her breath catches, one hand sliding into my hair while the other stays warm against my
Shoulder.
“Asshole.”
I smile against her skin. “Your asshole.”
My hands move up her sides until my fingers find the clasp of her bra, and I undo it without taking my mouth from her skin. I slide the straps down her arms and toss it somewhere near our shirts before settling over her again.
Echo reaches for the button of her jeans almost immediately.
I catch her hand and grin down at her. “Thought I was taking my time.”
“You are. Painfully.”
I laugh and kiss her once before taking over, working her jeans down her hips while she lifts to help me. I pull them the rest of the way off and drop them beside the bed.
That leaves her beneath me in nothing but a gray cotton thong.
Fuck.
I let myself look for a second.
Echo lifts a brow. “You planning on staring all night?”
“Considering it.”
Her mouth curves, and she arches into me, legs parting so I can settle between them.
I grind slow, letting her feel how hard I am through my jeans, but I don’t rush to strip. Instead I kiss down her throat, sucking lightly at the pulse point until she makes that soft sound I love.
“I fucking love that sound,” I tell her, voice rough with want.
My mouth moves lower, lips closing around one nipple, tongue flicking until she gasps my name.
I switch to the other, sucking gently while my hand slides down to cup her through her panties.
She’s already wet, heat soaking the thin cotton, and I press two fingers there, rubbing slow circles that make her hips roll.
“Wolfe—”
“Look at me, wa?yé?a.” I lift my head so our eyes meet. Hers are dark, pupils blown, lips parted. “You’re so fucking beautiful when you stop thinking.”
Her cheeks flush, but she doesn’t look away. I hook my fingers in her panties and drag them down, tossing them aside.
My own clothes follow in unhurried movements until we’re skin to skin. I settle over her again, cock heavy against her thigh, but I don’t push inside yet. Instead I kiss her deeply, one hand sliding between us to stroke her folds, fingers gliding through slick heat.
She whimpers when I circle her clit, hips chasing the touch. I keep the pressure light, deliberate, watching every twitch of her expression.
When her hand reaches for me I catch her wrist gently and pin it above her head, not hard, just enough to keep her focused on what I’m doing.
“Be patient. Let me take my time with you,” I whisper again, lips brushing hers.