My skin’s starting to prune by the time Echo comes back into the bathroom. Completely naked, he saunters across the room, and my breath hitches when he turns fully towards me. I don’t know where to look first. My eyes start at his smug grin and track a path over his tattooed chest and his perfectly defined abs to his hard cock. Standing aroused, his large shaft begs for my attention, and I grab the side of the bath, pulling myself upright.
“No,” he says. I pause and watch him walk closer, the muscles in his stomach rippling as he moves. “Move forward, sugar.” I shuffle forward, and Echo slides in behind me, his legs on either side of my body. His hands slide down my arms till they eventually reach mine. He entwines our fingers and urges me backward till my back hits his chest and I melt into him with my head against his shoulder.
His worshipping embrace is unexpected when his touch so far has been commanding and forceful. I love him taking control; but the way he’s touching me now, caressing me, almost cherishing me, makes my heart stutters in my chest.
He kisses the back of my head, and I feel the heat of his lips through my hair. “I’m so glad you’re here, Livvy.” His voice is quiet.
“Me too.”
We lapse into silence, just us in our cocoon where the outside world and real life can’t reach us.
I lie in his arms, my fingers drawing circles on his hand. “How long were you in the army for?” I ask.
“Long enough.”
I’m so desperate to know him, but I don’t want to push him, especially about this. “You don’t want to talk about it?”
He exhales. “Not really, sugar. It’s my past. I saw a lot of stuff I wish I hadn’t, and I lost too many friends.”
I turn my head and kiss his bicep tenderly. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
His chuckle is dry and hard. “What are you sorry for? It’s not your war.” We fall into silence, and his tense muscles slowly relax. “Tell me something about you instead,” Echo says.
“What do you want to know?”
His hands, dip into the water briefly, pulling the warm liquid up to drip onto my stomach. “What’s your family like?” he eventually says.
Laughing, I picture my parents in my head. “They’re eccentric old hippies who smoke too much weed and listen to far too much Hendrix.”
Echo chuckles. “You don’t get along?”
“No, we get on. I adore my mum and dad, but we don’t exactly have a lot in common.”
“Oh yeah, how come?”
I feel like I need to be able to see him while we talk, so I roll over and turn to straddle his legs. “Well, back home, before coming here, I was kind of stiff. I had a boring job and a boring life. I was boring. No one believed I was going backpacking.”
His eyebrow raises in question. “Why not? It’s not an unusual thing to do.”
I scoff. “It was for me. Plus, it’s not like you can exactly backpack in Prada heels.”
His chuckle vibrates through his chest. “You don’t strike me as a designer girl, sugar. You spend more time in shorts and flip-flops.”
“I’m not anymore,” I say. “This is me now. But my parents have never been more proud of me than the day I told them I was going on this trip.”
“Yeah?” he prompts.
“Yep. My mum told me to find freedom and embrace it, that if my old life wasn’t making me happy, to find a new one.” I roll my eyes dramatically.
Echo’s mouth twitches into a small smirk. “And you found me.”
I nod and smile shyly. “Yeah, I did.”
His voice gets louder and determined. “I’m gonna find a way for us to stay together, sugar, one way or another.”
Bracing my hands on either side of him, I lean down till our lips meet in a gentle touch. I push everything I want to say but can’t, or daren’t, into the kiss.
I want to stay. Come with me. I love you.
“I spoke to my friend from home earlier. He called me panicking because I’ve been so distracted by you I haven’t called home since we met,” I say.
Echo’s face hardens slightly. “Oh yeah, what friend?”
“James,” I say. “He’s my oldest and best friend; we grew up together. I think we’ve known each other since we were three. At one time, I thought we’d end up being family, when he was engaged to my cousin Juliet.”
“What happened?” he asks.
A chuckle bursts out at the memory. “It’s kind of a messed-up story.”
Smiling indulgently, Echo settles into the warm water. “I’ve got time, sugar.”
I lean forward and plant a quick kiss on Echo’s lips. “Okay, well, I’d always suspected James was gay, and when I finally asked him about it, he came out as bisexual. He always said he was an equal opportunity lover, guys, girls—he even went out with a guy who insisted he was a fairy for a while. But it was still a surprise when he got together with Juliet, even more so when they got engaged. I love my cousin, but Juliet is an intense girl, super high-maintenance, not at all what James normally went for, guy or girl. Well, I was seeing this guy called Dan.”
Echo tenses beneath me and groans. “Fuck, I don’t want to think about your exes. It makes me fucking violent.”
I giggle. “I wouldn’t worry. This isn’t one of those stories.” Echo’s hands settle on my arse, and he nods, indicating for me to continue. “Well, I was seeing Dan, and the four of us were close, and I mean we spent a load of time together. It was Juliet’s birthday, and we were all going out to a pub for a meal. The whole family was there, and we’re all drinking and having a great time. I nipped back to my car to grab my jacket, and there were Dan and James dry humping against a wall.”
Echo’s eyes widen. “Hang on, sugar. Your ex and your best friend?”
“Yep. I mean, obviously, James with a guy wasn’t exactly a shock, but finding Dan with his tongue in James’s mouth was a bit of a surprise,” I say, laughing.
Echo sits up, shocked. “I thought James is still your friend?”
I smile and shrug. “He is. They both are. Obviously, I was pissed at the time, but Dan and I weren’t serious. Honestly, I think I was angrier with James, but that was ages ago. James and Dan have been together ever since, and I love them both.”
Echo shakes his head, nonplussed. “Fuck, that’s messed up.”
Laughing, I lean in and kiss him. “I know, but they were meant to be together. I can’t hold a grudge and stay angry that they found their soul mates in a fucked-up way.”
Echo smiles indulgently and lifts me from the bath. “Come on, sugar, time to get ready.” Wrapping me in a huge fluffy towel, he quickly dries himself, then painstakingly slowly dries my skin, caressing me and teasing me. He smacks my naked arse and nudges me out of the bathroom, throwing himself onto the bed. Naked, he rests against the pillows with his arms crossed behind his head and a smug smile on his face.
My things are all unpacked, and my products are arranged on top of his bureau. I grab a tube of moisturiser and start to exaggeratedly smooth it over my naked skin. I glance over my shoulder and plaster an innocent expression on my face. “Don’t you need to get ready?” I ask him.
His bottom teeth peek out and pull his lip into his mouth, biting on it gently. My breath catches in my chest and my hands still. Releasing his lip, he shakes his head, his eyes focussed intently on me. “I’m enjoying the show. Don’t let me stop you.”
I flash him a coy smile and start to coat every inch of my skin in cream. I bend over and slowly caress my ankles, my hands rubbing the lotion in circles until it disappears. Next I straighten, rubbing my hands over my chest, circling first one breast and then the other.
Echo’s eyes are wide, amused arousal flashing in them. He watches as I walk away from the bed, back to the bureau, and reach for the bottle. I don’t hear him move, but his hand stops mine before sweeping everything from the top and forcing me to bend over the unit. My nipples press against the cold wood.
“Do you think you’re clever, Livvy? Do you think it’s fun to tease me?” His voice is gravelly and rough, barely restrained desire evident in every word. “What should I do with you, sugar?” His fingers tiptoe down my arse cheeks and dip between my legs.
“Should I fuck you here?” Two fingers plunge roughly into me, pulling out quickly and tiptoeing back up to circle my arsehole, pressing gently against the tight hole. “Or shall I fuck you here?”
I gasp, and he chuckles in response. “I’d love to fuck this ass, Livvy. Fill you up with my cock, knowing it’s the first time you’ve ever felt it.” Panting loudly, I shudder. Arousal and fear mix headily at his touch and his words. “You want it, don’t you? Your ass full of my cock, my cum dripping out of this tight little hole.”
I groan, then nod and push back onto his fingers, willing him to ease the burn of desire.
“I know you do, Livvy. But not tonight,” he drawls. His hard cock lines up with my pussy, and slowly he pushes inside of me. I hold on tightly to the wood of the bureau as he rocks in and out of me, forcing me onto my tiptoes with every punishing thrust.
“Fuck, sugar, what you do to me.” Holding my hips, he pulls me back harder onto his cock.
“Oh God, I’m so close. Echo, please,” I pant. He bends his knees, his cock thrusting at a different angle. Pleasure pulses through me, sending me flying over the edge, the orgasm buckling my knees. He quickly follows, his hot seed pulsing deep inside of me.
I’m pulled upright, his strong arms turn me into his chest, and our lips meet. My breathing evens, and Echo’s hold loosens. His hand cups my chin and tilts my face to look at him. He forces his hands between my legs, collects the cum leaking out of me, and rubs it across my breasts and pussy.
“Echo, I haven’t got time to take a shower,” I whine.
Echo smiles smugly and lifts his eyebrows cheekily. “I know.” My mouth drops open. He leans forward and kisses me sweetly before swatting my arse. “Get dressed, sugar. Wear the black dress.”
I step away from him on shaky legs and make my way to the wardrobe. Finding the dress he asked me to wear, I pull it from the hanger and slip it over my head. The skirt falls to midthigh. It’s black with a sweetheart neckline. Instead of straps, there’s a criss-cross pattern of thin ribbons across my shoulders and chest, so all my skin is still visible, but the ribbon makes a peekaboo pattern across my cleavage. It’s simple yet incredibly sexy. I tame my hair into a fishtail plait that falls across one shoulder, throw on my leather ankle boots, and finish my look with a swipe of mascara and cat’s-eye flick eyeliner.
Dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans, and his cut, Echo’s beautiful. His colourful tattoos are framed against the dark material and my nipples pebble in appreciation.
His eyes roam me from head to toe. “Sugar, you look like fucking sin.”
I smile coquettishly. “Is that a good thing?”
In a second, he’s across the room and I’m pulled back into his chest with his hand disappearing down my panties. “A fucking great thing. Except my dick’s gonna be hard as steel all night.”
“Do we have to go to the party?”
He laughs, but reluctantly releases me, licking his arousal-covered fingers. “Come on, let’s go.” With a pout, I let him guide me down the stairs and into his truck.