Chapter Thirty-Two
Asher
A week since our earth-shattering romp in the woods had passed, and Echo had been throwing everything she had into helping the Hero Society when she could, along with hunting down Amanda’s killer, and reading that journal about Delphi.
I’d managed to claim my spot in her schedule in the morning before her day began. Sometimes we would continue to explore each other’s bodies, learning them as our own, and sometimes we would just have a nice breakfast together. She’d lay her head on my lap while I sat on the couch and read a book.
She’d started looking for another apartment since we’d completely moved her out of that one, thanks to Leon’s help. He moved it all onto a truck in about five minutes.
The dude was nice, but his energy was a bit confusing at times. He seemed to juggle between extrovert and introvert constantly. A part of him wanted to be in the crowd and enjoying everything, then another part of him wanted to hole up somewhere and avoid people. Once everything of hers was in my apartment, he asked if we needed anything and left when we said we didn’t.
So far, the crew of the Hero Society was very eclectic. Rose and Lilith had stopped by and had some drinks with Echo at my bar when she came back from work.
They put a smile on her face, and that was all I cared about.
I was currently wiping down the bar, which had just closed down for the night about twenty minutes ago, when Echo came stomping down the stairs in an oversized shirt with sleep shorts, and plopped on a stool in front of me.
“I can’t sleep,” she whined, looking tired as hell.
“Need me to come sing you a lullaby like I did when you were a kitty cat?” Teasing her was always a highlight of my day.
She huffed.
“Your voice wasn’t that soothing.” She tried to blow it off like she didn’t pass out every time I sang to her when she was with me in feline form.
“What’s troubling that smart mind of yours?”
I grabbed some cleaner and got to work on making everything ready for tomorrow.
“I haven’t gotten any new leads on who the killer is, and this Delphi guy is boring. All he writes about are his family issues and trying to learn new medicinal practices. I’ve only got about twenty more pages until the end, and I haven’t found anything that makes it seem important enough to kidnap a woman over.”
That was pretty frustrating.
“Well, usually the big reveal doesn’t happen until close to the end of a book. You just have to keep reading.”
She looked at me and nodded; we both knew she just really wanted to catch the killer that was still on the loose.
“As far as the killer, you’ll catch onto something you hadn’t figured out before. Whoever it is, they will slip up in some way, and you’ll be waiting for them.”
I wished I could give her another piece of advice, but I couldn’t. I knew what she did, and I hadn’t been able to find a connection either.
“Have you tried looking into the previous cases? See if there is a common denominator between them.”
She shook her head.
“I’ve looked but couldn’t find anything. Mom and Dad only talked to people on the reservation, for the most part. We only came into the city around Christmastime to look at the lights, but that was it. The others had very quiet lives, as far as I could tell from the reports. The detectives on the cases originally were very organized.”
“Well, you’re the detective on the case now. Go do what you do best, look outside of Amanda, and solve the other murders too. One step at a time.” I was completely confident that she could do it, and I would be there with her every step of the way if she needed me to be.
“I think you’re right, I need to look outside of Amanda for now, and see what the connection to the others is beyond that they had powers. Maybe they all knew the killer in some way.” Her brain was moving, and I could tell she was figuring out where she was going to start.
I was mid-sweep when she gripped a hold of the broom handle and tossed it to the ground.
“You’re good for me.”
She was looking at me with those wild eyes that told me she needed me for more than just a sounding board at the moment.
“I think I am a little bit better than just good.” I pulled her to me and then spun her around and bent her over a table.
She moaned, knowing what was coming next, and I smacked her ass since it was presented to me so nicely.
“If you wanted some Asher time, all you had to do was say so, kitten.” I ran my hands over her perfect apple bottom and then back up to grip her ebony hair, her head twisted to the side, and I kissed her hard. Teeth and tongues fighting for dominance.
“Asher, I need your dick, now can you hurry up?” she barked, and it made me laugh.
“Say please?” I began pulling her sleep shorts down and unbuttoning my jeans.
“I said now!” She was feeling extra feisty tonight.
“You can only have my cock when you beg for it. Until then…” I kissed my way down her back and then spread her legs wide.
Two minutes of my tongue on her sex, and she was begging me to take her hard and fast.
I’d oblige, of course, especially since I’d been holding on by a thread, too, needing her heat surrounding me until we both cried out release into the empty bar.
Her face was completely flat against the table, and her breathing sounded like she’d been worked over hard. Good. I wanted my woman as satisfied as I could possibly make her.
I’d grabbed some tissues and wiped her up gently, her pink flesh was swollen from her arousal and my rough handling. Couldn’t say the sight didn’t make my dick start to stir again.
She yawned, and I couldn’t help but laugh. She really did just need some goodnight dick to help her fall asleep.
“Oh, shut it.” She stood up and reached down to pull her shorts up.
“Sleep tight, kitten. I’ll be up in a few.” I put myself back in my jeans and returned to getting everything cleaned up so I could shower and join her sweet ass in bed.
She moved softly back toward the door that led to my apartment and stopped before ascending the stairs.
“I want to go to my parents’ house tomorrow. Will you come with me?” Her voice was low and trembled slightly like a nervous child asking for help.
“Of course. I go where you go.” I looked at her with what I was hoping was the love I felt on the inside with her.
She seemed satisfied and left for the apartment.