Chapter Fourteen

It wasn’t until the end of the next week when Ice woke up feeling like he’d turned a corner.

Echo was reading in a chair next to the bed. The man had been doing that since the first night there. All kinds of books, from fiction to nonfiction, even academic. He’d woken up once to find Echo reading a comic book.

Ice shifted to sit up and Echo was there to help. He acted like he needed help by slowing his movements to get comfortable, and Echo plumped his pillows.

“Hungry?” the man asked, placing a hand on his forehead to brush the hair from his face and then neck, carefully pulling strands out of his beard. The touch sent goose bumps over his skin and heat to his stomach.

Ice shook his head, sliding one hand up Echo’s arm, and the man’s breath caught. Slowly, allowing Echo to pull away if he wanted, Ice cupped the man’s nape and drew him in for a kiss.

After a slow, aching press of lips, Echo drew back enough to whisper, “You’re injured.”

“I’m fine.”

“What if your wound opens up?”

“Let’s be careful then,” Ice murmured, brushing one hand down Echo’s stomach to his sweats. He squeezed the man’s hard cock beneath the fabric and swept his tongue between Echo’s lips to tangle with his.

Echo hissed and then moaned into his mouth. When the man drew back, the look in Echo’s eyes locked up Ice’s throat. The hunger he’d kept banked for the past few weeks came roaring up with a vengeance.

“I got tested after the beach,” Echo whispered.

“So did I.” Ice cupped Echo’s face in both hands and softly kissed his mouth. “I haven’t been with anyone since.”

“Neither have I.”

Possessiveness swept through Ice at Echo’s words. “You know I’ll kill anyone who touches you,” he growled the vow, his grip firm on the man’s neck. It was only fair that Echo knew what he was getting into.

The corner of the assassin’s mouth tipped up. “Same.” Echo’s eyes glittered like black diamonds.

“It’s a deal then.” With those gruffly spoken words, Ice tugged at Echo to come up onto the bed.

Climbing onto the mattress, Echo took his mouth in a biting kiss, thrusting his tongue inside and carefully straddling his hips. Ice sucked at the man’s tongue and Echo gave a strangled groan.

Before too much time passed, Echo was pulling at his own clothes and Ice slowly took off his own button-down shirt. With Echo’s help, his boxer briefs were tugged down and away and Ice dropped a hand to his hard dick to tug. Echo’s husky laugh of need was such a fucking turn on that Ice almost blew his load.

Lube was snatched from the bedside table and Echo tore off the seal around the brand-new bottle. Reaching around behind himself, Echo stared into his eyes.

“You won’t always play bottom,” Ice said. “When I’m better…”

“Oh yeah?” Echo breathed out, his arm moving behind him. “What will you do?”

“I’ll let you fuck me.” Ice pulled at his own dick, watching as Echo’s pupils blew and he started panting.

Ice urged the man forward and squirted some lube on his hand before he reached between Echo’s parted legs and cupped his balls. He deliberately bypassed Echo’s hard cock that was leaking precome.

Echo made a sound in the back of his throat and Ice slipped his hand farther and probed at the fingers Echo had tucked into his own ass.

“Going to let me in, darling?”

“Yes,” Echo panted, sliding his hand free and moving up.

Ice had just enough time to twist his lubed up palm on his own dick before Echo was taking the crown in his ass. Ice wanted to move, but his stomach was protesting so he lay there and let Echo run the show. Cupping the man’s slender hips, all he could do was hold him there while Echo rode him. Lifting up, the man slid down, pushing him deep and then deeper each time until he was buried balls deep.

Caressing Echo’s hip with one hand, Ice closed his other around Echo’s cock and squeezed hard before pumping slowly up and down with a twisted grip.

“Nnnnh. Fuuuuck,” Echo’s voice rang out, his cock pulsing in his hand.

Ice found his own release a few seconds later and drew Echo down into a wild, hungry kiss.

Ice groaned against the man’s lips and Echo made a hungry sound in return.

They were nowhere near finished for the night.

Born out of mutual need, they dropped into a pattern after that day, and Ice couldn’t say he was unhappy about it, but Echo remained just out of his grasp.

When he thought back over the past week and the hot as fuck sex with Echo, he couldn’t have been happier that the assassin had slept in his bed every night, but something was missing. Ice plucked at the beach towel Echo had draped over his legs…as if he’d get cold in this weather.

He sighed. They didn’t talk much…and when they did, it wasn’t about what really mattered, things like their pasts, families, or if they even had a future.

But damn they were so good together in bed.

They burned up the sheets, but Echo was still distant outside of bed, and that was frustrating as all hell.

Right now, the man was dressed in a pair of black loose-fitting shorts and a loud button-down shirt with a big yellow and black flower print. Holding a pair of pruning shears, Echo hacked away at the foliage around the house. The man had been doing it for a few hours, and he only stopped long enough to check on him about every half an hour and to replenish his drink.

“Hey, I have to go into town for groceries and to the phone store.”

Ice glanced up and found Echo standing close. Pulling off his work gloves, Echo dropped them on the ground near his chair.

“There’s nobody we can pay to have them delivered?”

Echo frowned. “Why? Are you feeling okay?” Again with the concerned hand pressed to his forehead. It was so at odds with Echo’s standoffish behavior during the daytime.

“Yeah. A hell of a lot better today.”

“And to answer your question, I don’t want strangers coming to the house.”

“So, you personally know the doctor?” Ice was curious about the medic who’d shown up shortly after they’d arrived that first day. The doctor had come and gone without saying much, not even his name. Each visit, the man gave instructions, left medicine, and then quickly left.

“No, he’s the only exception,” Echo said, crossing his arms and glancing toward the beach.

“Ah, I see. Go then. I’ll be here when you get back.” Ice smiled and patted both hands on the arms of the lounger.

Indecision flashed in Echo’s dark eyes when their gazes locked and held, but then the assassin nodded and walked away.

He gazed after Echo’s slender form until he disappeared around the corner of the house.

“Screw this,” he muttered and finished his tea before shoving the bottom of the glass into the sand.

Ice pushed the towel aside, got his legs beneath him, and stood before walking toward the ocean in bare feet. The warm breeze blew at his hair and he tied it back with the band from around his wrist. The doctor had told him that light exercise would do him good, but so far, he’d only gone from the bed, to the washroom, to his chair outside.

He felt fucking restless.

Oh, and useless.

But he figured the useless feeling would take some time to ease, and the feeling of restlessness would go away when Echo got back.

He might need to ask some hard questions to get Echo to open up, and he thought about the different ways he could do that. Perhaps talking in bed might be the answer? Echo seemed different when he was in his arms during the night. But when he wasn’t, all Echo’s walls came back up.

Reaching the shoreline, he walked into the warm water up to his ankles. The Indian Ocean’s color resembled the palest of turquoise and aquamarine blue. It was one of the warmest oceans on Earth.

Today, the view wasn’t doing it for him. Not if he couldn’t swim, and swimming was out for the time being.

Glancing around, there were two directions he could go. One was the deserted beach to his left that ended at a rock jetty and to his right held population.

Lifting a hand, he squinted toward a far-off crowd and spotted several beachside businesses. People wandered about, some stood in groups, and Ice made his way toward the gatherings. Choosing the populated area was mainly due to the fact that he was weak as hell and couldn’t really defend himself right now if he were caught alone.

In this area of the world, a person had to be extra careful and diligent about shit like that. Besides, it was habit for him to choose the best option that would keep him alive and out of trouble. Especially since he didn’t have a weapon.

Music coming from an open bar reached him first and Ice smiled at the lively tune. A few people were dancing in an area where the tables had been shoved back. Brightly colored clothing added to the happy vibe. Maybe he’d bring Echo there when he got back. They could have a drink and eat. Walking to the bar, Ice gazed at the menus lining the wall behind the bar.

“What can I get for you?” The bartender smiled wide, his teeth flashing in his dark face, and he placed a square napkin on the bar top. The name tag pinned to his bright orange shirt displayed the name, Scotty.

“Let’s go with beer on tap and a double order of your chili fries,” Ice said, sliding onto the barstool.

His back was to the tables and the dancers and he didn’t particularly like that, so after Scotty poured his beer, Ice turned with his back to the bar and sipped at the cold beverage.

When his fries came, Ice picked up the yellow plastic basket and utensils rolled into a napkin. Making his way to an empty table that sat against one wall, he took a seat. This way, he could see people coming and going plus have a view of the ocean. He unrolled the napkin and placed aside the knife and fork and used his hands on the chili fries.

Life didn’t get any better than this…there was only one thing missing.

Echo.

So close and yet the distance remained between them. He’d seen the scars that littered the man’s body.

So many fucking scars.

That first day and over the course of several nights, Ice had memorized them, making a mental note of every single shape and location. A few of them looked like knife wounds, but it was the smaller rounder ones on Echo’s legs that Ice couldn’t figure out. He hadn’t asked Echo about them for a couple of reasons. One, he didn’t want the man to feel self-conscious, and two, he didn’t want Echo shutting him out of his bed.

Not that the blemishes mattered on the surface, but Ice knew they had to matter to Echo, at the very least, inside.

He sighed and turned to his food.

He needed to quit worrying so much. He had his own set of battle scars from the military.

Two men looking out of place in dress pants and solid colored button-down shirts came into the place, taking all of his attention. Ice slowly slid the knife from the table into his pocket.

Scotty greeted the two men and poured them hard liquor.

Ice kept his head down and ate his fries, but out of his peripheral vision, he kept an eye on them.