Page 3 of Echoes of Desire
“Really, Steel?” Blaze glares when Raven stops walking. “Stop being an ass. The way he said it was stupid, but he’s not wrong, sweetheart. Your name in the wrong hands could be very dangerous.”
“What about you?” she asks, looking directly at me. Or rather, my chest. “Is my name dangerous in your hands?”
Raven squirms under my gaze, so I take my time responding.
“Very much so, pet,” I smile. “Very much so.”
“Again, not helping, brother,” Blaze sighs. “Raven, my brother is an extension of who I am, and I can promise you that he doesn’t mean that in the way it sounds. I’m Blaze, by the way. Blaze Montgomery. And this is my brother, Steel.”
“Isn’t it dangerous for me to know your full names as well?”
“Do you plan to harm us, Pet?” I ask, making my voice as steel as my name just to gauge her reaction.
“Oh, no,” she says, her face paling in the evening light. “I was just asking.”
“That’s good,” I say, placing my hand on her back and urging her forward. “Not that it would matter. Blaze and Steel aren’t our real names, anyway. I’m Jasper, and my brother over there is Jaxon.”
Blaze raises a brow over Raven’s head, and I shrug. I don’t know why the hell I told her our real names, and I’m not going to take the time to analyze it.
Raven doesn’t say much as we walk toward the restaurant, but her silence isn’t empty. It’s full of nerves. Shallow breaths, the occasional glance over her shoulder, the way she holds her bag like it’s her shield.
Blaze takes it easy on her, filling the air with his usual laid-back charm. “So, Raven, where are you from?”
“Here, mostly,” she says quietly.
“Mostly?” Blaze replies, his tone genuinely curious.
“We lived in West Virginia until I was ten,” she says, a little stronger this time. “My parents moved us here for dad’s work. When he died, Mom moved back, but I was already an adult and had my life set up here, so I stayed.”
I stay quiet, letting Blaze keep her talking. It’s his strength, putting people at ease and making them feel safe. Mine is figuring out who people really are, reading between their words, and catching the things they try to hide.
Raven’s words are careful and calculated. She’s definitely hiding something. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s issued the challenge.
Find out my secrets.
Challenge accepted, Pet. Challenge accepted.
The restaurant is quiet, and dimly lit, with warm golden tones and the scent of garlic and fresh basil. I don’t bother with the small talk Blaze exchanges with the hostess as we’re led to a booth near the back. I’m too busy watching Raven.
She slides into the booth slowly, her back straight as if she’s afraid to relax. Blaze sits beside her, keeping a friendly distance, while I take the seat across from her.
“Anything you recommend?” she asks softly, her voice polite but hesitant.
Blaze grins, grabbing a menu. “The fettuccine. Hands down.”
I don’t bother looking at mine. I’ve been here enough times to know what I want. “You’ll eat something filling,” I say, my tone leaving no room for argument.
She blinks at me, caught off guard. Her gaze darts to Blaze, looking for reassurance.
“Don’t mind him,” Blaze says with a chuckle. “He means well. Mostly.”
“I don’t think I need anything too filing,” she says, her face reddening.
I wonder if her ass would redden as nicely as her face. If she were ours, her comment alone would be enough to find out.
“I’m going to pretend that wasn’t a comment about your body,” Blaze says, his light tone gone as if it never existed. “For sanity’s sake, let’s pretend you never spoke those words. Now, would you like to try the fettuccine?”
I watch the way she fidgets with her hands, the way she keeps her eyes down. Submissive tendencies, all of them. She’s deferring to us without even realizing it.