“Exactly what I thought. I could’ve killed him when we met earlier, but then I’ll just have to deal with his replacement. I know there’s a more efficient way.”
Kiril paced back and forth past Thea and Amon, and when his back was turned, Amon snuck a glance at Thea. His blue eyes seemed so intense, but she could see the man she’d grown to care for in them. The quick wink he gave her told her he had everything under control, and Thea gave him a small smile to let him know she understood. Still, the idea of him with any of those women rambled around in her head as she worked to remain strong and believe that the man he was here, in front of this awful man, wasn’t the real Amon.
Kiril stopped his pacing and stood in front of Amon. “Well, there certainly are avenues to explore, but they involve magick much darker than you usually prefer.”
Thea sensed Amon’s apprehension and her own coiled inside her. Darker magick was something she’d heard of many times over her existence, though she’d never known anyone who dared to use it.
“Whatever it takes. Just make sure anything I do is safe for Thea and Gethen.” Amon was silent for a moment and added, “And I want Markku to stay with me after we perform the spell. He’s good with the magick, and he owes me.”
“As you wish.”
Amon turned to Gethen and gestured for him to come closer. “Take Thea outside and wait for me. If you feel she’s not perfectly safe at any time, call to me and I’ll know.”
He took Thea’s hands in his and squeezed them gently. “I need you to go with Gethen now. Trust me. I’ll be out in no time. I promise.”
Fear raced through her. “No, Amon! You said I’d only be safe as long as I was with you. Let me stay. I’ll be okay. Please.”
He cradled her face in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes as he shook his head. “No. I don’t want you involved in this. You’ll be safe with Gethen. He would never hurt anyone I love. Gethen will let me know if anything happens that you need me.”
As he handed her to Gethen, tears begin to well up in her eyes and he caught one with the pad of his thumb as it hit her cheek. “Don’t worry. I need to do this for your safety as much as mine.”
Gethen began to pull her away, but Thea wrenched her hand free and threw her arms around Amon. “No, please don’t do this. Whatever it takes, we can find another way.”
Amon pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “Thea, I can’t let these people see me weakened, and your emotions are already taking their toll on me.”
“But what if the spell calls for doing something...” she said hesitating, “with these women?”
Smiling, he whispered, “There is no other woman I want. I promise I won’t do anything that involves any women.”
Thea looked up at him and hoped she saw a look of sincerity on his face. Forcing a smile, she nodded. “Please be careful. I’m not okay with the dark magick thing either.”
“I promise, love. And when I’m done, we’ll celebrate at the house.”
As Amon released her hand, Thea reluctantly followed Gethen out of the room without looking back, too afraid to see what Amon was going to do.
Chapter Twelve
By the time they returned to Amon’s, it was late and Thea quickly excused herself to call her sister. The three men sat in Amon’s study discussing what would have to be done about the Council’s intention of forcing Amon back to Nil. As Markku railed against the dictatorial nature of Aeveren laws, Gethen sat quietly staring out the window.
Needing some peace and quiet, Amon said, “Markku, take the night and go enjoy yourself.”
“For real? Amon, thank you!” Markku answered as he leapt out of his chair and made his way toward the door.
“Just be back in the morning,” Amon warned.
Markku barely got the words “no problem” out before he vanished, leaving Amon and Gethen alone. Amon studied his friend’s face as he sat looking off in the distance. He watched him squint his eyes, as if he were in pain or remembering a painful experience, and the expression accentuated the scar next to his eye.
“What’s on your mind, Gethen?”
Gethen slowly closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them and turned to face Amon, he looked older than his former master ever remembered seeing him.
“I feel a calling home, Amon. All my years away have been with you, and I remain grateful for your saving me when none of my own kind would. But you don’t need me with you anymore.”
Amon sat silently, a lump forming in his throat. Even though the seven lifetimes he’d spent with Gethen were a mere fraction of the many he’d enjoyed, he couldn’t imagine a lifetime without him in it. The last year had been torture not only because he’d been in Nil but also because he’d been without his friend.
“What’s causing this?”
“No matter what I ever have been to you, you’ve always been more than a master to me, Amon.”
Gethen turned back toward the window and continued. “But now you don’t need someone to care for you. You’re no longer alone, and while the love I feel for you will always be, it’s time for me to go home to my world.”
Amon struggled to keep his voice even as emotions threatened to overwhelm him. “You’re wrong, Gethen. I didn’t need someone to take care of me. That was never why I needed you. You have been my closest friend, my confidant. That you appeared as my servant was always a disservice to how much you’ve truly meant to me over the lifetimes we’ve known one another.”
The two men sat in silence, each consumed by his own thoughts and feelings, until Amon asked the question that both knew the answer to. “When will you leave?”
In a voice that betrayed the pain he felt, Gethen answered, “I think sooner is better than later.”
Amon stood from his chair and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll let Thea know we’ll be leaving this week.”
Upstairs, Amon found her in her bedroom looking at the clothes Gethen had gotten for her. Through the cracked door, he watched her hold each shirt, sweater, and dress up to her as she posed in front of the mirror. Her happiness mixed with the sadness he felt from knowing he was losing his closest friend, and he became lost in thought watching her.
Without him noticing, she opened the door and found him standing there. “Amon? Are you okay?”
Silently, he nodded and took her hand in his as he led her across the hall to his room. Closing the door behind him, he gently pulled Thea to him and bent to kiss her.
“What’s wrong, Amon?”
“Nothing. I just missed you,” he said quietly as he trailed his lips down her neck to her collarbone.
Stroking his hair, she whispered. “You never have to miss me. I’m all yours.”
Amon moaned against her neck as his tongue danced over her skin tasting her. Gently, he scraped his teeth over her neck as he sucked and nibbled at her.
“Thea...” he whispered huskily near her ear, his voice full of desire. “I loved your jealousy earlier.”
Feeling her back away from him, he opened his eyes and searched hers for what troubled her. Suddenly, he felt a wall between them keeping her from him.
Thea dropped her eyes to the floor to avoid his stare.
“What is it? Why won’t you look at me?”
Quietly, she said, “I don’t know if I can be what you want.”
“What are you talking about? You’re everything I want.”
As she raised her eyes, Amon saw fear and sadness in them.
“I don’t want to be jealous of other women. I’ve waited all these lifetimes for someone meant just for me. I want to know—need to know—that person wants only me.”
Slowly, he approached her and took her hands in his. “Thea, I don’t want any other women. It’s only you.”
“And I’m jealous. I can’t bear the idea of you with those women from that place today.”
As she spoke, her eyes grew wider making her look even more vulnerable as she stood there so small in front of him. But he kne
w better. He knew the beautiful woman looking up at him had a strength beneath that sweet appearance.
“I told you that I’m not that man I had to be there. Kiril’s a pig who enslaves women. And I’ve never been with any of his slaves. Never.”
Amon saw that she remembered every word of what Kiril had said and wasn’t entirely convinced by his admission. “Never, Thea.”
Bending down, he kissed her lightly on the lips and then whispered, “And anyone else I’ve ever been with you should just think of as practice for you.”
Thea’s mouth formed a small pout. “That doesn’t help.”
Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he smiled. “Now, that’s the fire I like.”
Squinting her eyes, she made a clucking noise with her tongue. “You’re not taking this seriously.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, love. I’d be crazy with jealousy if I thought about you with another man.”
Amon bent down to kiss her again and took her face in his hands. “I don’t want to think about anyone else tonight, Thea. I want to get lost in you. I want to make love to the woman who’s meant for me and show her that I’m the only man for her. And then I want to do it all over again.”
Nipping at her ear, he murmured low and deep, wanting to hear her answer. “Tell me what my Thea wants.”
*
Thea knew the answer she wanted to give him. She wanted his power, his desire, everything he was. Never before had she craved a man like she craved Amon, but fear held her back. Fear of her desires. Fear of the destined ones who’d come before her. But her body betrayed her as her hands ran across his chiseled stomach and her fingers grazed under his pants, briefly gliding over his erect cock. She felt the hardness under her fingertips and heard his sharp intake of breath near her ear followed by a deep groan that told her she had nothing to fear or doubt with him.
Pushing her insecurities away, she unfastened his pants and reached into them to take him in her hand. As she stroked the fullness in her grip, she watched him close his eyes and let a groan escape his lips. With each movement of her hand, his breathing became deeper with need.
Never interrupting the rhythm of her hand, she slowly slid down his body dragging her tongue over the sharp planes of his chest and abs. When her mouth was level with her target, she lifted her face to see his expression.
Amon’s head was thrown back and his brow knitted waiting for her to finally touch her mouth to him. But as her lips met his body, she heard a noise from above her and Amon gently pulled her up by the shoulders to her full height.
“No,” he groaned in her ear.
Confused, Thea searched his face but found no answers to explain his apparent disinterest. As the sting of rejection hit her, she opened her mouth to express her hurt, but Amon’s mouth was on hers, full of passion. Instantly, she forgot all the words she wanted to say.
For the first time in forty-five lifetimes, she felt the need to be with a man. Never before had she known a feeling like this. As he stood in front of her, she was pulled to him by some deep call from inside him—like no one else in the world could satisfy her like Amon could. The thought was both thrilling and alarming.
Suddenly, she felt like a naive girl in her first lifetime, unsure of everything her heart and body were telling her to do. Amon was so much more than anyone she’d ever met, and he was hers.
Her destined one.
As his kiss deepened, Thea’s senses swirled into a jumbled mass of desire. The feel of his soft lips pressing against hers as his tongue swept into her mouth over and over, teasing the tip of her tongue playfully, set her on delicious edge. His strong hands held her to him, hands that would protect her against any danger. The smell of his skin, earthy and musky, filled each breath she took. His deep voice, moaning into her mouth as he showed her just how much he needed her, touched her core.
The potent combination of desire and need threatened to overwhelm her, and she felt like the room was beginning to swim around her. His effect on her was intoxicating as every cell in her body called out to him to satisfy her.
Somewhere deep inside, in a place she’d long forgotten about, a tiny lick of happiness began to grow—the happiness of knowing that in all the world and after so many years of ultimately being alone, she’d finally been blessed with someone who was just for her. No more lifetimes of hoping for something sweet and real that never came to her. No more accepting the hollow nothing to fill the want her Aeveren soul always carried with it.
Finally, she had found the one meant for her.
Even more, she was meant for him. She was the woman destiny had chosen to love and cherish him, one of the most powerful Aeveren to ever live.
*
The feel of Thea’s mouth and tongue on his skin had been pure ecstasy, but Amon wanted more. He wanted their first true moments together to be the joining only destined ones could ever know. He’d known that bliss three times already in his many lifetimes, but he knew Thea had never felt the joy of a destined one before him.
Pride and possession grew inside him as he feasted on her mouth, so willing and ready. She was his and only his, meant only for him. Her lips, her body a perfect match for him. And he knew from his time in her mind the day before that she wanted him as he wanted her.
Completely.
In a way he’d only wished for with other women since Sevine.
Memories of Thea’s fantasies played in his mind as he stripped her of her clothes, and she stood naked in front of him, her blue eyes sparkling with passion as she looked up at him.
A sexy grin came onto her face, and Thea moved backwards a few steps toward the bed. Amon quickly shed his shirt and moved to follow her, but she turned out of his hold and he found himself looking across the bed at her as she stood facing him, looking sexier than ever before with her silky hair flowing over her breasts and stomach.
Amon bent down and planted his hands on the bed. Looking at her, he thought about how good it was going to feel to be deep inside her. Lifting his left hand, he crooked his index finger and beckoned her to him.
“Come here,” he said, his deep voice edgy with need.
His cock stiffened more as Thea crawled on her hands and knees toward him, her eyes focused on his to show she’d play the submissive but not entirely. That was fine with him. He’d never liked a woman to completely play the role of submissive, which seemed just a step above the way Kiril used his slaves. No, he preferred a challenge—something to keep his interest and desire piqued.
Thea kneeled on the bed in front of him with her face turned upward. Gently, he pushed her long hair back to reveal her breasts and pearled pink nipples. As he pressed his lips to hers and slid his tongue into her mouth, his thumb played with a nipple while his hand tenderly cupped the milky white breast around it.
As reward for the gentle pinching of her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, Amon heard a soft moan into his mouth and felt her arch her body into his. Her skin felt so warm pressed against his.
He’d forgotten the perfect pleasure a destined one provided after all those lifetimes alone. How one touch could ignite passions that existed with no other soul on Earth. The sweet taste of her lips danced on his tongue and made him crave her all the more.
Grabbing a fistful of hair, he tugged Thea’s head back and buried his face in her neck. The delicious smell of her honeysuckle shampoo filled his nose, exciting yet another sense and building his desire to a higher level. The innocent fragrance contradicted the passionate and knowing actions of her hands as they glided over his flesh to the areas that aroused him most.
Amon slipped his hands down over her back to the fullness of her ass and squeezed the soft flesh, kneading it with his fingers. Thea responded by raking her nails over the healed skin of his back, igniting a need that overtook him.
“Thea, I need you. Now.”
He pushed her back gently onto the bed and ran his hands up the smooth skin of her legs as his eyes devoured the sight of her p
ale pink sex. His fingers reached the desired destination first and carefully explored the soft folds that glistened with moisture. With one finger, he stroked her excited nub and then traced his way to her entrance, wet and eager for him.
Desperate for a taste of her, Amon bent his head to her and touched his tongue to her clitoris, sending waves of pleasure through her body. Her hands held him to her while her fingers trailed over the shells of his ears and the nape of his neck.
A second finger joined the first inside her, and he thrust into her as he sucked her swollen nub between his lips. She tasted so good—sweet but musky—and his mouth worked to satisfy the craving she caused in him.
Beneath him, Thea’s body opened to his every stroke and desire. With every nip of his tongue and sweet invasion of his fingers, she melted into him becoming his and his alone. He felt her begin to tighten around his fingers as the walls of her core signaled her approaching climax. He pushed into her faster, his fingers stroking her to completion as his tongue sensually flicked her hardened nub. Thea’s fingers pressed against his skin behind his ears, and he heard her mew her pleasure above him.
Seconds later, he felt her come apart and quickly moved to lap up her juices as his tongue slid inside her. He stayed with his mouth savoring her until she ceased quivering, and when he lifted his head, he sucked the taste of her from his fingers with the devilish grin of a man who knew he’d thoroughly pleasured a woman.
Looking down at her, he saw her lazily stretch under him, relaxed but wanting more.
“I’d like these gone,” she said as she stared at his pants through half-lidded eyes and tugged at them.
“As you command, my lady.”
*
Amon’s much larger body loomed over hers, and her eyes flowed over his chest and abs. Everything about him signaled his power, from his deep blue eyes to the strong ridges of his muscular body. She’d fantasized about him taking her for his, but the reality of him was even better than anything she could have imagined.
Thea trailed her fingertips over the hardness of his torso and saw him smiling down at her.
Destiny Redeemed Page 12
