Destiny Redeemed (18 page)

Riordan
knew he’d taken a great liberty by using her first name, but the result was
exactly what he’d hoped for. The enchanting blush from earlier returned to her
cheeks but extended to the skin above her lovely breasts, a clear indication
that his flaunting convention hadn’t offended her in the least.

As
he returned her to her husband, he thanked her with a bow and planted a subtle
idea of his desire for her in her mind before he turned to walk back to his
original position next to the hall’s opposite wall. By the time he’d turned
around, he knew she’d watched him cross the room. With little effort, he
entered her mind and enjoyed finding the idea of him uppermost in her thoughts
for the rest of the night.

Amon
wished he could keep his memory of his time with Victoria confined to a single
dance at a ball, but his conscience, which seemed in the last year to enjoy a
renewed power to affect him after many lifetimes, pressed him to relive his
compete memories of her.

Within
weeks of his meeting her, Riordan had made sure to find ways to see Victoria. The constraints of eighteenth century English society made approaching a married
woman difficult, but in that area, Harold Adams had been quite helpful. A
chance meeting with him permitted Riordan to pry concerning his travel plans,
and he happily allowed the man to extract a promise from him to look in on
Victoria and his young daughter in his absence.

Before
the end of November and just days after making his promise to her husband, he
made his way to their home just a short distance from his home in Hinwick. As
if fate blessed and aided his endeavors, as he rode his horse to their home,
the skies opened up and a torrential downpour soaked him to the bone. Their
maid opened the door to find the man she greeted looking like a drowned rat.
After leaving his name, he was allowed entry into the home and within minutes,
the lady of the house was attending to him to ensure he didn’t succumb to a
cold.

As
she talked about the effect of chill on the body, she led him to a bedroom
where he could change into some of her husband’s dry clothes. Other than
looking forward to shedding his soaked clothes, he cared little for the polite conversation.
He was far more interested in her.

Away
from the ball, she wore plainer dress, but she was no less stunning. Her red
hair, pinned up, framed her oval face beautifully, and her green eyes were just
as gorgeous next to a pale pink dress as they had been next to her blue ball
gown.

“Mr.
Blake, if you’ll wait in this room, I’ll return with a set of dry clothes.”

Riordan
walked past her into the bedroom and began to undress after she closed the
door. By the time she returned, he wore only his breeches and boots, his broad
chest bare. She knocked softly on the door and when he intentionally didn’t
answer, she opened the door and entered the room.

Stepping out
from behind the door, he blocked her exit and smiled at her embarrassment at seeing
him half undressed.

“Thank
you, Victoria,” he said quietly as he reached out to take the clothes from her
hand. Instead of merely taking the garments, he grabbed her arm and pulled her
to his naked chest.

“Victoria,” he said almost as a groan.

“Mr.
Blake, please let me go. This isn’t right.”

Riordan
heard none of the true protest or fear that would be present in her voice if
she truly wanted him to let go of her.

“Riordan.
You may call me Riordan, Victoria.”

Shyly,
she lifted her eyes to his. There was desire in those beautiful eyes.

“Riordan,
please don’t,” she begged.

He
let go of his hold on her arm, and when she made no move away from him, he put
his hand to her face and stroked her cheek tenderly. Closing her eyes, she
sighed and a tiny moan escaped her lips.

His
hand left her cheek and trailed down her neck to the swell of her breasts. Her
breathing quickened, and they rose and fell as he watched them.

“Please,
Riordan. Don’t do this. I’m weak from being alone so much and can’t tell you
no.”

Dropping
his head to softly press a kiss into the tender flesh at the top of each full breast,
he looked up and smiled devilishly. “That’s exactly what I want to hear.”

Before
she could protest any further, Riordan’s mouth covered hers, his desire to have
her surprising even him. Her hesitancy spurred him on, exciting him to take her
hurriedly right there in a bedroom of her home, only a wall separating their
coupling from the rest of the household.

To
his pleasant surprise, the beautiful wife of Bedfordshire’s most tedious
gentleman was a smoldering woman with a deeply passionate side. Never truly
uttering any real protestations against his actions, Victoria quickly met his
desire with her own.

Their
first time together was a rushed affair, but Riordan knew it wouldn’t be their
last. As he left wearing the other man’s clothes, he knew he had something far
more valuable of Harold Adams’.

By
the spring, Riordan no longer had to pretend to check in on Victoria to see
her. Left alone so often, she basked in the attention Riordan paid her and
eagerly sought him out. A tiny cottage on the outer fringes of his estate
provided him with a place for their trysts. Often up to three times a week,
she’d come in response to his summons, always happy to see him and thankful for
their time together.

But
the reasons for her husband’s frequent absences disappeared by the time summer
had begun, and Victoria couldn’t be at Riordan’s beck and call. This change
angered him and his unwillingness to understand that she was another man’s wife
above all else more than once threatened to expose her behavior to the world.

Amon
clenched his jaw at the thought of how he’d treated Victoria. Forced to admit
his behavior at his trial before being sent to Nil and having a full year to
think about his deeds, his memories now forced him to admit that his callous
mistreatment and later her death were the culmination of over a year of selfish
actions toward a kind heart that had genuinely loved him. The truth of who he’d
been to her tormented him and turned his stomach.

“
The
cottage is big enough to feel like a tiny home away from home,” he heard her
say as he slipped his breeches back on.

“Compared
to Hinwick Hall, this is nothing, Victoria,” he said dismissively.

He
saw the crestfallen look cross her features and the tears begin to well up in
her eyes. Too late, he realized what his words had sounded like to her.

He
fastened his breeches and reluctantly walked over to the settee where she sat
looking dejected. “You know I didn’t mean that the way you took it,” he said,
lifting her chin with his finger. “You know what I think of you, Victoria.”

A
pout formed on her mouth, and he frowned. He hated when she pouted—hated the
effect it always had on him.

“What
do you think of me, Riordan?” Her green eyes stared at him as they did when she
wanted the truth.

“Do
we have to do this now? Why do we have to ruin a nice afternoon together?”

“Riordan,
I know the reality of who we are. Harold is my destined one as Frederika is
yours. I don’t expect permanence or even marriage in this lifetime, but I need
to know how you feel about me.”

She’d
freely expressed her love for him often, and he’d long ago taken for granted
that she truly did feel love for him. He’d never told her he’d loved her even
once because he didn’t think of their time together in those terms. She made
him happy and broke up the boredom of a life he was forced to live. If there
was more to them, he never thought about it.

“You’re
my Victoria. That’s what I think of you,” he said as he placed a kiss on her
forehead.

After
she’d gone, Riordan thought about ending his time with her. She was beautiful
and gave his body more pleasure than he’d had in years with his wife, but
perhaps her feelings were becoming a problem. However, as he had each time he’d
considered giving her up, he decided she was worth having enough to tolerate
her occasional outbursts of emotion.

Riordan
continued to take her for granted while his behavior with the woman he’d known
for seventeen lifetimes grew less and less acceptable. Frederika had come to
him as Sevine, a young Aeveren instantly in love with a more experienced
Aeveren, but his abuse of his powers finally pushed her away, and no amount of
land or money would make her remain with him. Lifetimes of manipulation of
those closest to him finally came back to haunt him when Frederika did what few
Aeveren destined ones ever did: refuse their mate.

Unable
to manipulate her one last time, Riordan found himself alone in the world,
refused by the one Aeveren biology had chosen for him. Turning to Victoria, he took all he desired, even convincing her to leave her husband and daughter for
him. In love, she was an easy target, and it took few promises to make her
leave those she loved for him. But she wasn’t enough. After years of nothing,
he wanted everything—gambling, drinking, and women. Above all, women.

Amon
held Thea to him as his mind replayed the day he left Victoria. The vision of
her standing in front of him, as she begged him to stay with her and he callously
disregarded her, a woman who’d given her heart and soul to him wholly and
willingly, gnawed at his conscience.

As
he thought about those last moments with Victoria, Amon’s chest tightened. His
eyes closed, he saw the face of a woman who’d loved him wracked with sadness as
he heard the cavalier words he’d used to let her know just how little he’d
truly cared about their time together. Those words had haunted him in Nil after
learning at his trial that alone, cast aside by him and without her husband and
daughter, she’d taken her own life.

Now,
as he experienced the loss of Victoria through his memories, he felt hollow
inside. He looked down at Thea and questioned whether any man had ever treated
her as he had Victoria.

Had
she loved unconditionally and been abused in return?

Had
the selfishness of another destroyed her sometime as his had destroyed Victoria?

Amon
felt his heart harden at the thought of Thea’s kindness turned against her like
that. Holding her to him, he silently begged forgiveness from the woman he’d
mistreated all those lifetimes ago and the woman who innocently lay sleeping
near him.

Chapter Fourteen

 
Kiril
heard the phone ring but chose to ignore it and instead rolled over and buried
his head in the pillow. When it stopped ringing, he promised himself to put the
ringer on silent at night in the future and closed his eyes hoping to get back
to sleep. Seconds later, it rang again, and he angrily rolled onto his back and
grabbed the phone from the night table.

Before
he could get the nasty words he planned to say out of his mouth, a voice came
through loud and clear. “Gault, when I call you, you’d better pick up by the
second ring, not the second call. Do you understand me?”

He
understood clearly the man on the other end of the line was powerful enough to
rightfully make the demand, so he quietly agreed to it. He listened as the news
he’d expected came through. Knowing his allegiance to the caller trumped any
favor he held for anyone else, he accepted his instructions without protest and
slowly closed the phone.

Dressing
quickly in a robe, he called for his aides, and as he waited for them, he
considered the task just assigned to him. Messing with powerful Aeveren was
dangerous and something he preferred not to do. He’d, therefore, worked very
hard to ensure the Soren remained on friendly terms with them. Now he’d be
forced to abandon that policy.

His
aides filed in, took their places in front of him, and awaited their orders.
Kiril folded his arms across his chest and smiled. Today, he’d give orders
unlike any he’d ever given.

“Cancel
the new girl for today. I’ve got another one coming. She’s not human, so I’ll
let you know the particular details about how I want her handled before she
gets here.”

The
group of men stared back in confusion as he finished speaking. “Not a human?
Then what?” one of the aides asked.

Kiril’s
grin grew wider. “An Aeveren, gentlemen, and not just any Aeveren. A healer.”

*

Ryu
entered the rooms of the head councilman with more than a little trepidation.
He’d never been summoned to meet privately with the head of the Council at Nil
and was sure this first time wouldn’t set a good precedent.

The
room he was escorted to was the councilman’s office immediately adjacent to his
living quarters. It looked like any office would with a desk, bookshelves, and
filing cabinets, but Ryu was struck with the opulence of the setting. He slowly
ran his fingers over the top of the mahogany desk and admired the craftsmanship
of the piece. His eyes traveled to the leather office chair behind the desk and
the matching couch on the far side of the room before he saw the floor to ceiling
mahogany bookcases full of obviously rare and expensive editions of famous
Aeveren works and priceless art pieces.

Not
a bad life, if you can get it.

“I’d
trade it all for the only treasure that ever meant anything to me,” a voice
said sadly behind him.

Ryu
turned to see the councilman standing in the doorway to his office. The man’s
usually stern features seemed softened for a moment but quickly changed back to
their usual appearance, and Ryu’s gaze was met with a flinty stare from cold,
gray eyes.