Destiny Redeemed (29 page)

“Gethen,
she’s going to be okay. Come here and help me.”

“Thea,
honey. Open your eyes for me,” Amon whispered next to her ear as he stroked her
blood soaked hair.

“Help
me lay her on her back, Gethen,” he said looking up at him.

Carefully,
he rolled Thea over and placed her on the bed. Her eyes remained closed, and as
Amon sat next to her pushing her hair away from her face, he saw just how much
like an angel she truly looked.

My
angel.

“Markku,
get me something to clean the blood off her,” Amon said looking up at him as he
remained in the doorway. “There’s got to be something in Kiril’s bathroom.”

Nodding,
Markku seemed to come out of his shock at Amon’s command, and he scurried into
the adjacent bathroom to do as he’d been told.

Amon’s
gaze returned to Thea’s face. He stroked her cheek tenderly as he waited for
her to regain consciousness.

“What
happened with Kiril?” Gethen asked quietly.

Staring
at the placid face of the woman he loved, Amon answered coldly, “I did what I
said I would.”

Gethen
sighed, and Amon continued. “I know what you’re worrying about. Don’t. If they
want to punish me for Kiril’s death, they’ll have to catch me first.”

Markku
returned and quickly handed Amon a wet cloth. Turning to Gethen, he asked in a
nervous voice, “I thought she was okay. What happened?”

Amon
looked up as he cleaned Thea’s face. “Markku, I’m going to need to take Thea
out of here my way. I need you to get rid of any spells or whatever else Kiril
had that would prevent me from teleporting.”

“No
problem, Amon. It’ll only take me a few minutes.” Then quietly, Markku said, “I
hope she’s going to be okay.”

Amon
gave him a slight smile and returned his attention to Thea. When he’d almost
finished cleaning her face, her eyelids begin to flutter and slowly she opened
her eyes.

Whispering,
she said his name, as if she were unsure if she were dreaming or truly awake.

Bending
to kiss her, he felt her press her hand to his chest where Kiril had stabbed
him. He covered her hand with his and smiled.

“Once
again, you saved me. But I’m more concerned about you. As soon as Markku does
his thing, I’m taking you home.”

Thea
tried to sit up, but even with help she immediately sat back and closed her
eyes.

“Don’t
try to move. Just be calm. We’ll leave soon.”

“Home?”
she whispered.

“Yes,
home. For now, Ireland. When you feel better, we can go anywhere you want,” he
said as he ran his finger over her lips.

“But
what about the Council?” she asked in a worried voice.

Amon
shook his head. “Don’t worry about that.”

Before
she could voice any protest, Markku returned to proudly announce that the Soren
headquarters was a charm-free zone.

Pulling
Thea to his chest, Amon said, “Markku, I want you to get Gethen back to the
house in Ireland. Once I get Thea settled, I’ll meet with both of you.”

Gently
kissing Thea’s ear, he whispered, “Hold on. We’ll be home soon,” before they
vanished from Kiril Gault’s bedroom, leaving everything there behind them.

Amon
made sure to arrive in their bedroom and carefully set Thea on the bed. Seated
next to her, he returned to stroking her face as he silently thanked God for
letting her stay with him.

Almost
fully recovered, Thea caught his hand in hers and repeated her concern from
earlier. “Amon, what about the Council? I’m worried.”

Leaning
in to kiss her, he cradled her face in his hands. “I told you not to worry. I
have no intention of letting them take me away from you.”

Concern
clouded her eyes. “But all the things he said.”

Amon
knew she meant what Adams had said about Victoria. As much as he wished he
could deny everything, he kept his focus on her eyes and said the words he
dreaded.

“Thea,
it’s true. I did what Adams said I did. I can’t deny that.”

Thea
closed her eyes as he continued.

“I’ve
never wished more that I wasn’t the kind of man he described, but I was for
lifetimes. I know that.”

Amon
watched in sadness as a tear slid down the side of her face. She was breaking
his heart. As he kissed her cheek, he whispered, “I’m sorry. All I can promise
is that the man I am now isn’t that person anymore.”

He
waited for what seemed like years until she opened her eyes again. What he saw
was worse than any punishment they could devise for him in Nil. Unable to look
at the distance that had settled into her eyes, he focused on his fingers as
they stroked her hair.

“Let’s
get you cleaned up.”

*

Thea
stood in the shower and let the hot water run over her body. Pinkish colored
water pooled at her feet as Amon’s blood left her hair. The gentle pelting of
the jetted spray on her back felt good on her aching and bruised body.

As
much as she wished her mind would just go blank, thoughts of what the
councilman and Amon said ran around her brain. Her destined one had callously
discarded a woman who loved him—another man’s destined one.

She
knew Amon stood just outside the shower, ready if she felt weak and needed
help. Everything she knew about the man he was told her he wasn’t the man he’d
been with Victoria Adams.

Amon
made a noise and she looked out to see him as he kicked off his shoes and
peeled off his socks before climbing into the shower to stand behind her.

“Amon,
what are you doing?”

He
filled his palm with shampoo and began massaging it into her hair. As he
lathered her up, he said all the things she knew he had to if she were to fully
accept him again.

“Victoria was sweet and kind. She loved me, and I mistreated her. What I did makes me cringe
when I think of someone doing that to you.”

Thea
closed her eyes as he continued.

“I
was selfish. It doesn’t matter why.”

Amon
gently pushed Thea toward the water and waited until the soap was rinsed from
her hair before he pulled her back toward him and wrapped his arms around her,
whispering into her ear. “Thea, I can’t change who I’ve been. But for whatever
reason, you’ve been given me as your destined one. All I can promise is that I
will do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

Opening
her eyes, she saw he stood behind her fully clothed and soaked to the skin. She
turned to face him and wrapped her arms around him. As she looked up toward
him, he carefully pushed the hair from her face.

“I
believe you’re not the man you were. But I need you to promise me there will be
no more killing.”

Shaking
his head, he grimaced. “I can’t promise that, my angel. Anyone who tries to hurt
you will be in grave danger. Your safety has to be my primary concern.”

Thea
accepted his answer, even if she didn’t like it, and turned off the water.
Looking at his soaked shirt and pants, she smiled at the difference between
what she knew of Amon’s past compared to the man who stood in front of her
looking foolish after a shower with his clothes on.

As
she stepped past him, she said with a chuckle, “Maybe next time you might try
it with your clothes off.”

Arching
one eyebrow, he put on an irritated face as he followed her and began peeling
off his wet shirt. As she watched, she wrapped herself in a towel and for just
a moment, she stopped to admire his body.

*

Amon
looked up from undoing his pants when he realized she was staring at him. She
looked beautiful standing in only a towel and he so much wanted to just reach
out to draw her body to his, but what he heard in her mind stopped him.

“Yes,
I loved her. Not the way I love you, but I think I did love her.”

“Oh.
How did you know I was thinking that?”

“It
seems I’ve been given another power since Nil.”

“Another
power? Just how many do you have?”

He
stepped toward her smiling. “Let’s just say I’m not lacking in that
department.”

“That’s
one of the things I love most about you, Amon. Your humility.”

Thea
pushed by him to leave the bathroom, but he had other ideas. Hooking an arm
around her waist, he pulled her back to him and held her close. As he feathered
kisses down her neck, he whispered, “My humility? I think I have to remind you
of the other things that are far more interesting than that.”

The
feel of her damp skin against his lips excited him, and as a tiny moan escaped
her lips, he pressed his hard erection into her back. He slid his free hand to
where she’d knotted the towel and freed it from her body. As the towel fell to
a heap at her feet, he ran his hand over her breast and cupped it while his
thumb and forefinger squeezed her excited nipple.

“Good,
but I think you need more reminding,” he teased as the hand that had held her
to him slid down to tease her sex.

Her
head fell back against his chest, and he heard the hitch in her breathing when
he slid his finger down her moist slit. As his fingers played, she covered his
hands with hers, guiding him to the spot that with just his touch would deliver
sweet release.

“Not
yet, love. I want to remind you some more,” he said as he slid a finger inside
her.

In
a keening voice, she said his name and turned to free his cock, wanting what
stood proudly behind the fabric of his pants. He watched her efforts eagerly,
licking his lips for a delicious taste of her and waiting for the touch of her
hand on him.

He
didn’t have to wait long, and at the first touch as she gripped him, wrapping
her fingers around him, his thick cock kicked in her hand. Looking down, he
watched as she stroked the full length of him, aroused even more by how erotic
her hand looked as it created waves of pleasure with each glide over his skin.

He
dipped his head to nudge her face up toward his and kissed her mouth
impatiently as she continued to pleasure him with her hand. Sliding his tongue
into her mouth to mingle with hers, he began to back up toward the bathtub and
broke away from her mouth to quickly turn the water on.

“You’re
not planning to take a bath now with your pants on, are you?” she teased as she
tugged his pants toward his thighs.

Amon
said nothing but smiled and shook his head as she undressed him. Knowing she
wanted what he wanted, he stepped out of his pants and sat down on the edge of
the oversized tub. Thea kneeled in front of him and pushed his legs open as she
ran her palms over his thighs, exciting him even more.

Thea
looked up at him, her eyes full of desire, and licked her lips. “Remind me
again why you like me to do this?”

“Because
the feel of your mouth sucking my cock is better than almost anything in this
world. When you run your tongue...”

Amon
abruptly stopped talking and sighed deeply when Thea’s mouth covered the head
and she began to tease him with her softly flicking tongue. Slowly, she sucked
him into her mouth and then retreated, sliding back up to the swollen crown. He
watched as she became more aroused with each movement she made. Breaking his
stare at the erotic scene between his legs, he turned to shut off the water.

Touching
her jaw with his hand, he motioned to the water. “Come here.”

Thea
rose and climbed into the tub after him. Amon sat with his back against the
cool marble above the water and stretched his long legs out in front of him.
From across the tub, she stared at him.

He
looked down to see the spot on his chest that still bore a pink scar where
Kiril had stabbed him, where she’d healed him taking every ounce of pain from
his body with her touch. She crawled onto his lap and softly ran her fingers
over the fading scar as she stared into his eyes. Her other hand held on to his
broad shoulders, hardness under her gentle grip. But her focus was on the soft
skin where she could have lost him.

“Amon,
I was so afraid I was going to lose you.”

He
slowly traced his hands down her sides as she spoke. “When I thought you were gone,
my heart felt like it had broken. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I
know having a destined one isn’t new to you, but I’ve never felt like this. I
can take the life that comes with you, and even the past, but the thought of
losing you hurts me more than I can stand.”

Taking
her face in his hands, he kissed her softly. “My angel. Don’t ever think you’re
just another destined one. You’re more special to me than I can ever explain. I
owe you my life. I can’t promise our life together will be like other people’s
because of who I was before you, and you’ll never know how sorry I am for that,
but I promise I’ll never give you any reason to doubt my love, no matter what
happens. Of all the gifts I’ve been given, you’re the one I deserve the least
and cherish the most.”

Thea
closed her eyes, and he softly kissed her cheek. He’d meant what he’d said.
Never before had he been blessed so much and deserved it so little. Gently, he
lifted her and settled her onto him, his cock pushing into her, filling her.
Gentle thrusts gave way to more frenzied movements as he held her by the hips
and guided her to ride him. As the water lapped gently against their skin, she
moaned the arrival of her orgasm as she dug her nails into the smooth skin of
his back, skin she’d healed.

Buried
so deeply that her body melded with his, Amon felt his release pump into her
and bit her shoulder as she whimpered through the end of her climax. When she
finally lifted her head from his neck to look at him, her face wore the sultry,
satisfied look he loved to see.

“I
like that much better than your humility,” she said quietly.

“Me
too. Humility never feels anywhere as good,” he joked.

But
Amon saw the shadow of worry cross her face as she remembered the world outside
their watery sanctuary. “Amon, what’s going to happen with the Council?”