Destiny Redeemed (9 page)

The
chambers of the Council of New York stood in front of him, the beginning of his
job to catch Kalins. Located next to all the other local councils, they housed
the local council for the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania area, and
since his target had a home on the border of two of those states that he
frequented more than his homes in the Carolinas and New Mexico, the Council of
New York seemed to be the logical place to begin.

As
opposed to the size and grandeur of the Council chambers in Nil, the far more
meager chambers he currently waited to enter left him unmoved. While the
Council members here sat above as they did in Nil, the New York chambers were
brighter and far more bureaucratic looking, almost like that of a courtroom.
Ryu reasoned this was because like all local councils, New York handled minor
cases, such as petty crimes and relations with humans.

Sure
isn’t like I’m used to.

He
waited as the line of people he stood in slowly shrank, forced to hear the
beginnings and endings of each person’s presentation when the guards opened and
closed the chamber doors. Like an assembly line of misery, he and his fellow
Aeveren waited for the doors to open to walk forward, Ryu one step closer to
beginning his journey back to claim the life he’d left behind.

Over
three hours later, he finally entered the chambers of the Council of New York
ready to get this portion of his job over with. Frustrated, he stepped up to
begin the proceedings only to find that it wasn’t just the décor that seemed
more bureaucratic. As he stood waiting, the words of the head councilman’s
assistant told him they weren’t going to make this easy on him.

With
a hearty chuckle, the head of the Council of New York turned to Ryu and asked,
“What are your dealings with this council?”

“I’m
here about an escaped prisoner from Nil—Amon Kalins.”

The
amusement on the councilman’s face was obvious by his grin. “Escaped prisoner
from Nil? Interesting.”

As
he spoke, he turned to look left and right down the long table at his fellow
council members to share his delight among them.

Ryu
felt a surge of anger as he watched the show of petty bureaucratic jealousy
exhibited in front of him. He didn’t have time for their bullshit.

“Yes,
an escaped prisoner. He owns a home in this council’s area,” he said in a tone
he hoped would indicate his distaste for their behavior.

Instead,
he got more governmental obfuscation.

“We
know nothing of any escaped prisoner, and we can assure you that while we have
no experience with losing prisoners, we’d certainly know if one from Nil was in
our area.”

All
Ryu wanted to do was turn around and leave as it was obvious that the Council
of New York had no intention of helping him to apprehend his target. In a show
of even further Aeveren red tape, they kept him answering questions on every
minute detail of Amon Kalins’ escape, obviously relishing the failure of the
Council of Nil with each answer.

Finally,
after they’d exhausted every line of inquiry into a case they had no interest
in assisting with, Ryu was excused with no apology for their lack of
helpfulness but with a halfhearted good luck with his assignment.

As
he left, he hoped he wouldn’t have to count on their help for anything in the
future. And he knew one council he had no interest in working for once he got
his life back.

*

Amon
lay in bed savoring how good his body felt and wishing Thea was next to him.
Even the pain he’d suffer if he upset her would be worth it if she were nearby.
After she’d healed him earlier, he’d left her room as she’d fallen asleep, not
wanting to but feeling wrong for wanting to remain with her. He knew he
shouldn’t let himself want her, but he did.

She
was just across the hall—so close, yet so far away. Grimacing, he gave in to
his darker nature he’d been fighting and let his mind reach out to hers. He
touched her thoughts softly, like a whisper, and waited to find out if he was
on her mind.

Afraid
to move and miss something, he sat with his head pressed against the headboard,
silent except for the sound of his heart beating against his chest. Without
realizing it, he held his breath in anticipation of what he’d find.

Long
moments passed as he waited for her mind to fully open to his. He knew this was
wrong. It was an invasion of a person who he wanted to trust him. But no matter
how much guilt he felt for it, he didn’t retreat from her mind. He needed to
know if she felt love for him as he was growing to feel for her.

A
soft caress touched his mind—the slightest thought of him. His heart began to
beat wildly. He exhaled softly and panted as he began to sense her thoughts.
They came in gentle waves that slowly rolled into his mind and joined with his.
Her memory of kissing him in his bed. The feel of his hands pulling her to him
as she sat on his lap wanting so much for him to be inside her.

Heat
traveled over his skin and his cock swelled. Her memory of how he’d felt—the
hardness of him pushed against her—excited him, even more than his recollection
of the moment. Her memory showed him how affected she’d been, how much she’d
wanted him. His memory only told him how it had felt for him.

He
pushed his hand down the front of his pants and fisted his thick erection. His
guilt melted away, and he wanted more. More of her thoughts. More of her
feelings. More of her.

The
memory of her touching him sparked in her head. She replayed healing him, but
now her thoughts weren’t focused on him as a patient but as a lover. Her
fingers skimmed over his skin, and she noted with pleasure how he felt under
them, how the friction between them and him excited her.

His
breathing became shallow with the desire to make her thoughts reality. By now,
even if he wanted to, he couldn’t leave her mind. To know she wanted him so
badly was like a drug. He needed more. As the thoughts in her mind danced into
his, he fought the urge to leave his bed and go to hers. He wanted so much to
make her his, but the tiny part of him that held on tenaciously to reality
stopped him. He’d have to settle for knowing he’d had an effect on her.

He
wanted her to think more of him. He knew he could make it happen. A gentle idea
left in her mind of what he would do to her, how he’d come to her to make her
body sing with his. But that was pure manipulation, and he wasn’t that man
anymore. At least he didn’t want to be that man with Thea.

As
he wrestled with giving her mind a tiny nudge, he felt her mind grow enflamed
with her own idea of what it would be like between them.

She
was fantasizing about him.

Amon
sat still as a statue, his hand motionless as it gripped his now stiff cock.
Closing his eyes, he let himself get carried away by the fantasy she was
creating in her mind.

She
kissed his mouth with a need that almost burned him up. In her mind, he
responded with a need of his own she so desperately wanted to fill. She teased
him, piquing his desire more, bringing out the male he’d always been and was
now fighting.

Excitedly,
Amon saw in her mind what kind of lover she wanted him to be. As the fantasy of
him as a dominant lover capable of fulfilling her every desire played out in
her mind, his hand stroked his length from base to tip. God, he wanted to give
her what she wanted!

She
fantasized about him taking control of her body, his hands pinning her to the
bed as she looked up at him, her eyes urging him on to master her passion. As
he held her captive, his mouth traveled to her breasts, softly planting kisses
across her neck and shoulders along the way.

Amon
heard her voice in her thoughts and his eyes rolled in ecstasy.

“
Please...Amon...give
me what I need.”

Then
he heard her answer—what she wanted him to say to her, and he sat riveted to
the bed, her thoughts in total control of him.

He
lifted his head from her nipple, his lips damp and shiny, and smiled up at her
to answer her plea. “Don’t worry, Thea. I know what you need,” he purred.
Without another word, he returned to her nipple to resume the sensual pulls
that were driving her out of her mind with desire. She writhed under him, moaning
and arching her back toward him to feel the rest of his body touch hers.

“Althea,”
he moaned. “You taste so good.”

As
he stayed in her mind, relishing her fantasy, Amon filed away her real name for
future use as he continued to stroke his cock. Althea...

He
kissed her stomach down to where her pants’ button waited to grant him entry.
Releasing her hands from his restraints, he slid his forefingers along the
inside of the waist of her pants. His touch tickled her, and her body trembled
in anticipation of where he’d go next.

She
ran her hands over his head, feeling the soft, new growth of hair. From his
forehead to the nape of his neck, her fingertips touched him almost reverently,
as if he were someone dear to her. Her fingers trailed along the sides of his
face and traced the shell of his ear delicately, exciting him by her care.

He
looked up under half-closed lids and saw her watching the attention he paid to
teasing her. The look in her eyes was one of submission. What he wanted was his
for the taking.

As
he slowly unbuttoned and unzipped her pants, tugging them off her hips in one
slow, smooth motion, he whispered, “I know what my Althea needs.”

Still
alone in his bed, Amon grew more excited each time he heard the words she put
into his mouth. He stretched his long, muscular legs down the bed to ease the
tension her thoughts were creating in him, and his stomach muscles flexed as he
continued to stroke himself toward sweet release.

With
his finger, he traced a line up her damp seam through innocent, white panties.
She was ready for him. So ready.

But
he wanted her more than ready. He wanted her needy for him. Slowly, he slid his
fingers under the dainty edge of her panties, close to where she so desperately
wished he would touch. He stroked her soft, moist folds, exciting her more. She
was so soft, so delicate under his fingers—so open for him.

Her
hands pushed on his head to urge him to take her into his mouth, but he
resisted with a groan. He wanted to taste her, but he wanted her to wait just a
minute more. Her impatience excited him.

She
moaned out his name wishing he’d give her the relief she needed. Spreading her
legs wider, she nudged at his mouth to touch her through her panties.

Amon
loved that she desired him like this. His nature was to be dominant, but he’d
often had to suppress it, particularly with modern women. That Thea could be so
strong and caring yet so eager to let him take control of their lovemaking was
something that made him want her even more. How far would she let her fantasy take
her?

He
waited for her to continue, stroking his length with more urgency and wondering
if she was touching herself across the hall.

With
his thumbs, he opened her up to his eyes, which feasted on the sight of
her—soft and pink. He inhaled her delicious fragrance and pressed his lips to
her delicate skin, unwilling to wait any longer. Slowly at first, he let his
tongue glide over her sex, hearing soft moans coming from above as his tongue
created sensations that traveled straight to her core.

Amon
felt himself getting close. He wanted to come as he listened to her fantasy of
his mouth pleasuring her, but he wanted more, if there were to be more. Her
fantasy was controlling more than just his thoughts now.

A
gentle suck on her swollen nub sent her over the edge into a million pieces,
and Amon fought to control his own orgasm, wanting to see if she’d continue. As
she recovered in her fantasy, his silent wish was granted and she moved to give
him pleasure.

She
swirled her pink tongue over the tip of his cock and then slowly took only the
head into her mouth, sucking tenderly as she looked up at him with wide blue
eyes. Her hand gripped him and slid over his skin, her touch feeling so good.

He
watched as her blond head and her sensuous waves moved down around his body and
back up again. The soft touch of her hair draping over his thighs sent shivers
up his back. She slid her left hand out from under her veil of hair and ran it
over his abdomen, gently raking her nails across his skin.

“Thea,”
he moaned as he watched her slide her lips to the base of his cock. He fisted
his hands in her hair and tugged it gently to direct her speed. She didn’t
fight or resist, allowing him to set the pace of her movements.

Amon
needed release but fought his body’s demand by willing himself to stay in her
mind when she fantasized about climbing on top of him, ready to have what
they’d begun earlier in his bedroom.

Thea
whispered softly in his ear. “Amon, mine. My destined one.”

God,
how he wished that were true! He heard the sweetness in her sexy voice, heard
the desire not only for him to physically be hers but to truly be with her. But
he pushed that from his mind and concentrated on what he knew he could be for
her, if he’d let himself...

Thea’s
fantasy and his desire merged into one, and he let his body go as his cock
spilled over his stomach and hand. Better than any fantasy of his own, her
thoughts had given him more pleasure than he’d had in a long time. Satisfied,
he cleaned himself up and closed his eyes to relax.

Amon
silently summoned Gethen, but found he was still away getting supplies and
clothes for Thea. Thea...his time listening to her thoughts had been utterly
enjoyable and more than ever he wanted her, but that part of him that still
clung to the idea that he could be a decent man stopped him from stalking over
to her room and making love to her like no one else had in all her lifetimes.