Page 13 of Secret Redemption

They had taken her in and treated her like family. Her mind wandered to Lizzie, and her heart squeezed at the thought of such a beautiful woman being taken away from her family, and especially her son. And for what? Just so some mad sick group could take over the world. She had seen some weird fucked up shit, but this took the biscuit.

Riley sighed in his sleep and wriggled. He was such a wriggler, always had been even in the womb. She had missed it after he was born. As it always did, guilt hit her as she thought about everything Zack had missed out on. But fuck, she had tried, and after he hadn’t returned any of her calls, her pride wouldn’t allow her to keep trying. Then anger, her worst character trait, had kicked in and her attitude had changed to ‘fuck him’. In hindsight that was wrong, but hindsight was always twenty-twenty.

Feeling thirsty, she slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the door. Pulling the door almost closed, she hurried down the hall and realised she had no clue where she was going. She looked left and then decided to head right towards the faint light coming from under the door.

Ava came to a stop as she entered the huge kitchen. Zack was standing with his back to her, his very naked back. She knew he had sensed her, as his head cocked just the tiniest bit. Her mouth watered as her eyes roved over the large muscular expanse of skin. The only light in the room came from the lights under the kitchen unit. She stepped closer and itched to trace her fingers over the tattoo of a Lion roaring on his left shoulder blade with the words ‘Brothers don’t always have the same mother’ just under the lion’s mane. She had seen it before, but the one on his right shoulder was new. Ava stepped closer to get a better look. ‘The soldier may leave the valley, but the valley does not leave the soldier’ was written underneath a cross and wings, which she recognised as the SAS emblem.

The muscles in his back tensed and she knew he’d felt her move closer. He turned slowly, placing the glass of Whiskey in his hand on the worktop in front of him. Her throat went dry at the sight of him. Zack had always rendered her mute. His sheer beauty and animal magnetism was magnificent. Her step faltered as she looked at him and noticed the puckered scar on his hip and the scars that crisscrossed his torso. Without conscious thought, she reached out to touch them and felt him tense under her fingertips, his body shivering slightly.

“What are you doing Ava?”

His low, baritone voice brought her out of her perusal of his gorgeous body and the scars that somehow made him even more beautiful to her. God, that sexy voice. At the best of times it made it hard to concentrate when she heard it, but when it went low with desire like it did then, she struggled to breathe.

Ava looked up hesitantly knowing that she couldn’t hide from him anymore. His eyes were dark with suppressed desire and his jaw rigid with the control he was barely holding on to. It was in that split second that she knew she didn’t care what happened next. She wanted his control to break. She wanted with a need so strong that she shook for him to take her in his arms and make her feel like only he could.

Her hand went to his chest and the heated flesh there. He stayed perfectly still as if she were a viper ready to attack. Her fingers whispered over the tattoo over his heart. A music note, with the name Catherine wound around it. She knew it was for his sister. His skin was warm, and she could feel the coiled strength in him. The light hairs on his chest felt good under her fingertips as she ran them slowly over his pecs and puckered nipples. Her other hand came up to rest on his stomach, and she felt him shudder, and a growl rumbled through his chest.

“Ava!” he said it as a warning, as he grabbed her wrists to hold her still, but she didn’t take heed, and lent towards him so that her hair and breath whispered across the skin of his neck. “I’m giving you one last warning. If you don’t stop, I’m going to take you to bed and show you just how much you and that sweet body of yours have plagued my dreams.”

The delicious shiver of need that shot through her at his words made her feel weak. She was so turned on she half believed that if he kissed her now, she would go up in flames.

Tilting her head back she looked at him. His hands left her wrists and went around her waist. His lips moved closer, and her heart started racing. The need for his kiss was so strong, and she felt herself sag towards him.

“Ah, Zack, just the man,” her father said as he bustled into the room, putting the overhead light on. She and Zack jumped apart as if they had been scalded. “Ava, honey what are you doing up? Are you sick? You look flushed,” her father came to her and held the back of his hand to her forehead. She ducked his touch and moved the other side of the kitchen.

Ava looked over at her father. “No, dad, I’m fine. Just couldn’t go back to sleep after Riley had a nightmare, so thought I would get some milk.” Her eyes went to Zack as she felt his on her.

“Does he have them often?” he asked a frown on his handsome face.

“Sometimes. It’s probably the excitement. Normally it’s because he’s overtired. He won’t remember it in the morning. I should probably get back to him. I don’t want him waking up and not knowing where he is and getting scared.” Ava quickly scurried out of the room, escaping the differing looks from the two men.

Slipping back into bed, she smiled as her son rolled towards her, his little thumb going back into his mouth. She thought about what had happened in the kitchen with Zack. He had always had that effect on her. He was like a drug, and she had a feeling she was a hairsbreadth away from throwing herself off the wagon. The strength it had taken to stay aloof and hold herself away from him for so long was waning, and she could feel the pull that he had on her. Ava wondered for the thousandth time what would have happened if he hadn’t been taken and they had been a normal couple. Would they have fallen in love, gotten married and then had Riley? Or would they have fizzled out?

Her heart told her that what they shared was not your everyday lust, and that it was a once in a lifetime love, but her head scoffed at that and said that she needed to see it for what it was. A fling that had resulted in Riley, and then had died a natural death.

If that was the case, then why was she here helping him and why did her heart and body yearn for him constantly? Should she let this play out as he wanted, and risk it all? Or should she take the next flight out and cut ties to the man that she loved with every fibre of her being? More importantly, if she tried, would he let her?