Page 38 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

It was a slip of the tongue, and she hoped he had not caught it, but she should have known better.

"What bargain?"

Annani swallowed. "I made a bargain with the Fates, trading your memories for your waking up healthy and of sound mind. I am not sorry I made that bargain because the Fates kept their end of it and returned you to me intact, just without your memories. If faced with the same situation again, I would make the same bargain. New memories can be formed, but a damaged mind might never heal."

She braced for his anger. The loss of memory was terrible. He did not remember how to read and write or how to add and subtract, and he would have to relearn everything.

When Khiann started to rise from his chair, she lifted a hand to stop him. "What are you doing?"

"It is all right. I can do this."

He somehow managed to move from the chair to the couch and sit beside her, breathing hard from the effort.

"This is amazing, Khiann."

He turned to her with that half-smile of his that undid her every time, then reached for her hands.

"I am grateful, Annani." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, then repeated the gesture with the other hand. "I am alive, my mind works, maybe not as well as I would have liked, but it is improving daily, and I have you. We will make new memories together."

He kissed each hand again, and the feel of his lips on her skin was doing all kinds of things to her, things that such a small gesture of affection should not have done.

Taking a chance, she leaned in and kissed his lips. It was not a passionate kiss, it was an affectionate one, but it was the first time since his return that she had kissed him like that.

His only response was a slight tightening of his hands on hers, and then that half-smile again.

"That was nice. I liked it."

It was on the tip of her tongue to say there were many more things she could do to him that he would like even more, but she forced herself to smile and nod.

The idea was not to overwhelm Khiann and to let him progress at his own pace.

"Is this the first time you have gotten out of your chair on your own, or have you been practicing in secret?" she asked.

"I practiced getting out of the chair and into the bed without Ogidu's help."

"You are getting stronger by the day."

"Not as much as I would like. Everyone tells me to be patient, but I want to be so much more for you, sa-mu."

"Your being here is more than enough. I have waited for you for five thousand years. I will wait as long as it takes for you to recover."

He nodded, but his expression was pained.

"What is the matter?" She squeezed his hand. "What is troubling you? Are you hurting?"

"Not physically. There is so much I want to do, and so little my body is ready for."

Was he talking about the same thing that troubled her?

Annani did not expect Khiann to perform anytime soon. All she wanted was some intimacy. She had always been the type of female who needed to touch and be touched, to cuddle, to kiss, even if it did not lead to anything sexual. Although given how long it had been since she had enjoyed carnal pleasures, she was a little impatient.

She was glad she had not satisfied her needs with any human in months. It was like cleansing her palate in preparation for Khiann. The Fates must have whispered in her subconscious that she should start getting ready because they were bringing him back.

"What is that smile about?" he asked.

Should she tell him?

He was her mate, her truelove one and only, and she had always been truthful with him. She was not the type to play coy.