Amanda patted her chest as panic swirled through her. She fought her anxiety attack as hard as she could, but inside she was screaming over what she'd seen.
She couldn't let him die. Not like that.
Forcing herself to calm down, she stared at Kyrian. "You have to let go of your past. So long as you hold on to it, Desiderius will be able to destroy you."
He looked away. "I know."
"What are you going to do? If you don't stop remembering it, he'll have you again."
"I can handle it, Amanda."
"Can you?" she asked, her throat tight as she saw him dying again. Oh, dear Lord, please not that. She couldn't bear to lose him. The thought of going a single day without feeling his arms around her, hearing his voice...
His laughter.
It was unimaginable. The pain unbearable.
"I can control myself," he insisted.
But she knew the truth. She had experienced his execution firsthand. Worse, she knew he had never dealt with it. Not really. He had only pushed it out of his mind.
All of a sudden, she had an idea how to purge it from him.
At least she hoped it would work.
"I'll be right back."
Kyrian watched her leave, his emotions churning. Better than anyone, he knew his weaknesses. All Desiderius had to do was spread his arms out and he was lost to panic. Lost to memories so painful that he was powerless against them.
He ran his hands over his eyes. There had to be some way to push it all out of his mind. Some way to face the Daimon with a clear head.
The minutes ticked by as he considered possible solutions.
Kyrian became aware of someone watching him.
He rolled over in the bed to see Amanda in the doorway holding a tray and dressed in a long, flowing white satin robe. A warm smile on her face, she entered the room and set the tray on the dresser.
Kyrian frowned.
She approached the bed gracefully, then bent one knee. It peeked out from the slit in the robe. Bracing her leg against the bed, she rolled him over, onto his back. Still he stared at her stockinged leg and the hint of a garter belt underneath the robe.
Her smile grew wider as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a long silk scarf.
Kyrian's frown deepened as she wrapped it around his wrist. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to make it better."
"Make what better?"
"The past."
"Amanda," he growled as she pulled his arm toward the bedpost. As soon as he realized she intended to tie it there, he jerked away from her. "No!"
She grabbed his arm and held it between her breasts. "Yes."
Amanda watched the panic in his eyes. "No," he reiterated firmly.
Licking her lips, she lifted his hand to her lips. Opening her mouth, she gently suckled the pad of his forefinger. "Please, Kyrian? I promise you won't regret it."
Desire coiled through his stomach as he watched her. Her tongue flicked across his skin, down between his fingers. Then, she scraped the inside of his wrist and forearm with her fingernails, raising chills the length of his body.
She led his hand from her lips, to the parting of the robe, then inside to her bare breast. "Pretty please?"
His breathing ragged, he closed his hand over her. It was all he could do to remember what she was asking him.
She was asking for his complete trust. Something he hadn't been able to give to anyone in more than two thousand years.
Terrified of what had happened to him the last time he'd made that mistake, he met her gaze and felt his will crumble. Would she one day betray him?
Dare he take the chance?
This time when she guided his arm to the post, he ground his teeth, but didn't move as she secured it to the carved wood. Still, his heart pounded.
Amanda knew she had just won a small victory. Smiling, she tied the scarf loosely. "You can get loose at any time," she told him. "Just say the word and I will release you, but if you do, it will stop immediately."
"What will stop?"
"You'll see."
Amanda took his other arm and tied a scarf to that wrist. Kyrian watched her, his breathing sharp and unsteady. To her amazement, he said nothing as she tied him down. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
He pulled against the scarves, his muscles rippling and bunching. "I don't like this." He moved to free himself.
Climbing up on his body, Amanda caught his wrists in her hands and held him there. She dipped her head down and touched his lips with hers.
Kyrian tensed as he felt her tongue darting along the seam of his lips, begging for entrance. Opening his mouth, he welcomed her inside. He moaned at the way she stroked his tongue with hers, at the taste of her.
Her mouth was as close to heaven as a soulless man was likely to ever come. Her rose scent invaded his head, making him dizzy and hot. Breathless. Time stood still as her hands stroked his chest and he felt her breasts pressing against him.
It wasn't until he reached to hold her that he remembered she had him tied down.
Growling in frustration, he yanked at the silk.
At the sound of tearing fabric, Amanda pulled back from her scorching kiss. "Remember," she said huskily, "if you get free, you'll get nothing but a cold shower."
He stopped moving instantly.
To his chagrin, Amanda pulled back from him.
She ran her hands slowly down her robe, over her breasts, until she reached the belt. Taking her time, she unknotted the belt and parted the robe to show him her bare breasts.
His body burned as she let the robe flutter to the ground at her feet.
To his delight, she wasn't naked. She wore the dark blue garter belt he'd bought for her.
His mouth watered at the sight.
Slowly, seductively, she walked to the bed and climbed up his body again like a sensuous cat as her breasts trailed from his stomach to his chest. Kyrian hissed at the feel of her stretched out over him, of her breasts caressing him.
"How are we doing, General?"
He swallowed. "Fine."
Smiling, she traced the line of his jaw with her lips and tongue.
"I'm better when you do that," he whispered, his body on fire from her touch.
She pulled back with a laugh. "How about I make you blind with ecstasy, then?"
He strained against the ties. "It would appear I'm all yours, sweeting."
How she wished that were true. Amanda left the bed and moved to the tray. As she picked up the warm honey, she remembered the boiling oil the Romans had used on Kyrian.
Remembered the look on his face as they poured it over his skin, scalding him.
Her heart constricting, she moved back to where he lay at her mercy. She held the bottle over his chest and saw the shadow pass across his eyes as he too remembered.
Kyrian involuntarily cringed as the warm honey first touched his bare skin. But there was no scalding pain. No blisters forming or skin burning. It actually felt good.
Relaxing, he watched as Amanda drew small circles in the honey, smearing it around his nipples where she dragged her nails, sending chills over him, and then down to his stomach.