Remembered (17 page)

“What have you done?” Annie exclaimed in feigned horror.
“You’ve murdered an innocent pan?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not dead, only deeply wounded,” Kellus
answered, winking playfully at her.

Cora noticed the exchange and narrowed her eyes.

“What am I going to do with you?” Annie questioned.

“You could hold me prisoner until you feel confident that
I’ve repaid my debt to society,” he answered.

“That could take a very long time,” Annie replied.

“The longer the better,” he answered.

Max held his tea cup a few inches from his mouth and looked
back and forth between them, suspiciously.

Cora looked on as though she would choke from curiosity.

“But seriously, Kellus, what were you trying to do?” Annie
asked.

“I was attempting to surprise you with breakfast in bed,” he
said, shrugging his shoulders.

“That’s really sweet, but do you not cook?” she asked.

“No, never,” he answered.

“Well then, have a seat, Mr. Kir, and let an expert handle
breakfast,” she suggested.

“What’s going on?” Cora demanded at the first opportunity to
talk to Annie alone. “Did you…I mean, I noticed that you weren’t in our room
this morning…did you and he—?”

“I slept with him,” Annie butted in.

“You did!” Cora gasped.

“Not in
that
way. I mean, I literally just slept with
him,” Annie explained.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Cora said. “You were a
wreck when he left last time.”

Annie’s joyful mood clouded over. “No, I don’t really, but I
can’t seem to stop myself.”

And for the next two days, neither could he.

They spent the entire time together. At night they lay
together, proclaiming their love for one another. Annie was too intoxicated,
too high on the feeling to consider what would happen when his assignment was
finished.

On Monday, they walked hand and hand along the beach.

Kellus put his leg out in front of her, causing her to trip,
but he caught her around the waist and lowered her onto the sand with a playful
grin. He leaned over, letting his hair tickle her face.  “May I ask you a
question, beautiful girl?”

“Anything,” she sighed.

“I’m on leave from the Citadom for two weeks starting next
Friday…”

“And?” she enquired.

“Well…do you think it would be possible to spend those two
weeks with you?” he asked.

“Here! The whole two weeks?” she blurted out.

“Maybe two weeks is too much for you,” he said, looking
crestfallen.

“Are you insane?” she asked. “How could you think that two
weeks is too much? Didn’t I tell you that I want you here forever? Two weeks is
not enough, but given our situation, I’ll take it with immense gratitude.”

He face glowed. “Thank you,” he said, leaning down to kiss
her.

Finally, it was time for him to return to the Citadom. He
pulled his bag over his shoulder after kissing Cora on the forehead, and
throwing one arm around Max’s shoulder in a loose hug.

“I’ll walk you outside,” Annie said, taking his hand and
leading him to the door.

“I’ll be thinking of you every moment that we’re apart,” he
said, placing his hand on her cheek.

She nodded. “I’ll miss you.”

Kellus lowered his head so that their eyes were level. “I
love you more than you know, beautiful girl.” He kissed her on the lips and
walked off down the hill.

It was the longest four days of Annie’s life.

Every day, she struggled for something to do to fill the
lonely hours without Kellus. She was becoming more aware of the dangerous
situation unfolding before her. If she could not content herself without him
for a few days, how would she survive when his leave was over?

As promised, he arrived first thing on Saturday morning.

She ran down the hill to meet him, not caring how overly
enthusiastic she appeared. She jumped up and wrapped her arms and legs around
him, burying her face in his neck.

“I was worried that you might have had a change of heart in
my absence,” he chuckled. “I see I worried in vain.”

“Never,” she vowed.

“Actually, part of me hoped that you would have a change of
heart,” he said quietly.

“Kellus, don’t start—”

“I know,” he said, kissing her on the lips to quiet her.
“I’ll be good, and I am forever grateful for the warm welcome.”

He carried her up the hill, through the front door, and
directly into the spare room, where Annie had kept the makeshift bed in place.
He managed to swing his bag off his shoulder without putting her down. He bent
over and kissed her for a long moment.

He knelt down on the bed and laid her down gently. “Have
you
had a change of heart?” she asked, raising her arms over her head to stretch.

“Don’t do that,” he scolded.

“Don’t do what?” she asked innocently.

“Don’t spread yourself out like that,” he replied.

“Why not?”

“Because it makes me want to do this.” He rested his full
weight on her and secured her arms above her head with both his hands, leaning
his face over hers.

Annie felt her body heat up instantly.

“It makes me want to do things to you that I know I shouldn’t,”
he said, bending down to kiss her quickly on the lips. He rolled off her and
stretched out on the other side of the bed.

“So you haven’t had a change of heart, I see,” she lamented.

“What would make you think I would?” he questioned.

“I don’t know, maybe the way you laid me down here,” she
said.

“I wanted to hold you for a while. I missed it so much all
week,” he answered.

Annie swallowed her frustration and smile warmly. “I missed
it too,” she said, snuggling up against him.

They spent the following days at each other’s side: walking
the beach, exploring the caves of the cliffs, hiking through the forest,
swimming in the lake, or just sitting in the back garden for hours with Max and
Cora.

At night, they played cards, but mostly they talked for
hours, holding each other in the dark. 

The time flew.

Towards the end of their last week together, Annie decided
that she needed to tend to her vegetables.

They knelt on the grass together, pulling weeds from the
garden. They worked alongside each other all morning, chatting and laughing
over every little thing. They discovered, with surprise, that they were born
only three days apart.

“You must obey your elders,” Annie teased. “I’m far older
and wiser than you; therefore, you must do my bidding.”

“I’d gladly do your bidding,” he replied, winking, “even if
you are an old lady.”

“Anything?” she asked, biting on her lip.

“Behave, Annie,” he scolded.

By early afternoon, the sun beat down mercilessly.

She sat on the ground and pulled her hair on top of her head
with both hands, trying to cool her neck.

The back of Kellus’s shirt was soaked with perspiration, and
tiny beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. He knelt up and started to
unbutton his shirt. She could not look away. He removed his shirt, rolled it
into a ball, and wiped it across his forehead. She gasped out loud at the sight
of his perfectly muscled body. Her hands trembled in her hair, her stomach
tightened.

Kellus turned towards her, his eyes meeting hers, eyes that
burned with the same desire she felt.

He was over her in one heartbeat.

His mouth pressed into hers with such force that it knocked
her backwards. Her hands grabbed at his strong upper arms, slid up the muscles
of his shoulders and back down again.

She was in heaven.

She vaguely remembered who she was or where she was, and
barely registered the sound of a horse and carriage approaching.

Kellus wrapped his hand around her right ankle, letting it
slide up her calf to her knee, taking the hem of her skirt with it. He rested his
palm on her knee and drew circles on her inner thigh with his fingers.

She moaned into his mouth and dug her fingers into the
muscles of his beautiful back.

He lifted his lips from hers, kissed her jaw and moaned her
name with so much desire that it penetrated through her bones.

Their breathing was loud, broken, and heavy.

She caressed his face and kissed him feverishly.

His hand continued to caress her thigh and behind her knee,
while his right hand, behind her neck, pulled her closer.

She heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

They both froze.

She had forgotten that Cora was in the house, or rather, she
had forgotten to care.

She sat up immediately, feeling embarrassed by their
compromising position—Kellus naked from the waist up and her skirt up over her
knees.

To make matters worse, it was not Cora standing by the back
door.

It was the apprentice Loc.

“Please, forgive me,” Loc stammered, looking severely
uncomfortable for walking in on such an intimate moment. “I didn’t mean to…” he
trailed off, registering who lay on the grass with Annie, “…Kellus?”

Kellus grabbed the hem of Annie’s skirt and pulled it back
to her ankles. He wiped his mouth slowly with the back of his right hand,
keeping his eyes fixed on Loc.

“I…the Master sent me to…to…” Loc stuttered. He stared back
and forth between Annie and Kellus as if he was unable to comprehend what he
saw.

Kellus jumped to his feet and walked towards the stunned
apprentice. “Loc, allow me to explain—”

Loc held up both hands, palms facing forward. “No, Kellus,
this is none of my business.”

“Loc, please listen,” Kellus begged, but Loc shook his head.

Cora suddenly appeared next to the apprentice. “What’s going
on?” she asked, aware of the tension.

“The Master sent me to check on you, Cora, to see how you
are recovering. I see you are well, so I’ll take my leave,” Loc replied,
looking disgusted.

“Loc, I love her,” Kellus said in a louder voice, hoping
that the apprentice would understand.

“Goodbye, Cora. Goodbye…” Loc quickly disappeared around the
corner, leaving the three of them staring at one another.

“Shit!” Kellus bellowed, putting his left hand on his
forehead. “Damn it. That idiot will go straight to the Master.”

Annie stood up and walked to him. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Will you be in trouble?”

“I don’t know…” he trailed off, staring down at her. He
shook his head quickly. “I doubt it. We were only kissing.”

Cora grimaced. “That’s an unusual way of weeding the garden,
I must say.”

Kellus glared at her until a smile slowly spread over his face.
“Yes, well, I like to do things with as much fanfare as possible.”

 “I’d hate to watch you mow the lawn,” Cora replied.

“Let’s go inside,” Annie butted in. “I think we’ve done
enough weeding for today.”

“I should think so,” Cora countered. “Any more weeding, and
Kellus might get arrested for indecent exposure.”

“Are you coming?” Annie asked her.

“I’ll see you in a little while. I was on my way to find Max
when I walked in on that little scene,” she answered.

Kellus flopped into one of the large chairs when they
reached the kitchen. Annie made him a cup of tea and handed it to him.

She sat on the opposite chair. “I really am sorry,” she said
again.

“Don’t be silly, Annie,” he retorted. “I’ll not have you
feeling bad about that. There were two of us in it, and only one that is under
oath.”

“Still…” she mumbled.

“It’s fine, beautiful girl,” he said firmly.  “I’ll go to
the Master, myself, when I return. Besides, with the way he feels about you,
he’ll probably award me with a medal.”

Annie put her cup on the floor and walked over to where
Kellus sat. She took the cup from his hand, set it down on the floor next to
hers, and climbed up onto his lap. “You forgot to put your shirt back on,” she
said quietly.

“So I did,” he replied, looking into her eyes.

She ran her hands down his chest and over his tight belly.

He threw his head back and let out a loud breath. “You have
no idea how good that feels,” he groaned.

“You have no idea how good
you
feel,” she answered.
She pushed her hands down further to his belt line, and let her fingers slide
under the waist of his linen trousers.

“Annie…” he warned.

“But you like it,” she said in a girlish voice.

“You can’t begin to imagine how much,” he moaned.

“Tell me,” she asked innocently.

He grabbed both her hands and crossed them over her chest.
“No,” he said firmly.

She winced.

“Annie, I’m sorry.”

She climbed off him and sat back in the opposite chair,
folding her arms over her chest, feeling embarrassed and rejected.

Kellus went to the spare room, returning moments later wearing
a clean shirt. He knelt on the floor in front of her and put his hand on her
face. “I’m sorry, beautiful girl, but I would hate myself if I turned you into
a mistress of the Citadom.”

“So you keep saying, but you never seem to care what I
want,” she huffed.

“Look at me,” he pleaded. When she met his eyes, he continued.
“Don’t be so eager to throw your virginity at me. I know you don’t believe this
now, but there may come a time when you regret it.”

“No, I won’t,” she argued. “It’s yours for the taking. It’s
you I love.”

“I know that, but I don’t think you can really comprehend
how much I love you,” he answered. “I can’t offer you a life you deserve, so I
have no right to such a gift.”

“So, I’ll just die with my virginity intact, then. Is that
what you’re saying?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying—”

“Well, what, then?” she demanded. “Is this the plan?”

Kellus sighed deeply. “I think that, in time, you’ll grow
tired of me.” He held up his hands when she tried to protest. “Let me finish,”
he said. “In time, Annie, this won’t be enough for you anymore. Eventually,
you’ll meet someone who can give you the life you deserve. At that time, you’ll
turf me out of your life, which is good, because I’m not man enough to walk
away from you again.”