Redemption (11 page)

Lily and Ryan fell onto her black leather couch after their whirlwind travel through space.

“Whoa! Is it always like that?”

Ryan’s lips formed a curvaceous smile. “Yeah, but I’ve gotten used to it.”

“There’s so much I don’t know. So much I want to ask, but I’m not sure I want to go back there.” Lily cast her gaze into her lap at her entwined fingers.

Ryan tilted her chin to look into her eyes before cupping her cheek. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. One thing you need to understand is that whatever was done while we were forced apart has no bearing on what we are to each other. I promised to love you forever, and over a hundred years later, I am here telling you I love you more than I ever thought was possible. I don’t care that I’m an angel and you’re a vampire. For whatever time we have together, I just want to love you.”

Lily’s cheek was amazingly pink by the time Ryan removed his hand. She raised her hand to her warm cheek. “I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I’m sorry. Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?” Ryan brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear with slight confusion.

“When you put your hand on my cheek, I absorbed your heat. Sometimes it makes people woozy if I do it for too long.”

“You can take away other’s body heat?”

“Yeah, it’s my special ‘super power’, as Mr. Fleming calls it.” She let out a soft laugh before he took both of her hands in his.

“How does it work, exactly?”

“It’s pretty simple; if I touch someone I can absorb some of their body heat. When I concentrate, I can control how little or how much I absorb. It can be dangerous if I take too much. I’ve never killed a human, but have come close. I hope I never have to.”

Ryan took her in his arms, bringing her to rest against his chest. “I really don’t think you can hurt me, no matter how much heat you take.” He laid a soft kiss in her hair as she took his hand and began tracing small circles on it.

“So, you want to tell me what you’ve been up to for the last hundred years?”

He let out a soft laugh at her directness. “Well…” He took a deep breath in preparation of launching into his story. “I searched for you for well over a year with the authorities. After they’d given up, I searched on my own. After eight years, my mother sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms that I had to let you go. I never remarried or even thought of doing so. I did become a father though.”

Lily turned in Ryan’s arms to face him. “You what?”

“It’s not what you think.” He caressed her cheek before threading his fingers though the soft tendrils at her temple. “My sister, Beatrice, married about a year after we did, but her husband, Harold, was killed in the war about five years later. They had a little boy named Denning. My sister became ill suddenly and died when the boy was just nine. Just before she died, she asked me to care for the boy. You know how close Bea and I were, so I took him in and devoted what I could of my life to becoming a good father and role model.”

“I’m so happy you were able to be there for him. I thought of us with children so many times over the years. I wished that you could have been there when I took Becca in.”

“The little girl in the locket?”

Lily smiled thinking of her first mother’s day gift. “Yes, her mother, Anne, died of a brain tumor when Becca was only eight. We were all very close and even though I had no idea what I was doing, I took Becca in and raised her as best as I could. Funny thing is, she’s actually an FBI agent, if you can believe it.”

“She’s still alive then?”

“Oh, yes. She just turned thirty-one this past summer. I miss her like crazy, but I had to get away.”

“Yes.” Ryan cleared his throat before taking Lily’s hands in his own. “I read part of your journal. Ian seems like a very special man...”

Lily’s chest immediately began to ache at the thought of Ryan knowing the intimacy she’d shared with Ian. “He was very special, but he’s not you. Now that I have you back, I don’t think I can ever let you go.”

“Peter said he would try to keep everyone off my back for as long as he could, but I’ll have to go back to my job, I guess you’d call it, eventually.” He brought his lips down to hers for a soft kiss.

“How does it work? What do you do when you’re not helping souls cross over?” Lily looked into his eyes with great curiosity.

“I can usually do anything I want. I often spend a great bit of time watching after Denning’s six grandchildren. They are scattered around the globe so I get a chance to see quite a bit of the world. I love going to Rome though. I feel so much peace there with all the beauty and architecture.”

Lily’s eyes lit up at her memories of Rome. “Becca and I spent a lot of time there. I love the fountains at night; the water in the moonlight is breath-taking.”

“We can go – right now if you like. We could be checked into a hotel in an hour and walking the streets by tonight. We can finish the honeymoon we never had a chance to.” Ryan’s eyes pleaded with hers.

“I think I’d like that. If I remember correctly, there are a few things we still had yet to try. Though, I’m not sure Peter or the man upstairs would approve.” Lily smirked as a spark of recognition passed over Ryan’s face.

“You are still my wife and how we choose to spend our honeymoon is none of their concern.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Lily’s arms surrounded Ryan’s neck pulling his lips to hers, engaging in the first of many kisses to begin their honeymoon over a hundred years late.

“Dare il Benvenuto all’Hotel de Russie.” The female desk clerk greeted Ryan and Lily as they approached the front desk at the Hotel de Russie in Rome.

“Lei parla gli ingles?” Ryan asked, questioning if the woman spoke English in his perfect Italian accent.

“Yes, sir. How can we assist you this evening?”

Ryan smiled as he squeezed Lily’s fingers as they clasped around his own.

“We are checking in. The reservation is under Ryan Edwards.”

The clerk entered his name into her computer to bring up the reservation that suddenly appeared in the hotel’s database. “Yes, here we have it. We have you in the Picasso Suite.”

“Ryan,” Lily sighed. “It’s perfect.” She brought him down to meet her lips.

“I just need to see both of your identifications and credit card.” The clerk’s smile was directed at Ryan as he pulled the needed items from his jacket pocket.

Lily looked at him a little confused as he produced two perfect replicas of British passports and a Master Card with Ryan’s name embossed on it.

Ryan leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Just another one of the perks of working for the Big Guy.”

Lily attempted to control the feeling of giddiness welling up inside her as the clerk finished checking them in. Ryan stroked the back of her left hand, noticing that there was most certainly something missing.

“Georgio will show you to your suite. Do you need a cart for your luggage?” The clerk looked them both over noticing that Lily was only carrying a black leather satchel, no luggage was to be seen.

“Unfortunately, our luggage was lost in transit.” Lily explained sweetly while turning to look for Ryan to finish her thought.

“We will just be buying some new things in the meantime. What a way to celebrate our second honeymoon, my sweet?”

The clerk eyed them as Lily stood on her toes to place a soft kiss on Ryan’s lips. “Second honeymoon? How long have you been married, if I may ask?”

Both Ryan and Lily let out a soft laugh before Lily could answer. “I remember it as if it was yesterday, but it has actually been some time.”

“And now that we are here, we have some celebrating to do.” Ryan looked to the clerk for their suite card key.

“Yes, Mr. Edwards.” She handed over the card to Ryan. “Don’t hesitate to call for any of your needs. Have a wonderful stay.”

“We will,” Lily uttered, before dragging her husband to the elevator to their suite.

“Posso mostrarla alla sua suite.” Georgio stated, explaining that he could show them up to their suite.

“Nessun bisogno. Possiamo trovare la postra maniera.” Ryan replied, letting the young Georgio know they could find their own way.

Their suite was bathed in the glowing moonlight pouring in from the balcony doors. They wandered through the suite’s lounge hand in hand until they reached the bedroom.

“That’s a big bed.” Lily shuddered as she took in the magnitude of the moment. She could feel the heat radiating from Ryan’s skin warming her own.

“That it is. Nothing like that little paper thin mattress on the train.” His hand moved from within hers to the small of her back.

“Not even close.”

Ryan kissed Lily’s cheek before pulling back to show her his mischievous grin. Before she knew it, Ryan had run full force, jumping into the middle of the bed. He rolled from his stomach to his back, getting comfortable amongst the fluffy bedding.

The shock on Lily’s face was evident. She’d remembered how playful human Ryan was in their younger days, but wasn’t sure how much angel Ryan would let loose.

He patted the bed next to him while raising his eyebrows up and down. “It’s very comfortable, maybe even more than the one at the cottage. Care to join me?”

Lily dropped her satchel at the foot of the bed before crawling up next to Ryan on all fours. She lay on her side, her head finding the perfect spot in the crook of his neck. Ryan’s arms wrapped around Lily’s waist as her fingers walked their way up the buttons of his black dress shirt.

“I don’t know what Peter told you, but it took me quite a while to remember anything but my name from my human life.” She took the top button of his shirt and removed it from its hole.

“You know how vague Peter can be,” Ryan replied, as he began stroking lightly at the small of her back where a sliver of skin was exposed. “He really didn’t tell me much.”

“After the train, a vampire named Martin found me – saved me actually.” She helped another button release from his shirt. “I could feel myself dying. It was as if my body and soul were separating. Then it all went quiet, like I was floating in a wisp of serenity and peace. When I came to, Martin asked my name. I told him it was Lily. He began asking me all sorts of questions and my mind kept flipping through all these images of you, but I couldn’t remember who you were.” She let her fingers slip beneath his shirt to caress the downy hair on his chest. Her fingertip slowly made patterns across his heart which she felt beating rapidly. “You’d come to me in all my dreams, but you never told me your name.”