Biting her lip expectantly, she longed to feel him inside her. To have his fullness stretch her body while they shared the most intimate of experiences.
She felt the tip of his shaft pressing against her core.
Just as she was sure he'd slide inside, the alarm clock went off.
Amanda came awake with a start.
Dazed, she glanced around the unfamiliar room and it took a full minute before she remembered she was asleep in the nursery at Grace's house.
It had all been a dream?
But it had seemed so real. She swore she could still feel Kyrian's hands on her body, his breath against her neck.
"Oh, it's so not fair," she groused as she got out of bed and turned off the alarm clock. It had just been getting really good.
How could it have been just a dream? Just a dream of mysterious stranger who hid pain behind sarcastic quips and of eyes so dark and deadly they captivated her?
Trying her best to forget the intensity of her subconscious, Amanda wrapped Grace's thick robe around her, then headed for the bathroom.
"Where did it come from?" Grace asked.
Amanda paused in the hallway as she heard Grace and Julian talking below.
"I assume Kyrian left it," Julian said.
Yawning, Amanda went downstairs and found the two of them in the living room surrounded by shopping bags and boxes. Julian was already dressed for work in a pair of khakis and a sweater. Grace wore a blue maternity nightgown while Niklos pulled and shredded paper from a sack beside her.
"What's all this?" Amanda asked.
Julian shrugged.
"You're right," Grace said as she found a note in one bag. "They're from Kyrian." She read the note and laughed. "All it says is, 'Thanks for the Band-Aid.' " She handed the note to Julian.
Julian let out an exaggerated breath as he read the note. "It was customary in our time to bring gifts whenever you visited a friend. But I mean, damn, we didn't leave this many." He ran a hand through his hair as he surveyed the mountain of gifts. "Kyrian was always generous, but... damn," he repeated. "I guess he came back last night and dropped them off while we were sleeping."
Amanda was amazed. It looked like Christmas... at the Rockefellers'. She watched as Grace pulled out dozens of toys for the twins. Dolls for Vanessa, building blocks for Niklos. A train and a toy horse.
Grace pulled a small box out of one bag. "This one's for you," she said, handing it to Julian.
Julian opened the box, then paled.
Grace looked over and gasped. "It's your general's ring."
They exchanged a stunned look.
"How did he get it?" Grace asked.
Amanda edged closer to take a look at the ring. Like Kyrian's, it had a sword of diamonds and emerald laurel leaves against a deep ruby background. "It looks like the one Kyrian wears. Except his has a crown on it."
Julian nodded. "His is marked with a royal seal while mine is strictly military."
Confused, Amanda looked up at him. "Royal?"
"Kyrian was a prince," he said simply. "Sole heir to the throne of Thrace."
Amanda's mouth dropped. "The Romans crucified an heir? I didn't think they could do that."
Julian's jaw ticced. "Technically, they couldn't, but Kyrian's father disowned him the day he married Theone."