Page 26 of Secret Redemption

"Shhh, just let me hold you." He slipped his hands around her front, one hand just under her breasts the other over her stomach. The same stomach that had held and nurtured his son. Leaning in, Zack nuzzled her ear with his nose and dropped light teasing kisses on her neck just below her earlobe.

She had always been particularly sensitive there, and she shivered and leaned back into him, her back arching slightly. His cock started to harden as he felt her soft curves lean into his body. His hand came up and cupped her breast which seemed rounder and fuller than the last time he had touched her.

Zack let his hand roam over her breast as he nibbled tiny kisses down her neck. His other hand started to play over the waistband of her jeans when suddenly she wrenched herself away from him.

Ava turned, her green eyes blazing with anger. "What the fuck Zack?" she hissed. "I told you I don’t do re-runs."

He took a step forward, closing the distance she had put between them. "And I told you that I would have you screaming my name and I play to win Ava. I want you in my bed, and I want my ring on your finger, and it will happen."

She snorted and stalked around the table putting space between them.

"What's the matter Sweet Cheeks, don’t trust yourself near me?"

"As if. I don’t trust myself not to punch you," Ava answered with a sneer.

But Zack knew she was lying. Her mouth might be saying the words, but looking at her body, he could tell she was turned on. "If you say so Green Eyes," Zack replied grinning.

"Zack, can we just put this aside for a few hours and concentrate on these books?"

He regarded her with a tip of his head and then nodded. "Sure. What have you found so far?" Just like that, the game they were playing was put aside for the greater good.

She came back around the table and pointed to the three different books she had open. "This is a book that was released about eight years ago by a daughter of a Nazi Captain in the Third Reich. The book claims that when the Nazi's invaded Belgium during the Second World War, the relic of the Holy Blood that is housed in the ‘Basilica of the Holy Blood’ was taken and hidden. Now, here is where it gets interesting. The niece of the then Conon of the Basilica was sent to live in Hereford with distant relatives."

She moved to another book and pulled it forward, "This book is written by her grandson, and he claims that on his grandmother’s deathbed she told a story of how she had been tasked with smuggling the Phial of Holy Blood to the UK and how she had hidden it in the Cathedral in the Chained Library."

She turned to him, excitement on her face, "What if the book is what Zin and the others are after? What if it's the relic? They say—not that I believe it—but they say that the relic has magical properties and can give you everlasting life. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate gift for the Watchers? To be able to play god in this new world they want to create."

Zack looked at the book stunned by her revelation and way she had pieced it together so quickly, “Wow Ava, when did you figure this out?"

"When we were there last time I noticed that some of the lists on the side didn’t tally up with what was on the shelf. I remember noticing one of the books was called the Gospel of Judas, and it shouldn't have been there. So, I started looking into it, limiting the search to Thracian text seemed wrong to me, so I searched and found the reference to the Gospel of Judas here," she said, pointing to the second book she had shown him. "I need to see the book again and check, but my guess is, that will be what Zin wants."

She crossed her arms and smiled at him. Zack realised it was the first proper smile he had seen from her aimed at him since she had been back in his life. It slayed him. Pulling himself together so that he didn’t throw her across the desk and make her see how suited they were, he instead moved towards the door.

"Grab your jacket Green Eyes; we have an appointment at the Cathedral at two-thirty."

She grinned at him again and followed him out the door. He stopped and spoke to Daniel, getting an update on the new security they were having fitted and telling him where they were going. He also made sure he had his firearm and gave one to Ava. She had carried before, and he knew she was a good shot. With Frank Drake as her father, how could she be otherwise? She handled the weapon with familiarity and ease. They left through the front where Kanan was talking to Celeste but still looking slightly nervous of Samson.

Zack stopped and turned back to his oldest friend, "Hey K," he said, and Kanan turned, an eyebrow going up in response. "He likes fillet steak," he said with a laugh, and K flipped him the bird, making him laugh even more.

"Fuck you, Zack."

Zack walked out the door keeping Ava behind him, despite the fact that security around the perimeter was so tight nobody should get within a mile without them knowing. He led her to his car with a hand on her back, opening the car door for her.