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Second Chances

A sequel to Hope For The Future
By Ladybug


Chapter 7

The next morning, Emma walked with Rick, Joseph and two Med-jai warriors to the outskirts of the village. The two warriors would escort Rick and Joseph to Cairo, then return to the village.

“Thank you, Rick!” Emma hugged him hard.

“No problem, sis,” he answered and placed a kiss on her forehead. “You take care of yourself and that big oaf back there.” Rick had already said goodbye to Ardeth earlier and he was now sleeping again.

Emma grinned, “I will,” she answered then turned to her son. “And you, young man, mind your Uncle Rick and Aunt Evy.”

“Aiwa ume,” he answered excitedly. Practically the entire Med-jai village was aware that Joseph was going to London with Rick. Everyone but Ardeth that was and Emma felt a twinge of guilt for having not told him.

“Ana Ahibuk ya ibney (I love you my son),” she whispered fiercely in his ear. “I will miss you!” Emma released him with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, ume, Uncle Rick will take good care of me,” Joseph smiled and placed his little boy hands on his mother’s cheeks. Emma’s heart swelled with love for her son.

“I will bring him back in a couple of months, Em,” Rick informed her. “Sooner if I can get away, but I doubt it.”

Emma nodded, “That is fine.”

“Are you sure about this, Emma?” Rick asked again indicating the fact that Ardeth did not know his son was going with him.

Emma nodded again, “Yes, he’ll understand,” she answered.

“I hope for your sake he does,”

Emma hugged Joseph again, then Rick picked him up and put him on a horse. Rick then swung up behind him and the two Med-jai warriors moved up on their own horses leading another horse packed with supplies for the trip and Joseph’s clothes.

“Be careful,” Emma called out as they rode away.

“Bye, ume!” Joseph’s voice carried back to her.

The next few weeks flew by quickly. Emma had received a telegram from Rick telling her that he and Joseph had arrived in London safely and that Alex and Joseph were having a grand reunion. Ardeth continued to heal and get stronger, but he still couldn’t get out of bed for any length of time. Abdul dropped by occasionally to give Ardeth updates of things happening with the tribe, but all was quiet, so there was not much to share. Mostly Emma and Ardeth were left alone and as each day passed, saw their relationship growing stronger. Somehow during this time, Emma had kept Joseph’s absence from Ardeth. He asked about Joseph several times, but Emma always managed to distract him, never really answering his questions. She would just tell him Joseph was fine and was off playing. Ardeth seemed to accept that for now, wanting to concentrate on his wife.

“What are you doing?” Emma nearly yelled. It had been a month since the battle with Hadid and Ardeth had been nearly fatally injured.

Ardeth glanced up at her, “I’m getting out of this damn bed,” he answered, as he stood naked next to the bed. His legs were still a bit wobbly from lack of use. Emma gazed appreciatively at his naked form before going over to help him.

“Well, you should have called me,”

“Why? I’m not a cripple, Emma,” Ardeth swayed a bit, then accepted Emma’s help under the guise of wanting to hold her.

Emma saw through it, but remained quiet about it. “How about a hot bath?” She asked him. “That should make you feel better,”

Ardeth leaned his head down to nuzzle her neck, “Will you be joining me?” He whispered teasingly in her ear, his arms tightening around her pulling her into his hard frame.

Emma giggled as his beard tickled her jaw. It had filled in completely, giving Ardeth a different, softer look. He didn’t look so sinister with the beard covering his cheeks as he had when it was shaved to his jaw. “If you promise to lie back down until I have the bath ready.”

Ardeth growled softly and nipped the skin just below her ear with his teeth. Emma jumped in surprise, nearly knocking them both back to the bed. Ardeth regained his balance and grinned down at her. “Hurry up then,” he commanded and released her.

Emma stepped away from him, her eyes locked with his dark intense gaze. She felt like her skin was on fire as her body reacted to him. Her eyes dropped down and widened when she saw his manhood jutting out proudly. Her eyes snapped back up to Ardeth’s to find him grinning at her. She felt her cheeks flush hotly and Ardeth laughed huskily, “Imshi!”

Emma nodded mutely and turned and hurried out of the room as Ardeth lowered himself back onto the bed to wait. It took some time to get the water heated and into the tub, but Emma finally returned to the bedroom to help Ardeth to the tub. Before allowing him to sink into the tub, she removed the bandage from his back and checked the stitches. The stab wound was already closed up and the stitches could come out in a few days. It had healed nicely, though he would have a nasty scar to remind him of the event. Leaning down, she placed a kiss on it getting a startled reaction from Ardeth. Emma smiled as he stepped into the tub and sank down with a long sigh. He continued to sink down until his head disappeared under the water, then a moment later, he rose up again, the water dripping from his hair and face.

Emma turned away from him to leave and he caught her hand stopping her, “You promised to join me,” he reminded her.

Emma turned back and smiled lovingly down at him. “I will, but I want you to relax first and let me wash your hair.”

“You can wash my hair from inside the tub,” he told her.

Emma laughed at his impatience. She really couldn’t blame him, they hadn’t had sex in ages and the little they had had before that had been only so-so since the miscarriage. She felt a thrill of anticipation race up her spine. She suddenly felt giddy, like she did when they first married. “Alright, al ahibuk,” she replied softly giving him a smoldering look, letting him know with her eyes and her voice how much she was looking forward to this, how much she wanted him. “Let me gather up the things I need and I’ll be right back.”

Ardeth’s body reacted immediately. His dark eyes narrowed, his face becoming almost thunderous looking. Anyone who didn’t know him would think that he was angry and ready to kill something, but Emma had learned that look. She had learned to differentiate the difference between when he was angry and when he wanted her and right now, he wanted her! “Yanhaar, imshi!”

Emma jumped startled at his gruff command and nodded. She hurried from the room and returned a few minutes later carrying soap and various other items she needed. She placed them on a small table next to the tub and hurried out again to get a bucket of hot water to rinse him off with when she was finished washing him. Ardeth leaned back in the large tub with his eyes closed enjoying the feel of the hot water. He could feel his tense muscles relaxing. Even though his eyes were closed, he was very aware of every move Emma made. He knew when she entered and when she left, the smell of wildflowers following in her wake. He felt a tightening in his groin at the thought of making love to her. It had been too long and after that last fiasco . . .

Well, Ardeth had been afraid that their marriage was over. He really didn’t have a death wish, but when he thought back on it, he knew that he turned his back on Hadid because he couldn’t stand the thought of his marriage being over and that on some subconscious level he knew that he would rather be dead then to live without Emma in his life. He realized now what a stupid thing he had done and he could only thank Allah that he had not died as a result of his foolishness.

Ardeth opened his eyes to find Emma standing next to the tub, her clothes removed. His nostrils flared out as he sat up and held his hand out to her to assist her in. She placed her hand in his and gave him an uncertain look, “Are you sure you are up to this?” She asked.

“Get in here,” he commanded as his eyes roamed over her breasts, down across her flat stomach to the dark patch of hair that hid the part of her that he wanted to bury himself in. Emma nodded and stepped into the tub, sinking into the hot water.

She straddled his legs facing him as he tried to tug her closer. Emma shook her head, “I want to wash you first, especially your hair.”

“And I want to be inside you, now come here,” he tugged harder making her scoot closer until she was straddling his hips, his arousal brushing the inside of her thigh.

Emma sucked in her breath when she felt the rush of warmth between her legs. Ardeth brought his hands up out of the water to cover her breasts and squeeze as she leaned forward to meet his lips with hers in a mind-drugging kiss. Her hands came up immediately to tangle in his wet hair as their lips parted and their tongues wrapped around each other. Ardeth groaned as Emma began to rock her hips against him. His thumbs brushed almost roughly across her hardened nipples causing her to moan loudly and arch her back. He broke the kiss and left a wet trail down her throat to wrap his tongue around one of her sensitive nipples. He played with it, teased it, then drew it deep, sucking so hard that it was almost painful. Emma felt the pull of it all the way down in her womb and she threw her head back and cried out as the pleasure of it washed over her. Ardeth moved to the other nipple and repeated the procedure, lavishing attention on the hardened peak until Emma thought she would shatter in his arms.

“Allah,” Ardeth rasped as his lips moved up her throat again. His lips nibbled, his teeth nipped, his tongue licked its way across her skin leaving her body tingling and aching. “I need you, kalila!” His mouth found hers again, his tongue sweeping through frantically as if he couldn’t get enough of her. “Imshi, al ahibuk. Allah help me, I can not wait,”

Emma understood his need, for she felt the same way. She thought she would explode if he was not inside her. She reached between them and wrapped her fingers around his hard length. Ardeth gasped and then groaned as she rose up over him, guiding him to her wet entrance. She released him and began to sink down on him slowly. Her hands moved across his chest tracing over the tattooed hieroglyphs that ran across from one side to the other. Ardeth caught her by the waist, his large hands squeezing gently as he braced her for his upward thrust. Her tight sheath swallowed him completely, surrounding him like a second skin. He felt as if he’d been cocooned within her warmth as he buried himself completely within her.

They began to move quickly, the friction of their movements building their climaxes quickly. It had been too long for them both and the excitement and anticipation had quickly escalated their need for each other and sent them both spinning out of control. Water splashed over the edge of the tub as Emma rocked hard against him. Ardeth’s tight grip on her hips prevented her from doing otherwise as their rhythm caught on and they moved together quickly.

“Oh god!” Emma cried out as she felt the beginning of her release begin to unfurl within her. She felt the muscles surrounding his sex clench. She heard Ardeth growl as he thrust up hard. She could only cling to him now as her climax over took her and her body shattered into a bundle of pulsing nerves. She heard Ardeth curse softly as his own release overtook him.

“Emma,” he groaned her name and gripped her hips tightly as he pumped his seed deep inside her. Moments later she collapsed against him, both of them sinking back down into the warm water. His hands moved around her back drawing her closer as she laid her head against his shoulder trying to get her breathing back under control.

“So,” she said softly, “can I wash your hair now?”

Ardeth’s bark of laughter echoed throughout the room and made her smile. He kissed her tenderly, his hands stroking her back, “After that, al shoya lilith, you can wash whatever you wish,” he answered with a grin.

Emma laughed softly and playfully swatted his chest. She straightened up and then frowned when she saw him wince slightly. “Ardeth?”

“I’m fine, kalila,” he answered knowing she was concerned about his wound.

“You are in pain,” she complained, “We shouldn’t have . . .”

Ardeth put a finger to her mouth cutting off her protests. “Stop, Emma!” He told her firmly. “I am fine. In fact, I am better than fine.” He kissed her then. It was a long, drugging, exploratory kiss that left her senseless and panting when he was done. “Ah, Emma, how I have missed you.”

Emma blinked back the tears that burned the back of her eyes, “I hope you can forgive me, habibi for the suffering I have put you through these past couple of years.”

Ardeth framed her face with his hands, his thumbs brushing against the fullness of her bottom lip. “Only if you will forgive me for not supporting you as I should have,” Ardeth paused a moment, then continued, “Emma, when I found you that day,” he paused again, struggling with the emotions that raced through him. “I thought I had lost you,” he finally said. Emma remained quiet, knowing that he needed to get this out. “The baby, our daughter,” he amended, “I,” Ardeth bit back a curse as he struggled to get control of his feelings. “The only thing I could do was bury her,” he stated finally. “My main concern was for you and getting you home.” Their eyes met, tears streaming down Emma’s cheeks, the pain of the memory filling Ardeth’s intense gaze. “I am sorry for the loss of our daughter, Emma. I never blamed you for it; it was Allah’s will that she be taken from us. We can always try for another baby, but I can not replace you.”

“Thank you,” Emma whispered as she leaned forward and kissed him. She felt as if a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “That’s all I ever wanted, Ardeth, was for you to open up to me and tell me what you felt. I felt so alone, I felt like I grieved alone.”

“Aaahh, Emma,” Ardeth groaned and held her tight against him. “I’m so sorry.” Emma lay against him in the warmth of the water and his arms for a while. She felt so connected to him, closer to him than she had in a long time.

Finally she stirred and pushed back to sit up. “We need to get you cleaned up before the water gets too cold.”

Ardeth grinned then sucked in his breath when she lifted off him. They both felt the immediate loss of the separation and Ardeth tried to grab for her again. Emma laughed and batted his hands away. “Ardeth, let me wash you for goodness sakes,” she exclaimed while trying to fight off his roving hands.

“All right, all right,” he grinned playfully, “hurry up about it.”

It took sometime washing the sweat and dirt out of his long thick hair. In the month that he’d been bed ridden, Emma had given him regular sponge baths, but his hair had been ignored pretty much until now. After getting him out of the tub and back into bed, she worked on the tangles for a good hour before it combed out smoothly. Ardeth had sat patiently enjoying the attention as she worked through the thick mass of hair. When wet and combed out straight, his hair was almost as long as hers, but as it began to dry and it’s natural curliness drew it up, it reached only to the top of his shoulder blades. Relaxing back against the pillows, he smiled at her as she climbed off the bed.

“What?” She asked him curiously.

“I love you, Emma,” he declared, his love showing in his expressive eyes.

Emma sighed happily, “I love you too, Ardeth,” she answered and truly felt it for the first time in a while. “Now rest and I will get you something to eat.”

“Aiwa, al habeeba (yes, ladylove),” he answered and watched as she left the room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter 8

London

“Would you boy’s like to go hang out at the museum with me today?” Evelyn O’Connell asked her son and nephew. Joseph had been with them now for six weeks and was having a blast with his cousin, Alex. But she was beginning to see that he was missing his parents and wondered if Rick would agree to take him home soon.

“Sure, mum,” Alex answered with a bright smile. Joseph smiled happily and nodded his head enthusiastically.

“Alright them, let’s gather our things and go,” Evelyn answered with a tone that made the boys jump up from the pile of toys they were playing with and run for their bedroom. Evelyn smiled when she heard them squealing with delight as Rick met them in the hall and roared playfully at them. She heard their shoes thumping up the stairs and then Rick appeared in the study.

“Good morning, my beautiful wife,” Rick greeted her with a kiss.

“I think you should think about taking Joseph home soon, Rick,” Evelyn began, “I’ve noticed lately that he is sad and missing his parents.”

Rick’s shoulders slumped, “Evelyn,” he said taking her by the shoulders, “love of my life, just for once in our marriage, couldn’t you just say, “Good morning, Rick,” when I greet you, rather than barking off commands?”

Evelyn grinned, “Now where would the fun be in that?” She teased.

Rick pulled her hard against him, receiving a satisfying gasp from her, “Oh I’m sure I can show you all kinds of fun in that,” he replied. “I was an adventurer once, remember?”

“Hmmm,” Evelyn nodded as Rick kissed her again, this time slowly, sensually. Hearing giggling behind them, Rick groaned softly and released Evelyn.

Turning quickly, Rick playfully stalks the boys causing them to shriek in laughter and both attacked Rick. They fell on the ground rolling around, wrestling. Evelyn shook her head with a smile as she watched Joseph play happily. Such a sweet boy, Joseph was. So willing to please. When he had first come to stay with them six weeks ago, he had been shy and reserved, it had taken some time for Evelyn and Rick to convince him that it was all right for him to run and play with Alex. She knew that the life of the Med-jai was rough, but still her heart went out to Joseph. There was no time for him to be a boy in the Sahara. He was born with a purpose, with a duty that was already set in stone and nothing could change that. He would one day follow in his own father’s footsteps and lead the Med-jai people.

“All right children,” Evelyn raised her voice above the clatter and clapped her hands together, “I will be late to the museum if we do not get going.”

Rick looked up from his position on the floor, “You taking the boys with you today?”

“Yes,”

“Okay,” he answered standing up. The boys stood up with him with big smiles on their faces. “I’ve got some errands to run, so that works out great, just be careful.” There hadn’t been anymore break ins at the museum since Rick had taken the broken half of the amulet to Ardeth. In fact, nothing had been happening at all. It was almost as if nothing had ever happened and that made Rick nervous. It was like the proverbial “calm before the storm” and he had no clue what that “storm” might be or from which direction it would come.

Evelyn had heard enough of Rick’s “be careful’s” to last her a lifetime. “It is broad daylight, Richard and the museum will be filled with people. What could possibly happen?” Rick raised an eyebrow at Evelyn’s little tirade and she sighed, “Oh all right, we will be careful.”

“Thank you, Evelyn,” Rick answered in that tone that he reserved for her when she felt she was doing him a big favor by complying.

Evelyn frowned at him and moved to usher the boys to the front door. The museum was just a few blocks over and they would walk the short distance since it was such a beautiful morning.

“You boys behave yourselves, ya hear me?”

“Yes, dad,” “Yes, Uncle Rick,” the boys chimed together.

Evelyn turned to receive Rick’s kiss, “Don’t forget what I said about taking Joseph home,” she reminded him.

“I can hardly forget, my heart, when I have you to constantly remind me,” Rick answered kissed her soundly before she could protest. “I will come by to check on the boys this afternoon and bring them home if they have grown bored.”

Evelyn nodded, “All right then, lets go.”

Rick watched as his wife, son and nephew walked away. His thoughts drifted to Emma and Ardeth and wondered how things were working out for them. He had received a brief telegram from Emma a few weeks ago saying that Ardeth was healing and getting stronger. Well, he would check the shipping office while he was out today to find out when the next ship sailed to Cairo and purchase tickets for himself and Joseph. Evelyn was right, as much fun as he was having here, Joseph was missing him mom and dad and the desert. He truly was his father’s son. He sighed as he turned to go back into the house, just missing two suspicious characters slipping out from between two buildings and following Evelyn and the boys to the museum.

Later that afternoon, the boys were playing hide and seek when disaster struck. Evelyn hadn’t heard anything from them in quite a while and decided to go looking for them. They had been told to check in with her every few hours so that she would know they were alright and she hadn’t heard from them since just after lunch and it was almost 3 o’clock now. Rick would be coming to get them soon, she thought and she didn’t want to have to hunt them down then. She headed to the basement thinking that that was the last place she had seen them and her heart stopped when she heard a boy cry out. Picking up her skirts so she wouldn’t trip over them, she ran down the steps leading down to the basement and entered the large storage room where they kept many of the extra sarcophagi. As she entered the room, she saw two nasty looking men struggling with the boys. Both men were large and Egyptians. They had short black hair and beards, both dressed in white pants, white shirts and red vests. The only thing that Evelyn could see that was different about each man was one had an ugly looking scar that ran across one cheek and the other man had a large red birthmark that covered most of one side of his neck.

“Release them at once,” Evelyn cried out as she rushed towards them, “or I will call the authorities!” The man holding Alex, the one with the scar, brought his hand up and backhanded Evelyn just as she reached him, sending her sprawling to the floor in a heap.

“Mummy!” Alex cried out and tried to kick his captor in the shin.

“Be still, you little bugger,” the man growled, “or I will give you some of what your mother just got.”

Evelyn felt as if her head had just exploded. She slowly sat up and turned to look at the men holding Alex and Joseph. “Give them back,” she cried out, fear gripping her heart.

“You tell that husband of yours to meet us in Cairo. We want that amulet he took to that Med-jai dog. We get the amulet half, you get the brats back,” the stranger holding Alex told her. The man turned to his companion and tossed his head indicating to him that they were leaving.

“No!” Evelyn scrambled to her feet. “Alex! Joseph!” She ran after the two men who had disappeared through a back door that went out into an alley. When she reached it, she burst outside into the alley, but the men had already disappeared along with her son and her nephew. Evelyn put her hand to her mouth to stop a sob from escaping. She could not lose it now she needed to find Rick. Turning to go back into the museum, she nearly screamed when Rick appeared in the doorway.

Rick took one look at the bruise forming on his wife’s face and knew instantly something terrible had just happened, “Evy?” He took a step forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, his hand came up and he gently touched her bruised cheek, “Evy, what’s wrong, what’s happened?” He looked around quickly, “Where are the boys?”

“Th-they’ve been k-kidnapped,” Evelyn stammered trying to get control of her emotions. “Oh god, Rick, they took my baby!”

Rick froze, his eyes snapping back to Evelyn. “What?”

Evelyn took several deep breaths trying to get pull herself together. “Two men, they took Alex and Joseph,” Evelyn began, taking another deep breath. “One of them said to tell you to meet them in Cairo. They want the amulet half you gave to Ardeth. He said they would exchange the boy’s for the amulet.”

“Oh god,” Rick breathed as he thought about his son and how scared he must be. “Go home, Evelyn,” he said suddenly, pushing her towards the museum.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go see if I can get our son and nephew back before they leave the city,” Rick informed her.

“Rick, there are a thousand different places they could be in right now,”

“Yes, I know, but I would rather be out hunting those thousand different places then standing in front of Ardeth when he learns his son has been kidnapped,” Rick replied gravely.

“Oh yes, I see your point,” Evelyn nodded, “Go then, hurry and be careful.” She gave Rick a quick description of the two men.

Rick smiled encouragingly, “I’ll find them, Evy and I’ll bring them home safely.”

It was well after midnight when Rick entered his house without the boys. Evelyn met him in the entry way anxiously. He shook his head at her silent inquiry. “I turned this town upside down, checked every seedy place and tried to bribe every informant imaginable and found absolutely zip.”

“Did you check the boat docks?”

“The boat docks, the air strip, the train station, everywhere, Evelyn. It’s like they dropped off the face of the earth. No one has seen anything or heard anything.”

“Oh my god, Rick, they have Alex!”

“I know, Evy,” Rick took her into his arms and held her, trying to comfort his wife and himself. “It will be alright, Alex is a smart kid and so is Joseph.”

“So what do we do now?” Evelyn asked, her face buried in Rick’s chest.

“We go to Cairo and pray that Ardeth does not decide to just kill me before we get the boys back,” Rick answered glumly. “I booked us passage on the next flight out of here. It won’t be real comfortable, but it will get us there quicker.”

Evelyn nodded and stepped away from Rick to head up the stairs. “Evelyn?” She turned back to him; her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “We will get the boys back. Alex will be fine.”

Evelyn smiled despite her worry, “Of course he is, he is his fathers son,” she said and continued up the stairs to pack for their trip.

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Second Chances - Chapters 9-10