The Black Diamond (40 page)

"Julian!" she shrieked, terror cutting through her in rampant streaks.

It was too late. Guillford was upon him.

In a flash Julian acted, rolling directly toward Guillford, slamming the full force of his weight against the viscount's legs.

Thrown into motion, Guillford was catapulted forward. Briefly he grazed the edge of the cliff, grabbing wildly at nothingness. Then he went over—plunging downward, his piercing scream echoing through the cliffs, gradually fading away as it was swallowed up by the rushing currents.

A heartbeat of silence.

Abruptly Julian bolted to his feet, stalking over to Aurora and dragging her into his arms. "Tell me you're all right," he commanded.

The pistol slid to the ground and Aurora nodded, gazing up at Julian as if to verify that he was indeed here, safe, as was she. "I'm fine," she managed shakily, reaching up to touch his face, to lay her palm against his jaw. "Especially now that you're holding me. Oh, Julian, I thought you were … that he had…" Two tears slid down her cheeks. "That I was about to lose you."

"You'll never lose me." A fierce light ignited her husband's eyes. "Not now—not ever." He gathered her close, pressed her head to his chest. "I love you," he proclaimed, his voice tight, his lips buried in her hair. "God, how I love you."

Chapter 15

«
^
»

T
hey spent all that day and night at a Falmouth inn—first replenishing their bodies with food, then bathing away the dirt and horrors of the past hours, and—finally, finally—climbing into the warm, soft bed.

"This is heaven," Aurora murmured, sinking into the mattress with a grateful sigh.

"No," Julian murmured, drawing her naked body against his. "
This
is heaven." He caressed the delicate line of her spine, his hands gliding down to cup her bottom, lifting her against his straining manhood. "I should let you sleep," he admitted, kissing her shoulders, her neck, her throat. "But I can't. I need you. God, I almost lost you." He threaded his fingers through her hair, tugged back her head, and buried his lips in hers.

"We can sleep later." Aurora twined her arms about Julian's neck, understanding and sharing his need to reaffirm their life, their love. "Much later."

He kissed her deeply, hungrily, possessing her mouth with bone-melting thoroughness and an equal amount of tenderness. "Are you sure you're all right?" he demanded between kisses. "That son of a bitch didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, he didn't hurt me." Aurora's palms slid to Julian's shoulders, eased him away so she could gaze directly into his eyes. "As for how I am, I'd be totally renewed if you'd repeat those three wonderful words you said to me on the cliff."

A spasm of emotion crossed Julian's face, passion temporarily supplanted by something deeper, more profound. "Gladly," he said, his voice husky with emotion. "I love you. You can't know how much. God help me, even I didn't fathom how much—until this morning." He swallowed, cradling her face between his palms. "I've been a bloody fool, telling myself I was the same man I was a month ago; that I could control how much I allowed you to permeate my existence, my heart—that I even wanted to try. The truth is, my entire life changed the minute you walked into Dawlish's that night—I changed. And I wouldn't undo that change for all the world's adventures combined."

Tears glistened on Aurora's lashes. "When did you realize you loved me?"

"Yesterday while you were sleeping in my arms in the sitting room. But I wanted to wait, to tell you when I could savor the words, savor you. Then, that bastard kidnapped you…" Julian broke off, a muscle working in his jaw. "You have no idea how terrified I was. If I hadn't found you in time…"

"But you did," she interjected softly. "Deep down, I knew you would. Although how you managed, given your wound…" Her fingertips traced the narrow bandage at his throat.

"My wound is fine," Julian assured her, capturing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "Just a bit raw. As I told you, it was only a flesh wound. It stopped bleeding minutes after you went to collect the towels. But nothing short of death would have stopped me from going after you. As for how I managed, I borrowed Rawley's mare and rode as far as St. Austell, where I changed horses."

"How could you have taken time for that and still kept on our trail?"

"I know the terrain of Cornwall,
soleil
." Julian kissed her wrist, his lips trailing up her forearm to the curve of her elbow. "Especially the woods and the inland hills, where one can travel by horse but not by carriage. I was actually ahead of you at one point. I also have quite a few contacts—one of whom has a stable in St. Austell. He gave me his swiftest mount and his assurance that Rawley's mare would be returned. When I realized where Guillford was dragging you, I rode on ahead, left my horse in Falmouth, and took a more direct route by foot, from Helston to the black cliffs. After that, it was only a matter of following you from the peaks above, and waiting."

"But…"

"Aurora," Julian interrupted, nuzzling the scented hollow at her throat. "We have a hundred things yet to discuss. And we will—later. But right now—" He raised his head, letting her see the naked urgency in his eyes. "—I've got to be inside you, to feel you all around me, to know you're here alive, safe in my arms. Can you understand that,
soleil?"

Wordlessly Aurora nodded, drawing Julian's mouth down to hers.

He'd made to love to her countless times before, but never like this.

Solemn, intense, he worshiped every inch of her, his hands shaking as he caressed her, touched her with a reverence that obliterated all the day's ugliness and transformed it to beauty, warming their souls and heightening their passion tenfold.

Aurora's eyes slid shut, her nerve endings throbbing with excitement, clamoring for more.

Julian gave it to her—with his hands, his words, his mouth.

By the time he entered her, Aurora was frantic, her body on fire, her breath coming in wild, broken pants. "Please," she whispered, tugging at his shoulders. "Julian, please…"

"No earthly force could stop me," he rasped, his knees pressing her thighs wide apart.

Cupping her face between his hands, he crowded into her, letting her feel every glorious sensation as their bodies melded into one. "Aurora—look at me," he commanded, waiting until she'd complied before beginning the deep, slow rhythm she craved, rolling his hips in a way that drove him deeper, higher inside her each time. "Now tell me you love me."

Aurora was already unraveling, her legs tightly hugging Julian's flanks. "Oh, Julian—I love you."

His entire body shuddered at her words, sweat breaking out on his forehead. But he battled back his climax, refusing to let this moment end, refusing to tear his gaze from hers. "And I love you," he declared hoarsely. "My heart is yours,
soleil
. Always." He pushed into her, sealing his vow with the exquisite utter possession of her body.

A harsh cry escaped Aurora's lips, the pleasure too acute to bear. "Oh, God … Julian." Her body clenched frantically around his.

"Yes." He could barely speak. "Just like that—yes." He drove into her again, then again, his urgency splintering his control into fragments of nothingness.

"Don't stop."

"I won't … I can't…"

"Julian…"

"Yes,
soleil
—" He thrust forward one last time and held himself there, jaw clenched against the vortex of sensation that was peaking inside him, pounding through them both.

"Julian!" Aurora screamed and shattered. Clinging to her husband, she dissolved into wrenching spasms of completion, feeling his answering tremor, the urgent swelling of his body inside hers.

With a feral shout Julian erupted, shuddering convulsively as he poured himself into her, the force of his release sending him surging forward again and again until he'd given her all of himself.

With a choked sound of awe, he collapsed, blanketing her with his weight, tremors of reaction still coursing through him. "My God—I want to give you the world," he managed, wonder lacing his tone.

As awed as he, Aurora caressed the bunched muscles of his shoulders, the damp planes of his back. "You already have," she whispered. "You've given me you. Oh, Julian, I knew you felt as I did. But I needed you to know it—and to say it."

"I know it to the depths of my soul. As for saying it…" Julian rose up but made no move to lift himself away, somehow needing to entwine the life-altering words around the magic they'd just made with their bodies. "I love you, Aurora Bencroft. I have from the moment you walked into Dawlish's. I will until the sun grows cold."

Aurora smiled through her tears. "I'll offer you a lifetime of passion, excitement and adventure—I promise."

"That I don't even question, much less doubt. In fact, I'm so certain your fire and spirit will pervade my life that I've made a decision. My days of solitary adventuring are over."

Her eyes widened. "Do you mean that?"

"I do." He rubbed one silky tress between his fingers. "You, my love, are all the excitement I can handle. From now on, all our ventures will be embarked upon together—beginning with that extensive wedding trip I promised you. We'll be sailing off as soon as this mystery is behind us. And rest assured, the voyage I've planned will astound even you."

Excitement shimmered through her. "Where are we going?"

"To fulfill your dreams. To the sites of every legend Mr. Scollard has ever told you—plus a few additional sites of my own. The world is at our feet, Rory, and I intend to show it to you. How would that be?"

"That would be paradise." Aurora's mind was already racing ahead to the wonder of discovery, the exhilaration of seeing, experiencing, traveling…

Coming home.

She blinked in astonishment at the ironic direction her thoughts had taken.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" Julian questioned.

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

A corner of his mouth lifted. "Try me."

"I was just thinking that our wedding trip sounds spectacular; a perfect beginning—and a perfect ending."

"Ending?" His brows drew together in puzzlement. "To what?"

"To a restlessness that is no more." Aurora drew a slow incredulous breath. "Oh, I'm sure I'll always embrace our journeys with open arms—as will you. But incomprehensible as this sounds, I'm looking forward to our homecoming almost as much as I am to our trip itself. Amazing, isn't it?" she said in wonder. "I've scarcely lived at Merlin Manor for one day, yet I've already begun to regard it as my home. Then again, that shouldn't surprise me. Your estate affected me as much—and as immediately—as you did, stealing my breath away and never quite restoring it. And your servants are the most endearing, albeit challenging group I've ever come upon. I can't wait to get to know them better. Most especially Emma, who's already reveling in her new job, and Gin, who's having a grand time
trying
to match wits with me—although I shudder to think how smug he must have been before I arrived." Aurora paused to inhale. "Also, the manor is but a shire away from Courtney and Slayde—and my new niece or nephew, who should be along very soon. Not to mention Mr. Scollard, whom I already miss and it's only been a few days." She broke off, eyeing the odd expression on Julian's face. "Am I upsetting you?"

"Upsetting me?" He shook his head. "No,
soleil
, you're making me incredibly happy. I saw the elation on your face yesterday as you explored Merlin Manor—strolling the beach, becoming acquainted with the servants—and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to transform my estate into the very home you just proclaimed it. At the time my reaction stunned me. But no longer. I realize now that ever since we met, I've been experiencing the perpetual and inexplicable need to do something I never fathomed doing, much less yearning to do: put down roots. Reconsidering Mr. Scollard's words in light of that fact, I begin to understand what he meant when he said you were a journey unto yourself, at the same time implying that my destination had yet to be reached." Julian caressed her face, his eyes alight with wonder. "He'll be proud to know that my journey is at an end—and the culmination is the greatest blessing I could ever imagine."

"The greatest blessing for us both," Aurora amended softly. She inclined her head, infused with a different type of joy. "You've pondered Mr. Scollard's words?"

"Thoroughly and repeatedly," Julian confirmed. "As I galloped toward the black cliffs, 'twas as if he were inside my head urging me on, reiterating the things he'd said two days past. I kept hearing his voice describing Barnes as having a wealth of resolution hovering at his feet, emphasizing the fact that Barnes possessed the ability to draw forth ghosts of the past that had to be silenced forever, else the future would remain out of reach. I believe Mr. Scollard was referring to our future, Rory, not merely that of the black diamond."

"And the ghosts we had to resolve—you think he meant Macall?"

"And Guillford."

"Yes, and Guillford." Aurora pursed her lips. "Sources expected and unknown—lurking in numbers, and in numbers were undone."

"So you heard Scollard's voice, too."