Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“He took us both for fools, Elspeth,” Aaron grunted. “I, for one, shall not grieve for his loss.”

Elspeth nodded. The ordeal she had just been through would forever be linked to the dark days of suffering she had endured prior to Aaron riding to her rescue. She would always link that desperate time to the man she had once called her brother – the traitor who had turned on her through nothing more than greed.

Elspeth carefully placed her goblet onto the table at the side of the chaise and stood. Without saying a word, she crossed the distance between them until she stood before him.

“I want it made perfectly clear, here and now, that I don’t regret a single moment of what we shared,” she declared boldly. “After what I have been through, I know now not to ever take life for granted. Even if I don’t take foolish risks, it is the foolishness of others that might still cut my life short. I therefore intend to enjoy every single day I have been given and make the most of every available opportunity I have to be with you.” She waved a hand toward the man of her dreams. “Unless you have any objection, of course.”

“I can’t think of anything I want more,” Aaron assured her. He slid his goblet onto the mantle beside them and drew her gently into his arms. “Of course, it is going to mean you need to relocate.”

“I do? Why?” Elspeth challenged.

“My house is closer to London. I can get there in an hour if I am called in to work,” he murmured.

“But you said you hardly ever get home? What should I do with my time when you are away?” Elspeth asked. “Like Thomas, you will consider me an albatross if I do nothing more than sit at home and bake cakes.”

“Running a house takes a lot more than cake making, don’t you agree? Now, I know you are financially independent, but I was hoping you would be able to spare some of your life for me? I am independently wealthy as well, so money will never be an issue for us. As far as I am concerned, so long as you don’t get involved in anything dangerous, or get involved with any other man, you are at perfect liberty to choose what you want to do with your days,” Aaron murmured. “I do, however, have a few stipulations?”

“Stipulations?” Elspeth leaned back to look at him with a suspicious squint. “Such as?”

“Well, I insist that we have at least four children,” he murmured lovingly.

When Elspeth opened her mouth, Aaron placed a very thorough kiss upon it to try to stem her objections should she have voiced any, which she didn’t.

“Four?” she whispered. She pursed her lips while she pretended to contemplate that but couldn’t prevent a smile from breaking out on her face. “I think that should keep me busy for a while, if not out of trouble.”

“You plan to cause trouble, do you?” he mused wryly, with a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Children do, you know,” she replied with a confident nod. “Especially four of them.”

“I can cope,” Aaron assured her.

“I hope so,” she whispered. “Because I fully intend to turn your life upside down. I love you so much that I will do whatever it takes for us to be together. Just promise me you will come home whenever you can.”

“I promise that nothing will keep me away from you. If Sir Hugo is true to his word, changes are afoot within the Star Elite. If there is any good to have come to me from Thomas’s deceit, it is that it has at least forced Sir Hugo to allow the men more time off to be with their families. If he doesn’t, losing us all is going to render him out of a job anyway,” Aaron replied. “The planned changes will pave the way for me to be able to spend a lot more time at home. I will be there for you, I promise, Elspeth.”

“I know you will. You have been my veritable knight in shining armour. You have ridden into my life, saved me from destitution, looked after me, kept me safe, and given me the world. What more can a woman ask?”

“Marriage?” Aaron asked hopefully.

Elspeth looked at him and planted a very loving kiss on his lips that left him smiling.

When Aaron stood back and began to roll up his sleeves.

“What are you doing?” she laughed. She tried to tug him back up when he knelt on the floor, but he refused to budge.

“Man’s work,” he mused with a smirk.

Elspeth’s cheeks flooded with colour. She clasped his hands when he was before her, and looked down into the most wonderful adoration she could ever hope to see shining back up at her. Tears gathered on her lashes.

“I promise you here and now, Elspeth, that we shall have a good life together. I will be there whenever you need me. I shall never lie to you, or willingly put you in danger. The

re is nothing you cannot tell me, or share with me, that will ever change the way I feel about you. I adore you, and if I am honest, have done for years.” Aaron looked at her sheepishly. “I was just a bit of a coward about admitting it.”

Elspeth laughed. Deep inside, what remained of a dark cloud of doubt suddenly lifted. In its place was a brilliant new ray of sunshine which flooded her world with light and colour, and an abundance of joy. She knew then that she had left the dire days behind her and couldn’t wait to see what the future held for them both.

“You? A coward? You could never be a coward, Aaron. It isn’t in your blood.” She looked lovingly at him and felt confident enough to have no hesitation in letting him know just how much she adored him back. “You are the strongest, bravest, cleverest man I know. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t share with you; home, body, soul. My entire life is yours. I love you now more than ever. While I must confess I refused to acknowledge it at the time, I think I have known I have loved you all along. It is why no other man has ever attracted my interest, and why I was happy to stay at home and wait for you to come and visit. I will always be yours.”

“God, I love you,” Aaron breathed. She had just handed him the world, if only she knew it.