“I plan to return to England to live permanently.”
Easing away, Skye gazed up at Hawk in consternation. “But you cannot give up the Guardians. They mean too much to you.”
“I needn’t give them up completely. I can continue my work here in England. This is my home, where I want to be. I am ready to move on with my life … with you, my love.”
It was Skye’s turn to shudder. “Thank God you didn’t go through with wooing Sir Gawain’s niece.”
“I agree.”
“You should be thanking me as well. I saved you from making a terrible mistake.”
“I am willing to concede that you changed my fate much for the better. You made me believe in love again.”
Skye widened her eyes innocently. “Did I? How very inspired of me.”
He chuckled softly. “Indeed. I don’t want to live without your love.”
“You have my love, Hawk. Always and forever.”
She clasped his hand and drew it against her breast where her heart thrummed with love for him. This was the feeling she had always dreamed of: caring, yearning, needing until it hurt.
The hurt was physical as well. She wanted badly to consummate their love, to show Hawk how very much he meant to her. Her need to feel possessed was as fierce as her longing to possess him. When heat flared in his gaze, she knew he felt the same longing.
She was willing to wait, though, Skye decided as she raised her mouth for another long, tremendously satisfying kiss. Very soon she would be his bride, and nothing would ever part them again.
Kent, England; November 1816
Hawk’s impatience with delaying the marriage ceremony grew when Lord Cornelius proposed holding a double wedding at Tallis Court. But between preparing for both weddings, procuring another special license from London, repairing damages from the latest fire, advancing current renovations to Hawkhurst Castle, and planning for the voyage to Cyrene, the next week flew by.
Hawk felt content with his decision to make his home in England with Skye. Although the Isle of Cyrene was a Mediterranean paradise, and the island and its people had provided him a place of refuge, he had exiled himself long enough.
As for the Guardians of the Sword, he was still obliged to keep their secrets. However, once he and Skye were wed, he could reveal the legend of the order’s creation and show her the magnificent sword that had once belonged to England’s most valiant king.
Exactly one week later, Hawk and Skye traveled to Tallis Court, where most of her family, the second bridal party, and other guests would soon join them. There had been no word from Traherne, although Skye professed faith that her brother would arrive in time for the wedding ceremonies.
Skye was gladly welcomed home by the large staff at the Court, where she had been mistress since the death of her parents at the tender age of ten. Clearly her servants adored her and were excited for her marriage. But Hawk would have preferred them much less underfoot and effusive in their eagerness to please.
That night he dined with Skye and then spent the evening discussing final plans for the wedding. Hawk bided his time, watching her for the sheer joy of it, aware of the warm affection in his chest and the lightness in his heart. But once the household retired to bed, he came to her bedchamber. He had almost lost her, and he would not wait one minute more to claim her as his wife, even if the actual ceremony wouldn’t occur for two more days.
Seized by the need to hold her, which occurred with great regularity of late, Hawk wrapped his arms tightly about Skye.
“Privacy at last,” she murmured with a pleasurable sigh.
They undressed each other with barely restrained haste, craving the feel of skin to skin. When they were both nude, Hawk’s hands rose to caress her bare breasts, arousing her easily, while she stroked his chest and loins. Her bandages had come off recently, with no lasting effects or scars, so she was able to reciprocate in inflaming his passion.
After a time, he led her to the bed and followed her down. Aching hunger drove his fingers deeper into her pale tresses as he devoured her lush mouth. When he parted her thighs, she was wet and eager for him. His own body hard with need, Hawk sank inside her, groaning as her tight sheath clenched around his cock.
Soon her hips were rising and falling in a timeless rhythm, matching his urgency. A heartbeat later, when Skye shuddered and cried out in ecstasy, the fierce need of his body engulfed him. Hawk poured himself into her in a violent climax, a confirmation of love and life.
In the aftermath, he felt shaken as he lay there, absorbing the healing warmth of her body against his. He’d fully believed he would never again love, but thankfully he was wrong. His first love had been youthful and ideal, but this felt deeper, more intense. His love for Skye had
been forged in fire, quite literally.
He would forever be grateful to her. Skye had helped free him from his dark past and banished the great emptiness inside him. Because of her, he now had the fortitude to face the nuptial bed at Hawkhurst Castle that he had once shared with Elizabeth. Sorrow and loss would always be a part of him, of course, but the pain and grief were nearly gone because he had Skye.
He had no thought of sorrow when he shifted his head on the pillow to gaze down at her. In the flush following lovemaking, she looked more radiant than ever. The drowsy, contented smile curving her mouth warmed him, as did the life pulsing through her.
She was as life-giving and vital as sunlight, Hawk thought. Indeed, he felt as though the sun was shining on his face for the first time in many years.