“Avalyn?” he breathed. “Is it really you? Or am I dreaming again?”
Seeing the tears in his eyes poked holes in Avalyn’s control and her eyes welled up. She’d had three weeks to plan what to say to the man and she thought she had a perfect speech prepared, but the look of astonishment on his face completely disrupted her statement.
“You are not dreaming,” she whispered, a lump in her throat. “It is me.”
As realization dawned, Brogan ripped his right arm free of William’s grasp and cupped Avalyn’s face, staring at the woman as tears popped from his eyes. Seeing that Brogan was weeping, Avalyn broke down completely. His touch against her skin, the big and warm hands, dissolved every last shred of composure. God, she had missed him. There was so very much to tell him.
“Why are you here?” Brogan demanded hoarsely. “Why have you come? Has something happened?”
Avalyn struggled to speak coherently. “I came to tell you that I am widowed,” she wept. “Brogan, there was so much I had planned to tell you in a manner that was calm and rational, but I cannot seem to do that at this moment. Forgive me. I came because… because I love you more than anything on this earth and I want to know… I do not blame you if you do not love me any longer considering everything that has happened, but I had hoped….”
His answer was to cut her off, brutally, as his mouth clamped down over hers. It was a kiss of such power and longing that the force behind it bled out of his very pores. It swamped her, enveloped her, and cloaked her with its potency. His arms wentaround her, holding her against him, listening to her soft sobs as he suckled her lips, tasting her tears along with his.
“I love you,” he whispered in between kisses. “I do not care why you are here, only that you are. For all time I will love you and only you.”
Avalyn’s weeping turned joyful, throwing her arms around the man’s neck and squeezing him tightly. Happy, joyful kisses rained down upon them both, from one to the other, each one of them demonstrating the thrill of the reunion. The bliss was beyond measure.
“Oh, Brogan,” Avalyn gasped. “I am so sorry for all you had to go through. I put you through so much… I can only plead for your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt you or mislead you.”
Brogan was suckling her lips furiously but he eased off, instead, taking a moment to gaze into her beautiful, flushed face. He didn’t think he’d ever see those delicious features again and, like a starving man, he was eating his fill.
“There is nothing to forgive,” he assured her, his voice quivering. “Love took us through a strange and difficult course and there is nothing to forgive, for anything. But tell me… you said you are widowed? What happened to Aubrey?”
Avalyn took a deep breath, struggling for calm. “He died on our wedding night,” she said softly. “I am Lady Aubrey and his estates belong to me, but I could not… I had to come, Brogan. I had to find you.”
He studied her carefully. “Why?”
“To find out… to discover if you would be willing to marry me and take me away from England,” she said. “We cannot stay here, Brogan. My uncle would never let us have a moment’s peace. I fear this is our last chance and we must take it if… if you are still willing.”
Brogan stared at her a moment before a smile broke out on his lips. It spread across his entire face and the tears threatenedto return. “Marry you?” he repeated. “I will marry you this day and we shall go wherever you wish. De Neville will never find us.”
Avalyn gazed at him as if hardly believing his answer. “Are you sure?” she pressed. “Oh, Brogan… are you certain?”
“Of course I am!”
Relieved, overwhelmed, Avalyn burst into soft sobs and Brogan wrapped her up in his big arms, rocking her gently. It was the best sensation in the world and his heart, so badly damaged, was miraculously healing, stronger than before. Every heartache, every trial and tribulation, faded from his mind as if it had never happened. The human heart was forgiving that way. He had Avalyn back and that was all that mattered. As he held her, he happened to catch a glimpse of William standing off to his right.
The man looked sorrowful and Brogan knew why. Brogan knew because he had, in fact, had the same expression when he thought Avalyn had been lost to him forever. As he held Avalyn, feeling her sobs of joy against him, he gaze locked with William’s.
“Thank you for bringing her to me,” he murmured. “You are a true and faithful knight. And I swear upon my life that I will take good care of her.”
William knew that; the reunion between Avalyn and Brogan was breaking his heart, wishing with all his soul that it had been him with his arms around her and not Brogan. But he knew it was not to be. He was resigned to it. Now, it was time for him to move on and make his own life, a life that no longer included the hope of Avalyn as his wife. Now, he was free, but he knew he was leaving her in very good hands. There was nothing more for him to do. After a moment, he smiled faintly.
“I know you will,” he muttered. “But you have no idea what you are getting in to, truly. She is very stubborn sometimes. You have my permission to spank her.”
Brogan grinned, nodding his head in understanding. “Did you ever spank her?”
“I never had the heart to.”
“What makes you think I will?”
William grinned as well, a moment of levity and relief. As he gazed at the pair, he knew their path wouldn’t be easy but as long as they had one another, he was sure that even though the rough times, their love would endure. He’d been wondering the entire trip to London if bringing Avalyn to Brogan had been the right thing to do and at this moment, he could see that it was. All of the struggle, all of the adversity and chaos the two had been through, this was the sweetest reward of all. It had been worth it. He couldn’t help but be happy for her.
With a nod of his head, an acknowledgment that his job was over, he excused himself and turned for his horse. He wasn’t needed here any longer. But Avalyn’s voice stopped him.
“William?” she called.
He paused to look at her. “My lady?”
