Susan Spencer Paul - [Enchanter 01] (31 page)

Picking her up in his arms, he carried her, blanket and all, to the huge bed, and laid her gently upon it. Bending, he kissed her and said, “I’m going to light the fire.”

Within moments a small blaze was burning in the hearth, dimly illuminating the room with its flickering light and spreading warmth into the chilled air. He closed the open window, shutting out the storm, and then moved back to the bed, sitting to remove first his boots, then to pull off his shirt and toss it aside.

Julia watched him in the glow of the firelight, her fingers clutching at the blanket and her breathing quickening.
She had never seen a man without a shirt on before. He was powerfully built, and his smooth skin glowed in the golden firelight, flowing tautly over his muscular frame. He also looked much bigger, suddenly, and when he sat beside her on the bed, Julia couldn’t stop the nervous squeak that came out of her.

“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured, leaning to kiss her lips. “I love you, Julia. I want to be one with you. And I want to give you pleasure.”

With careful movements he parted the blanket and pried her fingers free so that he could spread it out. She felt vulnerable, exposed, but then he slowly stretched out beside Julia and gathered her into his embrace. Tentatively she lifted a hand and laid it upon his shoulder, testing the strange new feeling of his bare flesh.

“You’re so soft,” she whispered, surprised, and heard him chuckle.

“Men aren’t supposed to be soft,” he said, “but I’m glad if it pleases you.”

Growing bolder, she stroked him, and felt him shiver with pleasure. Then his hands began to move, too. Tilting her face up, he brought his mouth down to hers once more. Julia moaned and pressed closer, caressing his shoulders and neck and back, delighting in the warmth and silkiness of his skin.

One of Niclas’s hands cupped the back of her head, his fingers rubbing lightly in her hair, and the other slid slowly down her back, then lower still. She felt the skirt of her nightgown rising inch by inch, seemingly endless in length, until she felt the warmth of his fingers on the skin beneath.

She moaned again and his mouth parted over her own,
his kiss demanding a response that Julia gladly gave.

His hands roamed over her body, caressing the swell of her breasts, her waist and hips.

Then he began to unbutton the top of her gown, making room for his hand to slip inside to cup and caress her breasts. He muttered when the Tarian got in the way, and impatiently pushed it aside.

Pleasure. Just as he’d said. That’s what it was, and she had never really known it before, or even dreamed of it.

But it wasn’t enough. Julia wanted—needed—something more from him, but didn’t know how to ask.

“Niclas,” she said, and he rose up and silenced her with a kiss. He was breathing harshly when he lifted his head and, gazing into her eyes, murmured, “Now we will be one.”

He knelt in the middle of the bed and pulled Julia up to kneel before him. The gown, unbuttoned, slid from her shoulders to her hips. The Tarian hung between her breasts, its shimmering light dueling with the golden fire glow. It tingled against her skin in a manner that she’d only felt once before, just after Niclas had placed it on her, as if it had come to life.

Lifting her hands, Niclas folded them around the Tarian, then placed both his hands, strong and warm, over hers. The necklace glowed so brightly that their flesh was illuminated, and tiny slivers of light escaped through the folds of their clasped fingers.

“Hold the necklace tightly,” he said. “Don’t let go, no matter what you feel happening. We’ll be safe, and together. Look at me, Julia, and keep looking at me.”

He smiled, and she smiled in turn. And then he began to speak.

“I, Niclas Oliver Robert Seymour, declare this woman as my
unoliaeth
. My heart is hers, my strength is hers, all that I possess is hers, forever. I bind myself to her alone, and proclaim my love for her alone, forever. I have said it before the guardians and with the witness of the Tarian, and thus it will be from this moment on. Forever.”

Before the final word was out of his mouth the room had begun to spin, or perhaps she and Niclas had begun to spin. The Tarian, beneath their joined hands, grew warm, and the sensation of tingling increased.

Once before the Tarian had pulled her out of her body, so that she wasn’t afraid when it happened again. Except this time she wasn’t pulled down, but lifted up. It was like being set free from invisible tethers and drifting away from Tylluan, from the earth, and into a weightless sphere composed of clouds and deep blue skies. She was floating, lifted to an entirely new realm that consisted of neither thought nor care, but only of feelings. And she wasn’t alone. She was with Niclas. With him, but more than that. Entwined with him. One with him.

Pleasure. Yes, beyond all knowing. She could hear his voice inside her and feel his touch deep within. A rhythm of sensation pulsed around and through them, and they moved to it in a beautiful dance. And the pleasure grew, and spread, and at last took Julia completely. She cried out, but Niclas held her safe, murmuring gently as they drifted back, slowly, into warmth and darkness.

She woke sometime later to find herself in his arms, wrapped together in the blanket, lying on the bed before the fire in his chamber at Tylluan. He was watching her solemnly and lightly stroking her cheek. Julia was so sated and replete that she couldn’t do more than smile.
She didn’t think she had ever been more comfortable or relaxed in all her life.

“Go to sleep,” he whispered. “I’ll wake you in time to get you safely back to your room unseen. Sleep.”

Happily, she did his bidding. Closing her eyes, she obediently slid into slumber.

L
ady Alice arrived the next morning before Loris had even finished helping Julia to pack her things. She had only come to visit her niece, and was delighted to find that she could take her back to Glen Aur. Neither Julia nor Niclas were quite as pleased, but could do nothing but agree that it was a happy coincidence that had brought her ladyship to Tylluan.

An hour later they had all converged at Tylluan’s mighty castle doors, outside of which Lady Alice’s carriage stood, to bid Julia good-bye. She was crushed by the men—especially Uncle Ffinian—and hugged by Loris. Steffan kissed her hand and then her cheek, claiming the privilege of special friendship as they had shared something of an adventure together. Kian, not to be outdone and insisting that, as he was the one who’d rescued her from the other world, his claim to friendship with Julia was far greater, kissed her on the hand and both cheeks.

Then, with rare tact, they stood back and gave Niclas a moment alone with her.

They had already said good-bye, when Niclas had awakened Julia at sunrise and taken her back to her chamber. There was very little they could say to each other now, but letting go of each other’s hands seemed to be impossible. All those surrounding them looked on with open interest.

Julia pulled away first, lifting her hands to the back of her neck. “You must give this back to Lord Graymar,” she said somewhat unsteadily, and with great care she removed the Tarian. Everyone present leaned forward to have a better look at the rare object, which all Seymours knew of but few had ever seen. “I’m sure I don’t require its protection any longer, and I should be quite nervous to continue to wear it when you’re not near.”

Niclas was uneasy. “I wish you would keep it. Just in case. Lord Graymar will come to Glen Aur to retrieve it soon, and to see how you fare.”

“It’s too valuable,” she said, and folded his fingers around the glowing stone. “If something should happen to it while it’s in my care, the loss to your family would be too great. And I’m safe now. Please take it, Niclas.”

Reluctantly, he pocketed the heavy necklace and turned his attention to Julia’s lovely, upturned face.

“Good-bye,” she murmured, very afraid that she was going to begin crying.

Niclas blinked at the sudden irritation of his own eyes, and nodded. “Don’t forget the promise you made.”

Her smile trembled slightly. “I won’t.”

He stood on the driveway long after they drove away, Abercraf at his side. The pain in his heart was dark, sharp, depthless. How did a person survive such loss?

“Have you packed all my things? Are we ready to depart?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, sir. I sent most of your things ahead with the coach, so there was very little to pack. Just enough changes to get us back to London, barring any delays.”

“God help us, we had enough of those on the journey here.” He gazed back at the road, where the dust from Lady Alice’s coach had now settled. “But, I confess, Abercraf, that this was the most enjoyable journey of my life.”

Ffinian wouldn’t let him leave until after they’d enjoyed a hearty afternoon meal, and then his relatives delayed him further by treating him to the same sort of send-off that they’d given Julia earlier in the day.

“Will you be staying at Tylluan long, Steffan?” he asked as they clasped hands.

“Only the night,
cfender
. My men and I depart for our own dwellings first thing in the morn. We must be well in place before the season ends and travelers begin to leave town. There are always plenty of good potential victims on the roads then.”

“I wish you’d stop robbing people. It’s going to get you hung one of these days.”

“Never,” Steffan said with a laugh. “Malachi would save me first.”

“Malachi needs to put a stop to your chosen vocation.”

Steffan shrugged lightly. “He says it keeps me out of trouble.”

“Keeps you out of—” Niclas gave up. “It sounds like his line of logic.”

They rode away well before sundown, their saddlebags heavy with the food Loris had insisted upon sending with them.

“Is there any hope that we might return to this part of Wales during the summer months, sir, rather than going
to Tawel Lle?” Abercraf asked as they guided their horses down the mountain with care. “I don’t mean to speak out of turn, of course, but I should like to see Miss Jane again, if it would be at all possible.”

“I’ll make certain that you see her before long, Abercraf,” Niclas vowed, making a silent note to see that all of his servants, especially Abercraf, were financially well settled before being released from his employ. “In truth, I believe I can promise that it will be well before summer arrives.”

“Are you quite settled in now, dear?”

Julia turned to see her aunt coming out to the terrace on which she stood. It was growing dark, and the cold night mist was beginning to fill the valley and cover the stars in the sky.

“Yes, Aunt,” she said. “Quite settled, thank you. I had forgotten how lovely Glen Aur is.” She looked out across the estate to where a wide river flowed. A mountain rose above it, and near the top she could see the lights of Castle Tylluan, seeming very far away in the gathering mist.

“I stood at one of the castle windows last night and looked down into the valley,” she said. “It was raining so hard, but I could see the lights of Glen Aur and thought of you here, and of the time I would spend in this beautiful place. Now I look up and see Castle Tylluan’s lights, and think of a day when I might visit there again.” She smiled at her aunt, who was gazing at her with understanding. “I never knew I was so fickle,” Julia murmured.

“Those who love Tylluan and its occupants can’t help but be drawn to it, my dear,” Lady Alice said gently. “I believe that may be part of its magic. But the rest of it is
simply the people. I always miss Ffinian terribly when he’s there and I’m here, and I often stand in just this same spot and gaze up to see where he is.”

“If you love him so very much,” Julia asked, “why will you not marry him? Surely you don’t mind about the money, and he truly loves you.”

“I know he does, dear. But I could never live at Tylluan, and he hasn’t yet come to accept that he must give it up. When that day comes, I’ll welcome him here at Glen Aur and we shall see what kind of relationship would suit him best. I don’t require marriage, you see. Only his company.”

“But could he leave Tylluan?” Julia asked. “He’s the baron, after all, and will be until he dies and Kian inherits.”

“Ffinian isn’t truly Baron Tylluan, though he calls himself by the title. Kian is, and has been since his mother passed away. Both the title and the estate are his.”

“But how can that be?”

Lady Alice made a waving motion with one hand. “Seymours do things in their own peculiar way, and that includes the matter of inheritance. Ffinian’s wife inherited the estate from her mother, and when she died it was passed down to her oldest child—Kian. Ffinian understood that he would never inherit when he married her. Such arrangements are often made when these unique families are involved. Kian has no interest in shouldering such responsibilities yet, and thus is content to let his father continue as he is. But the day will come when Ffinian must step down and let his son take his rightful place. And I shall be here, waiting, when he does. Though,” she said, as she moved to sit upon the nearest bench, “I do hope it will be soon, for I’m not getting any younger, and I should like to do a bit of traveling before many more
years pass. We should have such a lovely time traveling, Ffinian and I. Can you not imagine him charming women all over Europe?”

Julia smiled at the thought. “He’ll have them swooning. He is indeed the most charming man. All Seymours seem to be,” she said, her smile fading. “At least the ones I’ve met.”

“As are those that I’ve known,” said her aunt. “But I confess that your Niclas may be the most charming of all. He has such a thoughtful, gentlemanly manner, and is so very handsome. Were you able to settle the problems between you, my dear? He didn’t give me a definite answer when I asked him to visit us soon.”

Julia looked up at Tylluan again. “Yes,” she said. “Everything has been settled.”

“That’s fine, then.” Lady Alice pulled her shawl closer. “My, it’s growing cold, isn’t it? I believe we may have rain again tonight. Come, my love, and let’s go in beside the fire. Dinner will be served soon, and then I’m sure you’ll want to retire. You must be weary after the long day we’ve had.”