The Billionaire’s Desires Vol.12-13 (8 page)

“Mr Diamonds, I'm not able to give you that information. I'm sorry.”

“Talk, immediately! I want the truth!” My lover threatens in his broken voice.

The officer looks at his colleagues with a questioning look. Then he yields in front of the overwhelming authority of the billionaire.

“Our agents at the site have identified one fatality. The rest have a few light wounds, nothing critical.”

“Who? Tell me who died! What are you waiting for?” Gabriel shouts even louder.

The man in uniform grabs his walkie-talkie and asks the question in coded language. The metallic voice from far away responds immediately: “Eleanor Fitzgerald, deceased on-site before the emergency teams arrived.”

Shivers run down my spine. I still can't get up. My eyes remain riveted on Gabriel. He's doubled over, in pain or relieved, or perhaps both, his hands gripping his handsome face. A few yards away from me, I hear him murmur the same phrase over and over.

“Amande is alive. Amande is alive. Amande is alive.”

These words, full of emotion, finally give me the courage to get up and cross the distance that separates us. I place my hand on the trembling shoulder of my upset lover. He lifts his blue eyes towards me and they pierce through me. He's never looked so handsome. Gabriel falls to his knees, bringing me down to the ground with him. His arms are already around me, holding me prisoner, and he smothers his sobs in the hollow of my neck.

“I thought... I thought I lost you. I followed you, Amande, I chased you. You weren't at the airport, I looked for you everywhere. I thought you had gone back, that you were down there. That you were dead.”

“Gabriel, if you only knew. I never should have gone. I never should have left you.”

“But don't you understand? You just saved us! Without you, maybe we wouldn't be here.”

“Eleanor?”

“She won't come between us any longer. And she never would have been able to.”

At that instant, I realise the power of our love. It's invincible. In the middle of the screaming sirens, in the ambient chaos, I only see Gabriel. His eyes. His eyes that grabbed me the day I met him, that sent chills and flames through me, that have devastated and obsessed me. And that now promise me eternity. How many facets does my indomitable lover, my diamond in the rough have? I don't know, but I'm ready to find out.

Victoire has her mother's eyes. Her mother... Three months after the birth of this pretty, plump baby, I still have trouble believing that Marion Aubrac has become a mother. My best friend didn't pause for a second in her decision to keep the baby, even when Oliver told her he didn't want any part in it. Marion gave birth to a hazel-eyed little doll, deciding to raise this gift of life on her own. Why Victoire? Because she gave Marion hope and will after a tragic event, one that rattled us all, but especially her. It's been exactly a year today since her brother Tristan departed this world. He was lost in the explosion of the Diamonds villa.

Heal. Grieve and move forward, that was the purpose of today's strange pilgrimage. One year later, the entire group is reunited, coming from the four corners of the globe. Marion came down from Normandy, Céleste, Gabriel's sister, flew in from New York for a few days, and my sister Camille and Silas traveled over ten thousands miles for the occasion. All to pay homage to Tristan. Evil Eleanor, my lover's ex, tried to bury us all along with her, but she only managed to take one other life when she went down.

Tristan... surely the most innocent, the most just of us all...

"What you've done is wonderful, Amandine. Everyone is here, I can't believe it. Tristan would have been touched, you know," Marion says sadly, watching the sunset from the terrace. "My brother always loved you, but he was afraid it wouldn't be reciprocal. Today I realize that you loved him too, but in your own way..."

"I feel like he's still here," I murmur, leaning against her shoulder.

"You must be dying of thirst!" Silas cries, joining us outside. "A little rosé couldn't hurt..."

Camille and Céleste – the Baumann sister and the Diamonds sister, the blonde and the brunette, day and night – are just behind him, walking over in slow motion, as if calmed by the reunion.

Or not...

"Amandine, this is scandalous!" my sister whines, slapping my backside. "You told me there were six bedrooms in this house, but I just took the tour, and there are eight!"

"We just got them set up," I explain, laughing. "One of them, you know, is reserved for Oscar, your little guy!"

"That's better," she smiles. "Just because Silas got me out of your hair by dragging me all the way to Australia doesn't mean you can tell me lies..."

Listening to Camille's exaggeration, Céleste sighs lightly and says to her:

"You weren't complaining so much the day he put the ring on your finger..."

"I married a real nag and I congratulate myself every day!" Silas intervenes, taking his wife in his arms.

Silas: always a diplomat...

These past twelve months have been eventful: Marion had a child, Camille and Silas got married, Céleste and Barthélémy got divorced... I realize our little group has gone off on different paths.

"To friends, to love, and to trouble!" says my adorable co-worker Marcus, pushing into our circle with a bottle of champagne in hand.

"And to Tristan," I add, before taking a deliciously cold gulp.

I am finally home, in my element, surrounded by people I regard as family. Getting them all together in my "home sweet home" was not easy, but I finally pulled it off. In this private mansion in the middle of Paris's île de la Cité, I have come back to life. Bad memories are starting to evaporate, making way for new ones to be made. But none of this would have been possible without Gabriel Diamonds. My heart swells just thinking of him.

His eyes are filled with tenderness when I see him walk over, holding little Victoire in his arms. Next to him, his son Virgile – who looks more and more like him every day – is tickling Oscar, who laughs uncontrollably, almost out of breath. Paris – the sweet but hyper Labrador retriever jumps at them, frenetically wagging his tail. The spectacle makes me smile.

I had one man in my life, and now I have two. After accepting the unacceptable – the loss of his mother, as imperfect and deranged as she may have been – Virgile finally decided to give me a chance. Over these last twelve months, our cohabitation first became livable, then joyous. For a while, I thought I'd never see the day, but the teenager finally accepted me. This morning he even said: "I love you."

Don't cry, not now...

Two sky-blue eyes stare into mine, then the warm, soft lips of my lover press against my mouth. Gabriel and I took some time to heal. Eleanor's gruesome end and Tristan's death could have destroyed us, thrown us into chaos and darkness, but we chose the light. Little by little, we have pulled ourselves up, catching the other when we fall, making our love the most powerful and effective of remedies.

"You look like you're ready for a second one, Gabriel" Marion teases as she takes her daughter out of his arms.

"We're working on it," he smiles, shooting me a mischievous look.

"Thirty-seven years old, you guys!" Céleste laughs, talking to her brothers. "You need to start thinking about hatching some mini-Diamonds!"

"Two pairs of twins! At the same time!" Virgile exclaims, making everyone laugh.

Marcus seems a bit worried all of a sudden. I reassure him, explaining that we aren't planning on kids right away; he can count on me to be one hundred percent invested in our new project:
Body Agency
, the communications agency we just launched.

Body: mixture of Baumann and Diarra.

Ferdinand de Beauregard, my ex-boss, was not too happy about my leaving; he felt betrayed, judging by his initial reaction, but he eventually accepted the situation. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the dandy already found a new prey.

Good luck to her...

Night has fallen. Marion, Céleste and the kids go back into the house.

"Did you know that Miss Secret has a new girlfriend?" Silas whispers, making sure his sister is out of earshot. "A fashion designer who people are clamoring for all over Manhattan apparently..."

"Sil, she'll tell us about it when she's ready," Gabriel scolds him playfully.

"You have a short memory, Gabe. Let me remind you that she had no qualms about prying into our personal lives!"

"That was in the past," Camille interjects. "How about you focus on us, Mister Busybody. For example, when are we moving to France? In the South, it goes without saying..."

"What for? We're happy in Sydney!"

"I miss my family," my sister whines, pretending to pout.

I take her to the side and repeat the same speech for the third time today: Simon, our little brother, is off touring the world with his friends and won't be back for a year. As for our parents, they're planning to go to Sydney for a few months to spend time with her.

"What about you and me?" she says, tears in her eyes. "It's not the same as before..."

"Nothing is the same as before Camille, but life goes on. And life is pretty great, don't you think?"

"Yeah," she eventually agrees, cracking a smile. "Well, especially since Prudence decided to stop harassing me..."

Gabriel and I look at each other, confused. Then Silas explains:

"She was calling Camille every day, hoping to fix everything. She asked us constantly how you were doing, Gabriel. Apparently she finally got sick of trying..."

"Virgile talks to her often, but that's about it. I need time," my gorgeous blond mutters. "Oh, and did you know Dad met someone?"

"What? George has a girlfriend? Since when? And don't tell me she's our age," his twin says, worried.

"Her name is Judith, and no, she's not a bottle-blonde bimbo, but a divorcée who wants to get back on her feet, like him. Since he left Mom he looks ten years younger, it's impressive! And if you could hear him laugh... It's heartwarming."

Apparently Prudence was our kryptonite," Silas says, lost in thought.

"You think you're a superhero now?" I tease.

"Yeah, Super Loser!" his twin mocks him, ramming into him with his shoulder.

"My Super Loser!" Camille says, kissing him lovingly.

The hours pass, but time seems to be standing still. The smiles we share, the stories, the tears, and the kind, friendly gestures – sometimes awkward, but always sincere: we are on familiar ground, everyone both partly home and partly away. Happy to be together and sad that goodbyes are fast approaching.

Around midnight we clink our glasses for the last time and toast to Tristan's memory. Marion notices the diamond shining bright on my left ring finger.

"Amandine?" she cries out. "You... you're... engaged?!"

I look into Gabriel's eyes, the man of my dreams, and I can tell that his heart is racing. Just like mine.

"In a few months I'll officially be Mrs. Diamonds!" I announce, a blissful smile on my lips.

"I found the purest diamond of them all, and I plan to admire it and protect it as long as I live," Gabriel concludes, never taking his eyes of me.

Our loved ones cry out with joy all around us, but for just an instant, we are alone in the world. Gabriel Diamonds. He is mine. He is everything I dreamed of, everything I never dared hope for. I don't think all the facets of his personality will ever stop surprising me.

Luminous, dazzling, flamboyant, brilliant, glowing, sparkling, radiant, scintillating, ardent, striking, incandescent, blinding: he will never stop shining for me.

Six months later.

Covered in nothing but several rays of sunshine streaming through the large bay window of our bedroom, I lay on my side observing my lover. In two weeks, I will take his name. In two weeks, his body, his heart, his spirit, his soul, all of him will belong to me. And vice versa.

Gabriel is bare chested and wearing nothing but black, low-slung pajama bottoms. A beautiful thing to wake up to, my eyes exploring his skin and traveling down to the bottom of his abs forming a perfect V just north of his hips. Indecently sexy.

"Amande, if you carry on, I'm going to be late..." he says, smiling as he gets up to shrug on a white shirt.

I giggle softly without taking my eyes away from him. His arms stretch out to slip on the fine fabric, and for a nanosecond I get to admire the taut muscles rippling beneath the smooth skin of his biceps. I clench my thighs, excited by the vision of him, however fleeting. I'm floating in a kind of post-orgasmic bubble, my legs feel like jelly, my lips are on fire, but I don’t stop picturing him in full swing. You’d think, given the torrid love-making session finished barely moments ago, that I'd be more than satisfied by now.

Never completely satisfied. Gabriel Diamonds is a hard drug that I will always want coursing through my veins.

"I've run you a bath, little minx," he whispers into my ear five minutes later, leaning languorously towards me.

I lock my arms around his torso in a last-ditch attempt to get him to stay, but it's too late. My smiling lover is already at the other side of the room. Insolently handsome in his business suit only fit for a billionaire, he opens the double doors and is on the verge of walking through – before deciding otherwise. He turns back, gazes at me one final time with his azure blue eyes, and speaks in his deep and intoxicating voice:

"Such a shame to have an investors’ meeting on a Saturday. I had plenty of things I wanted to do to you, Amande. Things I can't mention out loud..."

He knows that was exactly what I was waiting for; he's merely toying with my nerves. And my libido. This shameless tease sees my cheeks turn red and my ears burn. His laugh is still echoing through the room as I reach down to the floor to grab one of my pumps from last night and throw it towards the door. Damn, missed. The sole of the red shoe strikes the door jamb instead of his pert, almost illegally sexy butt. Mr. Diamonds has left me high and dry (well perhaps not dry!), fully conscious that he will never be far from my thoughts for the rest of the day.