Forever My Love (Berkeley-Faulkner #2)(47)

“Shhhh. Hold still for a moment… Mira, my beautiful one…” His fingers moved to where their bodies were joined and he touched her intimately, massaging and stroking. “Now you’re mine,” he said. and eased into her, pulled away, pressed deeply into her again. Slowly her fists opened, her fingertips spread wide over his shoulders. Her sobs lessened, then grad-ually became helpless” moans. Her legs opened, knees flexed. “Relax,” Alec breathed, lingering inside her with each thrust. “Move with me… oh, that’s damned good…”

The rhythm was elemental, a pulse as basic as the beating of their hearts. Through the slight pain of his possession, Mira felt a strange, paralyzing ecstasy creep over her, until finally she arched up against him, still and transfixed with bliss. Alec drove into her with quiet gasp, his large body shuddering as he too surrendered to the wrenching pleasure of their union.

They subsided in each other’s arms, filled with lassi-tude. A cool breeze fluttered the curtains at the win-dow and drifted into the room. The night air was misty and sweet; Mira breathed deeply of it as she pressed close to the man at her side. He gathered her closer nuzzling the top of her head as her long hair streamed over his chest in a satin curtain. “Now you’re mine.” he repeated sleepily, and only when he had relaxed into slumber did she allow the tears to fall from her eyes

Chapter Six

Mira relaxed in the small, deep tub, her head resting back against the rim. Absently she traced the mint-colored shell pattern that adorned the porcelain, her eyes slitting as she stared at the wafting curls of steam that rose from the water. Her bath was scented with a light floral oil that soaked into her skin, soothing every inch of her body. She welcomed the calming effect that the heated water had on her nerves. After waking up this morning to find Alec gone, she had scarcely known what to think or how to feel.

Her body was vaguely sore this morning, her mind filled with the memories of last night. She had come alive at Alec’s touch, and now she was aware of sensations she had never known before. How fortunate she had been to have had one glorious night with the man she loved, to have known his tenderness, his passion, it was more than some women would ever have, and she would not dare to ask for more. Sighing, she sank deeper into the bath, wanting to wriggle with the uneasy pleasure of it all. All the details of what they had shared were still vivid in her mind… she would never forget a bit of it. She had awakened several times in the darkness to find herself gathered against Alec’s large warm body, her face pillowed against his shoulder, her fingers tangled in the long gold rope chain that draped across his chest.

“What is this?” she had inquired during one of their cozy whispered conversations, holding the medallion up to examine it in the moonlight that had filtered into the room. A savage design was engraved on both sides, a falcon in flight, with pointed wings spread wide and knifelike talons extended. The solid gold piece was adorned with tiny sparkling jewels: rubies for the eyes of the bird, emeralds for the leaves of the holly branches etched above the falcon’s head.

“The Falkner crest. The medallion was a gift to my great-grandfather from George II. A reward for training the royal falcons.”

“Your great-grandfather was a falcon trainer?”

“A family tradition which died out several years ago.” Alec had brushed his fingertips over her wrist and traced the pattern on the medallion. “But we used to keep falcons when I was younger. My cousin Holt and I would sit and watch them for hours… while the birds were tethered, of course. See those back talons? Those are what they strike and kill with.”

Mira had shivered slightly. “Why are there holly branches over the bird’s head?”

“A private jest between my great-grandfather and the king.” Alec had smiled wryly. “Holly is a tough and resistant type of wood. Stubborn, little resilience—it will split or break before bending. It seems that King George considered my great-grandfather to be a very obstinate and willful man, and so the king ordered the holly design to be included in the medallion. We’ve kept it the crest ever since.”

“You’ve also kept the stubbornness,” Mira had said, causing Alec to chuckle softly.

“I’m not always stubborn… not when I’m approached with the right persuasion.” Then he had lowered his mouth to steal a warm kiss from her lips… and then another, and another, until the medallion had dropped from her fingers and she had lifted her arms around his neck.

She had woken up to find the chain fastened around her hips, the medallion lying on top of her smooth abdomen. Like a brand. Like a mark of possession. Staring dazedly at the ornament, Mira had felt a strange kind of panic take hold of her until she had discovered how to unfasten the clasp on the gold chain and take the necklace off. Had he meant it as a gift to her? Had he found some obscure humor in enchaining her with it?

The medallion was beautiful, but she was not at all certain that she wanted it. She would never be able to look at it without remembering last night, perhaps the only night of love she would ever know. She did not need or want any visible reminders, though loving him had been worth any price, even that of longing for him every single night for the rest of her life. No one could take the memories away from her, and no one, not even Alec himself, could destroy them. From now on, whether he treated her with kindness or malice, nothing could change last night—the memories were hers to keep.