Lyall tensed his arse, making it dance.
‘Keep doing that and we’ll miss the sunset.’
It would be easy to stay in bed but they’d spent most of the afternoon there, and they had something important to do.
And they were only going to do that if Nick hurried up.
Nick’s delays were just nerves. They’d been in Greece over a week and had explored Athens, Corinth and Delphi, scrambling over ancient temples, losing themselves in old neighbourhoods and drinking ouzo with the locals, before ending up in Santorini for Avarina’s birthday.
Two days of relaxing, letting the sun and the smell of the sea bring him down from sensory overload, and they were at the point where it was time to do what Nick had gone there to do.
Especially as they’d almost not made it.
Lyall had hyperventilated before he’d even buckled his seatbelt on the plane leaving Perth, and Nick had struggled to calm him down enough to throw back another Valium. He’d been ashamed that he hadn’t managed take-off without a scene, but Nick had been patient. He couldn’t expect a miracle.
Unless it was a miracle he’d made it onto the plane at all.
Or that they’d landed safely.
When the drugs wore off, he’d coped better. His mind drifted to Bryce but through a strong effort of will and a lot of distractions, he refused to imagine his brother’s final horrific moments and how close he was to them. He’d held tight to Nick’s hand.
After two long flights, his grip eased.
They’d made it. Now it was time to complete Nick’s mission.
Nick finally got out of bed, showered and dressed. Lyall stood on the balcony, enjoying the lush and subdued light as the sun approached the horizon and its reflection intensified on the surface of the Aegean Sea. He breathed salt-spiced air and sipped chilled retsina. When Nick joined him, he shared his glass.
Nick wore blue-and-white striped shorts and an open-necked white shirt, his hair brushed back and styled, his cologne doing much to sway Lyall from continuing on with what they’d planned. But he had to resist the rumblings lower than his stomach.
‘You look good enough to eat,’ Lyall said.
Nick winked. ‘Maybe later.’ He drained the glass. ‘Let’s do this.’
On their way to the door Nick stopped at the dresser, grabbed the capsule and slipped it into his pocket. His hand followed to keep it secure. They left the hotel and walked down the street to the skaros, an outcrop of rock that had once been the site of a fortress. Only ruins remained as evidence but past it and lower down a church jutted out over the sea. Nick had chosen it as the spot for his final goodbye, close to the ocean, and away from as many people as possible. It was a perfect location.
Bryce would have liked it too.
They descended the steps in silence: Nick as he walked his last pilgrimage and Lyall as he built up an image of Bryce he could cherish. Horror had obscured his brother for too long. He wanted to go back to the moments when a teenage Bryce had been excited for his exchange to France, or when he’d called him Sparks and ruffled his hair. He hungered for those memories of his childhood hero but he was done starving.
Down the side of the cliff, across uneven and broken steps and finally, finally, when sweat coated the back of his neck, they reached the church, quiet and totally alone. The sun would soon kiss the sea.
‘Here,’ Nick held out his hand to Lyall. ‘Stand in front of me.’
Nick’s arms enclosed him from behind, his chin rested on Lyall’s shoulder, and his body pressed against his. They leaned against the stone wall, looking out to the sunset.
‘I’m glad we’re doing this together,’ Nick said.
‘Me too.’
The light hit the water.
Nick held up the capsule, and with his free hand guided Lyall’s to hold one end. ‘I want Bryce and Avarina to know that you mean the world to me, Lyall Francis Turner, and I will do everything I can to make sure you have it. I love you, and there is no one I’d rather have here with me at this moment than you.’
Nick’s declaration rebooted a part of himself he’d thought beyond repair. The terror of losing another person he’d loved had kept him home and hiding. He’d been safe but his world had gotten small. But with Nick he wasn’t just being given the world, he was being given a life that was full of more love than he’d ever thought possible. He half-turned his head, enough to see Nick’s wet eyes. He nuzzled into his chin. ‘You mean the world to me too, Nick.’ The intense light of the sun burned from within him.
Nick kissed him. ‘Ready?’
‘Ready.’
Nick waited for a gust of wind to swirl around them and then pulled. The wind caught the ashes and carried them on a current across the sea.
‘Travel safe, Mum,’ Nick said. ‘Travel safe and travel far and we will meet again.’
Goodbye, Bryce. I’ll take care of him, Avarina.
They waited until the last speck of ash was gone, until the sea swallowed the sun and only the fading dusk remained, there in each other’s arms—there was no place Lyall would rather be.
Thanks for reading The Love Left Behind. If you liked this book, you might like to try another of my books such as Embers and Echoes, or the three books in the Bonds of Blood series, Beckoning Blood, Burning Blood and Binding Blood.
You can also sign up to romance.com.au/newsletter/ and find out about new releases, must-read series and ebook deals at romance.com.au.
And finally, reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought.
Share your reading experience on:
Facebook
Instagram
romance.com.au
Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishing...
Discover another great read from Escape Publishing …
Beckoning Blood
Daniel de Lorne
A gripping, blood-drenched saga about twin brothers, the men they love, and the enduring truth that true love never dies—no matter how many times you kill it.
Thierry d’Arjou has but one escape from the daily misery of his work at a medieval abattoir – Etienne de Balthas. But keeping their love a secret triggers a bloody chain of events that condemns Thierry to a monstrous immortality. Thierry quickly learns that to survive his timeless exile, he must hide his sensitive heart from the man who both eases and ensures his loneliness...his twin brother.
Shaped by the fists of a brutal father, Olivier d’Arjou cares for only two things: his own pleasure and his twin. But their sadistic path through centuries is littered with old rivals and new foes, and Olivier must fight for what is rightfully his – Thierry, made immortal just for him.
Find it here.
Burning Blood
Daniel de Lorne
From the author of the romantic horror debut Beckoning Blood comes the gripping sequel that mixes blood, sex, and magic.
No-one gets to choose who they spend eternity with.
Aurelia d’Arjou has vampires for brothers, but it is as a witch that she comes into her own power, keeping balance and control, using her strength to mitigate the death and pain that her brothers bring. When she is forced to take on the centuries-long task of keeping the world safe from the brutal demon that wore her father’s skin, duty dominates her life. But rare happiness comes in the form of a beguiling, flame-haired oracle who makes the perfect companion...but for one thing.
Hame doesn’t want to be an oracle, but when a demon destroys the closest thing to a father he has, he has little choice but to aid Aurelia with his visions. Unable to love her as she would wish, their centuries-old friendship comes under attack when a handsome Welsh witch enters his life – and his heart.
As treachery and betrayal push Hame to choose between his closest friend and his lover, it becomes clear that when it comes to war, love doesn’t always conquer all, and happy endings are never guaranteed.
Find i
t here.
Binding Blood
Daniel de Lorne
The groundbreaking romantic horror trilogy, Bonds of Blood, comes to a thrilling conclusion with a story of loss, grief, and redemption.
Monsters don’t get to be heroes…
Betrayed by his brother and imprisoned in his sister’s dungeon, Olivier d’Arjou isn’t about to let a few chains get in his way. A vampire for six hundred years and a plague on his family for longer, he has no reason to hold back from wiping out the last of his family members and anyone who gets in his way. But first, he’ll need to break free.
When Oberon North, witch and survivor of one of Olivier’s most heinous crimes, comes seeking vengeance, it should be child’s play to bend the witch to his will. But Oberon comes with more power and resilience than Olivier expects and forces him to confront truths he’d rather avoid.
But Olivier’s inner conflict must take a backseat when he learns of his sister Aurelia’s plan to save the world from the demon Xadrak. A battle generations in the making, to succeed requires the ultimate sacrifice from both Olivier and his brother Thierry – and the last chance Olivier has to reclaim his humanity and a future he never thought possible.
Find it here.
And don’t miss the four stories set in Echo Springs, out now from Escape Publishing …
Embers and Echoes
Daniel de Lorne
Blue lights in the red dust...
Echo Springs on the edge of the outback – a town where everyone knows your name, and your business. But the wholesome country living and welcoming community aren’t what they used to be. Echo Springs has a dark underbelly, and it is seeping ever outward.
A suspicious fire on the edge of town sets Constable Ben Fields on a collision course with firefighter and one-time friend Toby Grimshaw. When the investigation takes a troubling turn that calls the two professionals’ integrity into question, the heat gets turned up on Ben and Toby’s unresolved history. Ben’s got something to prove, but his love for Toby could cost him – and Echo Springs – everything. Meanwhile, will Toby overcome the horrors of his past and find a new future with Ben – or will it all go up in flames?
Find the Echo Springs series here.
ISBN: 9781489280299
Title: The Love Left Behind
Copyright © 2019 by Daniel de Lorne
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Level 13/201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
Published by
Escape
An imprint of Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Limited (ABN 47 001 180 918), a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited (ABN 36 009 913 517)
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth St
SYDNEY NSW 2000
AUSTRALIA
® and ™ are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and are used under license to the Publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in Australia, New Zealand, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
romance.com.au
The Love Left Behind Page 17
