"I love you, Evan," Cassandra whispered as he walked her backward towards the bed. She was surprised - but only a little - that he still desired her even though she was already likely with child. Though he didn't know that. Or perhaps he did and simply didn't care. After all, there was precious little that was predictable about Evan Haddington. Her husband. Her life. Her love. Her dragon.
"As I love you, my Cassie." Evan had ridden for days hoping and praying he would find his wife - and that she would be in a forgiving mood when he finally did find her. She had not been at Snowfield, much to his chagrin, so he had ridden on to Brambly, not really having high hopes that she would be in residence. Discovering her here had made his heart soar and then crash right back to Earth for fear that she would not see him.
So he had ordered the staff to keep his presence here the last few hours a secret. He had learned from Mellisande that Cassandra bathed every night and he thought that perhaps surprising her after her bath, when her defenses were likely down, might be the best course of action.
It had been a dirty trick, but it had worked. Well, perhaps that fact that he was naked as well - and that he had apologized right off - had helped, too. He had stripped himself bare before he entered her chambers, making himself as vulnerable in that moment as she was. It had been a risk, but it had paid off. She had listened to him. More than that, she had accepted his apology and she had forgiven him.
Cassandra had also admitted her love for him. Love that had survived despite everything he had said and done, every foolish decision he had made and every time he had given her his trust only to snatch it back again. But no longer. Tonight they began again in the same place their sham of a marriage had begun - the very first place Evan had bedded Cassandra and fully made her his wife. Only this time, theirs was now a real marriage of love, one of trust and devotion and when he took her this night? There would be no question in her mind as to how deeply he loved her. He would not let there be.
"I need you, Cassie," Evan whispered as he laid her down on the bed before covering her body with his. "I need you more than I can say. More than that, I love you."
She looked up at him with luminous eyes, eyes so bright that they sparkled in the darkness. "Even now? Even when I am I likely carrying your child? Possibly your heir?"
"Even now," he said as he smiled down at her. "Especially now. For I want to prove to you that our marriage is more than simply filling a nursery or fulfilling a contract. This marriage is about us. Our love. It is more than simply business. It always has been."
He kissed her again, his mouth mating with hers and he could tell the moment she gave herself over to the passion rising between them. Then they were a mix of arms and legs, of two bodies becoming one. Heat pressing into heat, kisses and caresses shared between them as if there was no tomorrow.
Finally, when they were both at a fever pitch, Evan rose up above Cassandra and with one hard thrust, drove into her warm, waiting heat. And he was complete. For the first time in his life, Evan felt whole.
After that, he could not say how long they took pleasure in each other's bodies, only that as soon as the flare of passion began to die down, one reached for the other and ignited the fire all over again. They made love deep into the night as the storm that had raged earlier eventually began to abate.
Finally, as the storm moved off, Evan reached for Cassandra once more. Not to couple with her but to simply hold her close to his side - where she belonged. And then they slept, side by side, as husband and wife. If Evan had his way, it would be the first night of many that they shared just like this. Together.
When the first gray streaks of dawn began to light the sky, Cassandra woke and reached for her husband, her heart swelling with love for the man who had not left her side the entire evening. She felt complete. And loved. So very, very loved. And when Evan pulled her back down and began to kiss her again, there was no question in her mind that this marriage - one that had begun out of necessity - was truly one of love. One that would, she knew, last until the end of their days.
Epilogue
Early August 1821
Seldon Park
Sussex
Streaks of red, gold, and orange illuminated the cloudless summer sky over the Duke of Candlewood's sprawling country seat. Though the summer thus far had lacked the intense heat of the previous year, few could remember a more temperate and mildly pleasant year with none of the pounding rains that had drenched England in the spring. In fact, that morning was yet another in a long line of gloriously perfect mornings. Not that Evan or Cassandra truly noticed. Instead, they were too involved with...other things.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Cassandra whispered to her husband as they scurried through the newly renovated maze that - if one knew the secret - led directly to the other side of the estate and the crystalline blue lake that was among the most prized features of Seldon Park. At this hour, the lake waters would likely reflect the colors of the pre-dawn sky rather than its normal bluish-silver, but it was no matter. As long as they were alone.
"Do you or do you not wish to visit the lake, Cassie, my love?" Evan asked her, not bothering to lower his voice, for no one else in their right mind would be up at this beastly hour. Just the two of them and then only because what they were about to do was not something that could be done in mixed company. Or in front of anyone else at all, really.
She was silent for a long while as she allowed her husband to lead her through the maze. Once they were on the other side, however, she whirled around and pinned him with that saucy smile of hers, the one that he had first seen that long ago day at Brambly Fields when they had finally been honest with each other and admitted their love.
"You know that I do and want to grant me what I desire. Otherwise, you would not have suggested this madcap scheme." Then she tossed him a wink and headed for the small carriage road that led to the far edge of the lake. When she reached the road, she turned back and looked at Evan again, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "It is either that or you wish for another excuse to get me naked. Just like yesterday when you suggested that we go riding at the crack of dawn, even though you know that I cannot ride in my condition and instead tossed up my skirts the moment the stable master left us alone."
Evan had no trouble catching up with Cassandra, barely even winding himself as he reached her side. After all, she had been increasing for the last five months and, if Dr. Hastings was to be believed, she was pregnant with twins. It had not taken much effort to catch her.
"I never need an excuse to get you naked, as you well know," he purred as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her ever-increasing middle, nuzzling her neck. "And as I recall, you have also never once had any problem with me getting you out of your clothes. Not even yesterday morning, despite your rather half-hearted protests to the contrary."
"And you never shall, my darling," she teased back, tugging on his hand so that they might continue on towards the lake. While the hour was still early yet, given some of the activities that had taken place last summer at estates far and wide all over England, it was likely best not to dawdle. Who knew what other young lovers might be up and about at this hour seeking some privacy?
Even though the two of them had confessed their love that seemingly long-ago day, their path towards marital bliss had not been easy and Evan doubted that there would ever be a time when they did not argue on occasion about something. After all, he and Cassandra were passionate people, both of them set in their ways to a large degree.
However, they trusted each other fully now and that trust was something that had been missing before. Before Matthew Taylor and before that reconciliation at Brambly that had changed everything between them. He would not go back to the time before, but he also firmly believed that, had they not ever faced such adversity, they would likely not be as happy as they were now. In fact, it was quite possible that neither one of them might have ever confessed their love if not for the incident that night in La
dy Knightly's music room.
He shuddered to think about where they might be now if that wretched incident had never occurred. Likely not anticipating beginning a family that was for certain.
"You are thinking again, dragon," Cassandra chided as they reached the lake, the first rays of dawn only now reaching down into the little valley where the sparkling waters lay. She reached up and cupped Evan's cheek with her hand. "What is past is past, Evan." She placed his hand on her swollen abdomen. "This is our future. Ours. Together."
He turned his face into her caress, knowing that others might see the gesture as weak when in fact, his wife was truly a source of his strength. "Why do you love me, Cassie? God knows you should not." He had gone into their marriage with an eye to leaving it as soon as he could, making certain she knew that he preferred his whores to her. He was not a particularly lovable man, either. There was no earthly reason that she should have fallen in love with such a flawed man as him - and yet she had. And he thanked his good fortune every day for that blessing. For he loved her with his entire being, without question, and he likely always would.
"Because you are you, Evan. My dragon," she replied with such tenderness that his heart ached. "You are flawed, yes, but you are also the only man who has ever looked at me and seen what I needed." She lowered her lashes coquettishly before giving him a coy glance. "And besides, you allow me to ride astride. And you fuck me in the butler's pantry. And you encourage me to parade naked in our bedchamber and allow me to suckle your cock when you are seated at your desk, even knowing that someone could stumble upon us at any moment. What woman in her right mind could not love a man who allows her to indulge in such scandalous improprieties?"
Cassandra loved her husband even more in moments like this, moments when he stumbled and was unsure of himself. This was Evan at his most human, a far cry from the dragon she had first encountered over a year ago, a man hell-bent on controlling her and everything around him. He hadn't wanted to care for anyone and somehow, he had come to care for her. To love her - deeply. She considered herself fortunate, for she knew few women had husbands as devoted and loving as Evan was.
"What woman, indeed?" he asked, his gaze roaming over her body and Cassandra could not help but feel a flush of pleasure. Even now, when she resembled nothing more than a small, rather tubby whale, he still loved her unconditionally and she could see that love shining in his eyes as he teased her. It was a love she once dreamed was impossible but was now oh so very real.
She shivered when he ran a finger down the edge of her bodice, her already aching and swollen breasts so sensitive and responsive to his touch. "And what woman would deny her husband when he wished to see her naked? Again. Especially after all of these scandalous freedoms he has already allowed her?"
"Certainly not this one." In truth, Cassandra would give Evan whatever he desired if it was within her power to do so. She knew that he wished she would have told him about their first child sooner or that the child would have lived, but that was impossible. The past was the past, after all, and could not be undone. Though she could - and did - learn from those mistakes. However, she could not change what had already been done. But disrobing for her husband whenever he wished? Well, that was easy. And rather fun. Especially when he was looking at her as he was now - as if he wished to ravish her where she stood. She did rather enjoy that about him.
Backlit by the rising sun, Cassandra slowly began undoing the buttons on her gown, having chosen one that did up in the front so that she could dress herself with little assistance. After all, one did not go with one's husband to the lake to swim before anyone else on the estate was up and expect to remain in one's clothes, after all. At least if one had no wish to drown. Wet gowns were beastly heavy, after all.
"You are so lovely," Evan breathed as Cassandra continued to undress before him, not bothered in the least about being naked before him - another sign of the trust they now shared. His eyes were wide and extremely appreciative of what he was seeing - Cassandra stripping before him, her body ripe with his seed and her breasts so swollen that he immediately got hard. God, he was a lucky bastard. His wife was utterly perfect and exquisite. Not to mention more than just a little bit naughty as well.
Cassandra watched Evan as well, her own desire increasing as he began loosening his cravat and removing his boots, likely without even realizing what he was doing. His cock was hard and stiff already, and she could see the outline of his member behind the placket of his breeches. She was a fortunate and lucky woman that her husband was so blessed in that regard.
"So exquisitely beautiful. Cassandra. My Cassie." There was a reverence to his words that made her blood heat.
"I feel beautiful when I am with you, Evan," she confessed honestly as the sprigged muslin fell in a pool of fabric at her feet, along with her undergarments, until she was stark naked before him. Her body was not perfect. She knew that. However, given the way he was gazing at her, she knew that she was perfect in his eyes. That was all she needed.
"And I pray that you always will." Evan was just as magnificent with his clothes off as he was with them on, Cassandra thought as she reached out to take his proffered hand. "I love you, Cassie," he whispered as he led them both to the water's edge, prepared to indulge his wife in her recently discovered - and slightly scandalous - love of swimming. Or, more to the point, swimming naked.
She could not swim - naked or otherwise - in her condition with others around, of course. But when it was just the two of them? Well, there were certain benefits to being alone, after all.
"And I love you, Evan," she sighed delightedly as he drew her into the cool water, completely unsurprised when his hard erection bumped against her swollen stomach and then lower as he moved to impale her on his massively hard cock. "And I always will."
Then, as the sun continued to rise in the sky, Evan made love to his wife with all of the passion and love he felt deep inside and Cassandra returned his love with her own. And just before the rest of estate began to come to life for the day, they did a little swimming as well.
Coming Soon
Facing a dire lack of funds and desperate to save his sister from a marriage of convenience to a much older but extremely wealthy man, Lord William Davenport, the Earl of Blackthorne, is about to do the unthinkable for a man of his station. He is about to sell his body to one of the wealthiest and most unhappily married Society matrons in all of England. The idea of becoming some bored, rich woman's plaything is abhorrent to him, but he has no other choice - at least not if he wants to save his dear, sweet sister Anna, from a man who would abuse her.
Born with a lame leg, Lady Miriam Bexley has no desire to marry. In fact, she doesn't much care for people at all. All of her life she has been pointed at and whispered about due to her infirmity, particularly by the gentlemen of London. Why on Earth would she wish to bind herself to such a horrible fate for the rest of her natural life, no matter how much her family hounds her about the issue? No, she is better off with her stars and her telescopes for they, at least, do not ridicule her and they are always in perfect order.
However, the moment Miri accidentally overhears Will's scandalously indecent proposition - to a married lady no less! - she suddenly sees an opportunity she might be able to use to her advantage. If she has enough coin, perhaps she can pay Will to court her so that she might fool her overbearing mother and interfering brother into believing that she finally has a suitor. Then perhaps her family will leave the issue of marriage alone. All she has to do is make Will a counter offer of her own - and then get him to agree to her terms.
Can Will and Miri convince even those closest to them that they are really a courting couple? Or is it actually Will and Miri who are fooling themselves?
Find out in An Earl For Hire, coming early 2017!
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Other Titles by the author
Tales From Seldon Park
To Catch A Duke (Book 1)
Far Beyond Scandalous (Book 2)
At The Stroke of Midnight (Book 3)
A Viscount of Mystery (Book 4)
A Marquess Is Forever (Book 5)
The Secret Seduction of Lady Eliza (Book 6)
From The Viscount With Love (Book 7)
The Kiss of a Rogue (Book 8)
The Earl of Heartbreak (Book 9)
A Gentleman By Moonlight (Book 10)
A Scandal In The Making (Book 11)
An Earl For Hire (Book 12 - coming Spring 2017)
The Seldon Park Christmas Novellas
One Christmas With The Earl (Novella 1)
On A Cold Christmas Eve (Novella 2)
The Earl Who Loved Me (Novella 3)
Christmas At Hollywell (Novella 4)
The Ghosts, Inc. series
Novels
Ghosts Of Lovers Past (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 1)
Heart of Shadows (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 2)
Spellbound (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 3)
Edge of Heaven (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 4)
Time's Mirror (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 5)
Forever Bound (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 6 - coming soon)
A Scandal In the Making Page 27