Lowey circled her hips, riding him at a slow, easy pace. But there was nothing easy about it. The sensation of having him inside her, of his hands on her body, left her wrecked. She was sobbing, crying out as he surged into her again. Every thrust brought her closer to that edge until, finally, she tumbled over it again. He was there with her, holding her tight as he pressed deep one last time.
Laying there together, their limbs tangled, sweat drying on their bodies, Lowey sighed contentedly. “Okay, so that was totally worth letting you be in charge.”
He laughed softly as he stroked her back in soft lazy circles with the pad of his thumb. “Was I in charge? Seems to me you turned that table and then set it on fire.”
She smiled, her face pressed against his chest. “Maybe. But are you complaining?”
“No… Never.”
“So what happens now?”
“Sleep?”
She smacked his chest. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. You asked me to move in here… but are you sure?”
He rolled her onto her back and then kissed her soundly. “Yes, I’m sure. I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”
“I want this to work,” she said. “I don’t want either of us to regret it.”
He sighed then, pressed his forehead to hers while his hands tangled in her hair. “The only thing I’m ever going to regret is the time I wasted… I wasn’t going to say anything to you about this. I know it’s too soon for you. Hell, it’s too soon for me. But this is going to be forever, Lowey. And as soon as I can put a ring on your finger without people acting like we’re fucking nuts, I’m going to.”
“You do realize three days ago we weren’t even speaking to one another?”
“It’s been an action packed three days… if you let me go back to sleep for an hour or two, it’ll be even more action packed when I wake up.”
“Let’s just hold off on talking about marriage… not because I don’t want it, but because that’s not what you or your family needs to focus on right now. When things are more certain with Patricia, then we’ll talk about it again,” she said.
“Deal,” he said. “Now, go to sleep. Cause you’re gonna need it.”
Epilogue
Quentin carried the bag of ice out to the deck as Bennett fired up the grill. It was a strange thing, still, to see any member of the Hayes family with the run of the place. It was stranger still to see them all gathered there on the back lawn. Hayes and Darcy alike, they were all present and accounted for.
Sitting in her wheelchair on the porch, Patricia was looking out on all of them. After he dumped the ice in the chest to chill the drinks, Quentin walked over and squatted down beside her.
“Bet this is something you never expected to see,” he said, gesturing toward the wary looking Hayes clan all gathered together.
“Not expected. Hoped,” she said. Her words were still halting, slow—everyone of them chosen and enunciated with care. Walking was coming back slower than talking, but that, according to the doctors and therapists, was to be expected. Even with all that Mia and the others had done to help her maintain range of motion, her muscles had atrophied.
“She’s happy,” Quentin said, looking at his sister who was glowing with it. She stood next to Lowey and Annalee as they watched Emma Grace dancing around with abandon.
“You are too,” Patricia said knowingly.
He ducked his head and grinned. “Yes, I am. I told Lowey that we wouldn’t bring up marriage again until things with you were more settled. How settled do you feel, Mama?”
“I love weddings,” Patricia answered with a smile. It was a little crooked, the right side of her face still partially paralyzed. But that smile meant more to him than the world.
Quentin rose and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Good. Cause I’m giving her Grandma’s ring.”
“Where did you get it?” Patricia demanded.
“You told me when I was sixteen that it was mine to give to whatever girl I wanted… So on Thanksgiving, after Ciaran beat the pis—crap out of me, and all I could think about was Lowey, I went up to your room and got it,” he confessed.
“Then give it to her and stop talking my ear off!”
“Tonight. I’m not going to put her on the spot in front of everyone. She might say no just to spite me.” He didn’t really think she’d turn him down, but there was just enough fear in him to make him think asking in private was the best way to preserve his pride.
“Go. Go and get her. Take her inside and ask that girl, Quentin!” Patricia urged. “There’s nothing worse than wasted time!”
She’d know, he thought sadly. Impulsively, he hugged her again. “I missed you, Mama. I missed you every day.”
She touched his face, patting it the same way she had when he was a little boy. “I was always here,” she said and tapped the center of his forehead with her finger.
“My conscience,” he added with a grin.
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
Quentin left her then and made his way over to where Lowey stood. Annalee and Mia simply drifted away, as if sensing that he wanted privacy.
“I need to talk to you,” he whispered against her ear.
“Quentin Darcy, if you’re going to dump me here in the middle of your family gathering—.”
He bit her ear, his teeth nipping at the soft shell of it just a bit less than gently. “Shut up, Lowey.”
“Don’t tell me to shu—.”
He pulled the ring box from his pocket and pressed it into her palm. She didn’t exactly stop talking as much as the words simply faded into unintelligible gibberish. When she’d collected herself, even though her hands still trembled in his, she asked, “What is this?”
“What does it look like? It’s an engagement ring.”
“But your mother—.”
“Is looking forward to attending a wedding. She missed Clayton’s, and for whatever reason, Bennett and Mia don’t seem to be in any hurry… So marry me and make her a happy woman,” he urged.
Lowey glared at him. “Really? We’re getting married for your Mama’s sake?”
He grinned. “It might be just a little bit for my benefit too. Marry me, Harlow Tate… I’d ask you to make an honest man of me, but frankly, I don’t think it’s possible.”
“You’re honest. You’re just an asshole,” she snarked. “But I kinda like that about you, so I guess I’m saying yes.”
Quentin kissed her then and pried the box from her hand long enough to take the ring out of it and slip it on her finger. “No regrets, Lowey. Not now and not ever.”
“Just one… you should have asked me before you knocked me up.”
Quentin dropped his head onto her shoulder and just laughed. “You’ve been saving that bit of info just to one-up me, haven’t you?”
“Yes. I absolutely have.”
“It worked,” he admitted. “I love you, Lowey. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving it to you, and whatever hellion offspring we manage to produce.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, hotshot.” She kissed him then, so sweetly that they both just ignored the catcalls from everyone else and the retching sounds that came from Emma Grace.
***
From the porch, Patricia surveyed her children. It had been a long journey back to them. She’d never tell them the truth, that for ten long and hellish years she’d lain in that hospital bed hearing everything that happened around her. She’d known of their tears and heartbreaks, of their fights and victories. But she’d been powerless to do anything for them. And yet, somehow, they’d triumphed without her.
They’d succeeded in life even when she hadn’t been able to guide them and help them. It gratified on one level, but stung on another. They didn’t need her, not really. Oh, she knew they were happy to have her amongst them again, but it wasn’t the same. Their relationships would never be the same. They’d been on the other side of the fence, taking care of her. It would always be different now.
“Gramma, they’re all just gross!”
Patricia smiled as Emma Grace flopped down beside her on the porch. “Kissing only seems gross now. You’ll change your mind soon enough.”
“Never,” her granddaughter vowed.
Patricia realized then that while her children might not need her, this little girl did. And perhaps there would be others. Grandchildren would always need their grandparents, she thought.
About the Author
Seraphina lives in Central Kentucky where she enjoys writing and fending off the demonic attacks of her latest rescue cat. Well, no one enjoys that, but it does make for entertaining stories. She also writes Gothic and Paranormal Regency Romance as Chasity Bowlin and loves to hear from readers.
If you’d like to know more about her new releases, preorder books or upcoming sales, please sign up for her newsletter at the following link.
http://eepurl.com/b9B7lL
Also by Seraphina Donavan
The Dark Regency Series: Volume One
The Haunting of a Duke
The Redemption of a Rogue
The Enticement of an Earl
Standalone Novellas
The Beast of Bath
The Last Offer
Coming Soon:
The Dark Regency Series: Volume Two
A Love So Dark (September 2016)
A Passion So Strong (December 2016)
A Heart So Wicked (February 2017)
And writing as Seraphina Donavan:
The DuChamps’ Dynasty Series:
Been Loving You Too Long
Have A Little Faith In Me
I’ll Take Care Of You
Back To The Beginning: A Duet (with Laramie Briscoe)
The Bourbon & Blood Series:
Bennett
Ciaran
Clayton
Carter
Quentin (October 2016)
Quentin (The Bourbon & Blood Series Book 4) Page 11