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“I love you,” she whispered, her hands trailing over his bare back. “I love you.”
And then her mouth was under his.
He didn’t know who began the kiss. It didn’t matter. What mattered was the glowing in his heart that had burned away the last remaining bit of distrust and fear and anger. What mattered was this woman in his arms, who was the most important thing in this world to him.
His fingers fumbled on her chemise, dragging it up and over her head. He longed to lose himself in her. Heached, with everything in him, to join with her.
But he wouldn’t. Not yet, not until he’d seen his fill of her.
Which, he realized as he stepped back from her, he might never do.
She was glorious. He swallowed hard as his gaze skimmed down her body. Every inch of her was soft and luscious: full breasts, a rounded stomach, the flare of wide hips.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he rasped. “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
And he would burst into flames if he didn’t hold her in his arms that very second.
She seemed to be of the same mind. Stepping back into his arms, her hands were everywhere at once, roaming over his body with a desperation that he felt was mirrored deep in his soul. Their kisses were frantic now, and they fell back on the bed in an inelegant heap, arms and legs tangled.
“I love you,” he murmured as his lips trailed down, over her breasts, needing to say it, needing her to understand how deeply he felt it.
“I love you,” he repeated as he kissed down over the glorious, trembling fullness of her belly.
“I love you,” he whispered as his mouth found the thatch of curls between her legs.
She gasped, her hands finding his hair as he loved her there. She tasted of the sweetest drink, the most heady wine. He drank of her until she was writhing beneath him, until her cries filled the air and her thighs trembled on either side of his face. Only then did he rise above her and slide with a groan into her welcoming heat.
There was no need for words. Every kiss, every caress was full of their love for one another. Their breaths mingled, their sighs becoming one. And when they found their completion, they found it together.
***
“I never did answer your question.”
Daniel’s voice, thick with sleep, pulled Margery from the call of slumber. She smiled, snuggling farther into his embrace, breathing in the warmth of him. “Mmm, and what question would that be?”
“Never tell me, madam,” he said in mock outrage, “that you have forgotten your proposal of marriage.”
“Oh, did I propose?” she queried innocently. “Must have slipped my mind.”
“Minx,” he growled, shifting them so she lay on top of him.
She giggled, then moaned as he pulled her down for a kiss.
“Haven’t changed your mind, I hope,” he murmured against her lips.
She very nearly laughed and considered teasingly asking him to persuade her a bit more. But she was through with waiting to start her life with this man. “No.” She breathed deeply, brushing his mouth with hers, trailing her lips over to his cheek, raining soft kisses over his scar with each sentence she spoke. “I haven’t changed my mind. If anything, I want you more. I want to bear your children and grow old with you. I want to spend the rest of my days making you happy. I love you, Daniel.”
He shuddered under her touch. Then, groaning, he dove his hands into her unbound hair and brought her lips back to his for a soul-shattering kiss. “You’re my life, Margery.”
The emotion in his voice had tears springing to her eyes. How was it possible to be so blessed? “Is that a yes then?” she asked, her voice husky.
“Yes.” The word exploded from him on a joyous breath. The first of many more, with her at his side.
Epilogue
The wedding was supposed to have been a small affair. Margery had declared to Daniel that, since it was her second marriage, it seemed silly to have a large, ostentatious event. And besides, she only wanted to marry him as quickly as possible and start their life together.
Lady Tesh, however, had refused any such thing. Her beloved granddaughter had eloped the first time around; she’d be damned if she’d do the same this time, especially when marrying a duke. She’d insisted on the banns being posted, on invitations being sent out, on having everyone who was anyone there for the blessed event, managing it in an impressively short amount of time.
