Page 121 of The Duke's Jilted Bride

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his voice rough with feeling. “I could spend the rest of my life just learning you by touch.”

Selina’s fingers curled into his hair, her breath catching as he kissed along her shoulder, his hands sliding over her back, her sides. He took his time, letting his mouth map her skin, brushing over the swell of her breast, the curve of her ribcage. Each kiss was soft but certain, full of want.

She arched toward him without meaning to, her body already answering his without hesitation. He whispered her name as his lips moved lower, across her chest, over the flutter of her heartbeat, then down along the center of her body.

“You’re everything,” he said, brushing a kiss just beneath her breast. “Everything I didn’t know I needed. Everything I will never stop wanting.”

His mouth continued its journey downward, slow and sure, until he reached the nest of curls between her thighs. She felt the flick of his tongue and she opened her legs to allow him access. His tongue found her entrance, and he licked into her. His hands were on her hips, holding her still. She moaned and pressed herself to him.

His efforts grew more concentrated, demanding, as he licked her pearl. He sank two fingers inside of her, thrusting deep, bringing her close to a crescendo of pleasure.

Selina’s eyes closed and her head tipped back. “Please, Rowan,” she gasped. “I need you inside of me.”

He needed no further prompting. He slid up her body, leaving a trail of fiery kisses in his wake. When he reached her mouth, he captured her lips in his and entered her with a thrust that caused Selina to gasp with pleasure. He stopped and looked down at her, his eyes filled with desire.

“I promise to never stop loving you.” And as the last word left his lips, he thrust into her again with a need that spoke of hunger, love, and passion.

Selina met each thrust with her own desires. As she reached the point of no return, a gasp escaped her lips, her body clenching with each ripple of pleasure. Waves of heat flushed her skin, a sweet scent filling her senses as the exquisite feeling washed over her like a silken tide.

As she writhed beneath him, her skin slick with sweat, Rowan gave a final, shuddering thrust, the sounds muffled and urgent. He released into her, a hot, thick rush, the scent of arousal heavy in the air. Her body arched, trembling, muscles taut with pleasure and exhaustion.

Later, they lay in the stillness, her head on his chest, his arms wrapped tight around her. The fear was gone. In its place was peace.

“What happens now?” she asked, her voice barely more than a breath.

He looked down at her, his fingers moving slowly through her hair.

“Now we live,” he said. “We wake up, and we keep choosing each other. No matter what comes.”

“No more secrets?”

“No more secrets,” he promised. “No more silence. No more pulling away.”

She tilted her head to look at him. “That sounds like the life I’ve always wanted.”

He smiled, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek. “I love you, Selina.”

“And I love you.”

Outside, London slept. Inside the quiet room, the duke and duchess found their beginning. Not the start of duty or arrangement, but something real. Something lasting.

The pain of the past had been spoken and laid to rest.

What remained was love.

And for the first time, it was enough.

EPILOGUE

THREE MONTHS LATER

“Imust say, country air agrees with you, Matthew,” Robert said, settling back on the picnic blanket with a contented sigh. “You look positively transformed.”

Matthew’s face flushed pink as he adjusted his cravat. “Thank you. I confess I’ve been sleeping better since…” He glanced around the group gathered on Aldermere’s lawn.

“Since you finally told your mother she couldn’t run your life anymore?” David supplied with a grin, bouncing baby Lily on his knee.

“David,” Isabella chided, though her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Don’t tease the poor man.”

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