Page 58 of The Marchioness of his Desire
“But he shall trouble us no further, for I have no wish to dwell upon the past any longer. What has been has been, and my only concern is that the truth shall be known. If the countess is true to her word, then it shall soon be known who the real father of her child is, and my name shall be cleared,” Nicholas said, smiling at Rebecca who nodded.
She suddenly felt terribly tired and yawned, flopping down into one of the chairs and closing her eyes.
“Some brandy?” her uncle said, hurrying to fetch a decanter, but Rebecca shook her head.
“I only wish to sleep,” she whispered. “I am exhausted.”
Now, Nicholas took her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, calling for Lyddie to bring a cup of chamomile tea to her chambers. Soon, she was settled in bed, the blankets drawn up around her, and a fire kindled in the hearth. When the tea was brought, Rebecca and Nicholas were left alone, and he put his arms around her and kissed her gently upon the forehead.
“My darling, Rebecca, how sorry I am that it came to this,” he whispered, holding her in his arms, as a tear ran down her cheek.
This was not a tear of sadness, but rather of relief, safe in the knowledge that at last the days of worry and uncertainty were behind them. Now, they no longer had to worry about Edward or the countess or grandiose claims over children and past affairs. Instead, they could be as one, together in the love they were ever destined to share.
“You were not to know how it would end; you could not have foreseen what he would do. I was as shocked as you. We have known Edward almost our entire lives, and yet I am astonished to think what he did, and how close we came to disaster,” she replied, looking up at him as he clasped ever more tightly, never wishing to let her go.
“You do not know how much I love you,” he said, and she smiled at him.
“Surely as much as I love you. You protected me tonight and showed compassion too: to the countess, my uncle, and to your mother as well. This is a new beginning for us all. I can feel it,” she said, and he leaned forward to kiss her again.
“You must rest now, but I will not leave you this night. I will stay here; you will never be alone; neither of us will,” he said, and Rebecca closed her eyes, sleep enveloping her, the feel of his embrace offering the certainty of safety.
Epilogue
When she opened her eyes, a thin stream of sunlight was coming through a gap in the curtains. The fire had burned to nothing, but the room felt warm, and Nicholas was asleep, lying next to her on the bed, breathing gently with his arm across her. She sat up, stretching for a moment, and watching as he stirred, his handsome face bearing a sweet innocence in sleep. She reached out and touched his cheek, her finger trailing down to his neck, so that he murmured something inaudible and rolled sleepily onto his back.
“We have slept for hours,” she whispered, and he opened his eyes, a smile playing across his face.
“Is that an invitation to rise?” he asked, but she laughed and rolled onto her side.
“No, it is an invitation to remain. We have nothing to rise for,” she said as he pulled blankets back and slid himself beneath them, taking her in his arms as he did so.
Her mind was lifted of the burdens she had felt before, a freedom she had not known since those happy days in their youth. She thought back to the day he had chased her to their secret hiding place by the lake, across the meadows and by the spinney, the two of them shrieking in delight as they ran. Could such carefree days ever come again? She felt as though they might, and, in that moment, life seemed once again perfect and filled with possibility.
“Then I shall remain here until something else disturbs me,” he said, rolling on top of her and gazing down into her eyes with a mischievous look upon his face.
“Perhaps, I shall keep you here; you are in my chambers, after all,” she said, running her hands down the small of his back, before sliding them around and back to his neck.
He had slept in his clothes of the night before, his shirt now disheveled, and his breeches unbuttoned. She slid her hand into them, searching him out as he stiffened, and she ran her hand along his length, feeling him go rigid at her touch. His lips were at her neck now, his hands pulling at her dress, and their bodies were entwined. He pulled down her sleeves and exposed her chest, his tongue searching out her nipple as she let out a satisfied sigh.
“You may keep me for as long as you wish, my lady,” he whispered, and a shiver ran through her as his hands reached to pull off her skirts. The two of them were now lying naked together, her heart beating at the thought of what was to come.
She ran her hands across his back, pulling him close into her, moving her own body in rhythm with his. She wanted more, the feeling to intensify, the force of their union to be expressed. She gazed into his eyes, wanting only to possess him, and the sensation of their bodies entwined caused her to shudder with delight.
She looked up and smiled at him, each of them breathless, knowing the pleasure the other was experiencing, but Rebecca was no passive lover, arching her body and pushing herself into him so that he shuddered, as she rocked back and forth.
“You have learned well,” he gasped as she kissed him, thrusting her tongue into his mouth, her whole body now burning with passion.
“And there is more,” she whispered, rolling him onto his back and straddling him as he let out a gasp.
Now, she placed her hands onto his chest, feeling the fullness of him inside her as she held him down and forced him to lie still. She now had control, arching her body up and down, feeling the heat building inside her, her whole-body tingling as he stiffened and shuddered.
“I am … I am close,” he gasped as Rebecca eased herself back.
“Then control yourself,” she whispered, running her hand over his chest as he put his hands upon her hips and raised her gently up.
She felt the full force of him as he pulled her back down, evidently enjoying his own loss of control, and she arched her whole body, rising with his hands upon her hips. She gave a gasp now, the heat building inside her once more, her whole body filled with ecstasy as she moved up and down, his breathing now becoming erratic.
When the full force of pleasure filled her, he let out a cry, erupting into her, and she rocked backwards and let out a cry of her own. There was no stifling it or holding back; her whole body tingled with the heat of the sensation as he pulled her forward, bringing his lips to hers, and clutching at her as though ensuring every drop of his seed was hers.
