Page 86 of A Lady's Past
Jacques pulled her down flat against his chest and kissed her mouth as she trembled with need.
Lifting her hips, she moved to the rhythm of her heart.
Pure delight spread through him from his center and a low groan emerged from deep in his chest.
Quickening her pace, she rose higher and came down harder as he met every move with the rise of his hips. The pleasure intensified and cascaded. She stared into his gaze, love so plain in her eyes.
He covered her mouth with his to mute her scream as an orgasm shattered her. His own pleasure only an instant behind, he held in his cries of delight.
She collapsed on top of him and rested her cheek on his chest.
Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her hair and breathed in her warm floral scent. “You make me very happy, my love.”
“Will it always be like this?” Her breath became one with his as if they were inseparable.
The first light of day banished the night and peeked through the window. “In the future, we will be married, and I will not have to sneak down the hall before the servants rise.”
She kissed his chest. “That will be so much better.”
Heart in his throat, he kissed her again and regretted leaving. “It will, but know this, Diana, Goddess of the Moon. You make me the man I have always wanted to be. You are the part of my soul that has been missing.”
Her sweet mouth opened and closed several times and a tear rolled down her cheek. “I wish I knew what to say.”
“Saying you will be my wife is enough.” He took her left hand, wanting one last touch before he had to leave her.
Sitting up, she pulled his hand forward and kissed his fingers. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Laurent.”
Heart swelling, he knew he was grinning like an idiot. “You can have anything you want, my love, and making you Mrs. Laurent will give me the most exquisite pleasure.”
Epilogue
Diana walked through the gardens at the Middleton country estate and pulled her cloak tighter around her throat. The temperature had dropped, and clouds foretold the coming snow.
“There you are,” Jacques called from the veranda.
Her husband always appeared whenever she needed him. “I just needed some time to think.”
Trotting down the steps, he jogged over to her. “Is all the Christmas celebrating too much?”
They had married as soon as custom would allow, collected Jacques’s parents, and come directly to meet Preston, Millie and Preston’s mother, the dowager duchess of Middleton, for a late Christmas celebration. It was a lovely sentiment, but Diana had dreaded the holiday without her parents. Spending Christmas at Buckrose Castle with so much distraction had been a relief.
Jacques wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Immediately warmth filled her as it only did from his touch. “What is wrong, my love?”
“Nothing.” The lie was for the best.
Jacques walked her to a stone bench and knelt down in front of her. “What, Diana? What is it you want that brings such sadness?”
Tears filled her eyes, but she met his gaze. Even the smallest untruths hurt when they were told to him. “There is something I want, but you will think it stupid.”
“I would give you anything. Tell me.”
Drawing a deep breath, she brushed the first flake of the coming storm from her lashes. “I want to bury my parents. I know it’s silly, we have no bodies, but I hate that there is no marker, no ceremony, no one to mourn.”
He sat on the bench next to her and took both her hands in his. “It is not silly. I should have realized.” He shook his head, sorrow filling his dark eyes. “Shall we go to Scotland, or is there someplace else you wish to hold the ceremony?”
Tears slid down her cheeks. “I should be looking forward, but I can’t let them go with nothing.”
Drawing her into his arms, he kissed her cheek. “Oh, my sweet Diana, I have never been under some delusion that you were without a past. Not even when I was fortunate enough to find you on the road to London were you uncomplicated. The fact that you want to give peace to your parents just makes me love you more.”
