Page 50 of The Duke's Tempting Widow
She squirmed, trying to run from the sensation but he clearly had no plans to allow such a thing. He kept her pinned, kept up his motions without pause.
“One more, my love… one more,” Weston breathed into the skin of her neck.
She could not possibly do such a thing, she felt herself spasming around him, the sensation building so quickly that it was almost painful, she was at his total and complete mercy. She tried to push his arms away, tried to futilely give herself a pause that she did notactuallywant—and then there it was.
She might have screamed his name that time.
Weston’s answering groan of pleasure pushed into the heated skin of her neck before he, too, came to pieces. She could feel the heat of him, thrusting deep inside of her, filling her in every possible way that she craved.
She was a boneless puddle on the couch, attempting to steady her breathing as she basked in the warm afterglow of her pinnacle.
Weston slipped from her, stepping off of the couch fluidly and scooping her up into his arms.
“Where are we going?” She asked weakly.
“To my bed, where I plan to finish what we have just begun.”
Her eyes snapped open, he could not possibly mean—but from that smirk he wore, apparently, he could.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
The day had finally arrived.
It had been difficult to postpone this special day until after her sister had already been married. Kitty and William had become engaged first, so it was only natural that her wedding be first. Though, there was no denying that there was something magical about being able to sit with her sister, who was also her best friend, and plan their respective weddings together.
Her first marriage had been rushed so quickly that there had been almost nobody in attendance. A special license had been procured given how swiftly everything had happened and then she had just been… married.
No pomp or circumstance, nothing fancy. It had been enough. Given that at the time she had looked upon it as nothing more than a business deal, a contract that she was entering into, it had not bothered her. Sometimes it frightened her just how feminine and over the top that she sometimes felt while she had been planning out every little detail of her wedding. With Weston, she wanted it to be memorable.
They kept the guest list small, since she was still a couple of months shy of technically being out of her mourning period. It was for the best, there were so few people that she actually wished to share one of her happiest days with. Both her sister and William were in attendance. They were seated prominently in the front pews of the church with Margaret, and Juliet seated between them.
Their governess, of course, was directly behind them. Lydia only took the smallest of peeks out into the main hall of the church. She did not wish to see Weston in his suit until he could see her as well. It was strange to be wearing a white gown once more.
Pearls adorned her hair delicately and two teardrop shaped pearls hung from her ears. Simple, nothing extra was needed. She wore a very simple satin gown with gloves that came up to the middle of her biceps, and soft slippers to complete the ensemble.
The church was decorated with swaths of tulle and ribbon that tethered small bouquets of brightly colored flowers down the aisles. Kitty had insisted on making each of them herself. Including the one that was clutched in Lydia’s nervous hands. It was not cold feet, she had never wanted anything, or anyone, more than the duke, and was overjoyed to start their new life together. Perhaps it was flutters of anticipation.
The quartet started playing music softly, and she knew that they would transition into the wedding march after a moment. It was at that moment that her father came around the corner and came to stand beside her. Lydia kept her head trained forward, not knowing if he was here to say something that would likely dampen her mood and if he was, she did not wish to hear it. Nothing was going to bring her down on her wedding day, she simply would not allow it.
He had lessened the comments about their duties in life since both of his daughters had become engaged. No doubt it was only a matter of time before he started in on the duties of his granddaughters too. She could endure his thoughtless comments when they were aimed at her, she was not going to tolerate them nearly as well if he attempted to aim them at her daughters.
“I am proud of you, for doing the right thing.” he said so suddenly that she could hardly believe what she was hearing.
She turned to look at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. Never before had he uttered those words to her—and saying them so suddenly affected her emotions more than she was ready to admit.
Lydia knew that she should say something, anything, or at the very least she ought to thank him for the compliment but not a single word left her lips.
“I know that I have been… hard on you and your sister over the years, but I hope that you understand that everything that I do is for what is best for you… it is done with love.”
The way he said ‘love’ made it seem like just saying the word out loud was painful for him. Lydia was utterly transfixed, waiting to hear whatever else might come out of his mouth.
“Perhaps I was a touchtoohard on you. Not that you did not adequately rise to the challenges that were set in front of you.” the older man continued. “I have seen how gracefully you have carried the weight on your shoulders, Lydia, even if I did not… acknowledge it as such.”
The moment felt too surreal to her, she did not know how to process what was happening.
“I hope that in time, you might come to forgive me for having been so harsh on you, I know that is why you keep your daughters from me. You do not…” He sighed. “What I mean to say, is that I apologize, and that you have grown into a fine young woman in spite of myself.”
