When the pleasure finally fled, all that remained was Hugh. He rose above her, wordless, and rolled them both so she lay on her side, and he lay facing her. With one arm, he raised her leg, opening her to him. Their bodies slotted together as though they had been made for one another; he slipped inside so easily, she caught her breath.
His face went blank. She watched him eagerly, greedily, drinking in every last moment.
When his eyes fluttered open, she thought she might drown in them.
His hand found her hip, holding her still as he slid out, then back in. A slow, steady rhythm that she already knew would break her in a thousand different ways. It would rend them both in two.
She never wanted it to stop.
He kissed her, mouth damp with the taste of her arousal, and rocked into her again. For once, she did not think about her appearance, or about some scientific conclusion on the intricacies of womanly desire. All she knew was him. Them.
With every thrust, she was catapulted deeper. He slid a hand between them, exactly where she needed him.
How could she ever have thought she could live without this?
His breath shattered, and he groaned into her mouth, drawing back so he could see her face. Their gasps mingled in the space between them.
“You,” he said, hoarse but determined, as though he could not hold on to the words any longer, “are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Christiana, and I love you.”
She had not known she’d needed the words, but perhaps she had, because hearing them made her spasm around him with another climax. He groaned, pausing the movement of his hipsuntil the waves of her pleasure eased, before pressing inside her one last time, right to the hilt.
She watched pleasure bloom across his face as his release found him, and although she couldn’t quite, she imagined she could feel the pulse of his climax, the slickness of his seed inside her.
They were joined. A covenant that would last them the rest of their mortal lives. In his eyes, she was beautiful, and it didn’t occur to her once to dispute it. And she adored him beyond all reason. Logic played no role in matters of the heart.
She rested her head above his thudding heart, and his arms closed around her. They lay quietly, listening to the sound of their breathing.
All her life, she had been searching for meaning in books, and she had found it here, in the embrace of the man she loved.
“I’ve made moves to purchase your father’s house,” he said. “He may die before the sale is completed, but I doubt he will refuse, given the circumstances.”
The circumstances to do with his lack of funds.
“I thought to house him in the dower house until he passes,” he said. “Would that be acceptable?”
“You could cast him into the streets and that would be acceptable.”
“I considered it when I saw you in Wakeford,” he admitted, his hand landing on her hip in a proprietary gesture that made her blood heat. “But I would rather you looked back on this period of your life with no regrets.”
“You want me to take the high road.”
“I do. Will you?”
She smiled, leaning forward and kissing him on the lips. “I’ll take whichever road you wish me to, so long as you are there beside me.”
He cradled her against his chest. “Now that,” he said, “is a guarantee.” And his heart thrummed in agreement.
Epilogue
Six months later
The frigid winterbreeze nipped at Christiana’s cheeks as she stepped out to admire the work around the house. The former moat was filled in, men carrying soil in wheelbarrows, packing the dirt down and adding gravel. A small path led to the formal gardens, which were just beginning to sprout.
Seeds had been planted, and the blooms were beginning. In a week, she and Hugh intended to travel with Amelia for her presentation and London Season. When they returned in the summer, the garden would be in full swing.
Much as she was excited to navigate London as a duchess, her heart would forever be here, in the corner of the world they had carved for themselves.
Warm arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against a broad chest. She relaxed into the embrace, sinking into his strength. This had become her normal: finding him wherever she went and knowing with every glance, touch, and word that he loved her. This was the life she had chosen for herself.