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His gaze sparked with desire. “Then your husband, my lady, you shall have.”
Once they had returned home,and Isadora laid naked within the circle of Rem’s arms after a vigorous round of lovemaking, he said, “I think that was exactly what we both needed.” He sighed. “It’s been a rather interesting couple of days, hasn’t it?”
She laughed. “That’s putting it quite mildly, don’t you think, my lord?”
He snuggled her closer and gave a mild chuckle. “I suppose you’re right.”
With her chin resting on her hand in the center of his chest, and her dark hair spread out around them, he was momentarily distracted. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
She rolled her eyes. “I think at least twenty times tonight.”
He grinned because he was starting to enjoy this flirtatious side of his wife. It gave him further hope that she would love him in time. Because his heart wouldn’t allow him to stay silent, he reached out and brushed a hand down her bare shoulder, and then he dared to murmur, “And have I told you how much I love you?”
He waited for the stiff set of her shoulders, the reticence in her gray eyes. But it never came. Instead, they softened with an emotion he had never noticed before. “There is something I’ve been meaning to tell you…”
Rem’s breath held as he watched Isadora move on top of him. With her legs on either side of his torso, he released the air in his lungs at the sight of those tempting breasts. He couldn’t resist reaching out and teasing the rosy buds until they were taut and eagerly awaiting his attentions. But before he could do so, she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.
When she drew back, she whispered, “I love you, too.”
He stilled, his fingers tightening slightly on her upper arms. Emotion stung his eyes, but he kept it at bay. “What did you say?”
She smiled gently. “I said,I love you.” She cradled his face between her palms. “I’m sorry for not telling you before now, but there has been so much doubt and reservation in my mind about the past, that I wanted to make absolutely certain before I said anything.” Her voice was strong and sure, her eyes clear and direct. “For years, I mourned a dream, afantasy. I believed that if I couldn’t win the baron’s heart, I would never love again. But after speaking with Lady Kontayne, she made me realize that I didn’t truly know what love was. I thought Udell was what Iwanted because I’d never known any different. He was kind to me, and I was desperate for attention.”
Tears shimmered in her gaze now and her hands slid to his shoulders. “It wasn’t until I met you that I saw I had value. Before now I had merely existed, and I had been content doing so, because I believed all hope was lost, that my heart was shattered and broken beyond repair, but it wasyou—you were the one who dared to challenge me and break down those barriers I’d put up. I was determined to protect myself, but in doing so, I never let anyone in. I didn’t even let my sisters get to understand the trueme. They never knew the heartache I suffered in silence, nor did they understand why I was determined to remain detached from everything and everyone. I refused to allow anything to get too close for fear I would crumble all over again.” She shook her head, and her voice cracked with emotion. “I never imagined that I would find someone who could dare to be patient enough, or care for me enough, that they might find a way past my defenses, but somehow you managed the impossible. You made me listen when everyone else was content to leave me alone. You showed me what it means to be truly…happy.”
Rem used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tears that flowed down her face. In that moment, he was more humbled than he could say. She had bared herself to him completely, body, heart, and soul.
“Your love is the greatest gift that I could have ever asked for.” A trickle of moisture surprised him as it coursed down his cheek, and he knew he was crying too. His father would have turned over in his grave if he’d known his son was showing such raw vulnerability, but he didn’t consider it a weakness. It was a strength to be able to show someone what he was feeling. Isadora had just proved that.
She offered him a trembling smile. “Thank you for being patient with me while I found myself.”
He brought her close to his chest. They were skin to skin and heart to heart. “I would have waited an eternity for you.”
She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “You nearly did.” When her gaze lifted once more, it was with passion shining in her eyes. “Now we get to enjoy the future and whatever else it might hold for us.” She coyly lifted a brow as she started to slide down his body. “But for now…”
He hissed through his teeth, but it quickly turned into a groan.
Epilogue
October 15, 1824
London, England
“Here.You look like you could use this.”
The Duke of Gravesend was tapping his finger on his leg, a dark frown on his face, but he glanced up when his brother-in-law approached him with a glass of spirits, as if he was the guest in his own townhouse. “No, thank you.”
Sebastian Ford, Viscount Blakely, gave a nonchalant shrug. “Suit yourself.” He downed the finger’s worth in one large gulp.
As another pain-filled moan came from above them, the duke shoved his hands through his midnight-black hair. “How long does it take to have a blasted baby?” he growled impatiently, his voice even more raspy in his frustration.
Grayson Hartfield, the Earl of Somers, walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Olivia will be fine. She’s a Bevelstroke, and we all know how determined those ladies are.”
Remington snorted, as Sebastian barked a laugh. “I can’t speak for your wives,” the viscount gestured to each of them in turn. “But Calliope is a whirlwind. She has taken over my entire household with the efficiency of a thunderstorm.” He shrugged. “But then, I can’t say much, because I’m absolutely besotted with her.”
“Indeed,” Gray concurred with a shake of his head. “I never thought I would ever find a woman that could bring either of us to heel, but it only took one night at the opera before I fell in love with Araminta. I haven’t been the same since.” He walked over to a nearby chair and sank down in it, as if either defeated or completely baffled. Rem decided it was a bit of both.
The viscount looked at him. “You never actually told us when you realized Isadora was the one woman you couldn’t live without.”
