Epilogue

EPILOGUE

“At last.” Xander stepped down from the carriage and turned to face Violet.

She smiled at him from the carriage. In the end, they had not left her father’s house as quickly as she would have liked. Jonathan had returned to the house and wanted to know how their reconciliation could happen so quickly.

He’d insisted they stay for lunch so he could hear everything and be certain that he was giving his daughter to a good man, after all. When he’d heard Xander had sent Violet away to protect her, all his worries had melted away, and he’d been only too happy to give Violet back to him again.

“I had a feeling for a minute your father wasn’t going to give you back.” Xander chuckled and reached for her. Rather than taking her hand, he lovingly took her waist instead, and she leaned into him, indulging in the warmth of his touch as he helped her down from the coach.

“I think he debated it,” Violet said with a giggle. “He told me, though, he wouldn’t part with me for anyone who would not put my safety first.”

“Always,” he assured her, bending down and kissing her on the cheek.

“Xander,” she whispered, curling her hand around the lapel of his coat. “Can we…” She didn’t know how to ask the question.

She had no wish to stay out here, to be in the cold, when for so long this last week she had been dreaming of him, wanting him near.

“Bedchamber?” he offered in a whisper, apparently reading her thoughts without her having to tell him any more. “Gladly.”

He stepped back and took her hand.

Violet barely looked around her as she followed him. She thought only of him and being near him again, of putting all their arguments and distance behind them. She set her eyes on his dark frock coat and black hair.

As they traipsed through the house, no one had lit any candles, so they moved between the shadows. With the sunlight fading in the sky, it was difficult to see anything at all in the darkness, though she didn’t mind. She just wanted to be near him and would gladly follow him into that darkness.

When they reached his chamber, he opened the door, making it creak loudly. Inside the chamber, there was just one source of light, though it was low and barely offered any light at all. The fire had burned down to red embers, the glow just hovering over the hearth rug.

Xander closed the door behind them and leaned against it, his hand still on hers. “You do not know how I have missed you.”

His voice was so deep that she moved toward him. “I missed you, too.”

He bent toward her then, his movements slow. He kissed her, his lips softly moving against her own, exploratory all the way. He parted her mouth, taking her tongue and tangling their bodies together.

He wrapped an arm around her, tugging her against him so that they were pressed together, her small body reaching up to his tall and strong figure.

By the time they parted, she was a writhing mess, thinking only of the way he touched her—his hands running across her waist, down to her rear, and cupping her tightly. Then, his hands moved, teasing her with soft touches on her neckline and down her arms.

“Don’t stop, Xander,” she pleaded. “Please.”

“I have no intention of stopping,” he assured her, his tone almost commanding.

The words broke the softness between them. In its place was an urgency, a need which was sudden and abrupt. They kissed, colliding together and falling away from the door across the room.

When they reached the bed, Violet fell down on it, and Xander moved over her, clambering onto the bed. The way he pressed his body to hers, the intensity of it, had that rushing ache returning between her legs.

She now knew from experience the ache could only be satisfied by him.

“Xander,” she whispered between kisses. “Please.”

“Almost,” he promised, kissing his way down her neck and across her open neckline. “I don’t want a thing between us.”

“I… Oh—” She broke off, gasping at the sensation as he placed a hand on her stomach, kissing her breasts through the material.

She closed her eyes, thinking of that ache between her legs when he suddenly took hold of her hip and turned her over.

She giggled into the mattress as he reached for the laces at the back of her gown and undid them. He pushed her gown down off her shoulders, and she knelt up, moving to help him. He had barely got her gown down to her hips when he was already reaching for her stays beneath, untying them, too.

The stays were flung from her body, and then he urged her to stand on the bed, dragging the gown and chemise from her waist down her legs. He tossed the material over his shoulder, leaving her in nothing but her stockings, then reached for them, too.

Violet stayed standing as he peeled the stockings down, one at a time, kissing her thighs and leaving a searing trail with his tongue.

She gasped, tipping her head back at his touches. In danger of falling over, she gripped the nearest bedpost, using it to keep herself standing. Once he had removed her stockings, he still didn’t pull her down to the bed but lifted one of her legs.

“Xander,” she whispered.

That ache was worse than ever before now. It was a desperate longing for him, accompanied by a wetness that was making her body ready for him.

He lifted her leg, looking her in the eye the whole time as he tucked her leg over his shoulder and kissed up the inside of her thigh. He nipped softly at her skin, the touch playful, teasing, and then he moved his lips to her very center.

Flinging her head back, Violet gripped the bedpost all the more tightly. The sensation was everything she had been longing for and more, the pleasure reaching deep inside her. He kissed her skin first, teasing the most sensitive part of her body, then he lowered his tongue further, teasing her opening.

“Xander!” she cried out, both in pleasure and in desperation for more. “Please!”

He didn’t hold back or hesitate this time. He released her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her down to the bed. She kissed him, tasting herself on him, before he abruptly left her. He stood at the side of the bed and shed all his clothes.

She moved up a little to watch him, admiring the way his chest was bared and the carving of his muscles, right down to his legs and his length, which stood to attention as he kicked his trousers to the side.

“Xander,” she moaned, even though he wasn’t touching her at this moment, the pleasure overtaking her body. “Please.”

He moved toward her, climbing over her body until he covered her completely, then molded their bodies together. She wrapped her arms around him, trailing her fingers over his back and up to his shoulders, then into his hair, too.

He took hold of one of her legs, lifting it around his hip so her body was open to him, then he nudged his length against her opening, teasing her, promising it would happen, yet not quite giving it to her.

“Xander,” she moaned between their kisses. “Will you torture me like this forever?”

He chuckled softly. “Playful punishment. What’s wrong with that?” He hovered his lips over hers just as he nudged her a little more, still not giving her what she wanted.

“Me? Punishment?” She tapped him on the back, and he laughed once more.

“For… writing about me?” he said, clearly racking his brain for a reason. “For taking so long to come back when I wanted you here so badly? For… for making me wait for this?”

“Xander!” she moaned in outrage as he reached between them and teased her with his finger instead of his length. He buried that finger inside her, satisfying some of her need, but not all of it. “No more teasing, just…”

He gripped her other thigh, lifting it high, opening her more and more as he moved his hand. The pleasure was so great that she tipped her head back onto the covers, shuddering with the pleasure.

“Love,” she murmured gently, and his eyes shot to her.

“Say it,” he begged suddenly, halting his movements. “You love me?” he asked with clear hope.

“I’ve loved you for a long time,” she whispered.

He removed his hand from her at once, kissing her deeply as his length slipped inside of her. The sudden full feeling created such pleasure that she gasped into the kiss. He rocked their bodies together fast, apparently needing it as much as she did, desperate for it.

She raked her hands up and down his back, scratching him playfully as he arched his back over her. Then, he gripped her hands and held them above her head with one hand, keeping her flat to the bed and at his mercy, in a way she adored.

As he thrust into her repeatedly, pleasuring her, kissing down her neck and across her breasts, she knew she loved this, too. Being adored by him in such a way, dominated and pleasured, gave her something in life she had not known existed before him.

He continued kissing down the valley between her breasts, then lowered his lips to a single breast and took her areole into his mouth, sucking on it playfully. It made the pleasure somehow spike inside of her body, and she arched into him, wanting more and more of this feeling.

“Xander,” she moaned, then at her voice, he changed their position, pulling out of her. She whimpered, wanting the feeling again.

“Trust me,” he said with a wink and urged her to turn around.

She ended up on her knees, facing away from him, her palms planted on the mattress. His hands found her rear, and he squeezed it softly, then drew her leg to the side, enough to give him room to kneel between her calves.

He didn’t hesitate this time. He found her entrance and thrust inside of her. He reached a new angle, and she arched her back, indulging in the feeling, though he moved her swiftly again.

He took hold of her waist and lifted her a little, so she was no longer resting her weight on her hands but leaning back against him. It meant she could angle her head around, enough for him to look her in the eye, kiss her on the lips, and then place those kisses down her neck.

The pleasure overtook her at his kisses. This new position enthralled her—it was both pleasure-filled and yet intimate.

“Don’t stop,” she begged, her climax getting nearer and nearer. She could feel that wave approaching her fast, about to consume her. “Xander,” she started to moan when she felt he was close too.

He started to growl in her neck, unable to hold himself back, and then he suddenly urged her back down to rest her weight on her hands. He thrust faster, and the sheer passion of his movements pushed her over the edge.

The wave of pleasure consumed her. She closed her eyes as her body tightened around him. The thrill spread from her core to her limbs, making her fingers curl into the bedding. Then, he growled more behind her and started to moan loudly.

“Vi. Ah!” Then, he thrust into her wildly.

She could feel his release as he thrust a few more times, the pleasure so intense that their bodies could not stop moving and rocking together, and then it was suddenly over.

His body fell over hers, and she collapsed onto the bed, breathless. Her body was still full of him as he rested on her, placing most of his weight on one forearm so his weight didn’t crush her.

He kissed down the center of her back and up across her shoulders to her neck, too. She giggled at the constant kisses.

“Making up for lost time?” she asked between panting breaths.

“Perhaps.” He chuckled, kissing down the center of her back.

“Did I mention that I love this?” she murmured, arching her head back as he kissed across her rear and up to her hip.

“You might have inferred it.”

“Did I mention that… I love you?”

“You said it, but not enough. Say it again,” he pleaded, then he parted her legs once more and his fingers found her center.

She was sensitive, her body still primed for pleasure, and she thrust her hips up toward his hand, wanting more and more of it.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too.” His voice had softened. “Now, perhaps you need a little punishment for not telling me sooner.”

“Do I get to punish you, too?” she called over her shoulder, smiling at him.

He paused in his kisses, looking up at her with a mischievous smile. “Perhaps. First, let’s start with you.”

He gave a playful tap to her buttcheek, one that elicited such pleasure inside of her that she rocked her hips against his fingers yet again, wanting more and more of the feeling.

He took hold of her hip and flipped her over, then entered her with his fingers again. As Violet gripped the bedsheets, her body lost in pleasure, she knew for certain that eliciting an emotion from Xander had been the right dare for her.

Maybe it had been no easy thing, maybe at one point she’d had her heart broken, but now it was whole again. As she loved him, he loved her, and they had a future together.

“Xander,” she whispered through panting and breathy moans. “Don’t stop.”

“I’ll do anything you ask of me. I’m yours, after all, aren’t I?” he murmured as he kissed up her stomach.

He nipped the underside of her breast and moved to align his body with hers again. She felt at her entrance that he was already hard and wanting her again. Apparently, his longing for her was as insatiable as hers was for him.

He hovered on the point of entering her, teasing her. “Your Dark Duke.”

The End?