Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Julia was a lady who kept her promises, and when she told Andrew that she would meet him at midnight, she intended to do just that.

She slipped out of Powell Estate under the cover of darkness to find that he had had a coach readied for her to take her to Trowbridge Estate.

Inside the carriage, she smiled to herself as she admired the ring that now sat on her finger. Under the passing lamplights, it seemed to twinkle and glow. She held it up to the light.

I still cannot believe I am actually betrothed to Andrew. I fear that this is all a dream, and when I wake up, I still have to marry that horrid Lord Cosby…

The coach soon rolled to a stop, and she looked out the window to find that they were at the front door of Trowbridge Estate. Andrew was waiting for her at the front steps with that rascally grin that she loved so much.

“I had thought we were going to use the back door passage tonight,” she told him as he helped her down from the carriage.

She felt his hand close over hers, and then, he gave a slight tug which sent her hurtling forward with a small shriek. She felt his strong arms wrap around her, and with a laugh, he swung her up until he was carrying her in his arms as if she weighted nothing.

“My Lord! What are you doing? What if Lady Trowbridge sees us?” Julia asked, slapping his shoulder lightly.

“My mother is a very considerate woman,” Andrew told her with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. “She has moved to Rowley House already and intends to stay there while the wedding preparations are underway.”

Rowley House was right next to Trowbridge Estate. It had been Andrew’s official residence when his father had been alive, and he had been the Earl of Rowley.

“You… did not send her away, did you?” Julia asked suspiciously.

“No, although I would have if she did not suggest it herself.”

She slapped his shoulder again. “Rogue! How could you do that to your own mother?”

“I have numerous other estates that could cater to my mother’s discerning tastes,” he told her. “But we both agreed on one thing—that there will only be one Lady Trowbridge in Trowbridge Estate, and that will be you, Red.”

Julia smiled as she felt tears well up in her eyes. How could she have been so fortunate? Just a few hours ago, she was so certain that her life was coming to an end, and now, she could only look forward to boundless happiness at Andrew’s side.

“Don’t cry, Red,” he soothed. “If Trowbridge Estate is not enough for you, there are others for you to choose from.”

She laughed. “Oh, no! I am perfectly happy with Trowbridge Estate. We could live in a veritable hovel, and I would still be the happiest woman in the world as long as I am with you.”

Andrew’s brow scrunched into a frown. “Well, I do like keeping you living in style, so a hovel is out of the question. Where are we ever going to keep your gowns and—” his voice dropped to a seductive whisper “—the vast collection of night rails and negligees I intend to buy for you.”

Julia looked up at him with a wry smile. “Is this ‘vast collection of night rails and negligees’ a gift for me or a gift for you?”

“A fine gift should be wrapped appropriately, would you not agree?”

She shook her head as he carried her into his room and gently placed her in the center of his bed. She watched as his eyes darkened imperceptibly with desire, her gaze dropping to his lips.

“You can keep looking, Red,” he whispered huskily. “I am all yours to admire.”

She tugged at his cravat with a mischievous smile, pulling him closer to her until their noses were almost touching. “You are mine,” she said softly. “Only mine.”

“Only yours,” Andrew promised before his lips slanted over hers in a fierce kiss. “Only yours, Red.”

Julia smiled as she kissed him back with her whole heart. No longer did they have to keep meeting in secret. No longer did she have to worry if all this was nothing but a fleeting fantasy.

He was here now with her. He was real. They were real.

Their clothes soon ended up in a pile by the foot of the bed, and she laughed as he slowly peeled her stockings off her legs with his teeth. His eyes met hers, and she felt something deep within her clench. Powerfully so.

“Stop looking at me like that, Red,” he whispered.

“Like what?” she challenged, tilting her head to the side just a little.

His breath rasped against her calf as he kissed her there. “Like pure, undiluted desire.” He kissed her knee, and her breath hitched in her throat. “Like seduction in a smile.”

Julia had never heard herself being spoken of in such a manner, but it was not so much his words as the tone he was using to speak them to her. That and the way his mouth pressed a trail of soft kisses up her leg and along her inner thigh until she thought she would burst into flames from his methodically slow seduction.

“You think I am all that?” she asked, peering at him from beneath her lashes.

He laughed hoarsely as he raised himself up. “Not only that, but I can feel it, Red.”

He caught her hand and pressed it to his hardness, hissing as her fingers wrapped around his length instinctively.

She looked up at him with worry. “You must teach me how to pleasure you, too.”

“Do not worry,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “You are doing absolutely wonderful. And we have a lifetime to learn each other’s bodies.”

A lifetime.

Julia smiled, feeling tears prick her eyes.

“Do not cry, my love,” Andrew soothed, running his thumb gently below the corner of her eye. “Else, you will make me think that you are dreading spending the rest of your life with me.”

“Never!” She shook her head. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “I thought I was the one who was supposed to say that to you.”

“Well…” She smiled up at him as she ran a finger down his chest. “You know how I have always liked to say the most audacious things.”

“Say them to me,” he murmured. “I have always liked listening to you.”

She began to run her hands up and down his shaft, causing him to groan and shift his hips into her touch.

“I would like for you to keep going,” he told her. “But I feel like I cannot hold on any longer.” He looked her straight in the eye. “I need you, Red. I need to be inside of you.”

Despite the intimacies they had shared with each other and the intense pleasure he wreaked upon her, Julia had always felt as if there was something else she had yet to discover with him. A pinnacle she had yet to reach.

She nodded. “I am all yours, My Lord.”

Andrew groaned and kissed her deeply, his tongue intertwining with hers as his fingers found her slick folds—found her wet and ready and wanting. She arched into his touch with a soft moan, her eyes fluttering open in surprise as he slid a finger inside her.

“God, Red,” he muttered, leaning his sweaty forehead against hers. “You are so hot and tight.”

She bit her lower lip, gasping when she felt his finger touch something deep within her. Something that had her bucking her hips, her hands clenching the sheets beneath her.

“This is going to hurt a little,” he told her regretfully. “I wish there was some other way I could spare you the pain…”

Julia raised a hand to caress his cheek. She looked deeply into his eyes and saw the wildness in them, the raging desire that he was keeping in check so as not to hurt her.

“I think…” She smiled up at him. “I think I would like nothing more than to truly be with you, Andrew.”

He groaned and wedged his knee between her legs. She could feel the tip of his length nestled against her slick folds, and she let out a soft moan. She knew that she wanted him… she just did not understand how, really.

He positioned himself at her entrance and began to push inside a little bit. His eyes remained on her face, watching for any change in her expression.

“Does it hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Not really.”

He pushed in deeper, stopping when her breath hitched even the slightest bit. It felt strange, as if she was being stretched just the slightest bit. Like she was slowly being filled. And all that time, she could feel a dull, throbbing need. As if having him inside her was just right.

“This is going to hurt,” he warned her again.

She smiled and laughed a little. “You already told me that earlier.”

But his expression was intensely solemn, and she knew what that meant—he had reached her maidenhead. That barrier between maidenhood and womanhood.

“You are so gentle with me,” she murmured. “And I would love nothing more than to be yours—truly yours, Andrew.”

He groaned. “Red, you have no idea what your words do to me!”

He kissed her deeply as he sank all the way inside her, swallowing the cry that erupted from her throat as the last vestiges of her old life sundered, and she was completely a woman.

For a moment, they remained still, their ragged breaths filling the air between them. Andrew drew her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it gently.

“Are you all right, my love?” he asked.

She nodded. “It hurt a little at first,” she admitted. “But the pain is subsiding now.”

He smiled and leaned his forehead against hers. “I am going to start moving again, and you are going to tell me if you feel any discomfort anywhere, all right?”

She nodded. “All right.”

She closed her eyes and felt him slowly withdrawing from her, bracing herself for pain. Instead, all she felt was a simmering heat. As if a small fire within her had been stoked.

He thrust inside her again, and she let out a soft hiss.

He stopped immediately. “Did it hurt? Do you want me to stop?”

Dear God in heaven, is he out of his mind?

She shook her head a little too quickly. “It feels… great. Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”

He smiled and ducked his head, drawing one of her nipples into his mouth and sucking the stiff peak as he slowly moved within her.

Suddenly, Julia felt as if she was nothing but a small boat being tossed about in a stormy sea of passion. It was as if Andrew had lit a small fire within her that was now threatening to burn out of control.

And for the first time in her life, she found that she did not want to be in control anymore. She did not want to keep having to be strong, to keep up pretenses.

She wanted to let loose.

She wanted to burn.

“That’s it, Red,” Andrew urged as his hips slammed against hers. “Let it go.”

She let out a soft moan as he repeatedly struck that strange place within her that had her writhing beneath him. She reached out for him, and she saw in his eyes that he understood.

He caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Do not worry,” he crooned. “I am right here with you.”

At that moment, she felt herself being pushed over the edge, hurtling into an endless sea of stars and light. Her hips bucked, her back arched as a loud moan erupted from her lips at the same time that Andrew let out a low growl—a mingling of their voices into a single, unified cry of triumph.

Moments later, she felt him slide out of her. He turned to his side, gathering her in his arms. Softly, he pressed a kiss to her sweaty temple.

“I love you so much, Red,” he murmured.

Her eyes fluttered sleepily as she snuggled deeper into his embrace. “I love you, too, Andrew.” She smiled a little and then added, “Even if you infuriate me most of the time.”

He let out a soft chuckle and kissed her forehead. “You should rest a little bit. I am afraid I have pushed you a little hard tonight.”

“Oh.” She looked up at him with a mischievous smile. “You can push a little harder next time.”

Andrew groaned and buried his nose in her neck. “Do not tempt me, Red. I’m already dying over here, trying to control myself from having my way with you again.”

She laughed and buried her nose in his chest. “All right. Perhaps we truly should rest a little.”

As she felt herself slowly succumb to the song of sleep, Julia could not help but smile a little, burying her nose deeper in his chest. Now that she had Andrew, she was no longer afraid of spending the rest of her life with just one person.

Already, she was looking forward to the rest of their life together.

The End?