Epilogue

"But you still have not told me!"

Will threw her over the threshold, almost bouncing her onto the four-post bed. Landing with a spring, Lissie squealed.

"Och!" she tutted, her hair disheveled and her dress flailing around. But Will wore a singly wicked look.

"I compel you, to tell me at once the meaning of this."

Surreptitiously, he leaned down and plucked the monogrammed handkerchief from Lissie"s pouch.

"Och!" she pouted, this time louder, as Will stripped away at her underskirts and located the hankie. There, he unfurled it, laying it bare to her with a smirk.

"Come on, talk, wench. Did you rob me?" Will"s eyes danced, and Lissie could see some passion brewing in them.

Laying out on the bed, she smoothed her silken hair and primly arranged her skirts.

"Pray mercy, good sir," she said, fluttering her eyelashes and making him guffaw. "But I didnae steal anything. In fact, ye gave me the handkerchief in person. An" like I said, on the bridge."

Lissie"s blue eyes teased him as Will stood there agape. He thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Sorry, no, I just do not understand it!" he quipped, leaning close. Will teased her with his mouth, using the edge of his lips to caress her. It was a strange embrace, but it did not stop a hotness surging up the base of Lissie"s spine.

He looked so good. With his tempting eyes and even more wicked smile, Lissie just had to have this aroused lord.

"I mean, I bid yer help, guid sir, prithee help a poor wee teuchter on her way," Lissie perfected a curtsy, somehow standing up on the bed, then instantly falling into a heap, and began laughing.

"Och, on the bridge. Months ago. Ye stopped to help me, a poor wretch who had stumbled..." Shyly, she brought her face to his nose.

Slowly, the penny was dropping.

"You...?" he said, a grin enveloping his features. Lissie watched him with fun.

"Aye, me," she said, kissing him, this time slowly. Will pressed down on her and kissed her again and again—on the lips, on the cheek, on the brow, and on the chin. Then his lips bore in, dropping below her jawline.

Lissie could do little but squeal. An explosion of pleasure had engulfed her, and none of it had been planned.

"Och, help ma boab," she moaned, while Will only laughed, pulling the stray hair from her face.

"You know, I have no idea what you"re saying, Lissie," he said, curling her hair around his fingertips.

Lissie just lay back. By that point, she had given in to the bliss.

"I was the wee scunner ye helped up that day. An" the first proper gentleman I found in London."

Will arched his eyes. He was above her, gazing down amusedly. "Pardon?" he said, pretending to be deaf. "The first?"

His eyes stared questioningly but in mock. Lissie sighed. She climbed onto him and rolled him over. Now he was on top of her, and a ferocious heat burned within.

"Och, alright, the only real gentleman in London Town," she conceded, her eyes opening wide. In surprise, she looked down. Her small, soft bosoms glistened in the candlelight air.

Lissie did a double-take, making Will laugh muchly.

"God"s tooth, where did my robe go?" Lissie looked around, but Will just pressed her to the bed and tutted.

"No," he said, softly caressing her light-colored flesh. He seemed entranced by the texture of her bosoms. In the candlelight, everything was tinted yellow, sending a soft glow around the room.

Tenderly, he kissed her on the lips.

"I have to punish you now," he said, smiling. Somehow, he was still fully dressed, a situation Lissie thought most unfair. But as she began to try and undress him, he stopped her with his hand.

"No, lass," he said, lying her down. "You managed to get under my skin and seduce me, even before I knew who you were. That makes you a witch in my book!"

His eyes widened, bringing his hand around Lissie"s pert bosom. They both watched as he sent an experimental finger darting across, awakening sensations Lissie never knew she had.

"Will!" she shrieked, making him shake his head.

"Again," he said, now pressing his lips against her breast and sucking tight.

A wealth of feelings exploded in Lissie, rendering her insensible. All she could do was moan.

"That"s right," commanded Will as he caressed her again, this time using his tongue to bring her to the depths of delight. Lissie, who had no experience of this, was in raptures.

"My guidness," she murmured as Will pressed his finger to her lips and bade silence. Then he kissed her tight, bringing his amorous mouth down to the center of her love.

Will caressed her belly button, kissing and igniting it with real power. Lissie was beyond help. She could but moan and roll as Will watched her proudly.

Then, he removed his shirt. The sight of Will"s rippling torso kindled her burgeoning passion. Moaning lightly, she moved to caress him. Running her fingers over his skin, she explored his body curiously.

He had a little body hair, not lots, spread over his ample chest. His skin was warm and sleek and just inviting a visit from her hands.

And not only her hands. Lissie could not stop herself from putting her mouth to his chest and kissing him softly. Looking up, she saw the approval in his eyes. He cupped her chin softly.

There were no words while he caressed her. Leaning her over and kissing the side of her cheek, he pushed her back down onto the bed but sideways. Then he ran his fingers up and down her, making her shiver and shake as he enticed her to bliss. All this, and he had not even come close to her love yet.

Lissie"s eyes bade him on, nudging him toward her. Now his arms were around her waist, hugging her in the center of her love, squeezing her intently.

Lissie felt herself heat up, then speed up, and then, well, goosebumps all over. Her insides throbbed and pumped, and she wanted to be touched. Will leaned in, stroking her private area. What started as a light caress soon turned into a more urgent discovery.

"You are warm and wet," he murmured approvingly, taking her hand and kissing it. Then he laid her right back and probed her with his tongue.

A jet of pleasure unleashed around her, taking Lissie by surprise. Will looked up, his head nestling between her legs.

"More?" he said.

Lissie just moaned, to which Will laughed. Then he went straight back down, causing Lissie to writhe and squirm with sheer pleasure.

"Dinnae stop," she moaned as his tongue encircled within her. He kissed her with repetitive motions, ripples of delight which spread within her.

The longer it lasted, the more intense it got. And with his hand, he stroked her open breasts. This was the jolt she needed to move into ecstasy. As soon as he touched her nipples, she ached with delirium.

And she was wet. Suddenly, a drenched feeling overwhelmed her. She was on fire.

"My goodness," she murmured as a smiling Will pressed her head back to experience the torrent of ecstasy coming toward her.

"Hush," said Will, putting a finger to her lips. But by then, Lissie could do little but sigh. The pleasure erupted out of her, and all without doing a thing. It was all she could do not to scream.

Instead, she just lay there, marveling and still at the intense joy happening within her.

"I love ye," she mumbled as Will leaned down and kissed her lips.

He just smiled.

For a moment, she wondered if she had said the wrong thing, but after a pause, he said, "And I love you too, duchess of Iverst." Will smiled, making Lissie sit up in surprise.

Duchess.

It had a ring to it. Now no one could look down on her, not even Fiona!

Grinning, Lissie suddenly fell on Will, kissing him. She pushed him down into the fine silks of the bed and caressed him at every point.

Taking her arm, she began to rub him tenderly, softly. Then, for a moment, she paused to open a bottle—a small vial by the bedside—before bringing it to his skin.

"What is it?" he asked anxiously.

Lissie just flicked him about the head. "Wheesht!" she commanded, pushing his face down onto the pillow before applying the liquid to his back and shoulders. "It"s a love potion."

Will murmured something before settling his position on the bed as Lissie proceeded to rub his entire body passionately.

The longer it went on, the more he relaxed into it, and Lissie devoured him inch by inch.

By now, she was not just rubbing but kissing him all the way from the nape to the buttocks. And just as Will was moaning for more, she swiftly turned him around and smiled.

"Raring to go," she observed, smiling.

Looking down, she grinned. Will was completely erect and full of passion. But he still glanced at her carefully.

"Are ye sure?" he said, smoothing down her hair. "Because, you know, we don"t have to. You can?—"

Before he got to the end, Lissie pushed him back down and kissed him. Then, she grinned.

"I"m sure," she said, her eyes flaring provocatively. She was completely naked save for her hair streaming down and covering her bosoms.

Seeing them hidden, Will tutted and uncovered them, feeling them surreptitiously. Lissie immediately began to squeal.

He kissed her again on the face, lips, and eyes. Lissie giggled as he stroked her hair and began to enter her.

Slowly, he nudged inside her, gently easing his way in. Every now and then, he would stop and look at her, and she nodded him on.

Bit by bit, she was getting fuller. A thrusting, warm feeling enveloped her. Will was fully within her and working his way up from gentle tugs to more urgent movements.

"Lie back," he instructed her, placing his hand over her face. It took a while, but Will worked up the vibrations until Lissie did not know her own name.

Everything was him, the warm, deep, filling sensation running deep. At last, Will was thrusting quickly, surging hard and fast inside her. Lissie moaned.

It was too much pleasure. She had only just stopped herself from coming, and now it was happening again. The tidal surge of pleasure swelled up.

Will grasped her near. Hot and sweating, he brought her head to his torso and clasped it deep.

Ripples ran through Lissie. The look of him then, his bright blue eyes shining, his heavy black hair… Suddenly, she felt so proud to have him.

And that was not all. With one last push, Will unloaded himself into her, sending joy oozing out of him and into her.

"Lissie," he murmured, holding her tight. He ran his wrist around her waist and marveled. "I love you," he added, pulling her near. "And you can keep my handkerchief, you shameless minx!"

Lissie collapsed into Will"s arms, laughing.

"An" I love ye too, third duke o" Iverst!"

She snuggled into him, burying her head deep in his flesh. The scent of his body unfurled. Sighing, Lissie yawned.

This was where she felt safe.

She had never felt so happy.