Epilogue

Kat's wedding was a dream come true. Somehow, the Eatons and the Harringtons miraculously turned the abandoned chapel into a wedding hall. They'd even constructed a stairway leading to a small suite for the newlyweds.

As a wedding gift, her sisters-in-law had decorated the bed chamber. They'd spared no expense for the luxurious turquoise and cream linens, draperies, and upholstery. Three plush wingbacks and a velvet settee sat beneath a charming, sloped ceiling. The very best part was the massive bed where Evan and Kat spent excessive amounts of time exploring each other's bodies.

The wedding took place downstairs in the main chamber. Bouquets of white roses tied with peach bows festooned the room, and flickering candles cast a romantic glow in the ancient building. Hand-carved wooden benches provided seating for four dozen guests, and the original altar shined from its thorough polishing.

With teary eyes, Evan declared his love for her. She'd boldly kissed him in front of their friends and family. The prince had been unable to attend, but the queen arrived in Trent with an entourage of servants. She sat in the front row, wiping tears of joy from her eyes as she enthusiastically cheered on Evan and Kat's first kiss as husband and wife.

Following a banquet in Trent Castle's dining hall, Evan tossed Kat over his shoulder and carried her out the servant's entrance and across the lawn to the chapel. He'd had to put her down a couple of times, but that just made their tomfoolery more amusing. They'd giggled when he accidentally banged Kat's shoulder into the wall while carrying her up the stairwell. The moment he'd tossed her onto the bed, their laughter was replaced with desire—a garment-tearing, skin-scratching, screaming-into-the-rafters kind of passion.

Even after the guests departed, life in Trent remained a joyous whirlwind. Two days after the wedding, their brothers planted a sign in the ground in front of the old chapel officially declaring the building The Eaton School of Art. Afterward, they'd removed the flowers and carted away the benches. Easels, canvases, and art supplies were carried in and arranged on the new shelves. Kat and Evan painted murals on the back wall and erected hand-carved sculptures in the entranceway.

Three days after that, their first pupil knocked on the door. Soon, students traveled from all over the East-midlands to study with "the talented couple." Meanwhile, commissions for Evan's art poured in.

Two months had passed since their wedding, and they still made love in that big bed every morning and evening—and sometimes even in the middle of the afternoon.

There wasn't a second that Kat didn't crave her husband's touch. Even though she was currently painting him, she wanted to climb onto his lap and ride him until their worlds collided in an earth-shattering explosion. If he had on clothes, she might not have been salivating as she tried to create his likeness.

His crooked grin sensual, Evan stretched out on a settee. He lay on his side, propped on one elbow, the length of his manhood on full display.

After swallowing hard, Kat's gaze slid over his sinewy form. Stars, he was masculine perfection. Bulging biceps. A chiseled jawline. Those mischievous green eyes. It was no use. His thick cock fascinated her.

Kat licked her lips and ran the back of her hand across her forehead. Instead of swiping sweat from her brow, she smeared sticky paint across her face.

Evan chuckled.

"Stop fidgeting," Kat told her very naked husband.

He winked and grasped his cock.

Dampness pulled between Kat's thighs. Blasted Evan. She was so close to finishing the portrait. "If you do not behave, I shall have to paint you pleasuring yourself."

His grin wicked, he fisted himself with long, lazy strokes. "Keep painting, princess," he said, his voice guttural with desire.

To the devil with his teasing. Besides, she had a big announcement she was anxious to announce. But first, she wanted to taste him. Kat dropped her paintbrush onto the palette and stalked toward him.

With a lustful gaze, he sat up and watched her approach.

Anxious to lap at the pearly drip taunting her, she folded onto her knees in front of him and licked. Evan tasted of salty sensuality with a hint of rather delectable citrusy sweetness. Lucky her.

She wrapped her lips around him and sucked him deep. His moans of pleasure spurred on her sensual licks and playful flicks administered in creative combinations.

His fingers tunneled through her hair, clouding her brain with lust. She'd meant to tell him something. But for the life of her, she had no idea what.

Cradling the back of her neck, he encouraged her with needy pleas. "That's it. Take me deeper." His hips rocked as her tongue coaxed pleasure from him. "Damnations, princess, you are so bloody good at this."

She continued to work him in and out of her throat as she studied him with the intensity of a voyeur.

His lids drifted over his eyes, and his head dropped against the back of the settee. The muscles in his neck and jaw tightened. "I'm going to come."

He'd barely finished his utterance when his body shuddered, and he cried out her name.

Pride surged through her. She'd escorted this beautiful man to another world using only her tongue and lips.

Stars! Kat was one lucky woman.

Evan succumbed to the sheer bliss of his wife's skillful ministrations. Exploding. Floating. Falling… Falling… Falling….

When he landed, Kat sat beside him, her arms wrapped around him. A swish of brown paint adorned her forehead, and a dab of green dotted her adorable nose. Using his thumb, he gently cleaned her face as he stared into her eyes. Lord above, he loved his passionate, brave woman.

"Evan," she shyly whispered as if they hadn't just shared the most intimate of moments. "I have something to tell you."

Caressing her cheek, his gaze intense, he willed her to continue.

She took his hand in hers and rested his palm on her belly.

He understood her meaning immediately, and the greatest joy he'd ever known bolted through him.

"A boy or a girl?" he asked.

Not that it mattered one iota.

Kat giggled. "I have not a clue. You will be a wonderful father either way."

Evan a wonderful father? Who would have guessed it? But hell yes! He'd be the champion of all fathers. The king of fathers. The most devoted of fathers.

"Hmm," he murmured, his hand warm between Katrina's palm and belly. Do not ask him how he knew, but he was certain he was about to have a daughter, and what better way to celebrate than by making love to his wife?

Rearranging their hands so that he grasped her fingers in his, he stood, then tugged her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

He inclined his chin toward the back of their studio.

Kat's eyes lit up. Thereupon, his playful minx tugged him toward the stairs.

Hell's bells! Evan was besotted and bloody content. He chuckled.

Kat halted in the stairwell to face him. "What is so amusing?"

He kissed her nose. Dare he remind her that he'd known the first time he saw the pretty little girl in the pink dress that he'd plunked that frog in her tea to get her attention?

One could never whisper sweet sentiments too often, so he'd say it again. But only after he'd pleasured her a half dozen ways and wrung every ounce of passion from her.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her to him. First, he kissed her passionately. Afterward, he hefted her over his shoulder, carried her to their bed, and tossed her onto it.

The once proper Katrina hiked up her skirts and spread her legs wide. "Why just stand there gawking? Hurry up and fuck me, husband," she demanded.

Growling, Evan leaped upon the bed. He'd never deny this diamond—his princess—anything. She was his brave lover, his partner for life, and his sweet wife.

And he was her forever and ever doting, devoted, besotted husband.