Epilogue
Leaving her family was only difficult until she found herself in the carriage with her husband.
Isobel blinked as he ensured that she was comfortable before he situated himself in the carriage, and she felt adoration to her core. They waved at their guests and yelled words of gratitude as the carriage began to roll away from Graham’s estate.
Finally, it was just the two of them.
Richard shuffled closer to Isobel and held her hand in his, raising it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, then another to the back of her hand. And then he turned it around and kissed her wrist, making her heart flutter.
“I’ve been waiting to do this for so long,” he admitted quietly.
“To kiss my hand?” Isobel teased.
Richard shook his head, cupping her face with his hands and drawing her closer for a kiss. Isobel’s eyes slipped closed as their lips met, relishing in the flood of emotions welling up in her. Richard’s kisses were slow and sweet, as though he was also savoring the moment.
“To be this close to you,” he whispered when they reluctantly parted for air. “To adore you as much as my heart can muster. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my days caring for you and loving you, my darling Isobel.”
“Neither can I, Richard. I want to share everything good life has to offer with you. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning, and I want the last thought I have before I drift off at night to be about the warmth of our hand in mine. I want all of you.” She told him softly.
Richard sighed, drawing her in for another kiss, this one deeper than the last.
“All of me you shall have. I swear it. My body and soul belong to you, my love. And they always will be.” He murmured into the space between them.
Isobel sighed, need welling up rapidly within her as she stated with heated fervor.
“I love you.”
Richard moaned against her mouth and echoed the sentiment breathlessly.
“And I love you.”
It was getting harder to think outside the fog of need welling up within her, but Isobel could feel herself craving more of his touch, submitting to every caress and kiss, and just as she was worried they would be left in a very awkward situation, the carriage came to a stop.
“We have arrived, Your Graces.” The coachman announced.
“And not a moment too soon,” Richard exhaled, swiftly disembarking the carriage and helping her out of it.
There was a line of staff members who no doubt served the duke and the estate and wished to welcome their new duchess, but Richard barely stopped as he instructed them to disperse for now.
“The duchess is rather tired, so the necessary introductions will be made later.” He stated, leading Isobel by the hand into the house.
“Richard,” she giggled, following him closely.
“Forgive me, my love,” he sighed, not sounding in the least apologetic. “I am on the verge of being consumed by my desire for you. Everything else can wait.”
He pulled her into a room, closed the door, and pressed her against it.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Isobel whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.
When they had been in the Gramfield estate, the moments they had shared felt somewhat rushed, as they had been controlled by their desire, working to simply do everything they could for their release.
But now that they had the rest of their lives to love and learn about each other, Richard seemed keen on taking his time.
His kisses were deep and wet, tongues mingling together as his hands found purchase on her hips, pinning her to the door.
The slow pace of it was melting Isobel’s mind, seizing the thoughts from her mind before they were even formed, and she ran her hands through his hair, fingers tugging on the soft strands.
Richard’s hands began to move, exploring her curves over her dress, dipping down her back to caress a path down her narrow waist to her buttocks, gripping the flesh greedily.
“I want to ravish you,” Richard muttered, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck. “I want to swallow you whole.”
Isobel sank her teeth into her lower lip as a loud moan threatened to leave her mouth, shuddering as one of he undid the buttons of her dress.
“You can,” she told him. “I am yours to do as you please.”
“I must have used up all my fortune to have been blessed with you, my lovely wife,” he said earnestly, his hands and mannerisms growing quicker where his words were still slow and soft.
He stripped her of her clothes and managed to stay still so she could bring him to the same state of undress before he led her to the bed. His hands and mouth roamed over her body hungrily, nipping, caressing, kissing, biting, and sucking.
Isobel was responsive to each ministration, gradually falling apart on the silk sheets, shaking with need.
Richard’s lips latched onto a nipple while a hand came up to grope the other breast, causing Isobel to arch into his touch.
Just as she tried to gather her senses, his free hand snuck between her legs and she moaned, long and high when his fingers slipped past her wet folds.
He stroked her slowly, and she whined, moving her hip to urge him to increase his pace. At first, he seemed not to have noticed or was likely ignoring her, so she resorted to the one thing she knew she could do.
“P-Please, Richard,” she begged, panting desperately. “I need more. Please.”
Richard smirked, sinister and dark, and he pressed his fingers deeper, stroking her harder and harder each time.
“You’ve learned well, my love. And I am happy to reward you each time you prove to me, just how good you can be,” he told her lowly, kissing her deeply.
Isobel could not speak, could only whine and moan until his fingers brought her ecstasy. Her body tensed, but his fingers continued to move, working over her slippery nub until she was shaking with pleasure.
“What a vision you are,” Richard exhaled, pulling out his fingers and preparing to replace them with his member.
Isobel panted, reaching out to him slowly.
“I need you, my love. Please, Richard.”
Richard tutted, aligning himself with her entrance as he said,
“I have never been able to deny you anything you want. I do not believe I will ever be able to do so.”
And then he pressed himself into her completely.
Isobel’s eyes widened, and she gasped, her body sheathing him perfectly. The tight heat made Richard groan with pleasure, and he pulled out slightly to thrust back in immediately.
Isobel’s hands found purchase on his shoulder as her face contorted in accordance with the sensations flooding her body. The sound of skin on skin filled the room, along with Isobel’s breathless whines and Richard’s grunts, both of them burning from within.
He leaned down to kiss her, claiming her lips as though he had been dying from thirst and she was a spring in the desert. A particularly sharp thrust drew a scream from her lips, and Richard repeated the motion, snapping his hips rapidly in a bit to drive her over the edge.
Isobel clutched at the sheets as she writhed beneath him, begging and sobbing for a release that was rapidly approaching.
“So perfect,” Richard moaned against the column of her neck, his brutal pace neither faltering nor slowing. “So perfect for me. I love you, Isobel. I love you.”
Isobel sobbed, nodding desperately as she struggled to speak as he continued to thrust in and out of her. The tension that had been building began to tighten and grow, rising and rising until Isobel was a sputtering mess of please.
“Me too,” Richard promised, pressing himself deeply into her.
Isobel hiccuped and moaned as they found their release together, Richard’s moans sending shivers down her spine as her body continued to shake. When she had stilled, Richard withdrew himself from her but did not go far, lying by her side and pulling her gently into his arms.
“I have dreamt of this moment. Of holding you like this. And now I can do it every day until I perish. There is no man as happy as I am right now.”
Isobel sighed, relishing in the feeling of soreness all over her body as she shuffled closer to her husband, pressing kisses along his jaw.
“And you will find no woman as happy as I am. I cannot wait to spend the rest of our days together. I cannot wait until we have a family and our lives are surrounded by warmth and happiness.”
Richard smiled and kissed her tenderly, whispering.
“I love you, Isobel.”
Isobel kissed him back, just as lightly, beaming up at him, her heart full of adoration and peace.
“I love you, Richard.”
The End?