Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER…
Evangeline had never seen her husband so cross.
“No, Angel, I mean it.” He glowered at her from where he stood in front of the fireplace in their bedroom.
They rarely left the country these days, except to visit with friends, and with the fire crackling and her husband looking so devilishly handsome in its glow, Evangeline felt a swell of such utter contentment, it brought tears to her eyes.
“Oh, darling, please don’t cry.” Raff’s gaze grew soft and tender as he moved toward her and took her into his arms.
“I cannot help it,” she said with a sniff.
And she truly couldn’t. Ever since her belly had started to grow round with their child, she’d lost all control of her emotions. Her lower lip trembled now as she gazed up at her doting husband. “Are you not attracted to me any longer, is that it?”
Her husband’s growl said he was unamused by her teasing, and she choked on a laugh.
If anything, Raff had become even more desirous of her body ever since she’d gotten with child.
She caught him watching her constantly with that dark, hooded gaze.
A gaze that never failed to make her ache.
A gaze that had ascertained she was carrying an heir within months of their wedding day.
Oh, yes, her husband had only grown more insatiable, it seemed. But also, ever more protective with each passing second.
She gazed up at him now as she let her hands trail up over his chest. “Please, my love,” she said.
He gave a grunt. Meant to be a no, she supposed, but if he was losing the battle with words, then she knew she’d win in the end.
She pressed against him harder, letting him feel her swollen breasts that he’d been eyeing all day on their journey back from visiting the Earl of Foster.
Newly married himself, the visit had been filled with laughter and love. The earl’s wife was quickly becoming one of Evangeline’s dear friends, and seeing Raff’s close friend so very changed by love had made her weep more than once, much to everyone’s amusement.
Each time, Raff had pulled her close and kissed away her tears, whispering words of love for her and their unborn child.
His gaze dipped down to her bosom, visible through the lacy negligee he’d had made for her. “Angel, you’re tempting the devil, and you know it.”
His hands gripped her bottom and tugged her closer until they both moaned at the feel of his pulsing cock nestled between her thighs.
“Not a devil,” she teased. “My husband.”
She went up on tiptoes to kiss him, and his mouth met hers with hunger.
When they were both panting for breath, the flames of desire stoked to unbearable heights, she took him by the hand as she backed up toward the bed. “This is me,” she said in a low, husky voice filled with need. “This is me begging.”
He groaned, his expression pained as he let her lead him to the bed. “My love, you know I will bring you pleasure?—”
“No.” She stopped short with a scowl. If he thought he was the only one who could be stubborn and glower like a devil, he was very much mistaken. “I want you inside of me.”
He groaned again, his eyes dazed with passion as he took her in from head to toe.
“To speak plainly, my love,” she said as she sank onto the bed and lay back against the pillows. “I want you buried inside of me. And I won’t settle for anything less.”
He looked beside himself with desire, his pupils dilated and his breathing harsh. “You know I want that, Angel.”
She went up on her elbows with a pout. He’d been pleasuring her nonstop since they’d been married, but of late, he’d used only his fingers and his mouth. He’d been holding back with his member, and she was growing tired of his hesitation.
“Why won’t you bed me?”
Climbing up onto the bed beside her, he palmed her sensitive breasts until she was moaning and writhing. Begging.
She was back to begging as she reached for the flap of his breeches.
“Angel, no,” he started to protest. “You are in a delicate condition. What if I hurt you?” He pulled back with a wince. “What if I harm our child?”
“You won’t,” she said gently, her annoyance fading fast because she knew precisely what this was about.
It had little to do with his fears of physically harming her and the child. She reached up a hand to stroke his cheek: her precious, loving, surprisingly sensitive duke.
Even Benedict had noticed, and he’d taken her aside to explain, though all he said confirmed what she’d suspected.
He wants a family , he’d said in that low, raspy voice of his.
Benedict’s wife had looked on with obvious affection as the earl had spoken to her. You have been the answer to his prayers, Evangeline. But I think...that is, Hayden, Malcolm, and I have come to believe that he’s gone so long on his own, he doesn’t know how to be a family man.
She nodded. She’d been watching her husband grow more and more overprotective, more and more fearful as their marriage grew happier and happier.
“Love,” she said slowly. “I don’t know how to be a mother either. This is new for both of us.”
“Yes, but at least you’ve had one,” he said, his gaze open and so filled with uncertainty, her heart turned over in her chest. “I barely remember my father, and those memories I have are not pleasant. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt our child.”
She went up on her elbows so she could kiss him. “You couldn’t hurt us, Raff. Not with all the love you have in your heart.”
He kissed her hard, pressing her back into the pillows until he was hovering over her. His gaze raked over her face. “Are you certain about that?”
She took one of his hands and pressed his palm to her heart. “You claimed this a long time ago,” she said. “And you’ve never given me reason to doubt that it is in the very best hands.”
“I want to make you happy?—”
“And I am.” She reached up with her free hand to touch his cheek. “You gave me a home. You gave me understanding and appreciation and love. No one in the world could make me happier than you do.”
His eyes glinted in the dark. “Do you know how much I love you, Angel?”
She swallowed down a sob as emotions tightened her chest and left her breathless. “Not half so much as I love you.”
He grinned as he kissed her sweetly. “Is that a challenge?”
She laughed. “A bet.”
“Mmm.” He kissed her neck as he fondled one of her breasts, making them both moan. “I do love gambling with you, love. The boons are so very delicious.”
She arched her back for more, a fire burning in her belly. “Take me, husband,” she ordered with a gasp. “Take me now. Don’t make me beg again.”
His chuckle was low and more devilish than ever. “If you’re certain, my love.” At long last, he fitted his hard staff against her entrance. And as he slid inside of her, he lowered his lips to her ear. “I love you, Angel. And I love our child. Marrying you was the best thing to ever happen to me.”
She opened her mouth to tell him she felt exactly the same but cried out in ecstasy instead. At last, her husband was inside of her.
Precisely where he ought to be.
* * *
Thanks for reading! Next up, the Earl of Foster finds love with his feisty, tempting ward in The Earl’s Tempting Ward .