Epilogue
The gates of Huntington House swung shut behind them. This time, Madeline did not feel like she was being held prisoner. Instead, she felt safe and content as Dominion went further into the courtyard.
Kenneth did not immediately dismount after he pulled the reins to a halt. Instead, they lingered atop the stallion with his arms wrapped around Madeline’s waist. She was securely pressed against his chest, where she felt like she belonged.
“We are home,” he whispered in the crook of her neck, emotion heavy and thick in his voice. He was no longer trying to hide what he felt.
Madeline could not help but smile. Mere hours ago, she was at a loss. She was walking the streets of London, wondering about the fate of her marriage. Seeing Kenneth coming for her atop his horse and declaring his love was like a dream come true.
Am I finally going to get my fairy tale ending?
Footmen scrambled to assist them when Kenneth finally swung his leg over the saddle and reached up to help her down.
What must they think? It must be a rare sight for a duke and a duchess to return home on one horse without a carriage.
It was probably even rarer to welcome home a duke with unruly hair and a torn shirt and a duchess with tear-stained cheeks and swollen lips, but they were eager to be of service.
“Kenneth!”
The Duke’s name resounded from above. It was followed by heavy footsteps going down the grand staircase. Madeline’s eyes snapped to where Malcolm stood, catching his breath at the bottom of the stairs.
Malcolm looked wretched. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen, but alert.
His waistcoat was not properly buttoned.
He no longer looked proud and angry as he had when he stormed out of the dining hall with his wife.
He gripped the balustrade for support, his hands shaking.
His eyes were focused on his older brother.
Kenneth stiffened next to Madeline, his body instinctively positioned in front of her. She was not afraid of Malcolm, but she supposed her husband was prepared for any kind of outburst.
“Malcolm,” Kenneth said, his voice carrying a warning, as he watched his brother stumble toward them. “Why are you here?”
“I... I do not know why I am here,” his younger brother admitted. “A part of me wanted to collect the children and bring them over to their mother, but—”
Madeline gasped at that. She knew how bad an idea that was. Roberta was not a mother to her children. She did not care for them. She had prioritized her own desires over her responsibilities.
“Mrs. Gaines found me, and she told me what she had witnessed two years ago. She saw Roberta wearing only her nightgown, headed for your private chambers. She heard how she threw herself at you.”
Malcolm approached his brother with his back hunched and his body still trembling.
“Kenneth, I did not believe her at first. I did not want anyone to say anything terrible about Roberta. I did not want anyone destroying my illusions about my wife. But I know that I have been a blind fool. The moment Roberta heard of Mrs. Gaines’ arrival, she all but darted through the door. She even took all of my coin with her.”
“You loved her, Malcolm,” Kenneth said. “There is no shame in believing the woman you loved. I know you desperately wanted to believe her, and I never blamed you for it. I only blamed myself for letting you love a lie for so long. I should have told you everything from the start.”
“No, I am sorry. I accused you of the most monstrous perversion. My own brother! One whom I have known all my life. Despite what I said, I know you have always done your best to protect me.”
Before Kenneth could even speak, his brother closed the gap between them and threw his arms around his neck. Malcolm buried his face into his shoulder, weeping openly. There was no shame in the display. He sounded like a man who had been drowning and was only able to reach the shore.
Madeline blinked back the tears that had threatened to fall. Her heart felt the full extent of Malcolm’s despair, and she wondered if Kenneth would give in. His father had made him into this emotionless stone.
Then, she saw him let go of the past as he wrapped his powerful arms around Malcolm. He had always been protective of his younger brother. A tear escaped down her cheek as she saw how the two men grappled with emotions that they had been pushing away.
“Hush, Malcolm,” Kenneth murmured. “I have you, brother.”
“I... I ruined everything. I let her destroy my family. My children... I could have spent more time on them than drowning in spirits over a woman who...”
“Forget that. Listen, Malcolm. I should be the one begging for your forgiveness. I failed you. I should have told you what happened. You could have been angry at me, then, and we could have settled things earlier before everything else happened.”
“No. I learned my lesson from the last two years. My dear Alex and Emily need me. I am done pining for that woman. I am done letting her come between us. She does not even care about her children.”
“Still, I am sorry for making you feel as if you cannot handle the truth. You are stronger than you think you are.”
“We are absolute fools. Our father has made us so,” Malcolm said, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips.
“Oh, undoubtedly,” Kenneth agreed, pulling away and squeezing Malcolm’s shoulders. “What you should do right now is wash yourself and change your clothes. Spend more time with Emily and Alexander. They are growing up so fast. You do not want to miss all these exciting years to come.”
“Thank you, Kenneth. Thank you, Madeline, for standing by his side. You gave him the trust that I should have given him.”
“He is my husband,” Madeline replied, not quite believing the love and pride that overflowed from her heart as she said those words. It was not long ago that she thought she would simply be a wife by name and title. “I will always stand by him.”
With a grateful nod, Malcolm turned to walk up the grand staircase. His steps were lighter and more confident. Hope bloomed in Madeline’s heart. Perhaps they could all leave the pain and bitterness behind.
Hours later, husband and wife were in their bedchambers. Madeline already lay entangled in the soft silk sheets. She had missed this. But she knew that something was different about tonight.
She could not help the smile that curved her lips. She had set out months ago to prove that the Duke of Huntington was not the unfeeling statue everyone believed him to be. She had wagered her own heart on it, against every reason to give up. And she had won. She had made him feel.
He loves me.
Her skin flushed in the dim light. Kenneth hovered above her. He was large and muscular, but there was nothing about him that elicited fear. Even at the beginning, Madeline trusted him with her body and with her life. It was her heart that she was afraid of, and now, even that was safe.
“Madeline,” he murmured, as he trailed kisses from her temples to her jaw to her neck.
There, he paused for a moment, nibbling at the tender flesh. She whimpered at the sensation of his bare skin against hers. Her toes curled in anticipation.
This was not like their previous frantic encounters.
What they had now was slower, each touch and kiss savored.
She could not help but feel the way his lips worshipped her skin.
The almost chaste worship turned more carnal as he let the tip of his tongue trace the space between her collarbones to the valley of her breasts.
“There, please,” she begged.
He knew just what to do, licking around her nipple, teasing and taunting before he let his tongue flick over her pebbled bud.
Then he sucked it into his mouth, nibbling softly before suckling harder, until the edge of pain made her gasp.
She bit her lip as she felt the wetness pool between her legs.
He moved to her other breast and gave it the same attention, and by the time he was done, she was writhing beneath him, drenched and aching for him.
His hand slid down between her thighs, two fingers parting her, stroking through the slick heat he had made.
“Always so wet for me,” he murmured against her breast. He worked her until she was trembling, until her hips were chasing his hand, and only then did he settle himself between her thighs.
“Madeline,” he groaned, the tip of his cock teasing her seam. Teasing, sliding, until she thought she might weep from the wanting. Then he finally drove into her, and she gasped at the feeling of fullness, at every thick inch of him stretching her, filling her completely.
“Look at me, Madeline.”
She obeyed, meeting his gaze. He was no longer hiding from her, his eyes steady on hers, revealing so much. She dug her fingers into his hard, smooth shoulders, heat already coiling in her lower belly, ready to snap.
“Oh, Kenneth, please...” she breathed.
He started to move with long, deep strokes that pushed her higher and higher, the heat inside her tightening more and more. Her breath grew short and ragged, and he captured her lips with his. His kiss was bruising, and she enjoyed it that way. She wanted him fully present, a man of burning heat.
“I love you,” he murmured against her mouth as he quickened his pace, his hips slapping against hers now, the bed beginning to rock beneath them.
Madeline was torn. She wanted him to slow and stroke every nerve within her, to keep her on the edge of bursting for as long as he could.
And she wanted him to pound into her until she shattered.
Somehow, he knew just what she needed, and in one smooth motion, he rolled them both until she ended up astride him.
“Kenneth?”
Excitement and uncertainty blended within her. They had never made love like this before, with him beneath her.
“Take control, Madeline,” he commanded, his hands settling on her hips. “Ride me.”
At first, she was hesitant. She rolled her hips over him once, then again, until she found a pace she liked, bracing her hands on his chest. Then she found her rhythm and took him hard and deep, sinking down onto him over and over while his fingers dug into her hips and guided her.
The new angle let him reach deeper inside her, and she cried out at it.
She leaned forward to deepen the connection, the tips of her breasts grazing his chest with every stroke, and his hand came up to close around her throat, just firmly enough to make her head swim.
“Oh, God, I love you,” he said, his voice ragged. “I love you so much, Madeline.”
That was all it took. Her world dissolved into pure sensation, her body clenching and fluttering around him, her sex gripping him tight as she came apart.
The sight and feel of it broke what was left of his control, and with a hoarse groan, he gripped her hips and slammed up into her one last time, spilling himself deep inside her as she pulsed around him.
He consumed her, and knowing that she consumed him, too, made everything so much more intense. Madeline could not think of another time they had been so vulnerable to each other.
After their breaths had evened, Madeline rolled off Kenneth. He lay on his side, with his arm around her waist. She smiled happily when he pulled her back against his chest. It felt good to be wanted. It felt wonderful to be loved.
Kenneth rested his chin on the top of her head, even as his fingers idly traced her nipple. She whimpered.
“What are you doing?” she asked teasingly.
“I cannot get enough of you,” he groaned.
She merely chuckled at that, even as she felt him hardening behind her once more.
“I have been thinking,” he continued.
“Oh, you were? I thought something else was happening,” she murmured, as she rolled her hips to feel his hard length against her buttocks.
“We must visit your family soon,” he said seriously, even as he squeezed her breast.
Madeline blinked. She did not expect those words to come out of his mouth at that moment.
“Whatever for?”
“I must apologize. They did not have to witness what happened that night at dinner. I had not been... I did not treat them as I should have. I did not mean any disrespect.”
Madeline thought about the situation. She could understand him completely. He wanted to lower his pride and apologize for something he felt responsible for. Kenneth was no longer living behind his walls. He was willing to reach out.
“You do not have to do it tomorrow or this week,” Madeline said.
“But I do not want them thinking that I had been a brute to them.”
“I am not saying you should never apologize, Kenneth. I am merely telling you to reserve your apology speech for after Selina’s wedding.”
“Ah, you are right,” he relented. “Your grandmama will be preoccupied with preparations, and your sister should be focused on the wedding.”
“Precisely,” Madeline said. “To think it all began with an advertisement for a wife. You wanted a sensible arrangement and nothing more.”
“And instead I got you.” Kenneth pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I expected a stranger to run my household. I never thought I would end up in love with my own wife.”
“So you do love me.” Madeline’s heart swelled. It was everything she had ever wanted, and more than she had dared to dream.
“With all my heart. But something else cannot wait,” he said cheekily, as he pressed his rigid cock against her back.
“I suspect so, my love,” she murmured, as he lifted one of her legs so that he could slide in from the back.
Soon, there were no more words, just the sounds of skin on skin, and the sighs and moans from both of them.
The End?