“That was nice, Ailis.”
She laughed. “I had no idea my body could feel this way. No wonder you always teased me and called me Miss Temple of Virtue. You knew exactly what I was missing.”
He leaned back against the mattress and tucked his hands behind his head, for he was feeling good and completely relaxed. “I admired your resolve. You held out for love because it meant so much to you.”
“Had I known what I was missing, I might not have been so dedicated to virtue,” she said with a laugh.
He turned to her and caressed her cheek. “Well, it is done. You waited, and I am glad of it. I will admit to being apishly proud to be your first and only. But this moment would not have felt the same were it anyone but you by my side. In truth, there could never have been a moment like this with anyone else.”
“Because you trust me?” She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. “This is kiss number… Oh, I’ve lost count.”
“No more need to count, love. We needed those ten kisses to lead us here. But we have moved beyond them now. Just say the word and I’ll kiss you as often as you wish.” He let out a long breath. “Ailis, did you really not mind?”
“Mind what?”
“My body.”
She inhaled lightly. “No, I never gave it a thought until you mentioned it just now. My eyes were mostly closed and I was concentrating on the way you made me feel. Even now, all I am thinking about is the strength of your body and how nice it feels against mine. Promise me there will never be shame between us.”
He let out another long breath.
She snuggled against him. “It took a long time for your scars to heal, but they did. Now, it is time for your heart to heal. Also consider this…”
He stroked her hair, those lovely golden curls that slid through his fingers like silk. “Consider what?”
“We are not so young anymore, mySilverDuke. I’m sure we will both turn quite lumpy and gray within a few years. You’ll yearn for the body you once had,” she said with a merry lilt of laughter, “and perhaps yearn for a younger wife.”
“Never, Ailis. Your beauty is ageless. It took me bloody long enough to admit I had feelings for you. They run deep as an ocean current and are never going to change.”
“Well, ocean currents can change.”
“Not this one.” He settled over her, careful to balance on his elbows so that his weight was not on her. “We fit together. You are the sunshine to my darkness. The smiles to my grumbles. The gentle snowflake to my storm.”
She sighed as he kissed her. “I used to hate the winter.”
He arched an eyebrow. “But no more?”
“No, now I love it. The snowfall brought me to you.”
He glanced out the window as a sudden gust of wind slammed against the panes. “The wind is beginning to howl again and the sky is covered in clouds. Looks like another snowfall in the making. We might be trapped here for days.”
She cast him a sparkling smile. “Oh dear. Whatever shall we do?”
“I’ll think of something,” he said, and began to kiss his way down her delectable body.
Yes, there was much to be said for a winter’s snowfall.
And the right woman who saw him through the eyes of love, who accepted him with the fullness of an open heart.
Epilogue
London, England
April 1818
Jonas strode intoWhite’s on the evening he was to introduce Ailis to his friends and their wives. He was dressed to go about in London Society, impeccably attired in formal black tie and tails, and eager to see those scoundrels, Bromleigh, Lynton, and Camborne, who had opened that infernal betting book on him.
He had not yet decided whether to thank them or punch them for inexcusably meddling in his life. But he had never been more content than these months married to Ailis, so it seemed he ought to forgive them and admit they had done him a good turn.
