by Aston, Alexa
Elysande pulled his face to hers in a lengthy, heated kiss.
As Michael returned it, he heard the approving cheers ring out.
Epilogue
Michael awoke, as he did every morning, with a smile on his face and Elysande in his arms. Her cheek nestled against his bare chest. Their limbs entangled so closely that it was hard to tell where one ended and the next one began. He held the woman who had become more precious to him than any amount of gold and thought of all the ways she had changed his life in the past few months.
He glanced around the bedchamber of the solar, thinking how he’d been forbidden to enter it as a child. He’d left Sandbourne so many years ago, an angry, friendless boy. But in truth, his father had done him a favor by helping drive Michael from his home.
He had learned—and then thrived—under Sir Lovel’s tutelage. Michael had gained the friendship of the older squires, Geoffrey and Raynor, who impressed him with not only physical lessons regarding swordplay and weaponry but the moral life lessons they taught that helped him become the man he was today.
Elysande stirred slightly in his arms. His hand stroked the soft waves that tumbled about her shoulders and spilled across his chest. He thanked Christ Almighty that he’d heard of Lord Geoffrey de Montfort’s return to Kinwick—for if he’d never heard the news, Michael wouldn’t have sought out Geoffrey and offered himself in service to the nobleman. Without that, Michael never would have traveled to Hopeston and met his future wife.
Elysande moved again, this time stretching as lazily as one of the barn cats in their stables. Her head tilted back as her amethyst eyes opened and fastened on his. Her love for him shined through as a beacon guiding a traveler on a dark night.
Michael gently kissed her. “Are you ready for our travels today, Wife?” he asked as he ran his fingers lightly down her face, caressing her long, swanlike neck and milky white shoulders.
“I am more than ready, Husband,” she said, a teasing light in her eyes. “I look forward to seeing my mother and Avelyn and all of my kinfolk at Kinwick. I’m grateful that we’ve been asked to spend the Christmas season with the de Montforts.”
“I agree,” he said, “Thought I would love to play host to them at this time next year. By then, I hope to have all the changes completed at Sandbourne. I’ll be pleased to show off the estate to them.”
She smoothed her thumb across his cheek, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I think that would be best. I know this year it would’ve been hard for Merryn to travel to Sandbourne since she’s is heavy with child.”
“When does the babe come?” Michael asked.
“Probably two months into the new year,” she replied.
Again, he caught the smile that threatened to dance across her mouth. “Do you have something to tell me, Elysande?” he asked.
She pressed her lips to his in a sweet, lingering kiss and then pulled back. “I do have news, my lord husband.”
“What news do you wish to share with me, my lady?” he asked formally.
She took his hand and brought it to rest against her bare belly. “I’m certain that our child grows within me even as we speak.”
His eyes widened in amazement and fell to where their hands lay resting together.
His child. Their child. Nestled deep within her belly.
She said, “This time next year, we’ll have our own babe in our arms, my love. I would wish for the others to come and celebrate Christmas with us at Sandbourne as we start new traditions with our own family.”
“You couldn’t have given me better news, my sweetest Elysande,” Michael said, excitement brimming within him. He thought to the many happy hours he’d spent playing with the three de Montfort children. Now he would have a child of his own.
He cupped her face tenderly. “We’ll raise our child with an abundance of love, be it boy or girl. And I hope many more babes will follow. I want to fill the halls of Sandbourne with happy children who run through them, laughing and playing.”
“We will, Michael,” Elysande promised, “for out of our love will grow many more lives.”
He kissed her again, with love and desire, with longing and reverence. This would be a good life they would share. Together. Forever and always.
The End
About the Author
As a child, Alexa Aston gathered her neighborhood friends together and made up stories for them to act out, her first venture into creating memorable characters. Following her passion for history and love of learning, she became a teacher who began writing on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of teenage hormones.
Alexa’s historical romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire for one another grows into the treasured gift of love.
She is the author of The Knights of Honor, a medieval romance series that takes place in 14th century England during the reign of Edward III and centers on the de Montfort family. Each romance focuses on the code of chivalry that bound knights of this era.
A native Texan, Alexa lives with her husband in a Dallas suburb, where she eats her fair share of dark chocolate and plots out stories while she walks every morning. She enjoys reading, watching movies and sports, and can’t get enough of Fixer Upper or Game of Thrones. Alexa also writes romantic suspense, western historicals, and standalone medieval novels as Lauren Linwood.
Alexa loves to hear from her readers. You can connect with her through FB, Twitter, and her website, alexaaston.wordpress.com.
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