The future glimmered before him full of unlimited possibilities, and he fell all over again.
Rafe moved with slow, gentle strokes designed to prolong the joining, but Elizabeth wanted none of that. She squeezed his hands and angled her hips, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her eyes demanded that he deliver more. He chuckled, kissed her and teased her tongue with his, while he increased his thrusts until they settled into a frantic pace.
Harder and harder he pushed. As it always was between them, passion ignited, caught him in its vortex, consumed him. Sweat broke out over his skin despite the relative coolness of the room. She met him, matched his every movement, and all too soon his stones tingled, lifted, and heated need raced through his length. Elizabeth shattered in his arms, and as she fell into release, his name like a litany on her lips, and the contractions rocking her body pulled him into his own.
Waves of pleasure crashed over him. Rafe ground his hips into hers in an effort to extend the exquisite torture, but there was a lifetime ahead to enjoy what was between them. Finally, he collapsed into the softness of her curves. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, content to revel in the tactile feel of her and the fact she was completely his.
When the room stopped spinning and the brilliant starburst behind his eyes faded, he sighed. On his side, he snuggled into her while she did the same to him, their bodies pressed intimately together.
“How did I manage to finally win you?” he mused and nuzzled the place where her neck joined her shoulder. It seemed all too unreal. It had been a hard-fought battle, and he’d survived.
“You were yourself instead of trying to be something or someone you assumed I wanted.” She placed a lazy kiss to the base of his throat while she drew vague outlines up and down his spine.
Shivers followed in her wake. “Hmm, I seem to remember you were afraid of what I am.” He couldn’t resist teasing her.
Her huff of mock-annoyance ruffled the hair on his chest and left tickles behind. “I’m not anymore. I welcome everything that you are, because, in the end, you are exactly the sort of fairytale hero I dreamed of marrying.” The dear woman inclined her chin and turned her head, blatantly offering him her neck. “Bite me and seal the deal, as it were.”
Dear Lord. His heart stuttered. She was a temptress and the support he’d needed all his life. Coming to terms with his beastly half wasn’t as depressing when he had her to help him. He looked forward to discovering every facet and secret she held. “Perhaps I will,” Rafe murmured, and as he fit her more comfortably in his embrace, his fangs elongated. “Do you require enthrallment?” It was a new world, this one in which Lizzy loved him.
“I do not, for I’m thoroughly captivated by you.” Elizabeth slipped a hand to his nape and guided him down. Gently, and with incredible care for the gift she now willingly gave, Rafe punctured her neck, sank his fangs deep into her skin and found the artery he sought. He groaned when the warm thickness of her blood spilled into his mouth, and he drank his fill.
With a tiny sigh of ecstasy, she fell into bliss and went pliant in his hold.
He smiled against her skin. Never would he tire of being with her in every way that mattered. It was a weighty responsibility, and one he would meet with grace and strength as long as she was by his side.
After a preemptory mewl, the kitten jumped onto the bed, purring, and then made herself comfortable on his shoulder as he finished his task.
Later, when Elizabeth came to, he held her close, the kitten on his hip. “How do we tell Donovan what has transpired?” It was the last holdout to true happiness.
She yawned. “I shall think of something.”
“Happy Christmas, Lizzy.” Rafe pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“One of many.” She burrowed tighter against him. “Happy Christmas, Rafe.”
Christmas Day
The next morning, just past the dawn, Rafe and Elizabeth met with Donovan in his study. His skin crawled with nerves, but he gripped Lizzy’s hand all the harder as they approached the duke.
“Do you have a moment to spare, Your Grace, before festivities begin?” He hadn’t spoken to his friend since that long-ago night when Donovan had forbidden him from courting his sister.
The duke snorted. “Is there something urgent that cannot wait until after breakfast?” His brown eyes bore into Rafe’s. “I did wish for a run before the city awakens.”
“Understandable.” Rafe nodded. He plunged ahead, refusing to dawdle. “Elizabeth and I are engaged.” When he glanced at her and she smiled, he straightened his spine and continued. “We plan to marry as soon as possible. Despite your warnings and displeasure.” He paused, considering his next words, and her hand in his bolstered his courage. No matter what other obstacles awaited, they’d meet them together. “We are in love, Your Grace, and would like your blessing on the union, but we do not need it to proceed.”
There, let fate take care of the rest. He’d said his peace.
Long moments, marked by the chime of the long-case clock in the drawing room, passed as Donovan glared. Then, he laughed, and his whole demeanor changed into one of jovial goodwill. Gone was the forbidding duke.
Rafe gawked at his friend. He exchanged a look with Elizabeth, who shrugged, her eyes holding the same bewilderment that he felt. “I beg your pardon, Donovan, but are you quite well?”
“Yes.” The duke continued to laugh. Then he sobered and wiped his streaming eyes. “It’s about damn time you got together with my sister.”
“What?” Both Rafe and Elizabeth exclaimed together.
“You are the two most stubborn people.” With another snicker, Donovan rose from his chair. He came around the desk toward them. “I realized you would suit years ago, but you are complete rubes when it comes to expressing your feelings. So, I helped. I knew that if I forbade it, you would find a way.”
“I… I…” Rafe floundered as if he were a caught trout.
Beside him, Elizabeth stiffened. “You are quite cruel, Donovan.” She let go of Rafe’s hand in order to close the distance between her and the duke where she drilled a fingertip into her brother’s chest. “What of Lord Rockingham? You truly wanted him for me.”
“That was poor judgment on my part, and in some ways, I thought that pushing the marquess in your direction, it might prompt Rafe to make a move.”
“Well, it worked rather poorly on your part. The Cursed Lords are now known to men just like him. You’ll be hunted.”
Hard determination glittered in Donovan’s eyes. “Let those men bring their worse. We’ll be ready.”
“I’ll never let you forget what your meddling almost cost me.” Then she frowned. “Am I a fugitive of the law now that I killed Rockingham?”
“No, little sister.” Donovan collected her into a hug. When he released her, he said, “After explanations to Bow Street, and after they investigated the scene in Hyde Park as well as the tavern room in the Dials, they deemed the death in self-defense. The matter is closed, especially since they have now found the murderer of those two unfortunate women.”
“No doubt it is, especially with a bit of ducal influence,” Rafe said softly. “But I thank you heartily for it.” He extended a hand. “Can I assume our feud is over?” Was it possible that he’d won the woman he loved and retained his best friend?
“Absolutely. The fight was somewhat manufactured, but I did worry you might harm by sister.”
“I won’t, on this I give you my word.”
“I can see you’re in earnest, so please don’t fear my rage.” Donovan shook the offered hand and then reeled him in for a hug of his own. “God, I’ve missed you, Rogue. It’s been hell these weeks without you,” he murmured, his voice choked with emotion. “When I figured out what had happened, suspected that black-guard Rockingham, and it was feared you would die…”
“But I did not.” Rafe pulled away with suspicious moisture in his eyes. “Thanks to Elizabeth.”
“It was fortunate I was taught to shoot.
” Lizzy tugged at his hand. She smiled at the both of them. “Now do you understand that I can take care of myself and make my own decisions?”
“All too well.” Donovan clapped a hand on Rafe’s shoulder. “She’s your problem now, old chap.”
“I rather like to think she’s my challenge, and one I cannot wait to undertake.” Rafe slid an arm about her waist and pulled her close. “It is my privilege to do so.”
“Don’t you ever forget it,” she murmured before he stopped any more words with a tender kiss to her lips.
“Not a chance.” Rafe grinned once finished. He couldn’t help it. He’d gained everything he wanted from life.
Then Elizabeth’s stomach rumbled and everyone laughed.
“Let’s do justice to what is sure to be a delightful Christmas breakfast. Afterward, we’ll tell the duchess our joyous news,” Rafe suggested without taking his attention from her.
Elizabeth looked at him with heat in her gaze. “Unless you wish to return to bed. It is early after all, and Donovan said he wished for a run.”
The duke held up a hand. “Sister, please. Have some respect for this most sacred of all days. I do not wish to hear of your proclivity for carnal exploits with my best friend.”
Rafe peered into her eyes, hoping she read the wicked promise in his. “Breakfast first. You must keep up your strength, after all.” Never had he been happier, and he couldn’t wait to step into a future he’d only dreamed of. Love was giving someone the power to destroy you, but trusting that they would not.
And it made life that much sweeter.
The End
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review at the site of your choosing. To read about the Duke of Manchester’s romance, please purchase Devil Take the Duke.
Other Regency-era stories by Sandra Sookoo
Scandal in Surrey series
Lady Parker’s Grand Affair
The Bride’s Gambit
Misfortune’s Lady
Miss Bennett’s Naughty Secret
Darrington family series
Marriage Minded Lord
To Bed or To Wed
The Bridal Contract
Thieves of the Ton series
Captivated by an Adventurous Lady
Engaged to a Scandalous Earl
Married on a Wicked Morning
Intrigued by an Ancient Pedigree
Beguiled on a Christmas Morning
Caught with a Stolen Diamond
Tortured by a Horrible Secret
Delighted on a Summer’s Evening
Trapped in the British Museum (coming spring 2019)
Lords of the Night
Devil Take the Duke
Adrift with the Viscount (coming May 2019)
Treasured by the Viscount (coming 2019)
Transformed by a Christmas Star (coming December 2019)
Lords of Happenstance
What the Stubborn Viscount Desires
What a Wayward Lord Needs
What the Dashing Duke Deserves (coming June 2019)
Author Bio
Sandra Sookoo is a USA Today bestselling author who firmly believes every person deserves acceptance and a happy ending. Most days you can find her creating scandal and mischief in the Regency-era, serendipity and happenstance in Victorian America or snarky, sweet humor in the contemporary world. Most recently she’s moved into infusing her books with mystery and intrigue. Reading is a lot like eating fine chocolates—you can’t just have one. Good thing books don’t have calories!
When she’s not wearing out computer keyboards, Sandra spends time with her real life Prince Charming in central Indiana where she’s been known to goof off and make moments count because the key to life is laughter. A Disney fan since the age of ten, when her soul gets bogged down and her imagination flags, a trip to Walt Disney World is in order. Nothing fuels her dreams more than the land of eternal happy endings, hope and love stories.
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Bitten By the Earl (Lords of the Night Book Two) Page 28
