She moved forward until her mouth was only a breath away from his. “So why don’t you shut up and kiss me?”
Her soft whisper slowly found its way into his head, and she watched his insecurity fade away as the smoldering heat returned to his eyes.
“Are you sure?” he asked hoarsely, still not believing what he had in front of him. Tired of waiting for him to get it right, she put her hands at the back of his neck and forced him to lean forward so she could press her soft lips against his and do what she had longed for every night and every day since they last met: she kissed him.
With a groan, he let his hands find their way over her body, and willingly she pressed herself against his palms, showing him without words how much she wanted him. Without ending their kiss, he removed his clothes piece by piece before hauling her closer to him and laying her down on the floor in the pile of delicate apparel.
“I love you so much,” he whispered as he let his mouth leave hers and travel to her neck and the very spot he had talked about so long ago below her ear. “Promise to never let me go again.”
“Never,” she moaned, as his teeth gently bit her earlobe. “Never in this lifetime or the next.”
With a tender kiss, he thrust deep into her, and she lost all ability to think or talk. All she could do was follow his steady pace, which in the end took them all the way to heaven and back.
“Shut up and kiss me?”
She looked up into his laughing eyes and stretched with a satisfied smile, feeling too content to care about his teasing. He shook his head and moved away from her slightly, lying next to her on the floor with his arms around her, pressing her body close to his as if afraid she would disappear if he let her go for even the tiniest of moments.
“I’m glad I came,” he said softly against her ear, and she couldn’t stop another satisfied smile.
“Me too.”
“I almost didn’t.”
Surprised, she turned her head and looked at his serious face. “Why not?”
“Because you made me feel inadequate.”
She pressed her hand against his cheek gently as tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry for being so stupid.”
“Not stupid.” He smiled. “Only a bit simple-minded.”
“Just a bit?”
“I’m trying to be nice here, so don’t push me.”
“I love you, Rake.”
“I know.”
A rustle at the door broke them apart as someone tried to get in, and they hurried to get dressed. There was no need to make the scandal worse than it was already.
As Rake opened the door, an angry footman burst into the room, yelling about their inconsideration, and laughingly they dashed from the Assembly Rooms and out into the street. Without a word, Rake immediately started toward the closest church, and Penny followed him closely with light steps.
Their wedding ceremony was simple and unemotional, but Penny cried all the way through. When the yawning priest finally blessed the newlyweds before leaving them alone, Rake sighed, relieved. She looked at him with a question in her eyes, and he grinned wickedly toward her.
“Well, I wasn’t really sure this ever would happen, so please let me have a moment here rejoicing.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me?”
He raised an elegant eyebrow. “Ask you? I have practically begged you to marry me, and you haven’t accepted me once.”
“You have never asked me to marry you,” she snorted, and when he looked at her in amazement she repeated her words. “You have never asked me.”
“I have too.”
“Not once. Not even today.”
“I have told you more times than I can remember how much I want you.”
“Yes, you have, but that’s not the same thing as asking someone to marry you.”
He chuckled as the truth hit him. “You mean you just wanted me to ask you to marry me?”
She nodded haughtily, not really caring anymore, although something inside of her still wanted him to understand what had led to all their misunderstandings.
“Leave it to a woman to complicate things.”
“So asking me to marry you is to complicate things?”
He frowned slightly. “Well, when you put it like that…”
Suddenly he took her hands into his and looked down into her eyes with all the love he felt for her clearly visible.
“Lady Penelope de Vere, would you please do me the honor to become my wife, and by so turn me into the happiest man alive?”
She shook her head, and he grinned at her.
“No?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m unfortunately already married to the love of my life.”
“Thank God for that.” He groaned as he hugged her close and kissed her with all the heat in his heart, ignoring the fact that they still stood inside the church.
Penny didn’t mind, though, as he soon lifted her and carried her outside, out into the dark street and into the dream that finally had come true.
Epilogue
It was said that a reformed libertine made the best of husbands and, as it turned out, that was perfectly true. Not one day had passed since that somewhat chaotic wedding day when Penny had felt any less loved or wanted.
Every day Rake without words showed her exactly how much he needed her in his life, and every day she told him in all the words she could think of how happy he made her.
“You two make me sick,” Jamie groaned when he found them kissing on the terrace. “She’s practically giving birth to your firstborn, and you still can’t keep your lusty hands off her.”
Rake grinned wickedly and, with a sorrowful sigh, let his hands leave Penny’s breasts. “I can’t help it. She was made for loving.”
“In a bedroom, please, and preferably when she’s not in labor.”
“I asked him to make me think of something else,” Penny admitted, to save her husband from his twin brother’s teasing. “And he did.”
“You are a lucky man, Rake. I can’t think of any other woman who wants to make love while her body is torn apart by excruciating pain.”
Rake paled considerably, and Penny glared at Jamie. “I finally made him calm down, and you had to make him all flustered again?”
Jamie blushed, as the truth hit him. “Sorry about that.”
“Just go away.”
With one last embarrassed look, Jamie left the married couple alone, and as Penny looked up into Rake’s worried face she swore between her teeth, which effectively made him lose his breath.
“Are you in pain?”
“Not so badly,” she lied.
“You are lying.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I always lie to you.”
“No, you don’t. You are the most honest person I know, and you never lie.”
She closed her eyes as a wave of pain tore through her body, and she could tell by his shaking hands trying to caress her gently that he was panicking.
“I have lied to you.”
“Oh, really? Whenever could that have been?”
She opened her eyes, as the pain faded away again, and smiled. “When I said I was happy to find out I was carrying your baby.”
He laughed softly at her joke, relieved that the pain was over for this time.
“I’m sorry.”
She raised an eyebrow toward him. “For what?”
“For not being able to keep my hands off you.”
“You wouldn’t dare keep your hands off me, Lord Richard Darling.”
He chuckled and put a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I can’t, so you have nothing to worry about, my love.”
When another contraction made her whimper with pain, he lifted her and carried her up to their bedroom, where he carefully put her down on the prepared bed.
As she lay there with her body working hard to get the product of their love out into the world, she couldn’t help being thankful for the love he bestowed on he
r and for his making her feel she was the perfect woman, and between two contractions she told him so.
“Thank you for what?” he asked.
“For making my dream come true.”
A word about the author...
Jennifer Wenn has been a great lover of romantic books since she read her first historical romance at a tender age. When not enjoying life with her husband and their four children, she spends every last precious minute writing.
You can read more about Jennifer at:
www.jenniferwenn.com
Never Had a Dream Come True Page 25
