“Oh, yes.” She kissed him. “I’ve loved you right from the start, from the moment I heard your voice in the mews, although I didn’t realize it then. I loved you when you woke me with the perfect kiss, but of course I didn’t realize it then, either.”
He gave his rueful half-smile and kissed her back, and it was as perfect as ever, as perfect as it always would be.
“I loved you when you offered for me when you truly didn’t want to. You possess such true nobility, such astonishing kindness . . .”
“And the ultimate in kisses, too.” He proved it once again.
When she caught her breath, she said, “When we made our vows, and I promised to love you, I wished with all my heart for it to be true, but it already was.” She caressed his cheek. “I had to tell you; it was only right that you should know how I feel. But if you don’t love me, if you can’t believe in love, it doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters,” he said, curling his fingers around her hand. “I think I’ve gone a little mad, but I don’t have a choice, do I?”
Good heavens, he was trembling. “Miles?”
His eyes glistened strangely, and when he spoke, his voice cracked. “Melinda, I’m damned sure I can’t live without you.”
Joy flooded her. “You believe?”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “Thanks to you, my darling Melinda, I do believe in love.”
Epilogue
“I love you,” Miles said, planting kisses from Melinda’s ear to her throat to her breasts, uncovering soft flesh as he roamed. “Love you.” Kiss. “Love you.” Kiss. “Love you.”
He had fallen, and fallen hard.
But that didn’t mean he should lose all commonsense. It was midnight under a Lancashire summer sky. The moon shone dazzlingly bright. A faint breeze blew across the artificial lake on his estate, raising goosebumps on Melinda’s pale flesh. She shivered, so he hesitated before pulling the unbuttoned nightdress over her head. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Don’t you dare get all stiff and proper.” She unbuttoned his waistcoat and tugged his shirt out of his breeches.
The only stiff thing about him was his cock. “I’m just trying to have a rational discussion with you.”
“While we’re taking off our clothes?” she muttered. “Very well, let’s be rational. No one can see us, so swimming naked is perfectly fine.”
They weren’t in full view of the house, as trees hid this section of the lake from most prying eyes, but an interested watcher on the far shore would have an excellent view. Miles knew this because he’d once seen his father cavorting here with one of his mistresses—educational for a boy on the verge of manhood.
But there wasn’t likely to be a watcher, except perhaps a rabbit or a deer. He pulled the nightdress over her head and tossed it onto a nearby bush. Her skin glowed in the moonlight. He grinned at her.
“You think people will misjudge me, don’t you?” She wrinkled her nose.
“Not at all,” Miles said. “Everyone here adores you.” From the starchiest neighbors to the scullery maid and the old gardener, they had all taken Melinda to their warm northern hearts.
“But if someone sees us and word spreads, they may change their minds.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so. They love me because you do. They’ve never seen you so happy.”
Because he’d never been so happy. He was so brimful of happiness that it frightened him—more than he’d ever feared being a cuckold. But this was a joyful sort of fear, one worth living with.
His astonishing Melinda was already expecting their first child. Not only that, she’d taken on the role of stepmother without undermining Mrs. Rawley’s authority in the least.
She pulled his shirt over his head. “They may as well know the real me right from the start.” She set to work on the buttons of his fall.
Miles tsked. “And here I was hoping you’d be a good influence on the women in my family. They’re as difficult as the men, each in her own unique way.” He pushed his breeches down and stepped out of them.
“Me, a good influence? Oh, if only my grandmother could hear.” She tiptoed down to the water. She dipped one toe in the lake . . . then tried both feet . . . then she stopped. And shivered.
“Bloody cold, isn’t it?” Miles asked, enjoying her naked curves. “I ask again: are you sure?”
“Pooh!” She dove into the lake, and with a laugh, he plunged in after her.
To Kiss a Rake (Scandalous Kisses) Page 25
