“Shh, shh,” he shushes. “It’s all fine, now, love. Just you and me, a Duchy, and a lot of transatlantic flights. Maybe throw in a baby or two and it’ll all be lovely, you’ll see.”
I look him in the eyes. “Really? You actually want me to be your Duchess?”
“It’s you or no one,” he whispers. “I love you, Katherine.”
“Fine. I love you, too.”
He grins in triumph. “See? That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?”
No, it wasn’t bad at all. And the next eight hours aren’t bad, either, as we make plans for our lives together and hold hands and try not to make out in front of everyone onboard. And by the time we land, I’m really and truly the Duchess of Surrey, but more than that, I’m the love of Winston Cauldwell’s life, and that’s worth more than all the jewels in England.
Epilogue
Winston
I watch as Kat shimmies to the beat of the theme song for the Chicago Norsemen. She’s in the DJ booth, her long red hair wild and bright against her black ripped jeans and sparkly purple sleeveless top. I happen to know that the top was last seen on the runway in Milan, and the jeans cost two hundred dollars instead of thirty, but it’s all still classic Kat.
I’m leaning against a concrete pillar, here in the top floor of the Norsemen arena, and she doesn’t know I’m watching. Her shapely ass shakes and she bops to the heavy bass as she queues up the next set of songs in prep for the announcement of the team.
“She still has it,” Darnell comments as he slides up to me.
“You made it.” I turn and shake his hand. Tonight, he’s wearing a Norsemen jersey with the bottom half cut off, his abs on display, and a pair of worn Levis. But his feet are encased in a pair of turquoise Ostrich leather cowboy boots, and he’s shaved the Norsemen hammer into the side of his hair.
“Are you kidding?” he asks with a raised brow. “Miss my girl’s one night of DJing for the season?”
“You know, she does stop by the club I bought for her in London and spin there sometimes. If you’ll ever come visit like we keep asking, you could dance your little heart out.”
He grins at me. “Your Grace,” he says with his usual dramatic flair. “You know what my conditions are. A little Duke or Duchess, and I’m there. Otherwise, I’m keeping this fine ass right here on the ground in Chicago where there aren’t thousands of feet between me and a freezing cold, deadly ocean.” He shivers to make his point.
I cross my arms as Kat finally turns and sees us. I can tell by the look in her eyes she knows what I’m about to do. She winks at me, then flashes us a little boob before going back to the tunes.
Darnell laughs. “That’s my girl.”
“So, about the little Duke or Duchess,” I say. Darnell’s eyes grow wide. “The due date is March fifteenth. I’ll expect you in London at least two weeks before then, because she’s bound to be miserable and bored by the end. At least, that’s what her mother has warned me about.”
“No!” he shouts.
I grin, because I’ve barely been able to restrain the smile since I found out last week.
“Yes.”
Darnell’s whoops of joy are drowned out by the bass line, but Kat hears him and turns to blow him a kiss.
“That’s my girl!” he shouts as he pumps a fist in the air.
“You know, I had a part in the whole thing,” I remind him.
He waves a hand in dismissal. “Please. You just did what you’re programmed to do. She’s got the hard part, and she’s going to be a champ at it.”
He’s absolutely right. She will be, because my Duchess is simply perfect at everything, and she’ll be perfect at raising our child, too.
* * *
A few hours later, I finish locking up the condo and make my way to the bedroom. Kat hasn’t had any morning sickness, but she does get tired faster than normal. I expect her to be fast asleep but when I open the door there she sits, in the middle of our bed, wearing nothing but a filmy white tank top and matching panties.
“Well, hello, Your Grace,” I say as I close the bedroom door behind me and begin to unbutton the cuffs of my dress shirt.
“Hi.” She smiles up at me and my heart squeezes with need.
I reach her and take one long red curl in my hand. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugs lightly. “A little tired, but pumped, too. I love the club in London, but there’s still nothing like the crowd at the Norsemen games.”
My beautiful girl. Our lives are unconventional, but it works for us. We’re a team. She helps me manage both the Norsemen and the Ducal assets. We bounce around between London and Chicago, she might DJ one day and attend one of the Duchess’s benefits the next, I might be deciding on next season’s jerseys and choosing the new Surrey scholarship recipient all in the same hour.
“You’re happy?” I ask. I do that often, because I’ve learned that when you love someone, you do everything in your power to make them happy. I love Kat with all my heart, her happiness is my compass now. It’s how I decide what to do when and where. As long as she’s happy, my world is working.
Wallis leaps onto the bed and begins to do his weaving cat, purring thing between us.
I pick him up and dangle him in the air so I’m looking him in the eyes. “Sorry, mate. I get her now. You can come back in an hour or two.” Then I toss him out in the hall and shut the door.
“Poor thing,” she laments as she crooks her finger for me to return to her perch on the bed.
“He’ll get over it,” I answer. Her cool, soft hands begin to work on the buttons up the front of my shirt.
I moan as she gets the shirt off me and runs her hands over my chest. “God, you feel good.”
She gives me that secret smile that’s just for me, then unbuttons my pants and shoves them and my boxers down my hips. I assist her by toeing off my shoes and kicking the pants out of the way.
“Get rid of this,” I demand, touching first her tank top, then the matching thong. She complies, and in record time we’re stretched out, facing one another on the king-sized bed.
I cup her breast and she hisses. “Is that a good sound or a bad one?” I ask. The pregnancy has made her breasts tender.
“Good,” she insists, reaching for my hard-as-nails cock. Her hand wraps around me and my heart jolts in its cage, the way it always does when she’s this close. I feel the cool metal of the new rings I gave her at our real wedding. The simple gold band I gave her at City Hall has been consigned to a box on the dresser. These belonged to my great-great-great grandmother, and every Duchess of Surrey since then has worn them.
I gently suck her nipple into my mouth and she breathes softly, arching into me. My hands roam over her curves, including her tummy where our child, that miracle of biology, is growing every day.
Kissing down her torso until my mouth hovers over her belly, I gaze up at her. “I promise to show you how to love every day of your life,” I whisper to the baby before I kiss her belly. “And to always support your dreams, whatever they might be.”
Kat sighs and runs her fingers through my hair.
I work my way lower and lick slowly up the seam of her core, spending extra time laying the flat of my tongue against her clit until she begins to writhe beneath me.
“Do you need something, Your Grace?” I ask as I taste her slowly.
“Yes,” she grits out, her hips lifting in need. “Get on with it.”
I chuckle and look up at her. “You’ve become very demanding, of late.”
“It’s the pregnancy hormones,” she tells me. “I’m horny AF.”
It’s classic Kat. Demanding, unvarnished, authentic. “Your wish is my command,” I say as I slide up and thrust into her. She gasps and I nearly come undone.
“So good,” I growl as I begin to pump into her. It’s only moments before she’s coming, but that’s not enough for me, so I slow my pace, pressing against her clit each time I bury myself to the hilt. Before too long, she’s arching her back a
nd crying out again, her nails digging into my back as I curve over her, everything inside me tightening before I empty my entire soul into her.
When we’ve both come down a touch, I roll over, bringing her on top of me. I’m still inside her, and I have no interest in pulling out. There’s nothing as wonderful as falling asleep inside Kat.
She rests her head on my chest and I stroke her back slowly.
“I love you,” I tell her.
She kisses my pec before murmuring, “Same,” and falling fast asleep.
* * *
Thank you so much for reading THE DUKE! I hope you enjoyed Winston and Kat. But don’t go yet, I have a special present for you. You need to meet Winston and Kat’s new baby! To get the Bonus Epilogue click here.
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About the Author
Romance Author | Coffee Drinker | Breaker of Tropes | Mother of Doodles.
Selena Laurence is a USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of One of a Kind Romance. She has published books in Contemporary Romance, New Adult Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Paranormal Romance. She’s also a curated contributor in non-fiction on Medium as SE Reed.
Selena lives in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with her family, her Goldendoodle, and Demon Cat. Her favorite city is Edinburgh, her favorite color is purple, and her favorite shoes are Converse.
Copyright 2019 © Selena Laurence
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