A gift almost as priceless as his love.
She returned his kiss with unfettered passion, desperate to feel one with him after the emotional upheaval of the last few days. He ran his hands all over her body, but when they slipped between her thighs, her knees turned to water.
She collapsed against him, pressing her aching breasts against his chest. "Love me, Pierson. Please."
Lowering their bodies to the bed, he whispered against her lips. "Now and forever, love. Now and forever."
* * *
Epilogue
« ^
Drake Hall, England 1821
The baby cried.
Her son. The beauty of the squirming infant hurt in a way she wanted never to end. She had given birth to life. Wonderful, innocent life.
She pushed herself up in the huge four-poster bed, ignoring the admonishment of both her maid and the midwife to rest. She had to see her son. Each moment with him was a gift she had never thought to have.
The heavy door of the master chamber slammed against the wall. Thea's gaze flew to the sight of her husband's towering frame outlined in its opening. His face wore the same worried expression it had so often since he had discovered she was with child. He met her eyes, and in that brief glance she knew nothing would ever be the same. They were a family. Now and forever.
"I came as quickly as I could. You are so headstrong. Trust you to go into labor two weeks early when I am away on business."
He strode over to the bed and glared down at her, but his frown did not reach his eyes. Their dark molasses depths were filled with warm approval.
He did not turn away from her, but spoke to the midwife. "Give me the babe."
"It is a son. Our son. Are you not thrilled?" Her words came out soft, supremely happy.
"Thrilled is a paltry word for what I feel." He took the baby from the midwife. "He is beautiful." He looked up from the tiny bundle. "My love, you have given me the greatest gift imaginable."
Turning his attention back to the child, Drake said, "I will be all that a father should be."
Her heart filled with the love that grew each day of her marriage to him. "How can you help it? You are all that a man should be in every other respect."
He turned glassy eyes to her. "How can I thank you, Thea? You have fulfilled every dream that I harbored deep in my heart."
She smiled through tears that burned a path down her cheek. "It is only fair, my love. You have brought to life dreams that I was afraid to even admit to myself that I had."
He reached out and pulled her close, their baby between them. Although she was exhausted from the birth, she felt energy surge through her at the connection with both her husband and her newborn son. Mama would be happy. She would approve of Drake, and she would have loved her grandson.
Thea intended to speak often of Mama to her son. Anna Selwyn would not be forgotten, nor would her legacy of love. She lived on through her daughter, and Thea vowed to be worthy of the sacrifices her mother had made to raise her in the light of love rather than the shadow of suspicion.
Perhaps Jared would learn to live in the light of love as well. One day he would be willing to read the journals. Until then it was enough that he and the rest of Thea's family chose to be part of her life. But even had they not, she would never complain because she had Pierson Drake.
A man who made marriage a blessing.
When she thought of the fears she had harbored about marrying him, she smiled. He had proven to her that he loved her for who she was. She still ran Merewether Shipping, discreetly of course. She gave lectures on the subject of abolition and invited influential members of Parliament to her town house to discuss it and other important issues.
Drake invariably supported her. Their marriage was not without conflict. She and Drake were both too strong-willed for such a feat, but in the things that really counted, they were as one.
She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth, while resting her hand on their son's head. He turned and smiled into her eyes. The promises she saw there would last a lifetime. She had no doubt.
* * * * *