Page 44 of Brazen Rogue
He shook his head, pulling her closer still. "What?"
"It means that if you truly mean to divorce Lady Lupton-Gage, which you should know I fully respect and support, I can wait for you and not be a burden to anyone else in the interim. With her ladyship’s antics, I do not think I shall have to wait long."
Bellamy sighed, running a hand through his hair and leaving it on end. Reign smiled, reached up, and settled it back down. "I will wait for you. No matter how long it takes. I shall return to Grafton. Lord Chilsten has already sent inquiries about purchasing back my cottage. I shall be there when you have settled things between yourself and Lady Lupton-Gage. I will not relent on my promise, for I love you so very much, Bellamy. So much that to see you tonight declare yourself so publicly, to defend your honor and the honor of your family, of that I could not have been more proud of you. For defending me," she said.
He lowered his head and kissed her. Hard. She threw herself into the embrace, not knowing when she would see him again. It could be months, a year, or possibly more, but she would have one more night with him until then.
His kiss soothed the pain she knew she would endure being away from him. Their tongues danced, his hands everywhere, stripping them both of their clothes.
Reign forgot where they were or what had happened earlier. All that mattered was Bellamy. His hands, touch, and love were all for her and their future.
He tumbled them onto the settee, his heavy body covering hers, warming her in places she ached to fulfill. "I want you," she admitted, squirming beneath him, needing him with an appetite that would not be sated.
"I want you too. Always," he declared, helping her with her dress and ripping his falls open. Like two frantic people desperate for release, he joined with her, thrust into her, and took her as they wished.
"Bellamy," she cried out. He kissed her, smothering her words of longing that ripped from deep within her soul.
Their joining was full of madness, desperation, and love. So much love that it wrapped around her and gave her comfort. Sensation rippled, teased her senses, and she reveled in the feel of him, of having him with her, being hers from this day forward.
No matter what troubles tomorrow would bring, at least this night, they could have each other. A promise of better days ahead.
Reign wrapped her legs around his hips, and his stroke deepened, teasing her sensitive inner self, a place that ached for sweet release.
His hand kneaded her breast, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and she gasped. So good. So brazen.
She would never get enough of him.
"I love you, Bellamy," she gasped as tremors rocked through her, coiling out to every part of her body and intoxicating her soul with delight.
She rode wave after wave of sheer bliss, clung to Bellamy as he pushed her forward and gave her what she wanted to the very sweet end. Only then did he join her, thrust hard into her cunny, spilling his seed deep into her womb.
"I love you too," he breathed against her lips, kissing her softly. "I promise you will not have to wait for me long."
She kissed him back, never doubting his word. "I know I shall not."
Epilogue
Four months later, Grafton
Reign lounged on the settee in her warm cottage. The scent of lamb cooking in the kitchen wafted through the house, reminding her of when she was a child.
After moving back to Grafton, she purchased new furnishings and repaired what needed fixing, along with a whole new wardrobe.
The snow fell heavily outside, and yet this year was so different from last. She was no longer cold or hungry or had to worry if her boots would make it to the local village to purchase what meager food she could afford.
Now she could buy whatever she needed, help her friends, and not be a burden to anyone.
"The paper, Miss Hall," her one and only maid said, placingThe Timeson the small table before her.
"Thank you," she said, reaching for it. Her stomach clenched, and she bolted upright at the headline on the front page.Lady Lupton-Gage Dead from the Pox. She gasped, quickly reading the article, and could not believe what was printed in black and white.
Bellamy's wife was dead?
She looked to see the date and noted it was already well over a week old. "Lizzie, has any mail come for me today?" she called out.
Her maid popped her head back into the parlor door. "No, Miss Hall. No mail for over a week now," she said before disappearing once more.
Reign bit her lip, wondering why Bellamy had not come for her. Had he changed his mind? Since leaving London four months ago, they had barely written, thinking it best since he was to start petitioning for a divorce. He could not be seen as an adulterer as well as his wife. Nothing would ever be finalized, then.
