Page 74 of Daring the Forbidden Earl

She smiled against the silky locks of his hair as she felt him pulsate inside her, and finally heard that thrilling moan hiss from between his lips as he released his pleasure.

“You truly are the most wondrous minx.” He pulled back slightly and tilted his head up so he could kiss her. “How did I become so fortunate, Sweeting? What did I do to deserve you?”

Johanna kissed him back. “Because you are you, and we were destined, my love. That is all you need to know.”

“Then I thank the heavens for bringing you back to me,” he told her, his voice cracking for a moment. “Truly, I thank them every day.”

Wrapping her legs and her arms tighter around him, she settled into his familiar, comforting embrace. If anyone had walked by, they would have seen a husband and wife enjoying a hug, nothing more, for Johanna’s skirts hid the truth. And yet, this did not feel sordid in the slightest. It felt… intended, as though they were connected to the Earth, and to the very heavens that had sent them back to one another.

And as she felt the last, latent pulse of him inside her, she had the most peculiar feeling that this particular seed was going to bear fruit.

Nothing would make me happier than to carry our children, and bring them into the world, where I may ensure they are always loved, and know the wonder of affection.

For after she had lost her first child and had tied herself to an affectionless marriage with Peter, she had been convinced that she would never be a mother. In a way, she had almost set that hope to one side, like a dusty trinket to be put away in a box.

Now, with Mark, and with love in her heart and all the affection she could desire, she realized she no longer had to keep the once-hopeless dream in a secret place in her mind. Nor did she have to worry about them being illegitimate, for now they were man and wife, destined for a long and happy life together.

“Would you like to be a father, my love?” she whispered into his ear, holding onto him.

She felt him smile against her neck. “More than anything, Sweeting.” He pulled back. “Why, do you have something to tell me?”

“Not yet,” she replied, with a shy smile, “but, if the heavens are truly smiling down on us, then I hope it will be soon.”

“It will,” he said, as though he already knew that new life was being created at that very moment. The final piece that would make their happiness whole.

The End?