There was a breath of silence between them for a moment and then, with utter abandonment, Lord Carroway leaned down and kissed her.
His lips were soft against her own and yet held her with such firmness that Titania did not feel as though she could ever recover from a moment such as this. Her arms went about his neck as she felt herself being clasped tightly against him, her heart yearning to never be set apart from him again.
“I love you also, Titania,” Lord Carroway said against her mouth, brushing yet another kiss against her lips before stepping back and looking into her eyes. “That is why I have given up my life with the army. It is because I have found something wonderous with you, and I dare not turn away from it for fear that it will rip me apart.” He smiled at her and wiped her damp cheek with his thumb, his fingers running down the curve of her cheek before falling to take her hands in his once more. “I cannot be without you, Titania. From the first moment, you have bewitched me. I wish to share my life with you. I wish to take you to my estate as my wife so that we might make it our home. I want to discover a happiness that I have only just begun to see, have only just begun to feel. But more than all of that, Titania, I want to show you just how much you have captivated me, how you have stolen my heart. I will, if you will allow me, fill your every day with as much love and as much joy as I am able, for in you, I have found my everything.”
Titania looked up into Lord Carroway’s eyes and found herself lost within his gaze. Here stood the gentleman she had fallen in love with, her gentleman spy, who was offering her his heart and his life in all its fullness.
“I can think of nothing more joyous than being by your side as we traverse through this life together, Carroway,” she said honestly, feeling his hand tighten on hers. “Without you, I am quite lost. I will take my vows and make my promises before God and man, for the only thing I long for is to be your wife.”
“Then I am as blessed a man as any that has ever walked this earth,” Lord Carroway replied before reaching down to kiss her again.
Titania leaned into his kiss, knowing that with every breath she took, she was falling more deeply in love with the gentleman who held both her hand and her heart.
* * *