“Then… if I renewed my declarations, could I dare hope for a different answer?”
She smiled at him, her eyes misty. “Yes.”
That lovely smile trapped his breath in his chest. Hope flaring inside him, Damien swallowed thickly. “I discovered a proposal in a volume of Olivia’s poetry, which I memorized in the event I ever had the incredible fortune to ask you again.” He kept his gaze riveted on her face, his voice low. “Will you have me, though I come to you corrupt? My armor tarnished with sin and decadence?”
Vanessa couldn’t contain another trembling smile. She had no choice but to have Damien. He owned her heart.
She was his, body and soul.
“Yes, I will have you,” she said softly. “Gladly.”
He framed her face with infinite gentleness, dazed with love and desire. “And you will marry me and be my love?”
“Yes.”
“Vanessa…” He said the word as a husky breath as he bent down to her.
His mouth claiming hers, he kissed her with all the new, brilliant tenderness in his soul. His hands moved blindly in her hair as desire spilled through him.
He didn’t deserve her, a woman so rare as this. She had become his heartbeat, his breath.
And he would spend the rest of his life proving it to her.
Epilogue
Rosewood, November 1810
Damien paused at the door to his bedchamber and gazed down at his bride of eleven hours.
“At last,” he murmured huskily, raising her hand and pressing his lips into her palm. “I thought we would never be alone.”
Vanessa gave him a dreamy smile. “You were the one who insisted on a large wedding.”
“I wanted the world to know of my good fortune.”
He had procured a special license to marry without the banns so they could hold a double wedding with his sister and her brother. The church was filled to overflowing, since half the peerage of England had turned out to watch the notorious Lord Sin meet his fate.
After a sumptuous feast at Rosewood, Olivia and Aubrey had departed for Kent, along with Vanessa’s mother and sisters. The last of the guests had finally driven away moments ago, leaving the baron and new baroness alone on their wedding night.
“Wasn’t it wonderful that Olivia could stand upright for the ceremony?” Vanessa remarked as Damien opened the door for her. “She made a beautiful bride, don’t you think?”
He gave her a smile so brilliant it shamed the sun. “I scarcely noticed. I had eyes only for my own bride.”
Her heart too full of joy, Vanessa entered the bedchamber, which had been prepared for the night. Several lamps burned welcomingly, while a fire blazed in the grate to ward off the autumn chill. The huge vase of crimson roses that graced a side table scented the air, and the bedcovers on the four-poster bed were turned down invitingly.
Vanessa shivered with anticipation of the night to come. Remarkably Damien had insisted they remain chaste until they could consummate their vows. Thus the past weeks had been fraught with sensual tension and the frustration of being able to touch but not satisfy. But he was her husband now, and the moment at last had arrived when they would solemnize the commitment of their hearts.
When Damien closed the door gently, shutting them inside their bridal bower, Vanessa met his gaze. The heated promise she read in the silver depths of his eyes sent excitement flaring deep within her.
As he moved around the room, extinguishing all but one of the lamps, Vanessa crossed to the window whose draperies had been left open, as the lord preferred. For a moment she stood gazing down at the moonlit gardens. She still could scarcely believe her own good fortune. Damien loved her, and each day that passed only affirmed his devotion.
She felt his warmth at her back as his arms wrapped around her.
“Happy?”
“Deliriously. I never imagined it was possible to be so happy.”
His whisper brushed close against her ear. “You’re certain you won’t regret having to live in London a good part of the year? I could give up my new post at the Treasury.”