Falling for the Marquess - Julianne MacLean Page 0,109
the light in her husband’s eyes, and slowly blinked. Could she believe him?
“Seger....”
She had no idea what she wanted to say. All she knew was that her husband was kissing her. Holding her in his arms and calming her, soothing her.
He was such a magnificent kisser. Her body throbbed at the exquisite sensation of her breasts pressing up against the firm wall of his chest. Heat issued forth and simmered between them where their bodies touched. The tight, close contact began to melt the ice crystals she had worked so hard to forge around her heart.
He continued to hold her face in his hands as he gazed down into her eyes. Her body ached with desire. “I want no woman but you, Clara. I love you, and I will always love you.”
She felt herself bending to his will as she always did. How could she not? She was melting in his arms, burning to give herself over to his strong skillful hands, quivering with the need to feel his flesh next to hers.
She labored to subdue such weakness. She had to be strong. She could not give in so easily. This was a turning point in her life. She would set the rules now and demand his fidelity and respect, otherwise give him the power to tramp all over her heart in the years to come.
Her voice was steady as she spoke. “How can I trust that you’re telling me the truth? That you’re not going to go back to your old ways as soon as this is forgotten? I can’t live like that, Seger, and I won’t. I would rather spend my life alone than suffer that kind of anguish, and I will spend it alone if you cannot be constant.”
He stroked her hair tenderly. “Clara, I will be faithful to you until the day I die, and beyond.”
“Those are just words, Seger. I need more than that. I need proof.”
“Here’s your proof!” He placed her open palm on his chest. “I have changed. Every day since I met you, I’ve moved farther away from the shell of the man that I was. I feel it inside myself. I’m whole again. Surely you can see it, too.” He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Can’t you see it in my eyes? Hear it in my voice? Feel it in your heart? God, this morning Daphne appeared, alive, and offered to be my mistress, and I sent her away. Isn’t that proof enough that you are the only woman in the world for me? That my heart beats for you and you alone? I love you, Clara. You are my entire world.”
Tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she gazed at her husband and listened to all he said. Really listened. He was right—he had changed, and she could see it in his eyes. Still, she was so afraid to trust her instincts.
But she did love him. That much she knew.
“I love you, too,” she said.
He gathered her into his arms and held her tight, kissing her cheeks and neck and finally her mouth.
“Clara, you have given me so much, even when I gave nothing in return. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you. I want to have children with you and grow old with you. I want to prove to you that I will be the most faithful husband England has ever known.”
A wealth of emotions cascaded over Clara as she stared up at her beautiful husband in the afternoon light that was pouring in the nursery window.
“I sent Quintina and Gillian away,” he added. “They will never have another opportunity to cause you pain. No one will if I can help it.”
He kissed her again until her lips were burning with need. She clutched at him, feeling as if all her dreams had come true. She did trust him. Deep in her soul, she knew he was the man she’d always believed him to be. Today, she had feared the worst. She had thought she would be heartbroken for the rest of her life, but he had pulled her out of that abyss and shown her what was real.
“Please know in your heart,” he said, “that I will never leave you, nor will I ever go back to the empty existence that was my wretched life before you walked into it. You are my whole world, Clara, and I love you with all my heart.”