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She raised her head to meet his gaze, only for his lips to devour hers, making the intensity of his desire for her very,veryclear.

Phoebe moaned as she clung to him, pressing herself to him as his tongue swept past her lips to toy with hers.

She had missed this, missed how his kisses left her weak in the knees and made her bold and wanton at the same time.

When they broke apart for breath, she pulled away from him, her eyes searching his face.

“You want something.” Ethan smiled at her. “Name it and it shall be yours, even if I have to pull the damned moon and stars from the sky.”

“I seem to recall asking you not to call me by the nickname you use for all the other women,” she told him. “Have you decided on it?”

He took his hand in hers and pressed a long, lingering kiss to her inner wrist.

Phoebe had to focus really, really hard to hear what he had to say.

“You brought light into my life when I was living in an endless night,” he murmured huskily. “From the moment you came into my life, I knew that it could only get brighter and brighter with you by my side…”

Her breath hitched in her throat. She was mesmerized by the sheer poetry he was speaking to her soul.

“For all of this, Phoebe, you aremy dawn,and I desire nothing more than to bask in your endless radiance for the rest of my days.”

EPILOGUE

All is well that ends well.

At least that was what Shakespeare said, and it suited Phoebe well enough, now that she was cocooned in Ethan’s arms once more.

“At least you managed to work through your differences.” Alice smiled affectionately at her younger sister. Then, her sharp gaze flicked to Ethan, and she added, “And if you ever misbehave again, we might just decide that it is not in Phoebe’s best interests to return to you.”

Phoebe felt Ethan’s arms tighten around her instinctively. She looked up to find her husband looking solemnly back at Alice.

“Rest assured that I would sooner kill myself than hurt her again,” he promised.

“And I can decide for myself whether I want to return, thank you very much,” Phoebe added with a roll of her eyes. “There is no need for any of you to make decisions for me.”

Her older sister smiled proudly at her and stepped forward to kiss her cheek. “I wish you well, dearest. You are brave enough and strong enough to handle this one.”

Evie laughed and winked at her. “You can always go to Ashton Estate if he misbehaves again. I can assure you that we can make it twice as difficult for him to see you if you do not wish to see him.”

Phoebe felt Ethan shuddering, and he cast her an imploring look. “It shall never come to that, I promise.”

She smiled jauntily back at him. “I shall hold you to that promise.”

He nodded and smiled. “For the rest of my life.”

His hand trailed down her arm, his fingers intertwining with hers.

“Let us hurry back home, my dawn,” he murmured in her ear. “I have missed you so terribly.”

Phoebe blushed, her heart swelling with so much joy that it almost hurt. “Yes, my darling husband. Let us go back home.”

The three ladies watched as Ethan helped Phoebe into the carriage and then closed the door behind himself. Soon, the coachman urged the horses to move slowly down the tree-lined drive.

Scarlett sighed as she watched the carriage go. “They were in such a hurry to be reunited that they even left poor Ella and Phoebe’s things behind.”

Evie laughed and winked at Scarlett. “I trust that they will have no need for a change of clothes so soon.”

The redhead muffled her laughter with her glove, her eyes twinkling with merriment. “Not for some time yet.”