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EPILOGUE

“Lady Delmar, I insist that you rest. Lord Delmar will be very vexed if he finds you assisting us.”

Vivienne sighed and plopped into a cushiony wingback chair that the butler dragged into the ballroom. She and Michael were hosting their first ball of the London season tomorrow. They’d married nine months ago, and, shocking them both, she’d become pregnant a few months afterwards.

She was barely showing but was six months along. Michael had become far too protective for her liking. At Penelope’s wedding a few weeks ago, he’d hovered around her until they’d quarreled fiercely. Of course, they’d made up in bed that night, but the man was driving her mad.

Her mouth tilted up in a smile. Sometimes Vivienne felt so happy that she would burst into tears. The man she was thinking about strode into the ballroom, his head swiveling back and forth, searching for her.

The servants immediately stiffened, knowing Michael didn’t want her in the room assisting with decorations. “Before you bellow at anyone, I insisted on being here. If you plan to be cross, be so with me.”

His eyes narrowed in on her. “You should be resting.”

She sighed. Michael turned to the servants and said, “Please give us a moment.”

The staff shuffled out. Vivienne rolled her eyes and stood. “Don’t start, Michael. You are acting like an ogre. Yes, I’m carrying your child, but it is too much.”

As he reached her, his eyes lingered on her full breasts. She snorted. “Eyes upward, Lord Delmar.”

He pulled her to him, pushing his hard shaft against the apex of her thighs. Warmth shot through her. “I wasn’t coming to lecture you or be cross with anyone.”

“You were. You’ve just become distracted by my bosom.”

He kissed Vivienne and scooped her into his arms. “I think you, Lady Delmar, need to rest in our bedchambers.”

“Right now?”

He nodded and prodded a ballroom door open with his boot. The servants gawked at them. He smiled wickedly. “If you will excuse my wife. I’ve determined she needs her rest.”

The staff did their best to stifle back smiles and laughs. Vivienne blushed a fiery red but didn’t protest. She simply laughed into Michael’s chest.

He kissed the top of her head as he carried her upstairs. “I think a few hours of rest will benefit both of us.”

She glanced up at him, grinning. “Agree.”