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Page 46 of The Duke’s Untouched Bride (Regency Second Chances #3)

Unable to resist, Iris rose from her chair and moved to his side so she could press a soft kiss to his cheek and taste the salt of ecstasy on his skin.

Around them, their friends erupted in cheers and gentle teasing, but she only had eyes for her husband and daughter and for this perfect moment that would be etched in her memory forever.

“That was her first word,” she whispered in his ear. “You’ll remember this moment for the rest of your life.”

“I’ll remember all of it,” he replied as his free arm wrapped around her waist to complete their family circle. “Every perfect moment of this wonderful life we’ve built.”

The evening continued with laughter and stories and concluded with promises to return soon.

But underneath the cheerful chaos, Iris felt the deep satisfaction of a woman who’d found her place in the world.

This gathering of people who’d chosen to become family, this warm house filled with love and laughter, this husband who looked at her like she hung the stars, and this precious child who was theirs in every way that mattered, wove together to create everything she’d dreamed of during those long, lonely months when happiness had seemed impossible.

Hours later, after their guests had departed amid a flurry of embraces and plans for future gatherings, Iris and Owen made their way upstairs to tuck Evie in for the night.

The baby was drowsy but fighting sleep as she always did, making soft sounds of protest as Iris rocked her gently in the chair that had become such a central fixture in their evening routine.

“Sing to her,” Iris requested, settling more comfortably into the familiar rhythm of the rocking chair. “She’s been showing off all evening. She deserves her favorite lullaby.”

Owen’s voice was soft, and the familiar sea shanty never failed to soothe Evie into contentment. The melody connected three generations, grandfather to father to daughter, creating an unbroken chain of love and tradition.

“Away, haul away, we’ll haul away together. Away, haul away, we’ll haul for better weather…”

As the music worked its inevitable magic and Evie’s eyes grew heavy with sleep, Owen moved closer to watch his wife and daughter in the gentle glow of the lamp. The sight of this everyday miracle of family he’d never thought he deserved still had the power to steal his breath.

“Our daughter,” he said quietly. His sense of wonder was still palpable in his voice after all these months of claiming that precious truth.

“Our family,” Iris murmured, smiling up at him with the contentment of a woman who’d found her heart’s home.

When Evie finally settled in her bed, they made their way to their chambers. Their hands were entwined in the comfortable intimacy of a couple who’d learned to trust completely in each other’s love.

“I’ve been thinking,” Owen said as he helped her with the intricate fastenings of her dinner gown.

“About?”

“About what Felix said tonight. About giving Evie siblings to share the burden of his corrupting influence.”

Iris laughed. The sound was bright and happy in the quiet intimacy of their room. “Is that your only motivation? Protection from Felix’s corrupting influence?”

“Among others.” His hands stilled on her shoulders. “I want to give her everything, Iris. Brothers and sisters, a house filled with laughter and chaos, the kind of childhood I never had but always dreamed about.”

“And what do you want for yourself?”

“You. Always you.”

He turned her in his arms.

“A lifetime of moments like tonight. A family that chooses each other every day. Not because duty demands it, but because love makes anything else unthinkable.”

Iris tipped her head back and smiled up at him. “Careful, or I might get used to you saying such things.”

“You had better,” he said, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Because I don’t plan on stopping.”

His hands skimmed her sides, slow and sure, finding the edge of her shift as if it had offended him by still being in the way. She gasped when he lifted her without warning and elicited a delighted squeal as he carried her to bed.

“Owen!”

“Yes, love?” he asked far too innocently as he laid her down and settled beside her.

She propped herself up on her elbows. “You’re in one of your moods.”

“I’m in your mood,” he countered as he lowered his head to kiss a slow path along her shoulder, then down the inside of her arm. “And I plan to stay there for a while.”

She shivered beneath the warm press of his lips and her laughter softened into a sigh as he moved with unhurried purpose. His fingers slipped beneath linen and his mouth found every inch of exposed skin. His name fell from her lips in a whisper.

“I love you,” she murmured.

“I know,” he said, his voice rough and low. “Now, let me show you what that means.”

His mouth captured hers. She reached down and undid his trousers. With surprising dexterity, he kissed his way down her collarbone while kicking off his trousers.

When her hand wrapped around his length, he let out a groan. “What you do to me…”

“What?” Iris looked up at him and batted her lashes as her hand stroked his length.

“Minx,” he growled while rolling over and pulling her on top of him.

Iris straddled him and allowed his girth to fill her. She leaned down and nipped his bottom lip. “That’s Duchess Minx to you.”

His hands found her hips, and she moved over him. He matched her rhythm, meeting her thrust for thrust, until she seized and spasmed around him.

Owen pushed into her again and a groan of elation slipped through his clenched teeth.

Later, as they lay entwined in the sweet aftermath of lovemaking, Iris traced lazy patterns on Owen’s chest while he played with her hair. The movement was soothing.

“Do you ever regret it?” she asked quietly. Her voice was soft with the vulnerability that still occasionally surfaced despite the security of their love. “Taking us in that first night? All the complications and chaos we’ve brought to your carefully ordered life?”

“Never.” His arms tightened around her with a fierceness that spoke to the depths of feeling he was still learning to express. “You saved me, both of you. From loneliness and a life that looked perfect from the outside while feeling empty and meaningless within.”

They fell asleep as they had every night for months now—wrapped around each other in perfect trust, secure in knowing that whatever tomorrow brought, they would face it together as partners, as lovers, and as the family that they’d forged under the most unusual circumstances.

And in the nursery down the hall, their daughter slept peacefully, surrounded by love and lost in dreams of the bright future that stretched ahead of them all.

Her future was filled with laughter and siblings and new adventures, built on the certain knowledge that she was wanted, chosen, and cherished beyond measure by the parents who’d fought heaven and earth to keep her safe.

It was, Owen thought as sleep claimed him, the very best kind of fairytale ending. The kind built not on magic or coincidence, but on the transformative power of love freely given and gratefully received, tested by adversity and proven stronger than any obstacle life could throw.

The kind that promised happily ever after, one extraordinary day at a time.

The End?

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