Page 14 of The Earl’s Gamble (The Lovers’ Arch: Later in Life)

14

Epilogue

O n his knees was his favourite place to be.

Griff exhaled as Rose’s soft hand lifted his chin, wearing nothing but that steely gaze he loved so much. Her other hand came up to stroke through his hair, sending a ripple of lust down his spine. “Did you need me as much as I needed you this afternoon?” she whispered.

His cock throbbed terribly, still recovering from being interrupted during their romantic lunchtime interlude in the library. “Desperately so, my lady.”

Sitting in front of him on the bed, her eyes flicked downwards. “So I see. Be a good boy and serve me, Griff.”

He didn’t have to be asked twice, kissing the velvety skin of her thighs. The captivating feminine scent of her desire held him in its thrall, luring him closer. Griff went willingly, savouring that taste he loved so well. He let his tongue coast over the familiar landscape, languishing in slow, teasing circles.

Rose’s gasped sigh was equally laden with pleasure and relief. Her hand tightened in his hair almost painfully, and Griff wore it like a badge of honour.

Griff wanted to tell her how good she tasted, how hard she made him, how he’d never be right if he couldn’t serve her like this—but, fuck, he needed to serve her more than it all. He sucked her slick, velvet petals into his mouth, feathering his tongue over them.

Rose’s gentle moans dispersed through the room, their pitch increasing the closer he came to her clitoris. He could hear the expectation building in her breaths, could taste it in the slickness of her arousal.

When he knew just how close she was, he finally gave her what she wanted. Griff lapped at her sensitive clitoris, fluttering his tongue against it as he sucked. Her hips rocked, her breaths coming faster and faster, higher and higher, until he knew there was no turning back.

Wrapping his arms around her thighs, Griff’s cock jumped as Rose let out a high, stuttered cry. Her grip on his hair was so tight it was painful, but by Jove it was worth it. His tongue was glued to the little hood guarding her clitoris, laving it with attention until Rose’s legs shook around his head.

When Rose’s fingers relinquished their hold on his hair, Griff finally stopped. He climbed to his feet to crawl onto the bed, his knees protesting after so long in one position. “Did I serve you well, my lady?”

Her golden locks of hair splayed out across the bedcovers, she nodded, resting her hand against his stubble. “You always serve me well. Do you want me to be on top?”

Griff shook his head, stepping between her legs. “Let me do the work.” He let his hand ghost over her stomach. “You’re already doing more than enough. I know the children have been mad with excitement about travelling into London tomorrow.”

Rose’s back arched as he slid inside her, letting out a gasp of pleasure that he would never, ever tire of hearing. A haze of bliss clouded her eyes as he withdrew, only to sink in further.

Truth be told, he loved doing the work. He loved to watch her reaction as he slowly rolled his hips against hers, stirring his cock the way he knew drove her wild. There was a primal part of him that loved to see her like this, overwhelmed with pleasure as he ceaselessly toiled away.

His cock was ready to explode, but Griff wrestled it back under control. Clenching Rose’s hips, he lifted her slightly, until he found that perfect angle. Found it. “Come on my cock, I beg you,” he murmured, watching her head fall back onto the pillow.

“Faster!” Rose whimpered beneath lowered eyelids, her fingers grasping the covers.

Griff grunted, feeling warmth beginning to spread at the base of his spine. But he couldn’t come first; he wouldn’t . “Yes, my lady.”

He needn’t have worried. A moment later, Rose threw her hand over her mouth, muffling the hoarse scream she let out. Her cunt was merciless, every bit as demanding as Rose herself. It squeezed him within an inch of his life, pulling his seed from his body as he groaned, until his vision whited out around him.

When his vision returned, Griff found himself hovering over his wife. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his lungs drawing in vast swathes of air. Placing a gentle kiss on her stomach, he crawled up the bed to join her before collapsing onto his back. A smile stretched his lips when she curled into him, streaks of pink stretched across her cheekbones.

Griff sighed, curling one of her blonde ringlets around his finger. Had a man ever loved a woman more than he loved her? He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her scent .

I doubt it.

Sunshine streamed down on them as they traversed Rotten Row. The leaves above their heads offered some protection, but even so Griff could still feel its heat on his exposed forearms. It wasn’t the hottest day of the summer—but it wasn’t far off.

Ice cream sellers were two a penny today, lining Hyde Park in an attempt to attract the rich and poor alike. By the looks of things, they would be returning home with heavy pockets. Every other person passing them seemed to be carrying an ice cream cone.

Even so, he was pleasantly surprised when Molly turned to plead her case. “ Please can we have one? Please?”

In his arms, Robbie sucked in a huge gasp, before his excitable little voice almost deafened him. “Can we?”

“If you’d like.” Griff smiled, his steps carefully matching Rose’s steady pace. “What do you think?”

“I’ve never needed something so much in my entire life.” Spurred on by the promise of ice cream, Rose quickened her waddling steps.

The heavy green canopy shielded them from the worst of the sunlight, but he had a feeling his wife would have walked across burning embers if only there was an ice cream waiting at the end.

By some divine intervention, an ice cream cart was situated a hundred yards away from the entrance to the Lovers’ Arch. He watched as Molly confidently marched up to the seller to place her order, and for a moment it was easy to forget that she had been a trembling mess when they’d picked her up from the Spitalfields orphanage.

Robbie was only a couple of months old when they’d adopted him, but his older sister Molly was five, old enough to remember what it was like to go hungry. She’d known fear and abandonment, and it had damn near broken his heart to witness its effects on her .

Three years on, his daughter made him so proud she was likely to break his heart all over again.

“What does that say?” Molly asked, pointing up at the colossal archway as they neared it.

Griff pulled himself from his thoughts. “The Latin?” Sub arcu, amor fulget. Sussurri dulces, cor evolat. “It means beneath the arch, love shines bright. Sweet whispers, the heart takes flight . ”

Rose’s noise of shock was muffled through her ice cream. A creamy dollop spilled onto her swollen belly. “I didn’t know you could read it!”

“Of course I can.” He laughed, carefully watching Rose’s feet to ensure she didn’t misstep over the ancient stones. “Latin was the bane of my existence at Eton.”

“Do you know I’ve always wondered what that said?” Rose asked, as Griff lowered Robbie to the ground to let him wander around the meadow. “Every year we come here and every year I wonder. You could have put me out of my misery.”

Molly interrupted them. “But what does that mean ? The arch and love bit.”

Keeping an eye on his son, Griff took a seat on the bench next to his wife. He thought about it for a moment. “Love happens beneath the arch?” he guessed. “I’m not sure.”

“Didn’t you and Mama meet beneath the arch?” Molly wondered, kicking off her shoes to dip her toes into the pond.

“Well no, we met about here.” Griff gestured to their general area. “Six years ago today.”

“On Uncle Archie’s birthday.” Molly nodded. “But you both passed through the arch to get here, and you fell in love.”

Griff shook his head, catching Rose’s eye with a grin. “I suppose we did. ”

“So it’s magic,” Molly concluded, as assertive as ever. Robbie sat down with a thump next to her, throwing his shoes off—narrowly missing the pond itself—and splashing his feet in the water.

“I don’t think magic is real, sweetheart,” Rose breathed, placing a hand on her stomach. She leant back against the bench, the long branches of the willow tree above them sweeping her shoulders.

Griff wasn’t so sure about that. They’d been married for more than five years when Rose announced she was going through the change . It was earlier than women usually went through it, but she was certain—apparently.

And then her stomach began to grow. At first, Rose decreed that she was simply putting on weight.

When the weight began to kick her, his wife soon changed her mind.

He’d been overjoyed, of course, but he had been worried about how their children would take it.

He needn’t have worried. Molly was positively thrilled at the idea of another brother or sister. Robbie was slightly confused at the fact that a baby was coming out of his mother, but then Griff had been as well, so he couldn’t blame the lad.

“I don’t know,” Griff murmured quietly, watching their children before them. “Feels magical to me. You. Molly. Robbie. Little Archina.”

A choked snort of laughter ripped from Rose’s throat. “We’re not calling her Archina.”

“You can’t tell me it doesn’t fit. It’s not my fault there isn’t a female version of Archie.” Griff shrugged, so in love with his wife it hurt. “We’ll just have to make our own. Archie. Archway . It does fit.”

The edges of Rose’s eyes crinkled as she grinned. “For her sake, I hope she’s a boy. Imagine calling her Archina. Really .”

Griff lifted his wife’s chin, losing himself in her eyes before he slanted his lips over hers. “I’ll love her either way,” he promised.

But as he listened to Molly and Robbie chatter, his focus drifted over to the Lovers’ Arch, wondering who else may have found true love after passing beneath its ancient stone.

Read on for a sneak peek of Later in Life book #2, The Devil's Bargain by Mihwa Lee…