Page 33 of The Rogue’s Embrace

Castle Tolosa

Two weeks later

"I swear I caught your father wiping a tear away during the service,"

said Lisandro.

He set two glasses of champagne down on a nearby table, then climbed into the oversized wooden bathtub to join her. Straddling him, Maria reached out and passed one of the saucer-shaped coupes to him before collecting her own.

Their glasses clinked together.

"He was quite emotional during the church service. It is not every day that a man gives his only daughter away in marriage,"

she replied.

The night before the wedding, Maria and Antonio had spent some quiet time together in his study. It had been her last evening as both an Elizondo and as a resident of Castle Villabona. Her father had gifted her several pieces of family jewelry, along with a letter.

The letter was one he had written, with the intention of sending it to the cathedral in Bilbao begging the kidnappers to spare Maria's life. She had barely read two paragraphs of it before breaking down. Every word spoke of a father's love—something that would never change, no matter where she was or by which name, she went.

Lisandro brushed a kiss on Maria's décolletage. "I must confess, I like your father. He is a good man. Which, considering that I was raised to hate him, is quite a transformation of opinion."

"I know for a fact he thinks you are rather special too. Both he and Diego hold you in high regard,"

she replied.

When the time was right, they would host their first family gathering at Castle Tolosa. All the Elizondo side of the family would be invited, along with the dowager Duchess of Tolosa.

But the next few days were for themselves. They were going to spend them alone in their private quarters, camped out on the enormous bed, sleeping, making love, then sleeping again. The only time anyone would see them was when the servants brought them food and more wine.

Lisandro took a sip of his champagne before setting it on a nearby table. Maria lay her head back as he took one of her nipples into his mouth. He slipped a hand below the water and between her legs.

"I am glad we decided to get this tub. I anticipate it will get plenty of use,"

he whispered.

She softly gasped as he began to stroke her sex. Her hand trembled, spilling some of the champagne.

He took the glass from her fingers and set it alongside his on the table. Maria rose up and then slowly sunk down, taking the full length of him. With her head settled in the crook of his neck, she proceeded to make sweet love to her husband.

"You know how I have always said I don't believe in coincidences?" he asked.

Maria gathered what remained of her thoughts. "Yes."

He thrust up into her. "I do, however, believe in fate. From that night when I first saw you, I knew you and I were meant to be together. That our futures were somehow entwined."

She lifted her head and stared into the face of the man who had saved her. The man she loved. "I was so disappointed when I discovered who you were. Angry at you— for being you. How could this handsome and divine man standing before me be my enemy?"

Their lips met in a tender kiss as their bodies worked together, reaching as one for that moment of shared ecstasy.

"I love you, Lisandro. And till the day I die, I shall always be grateful that you could see beyond that moment of my outrage and know that we shared one destiny."

That very evening, the Night Wind slipped quietly away from the Spanish coast and into the cover of the dark Cantabrian Sea. Its main deck was filled with the usual cargo of smuggled goods, all bound for England. In a sealed box, wrapped up to keep it safe from salt and water, was a handwoven Cuenca carpet—a special gift of thanks and love from Maria and Lisandro.

The address was marked on the outside of the box.