Married By Morning (The Hathaways #4)(94)

“Don’t leave me. Please, Leo.”

He understood. As her wet flesh clenched around him once more, delicately wringing and pulling at the hardness, he pumped forcefully, letting himself go. And at last she knew the feel of his release, the way his belly tightened, the trembling of a powerful man rendered helpless in that ultimate moment.

They stayed joined as long as possible, resting together and watching as the dawn seeped through the parted curtains.

“I love you,” she whispered, “so dearly, my lord. My Leo.”

He smiled and kissed her. Rising, he went to drag on his trousers.

While Leo sluiced his face at the washstand, Catherine reached for her spectacles. Her gaze happened to fall on Dodger’s empty basket by the door, and her smile dimmed. “Poor weasel,” she murmured.

Leo returned to her, instantly concerned as he saw her watering eyes. “What is it?”

“Dodger,” she said with a sniffle. “I miss him already.”

Leo sat and drew her up against him. “Would you like to see him?”

“Yes, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Before she could answer, she saw an odd movement beneath the door … a furry, skinny body wiggling industriously beneath the ridiculously narrow space. Catherine blinked, afraid to move. “Dodger?”

The ferret came loping toward the bed, chuckling and chirping, his eyes bright as he hurried to her.

“Dodger, you’re alive!”

“Of course he’s alive,” Leo said. “We put him in Poppy’s apartment last night to allow you some rest.” He smiled as the ferret bounded onto the mattress. “Mischievous little beggar. How did you get all the way down here?”

“He came to find me.” Catherine held out her arms, and Dodger climbed up to her and snuggled against her chest. She stroked him over and over, murmuring endearments. “He tried to protect me, you know. He bit William’s hand quite terribly.” She nuzzled her chin against Dodger and crooned, “Good little watch ferret.”

“Well done, Dodger,” Leo said. Leaving the bed for a moment, he went to his discarded coat and rummaged through the pockets. “I suppose that leads to the question … in marrying you, am I going to be gaining a ferret, as well?”

“Do you think Beatrix would let me keep him?”

“There’s no doubt of it.” Leo returned to sit beside her. “She’s always said that he belongs to you.”

“Has she?”

“Well, it’s rather obvious, in light of his fascination for your garters. And one certainly can’t blame him for that.” Leo reached for her hand. “I have something to ask you, Marks.”

She sat up eagerly, letting Dodger drape around her neck.

“I can’t remember if this is the fifth or sixth proposal,” he said.

“It’s only the fourth.”

“I asked you yesterday. Are you counting that one?”

“No, that wasn’t really ‘will you marry me,’ that was more ‘will you come down off the roof.—”

One of Leo’s brows arched. “By all means, let’s be technical.” He slid a ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It was the most breathtaking ring she had ever seen, a flawless silver opal with flashes of blue and green fire hidden deep inside. With every movement of her hand, the opal glimmered with unearthly color. It was encircled by a rim of glittering small diamonds. “This reminded me of your eyes,” he said. “Only not nearly as beautiful.” He paused, looking at her intently. “Catherine Marks, love of my life … will you marry me?”

“I want to answer another question first,” she told him. “Something you asked me before.”

He smiled and put his forehead against hers. “The one about the farmer and the sheep?”

“No … the one about what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.”

A laugh rustled in his throat. “Tell me your answer, love.”

“The unstoppable force stops. And the immovable object moves.”

“Mmmn. I like that.” His lips brushed hers tenderly.

“My lord, I’d rather not wake up as Catherine Marks ever again. I want to be your wife as soon as possible.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

Catherine nodded. “Although … I will miss you calling me Marks. I’ve gotten rather fond of it.”

“I’ll still call you Marks from time to time. During moments of lurid passion. Let’s try it.” His voice lowered to a seductive whisper. “Kiss me, Marks…”

And she lifted her smiling mouth to his.

Epilogue

One year later

The cry of an infant broke through the silence.

Leo flinched at the sound, lifting his head. Having been banished from the bedroom where Catherine was giving birth, he had waited with the rest of the family in the parlor. Amelia had stayed with Catherine and the doctor, occasionally emerging to give a brief report to Win or Beatrix. Cam and Merripen were maddeningly sanguine about the process, both having seen their own wives safely through childbirth.

The Hathaway family was proving remarkably fertile. In March, Win had given birth to a robust boy, Jason Cole, nicknamed Jàdo. Two months later, Poppy had produced a petite red-haired daughter, Elizabeth Grace, upon whom Harry and the entire Rutledge Hotel staff doted.