Three years later…

“How is our son?” Marco asked, looking up as his wife entered their bed chamber. She sighed as she came to sit on the bed beside him. He immediately leaned forward to unbutton her dress for her, and Alice sighed with gratitude. After more than four years of marriage, her husband still helped her undress every night.

“Franco is well. He is most enamored with the toy horse you gave him,” Alice said, smiling as she slipped off her stockings. Marco doted on their son and was a fantastic father, as she had always known he would be even when she feared having children.

“Of course he is,” Marco said proudly, watching Alice pull her gown off her head and undo her stays. “He shall be a horseman when he grows up.”

“Indeed. Now he wants a real horse,” Alice said pointedly, quietly enjoying how Marco’s eyes lingered on her exposed breasts as she stepped out of her shift. She allowed him to look at her for a moment before pulling her nightdress over her head. “He is becoming quite insistent.”

“Perhaps I should have anticipated that,” Marco sighed, setting his book down on his lap.

“I think you should have, yes,” Alice said, amused, as she climbed into bed beside him. “He also has another request.”

“Oh?” Marco raised his eyebrows significantly. “And what else does our young duke require?”

Alice smiled and took her husband’s hand, rubbing her thumb across the back of his knuckles.

“He is demanding we give him a baby brother to play with,” Alice said archly.

Marco snorted and shook his head. “To bully is more like,” he said fondly. “There is nothing like being a big brother to make a lad feel superior.”

“What do you think of his request?” Alice asked, feeling her heartbeat race. She had something to share with her husband.

“Well, we agreed on one child,” Marco said, smiling as he leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek affectionately. “And I have everything I could possibly need right now.”

“Is it not good for a boy to have a sibling?” Alice prompted, looking down at their joined hands. “He might become spoiled otherwise.”

“Are you seriously considering having another?” Marco asked, looking at her intently. They had not talked about it since Franco’s birth, but he had taken what precautions he could during their lovemaking to respect the decision she made when they married.

Alice smiled. She had kept her secret until she could surreptitiously see a doctor confirm her suspicions.

“Well, darling, I am afraid the time for consideration has passed,” Alice said. She could not stop herself from smiling as she moved her hand to her belly.

Marco stared at her for a long moment. Then he set his book aside and placed a trembling hand on her stomach.

“You are increasing?” he questioned, eyes full of hope and excitement.

“I am,” Alice said, nodding happily.

Marco swept down to kiss her ravenously, swallowing her chuckles with his insistent mouth.

“That is wonderful!” Marco exclaimed, pulling away and kissing her soundly on both cheeks before pulling back to examine her. “How did I not know? You were so terribly sick with Franco.”

“I am well. The physician said that every baby is different. I might not be sick at all with this one.” Alice laughed, squirming as his hands stroked her hair, touched her stomach, and ran up her sides. “Marco, stop that. You are making me…”

“Making you what, love?” Marco asked, his voice teasing as he cupped her breast.

“Making me burn for you,” she whispered. Marco pulled back; his eyes dark with desire.

“Well now,” he whispered. “I must do something about that.”

Marco dipped his head to where her neck met her shoulder, and she felt the delicious sting of pain as he nipped her sensitive skin. She moaned out his name while he placed a kiss over the spot. She knew she would have a mark later. Indeed, she had taken to wearing fichus to hide the evidence of his bites. But she loved his ravenous claiming of her flesh. Loved that she wore the marks of his teeth and hands on her body.

“Marco,” she moaned. “I need…”

“What do you need, my love?” Marco asked, pausing his kisses. He put his chin on her shoulder and nuzzled her hair, lifting up a hand to pull out her pins so her curls tumbled down. He loved to see her hair free and breathed in deeply to enjoy the sweet honey scent of the strands.

“I need you inside me,” she confessed.

Marco loved that she could still boldly state what she wanted from him. She had always done so but became shy after their son’s birth. She was worried that the marks carrying their child left on her body would repulse him. It took some time for him to coax this fear out of her, and since then, Marco made it a point to tell her how beautiful she was every day.

“Take what you need,” he whispered.

Alice grinned devilishly and pushed him down onto his back. Marco smiled up at her, loving that she knew what pleased her and would take it from him and only him. He slept nude, so she only had to pull up her nightgown and straddle him once he kicked the blankets away.

She rubbed herself against his hard member, then leaned down and kissed his tip, making it twitch. She moved up his body, kissing, licking, and biting her way up his abdomen and chest. When she reached his shoulder, she bit him in the same spot he had marked her. Marco hissed at the pain, and she licked him.

Marco’s hands roamed over her body as she kissed up his neck and licked the seam of his lips until he opened his mouth and her tongue thrust inside. He caressed her shoulders and back before moving down to squeeze her buttocks. He found the hem of her nightdress and gently pulled it upwards. The slowness of the movement frustrated his wife, as he knew it would. She sat up and yanked the garment off her head, tossing it behind her.

He reached up and ran his thumbs along her nipples. They were more sensitive now that she was with child, and she groaned and arched into his touch. She moved her hips and rubbed herself against him, creating a sweet friction that sent bolts of pleasure through her body.

“If you keep grinding yourself against me, this will end before it starts, minx,” Marco growled, moving his hands to her hips to still her.

She laughed. “I can’t have that,” she said, lifting herself off him for a moment to allow him to position himself, then she sank down onto his shaft with a prolonged sigh. She stilled with him fully seated inside her and looked down at him. “I love you so much, Marco.”

He reached up and cupped her cheeks between his hands. “And I love you,” he said before sitting up and kissing her. When she was senseless with need, she shoved him back onto his back and lifted her hips, then slammed them back down, impaling herself on his shaft. He groaned, and she did it again. This time he surged up to meet her, and they began to find a rhythm that drove them both mad.

Sensing that she was close to her climax, he shoved up into her harder. “Touch yourself, Alice. Make yourself come,” he instructed. She did so, and he watched hungrily as her fingers circled her pearl as she rose and fell over him. Her movements became more frantic, and she bucked her hips as her orgasm tore through her. She continued to ride him as the intense pleasure crested then, eased, as last slowing her movements.

She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her with a wicked gleam in his eye. “My turn,” he said before flipping her onto her back. He stopped to stare at her for a moment. He ran his hand over her belly, tracing the faint marks left by her first pregnancy. “You are so beautiful, my love. You grow more so every day. But you look best when I am inside you.”

He leaned over her, pressing his hands onto her thighs so her legs were spread even wider. He drove into her and relished her cry of delight. He didn’t tease her as was his wont; he just pumped into her with force, leaning more of his weight onto her thighs so she couldn’t move. Alice threw her head back and allowed him to take what he needed from her body.

He grabbed her wrists when she moved to put her arms around his shoulders. He shoved her arms over her head and pinned them there. She gasped as he held her in place while he relentlessly pounded into her.

“Yes,” she breathed, straining against his hold as her second climax began to build within her. She lifted her hips to meet him, and her inner muscles began to clamp around him.

“Open your eyes, Alice. I want you to look at me when I make you come again.”

She opened her eyes and looked into his as she screamed his name. His stare bore into her as he wrung every last bit of sensation from her orgasm, leaving her panting and spent. Watching her pleasure drove him towards his own release. He thrust into her twice more, then growled as he came violently inside her in hot waves.

Marco kissed her nose after a moment and withdrew from her, falling to his side. Alice cuddled up to him, and he held her tightly. “Are you truly happy about the new baby?” he asked after a while.

She raised her head to face him. Her beloved husband was both handsome and strong, but he was always tender and kind to her. He loved her in a way that no one else could. She couldn’t understand how she could have doubted Marco’s devotion to her when she thought about the seeds of doubt Hackman had tried to plant. It shone through his eyes and could be found in everything he had done since they met. These days, she rarely thought of her father’s treacherous advisor. The man had been transported for his crimes, and they no longer had to be concerned about him. When her thoughts returned, she didn’t dwell on the strife or terror he had caused. She just reflected on how far they’d come and how much stronger they’d become as a result of their experiences.

She didn’t think of her father all that often, either, but when she did, she tried to focus on how grateful she was that he did the right thing in the end. She resented him at first for thrusting her into society and wanted to punish him by never having children, but she is now grateful that he did. After all, if the Duke hadn’t acknowledged her, she would never have met Marco, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

“I am, my dear. I really am,” she replied.

He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. “What shall we name this one?” he asked absently.

“How about Giovanni if it is a boy,” Alice said with a quiet smile.

“My cousin would absolutely be insufferable,” Marco groaned. “What about for a girl?” Marco would love to have a daughter. One with her mother’s burnished curls, impish smile, and forthright nature. Franco resembled him in almost every way, even in temperament, which could be challenging at times. He would love to see his wife contend with a copy of herself one day.

“I do have one in mind for a girl as well,” Alice whispered.

“What is it? Please don’t tell me you want to name her Beatrice. She would preen even more than Gio,” Marco joked.

Alice laughed. She had no doubt he was right. Her dear friend would be vocal in her pride if she and Marco named a child after her. Perhaps they would someday name their children after the marquess and his wife if they ever had more. They were all as close as siblings now, and Alice could think of no better way to honor that bond, but she had something else in mind for this baby.

“If it is a girl, I would like to name her Hope,” Alice said. “For that is what you gave me when you entered my life.”

Marco smiled at this and drew his wife up for a tender kiss. “That is perfect, my love, for that is what you gave me as well,” he said.

It was true for both of them. To protect herself from a harsh society, Alice had transformed into the Ice Queen. Marco was a man full of anger, driven by the desire for vengeance for his friend’s murder. When they met, they both realized they desired more out of life. Marco hoped he had found the woman who could heal his deep wounds, while Alice hoped she had found a man who could love her for herself rather than her money. That hope grew into something neither of them could have imagined: a beautiful life filled with love, laughter, and passion with the person who completed them. The life they now lead together in bliss.

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