Portrait of a Lady in Love – Extended Epilogue
Eight Years Later
“Stand still, please! You really are the worst model I have ever come across, Your Grace,” Louisa complained, pausing in her work and laughing as her husband yet again shifted on the spot he was currently occupying. He was standing on a small wooden dais in the center of her studio—and he was completely naked. “I do not think you deserve your promised fee.”
They were in Louisa’s studio in the barn at Cecil Hall. The clock on the wall said it was well past midnight. Lamps burned brightly, illuminating the large room. They were unlikely to be interrupted—Linton was now up at Oxford studying natural sciences, and Clara and Teddy, now nine, and their youngest, William, almost eight, were fast asleep in bed—but Nathaniel had made sure the windows were shuttered and the door securely bolted, just in case.
Louisa sat on a stool a few feet away from the naked Nathaniel, a drawing board on her lap, observing him critically as she skillfully sketched his full-length likeness with a charcoal crayon. Nathaniel’s dark eyes watched her as she worked, the small line of concentration he loved so well appearing on her smooth brow.
“I am stark naked, woman! What more do you want of me?” he cried in mock protest.
Louisa giggled, making a few sweeping lines on the paper before her with the charcoal stick. “But you have exacted your price for that,” she said, “for am I not practically nude also?” Nathaniel grinned, looking down at his wife where she sat sketching him, his eyes hooded. If not quite naked, she was in a state of charming undress, her hair loose and wearing nothing but her stockings, chemise, and stays.
“Oh, but that was only part of our agreement,” he said slyly. “I shall be collecting my fee in full after this, you can be sure of that, my lady,” he added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her, making her giggle so hard, she dropped her charcoal pencil.
“We’ll see about that,” she said with a look of mock warning, picking up the charcoal and waving it at him. “Do not forget, it is you who owe me. You have never paid me my fee for the bust of Edwina. And, if you recall, you promised to pay me in kind—by agreeing to model for my Apollo. Now,” she added, applying charcoal to paper once more, “will you keep still!””
Muttering a low curse, Nathaniel once more assumed the required heroic position, shield in hand, sword arm raised, the bronze helmet he wore gleaming in the lamplight as he gazed upward and into the middle distance as though surveying an enemy host before him.
“I do not think I am fit for this job anyway,” he grumbled.
“It has only been an hour, so please stop complaining. I shall never finish—oh, you’ve moved again!” She huffed impatiently and put aside the preliminary sketch she’d been working on for her new sculpture. “Now, I shall have to come and rearrange you again.”
Louisa went over to her husband and began to raise his sword arm and adjust his head. But just as she stood back satisfied, Nathaniel roared like a lion and leapt on her, capturing her in his arms and swinging her off the floor until she was weak from giggling.
“I have to tell you, Your Grace, that I shan’t be employing you again as a model. You are truly terrible!” she managed to gasp at last. And stop doing that! How am I to work when you won’t behave, Nathaniel Cecil?”
Nathaniel chuckled low in her ear, his warm breath sending a shiver of desire through her.
“I shall not stop,” he murmured, crushing her to his naked chest and covering her neck and half exposed breasts with rough, stubbly kisses. Her nipples stood to attention at once, and she moaned.
“You expect me, your husband, not to ravish you, but to simply stand here, naked as I am, looking at my beautiful wife while she beguiles me with her undressed state? Woman of mine, you ask the impossible,” he declared, burying his fingers in the golden tresses cascading down her back and finally claiming her lips in a deep and passionate kiss.
Louisa returned it full force, then, when the kiss broke, said slyly, “I think you are becoming a little too beguiled, my love.” She slipped her hand lower and clasped his manhood, which grew in her hand as she gently stroked it. She leaned back, her eyes slits, enjoying the way Nathaniel closed his eyes and groaned in pleasure.
“Witch,” he breathed, tearing her thin chemise to her waist, allowing her breasts to spill free, hungrily descending on their tender flesh with his mouth. Louisa threw her head back in rapture.
“Devil,” she answered huskily, jumping up and linking her thighs around his waist, her arms clasping his neck.
“Mmmm,” he sighed, cupping her bare behind easily in his hands, his fingertips brushing the fine hair around her already wet sex. She moaned louder, and he grinned through his kisses. “That’s more like it.”
“Oh, Nathaniel, I want you inside me, now!” she cried, twining her fingers in the black laces of his hair.
“Nothing easier, my duchess,” he murmured thickly, lifting her up and impaling her on the entire length of his throbbing member. Both gasped in ecstasy, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.
Carefully, Nathaniel walked them over to the wall and leaned her back against it, pressing himself deeper into her, making her moan and writhe as he held her captive. Slowly at first, he began thrusting, squeezing her behind and bouncing her up and down. They stared into each other’s eyes, smiling at the signs of rising passion on the other’s face. Then, Louisa’s eyes closed, and she arched backwards, moaning, as Nathaniel increased his pace, now breathing heavily into her neck as his climax approached.
He slowed, seeking to postpone his final pleasure, but it was useless. Louisa urged him on, faster and faster, until he could hold back no more, and he groaned, exploding inside her just as she reached the peak of her climax, moaning and caressing his face, her fingers tangled in his hair, before she fell back, smiling and sated.
For a few glorious minutes, they stayed exactly where they were, luxuriating in the glowing aftermath of their lovemaking.
“Consider that payment in full, Your Grace,” Louisa finally whispered in his ear. Nathaniel laughed, kissing her face tenderly as he gently disengaged himself and lowered her to the floor.
“It is ten years, my love,” he breathed back, smiling into her eyes, perfectly relaxed. “Will it always be like this between us?” She reached up, kissing his nose and brushing back a few stray locks of hair.
“Always, my darling duke. Always. For you make me so happy, and I love you more every day.”
“And I you, sweet lady of mine. Always. And that is set in stone.”
The End
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Thank you for that beautiful story ,it held me from the start to the end .all I can say is keep them coming
Thank you so much for your comment & your support, May! It means the world to me.
A good and entertaining well written story
Thank you for your comment, Gwen! Thrilled to know you enjoyed it.
Lovely story.
Lovely comment! Thank you, Madhu. I’m glad you think so.
Wonderfully entertaining and endearing story. Thoroughly enjoyed their love story.
Thank you so much for your comment, dear R! I’m glad you think so.
A truly amazing story. One of the best I have ever read. Qudos to Ms. Edon!!
Wow, one of the best? Thank you so much, dear Sylvia! Your support means the world to me.
An absolutely exquisite story! Well done Ms Edon!
Thank you for your comment Terry! Your support means everything!