A/N: Hiya, folks! Here's the epilogue I was asked for. You asked, you received. Thanks again for the support!

Epilogue

Elizabeth awoke to a small shaft of sunlight filtering through a divide in the heavy drapes in her room. Behind her, she felt a heavenly warm firmness that confused her. That is, until she realized it must be her husband's body. Instantly, she recalled the feverish night before, when she had become a wife. Her blush spread from her hairline all the way down her chest. Looking over, she saw his sleeping form spooned against her. His hand was firmly grasping her hips and one of his legs lay draped over hers. She blushed even deeper at the very intimacy of such a position. Then she rolled her eyes at her own silliness. Compared to the things I let him do to me last night, this is child's play, she laughed to herself.

Turning over gently so as not to wake him, she stared into his beloved face. It was turned away from her, his red mouth parted with his soft breathing. He looked so young. Like a child. But she had certainly found out last night that he was anything but a child!

She smiled bashfully as the memories flooded back. When they reached the bedroom, he'd laid her down so gently on this very bed. He was so tender as he spoke to her of the possible pain, coaching her to lie still. When he finally entered her, there was pain. But it had subsided as she lay beneath him, the recipient of adoring kisses and caresses. He was no poet; words would never be his main avenue for communicating his love. But what he could not put into words, he always said beautifully with those dark eyes. And now she knew all his other forms of communication, too.

When he began moving, it was like every other thing in the world faded; it was only the two of them and the exquisite sensations they made one another feel. She had never known such pleasure before, pleasure almost to the point of pain. And when release came for them both, it was…

She reached for the word. She shook her head as it came to her that there wasn't one. It was simply indescribable, she thought dreamily.

After that initial consummation it took them quite some time to recover. He'd rested on top of her, still within her, for a while. When he finally rolled off, they'd laid there staring at each other, into each other, for the longest time. Finally, he tucked her in close to him and watched over her as she drifted off into sleep.

A few hours later, she had awakened to desperate hands all over her. Someone needed her attention. She gladly gave it to him in a union somehow even more urgent than the first. After that, they had talked for under an hour until he was ready to go a third time. That coming together had been unhurried and sweet. She had looked right into his eyes as he moved slowly over her. She'd felt like she could see into his very soul. Never had she known such intimacy existed. And to feel so protected, so worshipped, so adored as well – there was nothing like it.

She reached out and brushed her fingers over his mouth. Pushing his hair away from his face, she kissed his forehead gently.

"I love you, my handsome husband," she whispered. He stirred in response.

Smiling, she nuzzled his nose with hers. "I adore you, my handsome husband." He murmured something unintelligible and twitched his nose. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Positioning herself over him, she laid down fully atop him, her flesh against his. She kissed his neck and moved to his ear.

"I need you to make love to me again, my handsome husband."

That earned a more powerful response. His sleepy hands moved to cup her bottom and he ground his hips languidly into hers. Even in an unconscious state he was willing to accommodate her!

Seeing he was an even heavier sleeper than she had realized, she resorted to dusting his chest and neck with full, loud kisses. She moved down to his abdomen, boldly snaking her tongue out into his navel. That did it.

"Oh, Lizzy," he groaned, coming to. She slowly kissed her way back up his chest, letting her breasts drag behind where she went. His hands were still on her bottom, which he began kneading. She purred into his neck at the sensation.

"I am in need of your attentions, sir."

Flipping her hair over to move it out of the way, she kissed him deeply.

He smiled against her mouth. "I only wish to serve you, mi'lady," he replied.

And he did. Oh, he did.

~ The End ~

A/N: Comments welcome.