She couldn’t believe she’d said it. But when he had leaned against her desk, muscles and manhood bulging against his riding breeches, she wanted all of him. And in this new world, she was going to ask for what she wanted — whether it was perfect or not.

Luckily, it was easy to ask Max for what she wanted. He looked at her like he thought she was perfect regardless of what she said.

And he may have been a thief, but he wasn’t stupid. When he got an invitation like that, he wasn’t going to refuse it.

He pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. “I’ll give you every apology and more,” he said, his voice entirely serious. “I deserve to be flayed alive for leaving you.”

“That’s a little too dramatic,” she said, then gasped suddenly as he kissed a sensitive point on her neck. “Anyway, the medieval torture racks are one of the only things we’ve gotten rid of.”

“You don’t need a torture rack,” he murmured, stringing kisses along her jaw before taking her earlobe between his teeth. “Denying me would be punishment enough.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But then I would be punished too. I can’t accept that.”

He laughed. Then he picked her up, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. He kept kissing her even as he walked forward. She realized, when she finally came up for air, that he was closing the curtains behind the desk.

“What’s your plan, my lord?” she asked.

“I’m glad you asked, my lady,” he said, kissing her again before closing another curtain. “I was going to make love to you on the desk….”

He trailed off, claiming her mouth. She moaned as his tongue entered her. For once she reveled in the sound. She sounded like a wanton — but there was nowhere she would rather be and nothing she would rather do.

Max had other ideas. He turned and placed her on the desk so that her derriere was perched on the edge. He dropped to one knee, skimming his hand down her leg, and she was already hot, already dreaming of what he would do with his mouth.

Then he took her hand, looked up, and said, “But before I make love to you, I need to say something.”

She looked down at him. Any disappointment her body felt at being thwarted was more than made up for by the sudden flutter of her heart as she recognized the smolder in his eyes.

“I knew as soon as I’d left that I’d made a mistake,” he said, his voice low. “Before that, even. I think I knew from the moment I met you that you were the only treasure at Maidenstone worth having. I love you, more than I ever dreamed possible, and I was so bloody scared of losing you that my only thought was to keep you safe.”

“I know,” she said. Her heart leaped when he said he loved her, but she didn’t need to hear it. Sensible or not, she already knew it — and she knew what she wanted. “You can kiss me again now.”

He laughed. “Not yet. I don’t want you to take me back now, only to regret it the first time we fight about something else. You were right when you said you wouldn’t run away with me.”

“I was?” she asked. “I didn’t feel right. After you were gone, it felt like I’d made the biggest mistake of my life.”

He smiled crookedly. “I shouldn’t be happy to know that we would have both been miserable forever, but it is a bit of comfort.”

She nudged his chest with her foot, teasing him. “I take it back. I was definitely right when I said I wouldn’t run away with you.”

He laughed, sliding his hand up her ankle to toy with her garter. She felt it slide away this time, but she was distracted by the way his gaze turned solemn. “Mind you, I wish you’d run away with me,” he said. “But you were right. You said you couldn’t put faith in my promises when I had one foot on the road.”

She didn’t want to remember that. She didn’t feel that way anymore, not when he’d just come back to her.

But he seemed determined to say what was on his mind, so she nodded. “If you don’t have a foot on the road anymore, I will gladly put all of my faith in you.”

He sat back on his heels, still looking tortured even though she’d agreed with him. “I only had my foot on the road because I thought it was best for you. But I realized, almost too late, that it was unfair of me to decide both our fates with only my half of the knowledge. I can’t vow that I’ll never leave — we may still have to run if something else gets dredged up from my past. But I will vow, for the rest of my days, that any decisions we make will be made together.”

Something about his tone finally broke through her last defenses. She suddenly realized that she had been reacting as she always did — minimizing her feelings, shutting down to avoid the pain that might come later. She’d been listening, but not listening — protecting herself again without even noticing that she was doing it.

Her breath caught in her throat. She looked down into his eyes and saw everything there — the future they could have together, strengthened by the bond they shared. That bond would only deepen over time as their days and lives intertwined. It would support both of them through anything that came their way. Unlike the prison she’d built for herself, so constrained by grief and loss that she couldn’t see any other way to live, this bond could be a foundation for anything she chose to become.

They could have any future they wanted.

But only if she had the courage to accept it.

She slid off the desk and into his arms. “I accept your vow, Max. And I promise, no matter what may come for us, that I’ll embrace our life with joy instead of fear. I would rather choose this life, with you, than live any other life alone.”

He kissed her again — slow, warm, reverent. The moment felt sacred. She wanted to remember all of it — the feel of his hands, the scrape of his day-old beard, the scent of leather and the sea.

They made love on the floor — not on the desk, as he’d planned, but it felt more decadent to lie beneath him on a rug, with her silk dress spilling all around them. He took his time with her. She let him worship — there was no urgency, no need to protect herself, no feeling that this might be the end.

This was the very beginning of their story. And when she finally came underneath him, when he spilled himself inside her and collapsed into her arms, she knew it was going to be the best story she’d ever heard.

“We should try that in a bed sometime,” he said, when he’d rolled off her and caught his breath.

“I don’t know — we seem to be doing fine in unexpected locations.”

He laughed. “Just as well. If you want to run off to the Caribbean and be a pirate queen, we’ll need to be creative in our escapades.”

She smiled, curling her hand over his heart. “I don’t need to be a pirate queen anymore. Being beside you is enough.”

He placed his hand over hers. Her garter was looped between his fingers — the same red as her dress, bold and passionate. “I still don’t have a ring,” he said. “They’re all in Durrant’s room at the moment.”

Lucy laughed. “We’ll be getting them back soon enough.”

They’d instinctively moved onto their sides, facing each other, inches apart. It was a position for intimacy, for secrets — not for formal declarations. He looked into her eyes and said, “This is the third time I’m asking you and I don’t think I’m getting any better at it. But I can’t wait any longer. Lucretia Briarley, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Secret wife or real wife?” she asked.

He tweaked her nose. “Real wife. No hiding after this.”

She smiled. “Sounds like an adventure.”

She moved in to kiss him, but he held her back. “Is that a yes?”

“Of course it’s a yes,” she said. “I love you, Max. I never dreamed that I would find anyone like you — someone who would support me, and listen to me, and let me be myself. I want you by my side, just like you want me by yours. I want you to be the father of my children and teach them everything you know about how to survive.”

She kissed him. This time, he let her. But she wasn’t done. “Mostly, I just want you,” she whispered. “If we have no other adventures in our whole lives, marriage to you would be enough.”

* * *

A week later, Maidenstone Abbey played host to its first double wedding. Octavia and Rafe could have married sooner, but it took time for Lucy and Max to send to London for a special license. Octavia was determined to wait.

“I’ve lived in sin for years,” Octavia had said cheerfully. “I only get to be a bride once. And I want to share the day with you if you’ll let me.”

Lucy and Octavia had dreamed of a double wedding since they were little girls. They’d planned every detail of it during the endless summer before their debuts. And it made Lucy’s heart happy to know that those dreams could come true despite all the betrayals of the intervening years.

But when Lucy had retrieved the sheaf of papers with their plans from the box where she’d stored mementos of Octavia, they’d taken one look at the detailed lists, laughed uproariously, and tossed them into the fire.

Neither of them wanted a huge wedding breakfast or a grand ceremony at a London cathedral anymore. They didn’t want dramatic veils and orange blossoms. They wanted a small, simple ceremony in the place they loved most — and no long celebrations afterward that would keep them from their grooms.

Ferguson had insisted on walking them down the aisle. That departure from the original plan was bittersweet. It should have been her grandfather at her side, not Ferguson.

But if her grandfather was still alive, she never would have met Max. She could mourn her grandfather now. She could also honor his memory without shoving the pain aside.

So she carried a bouquet made of his favorite flowers, breathed in the scent as she walked down the aisle, and silently thanked him for all he had given her. She’d been angry when he’d told her his final wishes — but the competition to decide Maidenstone’s fate had ended up being a gift.

Her heart, though, was too eager for the future to dwell in the past. Max waited for her. He stood at the front of the ancient chapel, watching every step she took as though he couldn’t believe his luck. She was glad she’d left off the veil — there was nothing to obscure her view. Nothing to keep her from noticing the way his lips twitched, as though he was trying to be solemn but couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Nothing to keep her from seeing the moisture at the corners of his eyes when she joined him, as though the fact that she’d put her hand in his was an overwhelming joy.

There were tears in her eyes too. She smiled up at him. “Thank you for stealing Maidenstone,” she whispered. “I never dreamed I’d be so lucky.”

He leaned down and kissed her quickly, earning a reproof from the vicar. But the vicar wasn’t as concerned about morality as he might have been — no one who served the Briarleys for very long could be.

Which was why the vicar took no issue with Julia’s presence. She was too young to be an attendant, probably too young even to be a guest, but Lucy wanted her there. She couldn’t start a new life with Max without making sure that Julia would feel as loved as always even when their family grew.

Julia sat with Emma in the front row. Emma planned to go to London after the wedding — she had suggested that Max and Lucy would want some space. Lucy had no idea what Emma intended to do there, but she hoped that Emma would find the love she deserved.

But Lucy and Max wouldn’t have Maidenstone all to themselves. Max’s siblings — all four of them — sat in the row behind Emma. Max had promised to take Lucy away on a honeymoon after the wedding, but his siblings planned to stay at Maidenstone until they returned.

She still couldn’t believe that he had two brothers and an extra sister. After the business with Durrant, he had told her everything about them — and how they’d all been on the verge of boarding a ship to Buenos Aires when her message had arrived. Titus had expertly forged a letter to a “prospective buyer” in Durrant’s handwriting. Max had planted the letter and most of the Briarley jewels in the inn.

With evidence in Durrant’s handwriting, the magistrate’s fate was sealed. He could have fought it. He might have even been successful. But the powers aligned against him would be difficult to overcome. He’d taken Ferguson’s offer of passage on the next ship out to avoid the possibility of sharing a prison cell with someone he’d convicted.

To Max’s delight, his siblings had all decided to stay in England, at least for now. She suspected that most of them would go to London eventually — Antonia and Titus especially seemed uncomfortable at Maidenstone now that they were guests instead of servants. But Antonia had thawed, Atticus and Cressida were both sweet and clever, and Titus was a hilarious addition to their dinners. It was nicer than she expected to have Maidenstone’s halls filled with family again.

The wedding ceremony passed in more of a blur than she’d expected. She had wanted to remember all of it — but after her hand was in Max’s and the vicar started to speak, it all became hazy and indistinct. She would remember the feeling forever, though — the feeling of being surrounded by love and having her love cherished in return.

After it was over — after Max kissed her for far longer than was proper, which turned into a competition with Rafe and Octavia that made the vicar blush and Julia shriek with delight — they spilled out into the garden. “How do you feel, Lady Maidenstone?” Max asked her as they stood on the terrace.

His title wouldn’t be official until the matter was raised at Parliament, but they anticipated no issues. She smiled up at him. “Ecstatic. Tired. Ready to be alone.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you intend for us to have separate beds?”

She laughed and swatted his arm. “Alone with you. Don’t think you’re going to escape me, Lord Maidenstone. You may be a thief, but I am ruthless when it comes to getting what I want.”

He raised her hand to his lips, kissing the finger that now bore his ring. She kept rubbing her thumb along the underside of the band as though she couldn’t believe it was there. It felt like his lips were sealing it to her skin. “I look forward to your ruthlessness, my lady. Since I won’t be stealing anymore, I’ll need practice to keep up my finger work.”

She blushed and laughed, wanting rather desperately to drag him upstairs and give him his first practice session. But before she could do so, Ferguson and his wife Madeleine strolled up.

“You really never leave, do you?” Lucy asked him.

Ferguson smiled. “I’ll go home after today, I promise. Now that you’re all settled, I should turn my talents to other issues.”

“What talents would those be?” Max asked.

Ferguson swept his hand in a grand gesture that seemed to encompass the whole garden. “Love. Seems I have a knack for getting difficult people to be less difficult and more amorous.”

Lucy and Max both stared at him. “Do you think you’re the reason that we’re together?” Lucy asked.

“Of course,” Ferguson said, adjusting his cuffs. “I should send you a bill for my services.”

Beside him, Madeleine rolled her eyes. “What my husband means to say is that we’ve really enjoyed your party and we wish you very happy,” Madeleine said, her light French accent sounding amused and beleaguered all at once. “I hope he hasn’t put you off the rest of us. I would be delighted if you called on us the next time you’re in London.”

“Of course,” Lucy said. “And I’m sure I’ll regret extending this invitation, but you are welcome to stay at Maidenstone again if you’d like.”

“Next summer, perhaps?” Madeleine suggested. “If Octavia and Callie are in residence at the same time, it would be quite the party.”

Lucy still couldn’t believe how everything had been resolved. The family had gathered the previous day to discuss the inheritance — an inheritance that had been thrown into chaos by Max’s arrival. Based on the information Ferguson had received from her grandfather’s solicitors, the deed to Maidenstone Abbey guaranteed, in perpetuity, that the property would pass to any legal male heir of the first earl before being split between the surviving females.

That meant the house belonged to Max. But the rest of the property — the house in London, the hunting lodge, and all the jewels, furnishings, and money — was no longer entailed. Which meant Ferguson could dispose of it as he pleased.

It was a role he had clearly looked forward to playing. But when Ferguson had gathered them all the day before and cleared his throat as though he was going to launch into a long soliloquy, Lucy had staved him off immediately.

“We’ve come up with an agreement, if you’ll just sign it,” she said, putting a piece of paper in front of him.

“Are you declaring war again?” he asked, looking down at it.

“No,” she said. “Callie, Octavia, and I met privately and agreed to a deal. I think you’ll agree it’s equitable.”

The girls had agreed that the money should stay with the house — there would be no Maidenstone Abbey if Max and Lucy didn’t have the funds to keep it up. But Octavia would keep the hunting lodge, since it had belonged to her brother before his death. Callie would take the London house, although they were all free to use it as they pleased. They could all come and go at Maidenstone whenever they wished — and hopefully their children would grow to love it, and each other, as much as they did.

Ferguson had assented, claiming that he had intended to do exactly the same thing all along. And now, after the wedding, he smiled and said, “I should have gotten you to put that invitation in writing. I look forward to seeing if you still feel so charitably toward me next year.”

Lucy smiled sweetly at him. “I’m sure a year will be long enough for me to forget the worst of your personality. Come back anytime you please.”

Ferguson and Madeleine were still laughing as they walked away. Beside her, Max chuckled. “I never thought I’d even talk to a duke, let alone watch one be insulted like that.”

“The world is full of marvels,” she said.

He put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, perfectly content to stand there and feel the sun on her face as he held her close.

“You’re the most marvelous treasure I’ve ever seen,” Max said. “Would you mind very much if I steal you before anyone else interrupts us?”

She smiled and grabbed his hand. “It’s only theft if you’re not welcome to take it. And I assure you, my lord, that you are very welcome to take everything.”

“That, my love, sounds like an invitation I can’t resist.”

He scooped her up into his arms, abducting her in plain sight of everyone on the terrace. She heard clapping and cheers, both from the guests in the garden and the servants who were watching from the balconies. She gave a little wave, completely unashamed. This was what she wanted.

They would never be perfect. They might not always be safe. But there could never be another partner for her like Max.

“I love you,” she said as he carried her into the house.

“I know,” he said, stealing the first of many, many kisses.

And so their first day as Lord and Lady Maidenstone began as so many others would — a mix of laughter and desire, threaded through with the simple joy of being together. She would never be a pirate queen; he would never be the most famous thief of their age. But loving each other was more of an adventure than they ever could have imagined.

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