"And it saddens me to think how much we both would have lost if Ferncliffe had killed me. I've longed for you so, Jonathan. I'm sorry Jane lost so much, never knowing such bliss, only cruelty."
He gathered her close, their bodies mingling in a sensual caress. "Sush, darling. Don't feel guilty for being happy. She made her choice. It was a terrible one, but the truth is she did sin. She didn't love me enough to wait for me. Didn't think what we shared was special enough to hold on to.
"But I know you do. You nearly died for a child who wasn't even your own. Jane was a good, sweet woman, but I don't think she ever would have fought for me or for justice the way you've, my precious love."
Pamela chewed her lower lip. "I just hope I can make all your dreams come true. We're all sinners, after all. As we've just proven. And I was ever such a spoilt little miss when we first met. I need to be worthy of you, darling. Now that I've known such joy in your arms, how can I ever face the prospect of losing you?"
He shook his head, and stroked the back of her neck tenderly. "I can't believe this between us is a sin. That God would damn us for loving each other so. After all, don't all blessings come from Him? And you are worthy, the only woman I could ever want by my side on my journey through life. I'll never leave you in this lifetime, or even the next, you must know that," Jonathan declared fiercely, hugging her hard. "This is forever, I swear it by everything I hold most sacred."
"Amen to that," she breathed, bestowing upon him what she thought was a sweet kiss of peace, which raged through his body like wildfire.
"At the risk of blaspheming, I heartily concur. Amen to that. And I shall look forward to worshipping you with my body, as it says in the marriage vows, for as long as the Lord sees fit to spare us."
"Another hundred years," she suggested, stretching against his long lean body like a contented cat.
"Two hundred won't be enough," Jonathan rasped, feeling anything but contented as he began to move against her, and then inside her again.
"But I'll take whatever I can so long as my little Miss makes all my dreams come true and becomes my dearest wife as soon as possible."
She grinned up at her beloved. "Now that's a much better proposal. Not at all in your usual arrogant style."
He leaned down to kiss the space between her breasts. "That's because it's straight from the heart. I'm humbled that you love me, my dearest Pamela. I ask only that I be allowed to love you forever in return."
"Much better, darling. For that lovely proposal you get a kiss and a reply. The answer is yes, Jonathan, my love. Forever."
She held him to her hammering heart as they moved together in one towards bliss, every beat an affirmation as they exploded into the light. Love, bliss, heaven. Passion, rapture, forever.