His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters) (23 page)

“It’s good to see you again.” She licked her lips. “I haven’t seen you since . . . since we . . .”

“Since we kissed?” he asked, his eyes fixed on her.

“Mmm hmm,” she murmured like a witless fool. He smelled so good and he was so close to her she couldn’t think clearly.

His head lowered toward her. “And what have you been thinking about our kiss, Yvette?” He reached out gently and brushed a stray curl from her face.

She almost gasped at his touch. “It was . . .” She fumbled for the words.

“Yes?” he prompted her, his eyes narrowing.

Feeling a little breathless, she said, “I . . . I can’t stop thinking about it. It made me feel quite faint.”

He smiled then, a heart-melting smile that left her a little breathless. “And here I was afraid you might be upset with me for kissing you.”

“Why would I be upset with you, Jeffrey?” Again, he flashed her a smile that made her knees a bit weak. Why did Jeffrey suddenly have this strange effect on her? Nothing made sense anymore. “But I was feeling that I should apologize to you for my behavior.”

“Apologize for
your
behavior?” He looked incredulous.

“Yes, I acted a bit brazenly and I want to apol—”

“No.” He shook his head, holding up his hand. “Do not apologize to me, Yvette. There’s nothing at all for you to be sorry for last night. You were perfect.”

“But, Jeffrey, I wasn’t. I asked you to kiss me!”

“If anyone should apologize, it should be me. But I’m not going to.”

“You’re not?” It was her turn to be incredulous.

His expression suddenly darkened. “No, not if you’re allowing Lord Shelley to kiss you as you just did.”

A little embarrassed that he had seen her kissing William, she lifted her chin defiantly. “I merely was experimenting.”

“Experimenting? Pray, go on. . . .”

“Yes.” She swallowed nervously, as she looked into his fathomless blue eyes. “You see, I . . . I felt . . . something when you kissed me.”

He grew silent and stared at her. His words were ever so soft. “What did you feel when I kissed you?”

Yvette’s heart began to race. “Everything. Feelings I didn’t know existed.”

His eyes bored into her, but she could not read his expression, his thoughts.

“And when Shelley kissed you just now?” he asked again.

She stared back at him and confessed. “I still felt nothing.”

He exhaled as if he had been holding his breath. “Nothing?”

“Nothing at all.” She shook her head in confirmation.

Suddenly the air around them fairly crackled with heat and tension. He placed his hands possessively on her shoulders and drew her closer to him, his arms holding her tight.

“I want you to feel something only when I kiss you, Yvette.”

Yvette sucked in her breath. Her whole body was on pins and needles in anticipation. “Jeffrey, I . . .”

Before she could utter another word, his mouth came down over hers and a thrill swept over her at the contact. And in that instant, she was lost. Completely and utterly lost in his kiss. All rational, coherent thought scattered like leaves in the wind. This,
this
is what she had been craving. Jeffrey’s warm lips on hers. Oh, and this time was even better, if such a thing were even possible.

This kiss carried her into a state of bliss she had not known existed. Jeffrey’s very touch melted her. His strong hands. His warm mouth. His fervent tongue. Yvette had never suspected such feelings of desire dwelled within her, but Jeffrey seemed to awaken them. Her breath grew shallow and faint. Her legs trembled and her knees weakened. She clung to him as if she were drowning in a deep and endless pool of water and he was the only steady thing in her world.

Jeffrey. Jeffrey
.
Jeffrey.

His name, his being, consumed her, left her filled with an incredible yearning and longing for something more, much more, from him.

Slowly, his hands slid from her shoulders and roamed across her back, stroking her, caressing her until she thought she would faint with the pleasure of it. The feel of his skilled fingers against the bare skin of her shoulders and back filled her with little quivers of desire. Shivers of need ran up her scalp and she ached for him to remove the pins in her hair and let the tendrils fall loose again. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Her clothes felt restrictive and hot, almost suffocating. She longed to remove them, wished that
he
would remove them for her. Never had she wanted anything in her life more than she wanted Jeffrey Eddington to touch her at that moment.

Sighing heavily, she ran her fingers through his thick, black hair and breathed in the deep, spicy, woodsy scent of him. She longed to lie with him on the sofa again, to feel the masculine weight of his body on top of hers. She murmured his name and unconsciously pressed her breasts against his chest.

Jeffrey groaned low as if in pain and held her tighter. His hot tongue plundered her mouth and she surrendered eagerly, giving and wanting more each second. With her heart pounding against his, she felt she would perish from pleasure and passion at the same time. His hands moved even lower, cupping her bottom and pressing her against his hips. A sudden thrill raced through her at the contact.

Their kiss deepened, if such a thing were even possible.

And his hands . . . his hands were everywhere as the heat grew between them. One hand cupped her breast through the material of her gown. She sucked in her breath, arching her back. Her body tingled with pleasure, desire, anticipation, yearning. For Jeffrey.

“Oh, God, Yvette,” he murmured hoarsely.

“Jeffrey.” Oh, how she wanted him, ached for him. She’d do anything he wanted.

His mouth continued to cover hers, their passion intensifying.

Suddenly he let go of her, releasing his hold on her.

Stumbling back against the wall, Yvette wanted to cry with the loss of him, and stinging tears welled within her eyes. She gazed up at him, emotions raw and hot warring within her in tumultuous confusion.

“Jeffrey?” she whispered, her heart still racing.

Placing both of his hands on the wall on either side of her face, he leaned in close. His gaze penetrated her very being, his blue eyes full of desire, perhaps even a touch of anger. “You wanted to experiment, Yvette? No one will ever kiss you like I can and what you felt just now with me you will
never
feel with him. Consider your experiment complete.”

Before she could even respond, Jeffrey placed one fast, hard kiss on her lips, which took her breath away, before he abruptly turned and stalked from the room.

23

Be of Good Cheer

The Devon House butler escorted Lord Shelley along a hallway to the formal parlor and he noted that the house had been decorated for Christmas. He was amused at his own feelings, for in spite of the fact that he was the one looking them over for their suitability as potential in-laws, William was a little nervous. He wanted to approve of them for he truly wished to make Yvette his wife.

The staid butler opened the double doors and William was greeted immediately by Yvette. She looked quite fetching in a simple gown of dusky pink.

She placed her hand on his arm and guided him into the room. “Good afternoon, William. I’m so happy to see you! I was pleased to receive your note this morning that your mother is well and I’m so glad all is fine at home after all.”

“Yes, I am too.”

William had fled the ball last night panic-stricken at his mother’s urgent message, believing that his father had finally passed away. When he had arrived at Lansdowne Manor he’d discovered that his mother, after having drunk entirely too much wine, had fallen and hit her head on an end table. She had a nasty bruise and a raging headache this morning, but she was perfectly fine. The entire incident irritated him, for he had been enjoying the ball and Yvette’s delightful company and did not desire to leave when he had.

And having to leave Yvette alone with Eddington hadn’t sat well with him either. He’d been in a foul mood all last night because of it. The proprietary look in that infernal man’s eyes had raised his hackles. He hated the idea of Yvette alone with Jeffrey Eddington for any reason.

But being here with Yvette now almost made up for it. Her sweet smile worked wonders to soothe his jealous feelings.

As he lifted his gaze from Yvette to the rest of the room, William came up short. “Oh, my!” he muttered in surprise.

A small crowd awaited him. He had known she had four sisters, of course, but seeing them all at once was rather astounding. He had heard that they looked remarkably alike and were quite stunning. But in person they were almost overwhelming. He didn’t know how he would be able to hold a coherent conversation with such a sight before him.

And then there were the husbands. They were very handsome fellows all around. William suddenly felt a bit lacking in the face of these younger men.

Yvette laughed at his expression and teased, “It doesn’t seem quite fair meeting them all at once, does it?”

William rolled his eyes in amusement. “I should say not!” This was not what he had been expecting at all.

Yvette made the introductions nicely, and William hoped he could remember each of their names correctly. They all took their seats about the room and he sat beside Yvette on a blue damask sofa.

She grinned at him. “So this is my family.”

William said, “I am pleased to finally meet all of you. I’ve been looking forward to it for some time now.” In fact, he had grown quite impatient waiting for Yvette’s sisters to return from their travels. He was anxious to propose to her and the only holdup was meeting her family. He had checked their backgrounds very carefully and on paper the family seemed respectable enough. Still, he had his doubts. There seemed to be a hint of a scandal surrounding each of them.

However, if all went well this afternoon, he would ask Yvette to marry him next week and they could begin planning their wedding. The sooner they were married, the sooner he could have Yvette in his bed. That thought alone kept him up at night in anticipation, especially after last night’s kiss.

“We are just as glad to meet you, Lord Shelley.” The oldest sister, Colette, a beautiful brunette, poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him with a warm smile. He knew Yvette’s sister was now the Marchioness of Stancliff and he had met her husband, Lucien Sinclair, once before many years ago. One would never know to look at her that she had been raised above a bookshop. She was quite elegant and refined, a perfect marchioness.

“Lady Stancliff, Yvette tells me that you have two young sons?” he asked her. It was amazing how much she looked like Yvette, only with darker hair.

Colette’s face lit up at the mention of her children. “Yes, Phillip is seven and Simon is five. They are both wonderful little boys.”

“I assume that they accompanied you on the trip to America?”

“Yes, and they had a grand time, didn’t they, Lucien?” She turned to her husband.

Lucien Sinclair, the Marquis of Stancliff, was a handsome man and a financial force to be reckoned with about town. He had amassed a fortune in the shipping trade since he had taken over his father’s estate and had more than tripled his assets and properties. He was a fine man, but there had been a terrible scandal years ago involving Lucien’s mother and an Italian count. Much had been swept under the rug and he was under the impression that Lucien’s parents had reconciled before his father passed away.

“We all had a fine time visiting America. The boys especially loved being on board ship. Have you ever had occasion to travel to the United States, Lord Shelley?” Lucien asked amiably.

“No, I can’t say that I have, although I would like to one day.” William sipped his tea. “I’ve spent most of my time in France, Italy, and Spain during the last ten years or so.”

“Have you been to the Orient?” The one called Juliette looked at him with frank interest, her blue eyes glittering.

William was most curious about this sister, for he had heard that she was wild and had run away to America against her family’s wishes. With her dark hair and fair skin, she was quite a beauty too, and he sensed an innate impulsivity about her that made him feel slightly uneasy in her presence.

“No, I haven’t been there either, Mrs. Fleming. Although I should like to visit there as well.”

“Oh, if you enjoy traveling you must visit the Orient. Harrison and I have traveled all over the world together and have seen so many incredible places, but China is the most exotic,” she said, her sharp eyes still resting on him, as if she were sizing him up.

William looked to Juliette Hamilton’s husband, the sea captain, with surprise. He had expected someone swarthier, more pirate-like, but Harrison Fleming was an attractive man with blond hair and gray eyes. He looked very fit and had an athletic build, but he could easily pass for a gentleman in spite of being American. And a sea captain. Juliette and her husband both appeared more than respectable. Besides, they didn’t reside in London and spent most of their time in the States.

Harrison Fleming gave him a friendly smile. “You have an open invitation to visit us in America any time, Lord Shelley.”

“Why, thank you very much. I may take you up on that!”

Then another sister, Lisette Roxbury, the one married to the renowned architect and member of Parliament, gazed at him sweetly. Her hair had a hint of red in it, but she looked just like the other sisters. It was uncanny, the resemblance they shared.

Lisette asked him, “Lord Shelley, are you looking forward to being home for Christmas?”

He nodded. “Yes, I must admit I am. It’s been years since I’ve been able to do so. Our Christmas celebrations will be scaled back of course, due to my father’s condition, but it will be a happy holiday nonetheless.”

The middle sister and her husband had a bit of a scandalous beginning to their relationship. He’d discovered that Quinton Roxbury had first been engaged to the Duke of Wentworth’s only daughter. Then the wedding had been suddenly called off, and Roxbury had quietly married Lisette Hamilton a few weeks later. William hadn’t been able to uncover the reason for the sudden shift in plans, except that the duke’s daughter had changed her mind and hadn’t wished to marry him. He suspected there must be more to the story, but there hadn’t been a whiff of scandal about the couple since. By all accounts, they were a generous, well-respected couple. And Roxbury was doing fine architectural work about the city and was well regarded in Parliament.