A Marquess for Christmas (26 page)

“Yes,
angel?”

“Will
you come home with me?”

He
leaned his forehead against hers. “I would go anywhere with you.”

“Let
us gather your things. Maybe we can be home in time for Christmas.”

“Oh,
God,” he said. “I forgot about Christmas. I was supposed to be at Oakfield with
Bella.”

“Bella
is here in town. We will all leave together.”

“We
need to do something first.” He fingered her fichu, wanting to spread the cloth
open so that he could taste the spot between her décolletage.

“Can
we at least wait until we are back at the townhouse before we do that?” she
asked. “This bed is tiny and cramped and Frederick is waiting downstairs.”

Kit
slipped his fingers into her hair, which was tied up under her fur trimmed hat.
He pulled, exposing the soft skin of her neck. “That is not what I meant.”

“Then
what is it?”

“Tomorrow
we will go to the bishop.”

“The
bishop, what—” She tried to move, but his hold was so tight that she
couldn’t. She lifted her hand to her hair to rub the spot where it pulled. “
Ow
.” He released his grip and she sat up straight and
grabbed his shoulders. “Kit, be clear with me. Why do we need to go to the
bishop?” Her tremulous voice gave her away. She knew exactly what he meant.

“I
want to arrange a date as soon as possible, Violet. The bishop will arrange for
the announcement of the banns without us having to travel to Dover and back to
Welbury
Park.” Technically, the banns had to be read at
both of their church parishes, but Kit did not want to have to travel all over
England if they could avoid it.

“Say
it, Kit. If you mean it, then you need to ask me.”

“Violet,
will you marry me?”

Her
eyes went wide and she stared at him. “You are sure? You told your sister over
and over that you refused to marry. What has changed?”

“You.
Me. Everything.”

“Kit,
I love you. I want to marry you. Please be sure that you want to do this. Once
we are married it cannot be undone.”

“You
are a stubborn woman,” he said, pulling her into his lap. The heat of her
bottom seeped into him, warming and arousing him all at once. “You tell me you
love me. You refuse to be my mistress. Is this not what you want?”

She
bit her lip. “When you love someone, you seek to protect them, to put their
needs above your own. I will not marry you if it means that you will tire of me
in a year when you realize that marriage was not what you wanted. I will not be
one of those women that you send off to the Continent or lock up in the country
because you cannot bear the sight of your wife.”

He
kissed her neck, teasing the curve with his teeth, then his tongue. “I did not
want to marry if it meant marrying someone I could never look upon with
anything but pity or disgust. I did not want to marry someone who would force
me to change, force me to settle into some dull, staid existence filled with
boring parties and dinner at court.” With his thumbs, he teased the bodice of
her dress, massaging her nipples through the fabric. “What I want is a woman
who will best me at cards and distract me at hazard with a well placed foot,”
he smiled, “and who will always make me laugh and when she fights me, it is
because she is my equal, not because she wants to be my superior.”

Mmmm
. He wanted
more, more of her body, more of her mind, more of everything that was Violet.
Soft moans tantalized him as he stroked her nipples and nipped her along the
jawline
.
  

“We
should go down soon before Freddy comes up to find us.”

Kit
chuckled against her skin. “Trust me, he won’t.”

“I
want you,” she whispered. “But I want you where I can have you all to myself
for a few hours.”

“I
do love the way your mind works.” He kissed her chin, then tucked her fichu
securely into place before buttoning up her pelisse. “I think I need you to
nurse me back to full health. Can you do that, my lady?”

A
soft tongue licked the edge of his earlobe. “With pleasure, my lord.” She
climbed out of his lap and helped him into the jacket which lay piled at the
edge of the bed. “And the answer to your question is yes.”

“As
if I did not know this,” he said, grabbing her and pulling her close to bite
her lower lip.

“You
are the most arrogant man I have ever met.”

“Would
you love me any other way?”

“I
love you in every way.” She kissed his lips, coaxing and teasing until they
were both breathless. Then he took her hand, threading his fingers through hers
and led her down the stairs.

As
they stepped outside, he closed the door to the past behind him, knowing that
the only thing that mattered was this moment and the future he would have with
Violet.

EXCERPTS

Included
for your enjoyment are excerpts from other sensual and erotic historical
romances.

Excerpt from

Lady
Northam’s
Wicked Surrender

By Vivienne
Westlake

Book 1 in
the
Rekindled Passions
Series

A midnight
encounter between two estranged lovers rekindles a passion beyond their wildest
dreams...

Rowena, Countess of
Northam
, is
surprised to find her former suitor has returned from India and is on his way
to the very house where she is staying. When he appears in her room late at
night, she can only believe it is a dream. Her fantasy soon becomes reality
when Simon makes every effort to seduce her.

Despite his six year absence, and the fact that Rowena married
his best friend, Simon is determined to have her back now that she is a widow.
It soon becomes clear that while her body craves his affections, she doesn't
trust him enough to give her heart. Can Simon forget her past betrayal and
convince her to surrender to the greatest love they’ve ever known?

England, 1816

An
hour later, Rowena was in bed, although peaceful rest proved elusive. She
patted her pillow and turned on her side for the hundredth time. How many days
would it take Simon to arrive? Would she manage to get through her visit
without having to see him at all? And if she did see him, what would she say?
Could she ask him the question that had burned for so many years in her heart?
Why did you abandon me?

She
still couldn’t fathom the answer. He’d promised to write to her when he’d gone
off to the war in Spain. She thought he intended to propose upon his return,
but instead he’d never contacted her at all. His best friend, Paul, convinced
her that Simon was a rake, never the type to settle down. That she was one of
many conquests. She’d been devastated. Their two months of courtship had been
nothing more than an amusement to him. By the time he’d returned to England
over a year and a half later, she’d agreed to marry Paul.

Now
he was coming back, threatening to turn her entire world upside down again.
Could she survive it a second time?

Sighing,
she shifted and turned her body to the opposite side. It had been so long since
she’d seen him at the wedding. Only a few weeks afterward, he’d taken another
post in India. Rowena wondered how he looked now. Did he still wear his
sideburns short and neatly trimmed? Was he as tall as she remembered?

With
a loud sigh, she turned on her back and stared at the ceiling, invisible in the
pitch-dark room. Barely a sliver of light shown through the curtains at the
window. There was nothing to distract her from her thoughts. As much as she
dreaded seeing him, she couldn’t help her curiosity. A part of her wanted to
see his face, to stand beside his tall, muscular frame and—and—
What
? Yell at him? Strike his cheek?
Kiss him? She wanted to…

Sleep.
Rowena’s eyelids were heavy and she couldn’t keep them open any longer.
Exhaustion overpowered her thoughts, and she fell into a deep sleep, filled
with vivid dreams.

Warmth
spread over her, across her chest, down her arms and thighs. Despite the chill
in the air, Rowena twisted in the blankets, her body flushed all over. Her mind
lost in the dream.

 
She was lying down in her chemise and a
tall, broad shouldered man was coming towards her intently. He climbed into the
bed and lightly gripped her sides. Little trickles of electricity spread
through her skin.

When
his fingers spread wide and stroked her from her belly all the way up to her
breasts, she forgot to breathe. He palmed them firmly and she wondered what it
would be like to have him touch her without the fabric in between.

The
man’s touch was bold, hungry and she arched into it, her body curving like a
bowstring. Tension spread down to her thighs and she longed for him to push
them apart. He leaned down in the darkness and she gripped his hair, pulling
him toward her. Their mouths fused and a heady rush went through her as his
tongue laved hers, filling her even as he demanded complete control.

He
pinned her arms to her sides and she melted under him, pliant and willing.
Something about the way he stroked his tongue over hers, the low sound he made,
stirred a memory inside her.

Rowena
looked into the eyes of the man leaning over her and in the darkness,
recognized them. Simon. In her dream, he was as she remembered. Intense
blue-gray eyes, a strong jaw and a taut muscular chest that she’d always longed
to touch.

Before
she could speak, he pinched her nipple and rolled it between his fingers. “Ah!”
A sharp twinge of pain gave way to exquisite pleasure, which snaked its way
down to pool at the juncture of her thighs. He took his time, teasing and
pinching, the rough pads of his fingertips grazing her skin in a delicious
fashion. Her lower belly clenched under the onslaught.

With
ragged breaths, she watched as he freed her breast to suckle it. Though she was
now free to move her arms again, she stayed still. The chilly night air spread
over her puckered nipple when he lifted his head. She shivered in response.

“I
missed you,” he whispered, then lifted her thighs and spread her legs open. He
ran his hands under the chemise now, stroking her skin where he had never
explored before. The sensation of being spread before him caused a pearl of
moisture to drip from her cleft. Her sex squeezed in anticipation.
Why hadn’t they done this years ago?

Simon
unfastened his breeches. When he lowered himself again, she gripped his
shoulders and leaned up to take his mouth. Their tongues danced in a slow
rhythm that sent fissures down her spine and warmed her pussy.

She’d
longed for this. Waited for years to have his body draped over hers. The solid
weight made her feel secure, the way the hard planes of his chest rested over
hers made her snuggle underneath him. Her nipples scratching against the fabric
between them sent another surge of desire through her.

His
mouth moved from her lips, trailing down to lick the edge of her ear before he
bit gently on the lobe. His hand reached between her thighs to stroke her
sensitive flesh. The feel of his rough thumb over the slick folds made her
shudder.

“Simon!”

She
needed him to take her. It all seemed so foolish now. The years apart, the
waiting, the anger, the unrequited desire that buried itself deep within her
soul. She’d always wanted Simon. If only reality could have been as good as
this dream.

Simon’s
finger breeched her opening, slid deep inside. Her muscles squeezed over him,
sucking him in.

Her
head rolled back and she moaned his name again.

Excerpt
from

How To
Woo…A Reluctant Bride

By
Lyndi
Lamont

Sexy
Victorian Romance

Armed
with a copy of the Kama Sutra, Evan sets out to seduce his reluctant bride into
passionate surrender. Lydia is prepared to tolerate this man she’s been sold
to, but his scorching kisses send her pulses racing. With a little help from
Sir Richard Burton's new, provocative translation of ancient wisdom on
seduction and arousal, the cold marriage bed of an arranged union is about to
combust into a blazing flame of desire.

Chapter 1, Engagement

The man who is ingenious and wise, who is
accompanied by a friend, and who knows the intentions of others, as also the
proper time and place for doing everything, can gain over, very easily, even a
woman who is very hard to be obtained. - The Kama Sutra of
Vatsyayana

London, June 1885

She
wasn’t quite the perfect English rose but she’d do.

Evan
Channing stood next to the fireplace in Lord Blatchford’s parlor and studied
his fiancé as she sat on the settee talking to his mother. Lydia Blatchford
wore blue tonight, bringing out the color of her pale eyes. She looked
beautiful, yet untouchable, in her fashionable silk gown. The low-cut bodice
revealed the smooth white skin of her shoulders and a hint of cleavage. The
lines of the gown showed off her firm breasts and small waist, and the bustle
emphasized her rounded hips.

When
she looked up, he smiled at his intended across the room. Her lips curved
slightly in answer and a blush stole up her face, adding color to her porcelain
complexion before she turned away. Tonight her dark blonde hair had been curled
into a fashionable upswept hairstyle, softening her appearance. When he’d met
her before, her long mane had been pulled back into a bun. He wasn’t sure the
curls suited her, but of course, he’d prefer to see her hair down, spread
around her on his bed. His pulse raced at the thought she’d soon be his.