An Affair To Remember: A Ludlow Hall Christmas (7 page)

It was one week until Christmas and Elena was supervising the large reception area at Ludlow Hall. And she'd never been happier.

Was it possible that being madly in love with the man of her dreams made a woman skinny? More than one person had mentioned that she looked different and that she looked as if she'd lost weight. She grinned, probably all the multiple orgasms she was having. A wall in her office had one way glass so that she could keep an eye on the comings and goings. Now she moved to a long wall mirror and made sure her two piece suit, made of the finest Italian wool the colour of a cappuccino, was still sharp. Nico Ferranti had brought in a design team to tailor the uniforms for all Ferranti front line staff. And Elena loved the way the cut flattered everyone. Each staff member had eight pieces to choose from; skirts, pants, three jacket styles and dresses. There were uniforms for summer and winter, too. But it was the shoes that Elena absolutely adored. Smart pumps of chocolate brown leather handmade in Italy that matched an optional slim shoulder bag. Today Elena's jacket had a Mandarin collar, the jacket tailored to nip in at the waist and to skim just below her bottom, and the skirt was slim with a kick pleat at the back. She wore a chocolate brown scarf of the finest silk at her neck with gold F's embossed for Ferranti.

She took a breath and strolled out of her office to take over desk duty for thirty minutes.

"Time to take a break, Jenny. You've done very well today. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Jenny was nineteen, fresh from the local college and an enthusiastic addition to the team.

She turned to Elena and grinned, her eyes thrilled with the pat on the back.

"I love working here, Elena."

"Good to hear."

"Evening, ladies."

The deep voice had Elena's cheeks burn, but she kept calm and turned to give Marc a strictly professional smile. Shame she could do nothing about the happiness glittering in her hazel eyes or the tingles that raced through her system giving her gooseflesh.

Even little Jenny wasn't immune to the Marc Atelier affect.

"Good evening, Mr. Atelier," she breathed.

The girl's eyes were huge as she looked her fill over a wonderful example of prime male real estate.

"Thirty minutes, Jenny," Elena reminded her, shaking her head as the girl headed for the break-out area.

"What time do you finish?"

Elena turned to eye a Marc who was looking immaculate in his dark suit, crisp white shirt and dark tie. He had a tiny earpiece in his left ear and a slim walkie talkie slipped into the top pocket of his jacket.

"One hour. The evening shift are due in thirty minutes." She turned to squint out the windows to see fat snowflakes falling, and added, "Weather permitting."

"The roads have been ploughed and we have our own team keeping the entrance, the drive and the paths clear," he paused to stare at her mouth in a way that made her pulse kick. He'd been giving her that look all day. Now his eyes met hers and what she saw there made her mouth dry.

"Why don't I take your key and prepare for... dinner?"

His voice was low and the tone promised a lot more than... dinner.

The tingles were now a steady buzz through her system.

Her, "Okay," was a breathy whisper. Under the circumstances, that was the best she could manage.

One of the simple pleasures that they'd discovered together was the preparation of food.

Marc had been taught to cook by the wonderful Mary Jones, a woman Elena had talked to at length on the phone, but hadn't met. And Elena was no slouch in the kitchen herself.

She popped into her office to grab her keys and turned to find him right behind her.

"You're very sneaky." The glint in his eye made her slap her hand to his wide chest. "No kissing in the office."

Too late.

He landed a hard kiss on her stunned mouth as he whipped her keys from her hand.

"Text me if you're delayed," he said and sauntered out.

Elena tried, really tried, to be annoyed with him, but it didn't work.

A curl of excitement uncoiled deep in her belly, along with a sense of anticipation.

She couldn't wait.

Marc let himself into the coach house, turned off the alarm.

After a verbal tussle that had ended with sex on the floor, he'd managed to get his way about Elena arming the security system and educating her about the importance of an entry and exit routine to help keep her safe.

The house smelled of Elena he thought as he hung his coat on the hook.

He stripped off his jacket, tie and unbuttoned his shirt, as he made his way upstairs to the space he already thought of as 'their' bedroom. Stepping out of his shoes, he made short work of his pants and folded them over the back of a chair, hung up his jacket like a good boy. Elena liked order in her life, so he picked up his Calvin's, socks, and tossed them in the laundry. Padding over the floor, he turned on a bedside light and closed the curtains. And headed for the shower.

The architect who'd overseen the conversion of the coach house had sacrificed a third second floor bedroom to construct an awesome walk-in shower and bath arrangement. Marc and his woman had enjoyed shower sex this morning and he couldn't wait to do it again... along with other... things.

Every time he thought of Elena Kennedy he went rock hard, just like that. He'd never felt like this about a woman before, love, affection and wicked lust all rolled into one. He'd been a horny bastard all day. Now he lifted his head to the power of water steaming from a shower head the size of a dinner plate and just let it rinse away, not only soap and shampoo, but the cares and stresses of the day.

He grabbed a towel from the heated rail, wound it around his waist and ignored the way his dick made it tent at the front, the penalty for thinking about shower sex and Elena. Using another towel to dry his hair, he turned and saw the woman herself leaning against the bathroom door frame and enjoying the view.

He grinned.

"Hey, baby. You're early."

In the light, her hazel eyes were a glowing gold as they took a long look at his pecs, his belly and then lingered on a part of him that seemed to have a mind of its own around her these days.

"The evening crew arrived early so I took advantage and left early." She licked her lips and the tent pole grew. Now her eyes flicked to his and he read more than desire in those golden eyes, he read hunger, he read need. "And I can see you're very happy to see me," she said in a hoarse whisper.

There were times when Marc liked his sex a little bit rough and a little bit hard. So far, he hadn't introduced Elena to his likes and dislikes. At all times his first priority was seeing to her needs, her happiness. Plus, he'd been having too much fun learning the secrets of her body, inside and out. But then he remembered the things she'd told him under the influence of After Shock. Things like having her panties at her ankles, things like having him bend her over the arm of the sofa, things like taking her from behind fast and hard.

He could do all that and more.

No problemo.

"Why don't you get out of that uniform," he suggested, in a low voice that was more of a purr than a growl. Those golden eyes went wide as she received the message. Had it only been a week since he'd first made love with her? Now all it took was a single look that scorched his soul, or a single lick of the lips that made his heart beat too fast. It was amazing how in tune they were with each other's needs, each other's desires.

She stripped off her nifty silk scarf, and Marc wondered if she was like most other women and owned a vast supply of scarves because he could put a number of them to good use. The jacket came next, showcasing a boned bra that was nothing more than a scrap of lace and silk and then she unzipped her skirt and his mouth went dry. The matching string panties hardly covered her smooth mound. When she turned her back to bend over to pick up her skirt he nearly embarrassed himself. Little tease. Now, she carefully hung up her suit in the closet. Instead of shoes she was wearing snow boots, so she sat on the edge of the bed and bent down to unzip her boots, giving him a fabulous view of smooth breasts. Tossing the boots aside, she stood before him in bra and panties, in all her glory, her eyes on his mouth as she lifted her chin.

A challenge.

He just loved a challenge.

By this time he'd dumped the towels.

Now he raised his hands to grip the top of the bathroom door frame and let her have a nice long and lingering look at a throbbing dick that was about to go nuclear.

"Like what you see, baby?" he purred.

Those golden eyes flicked to his and he saw them change colour to dark hazel as she licked her lips. Oh yeah, his baby more than liked it.

"If I promise to keep my hands where they are, would you like a taste?"

They'd indulged in plenty of oral play and he'd learned that Elena didn't like his hands on her head controlling the speed or the depth. And he respected her limits. Now he was placing himself in her hands, so to speak, and he hoped he could take their play to a whole new level.

Her hands went to the bra clasp behind her back.

"Leave it."

A dark brow rose at the command in his voice, but she did as he asked and didn't touch her panties either. She was a fast learner. But she did grab a pillow from the bed and tossed it at his feet before she dropped to her knees. To steady herself, she grabbed his thighs and pressed her fingertips into his flesh.

Now Marc looked down into her face.

Her eyes were glued to his as her tongue flicked once, twice, over the too-sensitive head of his penis.

"Spread your legs... that's it... wider."

God, her thighs were lean and long and he could see the crotch of her ivory silk panties grow wet.

"Cup me, baby."

She did as he asked, weighing his heavy and swollen testicles and gave a deliciously careful squeeze of his balls. He hissed out a hot breath and all the time her eyes were on his.

"Suck me."

Her lids dropped a little as she nuzzled his length with her nose and inhaled. Her tongue licked one side of his length from bottom to the top as if he was her favourite popsicle, and then she did the same to the other side. Her other hand slid up the back of the tense muscle of his thigh to grip his ass hard. Only then did she take him in her mouth, only then did the tip of her tongue explore the sensitive spot just under the head of his penis and flick, flick, flick, until his whole body was shuddering. The hand cupping his balls now gripped the root of him and pumped. He was a big man, no way could she swallow him. But unexpectedly she took the tip of him to the back of her throat and swallowed.

He jerked as if electrified, his legs trembling.

Christ, what had he been thinking?

If he gripped the doorframe any harder he was going to break it.

And all the while her eyes stayed fixed on his face, watching his response to every single move of her wicked mouth and a tongue that was death by teasing. When he grew bigger, when his balls went hard, she released him and sat back on her heels, her beautiful face flushed, her lips swollen and those golden eyes glowing with satisfaction.

His dick was leaking and throbbing now.

Her hand reached out, she swiped a finger over the clear fluid, placed her finger in her mouth and sucked.

"Hmm, salty, nice."

His heart was threatening to escape from the cage of his ribs.

Okay, she liked how he tasted, that was good, that was cool.

He released his death grip on the door frame and hauled her to her feet and kissed her breathless. The kiss was hard, all tongue and teeth. By the time he released her, her eyes were huge and her breath was coming fast.

"Strip."

No hesitation, not even a second, and she was naked in front of him.

"Downstairs." When she blinked, he raised his brows and growled, "Now!"

Elena hadn't been expecting to find a cave-man in her house, in her bedroom tonight. A cave-man who was right on her heels as she slowly stepped down stairs. Her cheeks were burning with something more than embarrassment, more like a cocktail of self-consciousness and shyness. This was the first time she'd ever walked around naked in her own home. It took a bit of getting used to. And she was desperately trying to remember if she'd closed the sitting room curtains when she'd arrived. When they walked into the room she released a very big sigh of relief. The only light in the room came from the log burner and now her cave-man strolled over to light a couple of fat candles that smelled of cinnamon and apple, smelled of Christmas. Excitement and anticipation licked through her system, something told her that she was about to receive a present she'd never forget.

All thoughts, all worries fled from her mind because the cave-man grabbed her, his hand gripping her neck as he brought his hungry mouth down on hers and fed as if he hadn't been kissed for months. Actually this wasn't a kiss, it was more than that, much more. His hands used her ruthlessly, on her breast his fingers pinched her nipple, winding her body too high, too fast. His hand was between her legs now, forcing them apart, his fingers searching, seeking and spreading her slick heat over a swollen clitoris. He was taking possession of her as if he had every right to kiss her like this, to touch her like this.

And Elena loved it.

Then she couldn't think at all as every nerve end went tight, as she arched her back, as she dragged her mouth from his to scream his name as his fingers pumped into her tossing her over a cataclysmic orgasm that liquefied her very bones.

She was lifted from her feet and for a moment her hot face was buried in the slick heat of his neck where his carotid artery was pumping blood too fast.

Oh God, he was just as affected by all this as she was.

Now she was on her feet and he held her tight, his shaft like steel wrapped in velvet, pressing against her belly. His mouth took hers once more in a kiss that branded her as his.

He turned her around to stand near the wide arm of the sofa.

Omigod he was going to make a hot dream come true.

He bent her torso over the arm, a move that brought her bare bottom high in the air. With strong hands on her hips, he positioned her just right, until she was on her tip toes. Now those hands held her in a firm grip to keep her still as his thigh moved her legs apart, wider and wider again.

She tried to look over her shoulder, to see his face, anything, to give her a point of reference, but the room was too dark. Her hands gripped the sides of the seat cushion and held on tight. Everything that had happened to her, was happening to her, took on an almost dreamlike quality.

"Safe word," he snapped.

Safe word?

Why on earth would she need a safe word?

The palm of his hand connected hot and hard on her bare bottom.

The yelp was a combination of shock and alarm.

"Aftershock!" she cried.

His hand was rubbing the burning heat on her bottom in a way that made her whimper into the cushion.

"If I hurt you or you want me to stop you use the word. Say yes."

"Yes."

His exhale was unsteady and it told Elena he was just as turned on by all this as she was.

"Okay, baby. Brace yourself."

She did.

The expected thrust of entry didn't happen.

Instead the throbbing head of his penis stilled over her pulsing clitoris and simply held.

She blinked.

It was the most amazing sensation. Her body was expecting hard and fast and received slow and slick. Her tingles went into tingling overdrive. Every nerve end from her scalp to her toes simply pulsed in time with the pressure his penis applied to
the spot
. Slowly and ever so gently his hands spread her buttocks apart as his thumbs slicked lower to spread the lips of sex wide and now he pressed himself into every part of her and all the while the slit of his penis opened to kiss her clit. The feeling that grew and grew and grew was warm and wet as the ache melted into a pleasure so deep it made her weep, but she couldn't come. Completion remained tantalisingly out of reach.

Now his big body was trembling right along with hers.

"Breathe through it, sweetheart. That's it... breathe, baby... breathe."

She breathed.

With every breath she took her womb went tighter and tighter, until a warm honey bathed their conjoined flesh. Her clitoris grew longer and swollen as an orgasm the likes of which she'd never dreamed of grew from her centre and soared her up, up, up and away.

Elena's eyes were closed.

She was naked, on her back on the sofa, warm and safe in her lover's strong arms.

He'd covered them in a throw.

Her legs were tangled in his.

His cheek was resting on top of her head.

She smelled soap, man and a combination of her sex and his.

It was a heady combination.

Elena lifted her head to gaze up into a face she'd never get tired of looking at.

Candle light flickered over that face, giving a dark and broody look as he stared into flames licking wood in the burner.

"You didn't come."

"Tonight isn't about me. Did you like it?"

Her response was to lick his neck.

Salty.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"You, Mr. Atelier, have serious skills."

"I've never done that with anyone else," he said.

She believed him.

It wasn't the words, it was the tone and it was the way he held her so close.

As if, to him, she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

Elena was slowly beginning to realise that being the recipient, lucky her, of this man's love was a wondrous thing.

"Believe me when I tell you that I'm feeling all warm and glowy. But is it fair for you to hold me like this when you must be hurting? There's something long and hard, very hard, laying against my hip."

Now he shifted to look down at her.

A smile teased his mouth, danced in his eyes.

"Will we be keeping count, then, sweetheart? I give you two orgasms, you give me two back. Is that how it's going to be?"

She blinked and then her eyes searched his face for... something.

He didn't look annoyed with her.

He didn't sound annoyed with her.

But she was quite certain he
was
annoyed with her, maybe a little.

When he put it like that, she was annoyed at herself.

Her brow creased and he placed his lips on the spot, left a kiss.

"No. I hear what you're saying. And you're right." Now her eyes flew to his, held. "But I don't want to be selfish either. Know what I mean?"

His smile showcased white teeth, crinkled the skin around his dark blue eyes.

"Don't worry about it. You're the least selfish person I know."

Her mouth went on a slow journey of exploration over his strong jaw. When she set her teeth there, she found herself flat on her back and looking up into a face she was coming to know as well as her own.

"I love your mouth," she said, studying its beauty as her thumb rubbed his bottom lip.

"I love yours, but it's your eyes that get me every single time."

She fluttered her eyelashes, making him smile.

"My eyes?"

"They're the window to the soul. And you," he kissed her once before easing back, "have a beautiful soul."

She wiggled her hips to get the position just right, then her legs were around his backside, her heels kicked and he slid right in where he belonged.

"Oooooooh." Her back arched as he filled her, stretched her. "That feels soooooo good."

Now he grabbed her leg behind the knee and pushed it up and to the side, exposing the part where they were joined. His gaze slid down her body, he bit his bottom lip.

"You," he said between his teeth as he thrust hard once, twice. "Are one demanding woman."

Her glittering eyes shone bright with her love for him.

"Harder. Faster."

His breath hissed out as he did as she asked, his hips pumping as he pushed her knee higher.

Elena lifted her arms until her hands could grip the arm of the sofa and hold on tight. The purchase meant she could pump her hips in time with his. The friction became hot, became hard as each battled for domination. She'd asked for hard and fast, and by god he was giving it to her. Now his face tightened, his head was thrown back, the corded muscles in his strong neck went tight as he swore, then grunted her name again and again. Her core claimed him in an iron fist that clenched and at the same time perspiration beaded on his forehead, on his top lip. Her core clenched and released again and again and that's when she saw him bare his teeth before he pistoned into her, utterly out of control. His arms were trembling now and her knee was almost at her chin. The thought entered her head that it was a good job she did yoga twice a week.

Then his eyes went too wide as his mouth made the O shape and his whole body went rigid. His seed shot inside her, bathing her womb, again and again. And a secret part of her wished that they'd made a baby this night. Because the child would most certainly be someone very special. A child made in unconditional love. The thought made his face swim as she watched his big body shudder again and again. And still her body refused to release him. Now his eyes caught hers and held. She saw the moment he registered her tears. Saw the love. And saw the anxiety, the worry, for her.

Never in her whole life had she had someone care for her so completely.

And now the tears fell faster.

His hand was shaking as he tried to wipe her cheeks.

"Baby, sweetheart, did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, grabbed his face between her hands and brought his head down for a kiss.

"No. I was just having a moment."

Apparently the kiss didn't convince him he'd done nothing wrong, his dark eyes searched hers.

"Are those good tears or bad tears?"

She sniffed, blinked frantically.

"Happy, happy tears."

Now his cheek was rubbing against hers and she knew she'd have a bad case of razor burn if he kept it up.

"I can't bear it when you cry. Please don't cry."

"I'll be crying for real if you keep rubbing your cheek on my face. It's like sandpaper."

He shifted his weight to the side, to stare down into her face.

"You hungry?"

"Starving."

He rose and lifted her in his arms.

As he moved towards the stairs, she bit her lip as he dinged his elbow against the wall, the curse made her bite her lip harder. He didn't put her down until they were in the shower.

She braced herself for the sting of icy water before it warmed.

They didn't speak until they were squeaky clean.

"I didn't realise you had a cave-man hiding inside."

He was smiling as he towel dried her hair.

"You liked it?"

"Is the Queen a girl?"

He was still laughing when they shared a bottle of wine with bowls of steaming pasta.

As she sat in her kitchen watching the expressions cross his face as he told her about his day and she told him about hers, learning more about how they ticked, a part of her stood outside the scene, looking in and simply watched them.

A part of her that prayed what they'd found together could last.

A part of her that prayed the real world with all its challenges might leave them alone, for a little while, to just enjoy the magic of two people who'd found each other and had fallen in love.

In the days and hours that followed, Elena would come to wish with all her heart they never left that little cottage in the snow.