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Christmas night
Elias tried for the fourth time that night to concentrate on the book in his hand, but the words swam before his eyes, for he couldn’t quiet his mind.
After what he’d shared with Helen earlier that afternoon, and her reaction to his gift, he knew exactly what he should do next. Yet, her father’s warning still echoed in his ears. Would she accept a proposal knowing her parent objected to a match with a sailor—former sailor? If he somehow managed to win her hand, he would gladly spend the remainder of his life with her. Never again would he follow the wanderlust for adventure in far-flung places of the world.
A life with the woman he was falling in love with would be more than worth that.
When a soft knock fell upon his door, he glanced through the gloom. “Come.” Who the devil would wish to visit at this time of night? The panel swung open, and a white-clad figure entered the room. “Who’s there?” He couldn’t see the visitor’s face due to the candlelight.
“It’s Helen.” Her tentative whisper sent awareness sailing over his skin.
“Is something wrong?” He closed his book and set it on the table next to the candleholder.
“There is no cause for concern.” Quickly and quietly, she closed the door. Then she approached his bed. When she stood in front of the flickering candle, the slight illumination rendered her thin shift nearly transparent.
Dear God. The outline of her womanly curves coupled with the hardened tips of her nipples pushing at the shift sent hot desire careening through his body to lodge in his shaft. Elias stifled the groan lodged in his throat. “You shouldn’t be here.” His words were breathless and graveled with emotion.
“Why not?” Her eyes glittered in the low light. “Now is as good a time as any for this discussion.” The whispered retort fairly echoed in the room.
He levered up on an elbow, and suddenly the nightshirt he wore didn’t seem enough protection between him and her. “Have a care to your reputation.” Yet he looked his fill, for she was beautiful with her dark hair loose and hanging over her shoulders and back like a living waterfall.
“That can go hang, for I want to be with you, Elias. After today, after all we’ve shared, I want this night.”
Somewhere in the bowels of the inn, a longcase clock chimed the eleven o’clock hour. He forced a swallow into his dry throat, for the longer she remained near to the candle, the more his intentions to remain a gentleman dissolved. His member swelled with anticipation. “You might not care about such things, but I do. You’re worth more than a toss in the sheets.” Was that the only reason she’d sought him out? Had she planned this tryst from the moment they’d met?
“Oh, how dear you are, Captain.” Her expression softened, and when she met his gaze with her big doe-brown eyes and slightly parted lips, he knew in that one second he’d do whatever she wanted. “You’re adorable.”
Shock plowed through his chest as she crawled into bed with him and slipped beneath the counterpane. “And you’re about to bring about trouble for me,” he forced out.
“The best women usually do, and what’s more, I know my own mind. So please don’t attempt to dissuade me from this course.”
Oh God. The fleeting touch of her hand to his arm nearly had him vaulting from the bed, but then she cupped his cheek, turned his head until their gazes connected. “What are you asking of me, Helen?”
“Kiss me. Show me I’m not wrong in my thinking or how I feel each time I’m in your company.” Emotions he didn’t dare read clouded her eyes in the flickering candlelight. “Prove to me that this connection between us isn’t my imagination.”
If he’d thought he was only beginning to fall in love with her, this showed him wrong, for with that one innocent request, he tumbled tip over tail down that steep slope, and never once did he look back.
“It’s not, sweeting, for I feel it too.” The intention to remain a gentleman flew right out of his head as he embraced her, settled her securely against his pillows and his chest. She smelled of lilacs and summertime; her skin so soft it reminded him of satin. With a sigh, Elias kissed her, drank from her lips like a man who’s been away from water for far too long.
To her credit, she’d learned well or else she’d found her daring, and she explored him as much as he did to her. All too soon heated awareness shuddered through him, and he needed so much more. When he drew the tip of his tongue along the seam of her lips, she parted them, invited him in, and as their tongues fenced and danced, his member tightened. Each time her leg brushed it, wild sensation jumped down the length. Damn, but it had been too long since he’d taken a woman to bed.
She smoothed her palms along his shoulders and then down his arms. “I never knew how strong, how substantially muscled you were beneath your clothes.”
“Yet you and every woman in this inn lost no time fairly salivating after me whenever I walked into a room,” he couldn’t help teasing. Then he dragged his lips along the column of her throat to lick and nip the skin between her collarbones.
“Mmm.” She wriggled into a more comfortable position beneath him. “Can I help it if you’re quite handsome?”
“Minx.” No longer able to ignore her charms, Elias slid down her body. He cupped a breast with one hand, kneading, squeezing, and then rubbing the erect nipple with the pad of his thumb.
“Oh!” Her back arched. She fisted one hand in the bedding. “This feels...”
“Just enjoy.” The second he took the other nipple into his mouth, suckled it through the thin fabric of her shift, a surprised shout mingled with a moan left her throat. He grinned and continued his mission to see her undone, merely because she’d asked. The urge to see all of her held steady, and it took mere seconds to tug the garment up and off her body. “So beautiful,” he breathed, and then proceeded to explore every inch of her ivory skin, burnished to a pale gold in the candlelight.
By the time he’d familiarized himself with her body, her breathing had become agitated, and she fairly trembled with need in his hands.
“Elias, why must you torment me like this?” Frustration wove through the hushed wail.
He couldn’t help his grin. “Crying off now? You were the one who asked me to bed you.”
“You’re too mean, and all too crass to mention it.” She plucked at his night shirt. “At least take this off so I might amuse myself by molesting you in return.”
“Gladly.” It took next to no time to render himself as naked as she. Would she think him too old for her tastes?
“I’ve never seen a more splendid man.” The awe in her voice fed his ego and quieted his concerns. As he layered his body over hers once more, she held him close, edged her hands down his back. Everywhere she touched ignited tiny fires within his blood.
“Then you haven’t seen many men, love,” he whispered into her ear and then suckled the lobe.
“There’s no need, for the one right here with me is all I want.”
The sensation of falling assailed him once more, and he didn’t mind. He knew at the end of the tumble, she would be there to catch him and welcome him home.
He kissed her, lost himself in those plush pieces of flesh, and then daring much, he delved a hand between their bodies, wriggled his fingers through the curls shrouding her sex, and explored, encouraged the tiny pearl at the center of her being out of hiding.
“What are you... Oh, my!” Surprise echoed in her voice. She dug the nails of one hand into his shoulder. “Surely this is too naughty...”
“Indeed, it is. Why do you think it’s so scandalous to leave men and women alone?” Her innocent amazement amused him, but it also spurred him onward. “Invariably, if they’re a match, this will happen.” He claimed her lips again to discourage further conversation, and at the same time he rubbed a finger over that button.
Helen writhed from his attentions. Every gasp and whimper fanned the flames licking through his blood. Each time she bucked her hips and bumped his rampant member, a moan was tugged from his throat. “I don’t... I can’t... Oh!” Her body tensed, and as she inhaled for a scream, he kissed her, took the sound into himself.
Bloody hell, but she was beautiful riding a release, and he couldn’t wait to continue to explore her body further, yet he hesitated. There was something he needed to do before he completely lost his faculties to carnal bliss. “Stop, for one second,” he whispered when she drew a hand down his chest, headed toward his swollen shaft.
“Let me tease you.”
A twinge of guilt circled through his gut. He caught her hand in his. “I shouldn’t have done what I did, but I couldn’t help myself.” That wasn’t what he’d wished to say at all.
She pouted, but when her eyes widened and realization filled those brown pools, his pulse accelerated. “Even after what you made me feel, you don’t care for me in that way?”
His heart squeezed. A handful of pieces flew into her keeping. “Oh, Helen, you have no idea.” In that moment, his mind suddenly cleared of confliction and a glorious peace settled over him. He levered up onto an elbow to look into her face while studiously ignoring the need pulsing through his member. “I realize we’ve known each other for a grand total of three days; however, I’ve been all around the world and I’ve borne witness to the fact that life is short and precious.”
“I think we’ve already established that,” she said with a smile. She was beautiful lying there with wide eyes and a dreamy expression, her cheeks and chest flushed with the evidence of her release, but her soul was what he’d fallen in love with, bore a connection to, for she had determination that many women could never grasp, and the childlike faith she possessed left him desperate for more of that magic.
“Yes, well, indulge me.”
“I’ve been trying, but you’ve interrupted what we’re doing here.” And once more she edged her hand toward his erect length.
“Be that as it may.” He cleared his throat. She’d lead him a merry chase, and he didn’t mind in the least. “Because of what my life has been like, men of the sea have a sixth sense about life. We know when something is right for us.”
Helen rested a palm on his chest. “What are you trying to say, Elias?”
Had his name ever sounded so sweet? “Just this. I’ve become enamored of you. I believe I’ve finally found a woman who will rival my love of the sea, a woman with whom I’ll find contentment and happiness.”
“And?” Her eyes were luminous in the dim light. Indeed, she would tease him until the end.
“I’m in love with you. So, would you make me the happiest of men and be my wife?” When she gasped, he rushed onward. “It’s sudden, I know, but I would like to wed while your father still remembers who you are, for it would make him glad to see you settled, I think.”
“Oh.” She stared at him with awe. Her chin trembled. “Love in three days?”
“Isn’t Christmastide the season of miracles? It certainly feels like one to me.” He grinned, and joy bubbled up from his soul. “Tell me how you feel and see if I’m the mad one.”
“You’re not, for I do feel the same.” Her smile could light the night. “Do you think we’ll suit for a lifetime though?”
“Why not? There have been plenty of marriages that had a long engagement or a lifetime of knowledge between partners, but problems sprang up between the couple and eventually they lived apart.” He shrugged and hoped to God he could convince her. “My last betrothal failed miserably because she and I weren’t suited for each other.”
“That’s not helping your cause.” She giggled. How adorable was she?
“Agreed, but life is full of risk and chances. Why not dive headfirst into that with someone you have an exceeding fondness for?” The realization she might reject him just as Caroline had kept him frozen with fear. “Only you can decide if I’m worth that chance.”
For long moments she stared at him, searching his face. Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
“Thank God.” He removed the silver band from the cord about his neck. “This belonged to my mother. It’s the only thing I have left to remember her by, but I’d wager she’d like for you to have it.” He held up the bauble. “If you’d rather a different one, I can purchase that at a later time, but—”
“Elias, hush.” The delicate tendons in her neck worked with a hard swallow. “The ring is precious to you. I’d be honored to wear it.” Her hand trembled as he slipped the delicate filigreed band onto her finger. It was a mite loose, but it looked right.
To his mortification, tears sprang into his eyes. “Thank you.” This engagement was so different than his first in every way that mattered, and now he knew why the one with Caroline would never have worked. He’d simply not been in love with her, for Helen had shown him what that most lauded state was really like. In a whisper he said, “I’ll need to figure out a living soon, for I’ll want to keep you in style.”
Her laughter swept over him, and it was as if he were reliving Christmas all over again. “There is plenty of work to be found in the port, and businesses relating to it are growing every day.” She drew him down on top of her and held him close. “I don’t require much except I’d like my father settled somewhere away from the inn. He needn’t toil anymore. Perhaps he’ll consent to sell the inn...”
“Agreed, on all counts.” He placed a line of kisses down the side of her neck and then nibbled the soft skin at the crook of her shoulder. “Perhaps we can find a house to let not far from the village but still close enough to the shore your father can walk there.”
“Without the inn, I could finally pursue sketching.”
“If you should wish it. I only want you happy.”
She slipped her hands down his torso, danced her fingers along his abdomen, and when she brushed them over his sensitive tip, he shuddered. “It’s more than I could have hoped for.”
His hold on control rapidly deteriorated. “Ah, sweeting, you deserve so much more than that. This is truly the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
“How lucky it was you blew in with the storm, else this would have been a very dull day indeed.”
“To say nothing of passing the night alone.” He kissed her again, because he could, and because she was his.
Then there was no more need for talking. Minutes ticked by, punctuated by moans and sighs while they explored and drove each other into a frenzy of desire.
Elias spread her legs wider, fit the tip of his straining length to her opening, and then thrust, spearing into her body with such authority that he didn’t pause until he was buried to the hilt. “You feel so good.” It was the best homecoming he’d ever had in his life.
A tiny whimper escaped her, and she lay still. A sheen of tears glimmered in her expressive eyes. “I didn’t know there’d be pain...”
Belatedly he remembered her mother had died before Helen had reached maturity. He kissed her, doing all that he could to soothe the discomfort. “Do you wish to continue?”
“Yes.” She lifted her hips, which sent him deeper, and they both moaned. “It’s fading now.”
“Good.” He held his weight off her enough that he could peer into her face as he slowly withdrew only to stroke into her again to enjoy the exquisite feel of her tight sheath around him.
Helen squirmed into a more comfortable position, which set off tremors throughout his length. She looped her arms about his shoulders. “Love me.”
“How can I not? You’ve enchanted me from the first.” Then he moved, set up a quick rhythm she soon matched. Over and over, he thrust, deeper and deeper he drove until she cried out her pleasure and urgency shuddered through his shaft and stones. “I won’t last,” he whispered around clenched teeth. It had been too damned long, and he was out of practice in controlling his urges.
Her head thrashed on the pillow as she closed her eyes. She had the look of a woman too far gone to care. The sight of her nearly lost in pleasure ushered in his release.
“Damn.” Elias renewed his efforts. He gripped her hips as his strokes came harder, faster, deeper, more frantic. The rush of hot desire raced through his body. Tingling and tightness through his stones signaled the imminent end. “Helen, please...”
But he needn’t have worried. As he shifted his angle, her body tensed, her back arched, and she pressed the heel of a hand to her mouth when her shout of completion escaped. The sight of her was so erotic and coupled with her contractions that pulled greedily at his member, that he fell over the edge into release. White light swallowed him. Pleasure rushed over him in waves. His shaft pulsed and jumped while still buried deep inside her. Then he collapsed over her and wrapped his arms about her.
For long moments, his heart hammered behind his ribcage. He listened to the rasp of her breathing, and in that second, he never wished to find himself too far away from her again.
When sanity returned, Elias rolled onto his side and took her with him. God, she felt so right spooning with him, her hair tangled on his pillows. “I’ll speak with your father on the morrow, and we’ll discuss future plans at that time.” He nuzzled the crook of her shoulder. How was her skin so soft? “I promise you a lifetime of whatever your heart desires. In that you have my word.”
“I believe you.” She brought one of his hands to her lips and kissed the back. “This all feels like a dream.”
“A dream we’ll both retain when we wake for all the days of our lives.”
When the longcase clock chimed the midnight hour, she sighed. “I should return to my room, for it’s all too easy to linger here and let time get away from me.”
“Agreed.” The candle burned out, and the acrid scent of burning wick filled the air. “I’ll count down the hours until I can see you again.”
“I can scarcely believe you’re mine.” As she sat up, she dropped a fleeting kiss on his lips. Then she slid from the bed. “Happy Christmas, Elias,” she whispered. Seconds later, she’d donned her shift and crossed the room to the door.
“Happy Christmas, Helen. I love you.”
“Not any more than I do you.”
Then she was gone, and the soft snick of the door closing echoed in the silence.
He laid a hand on his heart and then collapsed onto the pillows with a grin. Never in all his dreams did he think that a chance trip on a mail coach would bring him to the next path of his life’s journey—to love. And best of all, he wouldn’t walk this stretch alone. Truly, Christmastide was indeed the time of miracles, and he would thank God every day of his life that he’d found his in Helen.
I can’t wait for this new adventure.