Christmas At Hollywell (The Seldon Park Christmas Novella Book 4)
Page 12
"There is, though I don't know when it was last used." She gasped as he pulled down the fabric of her gown so that he could suckle at her breast. "Especially if you didn't know it was here. Oh, that is delightful!"
"Excellent. We shall wed immediately. I think the local vicar might be persuaded to make an exception on the banns being called." Then Julian placed his hand over her stomach. "Especially if I hint that there are special circumstances to consider. And make a sizeable donation to the parish, of course."
Catherine shook her head. "No. Julian. It's not possible. I can't be with child. I'm too..."
He placed a finger to her mouth. "Do not say old. For you are not, and after tonight? You will never refer to yourself as old again. And I have seen women far older than you bear children." He flicked his tongue over her nipple and she squirmed. "Even now, my babe might be growing within you. It is not as if we have been careful. Normally, I would have thought of such things, but you with? I did not. A measure, I think, of what my heart understood long before my mind did."
She flicked her gaze to where his hand still rested on her stomach. "And if I am not?"
Julian smiled wolfishly at her. "Then I think that you should be. Very soon. And for that, we will need a lot of practice." With skilled hands, he undid the back of her gown and slid it down the length of her arms, completely baring her breasts to him. "And while I do like this gown, it is not the sort fit for a passionate woman like you. Which is why you will not mind if I remove it."
Catherine did not utter a peep of protest as Julian slid the gown the rest of the way down her body. This was how she had dreamed of spending Christmas Eve. In the arms of the man she loved. She never imagined that her most secret wish might truly happen, but now she knew that dreams truly could come true.
As Julian bent his head to her breast, there was a pounding at the door. "Go away!" he roared. "The countess and I are busy!"
"But, my lord! The guests!" Of course, it had to be Bernard. Only a butler would be so officious.
"Tell them that it is Christmas Eve," Julian called back, "And that they should be spending it with the one they love."
After that, if there was any more pounding at the door, Catherine didn't hear a thing. Instead, her mind and her soul were filled with nothing but Julian. The way he kissed her and teased her and caressed her, igniting her passions once again until she was consumed by nothing but him. He was everything to her. He had taught her how to live again. How to love. And how to be the woman she was always meant to be.
When they were finally skin to skin and in his bed, Catherine finally let herself go - utterly and completely - as Julian entered her, possessing her completely and claiming her as his for all time. She was free of the past. Finally. She was free to love. For she had found the man she had been destined to love. And who was destined to love her in return. She had found her Christmas miracle.
Epilogue
Late January 1821
The snow was falling outside Hollywell's well-fortified walls once more, the early morning light still dim. However this time when Julian awoke, he was not alone. His lovely and delectable new wife was by his side sleeping peacefully, her one arm curled around her pillow and the other flung over his bare chest. Not that he minded. No, for Julian, this was the sort of life had had dreamed of for so long, but never truly believed could be his. Especially not after his cousin had stolen his title and so much of his life.
Now? He had his title back, along with a little help in regaining his social standing from The Bloody Duke. He had a home here in Cornwall, one that pleased him far more than he could have ever anticipated. Most of all, however, he had a wife that he loved more than his own life. And, if the local midwife was to be believed, he would have a child, perhaps even a son, in roughly nine months or less. Likely less.
How the woman could tell already Julian had no idea, but Catherine had missed her courses this month and was feeling slightly ill in the mornings as of late. Her nipples were also extremely sensitive, something he had noticed more and more frequently when they made love. So it was possible. Julian prayed that it was. He desired a family with his Catherine. In fact, he desired to give her everything she had been deprived of during her union with Crossbury. Including children. And love.
She was the now the Comtesse De La Croix. His wife. His love. His life.
Julian could still not believe how incredibly fortunate he was that this perfectly magnificent creature returned his love, and that she had forgiven him for that awful scene in her chambers on Christmas Eve. However, by some miracle she had. That was why he had wed her on Christmas Day in front of all of their invited guests. He refused to spend another night apart from her, no matter the whispers of scandal that had surrounded their union.
He must have been fidgeting, for Catherine's hand brushed over his chest, making him instantly hard. "Julian, love. Be still. It is early yet." She snuggled up next to him. "The birds are not even yet awake."
"But you are, Kitten." He reached for her and she came even more awake at his touch, her eyes slumberous and wanton, her nude body so ripe and lush that he could not help but desire her again. They had made love the better part of the night, but Julian did not care. He wanted his wife. Now. "And I would like to play with you."
"Would you now?" she teased, pushing her honey gold tresses from her face. She had not braided her hair last evening and now it flowed free around her so that she resembled the fictional Lady Godiva. This was how he loved her best. Without pretense or artifice. And best of all, without clothing.
Julian shifted Catherine's body over his so that she straddled him. If she was not with child yet, she soon would be if he had anything to say about the matter. "I would. And so, I think, would you."
"Ah, my love," Catherine sighed as she reached for him and then settled herself over what she had come to refer to as her "favorite part" of his anatomy. "You know me so well."
"And I love you so very, very well," he teased back. "For all the rest of the Christmases of our lives."
Coming Soon
Handsome, womanizing Lord Evan Haddington, the new Marquess of Berkshire, has only recently inherited his title from his deceased uncle. With the title comes wealth, power, social standing, estates, jewels...and a business called "The Gray Ladies," whose only purpose for existing seems to be to provide chaperones for unfortunate London society ladies. Or wallflowers, as Evan terms the lot of them in private. It is a business he neither needs nor wants, but seems to be stuck with anyway. Just as he is stuck with the cousin of his uncle's late wife, and he doesn't have any better idea what to do with her, either.
Miss Cassandra Grove was called to London by her cousin, the Marchioness of Berkshire, so that Cassandra might be given ownership of The Gray Ladies, a rather famous group of women who serve as chaperons for some of Society's less fortunate women. Now, however, the marchioness is dead, along with her husband, and Cassandra finds herself facing off with the new marquess over ownership of The Gray Ladies. He does not want them, but he does not wish for her to have them either.
The longer this feud between the two of them drags out, the worse it appears for all involved. They have even made the gossip rags as of late! Can Evan and Cassandra work out some sort of agreement that will protect the reputations of all involved or will their social standing, along with The Gray Ladies themselves, be tossed from the drawing rooms of London for good?
Find out in A Scandal In The Making, coming early 2017!
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Other Titles by the author
Tales From Seldon Park
To Catch A Duke (Book 1)
Far Beyond Scandalous (Book 2)
At The Stroke of Midnight (Book 3)
A Viscount of Mystery (Book 4)
A Marquess Is Forever (Book 5)
The Secret Seduction of Lady Eliza (Book 6)
From The Viscount With Love (Book 7)
The Kiss of a Rogue (Book 8)
The Earl of Heartbreak (Book 9)
A Gentleman By Moonlight (Book 10)
A Scandal In The Making (Book 11 - coming early 2017)
The Seldon Park Christmas Novellas
One Christmas With The Earl (Novella 1)
On A Cold Christmas Eve (Novella 2)
The Earl Who Loved Me (Novella 3)
Christmas At Hollywell (Novella 4)
The Ghosts, Inc. series
Novels
Ghosts Of Lovers Past (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 1)
Heart of Shadows (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 2)
Spellbound (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 3)
Edge of Heaven (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 4)
Time's Mirror (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 5)
Forever Bound (Ghosts, Inc.: Book 6 - coming soon)
Ghosts, Inc. Ghostly Shorts
Ghostly Shorts Anthology, Vol. 1
Ghostly Shorts Anthology, Vol. 2
And We Danced (A Thieves Market exclusive short story)
Modern Magic
Dream Date
Bewitched, Bottled, and Bewildered (Coming 2017)
The “Aphrodite’s Closet” series
Aphrodite's Closet: The Anthology, Vol. 1
(Nobody's Cinderella, Fairy Tale Theater, A Little Bit Of Magic)
Aphrodite's Closet: The Anthology, Vol. 2
(Stardust and Moonbeams, Belle of the Ball, The Enchanted Season)
Finding Prince Charming: An Aphrodite's Closet novel (Coming soon)
Also Available
Santa Search And Rescue
Christmas in Philipsburg
The Magic of Christmas
A Midsummer Night's Delusion
Much Ado About Something - A Short Story
Fairy Tale Lives (coming soon)
The Clockwork Doll: A Steampunk Novella
Crossed Hearts (A Modern Frame Tale of Romance)
Under A Golden Moon (coming soon)
About the author
Making her home in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, Bethany Sefchick lives with her husband, Ed, and a plethora of Betta fish that she’s constantly finding new ways to entertain. In addition to writing, Bethany owns a jewelry company, Easily Distracted Designs.
When not penning romance novels or creating sparkly treasures, she enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, and lavishing attention on any stray cats who happen to be hanging around. She always enjoys hearing from her fans at: bsefchickauthor@gmail.com