Jeffrey brought his lips to hers again, kissing the sighs of delight from her mouth. His lips then moved along her jaw, down her throat and to her chest, kissing her breasts and nipples. Gasping in excitement, Yvette spread her fingers into his hair again, pressing his head into her. The feel of his slick tongue on her breasts was exquisite. An incredible wave of desire, an aching need, swept over her as his mouth moved lower, kissing the flat planes of her abdomen, swirling his tongue into her belly button.
Yvette stilled as his fingers, ever so gently caressed her heated skin, trailing a path down between her thighs. She arched up and her mouth went dry as he touched her most intimately, dipping a finger deep inside of her.
“Jeffrey,” she murmured low, a bit panicked.
“Shh, it’s all right. Just relax. Let me,” he said in a soothing whisper before covering her mouth with his once more.
She closed her eyes, even though she knew he watched her. With expert skill, he pleasured her with his hand, stroking and fondling her, until she forgot to think, forgot where she was, forgot her name. Over and over, his fingers swirled and touched her in ways she had never imagined, never dreamed of, bringing her to the brink of an intense yearning and desire. Her arms went slack, her head fell back on the pillows, and her breathing became rapid as she gave in to the overwhelming waves of utter bliss that crashed over her. When she cried out his name at the height of her pleasure, he held her and kissed her back to her senses.
Yvette clung to him, breathing in great gasps, in awe of what had just happened to her body. “Is that it?” she asked in wonder.
Jeffrey smiled wickedly, his eyes dark with desire. “We haven’t even begun. . . .”
“Oh, my,” was all she could manage to say, but she smiled in anticipation.
He rose up and moved over her again. Bracing his hands on either side of her, he settled himself firmly between her thighs. She stared at him, holding on tightly, her fingers pressing into his back, as he kissed her again. With a gentle movement, he entered her like a sword in a sheath. She held her breath, pressing her lips together, growing accustomed to the fullness of him inside of her. As Jeffrey began to move within her, slowly she exhaled, releasing the initial pain. Little by little, that yearning need returned and she began to arch against him, meeting his thrusts with eagerness.
The aching pleasure blossomed within her again and they moved together in timeless rhythm, losing themselves in each other’s bodies, which were slick with sweat. Soft whispered words, sweet kisses, and gentle caresses suddenly gave way to driving need and mounting desire. His motions became more forceful, more urgent and demanding as he plunged into her. She welcomed him, matching his thrusts with her own. All her focus centered on the two of them and their love for each other.
The waves of sheer bliss enveloped her once again and what felt like a million tiny stars exploded around her. She screamed his name as he drove into her, finding his own heated release. As he called to her, an added thrill coursed through her, increasing her pleasure. Feeling faint and with her body tingling in every way, Yvette lay there motionless.
Jeffrey collapsed on the pillow beside her, spent and panting for breath. He then cradled her in his arms, kissing her face, smoothing away her hair, which had become tangled around them. Together they lay, until their breathing returned to normal.
“Oh, Jeffrey, I don’t even have words,” she said at long last.
He smiled at her. “You liked it?”
“Oh, God, yes! It was amazing.”
“Not nice?” he teased.
“Not even close to nice.” She knew he referred to her descriptions of William Weatherly’s kisses. Those nice little kisses paled in comparison to the wonder of what she had just shared with Jeffrey! “It was spectacular. Wonderful. Earth shattering.”
“Earth shattering, you say?” He smiled wolfishly at her. “I’ll take that.”
Yvette released a long sigh. “I’m so happy we didn’t have a long engagement.”
He laughed low and deep at her words and pulled her closer to him. “I am too.”
“My sisters will be so jealous.”
Confused, he asked, “Why?”
“Because I now know the truth about the infamous Jeffrey Eddington!” She giggled helplessly.
“And just what would that be?” He stared at her, incredulous at her pronouncement.
“Well, as you know . . . your reputation with the ladies being what it is . . . we’ve all wondered about you.”
His blue eyes twinkling, he seemed vastly amused by that. “Have you now?”
“Oh, yes! How could we not be?”
“Who would have thought nice girls like you discuss such things?”
She looked up at him helplessly. “Well, we do. Much more often than you think.”
“Well, I hate to disappoint you, my dear wife, and your lovely sisters, but my reputation is vastly exaggerated.”
“But you said you’d kissed hundreds of women!” Yvette cried in protest.
“Kissed, yes.” He shook his head. “Bedded, no.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have kept mistresses, but not as many as your vivid imagination would allow for. Contrary to popular belief, I did not indiscriminately bed every woman who crossed my path.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?” he questioned with a laugh. “You sound disappointed, Yvette.”
“No, I’m not at all. Just taking in this different side of you.”
“And?”
“And it makes me happy.” Yvette paused and looked at him. “You don’t have a mistress now, do you?”
“I did, but she ended it months ago when she realized even before I did that I was in love with you.”
“Truly?” Yvette asked in amazement.
“Truly.” Jeffrey placed a sweet kiss on her mouth, as if to emphasize his words. “And I will never have another mistress, I swear to you. I have only the most beautiful wife in the world to make my life complete.”
“Good, because I might have to kill you if you had a mistress,” she said with a smile.
“Thank goodness I’m safe then.” He kissed her again.
“Just a moment, Jeffrey.” She wrinkled her brows in confusion. “Then why does everyone think that you’ve been with scores of women if it isn’t true?”
He paused before saying, “Because it was easier to let everyone believe the worst about me.”
“Why?” That made no sense to Yvette. “Why on earth would you want people to think the worst of you?”
With a heavy sigh, he squeezed her tightly to him. “Because of what I was, it was easier for everyone to think me an irresponsible rogue and not take me seriously. It suited my purposes. No one suspected me of doing what I was really doing.”
“You’re referring to the secret work you do for the government?”
“Yes.”
“That you won’t tell me about?”
“It’s not that I won’t tell you, Yvette. It’s that I can’t tell you about it.” He hesitated. “Let’s simply say I gather very sensitive information from certain parties in a somewhat clandestine manner and pass it along to other parties in need of such information.” He flashed her a smile. “It’s really quite amazing the things people will tell me at a party while they are drinking and no one suspects my motives. Anyway, I perform a necessary service and having people believe me a careless playboy whose sole purpose in life is pleasure suits my purposes remarkably well.”
Yvette sat up and stared at the man beside her. “Jeffrey, how can I not have known this about you all these years?”
He gave her his most charming smile. “Because I didn’t want you to, my lovely. No one knows about my profession, except Lucien and Harrison, and my father, of course.”
She leaned down on top of his chest. “And now me.”
“And now you.” He kissed her.
“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
“I know you won’t. But I think it
is time for me to retire from that line of work now.”
Yvette placed kisses over his bare chest. “Why is that?” He gazed into her eyes. “Because it can also be very dangerous, and I’ve done more than enough, and now I would much rather spend my time at home in bed with my beautiful wife.”
Yvette shivered with desire at his words. “That is the most wonderful idea I’ve ever heard.”
“No . . . I think this is. . . .” Jeffrey drew her against him, covering her mouth with his and rolling on top of her once more.
35
Christmas Day
“Well, here is the married couple now!” Juliette called out as Yvette and Jeffrey entered the great drawing room of Devon House late the following afternoon. A light snow was falling outside, dusting the ground in white, as evening began to fall, but inside the family had gathered together on Christmas Day. The scent of evergreens and pinecones filled the air as well as the delicious smells of Christmas dinner.
Jeffrey and Yvette were instantly enveloped in congratulatory hugs by everyone as if they had been gone for weeks and not just one night, but Yvette didn’t mind in the least. Nothing could have made her happier than to have all the people she loved most in the world under one roof. Her mother, her sisters, her brothers-in-law, and her little nieces and nephews. And especially her husband. Yvette was thrilled that even Jeffrey’s parents were joining them as well.
Cries and shouts of “Merry Christmas!” filled the air.
All of the children were playing near the large Christmas tree, excitedly looking at their presents and playing with their new toys. A traditional Christmas feast was planned for supper, with a goose and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and the jovial mood in the drawing room was typical of a Hamilton family holiday get together.
Yvette and Jeffrey went to sit by her mother first. Genevieve Hamilton was growing stronger and her health continued to improve a little more each day. Still as outspoken as ever, she smiled joyfully at them. She took Jeffrey’s hand in hers.
“I am so very happy that you have married my daughter. You have always been good to me and now you are my son. Vous avez toujours été bon avec moi et je vous ai toujours bien aimé. Vous êtes maintenant un vrai fils pour moi. I love you, Jeffrey,” her mother said to him.
Genuinely touched by her words, Jeffrey kissed Genevieve’s cheek. “I am happy to be your son, Mrs. Hamilton, and I am even happier to be married to your daughter.”
“They are all married now. Each one of my girls is happy,” Genevieve said with a contented little sigh. “This is a very joyous Christmas. C’est un Noël très special. Toutes mes filles sont maintenant mariées. Je suis heureuse.”
“And we are very glad that you are here with us to share our happiness, Maman,” Yvette said. Recalling how close they had come to losing her, Yvette gave her mother a fierce little hug.
“Yvette, come over here!”
Leaving her husband with her mother, Yvette went to see what her sisters wanted. The four of them were gathered together near the mantel, looking at her most curiously.
“So?” Paulette whispered, her eyes twinkling with impishness. “How was last night?”
Lisette, Colette, Paulette, and Juliette looked at her expectantly.
Her cheeks warming a little, Yvette smiled knowingly at her older sisters. “It was quite incredible.”
“We thought as much.” Juliette winked at her. “How could it not be?”
“It was even better than I imagined,” Yvette managed to add before covering her heated cheeks with her hands.
“We won’t go into details now. We just wanted to make sure you had a wonderful night,” Lisette said in a low voice.
“Oh, I did!”
Colette smiled at her. “Well, we think that you and Jeffrey are the most romantic story of all of us.”
“You do?” Yvette was incredulous.
Paulette nodded her head. “Yes, we’ve been talking about you. It’s very romantic and unexpected to fall in love with someone you’ve known for so long, don’t you agree?”
“Anyone can be swept off their feet by a stranger, but to suddenly feel that way about someone you’ve always known is quite extraordinary,” Juliette said.
Yvette stared at her sisters, smiling, and nodded her head. “Yes, it is. Very extraordinary.”
“What are you lovelies whispering about so intently over here?” Jeffrey asked the five of them as he joined their little circle near the fireplace.
Blushing, Paulette laughed nervously and blurted out, “You.”
“Me?” Jeffrey stared at them. He exchanged a glance with his wife as the girls tried to restrain their giggles.
“I told you so,” Yvette whispered to him.
“Well, I hope you did me proud,” Jeffrey said with a mischievous smile at his wife.
“Yes,” Juliette said boldly. “She did.”
Then Jeffrey rolled his eyes. “What am I going to do with all of you girls?”
Colette spoke up. “We were just saying again that now you really are our brother and how happy that makes us.”
“Ah yes, now the title of brother is official.” He beamed at them.
Yvette loved the fact that Jeffrey was very special to her sisters, but he belonged only to her. She gave him a flirtatious look. “But you’re not my brother.”
“And for that I am most eternally grateful.” Jeffrey took Yvette’s hand in his and drew her to his side. “And you four beautiful girls are now truly my sisters, which makes me the luckiest man in the world.”
“It’s all worked out quite wonderfully, hasn’t it?” Lisette said, looking at them fondly.
Jeffrey grinned broadly. “It certainly has.”
“Everyone, may I interrupt you for a moment, please?” the Duke of Rathmore called out, looking about the drawing room with his masterful presence.
Yvette shared a questioning glance with Jeffrey, who stood beside her. Her husband gave a helpless shrug and raised his brows, obviously not privy to whatever his father was about to say.
With the family directing their attention at him expectantly, Maxwell Eddington stood in the center of the room, his expression full of excitement. “It seems I have yet another announcement to make. I was going to wait until supper, but I simply can’t contain myself any longer.” He smiled pointedly at Jeffrey. “This one concerns my son. And his wife.”
Again, Yvette met Jeffrey’s eyes. What on earth was the duke up to now? Was it some sort of extravagant Christmas gift? He’d already told them yesterday that he would be giving them Eddington Grove as a wedding gift.
“The news of my marriage to Janet Rutherford has done more than incite the gossips to talk about me.” Maxwell Eddington smiled broadly at his wife. “It has also raised some valid questions about the line of heredity. A few of my powerful friends and my legal experts are investigating the matter now, but there is a distinct possibility that since I married his mother, my son Jeffrey can be declared legitimate. And if that is the case, it only stands to reason, therefore, that as my lawful and only son, he also can become my rightful heir.”
The room grew silent. Wide-eyed at the news, everyone stared at the Duke of Rathmore and then at Jeffrey.
“Is such a thing even possible?” Jeffrey managed to ask.
“Yes. It’s a bit premature, of course, and I don’t know if it will even come to pass, but the possibility exists and I couldn’t resist sharing the good news. I thought it made a most wonderful Christmas gift to my son and daughter-in-law.” Maxwell Eddington positively beamed with pleasure and pride.
The silence in the room continued. No one uttered a word, aside from the gaggle of children chattering and playing at the other end of the drawing room.
Yvette looked at her husband, who still appeared dumbstruck. Jeffrey’s blue eyes were wide with stunned disbelief.
“Father?” he asked.
“Isn’t it wonderful news, my boy?” the duke asked, his expression elated.
&nb
sp; “We are so thrilled by the possibility of being able to make this happen for you, Jeffrey, darling,” his mother added, tears of joy welling in her eyes. “Aren’t you happy to hear it?”
“Of course, I am . . . ,” Jeffrey said, although he still seemed shaken by his father’s declaration.
Everyone else remained silent. What the Duke of Rathmore had proclaimed was highly unusual, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. Since Maxwell had married Jeffrey’s mother, then Jeffrey could no longer be considered illegitimate, could he? Still, the laws were quite clear and it would take some doing to have him declared the heir.
Lucien recovered first, rising to his feet. “I think it’s the most astounding news, but surprisingly fitting. No one deserves such good fortune more than my oldest and dearest friend. And it only adds to my happiness for Jeffrey and Yvette. I think we should all celebrate!”
“This is a most merry Christmas!” Colette added, with a bright smile at the duke. “Since we have joined our families, nothing could be better, but now you’ve made it quite perfect, Your Grace!”
As everyone began to give their congratulations, Yvette turned to Jeffrey, wrapping her arms around him, holding him tightly for a moment. She kissed his cheek.
“This is most unexpected,” he whispered in her ear. “I don’t even know what to think.”
Yvette whispered back, “Whatever happens doesn’t matter to me. I have you and that’s all I need.”
Jeffrey suddenly seemed to regain his composure, flashing her his charming grin. “To think that I might be able to make you a duchess after all.”
Yvette shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. “You already made me feel like a queen.”
He took her by the hand and led her across the room.
His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters) Page 29
