Have Yourself a Merry Little Secret : a Christmas collection of historical romance (Have Yourself a Merry Little... Book 2)

by Collette Cameron

  Tears of joy pricked Anne’s eyes as she and Ian exchanged their vows. Nothing could have made her happier than to wed the man she had grown to love more than life itself.

  Ian had never seen Anne look so beautiful and couldn’t stop from stealing glances at his bride, even missing his cue to say, “I do,” much to the priest's dismay.

  The twins groused about being trusted up like Christmas hams in their finery, but Millie was in her own kind of heaven. Anne had made certain that Millie had a new gown just for the occasion. Millie proudly wore a pale pink satin gown, with forget-me-nots entwined on the bodice and roses in her hands.

  Ian could see then and there that his daughter was truly growing up. He couldn’t help the surge of gratefulness he had for Anne for making sure that Millie had a special day as well. It took one amazing woman to look outside of herself on her wedding day.

  It was something that Ian would never forget. He loved Anne more than words could say.

  Lady Gen and Millie exchanged secretive glances after the wedding, and it wasn’t until the bride and groom had departed that the whole truth finally came out.

  “Are you telling me that there were no special investors for Ian to investigate?” Ryan asked incredulously.

  Lady Gen grinned at the younger man. “Of course, there wasn’t. I had a devil of a time concocting something plausible enough to bring him to Brighton. I knew they were perfect for one another. I just had to give Ian and Anne some time to figure it out for themselves.”

  Millie smirked. “And she had an accomplice.”

  “And the two of you kept this secret the entire time?” Lillian asked incredulously.

  Millie nodded with all of the authority that a thirteen-year-old girl possesses. “Of course! Any lady worth her salt knows how to keep a secret.”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes when Lillian nodded along with the other women.

  “What secrets are you keeping from me?” Ryan demanded.

  Lillian smiled at him. “If I told you, darling, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?”

  Chapter 19

  When Anne and Ian finally arrived at the inn up the coast, he swept her off her feet and carried her to their fanciest bedchamber. Anne’s sweet laughter left a trail behind them.

  Ian kicked the door closed and proceeded to kiss his new wife until she was completely senseless.

  Anne felt the kiss straight to her toes, and leaned into him, taking hands and weaving them into his dark hair.

  Ian kissed her passionately. He was done with holding back his feelings for her. They were married, and by Jove he was going to worship her body as she clearly deserved. He wanted Anne to know just how special she was to him. He gently unbuttoned her satin gown and with care removed her underclothing until she was bare before him.

  Anne flushed at his apparent arousal. His wedding breeches were tented, and his hands shook as he tried to unbutton his own garments.

  She came and took over for him.

  Ian stilled when her hands touched his bare chest. “I have waited a long time for this moment,” he rasped.

  “You don’t have to wait, my love. I am yours.” The truth of her words was shining in her eyes as Anne stepped on her toes inadvertently brushing the tips of her breasts against his chest as she kissed him.

  Ian pulled her against him and then lifted her and placed her onto the large bed. Anne giggled and scooted clear to the top, watching as Ian lifted a brow at her antics.

  He climbed on and stalked her until she was inches from his lips. Then he reached out and devoured her mouth at the same time his hands reached for her breasts.

  Anne cried out, deepening the kiss as he swept his tongue forcefully against her own. Ian caressed her lovingly and worried her nipples until she was writhing under him.

  He then slid one hand down her silky body to find the curls hiding her womanhood damp with arousal. He parted her nether lips and began to stroke her. Anne felt as if she had died and gone to heaven.

  Her hips began to follow along with the rhythm of his fingers, and her kiss became almost frantic.

  It wasn’t long before she felt the tightening in her core and knew that she was about to fall.

  Breaking her lips away she cried out, “Ian, dear Ian,” as her orgasm overtook all reason.

  Before she could come down, Ian positioned himself between her thighs and gently began to enter her. There was a burning that she hadn’t expected, but Anne urged him onward. She wanted to be one with him, to have no more barriers between them.

  When he pushed past her innocence, she cried out. Ian hated that she was in pain and yet he couldn’t have stopped if he wanted to. Instead Ian whispered sweet nothings to her before softly kissing her lips.

  Once she had stopped clenching her teeth and began to deepen their kiss, Ian knew it was safe to move again. He pulled out, and she clutched his arms as if trying to make him stay. But then he thrust back in again, and she moaned loudly.

  “Anne, dearest,” he panted, trying to hold back. “Are you alright?”

  She looked up at him with all the love in her heart. “I am with you. All the world is right.”

  He slid back into her again and again, not able to control his passion, and as he moved Anne’s body began to hum again. She lifted her legs and tightened them around his waist. She began meeting him thrust for thrust.

  His heavy body felt perfect against her own, and she knew that this was heaven.

  Ian’s thrusts became sloppy, his arms straining as he wanted to come. But he would not climax without her. Reaching between their bodies, he found her clit and began to rub circles on it as he thrust into her core.

  Suddenly she was crying out, digging her nails into his skin as her core milked his cock. He exploded inside of her. Never had he ever felt this way before while making love.

  This truly was making love, he realized. Anything in the past melted away as he clutched his new wife.

  Anne panted, trying to catch her breath. “Is it always thus?”

  He smiled into her neck, and she grinned as she felt it. “Only with you, my love. Only with you.”

  Epilogue

  Five years later…

  “Millie, do we honestly have to take Michael along? He’s just a baby.”

  Anne turned to see her son James addressing his older sister. Millie was preparing for her first season in town. While there had been a lot of back and forth on whether or not it was the best choice, Anne ultimately left the decision up to Millie.

  Ian had tried to protest, but Anne put her foot down.

  “Millie is old enough to know her own mind. She is well aware of what awaits her. I know that people will be unkind. But there will be those that aren’t so narrow minded as well. It’s not our place to stifle her, Ian. It’s our place to be a soft spot for when she falls, and to be her cheering section for when she soars.”

  Anne only had one caveat for Millie’s season. The entire family would go to support her. Not only would they be the guests of the Duke and Duchess of Bilkshore, but her step-grandfather, Lord Rawlings, insisted on having a ball in her honor.

  Life had certainly changed in the five years since Ian and Anne first wed. James was a honeymoon baby and had been bossing the family around pretty much since the first moment he could speak. Three years later, his brother Michael joined the family.

  Millie doted on her little brothers. James thought the sun and the moon rose and set with his older sister. However, he wasn’t convinced there was anything good about Michael. According to four-year-old James, Michael was only good for screaming and wet nappies.

  Millie’s lips twitched as she took in the indignant state of her younger brother. Not wanting to belittle his concern, Millie crouched down until she was at eye level with him. Then she said in a faint voice, “If we try and leave him home, mother won’t come. I can’t do this without her, Jamie. I hate to say it, but Michael has to come along with us to London.”

  James blew out an exasperated
breath. “He ruins everything.”

  Millie suddenly stuck on something that was bound to cheer James up. “Little man, mother said that Brant and Henry would be down from Eton. I would be willing to wager that they won’t want anything to do with a baby like Michael. But you, well, you’ve grown so big and tall this year. Chances are they will be looking for a mate like you to hang around with.”

  James’s eyes grew wide with delight. “Oh, do you really think so, Millie?”

  Millie laughed and kissed his cheek. “Absolutely. Besides, I have already promised to take you for ices and Gunter’s. You will be so busy having the time of your life that you will forget all about Michael in the nursery.”

  “But I’m in the nursery,” James argued.

  “You won’t be forever,” Anne decided to intervene. “Now, Mary is looking for you. I know she has strawberry tarts for tea today. You had best run along.”

  James kissed his sister and mother quickly before running off to find the strawberry tarts. It was his favorite dish. Once they were alone Anne moved to review the things the maids were packing for Millie’s season.

  “Thank you,” Millie said softly.

  “Hmm?” Anne mused as she tucked a honey-gold curl behind her ear.

  “Thank you for being the mother that I didn’t know I needed.”

  Anne turned and took her stepdaughter’s hands into her own. “I love you, Millie Stanford. You are going to knock those London gentlemen off their feet.”

  Millie laughed and looked up to see her father entering the room. He was starting to get some gray through his temples, which only made him appear more mysterious and handsome. Knowing that her parents were bound to get overly mushy, Millie promptly invented an excuse to get her out of the room.

  “Are you sure she’s ready for this?” Ian asked.

  Anne shook her head. “Nobody is truly ready for growing up. It’s one of those situations where you have to take a leap and hope that everything we've taught her through the years will be enough to get her through.”

  Ian wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. “You look far too young to have a daughter entering the marriage mart.”

  Anne laughed. “I am nearly five-and-thirty. Sometimes I feel at least three times that age. How does it feel to be married to an old woman?”

  Ian growled. “I am not married to an old woman. I am married to an enchantress that stole my heart one Christmastide and changed my very soul.”

  “You say the loveliest things,” Anne said as she reached up and kissed his lips.

  Ian grinned at her. “My brothers would beg to differ. But I thank you just the same.”

  While Ian was speaking his hands went to the laces up her spine and, with deft skill, he began to unfasten her dress.

  Anne’s body broke out in goosebumps. She wasn’t sure if it was the sudden chill from her back being exposed to the air, or if it was because of this man kissing her into oblivion. She couldn’t imagine another person on the earth that could elicit such a conflict of emotions inside her.

  Pushing back from his kiss, Anne allowed her dress to fall from her shoulders to pool around her ankles.

  Ian’s eyes darkened as he took in her lovely body. Their time together had changed her. She had a woman’s body, with full curves and heavy breasts.

  As if he couldn’t help himself. Ian fell to his knees, pressing a kiss on her mound. He then helped to balance her so that he could lift one leg over his shoulder and open her sweet core more fully to him. The smell of her arousal was enough to cause his cock to jerk in his pants. This woman was his weakness.

  He licked her folds, loving the sound of her gasps and moans. Her hands sank into his hair and she pulled mindlessly as he licked and sucked her pussy until she was writhing and struggling to stand.

  It didn’t take long before he stood and picked her up. She cried out at the loss of his mouth on her folds. But she didn’t have to wait long. This time Ian placed both of her legs over his shoulders. Picking up her heart-shaped bottom, he buried his face into her wet heat.

  Sucking hard on her clit, he began a rhythm. Licking and sucking, only to come back and swirl his tongue around her tender nub. Two fingers went inside her pussy and stroked her.

  The moment his fingers entered her. Anne knew that she wasn’t going to last. His continual onslaught of her sex was almost more than she could bear.

  Suddenly things began to tighten, and she knew that her release was imminent. She was climbing, struggling, clawing her way toward the precipice and then suddenly she was free. Her body convulsed as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her.

  Ian never let up, causing one orgasm to slide into another. By the time he lifted his head, Anne was near tears from sheer pleasure.

  Ian, having already removed his cravat, grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head. His breeches were soon to follow, and then he was gloriously naked.

  Anne’s eyes ran over every inch of his muscular frame, from his broad shoulders and strong chest to his flat stomach and narrow hips. Her eyes automatically went to the chiseled vee that led to an impressive erection.

  She hadn’t even known that she’d gasped until she heard Ian’s low chuckle. The masculine smirk on his face was enough to bring her back to her senses.

  “Rather impressed with yourself, aren’t you, husband?”

  Ian grinned, saying, “Admit it, wife, you enjoy the view.”

  She tapped her lip, considering, but let out a squeal of laughter when he scooped her into his arms. Suddenly his lips were on hers and she tasted the faint hint of her musk on his tongue. He was relentless, his hands gently laying her onto the bed and then he was climbing over her.

  His fingers sought the plumpness of her breasts, pinching and teasing her nipples until she was once again hungry for more. His mouth roamed from her mouth to her neck and then moved lower. Replacing his fingers with his mouth, he flicked and sucked her tips, driving her wild.

  His hands roamed down her body until he reached her center. Anne eagerly opened her legs and moaned, arching up to meet his questing fingers. They thrust inside of her, sliding back and forth in rhythm with the suck of his mouth. Anne was caught in a maelstrom of pleasure. As much as she was loving every minute of his lovemaking, Anne wanted his thick cock to be inside of her.

  “Please,” she begged. “I need you, now.”

  “What do you need?” He asked against her hot skin.

  “I need you to lay with me,” she said breathlessly.

  He laughed and then nipped at her skin, causing her to squeal. “I am lying with you. That isn’t what you need. Tell me, Anne, tell me what you need.”

  “I need you inside of me,” she said breathlessly.

  Ian growled as he moved up to whisper in her ear, “Your wish is my command.”

  Then he slid his hands up the back of her thighs and pulled her closer so that his cock could rub against her clit.

  Anne grasped at the sheets. “Please stop teasing me.”

  With a thrust he sank inside of her, the burning heat combined with the rush of pleasure, causing them both to shudder. Ian was unable to hold back. After all of these years, each time still felt like the first. Ian began thrusting in and out, over and over, loving the sounds that she made as she chased her pleasure.

  “This,” he gasped, thrusting hard, “This is how it is supposed to be. You and me, Anne.”

  Anne could hardly contain the emotions that were roiling inside of her. The thrill of Ian making love to her, the knowledge that he was hers forever. It was overwhelming; her heart was near bursting.

  Ian lifted her leg and began to thrust deeper, her breasts bouncing with every thrust. The pleasure that had been climbing was near its breaking point. She was so close. Moving her hand to her clit, she began to rub it furiously as Ian pushed her closer and closer to release.

  “Yes,” he growled. “Touch yourself, Anne. Show me what you like.”

  Her orgasm washed over her, t
ightening her nipples to hard points and causing her toes to curl. The moment she released. Ian was helpless not to follow. He cried out her name as he filled her, his body bowing over her as he came harder than he had ever come before.

  Ian slumped against her. He had no wish to smash Anne, but his energy was clearly spent.

  When he managed to roll to the side, he saw the tears on her cheeks.

  “Love, what is it?”

  His tender question caused Anne’s tears to come faster. “I never thought I would ever be this happy. You are the best thing to ever happen to me.”

  Ian kissed her forehead, gathering her close. “Anne, you saved me and my daughter. I will love and adore you all of the days of my life. Please don’t cry.”

  She turned into his embrace, reveling in the warmth of his body, until the tears stopped, and her breathing evened out. “Ian, there is one other thing.”

  “What’s that my love?” He answered sleepily.

  “I know this isn’t the best timing, but…”

  Ian tensed. “What is it?”

  “I’m increasing again.” For a moment Anne wondered if he hadn’t heard her. But when his body began to shake, she was scared that perhaps she had pushed him too far. “Ian?”

  “I should have known with the tears,” he said with a laugh.

  “You’re laughing?” Anne smacked his chest indignantly.

  “Don’t be mad,” Ian tried to apologize with a kiss. “I was just imagining James’s response to a new baby. Something has me thinking that our son is in for a crushing surprise.”

  Anne smiled despite herself. “He takes after you, you know.”

  Ian barked out a laugh. “That my dearest love, is true. Let’s hope he figures things out a little earlier than I did. I love you, Mrs. Stanford.”

  Anne blushed and kissed him back. “And I love you, Mr. Stanford.”

  The End

  About S. Cinders