Page 54 of An Earl's Christmas Seduction
There was no proof it was anything other than an accident, even as Amelia felt certain it had not been.
“Shall I call Elsie for you, Amelia? She can bring a needle and thread and have the skirts stitched up in no time,” Isobel said.
But to Amelia’s surprise, Nicholas intervened on her behalf.
“No. Go back to your dancing, or caroling some music, Mrs. Bennett. I’ll escort Lady Amelia to her bedroom, then fetch the maid. She can return later. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be going down alone to the servant’s hall in the dark, Isobel. Not after the ghost stories we’ve heard tonight,” he said, looking pointedly at Isobel, who shook her head.
“No… I don’t think I would, actually,” she said, glancing at Amelia, who smiled.
“It’s quite all right. We’ll do that. I’ll go upstairs, and Elsie can have my skirts sewn up in no time. It’s quite all right, Constance. Accidents happen,” she said, turning to Constance and forcing a smile to her face.
From the look Constance gave her, it was obvious she had not expected this to be Nicholas’ response.
“But… you’re the host, Nicholas,” she stammered.
“And I’m sure Lord O’Neil can play the role admirably in my place, and Harry, too. We won’t be gone long. But poor Lady Amelia doesn’t want to stand here with a torn skirt, I’m sure,” Nicholas replied, and holding out his hand, he indicated for Amelia to follow him.
The viscount now called out for Mrs. Bennett to play, encouraging the other guests into a rousing rendition ofHark the Herald Angels Sing.As they stepped out into the hallway, Amelia turned to Nicholas and smiled.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, and Nicholas grinned at her.
“But I wanted to. I know she did it deliberately. You do, too. Let her get angry about it. I don’t care. But I do care about your pretty dress,” he said, pointing her towards the stairs.
After Lord Thornton’s ghost story, Amelia was glad of Nicholas’ company as they climbed the stairs to the landing. Outside the drawing room, the house felt somewhat foreboding, the wind whistling across the chimney tops, rattling the windows, and only the light of a few candles in sconces to pick out the way.
“Will you fetch Elsie for me?” she asked, as they came to Amelia’s bedroom door.
“Don’t you trust me with a needle and thread?” he asked.
Amelia looked at him in surprise.
“You?” she asked, as he opened the door for her.
“Yes. I think I know my way around your skirts, don’t you?” he asked.
Amelia blushed, and as he closed the door behind them, he turned to kiss her, their lips meeting as he slipped his arms around her in a passionate embrace.
“But what if Constance followed us?” Amelia whispered, terrified of being caught, even as her passions were aroused.
“Let her. It’ll serve her right for her vindictive behavior. Oh, my darling, Amelia. How I desired you tonight,” he said, as Amelia arched her neck, his lips now tracing a trail along her neckline.
The fronds of her skirt were torn from top to bottom, and Nicholas now tore again at the lace and silk, pulling the skirts apart with such force, he made Amelia gasp. He was stiff in his breeches, and she fumbled at his belt, exposing him as she had desired to do during the ghost story. Exposing her breasts, her bodice cast aside, his shirt pulled over his head. They fell naked onto the bed together, hands clasping, lips pressed together.
“I wanted you, too. I’ve thought of nothing else since… oh, but it was only a few hours ago,” Amelia said, looking up at him as he arched over her, a smile playing across his lips.
“But those hours felt like a lifetime. I’ve thought of nothing else, either,” he whispered, as now he traced a trail of kisses across her breasts and down to her pleasure.
Amelia gasped as his tongue searched her out, filling her with a warmth so intense as to make her cry out in ecstasy. This was what she had wanted, even in so short a time since last they had been together. She cupped his head in her hands, enjoying the sensation of his tongue against her pleasure, her eyes closed, thinking back to the danger of what they had done during the telling of the ghost story. It had excited her to know the danger of what they were doing, the secret of his touch, the pleasures they had shared in the darkness with the other guests so close.
“Just like that,” Amelia whispered, running her hands through his hair.
The heat was building in her loins, flooding through into the shudder of ecstasy. She bit her lip, allowing it to wash over her, desirous only of new heights of pleasure. His tongue was still making love to her, his hands running along the length of her body to her breasts, but now he raised his head, looking up at her with a mischievous grin.
“You’re so beautiful, Amelia,” he said, kissing her stomach, sliding his hands up to her shoulders and bringing his lips to hers.
They were naked now, his breeches discarded, his shirt torn off, and her own skirts lying in a heap on the floor. She took his arousal in her hand, gently pleasuring him, their lips meeting again and again. She knew there was so much more they could share together in the pleasure of consummation and the ecstasy of coming together as one.
“Please… don’t stop. Don’t hold back,” she whispered, as now he guided himself to her pleasure, closing his eyes as he pulled her into his embrace.
