The Girl is Not For Christmas - Emma V Leech Page 0,81
at that.
“What?”
She reached up and stroked his cheek. “King. You cannot go back to the life you were leading, and you were not meant to be alone. You need a wife, a family. If you treat her kindly, the girl will be desperately in love with you in a matter of days, I know I… I know you can do it. Make a family, you foolish man. It’s what you want, or had you not realised that yet?”
There was a taut silence. Livvy’s hand fell to his arm, braced upon the mattress, the muscles bunched and hard under her touch. The tension sang through him and she regretted her words, regretted making him face them, especially now of all times. What a fool she was. Desperate to distract him, she put her arms up, linking them behind his neck and kissing him, tugging him back down. After a moment’s resistance, he followed with a muttered curse and a groan that made her pulse skitter. He settled between her legs and she wrapped her body around his, clinging to him, too aware of how perfectly they fit, of how nothing in her life would ever feel this way again, so utterly right.
“Livvy,” he murmured. “Oh, God, Livvy….”
“Ing?”
Oh good Lord.
George.
King yelped and simultaneously threw the covers over Livvy’s head and sat up to face the small, shadowy figure in the doorway.
“George!” King said, breathless and horrified. Bloody hell. “Y-You gave me a turn. What is it? Is something the matter?”
George sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “Livvy not there.”
King’s experienced a surge of such shame he wanted to fall to his knees and beg the child’s forgiveness. Oh god. Poor George had been frightened and wanting Livvy and he… and they…. He felt sick.
“Oh, George, I….” King swallowed, gathering himself. “I… I expect she’s… er… in the kitchen. Gone to get some milk, perhaps? Did you have a bad dream?”
“’Es.” George nodded, his bottom lip quivering a little.
“Well, that’s rotten luck,” King said, utterly wretched now. “I’ll take you back to bed and I expect Livvy will come and look in on you before she goes back to bed. You… er… just hold on while I put some clothes on.”
“’Es. Ing, must wear clothes. Girls scream loud. No pego,” George said solemnly.
A choked sound escaped King, somewhere between a laugh and a moan. He was an utter bastard, a selfish, wicked man who would have taken from Livvy when he had nothing of any worth to give her. Christ, what if George had come into his room just a little later? King went hot and cold, appalled. Once he was decently attired, King lifted George into his arms, hesitating in the doorway.
“Let’s get you back to bed then, young man. I bet your aunt will have gone to get you a glass of milk, that’s why you couldn’t find her.”
Hopefully, Livvy would take the hint. He could not face returning to his bed with her still in it.
“Come along, young man.”
King carried George down the hall and up the stairs to the nursery and padded into the room. Little Birdie was snoring softly, arms and legs akimbo. Susan must have the benefit of a room of her own now, but Lydia and Rebecca were here, sleeping neatly, tucked under their blankets. Jane, however, had kicked the covers off, sleeping on her stomach with one leg and one arm hanging off the side of the bed. King experienced another wave of heat and humiliation as he considered what he’d been doing. God, he was despicable. That he could think to have a love affair with Livvy and then just walk away, that she would accept that….
“Here we are,” he said, his voice sounding odd, too loud, in the darkness of the nursery. He felt too big among all the child-sized furniture, too wicked and tainted, to be anywhere near this… this remarkable, beautiful family. He lay George down in his bed and pulled up the covers, tucking the boy in tight and picking up a rather odd looking fabric dog from the floor. It was made from ticking, one of its legs was longer than the other, and the ears and tail were out of proportion, far too big for its body, but it was definitely a dog.
“Gog, oof, oof,” George said softly, reaching for the toy.
“He’s a very handsome fellow,” King said, sitting down gingerly on the edge of the bed. “Did Livvy make him for you?”