swiftly shut the window and hustled to the fire to warm her hands there as the party toasted and went back to their games and drinks and conversations.
She sighed as she watched the flames and tried to ignore Cav’s presence at her back. At last 1813 had come to an end. And 1814 had begun. A new year with new possibilities. And for the first time since Andrew’s death she found herself excited to see what a new year would hold for her.
Cav walked through the darkened halls toward his bedchamber. The party had broken up late, after three, and the rest had gone to their beds. He had stayed up a few moments longer, finishing his whisky and staring out at the clear, cold, starry sky.
A new year was always an exciting time. But this one thrilled and terrified him more than most. After all, he’d begun something new with Emily. He knew, just as she feared, that it would change everything between them. Watching her tonight in that gorgeous dark pink gown, smiling and laughing with her guests, bright and alive and beautiful…all the love had swelled in him, a prison and a gateway all at once.
If only it were returned.
He sighed as he reached his room and pushed open the door. It was so late, he hated to wake his valet, so he walked to the fire and tossed a log onto the flames to lift the light so he could undress. As he did so, he heard the sound of a throat being cleared from the direction of his bed.
He turned slowly and found Emily sitting on the bench at the foot of the bed. She was watching him and as he moved toward her, she staggered to her feet.
“Cav—” she began. She cut herself off and dug into her pocket. What she retrieved was a sprig of mistletoe. With a nervous smile, she lifted it over her head. “I thought we might—”
He caught her words with his lips.
As the mistletoe fluttered to the floor behind him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting into his chest with a muffled moan that seemed to wend into his bloodstream and go straight into his cock.
She pulled her mouth from his just a fraction, just a breath and whispered, “Happy New Year.”
He smiled, drinking in the sight of her in the firelight. “Happy New Year.”
Then he dipped his mouth and kissed her again as his fingers found the back of her gown. They were quiet except for the sounds of their mouths meeting as he unfastened her, careful with the pretty dress as he lowered it down her arms, her hips. He gathered it up as it pooled around her feet and stepped away just long enough to drape it over the back of a chair.
She laughed as he returned to her, but the laughter faded as he let his gaze slide over her. Her underthings were pink like the dress. The fabric was so delicate it was almost sheer, and he saw the shadow of her hard nipples, the triangle of her pubic hair beneath the satin. He reached for her, cupping her hips, letting his fingers slide with just the thin layer between them as she reached back to grip the edge of his bed for purchase.
“Cav,” she whispered. It was a plea. It was a demand.
He tugged her flush against him and lifted her up on the high bed, stepping between her legs. She was no longer shorter than he was now that she sat up on the edge. Their mouths were even and he took advantage, kissing her as he pulled the strap of her chemise down to her elbow. The fabric dropped forward and he groaned his approval as he looked down at the beautiful breast he had just revealed.
He bent his head, swirling his tongue around impossibly soft flesh, tugging her hard nipple between his teeth as she threw her head back with a cry.
He sucked harder, harder, loving how her hips lifted against his, grinding to find the release he would give. The fact that she was eager as he was made his heart sing and his body throb.
He pulled the other strap down and dragged his mouth across her chest. She dug her fingers into his hair, demanding pleasure as her nails raked his scalp. He acquiesced, laving her opposite nipple with as much focus as he had the first.
Her chemise drooped around her waist, and she lifted her