“Lily—” he began but she pressed a finger to his lips.
“If you’re toying with my affections, Lord Nash, I would ask you not to. Because I do not think I could bear it,” she said in a voice husky with emotion.
His heart despaired and rejoiced at the same time. He hated seeing Lily so on edge. So brittle—as though she might shatter at any moment—but that also meant she wasn’t indifferent to him. It gave him the spark of hope he needed to continue. Catching her hand, he kissed her fingertips. “Please believe me, that is the last thing I would ever do.”
She nodded and relaxed a little in his arms. But only a fraction. Her expression was still wary. Curse his reputation as an inconstant rakehell. Somehow he had to chase away those doubts. And kisses alone wouldn’t do it.
He’d have to choose his next words carefully.
He raked a shaking hand through his hair. “I cannot believe it, but for once in my life, I’m nervous, Lily Godwin.”
She smiled a little at that. “You, Lord Nash? Nervous? Surely not.”
“Yes. I am.”
In all his years of tomcatting he’d never once fancied himself in love. He’d never slept beside a woman until Lily had spent Christmas night at Chiltern Abbey. He’d never fended off a rival. He’d never wanted to fight for a woman. But he wanted to do all those things for Lily. He would do all those things for Lily. And more.
Hell, if he could gift her the moon and all the tea in China—just because she wanted them—he would.
But how to put all that into words? “I know it’s sudden. I know you must think me mad. But since Christmas, I’ve been consumed with thoughts of you, Lily Godwin. I dream about you, both day and night. I miss you.”
Lily put up a hand. “Wait. I have to tell you something. I’m not ... ” Her eyes were bright with tears again. “I’m not with child. So if you are saying all of this because you think it’s the right and honorable thing to do, please don’t—” Her voice cracked and she bit her lip. “Just don’t.”
Oh, God. Joshua’s heart clenched. Why had he stayed away from her for so long? He’d thought she’d need time to heal after Hardwick’s betrayal but he’d been so very wrong. She’d professed she didn’t need him but clearly it had all been an act. Her heart was as vulnerable as his own. Thank God her godmother had sent word to him that she’d be here tonight.
Now he had the chance to make this right. “Lily, my heart. Upon my honor, I cannot wait to have a child with you, but whether that’s now or sometime in the future, it matters little to me. I just want you. In fact, I cannot live without you.” He touched her cheek with gentle fingers. “Lily, I love you with all my heart. For now and for always. Please say you’ll have me.”
“Are you ... are you asking me to marry you, Lord Nash?” she whispered, her eyes glimmering, not just with tears, but an emotion he thought might be hope.
He smiled as exquisite anticipation gripped him. “Yes. I most certainly am.”
* * *
Lily bit her lip.
Could this really be happening? Surely she was dreaming.
But the soft caress of Lord Nash’s warm fingers against her cheek felt very real. As did the hot press of his other hand against her back, drawing her closer until she could feel every inch of his long, hard lean body against hers. The thud of his wonderful heart.
As his gaze searched hers, she saw the longing in his eyes. And love.
There was definitely love.
“Lily?” he prompted gently. “I’m in agony, my darling. What say you? Will you do me—the pitiful, undeserving scoundrel that I am—the inestimable honor of consenting to be my wife?”
Lily nodded as joy rushed through her, stealing her breath and suffusing her heart with warmth. “Yes. Of course I’ll marry you, Joshua,” she whispered at last. “Yes.”
A breath-stealing smile broke across Joshua’s handsome face. “Truly?”
“Yes.” She brushed her fingertips over his lips to make sure he was real. “Truly.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man alive, Lily.” His blue eyes shone and his smile grew tender as he lifted her chin with gentle fingers.
Lily’s breath caught as his gaze darkened and dropped to her mouth. Delicious anticipation curled her toes and her blood sang. “Make love to me, Joshua,” she breathed.
Joshua brushed his thumb over her lower lip. When he spoke, his voice was low and husky with desire. “You read my thoughts exactly.”
He dipped his head and claimed her willing mouth, his lips and tongue tenderly tasting and worshipping hers. She threaded her fingers through his thick hair and hummed low in her throat. This feeling, of being both desired and loved, was divine.
And she wanted to make sure Joshua felt the same. She skated a hand down his wide chest and then slid her fingers between their bodies, searching for his already hard member. She cupped him through his breeches and his deep groan intensified her own lust. Made her wild and more daring than she ever thought possible.
She dragged her mouth from Joshua’s and nipped at his ear. “Let me pleasure you with my mouth,” she whispered.
Joshua drew back. A slight frown had appeared between his brows. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She began to undo the fall of his breeches. “Most definitely.”
She pushed Joshua down onto a nearby armchair of plush, dark red brocade. Her mouth watered at the sight of him, her handsome, aroused husband-to-be sprawled in front of her for her very own delectation; his member, long and thick, rose proudly from its nest of hair. His heavy testicles were drawn up tight and the engorged ruddy head of his cock was already slick with his seed. His blues eyes, dark and heavy-lidded with lust, regarded her with focused, primal interest.
Oh, my.
Biting her lip, her pulse racing, she sank to her knees and gently wrapped her fingers around the rock-hard column. “You might need to provide me with some directions,” she murmured, looking up at him through her lashes. “I am a novice at this after all.”
He wound one of her curls around one long finger. “You’re doing wonderfully well so far, my love. Do whatever you feel is right.”
“All right.” She gave him an experimental squeeze and ran her hand up to the head and down again. When he closed his eyes and his breathing hitched, a dark thrill heated her blood. Emboldened, she bent down and gave the head of his cock a tentative lick, lapping up the salty, leaking drops of semen. His hips jerked and he groaned again.
Excellent. She smiled and then curled her tongue around and around the ridge of the velvet smooth head, licked along the thick, hot shaft, exploring his taste and texture, absorbing his moans and muttered words of praise. When she boldly took all of him into her mouth and sucked, his hips bucked again and he swore. “Oh, fuck. That feels ...”
His hand slid into her hair and he encouraged her to plunge her mouth up and down. “That’s it, sweetheart,” he whispered hoarsely. “Oh, sweet Lord ... I’m almost there ...”
He suddenly cupped her jaw and lifted her head. “Lily, my love,” he panted. His brow was damp with sweat. “You are amazing. But tonight, I don’t want to spend in your mouth. I want to come while I’m buried deep inside you.”
She nodded. As much as she was enjoying her newfound power over Joshua, her quim throbbed with unfulfilled need. “I want that too.”
Sitting up, he leaned forward and kissed her. His fingers swiftly loosened the fastenings at the back of her gown and within moments her breasts were free. “Gorgeous,” he murmured, cradling them in his large hands. When he brushed his thumbs over her aching nipples, her breath quickened. Her need sharpened and fresh moisture flooded her sex.
“Take me, Joshua. Fill me,” she begged. Her fingers curled into the lapels of his evening jacket and she dragged him to the floor. “Love me.”
Joshua pushed her down onto the thick Persian hearthrug. Taking his weight on one arm, he hovered over her and pushed her skirts up exposing her thighs and her sex.
&nbs
p; He slipped two of his fingers between her folds then groaned. “God, how I love how wet you are for me. The feel of you ... ” His fingers slid inside her and stroked at the same time his thumb circled her nub of pleasure.
She arched her hips and moaned in appreciation.
“The taste of you ...” He suckled her nipples in turn then skated down her body and buried his face in her quim. His hot wicked tongue arrowed into her sex then mercilessly flickered over and around her nub.
Oh. Dear. God. Lily gasped and twisted her fingers in Joshua’s hair as she came almost straightaway. She’d never felt so alive. So wanted. So loved ...
Before the last waves of rapture had ebbed, Joshua was kissing her mouth. His wonderfully long hard cock parted her swollen, nectar-slick folds and then he pushed inside her on a sure, smooth glide.
“You feel like heaven,” he whispered against her mouth.
“So do you.” She tilted her hips, wrapping her legs around his firm, tightly muscled buttocks, and he slid deeper. This connection she had with Joshua was beyond intoxicating. It was sublime.
Joshua plundered her mouth in a searing kiss as he began to stroke in and out of her. As he increased the pace of his thrusts, plunging deeper and harder, Lily gripped his wide shoulders. It wasn’t long before sweet pleasure beckoned, began to ripple and swell. And then all at once, blinding ecstasy burst to life inside her and claimed her again.
Crying Joshua’s name, her whole body tensed and her quim clenched ... and then Joshua followed her into bliss as well. On a guttural groan he came; his body shuddered and jerked, his jaw clenched and his cock pulsed inside her, his seed erupting in hot hard spurts and flooding her womb.
On a satisfied sigh, she opened her eyes and discovered Joshua was staring down at her with such wonder and naked ardor, her heart glowed.
“I love you, Lily,” he whispered. “And I cannot wait to make you my wife.”
With trembling fingers, she pushed the messy sweep of his thick hair away from his sweat-damp brow. “I love you too, Joshua Sheridan. And I cannot wait for that day either.”
They kissed again and then Lily ventured a question when Joshua’s mouth slid to her jaw. “Do you think we should return to the ballroom and share our good news?” She’d need to go to the ladies’ retiring room first and somehow tidy up. Have her hair redressed. She shivered. Maybe it would be easier if she just left a note for Aunt Winnie ...
Joshua stopped nuzzling her neck and lifted his head. “Call me selfish, but I’m of a mind to spirit you away.”
“To where?”
He smiled. “Home. My home in Grosvenor Square, Sheridan House. Which will soon officially be your home too, just like Chiltern Abbey, when you are Lady Nash.”
Lily shivered again but for a wholly different reason. It was a shiver of delight, of pure unadulterated happiness. Home.
For so long she’d yearned for a place that would truly feel like home. A place she could share with the man she loved. A place where they could raise their children, if they should be so blessed.
Tears misted her vision and Joshua frowned. “What’s wrong, dear heart?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all, darling Joshua. I’m just overjoyed that not only have I found heaven in your arms this Christmastide, I’ve also been given the greatest gift of all. Your love.”
Joshua’s blue eyes glimmered with tears too and his mouth tilted into smile so soft, it made her breath catch. “I couldn’t have put it better myself, my sweet Lily.” And then he showed her again, how much he adored her, with his kiss.
A Note from the Author
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed An Improper Christmas, please help other readers find it, too. Consider leaving a review wherever you bought the book.
About the Author
Amy Rose Bennett has always wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. An avid reader with a particular love for historical romance, it seemed only natural to write stories in her favorite genre. She has a passion for creating emotion-packed—and sometimes a little racy—stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after.
Amy loves to hear from readers. You can contact her via her website or other places she hangs out on social media.
www.AmyRoseBennett.com
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Other Titles by Amy Rose Bennett
An Improper Proposition
An Improper Liaisons Novella: Book One
Fraternizing with one’s footman—no matter how young and handsome he is—is not the done thing…but Lady Bianca Wells is going to do it anyway…
Bianca, the widowed Countess of Wells, secretly lusts after her much younger, rakishly handsome footman Harry Blake. Even though he has been in her employ for six months, she has not succumbed to her indecorous urges to take him as a lover… until one wicked night at an isolated country inn when she throws caution to the wind and offers Blake a wholly improper proposition.
Harry Blake, the bastard son of a duke and governess, is the epitome of the perfect footman, except for one thing—he fantasizes about seducing his beautiful mistress. When Lady Wells proposes that they become lovers for one night only, he is torn. Even though he wants her with every fiber of his being, he suspects that forbidden fruit once tasted, can be awfully addictive. He wonders if one night of passion will be enough, for either of them—especially now that he realizes he might very well be falling in love with his bella Bianca. But when all is said and done, Blake can hardly refuse such a tempting proposition, no matter how unwise or improper. He just prays that he can put a smile on his mistress’s beautiful face…
* * *
An Improper Governess
An Improper Liaisons Novella: Book Two
Lusting after one’s employer is certainly not the done thing when you are a governess. But Miss Abigail Adams cannot seem to help herself...
Abigail Adams, the resident governess of Hartfield Hall, might appear to be a very proper young woman, yet she secretly yearns for excitement to brighten her mundane life. And what she does want, she really shouldn’t long for—Sir Nicholas Barsby, the indecently handsome, charismatic master of Hartfield.
Sir Nicholas Barsby returns home from a tour of the Continent to discover his widowed sister-in-law has employed a decidedly delectable governess for his nieces. When it becomes blatantly apparent that the attraction is mutual, Nicholas ruthlessly decides to present Miss Adams with a thoroughly wicked proposal.
Abigail is initially shocked by Sir Nicholas’s outrageous and highly improper offer to become his mistress. Having wanton thoughts about a man is undoubtedly sinful but leading the life of a fallen woman is something else entirely. Nevertheless, falling into Sir Nicholas’s arms might just prove to be an invitation too tempting for Abigail to ignore. One thing is clear, whether she’s a governess or mistress, she must not lose her heart...
* * *
Lady Beauchamp’s Proposal
Scandalous Regency Widows: Book One
A runaway countess finds love when she least expects it… but she can’t hide from her past forever.
Elizabeth, Lady Beauchamp, fears for her life. When she discovers her dissolute and long-estranged husband has syphilis—and he wants to beget an heir no matter the cost—she flees to a remote part of Scotland to begin a new life as the widowed governess, Mrs. Beth Eliott at Eilean Tor Castle.
When Mrs. Eliott unexpectedly arrives on his doorstep, the reclusive and recently widowed Marquess of Rothsburgh is both irritated and intrigued. No longer in need of a governess—his young daughter now resides with his sister’s family in Edinburgh—he proposes the beautiful widow fill a position of a different kind…
Torn between staying true to her marriage vows and her wanton attraction to the devilishly h
andsome marquess, Elizabeth struggles against the temptation to become his mistress. But living a lie is not easy when you have fallen in love. And secrets always have a way of coming out…
* * *
The Ice Duchess
Scandalous Regency Widows: Book Two
Georgiana Dudley, the ‘Ice Duchess’, has just emerged from mourning after a nine-year marriage of convenience to the Duke of Darby, her twin brother’s lover. Deeply hurt by a scoundrel a decade ago, Georgie swore she would never turn her head for any man, let alone another rakehell. But then she encounters the wickedly handsome and all too charming Rafe Landsbury, the Earl of Markham and against her better judgment, her interest is reluctantly aroused. An affair may be impossible to resist but dare she trust Lord Markham with her most intimate secrets... and her heart?
Society believes Rafe to be a diplomat but for many years he has been working on the Continent as a spy for the Crown. Leaving the shadowy world of espionage behind, he returns to London with the intention of finding a wife. When he is paired with the frosty yet fascinating Duchess of Darby at the piquet table during a ton ball, he is intrigued. Do-or-die man that he is, he’s certainly not going to let her cool demeanor dissuade him from pursuing her.
An Improper Christmas: An Improper Liaisons Novella: Book Three Page 9