A Christmas Night to Remember

by Helen Brooks

  ‘What?’ He bent his head to her, her incoherent words punctuated by convulsive shudders. ‘What did you say?’

  ‘I—I—’ Melody made a huge effort and sat up, taking the handkerchief he gave her. ‘I don’t see how you can think of me in that way. It’s like you’re talking about someone else.’

  ‘Then you’ll just have to take it on trust until I can convince you,’ he said softly. ‘And if it takes a lifetime I’ll do it. You’re mine, Dee, every bit as much as I am yours. You are the only person I could have possibly ended up with, and if we hadn’t met—if we’d missed each other somehow—I’d have gone on as I was. Happy in a way, fairly okay with myself, but with a huge reservoir inside me which would have remained untapped. I’ve heard it said that there are several people in the world that someone can love if they meet them, but it’s not that way with me. You saved me. That’s the only way I can put it.’

  He had never told her this before—not in so many words—and yet now when she thought about it she realised his whole way with her had demonstrated it from the beginning. She smiled tremulously and blew her nose, shaking back her hair from her damp face, and then lifted one trembling hand to his face. ‘I love you,’ she said very quietly. ‘I always have and I always will. There will never be anyone but you for me.’

  He smiled a singularly sweet smile as his hand covered hers. ‘Then there’s nothing we can’t overcome.’

  She nodded, relaxing into his embrace as he reached for her but knowing deep inside that she was still frightened by what lay ahead. She hated that she felt that way, but she couldn’t help it.

  He tilted her face to meet his, covering her lips in a fierce kiss of such hunger that she immediately responded to the deep, unspoken need. His mouth was still hard on hers as he stood and picked her up in his arms, carrying her into his bedroom as he crushed her against him. Lying her on the bed, he bent and stretched out beside her, but he didn’t immediately begin to undress her or himself, wrapping his arms round her in a gesture intended to comfort as he kissed her again.

  The kiss deepened, becoming one of such explosive warmth that sexual feeling flowed through her as hot and smooth as melted honey, and she sighed in pleasure, curving into him as though she would fuse their bodies together. He pulled his mouth away for a millisecond to fill his lungs, and then the sensual onslaught began anew as he tangled one large hand in her hair, continuing the magic of his kisses as his lips travelled over her cheeks, her closed eyelids, the arch of her fine brows before returning to reclaim her mouth once more.

  He kissed her for a long time as his hands roamed over her body on top of her clothes, cupping her breasts and shaping the plump mounds with his palms as his thumbs teased her nipples into hard peaks. Winter sunlight spilled onto the bed from the large window, splintered yellow against her closed eyelids which enclosed her in a world of pure sensation.

  She was aware of him divesting himself of his clothes, although his mouth barely left hers, and then he expertly removed her top and her lacy bra. His mouth moved from hers, lingering for a moment over her collarbone as his lips stroked the silky skin, and then he reached the soft fullness of her aching breasts.

  Melody moaned throatily as his mouth fastened on one erect nipple and he gave it loving attention before moving onto its twin. ‘Exquisite,’ he murmured softly. ‘Such wonderfully large rosy nipples. You taste of molasses and roses, do you know that? Sweet and scented and deliciously ripe. I want to devour you. I can’t get enough of you.’

  He continued to please her with lips and tongue until she dug her fingers into his muscled shoulders, murmuring something incoherent even to herself. It seemed impossible so much feeling, such emotion, could be contained in her body without her splintering into a million pieces.

  ‘I want to kiss every inch of you,’ he whispered, his mouth returning to her lips for a moment. From being fluid she stiffened as she felt him peeling off her leggings and lace panties, but almost immediately he was lying against her again, holding her close so her breasts came into tender contact with his chest. The friction of his body hair against her engorged breasts was tantalising, but reality had caused her to become tense in his arms and she didn’t know how to pretend. She didn’t actively resist him, but the thudding of her heart now had nothing to do with sexual desire and all to do with panic.

  He kissed her once more before he said, very softly, ‘Dee? Look at me. Open your eyes. Look at me, sweetheart.’

  She couldn’t. Ridiculous, but she couldn’t. She was too terrified of what she might read in his face. Kindness and pity would be worse than distaste.

  ‘Please, sweetheart.’ He stroked a strand of silky hair from her brow. ‘Look at me.’

  Slowly she forced her eyes open. He was smiling. Funny, in all her nightmares she hadn’t considered that, but she might have known Zeke would surprise her.

  ‘The worst is over,’ he said, sheer love shining from his eyes. ‘You’ve faced your fear and now we move on. You won’t believe you’re more beautiful and desirable to me than ever for a while. I understand that. But your scars aren’t ugly to me, darling. They remind me I’m the luckiest man in the world, because I came close to losing you and I was spared the unthinkable. I couldn’t have gone on without you. I know that.’

  Her eyes traced the contours of his face, taking in the velvet black eyes, the sloping lines that created his firm mouth, the straight solid shape of his nose. She searched each feature, looking for the barest hint of disgust but there was none. He was just her Zeke, her babe. She had always called him that, babe, although she didn’t know why. She had certainly never felt inclined to do the same with anyone else.

  Her hands had been knotted against his chest, but now they slowly uncurled as he kissed her again, his tongue rippling along her teeth until she opened to him. He wrapped the long swathe of her strawberry-blond hair around his fingers, tilting her head back slightly as he ravaged her mouth. Each movement he made exploded more desire in her veins, radiating throughout her body with a drowsy warmth that was voluptuous and sensual. She had missed him. She had missed him so much, the longing for his presence and body so intense she’d had to shut it out of her consciousness or go mad with the need. But now there was no need to fight the passion and love and desire. She could give in to those deepest inner needs.

  She closed her eyes, curving into his hard male frame and sighing with sheer ecstasy as she drifted off into a place of bliss.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MELODY stretched slightly, drowsily aware she was enclosed in a cosy cocoon. She cuddled deeper into the animal warmth that was the source of her satisfaction, her limbs heavy and relaxed. Quite when she became aware of the fact that a hard muscular forearm was curved over the dip in her waist she wasn’t sure. It could have been minutes or hours. But suddenly she was wide awake, her eyes opening.

  ‘Hi.’ Zeke’s voice was lazy and his kiss was deep and slow.

  Her green eyes stared into ebony. ‘I fell asleep.’

  He grinned, apparently not in the least put out. ‘That you did,’ he agreed smokily. ‘Which was a first for me.’

  Melody didn’t know where to put herself. The culmination of months of anguish, worry and heartache and she had fallen asleep under Zeke’s lovemaking. She hadn’t meant to. She had been there with him every inch of the way—or so she had thought. ‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured helplessly. She remembered him kissing her after he’d undressed her, reassuring her, and then… ‘I must have been more tired than I thought.’

  His grin widened. ‘But you’ve had a nap,’ he pointed out softly, enfolding her in a tender yet hungry embrace, his hands stroking down her spine from her shoulders into the concavity of her tiny waist and to the seductive flare of her hips as his tongue drew an arc round the curve of one ear before his teeth gently closed on the lobe. ‘And it hasn’t been that long. I bet the coffee is still warm in the pot out there.’

  They didn’t put it to the test. They explored each other w
ith sensual and hungry abandon, loving each other with a need which did away with any thought of shyness or restraint. Zeke’s fingers slipped down the length of her, defining her neatly rounded bottom with a languid caress as he pulled her into the hard strength of him. Even when his hands moved over the base of her spine and the tops of her legs she didn’t flinch, putting her hands to either side of his face as she pulled him down to meet her in a kiss that was as fierce as it was gentle.

  The blood in her veins rushed to nourish the surface of her skin, a rosy glow turning her flesh translucent and releasing her intimate perfume. By the time he levered his body over hers she was aching for him, the feel of his arousal an aphrodisiac in itself. She couldn’t contain the desperate little whimper of desire that broke from her lips, needing him deep inside her, wanting the feeling of oneness, of closeness.

  With one sure thrust Zeke entered the silken sheath that welcomed him, Melody’s muscles tightening to lock him into her. The rhythm of their shared passion mounted, and with each movement Melody felt they were reaffirming those vows they had taken two years ago, but with a special meaning now. Then they had been madly in love, giddy and intoxicated with the thrill of the newness of it all. Now they had come through the fire and their joining was all the more intense and passionate because of it. It was as though their very souls were merging and they were equal in their drawing strength from each other, their entwined bodied fitting together in a manner as old as time and as sweet.

  Zeke filled her completely, the sensation extremely satisfying as he built their rapture until she thought she would float right out of her body into somewhere beyond time. When the culmination came its violence sent them both over the edge of reality. In all the times they had come together—times of deep passion and erotic exploration and need—it had never been so cataclysmic, and she knew he felt it too. He held her hard against him, his body trembling with the aftermath of their lovemaking as he kept her intimately joined to him.

  ‘I love you.’ His voice was deep and warm and very sensual. ‘More than life itself.’

  ‘I love you too,’ she whispered shakily.

  He searched for something in the depths of her eyes and then kissed the tip of her nose. ‘You’re addictive, do you know that? Before I collected you from the hospital I promised myself I’d take it nice and easy. I’d just be there for you, no pressure, no strain, taking it as slow as you wanted. And now in the space of a few hours I’ve made love to you three times. My only excuse is that for the last three months I’ve lain awake each night in our bed wishing you were there with me, remembering how it was, driving myself crazy.’

  He withdrew from her body but his arms came around her, binding her to him in a constrictive circle as he whispered, ‘I can’t believe you’re here now. When I woke up earlier and found you gone…’

  She cupped his rugged face with her small hands, kissing him hard. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said gently. ‘I won’t do that again. I promise. I’m here now.’

  He kissed her back, even harder, stroking her warm flesh as he moved her against him. ‘In mind as well as body?’ he asked quietly. ‘And don’t pretend to make me feel good. I need to know how you’re feeling if we’re going to beat this thing.’

  In reply she curved her body around his, delighting in the way they fitted together. ‘I’m here,’ she repeated firmly. She slid her fingers over the damp skin on his back, powerful muscles responding under her touch before she stroked her way round to his flat belly, teasingly following the line of hair which arrowed downwards before flaring dramatically out again and providing a thick dark cradle for his masculinity. When her hand circled and caressed the erection her touch had brought forth, she smiled at him seductively. ‘Fancy making that four times you’ve forced your wicked way on me?’ she murmured throatily, kissing the corner of his mouth tenderly.

  This time their loving was long and slow and infinitely satisfying, and when they had come back from the world of intimate light and sensation, Melody lay in her husband’s arms, her whole body so relaxed it felt boneless as Zeke pulled the duvet over them. The events of the past twenty-four hours and not least the weeks of misery and anxiousness before Christmas had caught up with her, but she didn’t want to sleep again. She just needed to be with Zeke, to feel him, look at him, touch him. She felt as though she had been on a long, dangerous journey and come home. Softly, she murmured, ‘You said you had some ideas about what I can do in the future earlier?’ She twisted to face him. ‘What are they?’

  He cupped her buttocks and pulled her tightly against him, his mouth taking hers in a long kiss. When at last he released her lips he still held her close. ‘That I have,’ he agreed huskily. ‘How about I go and fetch us a drink and we’ll talk? There’s wine in the fridge.’

  She grinned at him. ‘Isn’t it a bit early in the day for wine? It isn’t even lunchtime yet.’

  ‘Not at all. It’s Christmas Day. Ordinary rules don’t apply. Besides, it’ll give you an appetite for lunch—which, incidentally, I suggest we have here in bed. In fact I see no reason for us to get up today, do you?’

  She gazed at him, loving him and thanking God that Christmas Eve had worked its magic and brought her to her senses. ‘None at all,’ she said softly.

  The wine was icy cold and delicious when he brought the bottle and two glasses back to bed, along with the rest of the presents from under the tree in their little sitting room. She opened her presents in his arms, delighting in the dainty little gold wristwatch, gossamer-thin silk nightdress and negligee, her favourite perfume and other gifts, all perfect and chosen with love. But it was the eternity ring nestled between her engagement and wedding ring her gaze kept returning to. The ring was exquisite, but it was the statement behind it that made it precious beyond words. He had bought it when she had rejected him, spurned his love and refused to listen to him, because he loved her and was determined love was eternal. And it was. Oh, it was.

  ‘Before I make my suggestions about the future, can I just say they are meant to fit in with you having my babies?’ Zeke said softly as she snuggled down in his arms again.

  Zeke’s babies. She could let herself believe it would happen now. She smiled at him, radiant in a way he hadn’t seen before and so beautiful she took his breath away. ‘That might happen sooner than you think,’ she said serenely. ‘We’ve made love four times in the middle of my cycle and I haven’t been taking the pill since I’ve been in hospital, so…’

  ‘You wouldn’t mind?’ he asked, a touch anxiously.

  She touched his face lovingly. ‘Would you?’

  ‘I can’t wait to have you barefoot and pregnant,’ he said with deep satisfaction. ‘And it would fit in well with certain changes I’ve made in my own life in the last little while.’ He smiled at her frown of enquiry before kissing her.

  He reached for their wine glasses, topping them up and handing her hers before he said, ‘A toast to the new owner of Media Enterprises—David Ellington.’

  She stared at him in amazement and shock. ‘You’ve sold your business?’ David Ellington was a mogul billionaire.

  ‘Lock, stock and barrel,’ he said cheerfully, taking a gulp of wine. ‘I should have been with you the day of the accident instead of chasing my tail over some damn crisis or other. It was a wake-up call—a terrifying one. I vowed the night of the accident that if you pulled through I’d reassess what was important in my life. So I did. It didn’t take much thought.’

  Melody was horrified. His empire was hard-won. He had built it up brick by brick and she knew he was immensely proud of what he had achieved. ‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ she whispered. ‘Can’t you change your mind?’

  ‘Too late.’ He smiled at her. ‘And it’s exactly what I should have done. You confirmed that yourself yesterday. You told me you needed to make a new life, separate from the hectic entertainment business we’ve been involved in, something that would cut out the excess of parties and other functions that took up so much of our ti
me. Independently of you I had come to the same conclusion. It would have happened sooner or later once we’d decided to start a family. The accident merely precipitated things. You were right when you said there were too many people wanting a piece of me, but wrong when you thought you were just one of them. That was never true, however you felt. I didn’t feel it was the moment to tell you I’d sold up yesterday—there were other things to sort out first. But when I said to you I could give it all up and walk away without a backward glance or any regret, it was because I had done exactly that. My world was never the business or the contacts I’d made or the power games. Not after I had met you. You are my world, Dee. We’ve spoken about a family but if the children didn’t come along for whatever reason I would still consider myself blessed among men. You’re my sun, moon and stars. The centre of my universe.’

  He touched her stricken face gently, stroking down her cheek and round her full lips with the tip of his finger. ‘I’m glad it’s gone, Dee. Truly. It was a stage of my life which was enjoyable while it happened, but I want to move on with you. It’s also made us a great deal of money,’ he added with male satisfaction. ‘More than enough for us to do anything we want for the rest of our lives.’

  She could still hardly take it in that he had actually walked away from his empire. But if he had told her instead that he intended to sell she would have thought he didn’t mean it, she realised now. Was that why he’d made it a fait accompli? She would have felt guilty, felt he was only doing it for her, and would have attempted to persuade him they could go on as they had been. Maybe he knew her better than she knew herself? On second thought there was no maybe about it.

  ‘Thank you,’ she murmured softly.

  Suddenly she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. No more premières and red carpets and first-night parties. No more relentless rounds of functions and shows and receptions where you couldn’t wear the same dress twice or the knives would be out—always in the back. Of course some of the social occasions they’d attended had been fun, and overall she had enjoyed herself and relished being on Zeke’s arm as his wife, but the accident had changed something independent of the damage to her legs, and she wouldn’t have wanted to step onto the merry-go-round again. And now she didn’t have to. But at a huge cost to Zeke.