UnexpectedChristmas

by Jean Hart Stewart

  Still, he couldn’t sorry for anything except that he hadn’t pleasured her. Perhaps tonight he could show her how her own body could please her.

  But only with his hand and lips, of course.

  Damn it, he’d better go split some more wood.

  * * * * *

  By the time he’d stoked the banked fires in both the kitchen stove and the main fireplace, he was considerably worried. There were few more logs to split. He estimated that with care they had enough to get through another day. Surely someone would rescue them before a third day had passed.

  He sat as close to the embers as he could get. Caro was bustling around in the kitchen with considerable clanging of pots and pans. He’d wait until she spoke to him to enter the kitchen and add enough wood to the stove so she could cook more of those blasted eggs. Then perhaps they should limit themselves to the fire in the fireplace. That would help stretch the supply. Cursing silently, he sat and waited for Caro to call him for breakfast. No matter what, he would not allow that precious girl to perish.

  * * * * *

  She finally came out of the kitchen, his greatcoat draped around her slight frame. As soon as she saw him, though, she gave him the sweetest smile he could remember.

  “That was such a good solution. I felt much warmer after you showed me things I never knew could be so pleasurable.”

  He was almost too stunned to answer.

  “Don’t thank me too soon, Caro. I enjoyed it more than you know.”

  She didn’t seem to think his remark odd, as she took the coat from around her shoulders and handed it to him. Thank god she hadn’t noticed his cock again pushing against his pants. Damn if just the sight of her didn’t give him an erection. And this time he couldn’t satisfy it. He knew nothing but thrusting into her body would satisfy him now.

  “Here. You’ll need it to go get the wood. I will do very well to get breakfast started.”

  He couldn’t bear to tell her his worries about the wood running out. He’d try to limit the use as much as he could, and if they were rescued tomorrow they would be all right.

  Surely at least the innkeeper should return tomorrow. It hadn’t snowed all day yesterday and roads should be getting more passable.

  “I’ve got good and bad news,” he said lightly. “We are almost out of eggs. That’s good because I don’t think I’ll be able to face eggs for months after we leave here. It also means we can bank the fires after breakfast and save more of the wood supply. The bad news is we’re down to cheese and a little bread.”

  Instead of breaking into “Oh my,” or whatever distressed females say, she sat silently thinking.

  “We never investigated under the bar itself. Do you suppose there’s anything edible behind the counter?”

  He blew out his breath. “My dear girl, once again you astonish me. Let’s go see.”

  They found a large canister of walnuts in the shell and a tin of crackers.

  He grabbed her to him to kiss her hair but just then she turned up her face to answer him and he found himself kissing her lips. His hot, possessive embrace would have her protesting if she knew what it meant. She clung to his coat lapels and returned the kiss in an untutored way, exciting him even more, but he managed to tamp down his again roaring libido and take a step back.

  “Caro, my dear girl, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

  She surprised him by blushing, even though this transgression was no worse than his others.

  “I wasn’t frightened,” was all she said.

  She busied herself setting the crackers and peanuts on top of the bar.

  “If there are nuts there’s bound to be a way to crack them. Let me look again on the lower shelves.”

  A moment later she straightened with a rusty nutcracker, her face beaming.

  “As long as we have water, we’ll be fine. And some heat, of course. Shall I go cook the last of the eggs now? We might as well have a hearty breakfast. For lunch and dinner we can always have peanuts and cheese and crackers. Just think how our diet has improved with nutritious peanuts, Sebastian.”

  She sailed off to the kitchen and he stared after her.

  Again he was tempted to tell her they only had a day’s supply of wood left and again he resisted. He wanted her as happy as possible, and again he wondered at his unusual concern. He followed her into the kitchen, admiring how deftly she had learned to cook the eggs. This surprising girl was without a doubt equal to anything she tackled.

  * * * * *

  The nuts turned out to be more filling than he’d expected. As he sat cracking the last ones she’d allotted to him, she suggested he go chop more wood while she cleaned up their dishes.

  “Then I think I want to make snowballs. I haven’t done that for so long and I pack a wicked snowball. When you get through you can join me for a snowball fight.”

  “I’ll join you right now, Caro. I’ve split all the wood that’s there. I’ll bet I can make a harder snowball than you.”

  She looked at him, grinned, and said nothing at all, although her grave eyes told him she realized the seriousness of their situation. She went upstairs to don her shabby cloak. How he’d love to dress her as she deserved to be dressed. Have her gorgeous hair properly coiffed. Give her the jewels to match her lovely new clothes. If she weren’t so obviously a lady he’d set her up in the little house he kept in St. John’s Woods. Thinking of how she’d react to such a proposition made him smile again. He’d be lucky to escape with his masculinity intact.

  He went outside to make his first snowball in at least ten years. What a girl she was, to take the news they’d soon be freezing again. And going out in the snow like an eager child to claim what joy she could. No wonder she fascinated him.

  * * * * *

  When she joined him she surprised him once again.

  “Oh just feel how soft the snow is.”

  With a little jump, she laid herself flat on the snowy surface and smiled up at him.

  “Did you ever make snow angels? I used to love to do them when the snow was just right—enough to hold you up but not let you sink.”

  She began sweeping her arms up and down to make the angel wings and his heart nearly stopped. Her beautiful face was aglow with pleasure. He’d never seen a lovelier sight.

  “Where did you make angels, Caro?”

  His voice must have been soft enough not to alarm her as she almost dreamily answered, “At Throckborn Hall, of course. We always spent Christmas there.”

  Not wanting to stop her reminiscing, he only said, “Of course.”

  Still, something alerted her and she jumped to her feet and threw a snowball that hit him squarely on his forehead.

  “Look to yourself, my lord Sebastian. I love a good snow fight.”

  He knew he was grinning as he began to form a tight snowball.

  And the fight was on.

  * * * * *

  Ten minutes later Caro acknowledged defeat.

  “If I could I’d hold out longer but I’m exhausted. I don’t think I could pack another snowball. It’s only that you have more strength, my lord, not that you have superior strategy.”

  She stood, panting and smiling, and his heart betrayed him once again. His heart and his swollen cock. How he could grow so large with so little encouragement and snow down his shirt and neck he didn’t know.

  Why did this one girl have such power over him? Surely it was only because there was no other distractions when they were so isolated.

  He smiled a devilish grin.

  “Did we set a forfeit for the loser? No, we did not. I therefore claim my winner’s prize.”

  There in the snow he took her in his arms and kissed her with the passion that had been building for the last two days. Ever since she’d raised those glorious eyes. Greatcoats, capes, snow coating both their faces and hair, nothing could dim his kiss and her passionate response.

  When he could breathe again he did not release his hold on her.

  “C
aro, do you know where this is going? Do you even begin to know how much I want you? I can’t promise to hold back tonight.”

  She was silent even as she snuggled as close to him as she could get.

  “Yes, I think I do. It’s not nearly as much as I want you, Sebastian. But if I surrender we both know what that means. I’m not worthy of your notice in the ton, where you shine. And I’m not really cut out to be a mistress. I need to think.”

  He buried his face in her hair.

  “Ah, Caro. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted another woman.”

  She moved away from him.

  “I’m not sure that’s enough, Sebastian. Maybe for you. But maybe not for me.”

  She struggled through the snowdrifts to the door of that disreputable inn and then disappeared.

  He stared after her. He’d told the truth when he said he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted another woman. That was clear even to his muddled head. But how to claim her without violating her considerable pride he did not know. And if he destroyed her shining integrity, would he still desire her?

  Far more important, would she still value herself?

  Her frank response had amazed him. Her integrity would be intact, no matter what she decided. He didn’t have to worry about that.

  He’d never met such an honest woman.

  He couldn’t see his desire fading, even though his history told him otherwise. He had a distinct impression his passion for Caro was of a different dimension.

  But how did a simple man know?

  He went back to bringing in the last of the logs and banking the fire in the kitchen stove to make it last as long as possible. With the eggs gone, they could go back to using the main fireplace. At least that provided a modicum of heat to the bedrooms above. At the thought of the coming night, he almost felt despair. He did not dare get in bed with her again. He’d be on top of her in a minute, parting those luscious legs and making her his. He had no more resistance left.

  He couldn’t do that to Caro. Yet he wanted to be near her while he could.

  He’d sleep on the floor and hope his extra body heat would warm the room a little. He’d also hope they were rescued before another night. They’d better be. They’d starve and freeze, were they not. And he’d have taken her in every position he knew. On her back, on her knees, against the wall with her legs clinging around his waist.

  Probably for her he’d even invent some new ones.

  She was so damn gorgeous, both in looks and in character.

  Where he’d gotten his sudden scruples from he didn’t know. He could fuck her, leave her, and no one would know. She didn’t have any influence to stop him. She had no power in the world he lived in. He could laugh off any claim she made.

  Impossible.

  He could not do that to Caro.

  He’d sleep on the goddamn floor, goddamn it.

  This time he’d stay there.

  * * * * *

  He’d not taken into account the full effect that being in the same small room with her would have. He’d brought his one pillow from the bed and placed in on the floor. He left all but one of the blasted, meager blankets on the bed. For her. He was a grown man, by god. He could spend one night on a freezing cold floor without any lasting damage. She needed to sleep.

  He was still aroused as hell. He wanted nothing more than to join her in that miserable bed, roll her under him and slake his desire. Still he arranged his pillow and one blanket, determined to freeze if he must but leave Caro unviolated.

  He’d not reckoned with Caro. His delightful, unpredictable Caro.

  “Sebastian, what on earth are you doing? You can’t sleep on the floor.”

  He ground his teeth.

  “I think it’s best this way, Caro. If I join you I’ll make you mine in every physical sense of the word. Using your hand will not be enough. You inflame me, Caro. But you’re a lady in every way that counts. I can offer you nothing but my body. Go to sleep and be thankful I’m at least a modicum of a gentleman.”

  There was a long silence and then Caro spoke.

  “Come to bed, Sebastian.”

  Unable to utter a word, Sebastian closed his eyes and prayed for a strength to resist that did not come.

  He rose slowly from the floor, the blanket trailing from one hand. Too late he wondered if he should have draped it around him to hide his fully erect cock. No matter, she’d seen it before. But this time he needed it in her beautiful body.

  “Ah, Caro. My beautiful Caro. Do you know what you’re doing?”

  He threw the blanket on the bed as he approached. Caro sat upright, watching him with shuttered eyes and a half smile on her lips.

  “Yes. I’ve thought about this all day. I will never have the chance to know love if I do not know it now with you. There will be no repercussions or regrets, Sebastian. I doubt I’ll ever desire another man as I do you. I want you to teach me about love. I want beautiful memories to last me through the years. You can make me a wonderful present in this season of Christmas giving.”

  Sebastian’s mind was in turmoil. This wonderful girl, wanting only him? As a gift to her? Did she then have no idea of her beauty?

  Caro’s golden hair cascaded over her shoulders and her eyes smoldered with a passion he doubted she recognized.

  “Ah, Caro.”

  He joined her in the bed and threw the blanket back so he could cover her body with his. Capturing her lips with his own, he tried to part them and insert his tongue. Her sudden recoil made him realize that no matter now insistent his desire, she needed to be led gently along. She was a novice at the game of love.

  Damn, slowing his rampant body down was going to be hell. His cock urged him to plunge into her at once, to teach her every delight he knew, whether she was ready or not. Shocked at his thoughts, he pressed his forehead against hers. He was not a barbarian, even though she made him wonder if he had the strength he needed to keep from being one.

  He framed her face with his hands, his lips moving around her cheeks and forehead and finally settling on her mouth. This time she parted her lips and he slid in his tongue, tasting all her sweet crevices. In spite of the fact this type of kissing was obviously new to her, she soon seemed to relish it and tried to follow his every movement. Their tongues tangled in an erotic dance that left them both trembling. Somehow her innocent eagerness was far more sensual than any caresses he’d received from experienced partners.

  By all the saints, how was he going to slow himself down enough that she would find pleasure? It seemed to him he’d known and wanted her forever, not just for three days.

  It was far too cold to strip her naked but he let his hands rove where they would, feeling if not seeing the delicious curve of her hips, her small waist and flat stomach and finally, good lord, her perfect breasts. Plump yet not too big to lift in his hands. He pulled down her gown enough to kiss them, thinking the room was far warmer than it had been.

  She was trembling against him, flexing her body to touch him anyplace she could. She thrust her hips against him and he nearly exploded on the spot. Suddenly she stopped, looking up at him with great, questioning eyes. And he knew she’d felt the huge hard lump of flesh between his legs and was wondering if would fit. Even last night he’d not been this large. He held her hands with one of his, exploring her beautiful body with the other. When he reached her mound he felt the thick crisp curls and concentrated on caressing them, gradually finding the little nubbin protruding from her folds.

  She freed one hand and tried to stop him but he took her hand away and caressed her most sensitive spot until he felt her warm juices and knew she was ready. He entered her then, going as slowly as he could until he was seated deep within her. She gasped but made no other sound. Her body clutched his in reaction and he knew he’d never felt such tightness. He laid his forehead against hers and fought to keep from climaxing at once.

  “Caro,” he groaned. “Just hold still for a moment.”

  “But I need to mo
ve. I love the feel of your big body, although I do wish I could see it.”

  “Probably a good thing you can’t. Caro, hold still.”

  To both his pleasure and his chagrin, she rotated her hips and he climaxed in a burst of pleasure such as he could not remember.

  She stilled immediately, although the walls of her vagina clenched his cock. She was so hot, so tight, he could have plunged in and come again but he did not. She had been a virgin, for god’s sake. He lowered his forehead to hers and waited for the waves of pleasure to calm. Then he kissed her lips, gently and with regret.

  “I’m so sorry, my love. That was inexcusable of me. Give me a few moments and I’ll try to do right by you.”

  She said nothing but her eyes still searched his face.

  Finally she sighed. “I much enjoyed the first part, Sebastian. Don’t feel bad.”

  She could not have said anything more provocative if she’d tried. Or more humiliating. He grinned in spite of himself. Thank all the gods that be she had no idea of the power she could have over a man.

  “I see I’ll have to redeem myself, my beautiful Caro. No, don’t move. You’re so lovely I want you again.”

  Looking down at her puzzled face, he wondered if he would ever stop wanting her. Her cunt had gripped his prick with a tightness he knew he’d long remember. Never had a woman brought him such pleasure, and he wondered if another woman ever could. Shutting off such unwelcome thoughts, he moved over her once again.

  “Sebastian?”

  “This time you will find more pleasure, Caro, I promise you. Let me kiss you, love. Part your lips and let me in.”

  He kept a ruthless check on his desire to plunder her like a savage. Dear saints and devils, what had happened to his famed nonchalance when dealing with beddable females? The answer flashed into his mind, although he tried to push it away. She was no ordinary female. She was his love.

  He set himself about the pleasurable task of bringing her to the peak of desire. He used every skill he possessed, stroking and kissing his way down her body. He focused first on her breasts, sucking her nipples while she moaned in pleasure. Then he kissed any part of her flesh he could reach. Her skin fascinated him, with its soft texture and the unconscious way she flushed when he caressed her hips with knowing fingers, stroking the smooth curves and then moving to the enticing hollows under her knees. He flipped her over and kissed the soft skin there and then turned her on her back again, sucking and laving her navel with his tongue.