by James, E L
And without words we embrace our reunion, her passion taking me by surprise. She’s unleashed; her fingers, hands, tongue and lips are on me. And mine on her.
I’m lost.
And found.
Oh, the feel of her.
And when she throws her head back in ecstasy, I cover her mouth to stifle her cries and bury my face in her soft, lush hair and join her.
* * *
When we’re quiet once more, she nestles in my arms, her body entwined with mine as she dozes. She must be exhausted.
I let my contentment seep into my bones.
I’ve got her back. The love of my life is with me, where she belongs. Although if her father knew she was here, he’d shoot us both, I’m sure.
Watching her with her parents these last few hours, I’ve learned so much about her. Her emotional reunion with her mother—and her father—was affecting. I think he does love her. Very much.
But it seems like she’s been fighting against her upbringing since before I met her, fighting to be her own person. And she’s succeeded. Plus, she’s taken me on an epic journey of self-discovery with her. I want to spend the rest of my life with this woman. I love her so much, and I want to give her the world. She deserves nothing less.
She stirs, and her eyes open. She beams up at me, her smile illuminating the room.
“I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you,” she responds, reaching up to caress my cheek, her fingers tickling my stubble. “Thank you for not giving up on me.” Her voice is as soft as a summer breeze.
“Never. I’ve got you. Always.”
“And I’ve got you.”
“I think your dad will shoot me if he finds you here.”
“No, he’ll shoot me. I think he likes you.”
“He likes my title.”
“Maybe.”
“Are you okay?” I’m serious now, my voice dropping as I search her face for clues of what she’s endured for the past couple of days.
“Now that I’m with you, I am.”
“I’ll kill him if he ever comes near you again.”
She puts her finger on my lips. “Let’s not speak of him.”
“Okay.”
“I am sorry. For the lie.”
“Lie? About the pregnancy?”
She nods.
“Alessia, it was genius. Besides, I wouldn’t mind some kids.”
An heir and a spare.
She smiles and, leaning up, kisses me, tempting and teasing my lips with her tongue, and I’m hungry for more.
I ease her onto her back to make love to her once again.
Mindful. Beautiful. Fulfilling. Love.
As it should be.
Later this week we’ll be married.
I can’t wait.
I just have to tell my mother….
Alessia’s Music
Chapter Two
“Le Coucou” by Louis-Claude Daquin (Alessia’s warm-up piece)
Prelude no. 2 in C Minor, BWV847, by J. S. Bach (Alessia’s angry Bach prelude)
Chapter Four
Prelude no. 3 in C-sharp Major, BWV848, by J. S. Bach
Chapter Six
Prelude and Fugue no. 15 in G Major, BWV884, by J. S. Bach
Prelude no. 3 in C-sharp Major, BWV872, by J. S. Bach
Chapter Seven
Années de Pèlerinage, 3ème année, S. 163 IV, “Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este,” by Franz Liszt
Chapter Twelve
Prelude no. 2 in C Minor, BWV847, by J. S. Bach
Chapter Thirteen
Prelude no. 8 in E-flat Minor, BWV853, by J. S. Bach
Chapter Eighteen
Piano Concerto no. 2 in C Minor, op. 18-1 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Chapter Twenty-Three
Prelude no. 15 in D-flat (“Raindrop”) by Frédéric Chopin
“Le Coucou” by Louis-Claude Daquin
Piano Sonata no. 17 in D Minor, op. 31, no. 2 (“Tempest” III) by Ludwig van Beethoven
Chapter Twenty-Six
Prelude no. 23 in B Major, BWV868, by J. S. Bach
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Prelude no. 6 in D Minor, BWV851, by J. S. Bach
Acknowledgments
To my publisher, editor, and dear friend, Anne Messitte, thank you. For Everything.
I am indebted to all the team at Knopf and Vintage. In your attention to detail, your dedication, and your support, you go above and beyond. You do a fantastic job. Special thanks to Tony Chirico, Lydia Buechler, Paul Bogaards, Russell Perreault, Amy Brosey, Jessica Deitcher, Katherine Hourigan, Andy Hughes, Beth Lamb, Annie Lock, Maureen Sugden, Irena Vukov-Kendes, Megan Wilson, and Chris Zucker.
To Selina Walker, Susan Sandon, and all the team at Cornerstone, thank you for all your excellent work, enthusiasm, and good humour. It is much appreciated.
Thank you to Manushaqe Bako for the Albanian translations.
Thank you to my husband and my rock, Niall Leonard, for first edits and countless cups of tea.
Thank you to Valerie Hoskins, my unprecedented agent, for your mindful counsel and all the jokes.
Thank you to Nicki Kennedy and the crew at ILA.
Thank you to Julie McQueen for having my back.
Thank you to Grant Bavister from the Crown Office, Chris Eccles from Griffiths Eccles LLP, Chris Schofield, and Anne Filkins for advice on earldoms, heraldry, trusts, and property matters.
Huge thanks to James Leonard for his tuition in the language of posh young Englishmen.
For all the advice on clay pigeon shooting, thank you, Daniel Mitchell and Jack Leonard.
To my beta readers, Kathleen Blandino and Kelly Beckstrom, and to my pre-readers Ruth Clampett, Liv Morris, and Jenn Watson—thank you all for the feedback, and for being there.
To the Bunker—it’s been nearly ten years now—thank you for joining me on this journey. My author friends—you know who you are. Thank you for inspiring me every day. And to the residents of Bunker 3.0, thank you for your constant support.
Major and Minor, thank you, for the help with the music, and for being exceptional young men. Shine bright, you beautiful boys. You make me so proud.
And finally, I will forever be grateful to everyone who has read my books, watched the movies, and enjoyed my stories. Without you this amazing adventure would not have been possible.
ABOUT E L JAMES
E L James is an incurable romantic and a self-confessed fangirl. After twenty-five years of working in television, she decided to pursue a childhood dream and write stories that readers could take to their hearts. The result was the controversial and sensuous romance Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. In 2015, she published the #1 bestseller Grey, the story of Fifty Shades of Grey from the perspective of Christian Grey, and in 2017, the chart-topping Darker, the second part of the Fifty Shades story from Christian’s point of view. Her books have been published in fifty languages and have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.
E L James has been recognized as one of Time magazine’s “Most Influential People in the World” and Publishers Weekly’s “Person of the Year.” Fifty Shades of Grey stayed on The New York Times Best Seller List for 133 consecutive weeks. Fifty Shades Freed won the Goodreads Choice Award (2012), and Fifty Shades of Grey was selected as one of the 100 Great Reads, as voted by readers, in PBS’s The Great American Read (2018). Darker has been long-listed for the 2019 International DUBLIN Literary Award.
She coproduced for Universal Studios the Fifty Shades movies, which made more than a billion dollars at the box office. The third installment, Fifty Shades Freed, won the People’s Choice Award for Drama in 2018.
E L James is blessed with two wonderful sons and lives with her husband, the novelist an
d screenwriter Niall Leonard, and their West Highland terriers in the leafy suburbs of West London.
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