A Christmas Night to Remember

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.’