Until You (41 page)

Lifting her hand from atop his, she raised it to his cheek, and then slowly slid it to the back of his neck, pulling him closer, telling him what she wanted with her eyes.

He gave her what she sought, brushing his lips softly against hers, and then deepening the kiss when she parted her lips in blatant invitation. 

 All too soon however, Ashleigh felt him start to pull away.  Stubbornly, she refused to release him, instead tightening her hold and pressing herself more firmly against him as she ran her tongue suggestively along his full lower lip. 

“Ashleigh,” he murmured against her lips.  “I…don’t think…we…”

“Make love to me Nicholas,” she said, pulling back slightly so that she could look into his eyes.  “Please.”

Damn, he couldn’t think straight when she looked at him like that.  He wanted to make love to her more than anything in the world, but despite the doctor’s assurances, he was terrified of doing anything that might jeopardize her or the baby’s wellbeing.

She saw the hesitancy in his expression, but she also saw the desire.  Boldly, she pushed herself up onto her knees beside him, and then drew up her nightdress.  Before he could move to stop her, she swiftly pulled it over her head and then tossed it to the floor.  She felt her cheeks warm as she bared herself to Nicholas’ gaze, but she didn’t try to cover her nakedness.  She watched his eyes widen and then fall to her naked breasts.

“Ashleigh…”  He fought the overwhelming urge to drag her into his arms.

“Please Nicholas, I want you.  I need you.”

Her whispered plea was his undoing.  With a low groan, he reached for her, pulling her into his arms and holding her against his chest as he devoured her soft, pliant lips and plundered the inner recess of her mouth. 

Ashleigh raked her fingers through his raven curls, arching against him as their tongues met and parried.  They kissed with a passion and intensity that left her breathless, until he gently rolled her onto her back, leaning over her, his weight resting on his forearms so as not to crush her as he gazed down at her, his eyes reflecting the depth of his love. 

“You are so beautiful,” he said, his expression full of wonder, almost as if he couldn’t believe she was real.  Slowly his gaze traveled down to her lush breasts, then moved to her rounded stomach, and then to the silken juncture of her thighs.  She was astonishingly perfect in every way.

“You do not think me fat and unappealing,” Ashleigh asked quietly, her tone lightly teasing.  Though internally, she couldn’t help but wonder if Nicholas did find her altered form unattractive.

“You are perfection,” he avowed, and then placed his lips upon the soft swell that cradled their child.

Ashleigh’s breath caught as Nicholas trailed light butterfly kisses all across the taut flesh of her stomach, his fingers splayed wide as he gently caressed the rounded curve.  When he moved his attention to her breasts, she couldn’t contain a low moan of satisfaction.

Nicholas eagerly lavished her breasts with attention, swirling his tongue around one impudent nipple, as his thumb brushed repeatedly across the other, his fingers softly kneading the plump flesh that surrounded it.

When she could no longer withstand the exquisite torture, she tangled her fingers in his hair and urged him back up to her lips. 

As Nicholas once again plundered the sweetness of her mouth, his hand slowly drifted downward along her inner thigh.  She eagerly parted for him as his hand moved to her soft, downy curls.  He caressed her until she was slick and wet and then slid one slender finger into her honeyed warmth.

Ashleigh writhed against Nicholas' touch as he aroused her to near dizzying heights with the skillful movements of his fingers.  Her hips pushed up demandingly against his hand as she buried her face in the curve of his shoulder, biting her lip to keep from crying out from the overwhelming pleasure of the intimate caress. 

Knowing she was nearing release, Nicholas withdrew from her moist heat, and moved his hands to her hips.  Rolling onto his back, he pulled her with him so that she straddled his thighs.

Ashleigh gasped at the sudden movement, splaying her hands wide across her husband’s naked chest as he purposefully settled her over his hard, throbbing erection.  Her look of surprise quickly turned to one of eager delight, as he shifted her hips and then gently slid the tip of his manhood into her moist cleft.  Clearly there was much she had yet to discover about the realm of carnal pleasure, and she was all too eager to learn.

Nicholas fought the urge to thrust forward and bury himself to the hilt.
 
Instead, gazing into her wide eyes, he pressed forward with the utmost care until he was fully seated within her velvet depths.  He hesitated then, watching her intently for any sign of discomfort.

Ashleigh felt no pain as he entered her, only a welcoming fullness as he slowly slid his entire length into her feminine sheath.  She knew he would have withdrawn if she’d given even the slightest whimper, but she felt only pleasure as he filled her completely with his thick, throbbing manhood.  She met his uncertain gaze with a smile of utter bliss.

Minutes later, after their bodies had long since settled into a gentle, timeless rhythm, Nicholas sensed that Ashleigh was near the brink of ecstasy, and with his own climax hovering on the verge, he gave one final thrust and pushed them both over the edge.
 
And for one glorious moment, their souls seemed to intertwine.   

Afterwards, as they lay within the warmth of each other’s arms, content and utterly sated, Nicholas ran his thumb along the line of Ashleigh’s jaw.  “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he uttered softly.

“Yes my love, but I shall never tire of hearing you say it,” she replied, gazing tenderly upon his beloved face.

“
Until you
, I didn’t know the true meaning of the word.”
 
He looked into her eyes, his undying love for her reflected in his own.
 
“I love you Ashleigh, and I always will.”

Ashleigh stood silently beside the baby’s cradle, mesmerized by the innocent perfection of her six-week old son, Justin Searle Nicholas Leighton, the Marquis of Kensington, the future Duke of
Sethe
.  The striking resemblance between father and son never ceased to amaze her, for Justin had inherited not only his father's coal black hair, but his beautiful blue eyes as well.  Gazing upon his sweet face, she was positive that he was the most exquisite baby ever born.  Having just been fed, she readjusted the blanket that covered him, fairly certain that her beloved son would sleep peacefully for the next few hours.  All of the activity surrounding his christening that morning, along with the overabundance of attention he had received, had clearly worn him out.

“I hope I haven’t kept you all waiting,” Ashleigh began apologetically when she entered the downstairs parlor a few minutes later, “but I just got Justin to sleep.”

Ashleigh looked toward Nicholas, who stood at the opposite end of the room, and couldn’t miss the look of pride that entered his eyes at her mention of their son.

“I should have known that my nephew was the cause of my prolonged hunger,” Brendon grouched teasingly.  “The little bugger’s had this entire house in an uproar for weeks.”

“Honestly Brendon,” Madeline admonished, rolling her eyes as she rose from her seat on the settee next to Searle.  “Justin is the sweetest, most even-tempered baby I have ever known.  You are merely put out that the maids have been paying more attention to him lately than they have to you,” she quipped cheekily.

“Alas, you have found me out, Grandmother,” Brendon responded, with a woeful smile.  “It’s true.  Thanks to my nephew, my poor ego has been crushed beyond repair.”

Ashleigh couldn’t help smiling at Brendon’s teasing remarks, for everyone knew that he spent nearly as much time with Justin as Nicholas did.  The two of them positively adored the baby and Ashleigh had no doubt that her son would soon be spoiled beyond redemption.

“Well then, Brendon, since I happen to be such a wonderful sister-in-law, I shall endeavor to re-inflate your ego by flirting with you shamelessly throughout dinner,” Ashleigh stated with a grin.

“Not too shamelessly I hope,” Nicholas murmured with a fond smile as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms lovingly around her waist.

“Perhaps if Lady Tiffany were to do the same, my ego
might
be somewhat restored,” Brendon said, winking audaciously at Tiffany, who blushed prettily in response.

Fortunately Tiffany’s father was engrossed in conversation with her Uncle James across the room and missed Brendon’s roguish comment.  However, Alex
was
standing nearby, and Ashleigh didn’t miss the sudden, telltale frown that momentarily clouded his expression as he glanced between Brendon and Tiffany.
 
Noting his look of barely disguised disgruntlement, she couldn’t help feeling a small measure of satisfaction.
 
Knowing that Tiffany had been attracted to Alex since the first time she’d seen him at the theater in London, she could hardly wait to share the telling observation with her friend.
 
Hmm, she mused, perhaps Tiffany would get her love-match after all.

Leaning back against the warmth of her husband’s chest Ashleigh glanced about the room, and as her eyes rested briefly upon each member of her family, she realized that all of her dreams had finally come true.