A Wolfish Tryst at Christmas Read Online Free

deeper
than others of her acquaintance knew their beaus who they saw in
person on a regular basis. His personality had shown through his
writing and was as sterling and timeless as the most valuable
keepsake. She’d irrevocably fallen in love with Blake in real life
six months before, when he’d come to dinner while passing through
the area, but she’d known he was her soul mate after the first few
months of letter exchange. There’d been a certain intimacy in
exchanging letters, in discovering little tidbits about him that
she’d never have hope of doing under constant supervision during a
face-to-face courtship. It made the bond between them that much
stronger. Her fondest wish was that he felt the same
way.
    She stripped off her gloves and then
after opening the door a crack, dropped them in the hall as a
breadcrumb. Once she’d closed the door, she moved across the room,
her slippers silent on the old floorboards. Not daring to light an
oil lamp and thereby possibly alert curious family members, she
threw open the drapes. The soft, silvery moonlight glowed with the
snow cover and provided romantic illumination.
    Oh Blake, please
hurry!
    A scratching at the door alerted her
to someone’s presence. The panel creaked, indicating it swung
inward. Elizabeth spun, and as if he’d heard her unspoken cry,
Blake slipped into the room then closed the door behind him. He
clutched her gloves in one hand.
    “ You came.” She kept her
hands behind her and clutched at the cool windowsill.
    “ How could I resist?” He
turned the key in the lock then tossed her gloves on the bureau
top. “This is our time, Elizabeth, a culmination of what we’ve come
to mean to each other through letters.”
    He does feel the
same!
    She swallowed around the lump in her
throat even as she savored the charming Southern drawl that had
clung to his words. Elizabeth cleared her throat. “You are aware
what this night means?”
    Am I? As she raked her gaze over his form, she nodded. Most definitely I am.
    She continued her perusal. He looked
so dashing in his dress uniform. Brass buttons decorated the dark
blue jacket along with a gold-embroidered patch on one shoulder.
The buckle on his belt gleamed in the dim light. The crimson sash
at his side gave the somber clothing an air of gaiety and
joy.
    The saber at his side jingled as he
rested a hand on the hilt. “I am and have thought of nothing else
on the ride here.” Blake glanced around the room. “Are you? It’s a
weighty decision for both of us, and one I’m not willing to engage
in if only the physical is in play.” His long-legged strides
carried him to the connecting door of her dressing room. “I refuse
to use you merely to alleviate a need.”
    A shiver raced down her spine. A
twinge of uncertainty chased about her stomach, but she banished
it. Now was not the time for her virgin fears to overshadow his
visit. Throughout the course of their correspondence, his words had
made her feel emotions she’d never experienced with any man. How
often had she dreamed of being intimate with him? “Perhaps I have a
need too.”
    “ I understand.” He closed
the door and turned the key, effectively insuring their privacy.
“After all, I’ll be your first. If you are afraid, tell me now. The
future of our relationship does not hinge on physical
intimacy.”
    Her heart trembled. He’d always put
her wants ahead of his own. “I know this.” Despite her
inexperience, heat pushed between her thighs. “I have no regrets,
and I want you to know I’m giving myself to you freely.” She
moistened her lips as he stared at her, his eyes glittering. “It’s
my Christmas gift to you since—” Sudden tears sprang into her eyes,
blurring her vision. She blinked them away, not wishing to mar the
evening.
    He closed the distance between them
and cupped her cheek. “Why, Lizzie?”
    Her heart quivered a bit more, from
the nickname only he used or his touch she couldn’t say, and she
didn’t want