The Rogue’s Christmas Gift (Wicked Widows League #24)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

H arrison swallowed, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as Kat walked deeper into the parlor, closing and locking the door behind her. The sway of her hips mesmerized him. The dark green day dress clung to her sensual body like she was born to wear it.

When she pressed herself against him, Harrison lost all thought, all he could do was take her in his arms and merge his lips to hers.

Kat pulled at the flaps of his breeches as he lifted her skirts, finding smooth skin. Hot fervent kisses trailed down her neck as he sucked and nibbled.

Since she’d been staying at his home, they’d perfected the art of undressing each other, or making quick work of each other’s clothing for easier access.

“Did you really turn her and her fortune down for me?” she asked, breathing against his forehead.

Raising his head, he cupped her cheek. “When will you learn that I’ll do anything for you, Kat? I don’t give a damn about her fortune or the earldom. I only care about this—us.”

He would never stop confessing his feelings for her. He’d loved her since they were children, and he’d love her until the day he died. There was nothing Harrison would not do to prove it to her.

Her hand slipped down his breeches, taking his manhood in hand. Harrison groaned, his head falling back between his shoulders as his hands teased up her leg to the apex of her thighs.

Kat’s lips pressed against his neck, “Fuck me, Harrison.”

His heart stopped, his cock hardening in her hand. “Damn it, Kat. You can’t say such things, you minx.”

She licked his bottom lip, rendering him helpless to her feminine wiles. “I can do whatever I want. I’m not a lady.”

“Then it is a very good thing that I do not want a lady.” Crushing his mouth to hers, he pressed her against the side of the sofa.

She tugged at his manhood, her small hands sending pleasure spiraling throughout his body. Harrison pulled at the laces of her dress, freeing her glorious breasts.

He refused to stop and inquire on what this passion of theirs meant, and he dared not hope that his words to Lady Selena proved anything to Kat. Harrison would savor this moment in time, and if it was the last one, he would ever have with her, then he was damn sure going to enjoy it.

The dress fell off her shoulders, and Kat took a step back, allowing it to glide down her long, sensual body. Stepping out of the fabric, she turned away from him before she pressed her round bottom into his aching flesh.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

The heat in her gaze threatened to set him ablaze with its intensity. Removing his tailcoat, Harrison flung it across the room, not giving a damn where it landed.

Taking her by the waist, he roughly pulled her to him, his mouth on hers. Harrison kissed her like it was the last time, savoring every breath and moan that she released.

One hand cupped a full breast, the flesh heavy and tempting.

Damn it. He wished he could suckle them and worship her, later , the word was whispered in his mind. A ray of hope that he wasn’t aware of bloomed through him, and he didn’t care if it was foolish—all he could do was cling to it and wish it to come to fruition.

Kat’s hand wrapped around the hard flesh of his member. Her whimpers and soft mews of pleasure nearly ending their escapade before it could even begin.

It was as if they were young again, stealing every free moment they could together and wishing for more.

Lifting her chemise, Harrison’s mouth clamped down on the pulse point of her neck, sucking, wanting to mark her as he once had. It was a glorious site, proof that she was his. Kat had marked him in turn, declaring that everyone should know that Harrison belonged to her as well.

He did.

Wholeheartedly and completely, every single part of him was hers.

Kat ended their passionate kiss, draping her body over the arm of the sofa.

Harrison tried to ignore the siren call of her glorious round bottom, but he couldn’t stop himself from kneading and squeezing the creamy dark skin as he teased her wet entrance with his cock.

“Harrison!” she shouted as she tried to press herself against him impatiently.

Never one to deny her anything, Harrison slid inside of her heat, his head falling back as she clenched around him repeatedly. He stilled, wanting to move but terrified that if he did, he would embarrass himself and complete too soon.

When he was finally able to compose himself, Harrison set a slow steady pace. His hands firmly planted on her wide hips, as he guided her on and off his manhood.

Pulling at the confines of her stays, Kat freed herself. He lifted the chemise over her head and flung it across the room, revealing her delectable body.

Feeling like he was overdressed, he pulled at his own clothing, ripping his waistcoat and shirt off. The breeches around his ankles hindered his movement.

Reaching back, Kat grabbed his hand, Bringing him closer to her. Harrison pressed her deeper into the sofa, placing open-mouthed kisses to her shoulder.

His hips swiveled, causing him to go deeper.

“Yes! Yes,” Kat shouted, her sex pulsating around him and rendering him helpless.

He grunted in her ear. “I love you.” His voice was strained as he fought his pending orgasm.

Standing, Harrison guided her body up with his. Taking their joined fingers and pressing it to the thatch of curls of her sex, he parted her lips, finding her sweet swollen nub.

The sounds of their love making tore through the parlor and he was positive that the servants could hear them. Let them hear, let everyone in London know that she was his.

“Harder,” Kat demanded.

Her movements became more and more erratic as she tried to move herself on and off his cock.

Releasing her, Harrison, guided her to lie on her abdomen, once more. The palm of his hands roamed repeatedly from her shoulder to her delectable arse.

Sweat ran down his brow as his hips plunged repeatedly, dipping and savoring the agonizing bliss. Gritting his teeth, Harrison chased completion, hitting a spot deep inside of Kat that made her cry out beneath him.

Her back arched, giving him a glorious view of her plump derriere. Kat’s body quivered as she gasped for air, the walls of her sex gripping his cock in a tight vice, hindering all movement.

“Kat!” he rasped out through gritted teeth.

Harrison gripped the back of the sofa, his knuckles straining as he emptied inside of her. Savoring the sensation, his eyes shut so tight that his eyelids hurt from the pressure. His legs shook from the complete nirvana that assaulted him over and over, until he was spent.

Falling over her, Harrison was careful not to squash her with his weight as he traced his lips against her damp skin.

Rising, he scooped Kat into his arms, sitting on the sofa trying to catch his breath. Holding her was pure heaven as his mouth pressed against her damp forehead, her fingers playing with the thin hairs of his chest.

This was what he dreamed.

“I love you,” she whispered, stealing his very breath away. “I’ve never stopped loving you, Harrison.”

Pushing her wild curls back, Harrison fastened his lips to hers, ignoring the tears that fell freely down his own cheeks. Heat radiated from his chest, his entire body pulsating.

In that moment there was no doubt in his mind that she was his as much as he was hers.

Kitty placed her fork down, unable to finish the simple dinner that she and Harrison were taking in his rooms after their dalliance in the parlor.

Confessing her love for him in the heat of passion wasn’t Kitty’s idea of romantic. It had erupted out of her like a dormant volcano, and now all she wanted was to tell him about his son.

Christopher.

Taking a deep breath, Kitty rose from the small table overlooking the gardens. Squeezing her fingers, she gazed out into the cold winter evening.

Behind her, Harrison was finishing his meal of roast chicken and boiled potatoes, his eyes sparkled anytime he gazed at her, the corner of his mouth quirked in a knowing smile.

All that would change once Kitty told him the truth.

She tightened the belt of her dressing gown, deciding it was now or never. If everything changed between them at least she’d had four glorious days with him. It was the happiest she’d been in eight years, and Kitty would always cherish the time they’d shared secluded together in his townhouse.

Her feet led her over to him. “Harrison, I have something to tell you.”

Setting down his fork, he reached for her hand. His thumb circling her skin. The small contact of their flesh touching gave Kitty the courage to continue.

“It’s not important. All I care about is you.” He shook his head, a lone red forelock falling into his eyes.

Tears clouded her vision as an image of Christopher filled her mind. His wisps of downy red hair plastered to his small head, his clear blue eyes that had stared at her for three breaths before he stopped breathing in her arms.

“I have to tell you the truth … about your son.”

Everything stopped. Harrison’s face forming an array of emotions in mere seconds.

Confusion.

Fear.

Realization.

He jumped up, the chair wobbling vicariously from side to side.

“K-Kat.” He swallowed several times, the movement mesmerizing Kitty. “Where is he now?” Harrison whispered, his voice barely recognizable.

The room was eerily quiet as if every single thing was listening to their conversation.

Kneading her skin, Kitty tried to relieve the tightness in her chest, but there was no relief to be had. The pain that assaulted her transported her back to that fateful day nine years ago.

It had been difficult at first to move on with her life. First, she’d lost Harrison, and then she’d lost Christopher. Nothing else had mattered to her. Pleasure House saved her from grief and melancholy.

Opening and closing her mouth, Kitty played the words over in her head, finding them difficult to say even after all this time. “He died,” she rasped out, struggling to breathe past the lump that was currently sitting in her throat.

Harrison fell on the chair, nearly missing his seat, his now limp body shaking with grief.

“Harrison!” Kitty called out, rushing over to kneel in front of him, her hands enclosing his in a warm cocoon.

“W-when?” His red-rimmed eyes tore Kitty into a thousand tiny pieces.

This was what Kitty had avoided all those years. Destroying him the way that she had been destroyed when Christopher’s lifeless body laid in her arms.

It had taken both Lilias and the midwife hours to finally convince Kitty to release the babe. “Minutes after he entered the world. Christopher took three breaths and died in my arms.”

“Christopher?” His hunted gaze slammed into her.

For years she’d dreamed of hearing their son’s name on his lips. Of witnessing the emotions of knowing Kitty had honored him in the only way she knew how.

Placing his head in his hands, Harrison released a loud sob, his body shaking with the extent of his grief. Without a single thought, she cocooned him in her embrace, sharing his grief.

He scooped Kitty up, pulling her into his lap, his head buried in the crook of her neck.

Kitty’s own tears streamed down her cheeks, dampening his hair. In his arms, her broken heart healed, the hole in the pit of her abdomen closed after all that time.

“He had a head full of curly red hair with your nose and lips and the shape of my eyes.” Her eyes closed, remembering every detail of their son. “His eyes were crystal blue, but the midwife said most babes are born with blue eyes, and they would’ve changed, if he’d l-lived.” Her body quivered with the words, a sob punching out of her. “I like to imagine that his eyes would’ve been green like yours.”

Harrison rose, cupping her face with his hands. “Oh, Kat. I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone.” Pressing his lips in a thin line, he shook his head. “I should’ve been there for you, for both of you.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” She placed her hands over his. Kitty had stopped blaming Harrison long ago. Once she’d learned of his father’s part in their separation.

“Is that why you married Delcour? Did he know?” Harrison released her, pressing his cool fingers to her cheeks wiping her tears away.

He wasn’t angry with her. She’d told him the truth about Christopher and he hadn’t left or insisted she remove herself from his home.

“Yes, my father insisted that you had abandoned me. My maid reported my missed courses to my mother. It had been over three months.” She pulled at a wayward curl hanging in her face. It had been years since Kitty had thought on those dark days of her life. “Your family had rushed off in the middle of the night after your father inherited the earldom.”

Throwing his head back, Harrison released a weary sigh. “From the moment we inherited that blasted title, my entire family changed. Once we reached Nealworth Manor, my father locked me in my rooms for months. When I was finally released, you had married Delcour.” He pressed a hand to his forehead, rubbing it as if he had a headache. “I was too late. Because of them, you had to endure the birth and death of our son alone.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

His body shook anew as a fresh wave of grief assaulted him. Kitty ran her hands up and down his shirt, trying to give him some semblance of comfort.

“Surprisingly, I wasn’t alone. Lilias was by my side during my labor and after Christopher died.” The one kind act that Lilias had ever shown Kitty had been standing by her side during the most difficult time of her life.

Because of that kindness, she’d allowed the other woman to stay at Pleasure House.

“Was Delcour kind to you?” he asked, a hesitant look on his handsome face.

Rising, Kitty strolled over to stare out the window that overlooked the small garden of Hendershot House. “Jacques did not have a cruel bone in his body. I believe he thought having a wife and a child could save him from his hunger of women, but marrying me only delayed it for about two months.” She laughed, looking over her shoulder at him. “He was my friend more than he was my husband. In the end, I’m thankful that he left me Pleasure House and saved me.”

Being a Madame, Kitty had witnessed how cruelly their world treated unprotected women. Because of Jacques, Kitty and her unborn child had a home.

Harrison joined her by the window, taking her in his arms. “I’m thankful that you had Delcour. I just wish it was me,” he whispered, pressing his head to hers.

“You’re here now.” Kitty pressed a light kiss to his lips. “I was so afraid that you would be angry with me when you learned the truth about Christopher.”

He shook his head, bringing her hands to his chest. His green eyes filled with regret and sincerity. “I could never be angry with you. I’m angry with myself for allowing us to be separated.”

Kitty wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him to her. “I won’t allow you to be angry at yourself. We were young, and forces bigger than us conspired to keep us a part.”

His hands tightened on her waist. “I won’t allow anyone else to come between us ever again.” He captured her lips with his in a brief but passionate kiss. “Marry me Kat,” he begged. “You can keep your fortune. I’ll ensure that the marriage settlement clearly states that Pleasure House and all your funds will remain solely yours. I will make no claim of it, ever.”

She stumbled back, shocked by his declaration. “You’d do that for me? What about saving the earldom?”

“The earldom can hang for all I care.” He grasped her by her nape, dragging her to him. “This is all I care about. You and me, our life together and honoring our son is all that matters.” He placed a gentle kiss to her lips, causing fresh tears to fall anew. “I’d do anything as long as I am able spend the rest of my life beside you.”

“Oh, Harrison. I love you.” She threw her body against his, happiness bubbling up inside of her.

Never in her life had Kitty allowed herself to hope that she could have both Pleasure House and Harrison, but now the impossible would become her reality.