Chapter Eleven
They’d finished their delicious meal and then Jules suggested a port in the hotel’s beautiful amber-lit lounge.
A barman with a curled, black moustache had served them from behind a long, polished mahogany bar and they’d taken seats beside a window that gave them a view of the busy Parisian street by night.
With each sip of his drink, Jules had become more desperate for the night to move on in the way he hoped it would. Every smile Meredith gave him, each funny anecdote she came out with had him falling a little bit more for her.
What was going on with him?
“Ah, Jules Habsburg, as I live and breathe.”
Jules looked up at the sound of his name. “Mr. Delaware, what a pleasant surprise.” He stood and shook hands with the tall gentleman before him. His nose was overly large, but he had a small, pointed beard that almost balanced it out.
“I presume you are here for the art exhibition tomorrow?” Mr. Delaware asked.
“Naturally.” Jules inclined his head at his fellow art collector. “And hoping for some exciting pieces.”
“Aren’t we all.” He turned to Meredith. “And you are visiting Paris with lovely company, I see.” He smiled and held out his hand to Meredith.
She set hers in his and he drew her knuckles to his lips.
Jules frowned, a sudden feeling of possession coming over him. The twinkle in Mr. Delaware’s eyes was a little too appreciative.
“Lady Eloise Habsburg, I presume?”
Jules felt as though a lead weight had dropped into his guts.
“Er… I…” Meredith frowned and looked at him.
“I see you have made an honest woman of the duke’s daughter after all his huffing and blowing.” Mr. Delaware nodded at the fake wedding ring. “Congratulations to you both.”
“This is—” Jules started.
“Meredith.” She stood, chin tilted and a flash of defiance in her eyes. “Very pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Delaware, and in such sumptuous surroundings.”
“Oh…Meredith.” Mr. Delaware frowned and turned to Jules. “Your bride?”
“And isn’t she delightful?” Jules stepped close to Meredith and slipped his hand to her waist. “I simply couldn’t resist. Couldn’t help myself.” He shrugged, going for nonchalant. “Practically ran up the altar.”
“Finally caught, old boy.” Mr. Delaware’s face broke into a grin. “Good for you, young lady, but watch him. He can weave a yarn.”
“Oh, I know that for certain.” She gave Jules a narrow-eyed look. “But I can see through them. I have a knack for seeing the real story.”
“Excellent, excellent.” Mr. Delaware rubbed his hands together and then gestured to the bar. “I would love to stay and buy you each a drink, but I’m afraid I am meeting someone.”
“Oh?” Jules was curious. “And who might that be?”
“Monsieur Francois Gérard.”
Jules was impressed.
“You have heard of him?” Meredith asked.
“Yes.” Jules nodded. “He has several pieces of note. Hopefully, we will see them tomorrow.”
“See them to purchase?” Mr. Delaware asked.
“That is for me to know and you to find out.” Jules chuckled.
“I suppose you are right.” Mr. Delaware nodded at Meredith. “I bid you goodnight, Mrs. Habsburg.”
“Thank you, and you too.”
He looked at Jules. “You are a lucky man. Not only is it a beautiful Parisian night, you have a beautiful young woman to keep you company.”
“Oh, I know I am blessed with luck. I do not deserve her. I am sure she is merely tolerating me.” Jules smiled.
Meredith laughed, the sound giving him gooseflesh. It was such an adorable, little tinkle that lit up the room and a few others turned to admire her. “You may be correct there, Mr. Delaware,” she said.
Mr. Delaware made his exit and Jules waited for Meredith to sit before he did. “I am sorry.”
“For what?” she asked.
“That he presumed you to be Lady Eloise.”
She shrugged. “Rumors swirl around you, Jules, like bees to honey. It is to be expected that people would presume.”
“But you must know that she means nothing to me. I barely know her, wouldn’t recognize her from across the street.”
“That much you have told me.”
“And you mean so much to me.” He looked into her eyes, desperate for her to believe him. “That is a truth.”
“And you mean a lot to me.” She touched the ring. “Even though this is not real.”
He didn’t speak. What could he say? She was right; it wasn’t real.
“And now rumors will start that you are married to a mysterious woman named Meredith, spotted in Paris, a possible elopement,” she said.
“Let them talk. Words can’t hurt us.”
“Now you know that isn’t true. Especially for me as a woman. Gossip could set my world on fire, make it impossible for me to ever marry.” She huffed. “If I even get offers after this. I shouldn’t have told him my even my first name.”
Jules didn’t like the thought of other men trying to woo his Meredith into marriage. “Shall we just forget about the ton, about Paris, about other people’s penchant for tittle tattle and poking their noses where they don’t belong, just for one night?”
“What do you mean?”
He took her hand and stroked his thumb over the ring. “Shall we try marriage on for size? See if it fits?”
She raised her eyebrows and her lips parted, but she didn’t speak.
“I want you, Meredith. My body craves you, but my heart also demands to be near to you. To hold your nakedness in my arms, feel your flesh on mine, our heat sharing.” He paused as his cock responded at the thought of taking her upstairs and ravishing her. “I have never felt like this before.”
“Not even in all of your years as a rake?”
“Late-night parties might be full of debauchery, but they never truly satisfy. The one magical element that hits the spot is missing…does that make sense?”
“I may spend time at the Lyon’s Den, Jules, but I am a virgin, so how could it make sense?”
He lifted her hand to his lips and inhaled the sweet scent of her flesh. “I would never take you to such a party. You are too refined, too elegant, and I wouldn’t want any other man looking at you in that way.”
“You wouldn’t?”
He kissed her knuckles, his lips lingering. “No, and please do not judge me for that, but I want you to myself.”
“For tonight?”
He looked her in the eyes and kept hold of her hands.
“For tonight only?” she asked.
“It is what I can offer, Meredith, if you will take it.”
Indecision flashed in her eyes.
“I will make it good for you, so good. I know I can. And we will never breathe a word of it afterward. The indiscretion will evaporate at dawn.”
She glanced at the floor and then out of the window. Nibbled on her bottom lip.
“You are my wife, Mrs. Habsburg. Everyone here believes that. Let me be your husband, your adoring, passionate husband who simply cannot get enough of you.” He lowered his voice. “You will be calling out my name, writhing in the pleasure of release until the small hours. You have my word.”
She set her attention on him. The depth of her eyes were liquid desire and she was breathing quicker, her breasts shifting. “Jules. I…”
“Say yes.” He smiled and leaned closer. “One tiny word and our dreams will come true.”
Meredith practically floated across the hotel lobby toward the grand staircase.
But oh, what had she just done? He was right. One tiny word had thrown caution to the wind.
Again.
Not only that, but bolts that had been rusted against her heart for so long were freeing up and sliding open.
But only for him.
Jules Habsburg.
He nodded goodnight to a fellow guest as they made their way up the staircase. His hand on the small of her back felt both possessive and full of promise.
And in the depths of her mind, she knew this was it.
Her one night before an eternity of spinsterhood.
One night to really be alive. Jules had been honest; this was all he could give her and she’d never want another.
Not now. Not now that she’d fallen for the scoundrel of the ton with all the grace of a brick hitting a puddle.
They came to their room and Jules unlocked the door.
Meredith stepped into the silence. The curtains were drawn but with a slight crack in the middle that let in the light of the streetlamps, and the bed had been turned back. She looked at it, knowing for once it was for more than sleeping.
He closed the door behind them and took off his jacket. Then he was behind her, his body heat warming her shoulders.
“Do not be afraid,” he murmured and pulled her hair to expose her neck. “This is about pleasure, nothing else.”
“I know.” That might be the case for him, but Meredith knew it was about love for her. That couldn’t be denied, not any longer.
His lips brushed her flesh and she trembled with longing. Her nipples tightened and she balled her hands into fists.
“Relax, I will guide you, my love.”
His words, and the use of love, allowed her to blow out a breath and tip her neck for more of his kisses. Each one, toward her ear sent new waves of desire rushing through her body. “Jules,” she gasped.
“You taste of all my favorite flavors,” he murmured. “I’m going to kiss you all over, every last inch. I will know all of you.”
A tremble went up her spine. Surely he didn’t mean that…but oh, what if he did?
His hands curled around her body and for a moment, he wound his fingers with hers, as though offering reassurance, and then he set to work on her bodice, slowly drawing the laces free so that it loosened around her ribs and then fell slack and gaped.
“You are perfect,” he whispered into the shell of her ear. “And I want to give you everything tonight. All the delights of the flesh.”
As he’d spoken, he’d cupped her breasts. They were exposed now and her gown slid to her waist.
“Oh…” She let her head rest against his and blew out a breath. Her nipples were hard, little points and so hot against his cool palms. “I don’t know. I…”
“No doubts, only pleasure.” He ran one hand to the hollow of her throat and kissed her cheek. “The rest of the world has ceased to exist.”
And then she was in his embrace and his lips were on hers. A gentle dance of a kiss that had his tongue probing and his head tipping to deepen their connection.
She clung to his crisp shirt and moaned softly.