Danielle Steel - Jewels

“My God, you’re so lovely,” he whispered, and then slowly he pulled her down on the grass next to him, and they lay there, feeling each other’s passion mount until they were both frenzied.

“No … we can’t …” she said softly, as he pulled her thin silk underwear down past her knees. “We shouldn’t here …” It was the location she was objecting to, but not the act, or the person. But he couldn’t stop himself by then. He had to have her. He was exploding with desire for her, and at that exact moment, as they lay there in the brilliant sun, nothing could have stopped him. And as he entered her slowly, achingly, and then with overwhelming force, she pressed hard against him, urging him on, enticing him, torturing him with desire and then teasing him until he shouted in the still air, and then it was over.

They lay panting side by side afterwards, and he looked at her, unable to believe what they’d done, or how extraordinary it had been. He had never known anyone like her. And he knew he’d have to have her again … and again… As he looked at her he wanted her yet again, and he felt himself harden, and plunged into her without a word. The only sound he heard was her delicious moaning, until they came again, and he held her.

“My God, you’ve incredible,” he whispered to her, wondering finally if anyone had heard them, but no longer caring. He was impervious to everything except this woman who drove him to near madness.

“So are you,” she breathed at him, still feeling him throb inside her. “It’s never been like this for me,” she said, and he believed her, and then something occurred to him, and he pulled himself slowly away to see her better.

“Not even with Julian?” She shook her head, and something in her eyes told him that there was something she wasn’t saying. “Is something wrong there?” He looked hopeful and she shrugged and clung adoringly to his older brother. She had figured out long since that a lord was not a duke, and a second son was not his older brother. And she liked the idea of being a duchess, and not merely a lady.

“It’s … it’s not the same thing …” she said sadly. “I don’t know.” She shrugged, looking distressed. “Maybe there’s something wrong with him … we have no sex life …” she whispered. Phillip looked at her in astonishment, with a happy smile.

“Is that right?” He looked so pleased. Julian was a sham His reputation meant nothing. All these years of hating him. For nothing. “How amazing.”

“I used to think that … maybe he was gay.” She looked ashamed, and her extreme youth touched him. “But I don’t think he is. I think he’s just nothing.” Several thousand women would have screamed with laughter at what she had just said, but she was a better actress than any of them thought, particularly Phillip.

“I’m so sorry.” But he wasn’t sorry at all. He was thrilled. And he hated to pull away from her, and put their clothes on. He had merely unzipped his own, but they had to look for a moment in the rose bushes for her silk panties, and as they did, they laughed, wondering what his mother would think if she ever found them. “I daresay she’d think the gardener was having some fun.” He grinned, and Yvonne laughed so hard at what he said that she fell on the ground again, and rolled in the soft grass, her long lean thighs beckoning him, and he took her again without hesitation. “I daresay we should go back,” he said eventually, with regret. But his whole life had just changed, in the past two hours. “Do you suppose you could get away from him tonight for a while?” he asked, wondering where they would go. Maybe a local hotel. And then he had a better idea. The old barracks in the stables. There were still dozens of mattresses there, and blankets they used for the horses. But he couldn’t bear the thought of spending a night without her, and the forbiddenness of it made it even more enticing.

“I can try,” she said hopefully. This was the most fun she’d had since she’d gotten married… this time. And it was her specialty. The Double Entendre Extraordinaire. She loved it. Her first husband had been a twin. And she had slept with his brother, and his father, before he left her. Klaus had been more complicated, but very amusing. And Julian was sweet, but so naive. She had been bored since May. And Phillip was the best thing that had happened to her all year … possibly ever.

They walked back by the road, side by side, brushing hands, seeming to make normal conversation, but in an undertone she kept telling him how much she loved him … how good it had been … how wet she was … and how she could hardly wait until that night. … By the time they got back to the house she had driven him into a frenzy. He looked flushed and vague as Julian drove into view in the Jaguar.

“Hi there!” He waved “What have you two been up to?”

“Looking at the rose gardens,” she said sweetly.

“In this heat? You’re brave.” The young people got out of his new car then, and he noticed how hot and miserable his brother looked and he almost laughed at him, but he didn’t.

“Poor baby, did he bore you to death?” he asked, after Phillip left. “It’s just like him to drag you around the property to look at gardens on the hottest day of the year”.

“He meant well,” she whispered, and they went upstairs to make love before dinner.

Dinner that night was a jolly affair. Everyone had had a good day and was in high spirits. Cecily had managed to find some old German military saddles in the barn which fascinated her, and she even asked Sarah if she could take one back to England, and Sarah said she was welcome to anything she liked. Xavier had gotten to drive Julian’s new car, the younger children had had a good time, too, and in spite of Lorenzo being there, Isabelle looked relaxed and happy. The newlyweds seemed in fine spirits too. Phillip was a little quiet, which wasn’t unusual for him. And even the birthday girl seemed to have made her peace with what she referred to as “those appalling numbers.” But she was so happy to see them all, that suddenly the birthday seemed less important And she was sorry they would all be leaving again the following afternoon. Their visits were always so short, but at least nowadays, with Isabelle having returned to the fold, they were fairly pleasant.

They sat in the drawing room for a long time that night, Julian asking her questions about the Occupation during the war, and he was fascinated with some of her stories. Cecily wanted to know how many horses they’d had quartered there and what kind, and Yvonne kept standing behind Julian and rubbing his shoulders. Enzo was dozing in a comfortable chair, and Isabelle played cards with her youngest brother, as Phillip drank brandy and smoked cigars and stared out the window at the stables.

And then, eventually, Julian understood what Yvonne had in mind, and they disappeared upstairs quietly, with a last kiss to his mother. Cecily was the next to leave. She said she was still exhausted after her recent trip to Scotland. And eventually Phillip disappeared too Enzo dozed on, and Isabelle and Sarah chatted for a long time, after Xavier went to bed. The house was quiet, and there was a full moon. It was a beautiful night for her birthday. They had eaten cake and drunk champagne, and she loved being surrounded by her children.

And all the while, upstairs, Yvonne was using all her most exotic tricks to torture her husband. There were things she had learned in Germany that she loved to do to him that absolutely drove him crazy. And half an hour later, he was so exhausted and so sated that he was sound asleep, and she slipped quietly out of the room with a smile. She was wearing jeans, and a very skimpy T-shirt, as she ran to the stables.