even though it had been neglected and would need a lot of tender, loving care lavished upon it. But she had love in abundance now and together they had transformed the house into a beautiful home set in an even lovelier garden.
Seton still had to go away quite a bit, whenever the courts were in session, but he was at home as often as possible, openly delighting in his marriage, as much in love with Lucie as ever. He was away now, not due home until that evening. Glancing at her watch, Lucie saw that it was only four o’clock, nearly three hours before he would be home, but already she was impatient to see him.
‘I’m thirsty.’
Sam climbed onto her knee and made a grab for Lucie’s glass of wine but was firmly given some orange juice. ‘No, this is yours.’
‘When can I have wine?’
‘I’ve told you—when you’re as tall as Daddy.’ He smiled at her, knowing that she was fobbing him off, not believing that he would ever be as tall as the father who towered above him. His smile was so like Seton’s in the way he looked at her sometimes that Lucie’s heart lurched, overpoweringly full of love for them both. Having drunk his juice, Sam slipped off her lap and went over to the nearby sun-lounger, lay on it and was almost instantly asleep.
Getting up, Lucie moved the parasol until the shadow it cast protected him from the sun’s rays. Raising her hand, she pushed her hair off her cheek. She wore it shorter now, only down to her neck, but it was still straight, just curling inwards to frame her face. Looking down at her son, she felt a great wave of love and protectiveness. She was so glad she’d married Seton. So glad. Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude, and she lifted a finger to wipe them dry.
‘Hey, what’s this?’
Lucie turned at the sound of his familiar voice and found her husband framed by the open French windows. ‘Seton!’ With a joyful cry she ran to him and he caught her in his arms, lifting her off her feet and spinning her round, then bending his head to kiss her, still holding her off the ground.
‘Daddy! Daddy!’
Looking down, Seton saw that Sam had woken and he, too, had come running to greet him, clamouring for attention by pulling at his trouser leg. Laughing, he put Lucie down but kept his arm round her waist as he stooped to lift Sam so that his little face was level with his own. He was rewarded with a kiss on his cheek and the clasp of two chubby arms that went round his neck.
‘You’re home so early! I didn’t expect you for hours.’
‘They agreed to settle out of court, thank goodness. So I was able to get away and surprise you. And I find you in tears! What on earth’s the matter?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Oh, I was just getting maudlin.’
‘I’d better kiss you into feeling better, then.’
‘You’ve already had enough kisses.’
‘Nonsense. A man can’t have too many kisses. You remember that, Sam.’
‘OK,’ his son said happily, and gave him another, very noisy kiss, which made them laugh.
‘Sit down and I’ll get you a drink,’ Lucie invited. ‘Then you can tell me about the case.’
Seton sat down in her vacated chair, Sam on his lap, and accepted the drink gratefully. But he didn’t talk about the case, beyond repeating that it had been settled to his client’s advantage. He never did talk about his cases in detail; to Seton, being a lawyer was like being a doctor: anything told to him was always in complete confidence.
He dealt in civil law not criminal, and sometimes cases—fraud, for example—could last quite a while, so it was always good when they finished earlier than expected. Sam was looking at him expectantly, although he didn’t ask, and after a few minutes Seton smiled, reached into his pocket and brought out a wrapped parcel which he gave to the boy. Sam opened it excitedly, to reveal a brightly coloured pencil with a rubber figure fixed on the top. He gave a crow of pleasure, gave his father another kiss, then demanded that Lucie find him some paper he could draw on.
When he was settled at the table, Seton opened his briefcase and took out a bottle of scent for Lucie.
She had pulled another chair up close to his and took his hand as she leaned forward to thank him. Their eyes met, held, were full of promise. ‘How did you know I’d almost run out?’
He smiled at her lazily. ‘It’s noticing things like that that earns a man Brownie points.’ Getting to his feet, Seton drew Lucie back inside the house, his eyes already darkening as he took her into his arms to kiss her hungrily. ‘God, I’ve missed you,’ he muttered against her mouth.
‘It’s only been a few days,’ Lucie laughed.
‘Nearer a week. A whole week of loneliness, of wanting you, longing for you. Of dreaming about you.’ He was kissing her as he spoke, on her throat, the line of her jaw, pushing aside the top of her dress to kiss and caress the fullness of her breasts. ‘Let’s go to bed,’ he said thickly.
Returning his embrace with a passion fuelled by her own longing, Lucie said, ‘It’s so early. What about Sam?’
‘He’s happy enough for the moment. Come on. Come on!’
She let him take her by the hand and lead her upstairs to their bedroom. There was no need to draw the curtains; the house was too isolated for anyone to see. Immediately they were inside they began to undress each other, as eager for this as they had always been, time and familiarity having in no way diminished the fire that swept through them as they touched, clung, caressed.
‘My darling. My love.’ Seton was on his knees before her, taking off the last of her clothes. He kissed her deeply, so intimately that Lucie threw back her head in a long, uncontrollable moan. He rose, his hands sliding up her legs and thighs, his breath already rasping in anticipation. For a moment he held her close against him, letting her feel the hardness of his arrant masculinity, of his desperate need for her.
It drove them both wild.
‘Seton!’ Lucie moved against him. ‘I want you so much. Please. Please.’
With a groan he carried her to the bed, laid her on it and, too eager for finesse, immediately took her, entering her welcoming warmth with abandoned pleasure. Lucie arched to meet him, feeling his hot skin against her own, their panting, moaning breaths mingling as they kissed, her arms around him as she held him close.
It was always like this when he had been away, their eagerness to make love, this almost savage urgency. Lucie felt excitement flare, cried out his name as the exquisite pleasure increased, until it engulfed her entirely and the whole wonderful world was contained in this long moment of ecstatic sensuality.
They made love again later that night, after putting Sam to bed and eating a leisurely dinner together. In some ways that second time was almost as exciting as the first, because they knew it was going to happen, because they deliberately prolonged the moment until they went up to their bedroom again. Lucie bathed, put on a long white nightdress that was almost demure and sat at her dressing table to brush her hair. But Seton took the brush from her, as he loved to do, and made each stroke one of admiration and intimacy.
This time they made love far more slowly, each knowing what the other liked most, what gave them the greatest excitement and pleasure.
