His By Christmas (Hamilton Sisters)

HIS BY CHRISTMAS

“What I feel when I kiss a woman is desire,” Jeffrey said. “I think the feelings you are describing are part of being in love.”

“But I felt nothing,” she said in a small voice. “Nothing at all. Shouldn’t I have felt
something
when William kissed me?”

“You’re not in love with him, Yvette.”

“Perhaps there’s something wrong with me,” she murmured.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.” Gently, he placed a hand under her chin, tilting her face to his. “Absolutely nothing.”

At his touch, Yvette’s pulse began to quicken. Her heart fluttered for a moment as she looked into his eyes. Her fingers itched to run along the length of his jaw, to feel the slight stubble on his cheek. What would it be like to kiss his lips? What would it feel like to be kissed by Jeffrey Eddington?

He stood so close Yvette could smell the now-familiar scent of him. Masculine. Clean. Sandalwood. A sudden crackle of excitement filled the air around them.

“Jeffrey, would you kiss me?”

Her whispered plea seemed to unlock something in him, for in the next instant he lowered his head and she closed her eyes, the sense of expectancy almost too great to bear. When his lips finally met hers, Yvette thought she would perish from the sheer pleasure of it . . .

Books by Kaitlin O’Riley

SECRETS OF A DUCHESS

ONE SINFUL NIGHT

WHEN HIS KISS IS WICKED

DESIRE IN HIS EYES

IT HAPPENED ONE CHRISTMAS

TO TEMPT AN IRISH ROGUE

HIS BY CHRISTMAS

YOURS FOR ETERNITY

(with Hannah Howell and Alexandra Ivy)

AN INVITATION TO SIN

(with Jo Beverley, Sally MacKenzie, and Vanessa Kelly)

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

His By Christmas

KAITLIN O’RILEY

ZEBRA BOOKS

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

HIS BY CHRISTMAS
Books by Kaitlin O’Riley
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
1
-
Signs of the Season
2
-
Christmas Wishes
3
-
A Gentleman’s Wager
4
-
September Rain
5
-
Secrets
6
-
Autumn Days
7
-
Pretty Packages
8
-
Unexpected Surprises
9
-
All That Glitters
10
-
Glad Tidings
11
-
Those Who Are Dear to Us
12
-
By the Firelight
13
-
The Coming Dawn
14
-
Comfort and Joy
15
-
The First Frost
16
-
Making Spirits Bright
17
-
Westward Leading
18
-
And Winter Came
19
-
The Comforts of Home
20
-
Home for the Holidays
21
-
In the Spirit
22
-
Christmas Season
23
-
Be of Good Cheer
24
-
Christmas Shopping
25
-
Twelve Days of Christmas
26
-
Two Turtle Doves
27
-
A Winter Wonderland
28
-
My True Love Gave to Me
29
-
December Night
30
-
Five Golden Rings
31
-
Ladies Dancing
32
-
Lords a’Leaping
33
-
Pipers Piping
34
-
The Night Before Christmas
35
-
Christmas Day
Copyright Page

To my little sister Jennifer

My playmate, my confidante, my best friend.

For Daisy and Rosie and twelve o’donkey and a million others.

I cannot begin to imagine my childhood, my life, without you.

Thank you for everything.

Acknowledgments

This is the last of the Hamilton series and the central theme in all of the books has been about the bonds of family and especially those between sisters. The universe has blessed me with the most incredible family in the world and the most amazing sisters, all four of them. To Jane, Maureen, Janet, and Jennifer . . . thank you for long lunches by the fire, spa days, big family dinners, Christmas shopping, endless phone calls and texts, hysterical card games, laughing until we can’t breathe, crying together, sharing clothes, calling the front seat of the car, making fun of each other, eating things we shouldn’t, trying to get me to exercise, and for being my best friends as well as my sisters. I love you so much.

I thank my many friends and family on both the east and west coasts for their continued support of my writing career and for reasons far too numerous to list: Jane Milmore, Shelley Jensen, Maureen Milmore, Janet and Scott Wheeler, Jennifer and Greg Malins, Adrienne Barbeau, Billy Van Zandt, Jeff Babey, Kim McCafferty, Michele Wiener, and Yvonne Deane. To my incredible friends at CH: Cela Lim, Gretchen Kempf, Lynn Abbott, Jill Shapiro, Jensie Kainz, and Melanie Carlisle, thank you for everything.

Thanks go to my lovely cousin, Laurence Cogger, who patiently translated into French all of Genevieve Hamilton’s comments for five books.
Merci!

I also thank the talented Rebecca Harris Zaccagnino for my beautiful website.

And as always, I give thanks to my wonderful agent, Jane Dystel, and my extraordinary editor, John Scognamiglio, for guiding my publishing journey so skillfully.

A very special thank you also goes to all the people who have read my books about the Hamilton sisters and loved them almost as much as I do.

Once again I must thank the inspiration behind the character of Jeffrey Eddington, for without him the character would have never been created. Thank you, JME, for French fries, sloe gin fizzes, and all the laughter we’ve shared together over the years, my friend.

Note to Riley

Thank you for being the best son.
I love you more than you will ever know.