Merry Christmas, My Tess

Untitled Part 1

“Tessa, darling?” Will knocked lightly on their bedroom door, his voice dancing throughout the room. “Are you ready? They’ll be here any minute now.”

Tessa, sitting in front of the dressing room mirror, sighed, clearly frustrated, as she tried once again to pin her thick hair into place for the Christmas dinner party that would begin in a matter of moments. Will entered the room, gently closing the door behind him, and made his way towards his wife. He placed his hands on her bare shoulders, and looked at her through the mirror.

“You look lovely, my dear,” he murmured, placing a sweet, slow kiss on the back of her neck. Tessa bit her lip, and turned to Will. He was wearing one of his finer suits that Tessa had gotten him a while ago, for the dinner. She always loved the way the dark suit contrasted against his fair skin, and brought out his eyes.  Tessa raised her hand to cup his face, and ran the other through his black hair, that was now spiked with grey. She tried not to linger too much on the aging signs of her husband, and instead looked into his deep blue eyes that were just as lively and full of hope as the day she had met him.  He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes, a faint smile teasing the corners of his mouth.

“These blasted pins won’t stay in place. They keep tumbling out of my hair,” Tessa huffed, turning back around to the mirror.

“Then, don’t wear them.”

“It’s not proper, Will. There will be guests, I must look presentable,” she said, frowning.

“Tess, you do look presentable without the pins; more than presentable, beautiful.” Will watched her frown slowly dissipate, and turn into a shy smile. Heat rushed to Tessa’s cheeks, as it always did when Will complimented her on something. He grinned, clearly pleased with himself, that he could make her blush.

“But your parents and sister will be there, the Lightwoods promised to make an appearance,” she rambled on, “and Sophie is coming too, not to mention Charlotte and Henry, and Je—”  Tessa stopped, abruptly, swallowing the grief and sorrow that were already slowly creeping up her throat.

“Jem,” Will finished for her, his eyes distant, and pained, as they always were when James was mentioned. The Herondales tried not to talk about him too often; of course they told their children stories about the former shadowhunter, and how great of a man he was, but when they were alone, they tried to avoid bringing his name up, for it caused much pain and too many unwanted memories to flood back.

“Yes. Jem,” Tessa said, hesitantly, as she resumed her battle with the pins,

“My dear Tessa, you know as well as I that Jem will not mind whether your hair is up or down. He’ll still think you’re beautiful either way. He’ll still love you,” Will replied, a hint of wistfulness clouding his voice. Any other man, should his wife prepare herself to look lovely for anyone else, would have begun a quarrel or even beaten her, but not Will Herondale. The man was as in love with the Silent Brother as his wife was. The three were so intricately woven together, that not even Jem’s Silent Brotherhood could keep them apart.

Tessa placed the pins back down onto the dressing room table, and sighed. She was excited to see Jem, of course, but she knew how it would be once the day was over and Jem left.

Will took her clockwork angel and jade pendant she always wore, and placed them around her neck. He stared at her; she was so beautiful. Her big, grey eyes watched his every move carefully, and her lips were slightly parted, leaving Will breathless. Usually, she would have glamoured herself to look older, closer to Will’s age, but all the guests coming to the dinner already knew about Tessa. To anyone else, it would have been strange, even disgusting, to see a middle aged man with someone that looked like she could be in her late teens, but everyone attending knew better.

“You know,” he murmured into her ear, his hot breath tickling her skin, “if you keep looking at me like that, I’m afraid, Mrs. Herondale, that I will have no choice but to kiss you.”

Tessa turned to face him. Despite the grey in his hair, and the slight wrinkles that were starting to form around his eyes, Will was still beautiful. He always had been.

“Well, Mr. Herondale, I’m afraid that you will not have the chance to fulfill your wish, since I will be the one to kiss you.” Will’s eyes darkened, the softness, sharpening with heat and the affection in them replaced with lust. Desire. Tessa leaned forward, and pressed her lips against his. He tensed, as she smiled against his mouth, slowly moving her lips; William wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the chair, instantly relaxing. He began massaging her lips with his own, gently, at first, and then more aggressively, as he pushed her against the bedroom wall. Will slowly ran his tongue along her bottom lip, teasing her, waiting for her to give him permission to enter.  Tessa parted her mouth, gasping as his hands slid down the sides of her body, over her shoulders, outlining her breasts, and her waist. Their tongues danced together, completely in sync, twirling and stroking one another. He dipped his head lower, trailing kisses along her jaw, and then her neck, as Tessa ran her hands through his hair.

“Will,” Tessa moaned, the pressure of his mouth against her collarbone was too much. Slow heat suddenly flooded her body that spread from the pit of stomach outwards.  This was no time to be fooling around, but Tessa couldn’t bring herself to care. She tightened her grip in his hair, the smell of winter and peppermint and Christmas rolled off Will, surrounding her, as he gently sucked on her neck. The room blurred and everything slipped away, the dinner party, the guests that would arrive any minute, her children that were just downstairs, until the only thing that was left was Will. Will. Will. Will. Her perfect Will.

He slid his hands up her leg, pulling her closer, brushing his thumb on the inside of her thigh. Tessa gasped, as she ran her hands down his chest, feeling the hard plains and valleys of his muscles that tensed at her feverish touch. She pushed his suit jacket off, and he stopped touching her only to throw it to the ground. He lifted her then, drawing her legs around his waist, pushing her even harder against the wall. She tightened her grip, urging him to come closer, to continue, the heat of their bodies radiating off their skin, mingling with their heavy breaths. At this rate, they weren’t even going to make it undressed. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening and slamming shut and familiar voices drifting up the stairs, jerked Tessa back to her senses.

“William,” she breathed in between kisses, a warning in her voice. She placed her hands on his chest, and gently pushed him away, panting. She had to stop this before they both got carried away, and would have to cancel the party.

“Yes?” he asked, mockingly, looking up at her from under his thick, long lashes. His voice was husky, full of suppressed desire, his breathing heavy, as he held Tessa in place, up against the wall.

“The guests are here.”

“And?” William cocked an eyebrow, his expression questioning.

“And, we need to go down and greet them, as hosts should do.”

“They can wait a few more minutes,” he murmured, placing a slow, agonizing kiss on the flesh of her breast. “Lucie and James can take care of them for a while.”

Tessa was just about to give in, when Lucie’s voice stopped her. “Mam! Dad! Aunt Cecily and Uncle Gabriel are here!”

Tessa sighed, and pushed Will away, again. “I don’t think they will.” William groaned, as he placed her on her feet, cursing under his breath, clearly frustrated. Tessa’s lovely dress had bunched up between the two of them, and was now wrinkled, but neither Tessa, nor Will seemed to notice, as they tried to gather themselves together, to greet their guests.

They looked at one another, making sure they didn’t seem too flustered, and smiled. Will offered Tessa his elbow, and she took it, grateful for having something to steady herself on.

As the couple made their way downstairs, Tessa leaned over to Will. “We can finish what we’ve started, later tonight,” she whispered seductively, into his ear. Will’s eyes lit up, a slow grin began to form on his face.

“Well then, my dear Tessa, we better hurry along and meet our dear friends.”