A/N: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYBODY! I actually hope that you've been cuddled up all day with your special someone and that you're actually reading this last chapter on February 15th instead! ;-)

Disclaimer: They still belong to Julian but PLEASE…They are having a much better time here in their romantic rendezvous!

VALENTINE'S RINGTONES

Chapter 3 - Lots of lovemaking but no annoying ringtones in this chapter! ;-)

It had been a VERY long day. They'd arrived home just after eleven o'clock and both collapsed on the sofa in front of the parlor fireplace. They sat in silence, enjoying the quiet and the nearness of each other. The single chime of the grandfather clock in the foyer rang the half hour and Elsie reached over to rub the back of his hand.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Love," she said softly. He lifted her hand and grazed his lips across her knuckles.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he said as he leaned over to kiss her temple. "It's been a very long day with two very interesting clients. What say you go up and get ready for bed and I'll make us a pot of tea and bring it up?"

"That sounds lovely," she said stretching and rising from the sofa and pulling him up to stand beside her. She stepped closer to encircle his waist with her arms and snuggle her head in the crook of his neck below his chin. "Don't be long?"

He leaned down and placed a warm and tender kiss upon her lips. "Not long, I promise." He swatted her bottom as she turned towards the stairs and he headed to the kitchen.

-o O o-

He took the silver tea tray from the cupboard and reached over to retrieve the white linen cloth that he hung amongst his aprons to keep her from noticing the small barely pink hearts embroidered on it. He wasn't sure when he first purchased the cloth but Ms. Daisy Robinson-Mason assured him that it was 'just the ticket' for a romantic Valentine rendezvous!

He could hear her singing softly to herself as she walked across the hall to the spare bedroom. Since she had moved in with him, he'd found that his 'large' walk-in closet wasn't nearly large enough and she had 'moved in' to the walk-in closet in the spare room. He chuckled to himself as he bent to retrieve the items that he had secreted in the back of the bottom drawer of the refrigerator. He finished arranging the tray and headed quietly up the stairs.

When he arrived in their bedroom, he could hear the shower running so he set the tray on the bedside table and surveyed the room. She had lit candles on the dresser and mantle above the fireplace and left the firescreen open for him to set the fire. When he stood up from the fireplace and closed the screen, he saw that she'd left his silk pyjamas and his electric razor sitting on the foot of the bed. He took that as a signal that he should not join her in the shower but that he should ready himself for bed…and he was not to have a 'five o'clock shadow' when she arrived.

He took off his suit and hung it in the closet and tossed his shirt and underclothes into the laundry hamper. He pulled on the silk pyjama trousers but couldn't find the shirt. He looked in the dresser and then looked under the bed to see if it had slipped off the quilt and fallen to the floor but it was nowhere to be found. He picked up the razor and started running it over his cheeks and chin as he stepped over and turned the satellite radio to the jazz station that she liked so well. He had just popped the cork on the wine bottle when he looked up to see her lounging against the bathroom doorframe wearing his pyjama shirt.

"Champagne," she murmured as he poured out two glasses of the wine, "and chocolate covered strawberries, my favorites."

"Only the best for you, love," he said seductively as he walked over and slid his hands down her back to squeeze her bottom. She leaned against his chest with a sigh and smoothed her hands up and down his bare back.

His hands had made several trips up and down when he pulled away with a puzzled look on his face. "What are you wearing under that pyjama shirt?"

"Your Valentine's Day gift," she giggled and pulled him back against her chest. "Are you going to open it?"

"Patience my little minx," he said smiling down at her, "I think a little champagne would be in order at the moment." He led her over to the bed and after he'd taken his place lounging against the headboard, he pulled her over to face him and straddle his hips. He handed her a champagne flute which they shared as they cuddled and relaxed.

He smoothed a hand up the outside of her thigh and under the pyjama shirt grunting in displeasure, "You're wearing knickers."

He felt her warm breath gust against his chest in a soft snort, "They were part of the gift."

"Maybe I should have a look at this gift to see if I like it." He started to tickle her when she resisted his nudges to give him access to the buttons.

She giggled as she sat up and started unbuttoning the pyjama shirt, "It's not like you haven't seen it before."

"Pardon?"

"You left it in my briefcase this evening," she said as she slid the shirt off her shoulders to reveal the claret nightee that he'd been admiring at Victoria Secret.

He looked at her with an amused grin, "I think that was a gift from Isobel." The look on Elsie's face suddenly turned murderous as she raised up on her knees and started to jerk the nightee off over her head. "Calm down, love, let me explain!" Charles went on to tell her about his conversation with Isobel about flirting and then about men's perceptions. "Isobel noticed that my attention kept returning to this particular nightee and I'm sure she meant it as a peace offering."

"A peace offering! For you or for me?" she thundered crossing her arms under her chest which only increased her cleavage much to his delight.

"I'm sure that she meant for you to enjoy the benefits of my daydreams this afternoon," he chuckled and tried to pull her into an embrace. "And trust me, love, those daydreams didn't even come close to the vision that is sitting here in front of me right now."

She continued to pout sticking out her bottom lip to emphasize her displeasure but she allowed him to cuddle her against his chest as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She felt his hands smooth down over her bottom and come to rest on her hips.

"Now, I received quite the education in women's lingerie this afternoon and if memory serves…" he trailed off with a small grunt of triumph as she felt the elastic in her knickers release and fall away. She sat up in surprise.

"Velcro side panels," he explained with a waggle of his eyebrows at her surprised expression. He slid the knickers from under her and tossed them in the direction of the laundry hamper. "Now I can play with your saddlebags." He gave her a wolfish grin as he ran his hands along her thighs.

"Charles!" she squeaked as she gave him a hard thump on the chest. "That's not funny!"

"Ouch! Elsie," he said trying to placate her, "I was only kidding." She pulled down on the nightee and reached for the discarded pyjama shirt to try and cover herself as she was feeling particularly vulnerable at that moment.

"Elsie! I really think we need to talk about this." Charles held her firmly and removed the pyjama shirt from her grasp. "Stand up," he said calmly but firmly. "Stand here on the bed and let me look at you." He guided her up to stand with one foot on either side of his hips and then clasped his hands gently around the backs of her legs to hold her steady.

"Now, tell me what you think is wrong with your legs since that seems to be the bone of contention at the moment."

She looked down at him and saw the serious expression in his eyes…he really wanted to know what bothered her about her body. "Well…" she began hesitantly, "my thighs are wider than they were when I was a younger woman."

"Since I didn't know you when you were a younger woman, I'll just have to take your word for that," he said gently rubbing the backs of her legs. "What I like about your thighs is that they are strong yet soft. I love their strength and the way they feel when they grip my legs or my hips when I am making love to you. I love how soft they feel against the side of my face when I'm tasting you. I love the way the small crease where your thigh meets your bottom feels against my fingertips when I'm holding you there." He punctuated each sentence with his hands and his lips as he traced each of these spots across her skin. Elsie murmured softly when he raked his teeth across the soft skin of her upper thigh.

"You were astonished that I could find your belly and your hips so attractive so let me tell you what I like about those." He sat up with his cheek pressed against her navel, "I love the way your hips just seem to fit so perfectly in my hands…whether I'm making love to you or just holding you in the night…I feel safe and secure when I can reach out and curl my fingers around you. And your stomach is so soft against my cheek or against my chest or against my own belly." He turned his head to nuzzle her. "And you must have a sweat gland just here," he kissed her stomach just above her navel and swirled his tongue over her skin eliciting a small moan from her. "No matter if its day or night, you always taste salty and sweet whenever I kiss you on that spot." He continued to kiss and nuzzle her navel and belly as she slid her arms around his shoulders. "Elsie, that's all it's ever been about for me," he said looking up at her adoringly. "Touching you…and tasting you…and learning those places where my touch brings you pleasure."

"Oh, Charles," she sighed and leaned down to kiss him. He nibbled on her bottom lip and teased her with his tongue until she couldn't resist exploring his mouth with her own. He reached up to unfasten the front of the nightee and surprised her with his speed and dexterity. She giggled and ruffled his hair giving him a boyish appearance when one of his more unruly locks curled back over his forehead.

He suddenly scooted down in the bed and tucked his hands behind her knees causing her legs to collapse with one knee on either side of his head. His hands quickly slid up over her hips to hold her in place while he reached out with his tongue to taste her center. It wasn't long before he could hear the soft moans in the back of her throat as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge. He could feel the muscles in her legs begin to tighten around his head when he shifted his attentions to a particularly sensitive spot just to the left of center. She grasped the headboard to steady herself as his motions quickly sent her flying over the edge. He held her to him until the rhythm of her hips slowed and her thighs ceased to tremble.

She moved down to straddle his hips again and leaned down to give him a slow and passionate kiss.

"Mmmm," he murmured against her lips as his hands moved in long languorous strokes up and down her back.

She sat up and reached over to pick up one of the strawberries. "Would you like a bite?" she asked holding the berry by its stem.

Charles shook his head with a smug grin on his face, "Nothing could taste as sweet as the dessert that I just had." She rewarded him with a kiss on the nose.

She sat up over him and held the strawberry just above her mouth. She pushed her chest out just a bit as she let her head drop back as she bit down on the berry. She felt a sudden rush of empowerment when she felt his fingers tighten reflexively on her thighs and his arousal twitch hard beneath her. The berries had warmed up and were releasing their juices, some of which escaped her lips and ran down over her chin and the side of her neck. She heard his groan and felt his arms move up her back as he sat up and crushed her to his chest so that he could kiss and lick the trail of juice and chocolate from her skin.

She looked into his eyes when he finally pulled back and found them dark and alive with desire. He gently lay her down on her back between his knees as he had done the first time he made love to her. He took the strawberry from her hand and placed it against the pulsepoint at the base of her neck and proceeded to leave a trail of chocolate and strawberry down her chest and over her abdomen. He tossed the remains of the berry towards the bedside table and hoped that they landed somewhere near the tea tray as he continued to gaze down at her magnificent body beneath him.

"It would seem that I am destined to worship your body with my tongue tonight," he whispered in her ear as he kissed and nibbled his way down her neck and across her collarbone. Her eyes closed and her head tipped back to expose as much of her skin to his lips as she could. He could tell that she was quickly overwhelmed by the way she moved and whimpered beneath him. He had just lapped up the last of the chocolate from her navel when she reached down to lift his chin.

"Charles, please," she begged softly.

The pleading in her voice and the look of lust and desire in her eyes was all it took to push Charles to the brink. He leaned down to push his pyjama bottoms out of the way and then he reached for her hips as her thighs gripped him around the waist and he sheathed himself in a single stroke. She moaned aloud as her hands began to clutch and scratch desperately at his back. He tried to set a strong and steady pace but he knew that his own excitement would push him over the edge very quickly. He was concentrating on his breathing when he heard her cry out his name and begin to move against him. He could feel the rhythmic grip of her release pulsating from her core and as her hands scratched that sensitive spot at the small of his back, he called out her name and soared over the edge after her.

They lay together for a long while, touching and caressing and just feeling each other. He finally raised his head from her chest and caressed her cheek until she opened her eyes to look at him.

"I love you Elizabeth Mary Hughes," he whispered to her. She smiled at him and ran her fingers through the hair behind his ears. "Every inch of you!" he declared. She gasped and boxed him playfully about the ears. "Am I forgiven?" he asked with a hopeful look.

"Hmph…if I weren't quite confident that Mrs. Isobel Crawley was likely sitting in her driveway being snogged senseless by one Mr. Richard Clarkson…it might not be in the cards for you!" She pushed up on his shoulders and then sat up to wrap her arms around his neck. "I love you Charles Edward Carson," she whispered as she leaned in to place a soft and tender kiss upon his lips. "Brrr, it's getting cold in here."

"The fire has burned down," said Charles shifting to the side so that he could move the comforter and sheets out from under them. He pushed the pillows up against the headboard so that he could lean comfortably against it and pulled her into his arms as he raised the comforter over to cover them both. She tried to snuggle herself into the crook of his neck and grumbled as he leaned over to retrieve a roll of papers from the tea tray on the bedside table.

"I hope those aren't the contract documents for Richard and Isobel," she started only to be overwhelmed by a wide yawn.

"Why don't you open them and see," he said rubbing her back and neck.

"I'll look at them in the morning," she said as a second yawn overtook her.

"There might be a time clause included so I think perhaps you should review them tonight," he said insistently.

"You seem to know what's in them so why don't you just tell me," she pouted and moved away from him to punch up her own pillow.

"Elsie," he pleaded, "please just open them…for me?"

"If it means you'll let me get some sleep tonight," she said with an exasperated tone in her voice. She sat up and took the roll of papers from him and looked down to untie the velvet ribbon that held roll tight. When the ribbon came off in her hands, she noticed something else was knotted in the velvet. She turned the object over and discovered it was a platinum ring with an emerald cut blue sapphire in the center with three smaller graduated diamonds set on either side. She looked over at him as he took the ring from her and slipped it from the ribbon. He then took her left hand in his and slid the platinum band that he had given her for Christmas off and replaced it with the new ring.

He looked deeply into her eyes and held her hand against his heart, "Elizabeth Mary Hughes, with this ring, I plight thee my troth. Will you marry me?"

She took a deep breath as the tears started down her cheek. "Yes, Charles, I will marry you." He took her in his arms and kissed away her tears. When she had finally calmed down and he settled her against his chest, she reached over and pulled the papers that had been bound by the ribbon from beneath his hip. She started to toss them towards the wastebasket beside the dresser when he reached over and stayed her arm.

"Wait! Those are our registration papers and wedding license, I think we're going to need those later," he said with a small laugh as he took them from her and set them on the bedside table. She looked up at him in surprise. "All we have to do now is set the date, love…but that…we can talk about in the morning," he said as he reached over to turn out the light and snuggle down for a few hours sleep.

A/N2: And another episode of Ringtone Charles and Ringtone Elsie comes to a close. I hope you enjoyed their little Valentine's adventure. And as always, your reviews will make my own Valentine's Day just perfect! ;-)