NB: Dear readers, I have divvyed from my drafts again, and I hope that all of you that have given me so much support throughout this story will find this chapter fulfilling. Yes, as before, the NB is on top because this chapter contains SMUT. Now, younger readers/those who are not fans of smut, you can safely read the first portion of this chapter, and not miss any plot at all; I made an effort to give plenty of warning when the smut is at hand. That being said, I still think I can get by with leaving this story rated T(teen), but note that reader discretion is advised in this chapter. Alright, happy reading! I continue to love and appreciate all of the feedback! ~The Scarlett Starlet

21. Lost Time

The afternoon had been so enjoyable for Scarlett, even though she was privately sure that it had been merely a maneuver by Rosemary to force Rhett by her side. And they had risen to the occasion, she thought, they had shown her just how well they got along now. Not once had a cross word escaped either of their lips. At the time, Scarlett had been having too much fun at the reception to even think of arguing with him. But pretending to be cordial from afar was far easier than pretending while they were sitting side by side at an intimate family gathering, so she had been dreading going down to dinner that night.

She dressed more formally than she had for the wedding, selecting a cream-colored evening gown, high-necked and adorned at the cuffs and neck with tiny white pearls. After all, it was Rhett she was dining with, and she distinctly recalled some offhand comment he had made in Charleston about black not being her best color.

Rhett walked over to a chair at one end of the long table and moved one of the side chairs closer to his and indicated that she should sit next to him.

He had taken the opposite approach - he was casually attired, wearing his white, open-necked shirt and black trousers. She did not feel the need to remark on it. When Rosemary's maid began serving the food, she and Rhett realized that his sister and her husband might not be joining them for dinner after all. Another servant confirmed that.

"Mist' Jacques and Miss Rosemary took the chillens ter Forsythe Park, Mist' Rhett," the man said as he filled Rhett's wine glass, nodding towards the multitude of empty seats at the table.

Scarlett noticed that Rhett's shoulders relaxed immediately.

"Melly isn't going to join us either?" Rhett asked as the veritable feast of fried chicken, boiled shrimp, corn and roasted new potatoes was set before them.

"She's not here," Scarlett replied with obvious disappointment. "My Aunt Pauline invited her for supper after the reception. She's very fond of Melly. You remember Aunt Pauline, don't you?"

"Yes, I know. Your Robillard aunts are both well-acquainted with my mother. In fact, I saw Miss Pauline not too terribly long ago at the Hampton wedding in Charleston. You don't remember?"

"I suppose you don't remember that I wasn't there," Scarlett smirked. "Melly was there, as was Wade."

"That's right. I suppose that slipped my mind. Hmm. Far be in for me to give lessons on social mores, but isn't it a bit early to put Melly out in society without her mother present?"

"You're quite correct, Rhett. And I would have been glad to go had I been invited. You see, my list of social invitations grew rather thin after you divorced me. That was the beauty of living in Fernandina. Not so much silliness over such things…"

He leaned closer to her, setting his elbow on the table so that he could rest his head on his hand. He gave her a small smile as she took the liberty of pouring them both more wine. He had such a sensual mouth - age had not changed that. His black eyes flashing, his lips were curled just so that she was wildly attracted to him. Apparently that hadn't changed either.

"Ah, thank you." Rhett murmured as he took a sip of wine. "So, I've been meaning to ask, how did you come to live in Florida?"

"What a strange time to ask that," Scarlett laughed. "Well, it was all because of Ashley. He knew that he was ill and being at the mill so much was only making it worse. But even before that, he took Beau and Wade fishing on Jekyll Island and fell in love with the place. Of course, Jekyll is smaller than Amelia and much less inhabited…but even so, all the fancy Yankee families were coming down by the dozens to build winter homes. There was no property available there to buy when we actually began to look seriously…so we found Amelia, and it seemed an idyllic place for the children."

"How old was Melly?"

"Six months old or so. She wasn't walking yet - I remember her first steps on the beach. She loved the water from the start. She ran all over the island as she began to grow, boating and fishing until she was as brown as a pickaninny child. It was hard for me to get her to wear shoes." She laughed aloud at the remembrance.

Rhett let out a chuckle of his own. "I was that way too, when I was that age. I always wanted to be a sailor. I still do, come to think of that."

"A sailor, really? I suppose running the blockade wasn't close enough for you?"

"No, not at all. You've never been sailing, have you, Scarlett?"

She shook her head.

"Lamentable, Mrs. Wilkes. A Floridian that has never been sailing."

"Ashley went sailing several times. Just last year with Beau, they went to North Carolina…" Her voice trailed off, and for a moment Rhett thought that she would begin to weep. She sat up in the high-backed dining chair, straight and tall, not a single tear marring her porcelain, unlined face that was framed by perfectly coiffed jet-black hair.

"It's all happened so quickly, Rhett. The funeral just was a blur. I remember that they wanted me to cover his portrait in black, but I wouldn't allow it. I wanted to see his face. I wanted Melly to see his face…"

"I know that you both miss him," Rhett said evenly as her voice trailed off.

Scarlett met his eyes. "I do miss him, terribly."

"And yet, you're sitting in my sister's home, eating dinner with me?"

"If you think that I'm dishonoring him, then you're a bigger fool than I thought, Rhett Butler."

"I did not say that."

"You implied it. But I do miss him. Even though I have many happy memories of him to comfort me."

Rhett raised an eyebrow. "Those memories…do they allow you to make it through a lonely night by yourself?"

Her eyes flashed with irritation. "I believe that he explained -"

"I want to hear it from your own mouth. Call it morbid curiosity."

"I was never intimate with him, if that's what you mean."

"But you were happy?"

"Happy? Most of the time, quite. Mainly content, I think. I had never actually been content before, you know? Even when I was married to you. How could I be?" It was her turn to direct a challenge his way.

"I take it that I bear responsibility for that."

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it. Of course, if you hadn't been so vile that night, we'd have never gotten into that argument and I'd have never had Melly and would never have married Ashley at all. I might still be Mrs. Butler then - Lord knows how that might have turned out."

He sighed. "I would never wish away Melly. I just wish that I could make up for all the lost time somehow…"

Scarlett cocked her head in interest. "I'm glad that you like her. I rather think that she likes you, too. She might even grow to love you, one day. She has a much greater capacity for love than I do, you know. But that also makes her far more fragile than I was at her age."

"She's stronger in spirit than you think, not to mention how clever she is." Rhett said seriously, "and you know, Scarlett, she deserves to live her own life. I guess you haven't noticed that up until now she has done Ashley's and your bidding. All things social were centered around you two, not her. She's given freely - of course, I believe that is her nature - but it's her turn. If you would like my advice, not that you're seeking it in matters of parenting … nonetheless, it is this: Wade and Ella and you, and even me, should you wish it, will stand guard without her knowing, but mark my words, Melly will prove to be as strong as her mother and do just fine."

"You sound as if you have it all figured out," Scarlett said somberly.

"No, Scarlett, no - I don't have anything figured out. Except for the fact that I love you."

She sat her glass down hard on the table with a loud thump.

"Say it again."

"I love you."

"Say it again."

"I love you, Scarlett. In spite of you and me and the whole silly world - goddamn it, I've said that before, haven't I? Scarlett, I don't know where it will lead me, but I'm an old man and I have no more strength to fight it. And I'm tiring of spending my latter years in the total agony of loving you with no relief."

She stood up from the table, startled by his pronouncement.

"Rhett -"

He stood up and put a finger to her lips.

"You don't have to give me an answer, Scarlett. I realize that it has been years, not months. I realize that I have failed you unspeakably as a husband, as a man. But I stand before you with nothing but my word that I love you unconditionally, always, and forever. When I left you at Tara I regretted it the moment I rode out of the gate. I was drunk and hurt and angry and I didn't want to feel again. And I didn't, Scarlett. For a decade and a half, I felt nothing. Then I heard that Melly was in Atlanta along with Wade and Ella and I went immediately to see her, because I hoped that you might be there."

Scarlett shook her head and attempted to speak through her tears. "You can't mean this, Rhett. It's been so long. So very long."

"I told you once that if you would have let me, I would have loved you more than any man loved any woman. And that offer still stands - if you would only let me make good on it."

He pulled her close to him, not rushing as he had in Charleston.

"Bedroom?" he murmured.

At her assenting nod, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway to the guest bedroom in which he was residing. She could feel herself seething with anticipation as he closed the door with excruciating slowness.

Abating his hunger, he savored the feel of her body, the taste of her lips and skin as he pulled the gown over her head, revealing her chemise made of white virgin silk. He licked his lips in anticipation as he beheld her breasts, succulent like juicy plums, and the black V between her thighs - the vision made the tingle between his own intensify to new heights. His hand slipped under the back of her drawers to squeeze a plump cheek before he pressed her against his hard body.

In a rush to possess her, he brushed the straps away from her shoulders and placed his lips on her white shoulders. Her skin was white, without any blemish of age, from the tip of her nose down to the valley of her thighs. The chemise was shed completely, then her drawers, and he began to stroke the dark wetness between her legs. She let out a delighted moan of pleasure as she opened herself to receive him. But he wasn't ready yet.

She was so beautiful, he thought as he pulled her up onto his lap and began to stroke her breasts. He kissed her on the lips slowly, softly, feeling the passion between them rising as he did so. Her breathing quickening, she straddled his rising manhood, lowering herself until he was deep inside her. Both of them moaning in pure pleasure, he waited until he could stand it no further, then drove home.

"Rhett…" she murmured. "Oh, Rhett…"

"I don't think I can move," he said huskily, gasping for breath as he held her close to him. She ran her white fingers through his dark hair.

"I love you," she whispered.

Rocking back and forth in the age old rhythm, he felt Scarlett shudder again and again as they made up for lost time…