Two days later, as promised, Jim had prepared for them to leave, but when that time came they didn't want to say goodbye to their daughter. It had been Melinda's idea to travel together to the docks to get the most out of their goodbyes. It was an entire day's journey to get there and back, but it was a sacrifice they were willing to take.
However, Katherine wasn't feeling up to the trip because of her pregnancy so Ned would endure the journey back with Ella to Avalon to ensure her safety, and the sisters said their goodbyes here.
"I will miss you the most other than my daughter," she said as she embraced her younger sister tightly "I hope I will be back in time for the birth of my niece or nephew."
"Let's hope you are back in time too," Katherine said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. "Be safe. As safe as you can."
She nodded. "Jim would never let anything happen to me again, and I know I can count on you and Ned to take care of Ella," she said.
"You will have no worries on that account, sweet sister. I would never let any harm come to her." Katherine said, giving her one last squeeze. "Now you better be on your way or I will never let you go."
"I love you too," she sighed as she turned away. "I will write to you if I can." With one last wave to her sister, Melinda took Jim's helping hand into the carriage and sat down inside. Meanwhile, Ella was sitting in her uncle's lap while they got situated inside, shaking her rattle as a way to entertain him somehow. "I can take her now."
Ned smiled and resituated her daughter into her arms. "Of course. You mustn't worry about her. She'll be just fine while you're gone." He said as Melinda rubbed circles into Ella's back. "She likely won't even remember it as she grows older when you get back."
"Let's hope so," Jim remarked, sighing as lifted his hand to brush the mop of curls from Ella's forehead. "Hopefully we can finally put this mess behind us."
She nodded her head in agreement as she ran a finger along her daughter's chubby cheek where it pressed against her chest. The carriage lurched and her grip on Ella tightened reflexively. The baby cooed and continued to gum the silver rattle that had been given as a gift from some distant cousin for her christening. Her little legs kicked and she dropped the rattle, her body straining towards the spectacle of passing green as they road through the countryside.
Melinda adjusted her grip on the baby to try and reach for the rattle but her stays wouldn't allow her to bend that way so Ned grabbed it for her, wiping it off with his jacket before handing it to Ella. "Thank you," she said, pressing her face to her daughter as she breathed in deeply, determined to capture the smell of her baby and memorize it along with everything else. She'd drawn Ella's face a hundred times over the last few days, hoping somehow that would help. But how could it?
Melinda realized later on that she must have dozed off on her husband's shoulder. Mostly because she was jolted awake, but also because Jim was holding their daughter now and the terrain outside the carriage looked much different. Packed earth had been exchanged for cobblestones, their pace had slowed, and the peaceful quiet had grown to a noisy clamor of dozens of things. A glance out the window showed a familiar street and her heart pinched.
They were near to the docks now and already the windows of the carriage were beginning to display the dirt and grime that came from passing through a crowded ship port. Ella sneezed as though to validate her thoughts. She pulled a handkerchief out and wiped at her daughter's nose, a difficult task as the babe twisted and shifted her head out of the way and the carriage rocked uncomfortably.
The baby began to fuss just as the carriage came to a full stop, and she knew it was nearly time to part ways now. Melinda wasn't ready and took her from her husband, comforting her and pressing kisses to her daughter's forehead as Ella cooed loudly.
"I think our daughter is trying to tell you about all the things she saw from the carriage window while you slept," Jim said with a smile. His arm came up and pulled her in so he could kiss her temple. "I wish we could take her with. I wish… God, I wish this wasn't about him."
"Me too," she sighed, glancing at their daughter. "But soon enough she will have to sail the seas on the boat she was conceived on."
He chuckled. "We shouldn't tell her that though." He peered at the both of them lovingly for another moment before tapping their girl lightly on the nose with his finger. The one-year-old grabbed hold of it and squealed happily. "We could leave first thing in the morning if you wanted. Enjoy another night with her." He informed her and though they both dreaded leaving, it was best to just go ahead with the original plan.
"No. I don't know if I'll be able to say goodbye if we wait any longer." She sighed and they both moved to get out of the carriage together.
Jim exited first before helping her out, baby in tow, and now it was time for goodbyes. Even if temporary, it hurt all the same.
Daniel stepped forward and dropped a hand to cover Ella's head, his large hand light as it drifted against her curls. "Sleep well, lass, and mind your uncle Ned on the way home, eh? I'll be sure to keep your mam and da in line," he whispered and lightly tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. It was very similar to the way Jim was with her, and he chuckled when her nose scrunched in response. "Your Uncle Daniel loves you very much."
"Dan-Dan," Ella sighed, squealing and clapping her hands together for him.
Jim could do no more than wrap her in his arms so that their daughter was caught between them. He pressed a kiss to the infant's brow before sliding a hand from where he held Melinda to run his fingers gently over Ella's features one more time. After her husband finally released the pair of them from his grasp, she stepped towards Ned.
"Like I said before you need not fear for her," Ned said gently, stepping forward and placing a hand on her arm. "I promise on my life that I would never let her come to any harm."
"I know. We trust you and Katherine completely with her." Her voice was faint as she spoke around the lump in her throat. "Mama loves you so much. So does your father and we will be back very soon. I promise," she whispered and then kissed Ella's temple before surrendering her to her brother-in-law with a quick hug. "I'll miss you as well."
Ned hugged and kissed her goodbye, "Be safe. We all need you both to come back." He said, but she had to move quickly as her tears fell.
Jim's hand steadied her as Melinda forced her feet to move until they boarded the Jaded Sapphire again. Usually, they would stay on deck for departure but they both quickly went below deck and in the privacy of their room her husband held her tight as she sobbed into the front of his shirt, his own tears running in silent streaks down his cheeks.
Jim was the first to wake, the thumps of heavy boots echoing through the wood beams over their heads jolting him from sleep. He laid there panting, heart racing as his ears strain to determine threat from mundane. He heard no shouting or earth-shattering roars from another boat as it latched on beside as pirate raided their deck so all must be well. Except for the fact that they were actively searching out Rick Payne.
Melinda's warm, soft body shifted beside him, brown strands of silk sliding over his chest and stomach raising goosebumps along his skin despite the sticky heat between them. He would never be cold again next to her. She turned over and settled on her back with a quiet, contented sigh. If not for seeing her here next to him he would still have thought it all a dream.
Life has never treated them very well. Not even close, even if they did have bits and pieces of happiness. He's known mostly anger, not love. War, not peace. And fear instead of happiness. He has known pain and waste like a virgin sacrificed to false gods. Until Melinda. She had changed him for the better, even after everything.
He had always tried not to allow anything to overtake him, to turn him into a man of hate and bitterness, keeping a tight grip on hope. But that hope became flesh and blood the moment he laid eyes on her. Not just hope for his people, but his soul.
And now here she was, sleeping peacefully, an offer and a daring one that was laid out before him like a feast. Supple limbs, enticing curves, and fiery blood flowing under soft, smooth, pale flesh all wrapped around a warrior's heart. What had he ever done to deserve her? Rebel against England for the love of his own country? Would that be enough or would Rick steal her from him again?
For now, though, he wanted to push those thoughts aside and love his wife. Memories of last night– of saying goodbye to their daughter and embarking on their journey - were all too much to ignore. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms after crying together. The swell of one soft breast was peaking from under her nightgown. He freed it, and its twin, slow and gentle so as not to wake her. He wanted her body filled with pleasure before she did.
Jim watched, mesmerized as her dusty pink nipples begin to pucker in the cool air. Careful to hold his weight off of her he leaned over and traced one bud with the tip of his tongue. It hardened further, just as his cock did against her thigh. He kept his touch light as whispers he licks and sucks the one while reaching over to trace the pad of his finger around the other. It doesn't take much before she breathed in deeply, a languid stretch running through her body, her hips rising under the heavy blankets.
He stopped his teasing, letting her settle into sleep again before pulling back the blankets and moving further down the bed. Thankfully it's big enough to allow him room to lay below her. The events of the night before must have really worn her out because she doesn't stir at all when he moved her leg to slip underneath it. First, he kissed along her inner thighs, up one and down the other. Next, he slid her nightgown up with his fingers, ghosting them over her milky skin.
That's when she began to wake.
The second she spread her thighs open enough he made his move, sliding his tongue against her. He had to hold back a groan at the taste of her. She's honey and spice and heat. A combination that makes his cock ache to be buried inside her. But her pleasure comes first. Taking it slow, but not forgetting what made her cry out the loudest, he set to work. It only took a few strokes before she began to squirm and moan, and when he sealed his lips over her tight bundle of nerves, her fingers gripped his hair.
"Jim." His name was a breathless sigh, filled with pleasure falling from her lips.
He had never liked hearing it more than when she said his name like that. It was even more rewarding knowing, that even half asleep she knew who her lover was. He pulled away only long enough to greet her. "Good morning, my beautiful wife," he chuckled.
Melinda gasped in return, his tongue stealing her words. He wasted no time now, sliding two fingers inside her. She moans, her hips rising again as his fingers continue to move in and out while he leaned forward and began to torture her with his tongue. Slow, feather-light licks at first, then gradually increasing the pressure and speed, never stopping the movement of his fingers.
It only took a few minutes before high-pitched whimpers filled the room. With several firm and quick movements of his fingers combined with his tongue going to work, she came, screaming his name, but Jim continued to stroke and lick at her until the last waves leave her boneless.
But when her eyes opened, they were dark and heavy with lust, and she pulled at him with arms, hands, and legs, silently ordering him to join her. He doesn't hesitate, moving between her thighs and slowly entering her in one stroke, both of them gasping in relief. She kissed him, her need as deep as his own. Her tongue swept into his mouth to dance with his, her ragged breaths filling the spaces between their lips.
He reveled in her pleasure, mixed with his own. He watched her above him as he slowed down, his strokes now smooth and fluid, letting them feel every wonderful inch of each other. The morning sun was streaming across him, throwing light off her dark brown curls and pale glistening skin. It caught all the shades of brown in her eyes as he stared down at her. Like light dancing through a shallow river. He could drown in them forever.
Jim's heart leaped, overwhelmed by the raw emotion of their joining, and felt her tremble below him with what he only hoped was something similar. Slowly he built up a rhythm, taking care with each roll of his hips. The tension built quickly from deep in his belly and touched his soul with a fire of lust he had never known before for any woman but her. It wasn't long before he sensed his climax but she pulled him in deeply, their lips meeting again in a hazy, warm kiss.
With a soft cry and shudder of his hips, he filled her with a warmth that flooded all the way from his fingertips to his toes.
Moments pass and they lay panting, joined still, and relishing in the closeness of their bodies. A breathy chuckle, something between a laugh and sob as he dipped down to capture her lips deeply. "I am sorry if I am crushing you," he sighed, resting his forehead gently against hers and closing his eyes.
"You aren't," she hummed, her lips pressing light kisses against his sweaty neck and chest. "Good morning."
He moaned at the feel of her lips, soft and warm against his cool skin in the chilled air. "If you keep doing that, Melinda… I will want to have you again."
"Who says I would want to stop you?" She teased, a grin on her lips as he chuckled and leaned in to kiss her once more.