Chapter Forty-Seven

"Ruth," came a soft voice.

She stirred slightly, not realizing that she'd been asleep. "Hmm?"

"Wake up, darling."

Harry's voice was still gentle but it was slightly more insistent this time. His fingers brushed her hair off her face. Oh she probably looked like an absolute fright. Ruth pushed herself up, groaning with the way her muscles ached from having fallen dead asleep on top of the bed lying perpendicular. She'd only wanted to lie down for a minute and rest her back. Emmy was getting bigger every day and had developed some colic. She was just shy of five weeks old and seemed to be constantly crying unless Ruth was feeding her or walking around bouncing her. And the ordeal had left both mother and baby rather cranky and exhausted.

"I'm sorry to wake you, I know you need your sleep, but it's dinnertime. Hopefully us and then Emmy and then bed for everyone. I know if you sleep now, you might have trouble tonight," Harry pointed out apologetically.

Ruth rubbed her face, trying to wake herself up again. "No, you're right. I didn't realize it was so late. I guess we should go down to dinner. Try and eat before Emmy needs to."

But Ruth spoke too soon. In the next breath, their baby had woken up crying. Ruth had figured out some of her cries. It was right what they say, that babies have different cries for different things. This wasn't a colic cry. That was similar to a cry of needing to be changed. That was a cry of discomfort. This cry was one of hunger. Ruth sighed, realizing they'd missed their window to have dinner themselves before the baby needed tending to.

"You go eat. I'll be down after I feed her," Ruth said to Harry, patting his hand resting on her thigh.

Harry shook his head. "No, I can wait. I'd rather spend some time with the two of you. And if you want, we can ask for some food to be brought up for us. We don't really take advantage of the fact that we've got a whole staff to care for our royal needs."

Ruth rolled her eyes. "The inconvenience of hunger and a month-old baby are not royal needs."

"Well you're a royal and you've got needs, how about that?"

She wasn't going to argue with him. She did not have the patience for it. Nor did she have the energy to form words. "I've got to feed her," she simply said.

"How about you get comfortable with the pillows and I'll bring her over, hmm?" Harry offered.

Ruth certainly wouldn't turn that down. "Alright."

Harry went to the adjoining room—the sitting room that they'd turned into a makeshift nursery until Emilia could sleep through the night in her own proper room down the hall—and Ruth got herself settled up on the bed with the pillows behind her back. It did feel quite nice.

Emmy was fussing but not crying and wailing when her daddy brought her into the room. He'd already unwrapped her from the swaddling blanket and her pink baby arms were stretched out and grasping the air, searching for her mummy.

As soon as she was placed in Ruth's arms, Emmy latched on and suckled happily. Ruth sighed and smiled. It was strange but rather nice to breastfeed. And despite not being a good sleeper yet, Ruth was relieved that their daughter was a very good eater. Harry sat on the edge of the bed beside Ruth's knees. He placed his hand on her pajama-clad leg and stroked it up and down. Ruth rather wished he wouldn't do that. It had been such a long time since he'd touched her. And she missed him very much. But getting turned on while their baby was feeding wasn't the most appropriate thing. Still, her skin sparked and a tension started to bubble low in her belly.

When Emilia moved her little face away, having had her fill for the time being, Ruth asked Harry to take her, which he did without question. She knew he was perfectly capable of easing her gas and getting her wrapped back up in her bassinet. And since there was a momentary quiet, Ruth re-settled herself on the bed, lying flat on her back.

Harry returned soon enough. "She seemed tired, thank goodness. Probably means she'll be awake and screaming at us at two in the morning, but it's good she's out for the time being.

Ruth hummed in agreement. She didn't look over, but she could feel by the shift of weight on the bed that Harry had come to lie beside her. His arms were around her before she knew it.

She turned her head to look at him and saw that beautiful shining look of love in his eyes. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Harry did not allow just a simple peck. He moved his lips on hers and deepened the kiss with passion. "I've missed you," he whispered when they broke apart for air.

"God, me too," she said sadly. "I was just thinking that it's been so bloody long. We've both been busy, and I've been so tired. That's not fair at all. I know it's perfectly alright since I'm properly healed and recovered and all, I'm just afraid I'll just fall asleep in the middle of whatever I try to do."

"I know Ruth," he replied soothingly. His hands were wandering her body again. "I know you're tired. But, let me help you relax, darling. Let me take away all the stress and the exhaustion. Let me pleasure you," he begged. He rolled her onto her back and settled himself on top of her. But instead of kissing her lips and her neck and palming her breasts, he scooted himself down the bed.

"Oh Harry, you don't need to…oh!" She had tried to make some kind of protest before he lifted up her top and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her belly. The stretch marks and extra skin were starting to go away, but the fact that Ruth had given birth just over a month ago was wildly apparent. But Harry was undeterred. His lips and tongue caressed her skin, causing Ruth to sigh with the joy of it. When he reached the hem of her pajama pants, he paused, and Ruth hummed in acceptance. Harry chuckled and pulled them down her legs. He caught her thighs in the cage of his hands, spreading her legs apart. He dragged his teeth over the cotton barrier of her knickers, making her shudder.

Ruth made absolutely no attempt to stop him, so Harry wasted no time in pulling her knickers off her and burying his face between her legs. His tongue and lips went to work on her, tracing her folds and swirling his tongue over her and sucking hard and plunging inside her. She was getting wetter and wetter as he continued his efforts. Her thighs clenched rhythmically around his ears and her hips grinded against his face. Ruth had to press her lips together to keep from moaning too loudly and waking up Emilia.

She felt a sort of madness overtake her. She could barely breathe as electric jolts lit up her nerve endings and shot through her body. Harry was so incredibly good at this. From their first time together all those years ago, he had taken such pride in making her come against his mouth. Ruth appreciated his dedication more than she could say. It made her feel wild and sexy and free. None of those were things she ever felt much of at all outside of their love life. And it had been so long since they'd had any love life at all what with the late pregnancy and now a newborn baby.

Harry had to hold her hips down as she jerked and spasmed with her climax. She gasped a bit loudly as pleasure pulsated through her core. But he did not relent. He allowed her to ride the waves of this first orgasm before letting go of her hip with one hand and shiting where he lay to thrust his fingers inside her. He started with one, then two, then three, curling up to reach that place that would undo her, twisting and pounding into her as he built her up again. She was thrashing around on the bed, whimpering and biting her lips to keep from crying out. And finally, she shattered for him again. He did not slow until he had brought her a third orgasm on the heels of the second.

Ruth went limp as she gasped for air and twitched with the aftershocks. Only then did Harry let go of her and crawled back up the bed. He rolled Ruth to her side, ridding her of her top at the same time, once her breathing was slowing to a safer rate. He pressed himself against her back, his cock hard against the pert swell of her bum. Somewhere in between, he'd undressed himself. He kissed the side of her neck and murmured, "My Ruth, my love, my darling," over and over and over.

His words were music to her. Music to harmonize with the thrumming melody of pleasure coursing through her body. The feeling of his bare skin on hers was like a long-awaited blessing. Oh she'd not felt this good in so very long! She smiled and lifted her leg to curl back over his thigh. Harry got the message and slid inside her soaking wet warmth. Ruth sighed happily at the sensation of him filling her.

Harry began to move inside her. It was not a hard, desperate coupling. No, he was savoring their union and every movement with his shining love and adoration. He moved slowly and methodically, rocking in and out of her, dragging his cock against her inner walls so each of them felt every single inch of it.

As they continued on, Harry's hands wandered down to stroke her in time to his thrusts. She keened for him, quiet but needy. "Harry," she moaned just as she came again.

That rolling, clenching of her body on his was more than enough to send him over the edge. He gave a gasping sort of grunt, pressing his face into her neck to muffle the sound as he spilled inside her with a few spurts.

He held her close for a long time. Ruth was almost passed out from the exhaustion of everything, but she could feel him against her and inside her. He was going soft, but she didn't mind. She didn't want to let him go yet. Eventually, however, he did slip out of her and got out of bed.

Ruth felt him between her legs, this time with a wet flannel. She twitched at the touch to her overly sensitive skin, but she did feel better for being cleaned up. "It's dinnertime," she mumbled, remembering what they were going to do.

Harry laughed at that, his joyful, wheezy laugh. "You rest, darling, and I'll get dressed and talk to the kitchen. I can get something to bring up and we can eat in bed. But you rest till then."

Only about half of what he said really entered her mind, but he'd said to say in bed and rest. "Okay," she sighed. She felt Harry kiss her gently, and she smiled.