The dawn had completely passed by the time they reached the docks. And as she got down the plank, she was met with the sight of her Father impatiently surveying all around with nervous movements.
She... had completely forgotten about him.
Her mind considered the serious possibility of going back up to the sloop and take refuge there for a while -at least until her father got tired of waiting for her,- but the idea was discarded almost as quickly as she had it. She had done nothing she should have to hide for... it would probably had been best to leave a note, but still.
While she deliberated on her limited options, and in spite of all the buzzling and movement going on around them, her Father managed to catch sight of her. When their eyes met, she realized she´d been caught.
Was it too late to hide?
She stole a quick glance back, but there was nowhere to run, an strategic retreat was out of the question. As he hurried to her side with quick steps, she could tell by his less than amused stare that she might be in trouble. So now there was no other option but to bear with one of her father´s endless lectures.
Nonsense. Why should she have to? she was no longer a child.
Elizabeth squared her shoulder, ready to dispute him.
Needless to say, she was very startled when he didn´t stop until he had his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. Instead of the sever tone she had been anticipating, he exclaimed with relief "Elizabeth, thank heavens!"
She took advantage of his agreeable disposition to pull back from his embrace and greet him with a harmless smile "Good morning, Father" hoping he would forget about the unnecessary stuff.
Unfortunately, her plan failed.
Once the relief settled and his demeanour changed from mostly concerned to mainly displeased. "What in the world did you think you were doing?" he scolded her seriously, almost in the same breath.
Even with his face contorted in displeasure, she could see the obvious concern there as well, so much so that it actually made her feel guilty about following James without leaving him a note.
Excellent as it had been, she really was lamenting the poor planning behind her plan.
She resorted to her last resort: Her eyebrows shifted into a confused frown "I am not sure what you mean exactly Father, I was merely accompanying James on his short trip." It hadn´t really been a 'trip' and James hadn´t been aware of the invitation she had made to herself to board his ship unannounced, but it was close enough to the truth.
Her Father simply offered her a reproachful look. "Do not even try that with me Elizabeth. Couldn´t you have at least left behind a note if you were planning to abandon the Mansion without telling anyone where you were going? You where nowhere to be found"
"I…"
"I spent a considerable amount of time looking for you, it was a wonder we eventually found the horse you took on the private stable. If not for that I would have feared you had been kidnapped again"
Ah. That possibility had not crossed her mind.
Her chest filled with the uncomfortable feeling of guilt. So, giving up on her attempt to avoid the scolding, she resigned herself to her faith.
James' voice rang right behind her "Governor, good morning" he greeted her Father, politely as ever. Then he surprised them both by offering her Father a small bow of his head, adding with a straight face "You have my sincere apologies for taking Elizabeth with me without previously informing you of our decision" as one of his arms wrapped snuggly around her waist as he promised "I won´t let it happen again"
His expression was so calm that if she was not certain of what she had done, she would have been inclined to believe his words.
Her father stared at the two of them, appearing to give up on his plans to berate her as he let out a defeated sigh instead. "What matters most is that you are safe and unharmed." A smile was starting to form back on her mouth, before he added "But that does not mean that what you did should be supported, Dear" he asserted with a frown and a reproachful glance at James, who simply nodded his assent.
She felt an upsetting weight settle on her stomach at the ideas of James carrying the blame for what she had done by herself, so she offered her Father a bow as well as an honest apology. "Forgive me Father, I won't do it again"
Her Father gave them a small shake of his head, but finally relaxed his expression and smiled. "You will be living with your husband from now on, so it will be best you make that promise to him, Dear. Although, I have the hunch that won't be much necessary" he told her with real amusement, glancing between her and James.
"I promise I will take care of her properly, Governor" and there was no hint of neglect on his face nor his words.
Her father gave James a smile and an affectionate pat on the shoulder "I´m confident you will, son"
James finally allowed a pleased smile to shine thru his serious act. "Thank you"
"Well, now that I´ve found my missing daughter I can go back to my work in peace" he joked "Do make sure to pay me a visit as soon as you´re settled, Dear"
"I will make sure to, Father"
"Don´t forget to visit as well, James" her Father´s gaze drifted behind them "Of course, first you´ll have to find the time to, son" he mused out loud, looking at the soldiers rushing behind them.
James followed his gaze and smirked slightly. "I will make sure to"
One of her Father´s hands raised up to pat her cheek before giving her a kiss on the head as goodbye. Then he turned around and walked back to the end of the pier, mounting his carriage and leaving the pier.
Soon as they were left alone, she turned her head to the side and looked at James with slightly narrowed eyes "I don´t need to be taken care of " she told him with a tone full of determination.
"You might not need to, but I am going to do it regardless, Love" he told her while offering an unconcerned shrug, making her eyes become even tinier slits "Besides, I already promised the Governor and I wouldn't dare lie to your Father. Again." he added with a satisfied smile and a kiss to her cheek.
She relented at that, it was not like the prospect was entirely unappealing anyway.
It was a while later until they could finally mount their own carriage and leave the docks. James had spend a wearisome amount of time supervising the disembarkment of the retrieved exports, until the process was conducted in full. Seeing the amount of documentation it seemed to require, shed some light as to the reason why he always seemed to be reading or writing some document while he was at his office.
When he noticed her growing impatience, he offered to let her go back first, but she wanted them to go together, so she did her best to act patiently. And her efforts were finally rewarded when the last of the cargo was brought to shore and James came back to her side.
The ride to his estate was passed in comfortable silence. As she gazed at his form in front of her, she could sense his tiredness, the circles under his eyes were prominent even as the sun hit his skin thru the window of the carriage. She herself was feeling quite worn by the events of the day before, so it was only a wonder how he was feeling about the entire incident.
But she was glad she waited for him, arriving to his estate alone would have been graceless, especially because she had never been there before.
The thought prompted a confused frown, and then she spoke up suddenly "I have never visited your estate before" she informed him, somehow feeling a little offended by the unwelcomed realization. It was her new home, but she didn´t even know where it was.
James had been clearly distracted. His serene eyes had been posed on the landscape outside the window, his arms crossed. She might have thought him asleep if not for the perfectly straight back he had maintained all through the journey. His face turned her direction the moment she spoke but he didn't seem to have registered what she told him, as his eyes were dominated by confusion and intrigue.
"I have never seen your estate, we have always spent our time together at your office or the Mansion" she repeated "You´ve never invited me to visit you before" she chided him grumpily, crossing her arms and looking at him with expectation.
"Taking you to my residence while engaged would…"
"have been most improper" she finished for him, attempting a poor imitation of his deep voice and laughing when his eyes narrowed playfully. "What a scandal that would have become."
"You jest but we overstepped the boundaries of propriety before we were married, quite a number of times at that" he reminded her, but she caught the glint of delight in his eyes as he said it. "I´m not sure what could have happened if I had taken you to my residence alone."
"Oh, I would definitely have taken advantage of you" she informed him, allowing her foot to nudge up the inside of his leg with deliberate slowness.
A burst of laughter came out of him at that, and his dimples were fully showing now. "And I would have allowed you to" he confessed, maintaining his eyes fixed on hers, even as he caught the back of her wandering foot in his hand the moment it reached the inside of his knee.
"That's my ankle you have taken possession of, Sir" she informed him with pretended alarm on her voice while a sly grin adorned her expression "This is most scandalous behaviour"
"And the exact reason why I did not welcome you sooner" his hand still had hold of her foot and his thumb kept a distracting back and forth motion over the bone that protruded on the outside of her ankle, his caress was making her entire leg tingle pleasantly so she couldn´t help but hum in approval.
"Are you planning to return my foot to me any time soon?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow as her foot wriggled gently against his hold.
He simply tilted his head slightly to the side as his deep gaze remained fixated on the part of her upper leg that became exposed when her skirts slid up "I´m considering it"
"You better decide soon then. Otherwise, this will become a truly improper situation if we were to arrive there before we finish whatever might be started"
His smile widened attractively, only for his entire expression to fall a little all of a sudden a moment later. He finally let go of her, but only so he could stand and move to sit by her side, holding onto her elbow so she would face him.
"I was joking, we really shouldn´t." In spite of her words, she leaned further into him and allowed her free hand to move up his shoulder and bunch around the fabric of his coat.
But her efforts went unnoticed as he seemed to be deliberating about something else, made obvious by the little troubled frown that had taken residence on his face. His lips hesitated open for a moment, but he finally decided to tell her "I should warn you that my residence is not nearly as grand as your Father's Mansion" he tried to mask the mild discomfort even when it was clearly there.
One of her eyebrows lifted in surprise at the sudden change of topic, which made him add in a bit of a haste "Of course it´s a respectable estate, befitting of your station. I would never have dared propose to you if I didn't have the means to support you accordingly, however…"
The hand that had been holding onto his arm, moved up and covered his lips, interrupting his nervous speech "I do not care about that" she promised him honestly. Because, truly, she didn't. It hadn't even occurred to her to think about such a thing until the very moment he mentioned it.
He stared at her face and nodded after a moment, still looking somehow unsure, but more relaxed. His hand held hers in place so he could plant a kiss on the tips of her fingers. "We are almost there, you´ll be able to see for yourself, and whatever you don't find to your liking can be changed or disposed of"
More than an offer, his words sounded like a promise.
...
It wasn´t that long after that when the carriage finally stopped. His residence was a much closer distance to the bay than her Father´s. Which made sense for her, since James spent a good part of his day at the Fort, it was so like him to find himself a place that was close to the bay.
By the subtle tone of anxiety he had spoken with, she thought the building would be of a much more humble nature. Hence, she found herself slightly bewildered when the door of the carriage opened and what met her outside, was considerably far from modest.
What stood in front of her was an elegant two-story residence, that was likely at least half the size of her Father´s dignified Mansion.
The front of the building was painted a beautiful that gleamed under the morning sun, which brightened its appearance. It couldn´t be categorized as nothing less than lavish.
So distracted was she by the sight in front of her, that it wasn´t until James presented his hand for her, that she took her eyes away.
"Welcome home, Elizabeth" he offered warmly as a somewhat shy smile adorned his features, bringing her hand up and kissing the back of it.
She smiled back at him, stupidly pleased by his words. And placing her hand on his arm, she used it to pull herself up and peck his cheek affectionately.
His hand wrapped around hers and guided her through the front door. She couldn´t control the sense of excitement as passed the threshold and saw the inside. The inside was wide, spacious, and the large windows adorned with thin curtains, allowed the sun and the breeze to pour in freely.
She loved it all of it. The cream coloured walls, the golden accents, the light tile floors, the magnificent chandelier and the tasteful staircase to the right that curved up to the upper floor. Everything was to her taste, she noted with surprise.
Although, besides the essential furniture, it was very bare. A couple of console tables flanked each side of the entrance, a longcase clock rested against the wall to the right and, that was it. No paintings, no vases, no statues… definitely not one for decoration, she remembered with humour. But this was a little absurd, she would have to change it.
"How long has it been since you acquired this residence?" she asked with curiosity while her gaze darted around every surface in front of her.
His face furrowed in concentration "I do not remember exactly, but it´s been likely close to a year" as his gaze followed around hers he asked "Why?"
Her gaze turned to him from the edge of her eyes and an amused smile appeared as she squeezed his hand "Well, you said it was nothing much," she reminded him "but this is quite a respectable estate, Dear"
One of his eyebrows raised up, and his eyes swept around the room once more. "I have never been one for unnecessary spending, my earnings as a Captain was good enough for me to live comfortably, so I had quite a bit saved. When I…" he interrupted himself so suddenly she turned to look at him.
His face turned down and faced away from her; but before she could ask him anything, he resumed with his explanation as if nothing had happened. "I decided to acquire it after I was informed I would be getting promoted to Commodore. I... thought it would be more befitting of my new position" he finished with a fleeting laugh, that was neither happy nor was it honest; and he was still avoiding her eyes.
A very uncomfortable churning started to bubble in her stomach as a very real possibility gnashed her thoughts.
Her body moved to stand in front of him, and she clung to his shoulders before thinking it. She got a hold of his chin and his eyes finally turned back to hers.
His expression looked unusually guarded, and she felt herself hesitate for a long moment before she finally found the courage to ask in a strangled whisper "James, did you… did you buy it for me?"
Her suspicion was confirmed when his expression transformed to one of guilt. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I acted rashly." he apologized, looking incomprehensively embarrassed.
Such a fool.
She felt a mixture of remorse, shame and utter happiness settle on her chest. This man was…
Rejecting him because of another man, making him suffer and then going ahead and falling for him afterwards with no regard for what she´d done. And him accepting her in spite of that.
Really foolish.
"Do not apologize to me!" that´s the single thing she could not tolerate from him. "I´m…" she didn't even know what she should say. What could she say? "It´s me who…"
His hand grasped her cheek, covering her lips with his thumb and effectively stopping her pitiful apology. "Please, don´t do it either" he begged "I was the one at fault, it was all my misunderstanding"
And so endearing.
But the sincerity behind his words only served to make her chest twinge with aggravation at him …and at herself. The dolt kept apologizing for the estate he bought for her -a beautiful one at that- thinking about offering her a future with him, while she was too busy thinking about another man… She was really feeling like a completely foolish woman, embarrassingly so.
Her hands took hold of the lapels of his coat and pulled him down until his lips were close enough for her to reach, kissing him and pouring all her frustration onto it with as much affection and gratitude as she could muster.
If the silly man didn't want to hear it, then she would simply have to show him how she felt.
His soft lips yielded to her without protest, perfectly following her lead as one of his hands held the back of her head in place, making it impossible to move away, just like she longed for. His arms holding her secure were the most comfortable place she could wish for.
She parted away from him just enough that she could whisper a heart felt "Thank you" her mouth caressed his cheek as she added "Truly"
He appeared to be completely content as he caressed her neck gently. "You don't have to thank me for anything. I want you to have it all"
"Let's stop this." she didn´t want to keep talking about this "I want to see everything else" she told him excitedly.
This time he offered a smile so pretty he could not have been forcing it. "Of course"
She simply grabbed onto one of his arms and pulled him towards the closest archway she saw.
The sitting room was very similar to the Parlour, light colours, big windows, warm and cozy. The wall facing them had two floor length slim windows with pale blue curtains drawn back as to let the sun enter; the pale yellow rug in the middle of the room was flanked by pale blue upholstery couches while a marble low table sat in the between. The wall to their left had a big chimney and in front of the window to their right, there was a small table flanked by white matching chairs. And sconces hung from all the walls.
At least there were some paintings in here. "It´s beautiful, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of decoration anywhere"
"Elizabeth, I told you already, this is your home now. You can do whatever you want, and decorate it in whatever way you see fit"
She hummed in agreement as she evaluated the room, she was already planning to do so anyway. Then, she turned around and used her grip on him to pull him again "I want to see the rest of the rooms"
As he guided her thru the rest of the first floor, she learned that the door on the other side of the parlour led to a drawing room that had a small library inside as well as a piano. The dining room was deeper inside to their right, just adjacent to the sitting room, and the kitchens were at the very back, to the left.
As they walked leisurely, he took the time to explain the a couple of details about the property. According to James, he had only a small group of maids under his employment.
"There is also a butler and a couple more men that do all sort of chores around the house. I have not needed much more in the way of service but you can hire some more maids if you'd like" he informed her as he guided her up the stairs and to the right of the long hallway.
She curiously noticed how they had yet to encounter any of them so far. For a second, she had the mind to ask him, but decided against it just as quickly. He would no doubt bring them out the moment she did, and she rather spent their time together with just the two of them.
"And the door over there," he pointed to the door at the very end of the hallway "is the one to your room."
His words made her halt on her step and look back at him. "My room?" she asked, a little startled and very confused.
When he saw her expression, a small frown settle on his face. "Of course" he assured her, looking just as confused.
"What about you, then?"
When he understood what she was really asking, he clarified with a small smirk "I wanted to let you have your own space"
"So am I to spend my nights abandoned?" she asked cautiously while presenting him with a dissatisfied scowl, her disagreement was already forming on her lips.
His expression become slier as he added "The room next to it is my own," he pointed to the door they had just passed "and there is a connecting door between them. You can come and go between them whenever you want to. You can sleep in your room or in mine if you would prefer to." he soothed as his thumb rubbed the knuckles of the hand he was holding, using it to pull her body even closer "Albeit... I would be the happiest if you'd let me stay with you" he smiled down at her, bringing his hand to cup her cheek.
At least they were in agreement on that, she thought. Her good mood returning instantly.
"So I get to decide?" when he promptly nodded his assent, she brought their intertwined hands up and pressed them against her mouth "Stay by my side then."
"With pleasure" he promised her, before leaning down and brushing his soft lips against the skin of her nose.
"That´s decided then" she decided, taking a step back from him and walking the rest of the distance to the door of her new bedchamber. Pushing it open enthusiastically as soon as she was in front of it.
She was even more amazed by the beautiful room she found inside. The walls were painted with an inviting pale beige -same as the rest of the house- delicate golden coloured decals with intricated designs decorated every wall. A grand bed, with magnificent wooden carved finishes, sat at the heart of the room, while a matching chaise lounge stood at its foot and two exquisite ivory commodes flanked each of its sides.
A luxurious cream rug graced the floor, while a smaller version of the chandelier on the Parlour hung above them.
In one of the corners, an opulent cream coloured armoire with delicate light accents stood tall against the wall, and in the other corner a white kneehole table with a matching chair rested next to one of the windows, with a giltwood mirror hanging over it.
This room was notoriously different to the others he had shown her.
"I thought you were not good at décor" she muttered softly, looking back at him with awe. Even if the tastefulness of the rest of the rooms was indisputable, the care put into this one was completely different.
"I am not" he agreed with an amused shake of his head "Not by any means, but this was for you"
What was he even trying to do to her heart?
She could do nothing but stare at him, unable to articulate an answer that would completely encompass the way she was feeling.
But he might have misunderstood her silence, because his hand tightened around hers before he asked her with cautious slowness "Do you… not like it?" and the vulnerability that she could hear in his voice only served to upset her.
"I love it" she answered instantly with a vigorous shake of her head. "And I love you a lot" she blurted out while wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing herself into his embrace, burying her face on his shoulder while feeling overwhelmed with emotions.
"And I love you dearly" his soft declaration in her ear as his arms held her delicately against his body made her melt into his embrace.
When they finally separated a little, his eyes caught hers, she could see the conviction of the feelings behind every one of his promises with complete clarity. It was so easy to trust him when he looked at her like that.
And it made it so simple to forget all about her useless regrets. None of them mattered anymore, he was hers now and nothing could change that.
"Do you have to go back to the fort today?" she questioned, a sly glint forming in her eyes as she separated from him just enough that she could bring her hands to his front, moving her fingertips down the column of his neck.
He responded honestly, completely unaware to her intentions "I should finish supervising the storage of the recovered goods, but it is not a pressing matter for now. Why?"
"Hmm, I wanted to show you how grateful I am for all of this, and just how much I appreciate your hard work" she told him with a pretty smile.
He frowned a little at that "I told you already you really don´t…"
She interrupted him with a kiss to his neck as her hands moved to the knot of his cravat, pulling it loose. "But I really want to show you how much I like it, especially the bed" she emphasized as her fingers worked to open his waistcoat.
It was clear he finally understood her meaning when the green in his eyes got swallowed by black and he reassured her with a strained voice "I have no more engagements for the day" before he even finished speaking, his hands were already following her lead, fighting to loosen the lace knots at her back while his mouth occupied itself with soft kisses along the line of her jaw.
He seems to have a much better grip on what he's doing now, she thought merrily as she felt the fabric of her bodice give after just a couple of firm tugs.
She let him continue with his delightful endeavour as she whimsically pulled the shirt out of his breeches, letting her hands wander inside and stroking the firm muscles of his abdomen, making him groan.
"So you are no longer going to try to protect my honour from myself?" she quipped arrogantly while looking him in the eye, not slowing down for even a second as she pushed his coat and waistcoat off him, receiving his enthusiastic help.
Her words made him laugh. "Too late for that now, is it not?" his fingers wandered under her stays with purpose, locating the button securing her skirt in place, and undoing it with commendable swiftness. Her skirts dropped to the floor in a flutter.
"You enjoyed it!" she accused with cheerfulness, using one of her hands to knock the tricorn off his head, landing it on the floor with a dull thud.
"Oh, I most definitely did" he confirmed, continuing to get rid of the annoyingly tight contraption around her torso, and taking her back into his arms as soon as she was left in nothing but her chemise. His mouth lowered to her ear "more than you can ever imagine" his whispered words sent pleasant shivers down her spine.
She didn't have to imagine anything, she knew exactly what he was talking about, she thought with ridiculous satisfaction.
"The bed looks incredibly comfortable, don´t you agree? I would like to try it" she ordered him confidently.
His next move was so fast and unexpected she let out a surprised squeak when he bent down and grabbed hold of the back of her thighs, easily picking her up in the air.
Her arms held onto his back tightly in order to stabilize herself. The vantage point of her new position allowed her to take off his wig without much effort, grabbing hold of the hair at the back of his head and dipping down to capture his lips.
He started moving, but she had stopped thinking or paying attention to her surroundings, until her back hit a marvellously plush surface, making her release a content hum.
She had to admit it, this bed was much better than the one in the ship.
Although her new discovery was rapidly forgotten when her focus shifted back to divesting him of the rest of his useless clothes. She managed to get his shirt off, all by herself this time, but she had no time to revel on her achievement, as his hands moved to bury underneath her chemise and trail up her sides, completely distracting her.
The direct contact of their skin quickly ignited her desire for more, so she took hold of his wrists and pulled them until his palms were enveloping her breasts. The warmth of his hands drove a pleasant heat up her chest and throat, forcing out a languid moan when he squeezed them, moving the pads of his thumbs roll her nipples delicately.
He was torturing her. And her impatience grew too much to bear his slow pace. Although she refused to stop kissing him, so her hands reached down blindly, trying to get to the buttons of his breeches.
Instead, she ended up grabbing him. Which tore a very attractive groan out of his throat and forced him to detach his lips from hers at the rough touch.
"I thought you liked me" he breathed out, inches away from her face. He narrowed his eyes when the only response he received was a self-satisfied smile from her. Then he whispered dangerously low against her ear "Why are you trying to drive me insane?"
"You are taking too long" she tried to reason, but her concentration was suffering as she put most of her focus on pulling open his breeches. Shamelessly reaching her hand inside his underpants once she finally managed to.
His eyes shut tight at the contact, a harsh exhale escaped thru his nose and a rough grunt left his lips.
Remembering how much he had seemed to enjoy her attentions on the ship, she gently wrapped her hand around him. She was fascinated by how soft it felt even though it was completely solid underneath, her hand drifted up and down his length as her mouth turned to the side and bit the tip of his ear.
"Is there a particular reason as to why..." her hand tightened just the sightless and his words cut off with a low growl as he lifted his head from the crook of her neck so he could show her an annoyed scowl "...you are in such a haste to finish this quickly, Love?" his dissatisfied complaint made her smirk.
Good, he deserved some retribution.
"I'm in a haste to start it" she panted, letting her hand abandon his front so she could pull down on the sides of the obtrusive fabric instead. When she couldn't manage to pull them all the way down by herself, she finally demanded recklessly "Take them off, now James" barely able to prevent it from sounding like a whine.
Not a moment later, he sat up and obediently struggled to take off his shoes and pull down his breeches and underpants the rest of the way, all at the same time. Giving her enough space to sit up and swiftly yank off her chemise.
Letting herself drop back down on the bed, she reached for her last piece of clothing. Although her plan to quickly dispose of her bottom drawers was thwarted when his hands covered hers on each side of her hips.
"I'll do it" he demanded roughly, replacing her hands with his and pulling them off her with unexpected and agonizing delicacy while allowing his fingertips to brush along the overheated skin of her legs as he went. Even if he discarded them with carelessness on the floor as soon as they were off her body, which made her chuckle.
She waited impatiently for him to move back up, but instead, he stared dazedly at her naked body.
Last night it had been dark inside the cabin and everything had been difficult to see. But right now, it was still quite bright outside and the half drawn canopy let plenty of light enter the bed, letting her completely exposed to his inspection.
Still, she managed to produce a confident smirk and ask without a crack on her voice "Found something you like?" even as she had the urge to bring him back down so he would stop staring at her with such intensity it was making her colour.
He offered her a surprisingly salacious smirk as his hand took hold of the back of both her calves, lifting one of them up all the way to his mouth "I found something I love" he mumbled against her skin as his lips brushed the inside of it softly with every syllable, making her heart jump when his warm tongue suddenly licked her.
"James" she ended up whining and jerking her leg against his face gently "That tickles"
"My fault" he apologized with a blatantly unrepentant chuckle but relenting at last, letting go of her leg and moving up to her stomach instead, making her muscles twitch when he dropped a kiss under her bellybutton. "Your body really is soft" he praised her, letting his nose trace a path up her abdomen, with his hot tongue trailing immediately behind it. "I like touching it" he mumbled against her skin, leaning his ear directly over her pounding heart and closing his eyes.
"I don´t care, come back" she ordered, pulling on his shoulders.
She was beyond his tender affections, what she needed from him at the moment was something much more primal and she was going to get it one way or another.
When she finally managed to bring him back up, his body settled steadily on top of hers, sinking them further into to the linens.
Her legs bent up to allow him more comfortable access between her hips, and then she used her feet to trap him in place and her hands to cling to the back of his shoulders.
Still, he seemed more interested in kissing her ear and rubbing himself against her than on relieving her of her ache. "You're terrible" she panted in his ear, letting her cheek brush against his in an attempt to convince him to do it already.
He chuckled softly, then proceeded to lick the spot under her ear that made her heat up.
"Hurry up already" she demanded with an upward thrust of her hips against his that offered no subtlety to what she was referring to. "You know it´s not gentlemanly to keep a lady waiting"
She scowled at him when he raised an amused eyebrow at her, but his hand moved to steady her hip and she barely had any time to brace herself before she felt him start to push into her with a bit more force than what she had been expecting, but this time she just closed her eyes and let him in with a delighted moan, squirming a little as he made his way inside.
Last time she had been too stupefied by everything happening to really pay attention to anything besides the delicious shocks running through her body. But she could feel everything with incredible acuity now; the size of him inside her, the hardness of his muscles as they contracted to hold him up, the way their skin would graze everywhere with every little breath they took.
"Are you alright?"
His smooth voice brought her out of her head as she forced her eyes to open.
She couldn't help but smirk at him, reaching up for his cheek and using the back of a finger to trace it gently "Are you planning to fret over me every single time?"
His serious look changed to mirror hers, his loving eyes twinkled back at her "Most likely"
His care was sweet and made her nose scrunch up involuntarily, but instead of answering, she let her hips thrust upward a little too forcefully. While she still wasn't sure what was the proper way to do it, she knew that even the softest of his movements felt marvellous, so she guessed that he would feel much the same way.
And she was proven correct immediately after when the light entering the room allowed her a clear look at the unadulterated pleasure that took over his features as she did that, and the growl that resonated from the back of his throat made her preen at the obvious approval behind the sound.
When his eyes caught on her expression, his face inched forward until his mouth was right over hers. "And you said I´m the terrible one?"
The gruffness on his voice and the sensation of his breath hitting her, made her let out an involuntary giggle. Still, she had no interest in carrying a conversation at the moment, so she just hummed back and let her hips wriggled even more persistently against him, igniting embers of heat to her lower belly.
"...fine then"
Somehow, the low, deliberate tone he used, made the hair at the back of her neck stand up. And she understood the reason why when his weight shifted forward and he buried himself impossibly deep inside her. The noise that came out of her at this, was embarrassingly close to a squeal, but James didn't stop to ask anything this time.
It felt even better than the time before, his movements were rougher and his thrusts hit a little deeper every time. Her own hips kept swaying frantically in an attempt to encourage him even further.
Still, the friction was not nearly enough. It was too good, and she desperately wanted more of it.
"Harder" she urged against his ear thoughtlessly, holding him tighter whilst feeling delirious with need.
The moment the words passed her lips, she felt James´ control slip off entirely. His thrusts became so aggressive her back was forced off the bed at the sudden assault.
When the intensity of her pleasure multiplied to the point that her entire body felt like it was on fire, she discovered that she did not mind one bit. She was so enraptured that she didn't even realize how close she was to reaching that amazing peak of dizzying ecstasy until it abruptly descended upon her with his name in her mouth.
The first thing she became aware of once her reasoning started to return, was the way her heart was thudding so fast it could almost be mistaken for the fluttering wings of a hummingbird, which gave her the strange urge to laugh.
Just as her body began to calm, her hips and legs lost strength completely. And the moment they fell limply to the sides, James took hold of the back of one of her knees and used it to bring her leg up and over his shoulder.
Her body felt the change immediately; he was reaching so deep inside her it left her completely speechless, and then all of a sudden he bumped a place inside her that sent sparks down every nerve of her body, built back her pleasure with almost violent speed.
"wai…" she tried to call his attention, but his eyes were shut tight and her voice was practically gone. And his distracting hand kept stimulating her chest as he pulled her closer and closer towards the edge.
His movements were so fast and unrelenting that she could hardly keep up as he rocked her entire body. And when she lost control of her own body, she could only moan and cling to him even harder as a second wave of overpowering pleasure hit her with vengeance.
