Fortune Knocks Once (6 page)

When she looked at him, he leaned closer and pressed a soft quick kiss against her lips, feeling her quiver as he did. “Ever been kissed, darlin’?” he murmured.

She shook her head vigorously, both frightened he would press his attentions swiftly and brutally to a quick end, yet reluctant for the delicious caresses to end.

“Let’s try it again,” he said softly as he took her mouth again, this time with more force and nudged his tongue against her lips. “Open up for me,” he urged her.

She obeyed and he swept his tongue into her mouth, tasting her sweet innocence and feeling the rising panic in her body as he rubbed his hands over her back and arms. “Easy now, give me your tongue sweetheart.”

As she tentatively obeyed his command, Colin wrapped his arms tightly around her, cupping her buttocks and pressing her against his body.

Charlotte felt ready to swoon. Despite his promise last night, things were moving quickly and from the state of his male stiffness pressing against her leg, he was obviously ready to finish it now. She instinctively knew she could stop him by reminding him of that promise but decided that would be a coward’s gambit.

I want this. I want him. And oh, how wonderfully wicked and sinful he is making me feel!

In the past few days, just looking at him could cause her stomach to become queasy and uneasy. Having him touch her freely and intimately like this was sending her wits reeling.

Is this what it feels like to be drunk?

Not knowing exactly what she should do or how to respond, Charlotte decided to follow his lead. So when he thrust his tongue inside her mouth in fierce sweeping movements, she opened to welcome it and felt fire rushing to those private, most personal parts of her body. Then as he withdrew his tongue, she tentatively pushed hers into his mouth and was rewarded with a quiet groan from him.

Oh my goodness! This is wonderfully delicious, but terribly naughty I think. Although we are married now…he is my husband…my love forever and ever.

When he cupped her breast and fondled it softly, she could feel it heating the juncture between her thighs, causing her to squirm against him. So she rubbed his chest and arms with tender, warm caresses and felt the effects in the increasingly insistent pressure of his cock pressing against her leg.

Feeling heady with a new-found power, the power to excite and stimulate him, she became more and more bold in her reactions. When he released her mouth from the drugging kiss with the mating tongues, she feathered tiny kisses over his throat and neck causing him to breathe heavily and gasp huskily, “Darlin’, if you don’t want to finish this today, right now, we need to stop.”

“Don’t stop,” she whispered very softly as she moved lower to kiss his chest while caressing his buttocks. The lust filling her body had masked all her doubts and reservations, replacing them with pure sensation and desire.

He jerked back from her and looming over her asked sharply, “Are you sure?” Looking directly into at his face with eyes glazed over with lust, she nodded and leaned forward to plant a soft sweet kiss on his lips.

He moaned loudly and rolled over on top of her, thrusting a knee between her legs to push them apart and finding the intimate opening between her legs, gently ran his fingers along the lips before pushing his finger into her, testing her readiness for his entry. Finding her moist and ready, he opened his trousers, quickly pushed them down, positioned himself over her and thrust his arousal into her warm feminine cleft at the same time he took her mouth with a fierce penetrating plunge of his tongue.

It happened so quickly.

Her eyes, previously half closed in lusty languor, flew open reflecting the pain that had lanced through her body at the breaching of her maidenhead. A tiny whimper escaped her throat, causing him to abruptly stop. “Are you in pain? Have I hurt you?” he asked gently. “Do you want me to stop?”

Happy just to be in his arms and hoping it would get better, she shook her head fiercely. With a quick “Thank God” he slowly started moving again, increasing the power of his thrusts gradually.

When Charlotte wrapped her legs around his knees, he grabbed her buttocks with both hands, quickening and deepening his possession as they both lost themselves in passion.

With each powerful stroke, she felt a mind-numbing and inexplicable need building within herself, and when he reached between them and caressed the small nub between her legs, she cried aloud as wave after wave shook her.

With several final, violent, shuddering thrusts, Colin followed her into a powerful climax. Still inside her and nestled in place between her open legs, he carefully shifted his sweating torso to lay beside her so his weight would not crush her. They both lay still and silent, dazed from the rush and force of the last few moments.

As she lay under his body while he lightly dozed, softly snoring, Charlotte’s face slowly broke into a mischievous, sly grin.

So he isn’t immune to me – despite my lack of feminine charms or any endearing qualities...Despite my awful Defect. Despite everything my loving uncle has thrown in my face, day-after-day, week-after-week.

She giggled quietly and reflected that this risky marriage, betrothed in haste and pledged in a blacksmith’s barn “for better - for worse”, might just turn out to have its better parts.

~~~

When Charlotte reached the top of the narrow ladder, sunlight temporarily blinded her after the darkness of the narrow passageway and tiny berth below deck. Sea spray hit her full in the face, slightly wetting her hair and clothes.

She lifted her hand to wipe the mist from her face and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes she raised her face to the beautiful blue sky filled with white, billowing clouds and sighed with contentment.

This is wonderful. I love sailing! We shall be in Kilkenny in no time. I am so glad not to have to endure another bone-jostling journey in a carriage.

A few days after their marriage, to hasten their journey home, Colin had sweet talked and bribed their way onto a mail packet leaving Scotland and making for Waterford Harbor. From there they would commission several small wherries to travel up the River Nore to arrive at her new home. The sea voyage and river trip eliminated weeks of arduous overland travel on poorly maintained, muddy roads through Ireland’s countryside.

“Here miss…that is, yer ladyship. Let me help you.”

“N-no n-nee-nee-need,” she answered lightly, stepping on deck and giving Gil a broad grin and lightly patting his arm to reassure him it was not a rebuke. “I’m f-f-fine.”

“Wish we could say the same thing fer his lordship. Not much of a sailor, him….never was. Same problem ever time we make this trip. He’ll be better once we shift upriver on the Nore. But he don’t completely come right till his feet hit dry land fer good.” Gil chuckled in amusement.

That’s why I have c-c-c-come up,” Charlotte replied. “Sor-sor-sorry…m-m-my s-s-sp-sp-speech…”

“No, miss. Don’t ya worry yer perty head about yer talkin’. I kin understand ya just fine. Do ya need somethin’ for the master?”

Charlotte nodded her head. “Fresh water,” she whispered in his ear.

“He’d best like ale, missy. I’m thinking ‘at’s what he’d preference.”

Charlotte shook her head.

“Well, you be doin’ the nursin’. Guess, it’s fer you to say. And takin’ good care of him you are too.”

Charlotte patted Gil’s arm, thanked him with a warm glance and flashed him a ready smile.

Despite your harsh looks and gruff manner, you are really very sweet, aren’t you Gil? I think I like you very much.

Then she turned away to take up watch at the railing while she waited for Gil to fetch the water. She spent every moment away from Colin watching the vast ocean and marveling at her oh-so-romantic escape from her penny-dreadful situation.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined I would be here now with my handsome and oh-so-sinfully wonderful husband, on my way to my new home. It is a fairy tale come true!

At that moment Colin emerged from below, dressed only in his rumpled shirt, wrinkled breeches and muddy boots. With a scowl on his face, his eyes blinking against the glare of the sun, he bellowed curses as he stepped onto the deck.

“I feel bloody well worse down there than I do on deck. Can’t stand it down there.”

Charlotte turned and looked at her husband. Colin’s long face, set in a fierce grimace, was darkened and rough from several days without shaving. He stood on deck, swaying to the motion of the ship, thrusting his hair away from his face over and over, causing it to stand on end in the wind and sea spray.

“I should never have agreed to this blasted ship. I could be on a horse right now. A man doesn’t get this bloody sick riding a horse.”

Charlotte watched him intently, trying to determine if there was something she could do to ease his discomfort.

“Bloody hell, this is miserable. How much longer till we reach harbor? Damn…”

Clutching his stomach, Colin kept up a steady stream of griping and grumbling without cease until Gil approached from the far side of the ship with a cup of fresh water.

“Gil, is there no ale, for God’s sake?” Colin shouted in exasperation throwing the contents of the cup out, causing it to splash over all three of them when the wind caught hold of it.

“Now have a mind to yourself, boyo,” Gil shouted back at him. “And watch yer language in front of yer lady wife there. I kin still beat yer manners into ya if need be.”

Colin stiffened his spine and gave his manservant a dark, threatening look but ceased the cursing and complaining. He turned his back on Gil angrily.

Charlotte slowly and calmly walked closer to Colin, gave him a mostly worrying, but slightly admonishing look and motioned him to the ship’s rail.

It’s only been two days, my lord. We should be there soon. It can’t be as bad as all that.

“Yah, ya wife has the right of it, get on over there with her and enjoy the sunny weather while you kin. Might rain again tomorrow like as not,” Gil urged him, prodding him forward like a recalcitrant child.

Standing side by side, both staring out to sea, Colin was very quiet and brooding for a long time, focusing on the monotonous horizon. Then he sighed softly and relaxed his spine and shoulders, turning his head to look at Charlotte. When he did that, she slipped her arm through his and took his hand.

He softly began talking to her. “I cannot wait to be off this damned ship. At least on the River Nore I can help row and keep myself busy. Oh, I’m sorry, Charlotte. It’s no excuse, but I hate being on the sea. It’s a problem for me every time. If I didn’t want to be home so desperately to start putting everything right, we would not be aboard right now.”

She patted his arm gently and he lowered his face, gazing into her eyes, and softly murmured, “Please excuse my ill humor?”