Chapter Fifteen #3
Leaning forward, he kissed her. A kiss so wholly engrossing, she sank deeper into the mattress. She felt him guiding himself into her entrance, and as he slid inside her, they both stopped breathing.
Eyes locked, they stared at each other, smiling, as he gradually inched further inside her. The sensation was exquisite, made her toes curl, and the air in her lungs slowly seeped out in little sighs.
With each inch, he paused, gave her body time to accommodate him, and then he moved forward again.
A snap of pain caused her to gasp, but it was quickly forgotten, and she arched her hips upwards, her body begging to have all of him. Now.
Drake kissed her. ‘We’ll take it slow. We have all night.’
‘Yes, we do,’ she said softly, but the need inside her was simply too great. ‘But I’ve waited long enough!’ Wrapping her legs around his hips, she thrust herself upwards, taking in the last length of him with joyous pleasure.
Listening as her body told her to move, she grasped his shoulders and gave in completely to instinct. Their bodies formed a rhythm, even their gasps were in unison as they journeyed together to a destination that was as of yet unknown, but calling to her.
The tension and pleasure continued to grow, swirl inside her like a powerful storm, and she wondered it if was too much, if she’d lost control, until the pleasure struck with such force, she cried out his name.
His body was hard, the veins showing in his neck, and then, with a deep moan, he thrust one last time, far inside her, and as he shuddered with his own release, she experienced a second round of pleasure that left her bleary-eyed.
Drake collapsed atop her. She could feel his heart pounding as his lips found hers. He kissed her deeply and held her close as waves of euphoria washed throughout her body over and over.
Gradually, every part of her sank into a tranquil bliss, and as Drake rolled off her, she rolled over and snuggled up to his side, not wanting to be separated from him. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘Thank you for marrying me. Thank you for loving me.’
He kissed her temple. ‘It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.’
She giggled.
He laughed.
And then they kissed.
At first, Meridith wasn’t sure if the brightness filling the room was from the sun or from the happiness within her, for she couldn’t remember ever waking up with such a broad smile on her face.
Either way, it was bound to be a glorious day.
She nuzzled her husband’s—God, she loved calling him that—shoulder with her nose, then kissed his warm flesh.
The arm that was beneath her and wrapped around her, pulled her closer to his side as his hand rubbed her upper arm. ‘Good morning, sweets,’ he said.
‘Good morning.’
He kissed her forehead. ‘I was wondering when you would wake up.’
‘You were?’ she asked, rubbing his shin with a toe under the sheet. ‘Why?’ Immediately knowing the answer, she bolted upright. ‘We aren’t late, are we? We have to have time to see Hugo before we depart!’
‘No, we aren’t late. I promised I wouldn’t let you oversleep.’
Good heavens, but he looked handsome, lying there with sultry-looking eyes, naked. Almost naked. The sheet covered his manhood. The body part that he’d pleasured her with several times throughout their wedding night.
He’d pleasured her in other ways, too, and the memories sent the sweetest tingles throughout her body. Her hands were grasping a corner of the sheet, holding it over her breasts. She uncurled her fingers, letting the sheet fall as she stretched both arms overhead. ‘So, we didn’t oversleep?’
‘No.’ He flipped the sheet off his body and then dropped his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up. ‘You still have plenty of time for a bath, and visiting Hugo, before we depart.’
She told herself to ignore the flash of disappointment at him leaving the bed, but took delight in watching him stand up. His body was so perfect it could be a statue, except that she wouldn’t like other women seeing it. He was hers, and hers alone.
He spun about and grasped her by the waist. ‘Come on.’
She scooted to the edge of the bed and looped her arms around his neck, kissed his chin.
He lifted her off the bed, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him deeply.
When he began walking, holding her tight against him with his hands on her bottom, she asked, ‘Where are we going?’
‘A bath has been prepared in the room across the hall.’
‘Oh. Are you going to carry me the entire way?’
‘Yes, and I’m going to join you. It’s a large tub.’
Tightening her arms around his neck, she said, ‘I do believe that mornings with you will be proven to be as delightful as evenings.’
‘That is my goal.’
A goal which, on that day, he accomplished. He also gave her ample time to visit with Hugo before they travelled to the docks. She had already said goodbye to her family, so was surprised to see Diana and Walter as well as Peter and Alena at the docks.
‘We simply wanted to wish you bon voyage,’ Diana said. ‘We are going to miss you.’
‘I’ll be back before you know it,’ Meridith replied.
‘But I am going to miss you all, very much,’ she added, looking at her siblings and their spouses.
They all had been very good to her, and she regretted not understanding that sooner.
Drake had explained it best by simply saying that battling through a storm made a person appreciate smooth sailing.
It was late afternoon by the time the London Star left the dock, and it would take several hours before they would reach the English Channel.
It was all so new to Meridith that she didn’t want to miss a moment and found a comfortable spot on the upper deck where she could watch everything, the men working aboard the ship, as well as the sights that they sailed past.
The ship was large in many aspects, and small in others, because every square inch had a specific purpose.
The cargo they would unload at ports along the way to Africa would provide the space for the goods they would haul back to London with them.
Including an elephant. Hugo would be so happy about that.
She turned, searched the deck for her husband, and easily found him, talking to Mr West, his second mate.
Drake turned, and their gazes met. She felt every nuance of the look he bestowed on her.
The love. The passion. The devotion. A few months ago, she had wondered if a man would ever look at her that way, and now it happened regularly.
He was everything she had ever wanted and would forever be all she would ever need.
He said something to Mr West, then left the man and walked to her. ‘How are you doing?’
‘Fine,’ she answered. ‘More than fine. Do you want to know what I was thinking about the day I met you? The day you came to the garden party?’
‘What was that?’
‘That my life was boring. That there was nothing exciting about it, and then I met you, and it’s been everything but boring.’
‘I could say the same about you.’
She shook her head. ‘Your life wasn’t boring.’
‘Perhaps not to some.’ He slid his hands around her waist and pulled her close. ‘But it was lonely. Do you want to know the first thing I thought when I met you?’
‘Yes.’
‘I thought your eyes were the color of the Caribbean Sea, and that the smile on your face was as fake as the one on mine that day.’
‘The Caribbean Sea?’
He nodded.
‘I’d like to see that.’
‘You will,’ he said. ‘Anywhere you want to go, I will take you there.’
Smiling, she pointed at her lips. ‘This smile isn’t fake.’
He laughed. ‘Neither is this one.’
After glancing about the ship, she met his gaze and asked, ‘What if I want you to take me to bed?’
‘All right,’ he said.
‘Right now?’
‘Can you think of something better to do?’
‘No.’
He kissed her. ‘Neither can I.’
Laughing, and hand in hand, they hurried across the deck towards the ramp that would take them to the captain’s cabin below, where there was a bed that was large enough for two.
She laughed then, knowing one thing for certain. She had found the home she’d been looking for. A home of her own, a place where she could laugh and live, and never have to leave. It was in Drake’s arms.