Chapter 6
Light leaked through the windows, made brighter by the reflection of the rising sun on the snow.
She had been hoping to wake to a continuing blizzard.
Feet and feet of snow that would keep them bed bound for days.
In the night, they had turned so he was at her back, the hair on his chest rasping against her skin.
The room was warm. He must have risen to feed the fire at some point, but she had not awoken.
James had never slept with her. He had visited her bed to do his duty and then left immediately.
This intimacy was a revelation. A different sort of pleasure than an orgasm.
She wiggled so there wasn’t an inch of space between them.
She could feel his cock against her back, hard and long. Did his ardor ever flag?
The only indication he was awake was the slow glide of his hand from her hip upward. It did not stop until his fingers curled around her breast. Her breath hitched. He squeezed the flesh and played with her nipple until her back arched.
“Your breasts are wonderfully sensitive.” His voice was sleep roughened.
She wanted to touch him and tried to turn over, but he stopped her. Instead, he lifted her leg to lie on top of his. His cock settled between her legs, the head bumping against the most sensitive part of her.
Her mind was clear of whatever had been in the punch at the festival. She knew what she wanted. She reached down and fit him to her entrance, but his hips canted away.
“Are you sure?” he whispered.
He needed the words, and she gave them to him. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
She braced for him to thrust inside of her, but he didn’t. Instead, he held her close and stroked between her legs. She was already slick with desire from their earlier play, but that wasn’t enough for him. He rubbed until she squirmed and breathy noises came from her throat.
The precipice approached, and she fell without fear or hesitation into pleasure. Still in the throes of her orgasm, he entered her with a slow but firm thrust. She closed her eyes and let out a silent scream. It felt like nothing she had ever experienced. Satisfying and right.
Her body clenched at his cock as if finding purchase. They remained on their sides, her back to his front, which was surprising in and of itself. She hadn’t realized there was more than one way to engage in sex.
He took another thrust, this time harder.
His arm came around her and held her in place as his hips moved in a rhythm she found both familiar and foreign.
James had thrust into her similarly, but then she had been tensed for the distasteful sensation of invasion.
This was different in the best possible ways.
She was slick with arousal and craved the feel of him stretching her.
That was how she felt with Callum. She craved him.
His pace increased until he suddenly withdrew from her. Wet warmth spread across her buttocks and trickled down. His laugh was rueful as he pressed her to lie on her stomach.
“Apologies for the mess. Lie still for a moment.” The bed moved under his bulk.
Boneless and warm, she followed his direction, her mind wandering almost into a doze. The feel of a cool cloth jolted her back to full consciousness. He cleaned her before throwing the covers back over her.
She turned to her side to watch him. He had dressed and was sitting on the lone dining chair to pull on his boots. “What are you doing?”
“Checking on my horse.” He twitched the curtain aside to look outside. “And if the snow isn’t too deep, I should take you back to the manor before everyone awakens.”
“Don’t tell me you’re worried about my reputation,” she said with a smile.
“I would rather avoid gossip.” His matter-of-fact tone wiped her smile away. “Hopefully, you can join your sister in her room with no one the wiser.”
Was he already beset with regrets? “I see.”
He paused at the door to look at her with a cocked head. Then he returned to sit on the side of the bed. Her nakedness increased her sudden emotional vulnerability.
“What do you see?” he asked.
What she saw was a murky future full of unknowns.
She had no idea what he wanted. Or what she wanted for that matter.
Her plan had been to spend the winter with her sister and then decide where to go and what to do with her life.
Now she’d started an illicit affair. Or was it merely a onetime liaison? “I’m confused.”
“About what exactly?”
She tried to distill her feelings into something simple but it was impossible. “Everything. Aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not. For the first time in a long time, I am clear-eyed. It is rare that a man gets a second chance. I want to court you, Eleanor. Properly.”
A tingle went through her and made her stomach whirl even as his next words brought her back down to earth.
“And I want you to be able to hold your head high in the village.”
“Are you ashamed of what transpired between us?” She couldn’t look at him.
He took her chin between thumb and forefinger and forced her gaze to meet his.
“Of course not. I feel reborn in my own skin. I’ll always have regrets about what happened with my father and Amelia, but the crushing guilt is gone.
You made me realize I have been paying a penance that was not necessary.
Both of them would want me to be happy, I think. ”
“Of course they would.” She took his hand and kissed his palm.
“Will you allow me to court you?” The sudden vulnerability in his manner set her heart aflutter.
But James had courted her properly, and it had turned into a disaster. She hadn’t known what lay behind his exquisite manners. If she were to marry again, it would be to a man she knew and understood soul deep.
“You can court me, but I will not be content to sit in a parlor sipping tea and talking of trivialities.”
“What do you want?” he asked.
Her mind whirled. No one had ever asked her such a pivotal question. Thoughts traipsed through her head, but she needed time to tame them into coherence. “I will let you know.”
“I will be content to follow your lead, Eleanor.”
Her lead . She hoped to avoid leading them off a cliff like so many ignorant sheep.
With exquisite sweetness, he leaned in to kiss her mouth. It was a kiss filled with promise and optimism. She dropped the covers and wrapped her arms around his neck, her naked breasts pressing against his waistcoat. It was surprisingly erotic.
“As much as I would like to remain here with you for eternity, I need to saddle my horse and clear the path.” He kissed her nose. “And you need to dress.”
She flopped back in bed and pulled the covers up when the cold air swirled around the room from his exit. Finally, she rose and dressed. Her hem was still damp, but the rest of her gown had dried.
It didn’t take long enough for Callum to saddle his horse and prepare the way. The snow was at least a foot deep, but higher drifts had piled up next to the cabin. She didn’t want to leave their cocoon and face the world. Or her sister.
“At least the snow isn’t too wet. Are you ready?” He held out a hand to help her mount.
“Not really. I’d rather stay here.” The mulishness in her voice made him smile. It was amazing how much it transformed his face from careworn to charming.
“I would too.” He leaned in to kiss her. Just as her knees turned watery and she leaned closer to grab the front of his coat, he put his hands on her waist and turned her toward his horse to mount.
He settled himself behind her, taking a moment to wrap her in the warmth of his greatcoat. The going was slow and her feet grew numb with the cold and damp, but even so, the manor came into view too soon.
He stopped at the edge of a copse to hide them from view and surveyed the back of the house. Everything was still and deserted. Even the stables looked quiet. He nudged them into a walk. The mare’s steps were muffled by the snow, and the snuffing of the horse was the only sound.
“The herb garden will lead you to the stillroom. From there, the servants’ stairs are directly across the corridor. Find a maid, tell her you got turned around, and ask for your sister’s room. Hopefully, most guests are still abed.”
“What will you do?”
“I will stable my horse and enter through the front door. My sister and mother are also in residence.” He pressed his cool lips against hers before depositing her at the herb garden.
He did not tarry, and neither did she. She slipped inside the stillroom. It was cool but still shockingly warm compared to outside. No noise set her on alert. She was alone. Now she had to get to her sister.
Cracking the door open, she looked up and down the corridor, seeing no one.
The clatter of cookery and the smell of bread came from one end.
The kitchens. At the other end were more closed doors.
The stairs were exactly where Callum said they would be.
She scampered up them and emerged onto a plush carpet and elegant hall lined with a half dozen doors.
Panic had her frozen in indecision when a scullery maid scooted out of the nearest room with a bucket of ashes. She flinched when she saw Eleanor.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
“I rose early to see the snow, but now I can’t remember where my room is. Everything looks the same, I’m afraid. I’m with my sister, Mrs. MacGrath.”
“Oh, you’re on the wrong wing, ma’am. Follow me.”
The maid took her across the three-story entrance to the other side of the manor and pointed to the last room on the right.
“Thank you very much.”
If the maid gave her a curious look, Eleanor ignored it. Hopefully, the previous evening had been too chaotic for the servants to have noted every guest.