Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
By the time he and Minnie had prepared for bed, Tommy bathing while Minnie remained turned to the other side of the room, he could have fallen asleep standing up.
An away game always made for a long day, but Tommy did appreciate returning home to sleep instead of finding rest in an inn somewhere. Besides, he knew the expense for the club to put them all up wouldn’t be worth it.
He groaned as he lowered himself to the floor, every muscle aching, especially in those places he had fallen upon during the game.
He was going to be sore tomorrow, that was for certain, and for more reasons than just the game.
He didn’t want to tell Minnie how much sleeping on the floor was causing his back to ache, as she would be sure to blame herself.
“How are you feeling now?” Minnie asked, sitting up straight in bed and looking down at him.
“Fine,” he lied. “Just a tough game, is all.”
“You weren’t yourself today,” she noted, and he smiled wryly.
“Wasn’t my day,” he said. “We all have those games.”
“Except you were distracted because of me,” she said.
“I’m just worried, is all,” he admitted. “The sooner we figure this out, the better, then we can go back to… well, you can live your life as you’d please.”
“I don’t know what that will look like yet,” she said. “I’m still trying to find my place.”
“I’m happy to help you, in whatever way possible,” he promised.
“And I appreciate that,” she said. “But what are we supposed to do now? We’ve warned my father, and that is all we can do.”
“I think there’s more than that,” he said, shaking his head, refusing to believe this was completely out of their hands. “I think we need to find our own evidence to bring down Blackwood.”
“How?”
“We use whatever contacts we have,” he said. “I’ll ask Jonny to help tomorrow.”
“How does he know all about Blackwood?”
“Jonny…” he began, not wanting to give away Jonny’s secrets. Tommy had no desire to hide anything from Minnie, but that was for Jonny to share. Besides, he didn’t even know the full story. “Jonny has connections to a part of Manchester that most of us never see.”
“Interesting,” was all she said, not pushing any further.
There was a pause before her head popped over the side of the bed, her long blond hair spilling over the side of her face, and it took every bit of his willpower to hold himself back from pushing it away so that he could see her eyes.
“Tommy, you cannot sleep on the floor tonight. I saw how you were favoring your left side when we disembarked from the train, and as much as you’re trying to hide it, I know the floor is hurting your back. ”
“It’s good for my back!” he protested, wondering how she had seen through his attempts to hide the pain.
“I’m more observant than you realize,” she said with a frown. “I’ll sleep there instead.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed, slender ankles and perfectly formed feet appearing next to his head. “Up you go.”
“I am not letting you sleep down here,” he said, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eyes, telling her that she would receive nothing but an argument from him.
“Tommy, don’t be so stubborn.”
“I will not let my wife sleep on the floor.”
“Fine,” she said, tucking her legs back underneath her and into the bed. “Then you will come and sleep beside me.”
“Minnie—”
“Tommy, we are two adults who are married. I think we can sleep in the same bed.”
She might think so, but little did she know the thoughts that ran through his head at the very idea. But it was tempting. Both the bed and the woman within it.
“Very well,” he finally agreed, his resolve weakening. “But know that I would never pressure you into anything.”
“Tommy, I asked you to sleep in here!”
“Of course,” he said, slipping into the bed beside her and lifting the blankets up to his chin.
She lay facing the ceiling, and he decided he was best to do the same as he began to overthink the situation, wondering if turning toward her would make her think he was expecting something from her, or if turning away would make her think that he was ignoring her.
Something soft bumped his arm and he leaned over, picking up the object.
“What’s this?”
Minnie gasped and ripped it out of his hands before he even realized she had moved.
“You’re remarkably quick,” he said in wonder before looking at her with a teasing glance. “Just what was so important to hide from me?”
“Nothing.”
He reached over her. “Let me see.”
“No!” she cried, but there was laughter in her voice.
He tickled her side until she bent toward him, hiding from his hand, and finally she was giggling hard enough that he was able to take the soft, plush thing from her hand.
“Why, Minnie Ward, is this a rag doll?”
She sighed in defeat. “Perhaps.”
He held it up before him, squinting in the dim light. Yes, there it was. A face, but it was faded, the pink pattern on the dress muted.
“How long have you had this?”
“All my life,” she said softly. “My grandmother gave it to me. It helps me sleep. I know it’s silly, but—”
His heart melted.
“It’s not silly at all,” he said, looking at her with a smile. “It’s sweet.”
He tucked the doll back against her side. “Don’t be scared to share things with me. There’s nothing I will judge you for.”
“Tommy?” Her voice was soft, hesitant.
“Yes?”
“I’m cold.”
“I’ll go stoke the fire.”
“No,” she said, turning to reach out a hand and cover his chest, holding him down before he could lift the blankets. “Stay here. Do… do you think you could hold me? Warm me up a bit?”
Her eyes searched his face, hesitant, uncertain, and he held no power to keep himself away.
“Of course,” he said, even though he knew that this just might break him.
A smile lit her eyes as she turned toward the wall before snuggling back and pressing her body into his, which instantly rounded over her.
She fit perfectly into the C his body made, her back against his chest, her buttocks resting achingly against his groin, and he had to shift so that she didn’t feel the evidence of his desire that immediately made itself known from her proximity.
Her entire body relaxed in his arms, while Tommy’s was instantly on alert.
His arms wrapped around her, holding her close, as he nuzzled his nose into the freshness of her hair, which smelled like sweet peas.
He inhaled her, holding her scent deep within him before sighing it out, and she snuggled back even closer against him, causing his hand to fall onto her stomach.
Belatedly, he realized that her nightdress was bunched high on her waist, and if he moved his hand a little bit, it would fall onto the soft, bare skin of her thigh.
She laced her fingers in between his, lifting their clasped hands so that they rested on the underside of her breast.
Was she doing this on purpose? Did she want him as much as he wanted her? And if they went any further… just what would that mean for those desperate feelings for her that he was struggling to contain?
Her body was no longer soft, relaxed before him, but rather tense, on edge, as though she was waiting for what would happen next.
“Minnie?” he finally breathed out, unable to take the tension any longer. “Is all well?”
“Everything is just fine,” she said, her voice breathy, her words coming out as a sigh. “I cannot fall asleep.”
“Why not?”
“I’m on edge, I think,” she said.
“Can I help you with that?” he asked, thinking of how exactly he could help her, but he was too afraid to say it aloud.
“I think you could.”
He swallowed hard.
“How so?”
“Touch me,” she whispered.
And he went completely still.
Minnie bit her lip, cringing.
Had she really just said that?
The man had kept himself away from her for weeks now, sleeping on the floor so as not to lie beside her. Now, she had practically forced him into the bed, and from how tense he was behind her, she had the feeling that he would have preferred to have stayed where he was despite the discomfort.
He was just being nice, again. Not wanting to hurt her feelings. The very same reason he had married her – to be polite, to look after her, though he didn’t actually want her. Not anymore.
Why, he wasn’t even letting his hips touch her, as though she offended him. She had nearly told him that he could leave, but when he had willingly allowed her to intertwine their fingers, she finally willed up the courage to ask him to touch her. The responding silence had gone on far too long.
If he denied her, that would tell her everything she needed to know.
“Minnie,” he said, his voice breaking, “are you sure?”
“Would I have asked otherwise?” she said, annoyance in her voice, but she couldn’t help it.
She was practically throwing herself at him, and he was responding as though he were appalled by her.
But they were married, and he had agreed not to go into another woman’s bed.
Didn't that mean he might be interested in sharing his own with her?
She wasn’t sure if she was ready to truly join together, but at least they could have some sort of intimacy. Something more than this tense awkwardness that had developed between them.
He lifted their joined hands, allowing their knuckles to brush against the underside of her breast. She felt the jolt of heat from where he touched her through her nightgown, the thinnest she owned, all the way down to her very core.
Goodness, if this is what he could do to her from a simple touch, what would be the result of more?
He released her fingers, only for his hand to trail up, cupping the weight of her breast in his palm.
Minnie's breath caught as his calloused fingers traced gentle circles through the thin fabric.
Heat blossomed under his touch, sending tingling sensations racing through her body.
She arched into his hand, craving more contact.
Tommy's breath was hot against her ear as he whispered, "Like this?"
"Yes," she breathed, hardly recognizing her own voice. Desire coiled tight in her belly as his thumb grazed her nipple, teasing it to a hardened peak. Pleasure raced through her, sharp and electric.
His other hand slid down, trailing over her ribs, her waist, before his fingers settled, splayed across her abdomen. Minnie trembled, aching for his touch to dip lower. He pulled her flush against him, and she gasped, feeling the hard evidence of his desire pressed against her backside.
So that’s what he had been holding back from her. Perhaps he wasn’t so disinterested after all.
Slowly, torturously, he inched her hem up her thighs.
Cool air whispered across her heated skin, followed by the rough warmth of his hand, which inched downward, slipping beneath her nightdress. She gasped and trembled, equal parts nervous and eager, as his fingers danced along the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh.
"Tommy, please..." The words spilled from her lips, unbidden. She needed him, needed his touch like she needed air.
"Tell me if you want me to stop," Tommy rasped, his voice strained. But stopping was the last thing on Minnie's mind as his fingers danced higher, skimming the juncture of her thighs.
Minnie's hips bucked involuntarily, seeking his touch.
The first brush of his fingers against her most intimate place sent a jolt through her body.
Minnie whimpered, her hips rocking instinctively into his touch.
Gentle exploration quickly gave way to more purposeful strokes as he was there, parting her slick folds to find the sensitive bundle of nerves at her center.
She cried out as he stroked her with knowing fingers.
She had known that a man’s touch could be pleasurable, but she had never known that it could be so intoxicating.
She never wanted him to stop.
Minnie panted, her head thrown back against his shoulder as unfamiliar but exquisite sensations built inside her.
Tommy's fingers moved deftly, circling and stroking, each caress stoking the fire in her blood as his other hand continued to caress her breasts, tweaking her nipples.
Pressure coiled tighter and tighter low in her belly, winding her like a spring.
Tommy's breath came faster, mingling with her own gasps. His hardness pressed insistently against her, but he made no move to seek his own release, focused solely on her.
"That's it, Min," he murmured, his voice rough with desire. "Let go for me."
His words were her undoing. The coil inside her snapped, and ecstasy crashed over her in wave after wave. She shuddered in his arms, his name falling from her lips like a prayer.
When the last tremors subsided, she sagged against him, boneless and sated.
"Tommy, that was..." She struggled to find words, her mind wonderfully hazy.
He pressed a tender kiss to her temple. "Shh, just rest now."
Minnie turned in his arms, reaching for him, wanting to reciprocate and give him the same earth-shattering bliss he'd just given her. But Tommy caught her wrist, bringing her hand to his lips.
"Not tonight, love," he murmured. "This was for you. To take off that edge that was bothering you. To send you to sleep."
Minnie reached for him, her hand skimming over the hard planes of his chest. Did he not want anything from her? "But what about you? I want to touch you..."
He caught her hand, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to her palm. "Another time. You're not ready for more yet.”
What did that mean? She was tired, and yet she didn’t feel right about taking from Tommy and not returning.
Part of her wanted to protest, but exhaustion was already tugging at her eyelids, and Tommy held her firmly in place as he stroked her hair with his other hand. Cocooned in his warmth, she finally stopped fighting him and the slumber that reached for her.
She closed her eyes and, most shockingly, slept more soundly than she ever had in her life.