Owing to all of his years with her, all of their minutes and hours and days spent together in love, there were few things he knew better than how to make her respond to him.What could she do but give in and let him take over?Let him take her where he would?
For long, sweet minutes he played her body, making her senses careen with the consummate deftness of a master.Every intimate stroke of his fingers, every burning trail of his lips sent currents of desire pulsing through her, awakening the memories of him that she always carried with her, deep in her heart, all of the shared experiences that defined them through the ups and downs of their life together.
At long last he moved over her and glided down, the roughness on his chin and cheek grazing against her softness, his mouth hot and wet on her skin.His lips traversed her sensitive inner thighs, leaving a damp, fiery trail of kisses in their wake.Tantalizingly warm, his breath washed over her before the tip of his tongue touched her, tearing a ragged sob from her throat.
She trembled uncontrollably, lifting her hips to get closer still.As his mouth teased her mercilessly, she felt the blood coursing through her veins, spreading the familiar tingling weakness everywhere.She twisted beneath him, crying out his name.
He lifted his head.She opened her eyes and gazed down at him.
The eyes that blazed into hers were a deep, fathomless green, overflowing with emotion that words could never convey.His breath came in a deep, ragged rhythm as he hovered there, and she could feel his life force sluicing through his veins, to match the insistent throbbing between her legs.
“Now,” she said, her voice shaky and tremulous.“This is for you, too.For both of us.Come inside me now.Please.”
He hesitated, clearly torn between his intentions and her desires.“If you wish,” he whispered at last.
“Idemand.”
“Well, then…” He came over her and slid inside her welcoming body with a single swift thrust.
Amy let out a long, soft moan.Having him there felt so right that tears of gratitude came to her eyes.He kissed her, his mouth urgent and hungry, and she tasted herself on his lips.He rocked against her, his hips maneuvering in a rhythm as ancient as time, and she matched his every move.She could feel him holding back, feel the uneven tempo of his breath as he struggled for control, feel the staccato beat of his heart against hers.
And then, with a groan of capitulation, he let go, and she felt him pulsing inside her.Feeling her own contractions burst forth, matching and melding with his, she arched herself closer, wanting him deeper, the two of them so in rhythm that she couldn’t tell where one of them stopped and the other started.
A while later, once their hearts had slowed, he came up on his elbows and brushed the tangled curls off her face with reverent hands.His lips grazed her eyelids, her forehead, one ear.“I love you,” he whispered there.
“I love you, too,” she whispered fiercely.Her arms tightened around him, crushing him to her.She kissed him with all the exquisite tenderness she felt in her heart, completely at peace for the first time in months.
“Tell me again,” she begged, putting a smile in her voice.
“I love you,” he said simply, and she didn’t doubt it.
Not for a moment.
Twenty-Eight
Jewel
BY THE TIMEJewel’s parents returned and took their places near the harpsichord, Uncle Ford’s tall case clock had chimed the quarter-hours at least three times, maybe four.Which meant that more than an hour had passed.
An hour filled with lackluster caroling.
Jewel observed a marked lack of enthusiasm, especially compared to the family’s singing yesterday.She wished they could stop, and even ventured to suggest it, but Aunty Violet was insistent.
The light had faded, and candles had been lit.Despite Violet’s valiant efforts to keep mulled wine flowing and holiday nibbles nearby, Jewel heard stomachs rumbling.It was well past time for supper.
Unfortunately, Uncle Jason still hadn’t appeared.No doubt feeling pressured by expectations, Aunty Cait had changed into a fancy turquoise gown that looked too bright for her current demeanor.She was curled miserably in an oversized chair.
As often happened during family gatherings, Jewel was wedged on a couch between eighteen-year-old Elspeth and sixteen-year-old Diana.Outnumbered by uncouth boys, the older girls had always stuck together.Diana plaited Jewel’s hair over and over while the desultory caroling droned on.
When a loud banging of the door knocker interrupted, Jewel found herself immensely relieved.
“Jason!”Aunty Cait cried, jumping up from her curled misery.
“I’ll get him,” Uncle Ford said and left the room.
But it wasn’t Uncle Jason at the door.Instead, Ford returned with…
Jewel blinked.
