Page 13 of A Second Chance for Carys
“Here. I told you I would not let you fall.”
“Diolch.” She automatically thanked him in Welsh.
“What should I answer to this, I wonder?” he asked, leaning in to speak in her ear.
“A chroeso.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper. He did his best to repeat the words as faithfully as he could and was rewarded with a blinding smile. “Da iawn! Well done.”
“My first words in Welsh,” James confided. Only for her would he have attempted such a thing. He’d heard enough of the language to see it would not be easily mastered.
“Thank you, I had guessed as much.” There was mirth in her voice but no mockery. “It seems we have both experienced something new today.”
“It would appear so. Shall we carry on?”
“Yes. I’m not one for giving up so easily.”
No. He didn’t think she would be.
Hand in hand, they walked back to the edge of the water and only stopped when their feet were completely covered by the churning sea. It was as cold as he had feared, but not for all the gold in the world would he have wished himself anywhere else.
“Is it always thus?” Carys asked, lifting her head to him. “Does the water always go back and forth in that manner, I mean?”
She looked cautious, as if fearing he would think her silly for not knowing but eager to have an answer nonetheless. Of course, if she had never seen the sea before, she would be surprised by the motion. How had he not thought?
He nodded. “Yes. It never stops, never for a moment. Not only that, but it expands. It is low tide now, but do you see those rocks next to where we tethered the horses? The water will slowly creep up to them over the course of the afternoon. Then it will start retreating back to the place it is now, and the same thing will happen again at night. It does this twice a day, every day.”
“That’s incredible.”
“Yes. It’s a movement that’s as old as time.”
Back and forth. Retreating then plunging in again. Suddenly the words made him think of another such movement that had been part of people’s lives since the dawn of humanity. How long since he had experienced the joy of being one with a woman, of moving inside her and getting lost in the moment? Too long. But, as much as he missed it, he knew why he didn’t indulge in the pleasure of it. It was not just that few women piqued hisinterest, though that was certainly one reason. But the act was not without consequence. Children were created during such joinings, and then their parents had to watch as they died.
James had been through that awful pain four times already. Once would have been once too many, four was just plain cruelty. He could not bear the idea of seeing a child of his loins die ever again. Much better to keep his urges in check. And mercifully, there were other ways to get—and give pleasure.
“I want to go a bit further.”
“Yes.”
So did he. But he didn’t think they were talking about the same thing.
Carys could not help a shriek when a wave, more forceful than the others, crashed against her legs, splashing her all the way to her knees. Not only was the sea going back and forth, but it was also unpredictable. It seemed that some waves were stronger than others, and she’d been caught out.
“Will you look at that!” She giggled, gesturing at her dress. “I’m all wet!”
James gave her an odd look, one that was too intense by far, considering what they were discussing.
“You are paddling in the sea, that will be why,” he said before she could make sense of it. “Doing certain things will make you wet, there’s no avoiding it. It’s not always a bad thing, though.”
Everything within her tightened, or loosened, she wasn’t quite sure which. Was he…had he just alluded to?—
Another wave crashed against her legs. This time she didn’t do anything to try and avoid it, she didn’t shriek. In fact she barely noticed it, so lost was she trying to puzzle out James’ words and containing the wild beating of her heart.
After a long while, he cleared his throat. “The tide’s coming in, that’s why the waves are coming with more force. I’d betterget you away from here,” he said softly. “Or you’ll end up completely drenched.”
She couldn’t nod; she couldn’t speak. All she knew was that she was drenched already, only not in the way he meant. Dear God, what had just happened? Nothing. And yet she felt as breathless as if James had just kissed her senseless.
They retrieved their shoes in silence and made their way back to the blanket he’d spread on the sand earlier.
