Page 40 of A Second Chance for Carys
For a brief moment he stared at her, as if trying to make sense of what she had said, and then—then he burst out laughing. Carys looked on in amazement as he threw his head back and sent his deep, throaty laughter to the sky like an offering. James Mortimer was laughing. It was something she had never seen before and it was wonderful. It was thanks to her, which made it even more wonderful.
She wanted to pluck that delicious sound from his lips, and swallow it. When the impulse became impossible to resist, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him.
After the initial shock, James lifted her into his arms to bring the kiss to a new level of passion, urging her to wrap her armsabout his neck and her legs around his waist in support. Not worried about the strain imposed on him, knowing that in the water she would weigh next to nothing, Carys complied. It was a shocking position, there was no denying it. His hands were cradling her buttocks and with their undergarments wet and clinging to their skin, it felt almost as if they were naked. She could feel him, hot and hard, between her thighs.
His tongue licked, his teeth nipped, his lips caressed. The rest of him was not idle. His throat rippled with his grunts of pleasure, his stomach tensed and contracted every time he adjusted his footing on the sand, his hands kneaded her flesh.
It was perfect.
This man, this moment, this kiss was perfect. It tasted of salt, of desire, of joy. She knew then that when he came back from Margaret’s village, they would address what was between them. And she knew they would be of one mind. People did not kiss like this unless they wanted to be together.
After a long moment, James let her go. His eyes were gleaming in the sunlight. A droplet of water had landed on his chin, just under his mouth, as if to taunt her. She licked it away and made a grimace. Too salty. She’d already forgotten.
James’ lip curled at her reaction. “Forgive me for not telling you about the salt. I never thought to warn you.”
Of course, he wouldn’t have thought of mentioning something so obvious to him, in the same way she wouldn’t think of warning someone eating pottage that it was hot. “You’re quite forgiven.”
Would they have kissed if she’d known the water was salty? She couldn’t be sure, since she had thrown herself at him in reaction to his laugh. And it had been the best, most heartfelt kiss she had shared with anyone since she’d lost her husband. It had been worth a mouthful of briny water.
“Will you wait for me, Carys?” James murmured against her temple. He was still cradling her in his arms and, despite the cold, she was loath to break the embrace.
“I will.” Of course she would. “And in the meantime, I will learn to swim.”
He smiled. “Just make sure not to come on your own. The sea can be quite treacherous, as you can imagine.”
It warmed her that he didn’t try to dissuade her, object to her being seen in a state of undress by another man or even simply forbid her to come, as many men she knew might do. Instead, he was encouraging her. “I’ll be careful.”
“I’ll be looking forward to seeing your progress when I return. Now, come. Let’s make the most of the sun to get you warmed up.”
The following day at dawn, James left with Margaret. After her fit of madness of the other day, the woman seemed oddly subdued, willing to obey his instructions without comment. It was as if she had accepted she had lost him for good, and had no fight left in her.
One could only hope.
A small group of people had assembled in front of the barbican to bade them goodbye. James couldn’t help a shudder. He didn’t want to leave, not now, not when he could still taste the salt from the sea, mixed with Carys’ sweetness, on his tongue.
After their kiss, he had taken her back to the blanket to dry and sat as far away from her as possible. Though sorely tempted, he had not dared do what he’d been aching to do and tumble her onto her back to devour her like he had the other day. This timeshe wouldn’t have allowed him to get away with not reaching his own release, and he was still not ready for that. He needed to put his life and thoughts in order before he attempted to do what he had shied away from for so long. He already knew he would not find it an issue to perform with Carys, the way it had been with Joanne in the last few years of their marriage. His manhood definitely responded to her proximity, ignoring what his mind was telling him. His body was aching for the pleasure only a woman’s softness could offer. His possession of her, when it came, would be complete.
Which meant he had to be sure he had mastered his fears before he attempted it, because it wouldn’t be fair to her.
To his relief, she had not made any move to provoke him nor asked anything from him. She was giving him the time he needed.
“I will be as quick as I can, but it might be a month or more before I’m back.” He did his best to address everyone, instead of staring at Carys. They had said their goodbyes the day before at the beach, in private. It had been the best way, as he didn’t want to betray any emotion that would cause suspicion amongst the people at Sheridan Manor.
He knew she would be waiting for him, it was all that mattered.
“You take the time you need,” Matthew told him, the same thing he’d told him when he’d left the year before. Aye, but so much had happened since then…Now he had more reasons than ever to want to hasten back home.
“Just make sure you’re back to meet your grandchild in the summer. He will need all his grandparents by his side when the time comes,” Branwen added, cradling her rounded stomach.
The new lady of the manor had started to show and had never looked better. James smiled his thanks for her kind words, thenstiffened when Margaret let out a scoff from behind him, unable to keep her venom in.
“Look at you holding yourself so proudly for doing nothing more than opening your legs and letting your husband rut on top of you,my lady.” In her mouth the two words sounded like an insult. “I’ll grant you that the man’s more attractive than most, but you should?—”
“Silence!”
James had never slapped a woman in his life, or even felt the urge to, but his fingers were itching something fierce right now. If she said anything else he would not be responsible for his actions. To think he’d believed her subdued!
Before he could say anything else, Carys planted herself in front of Margaret.
