Page 20 of Two Ruins Make a Right

He continued to study the fire. For a moment, she didn’t know if he’d heard what she had said.

Then, with no warning, he pulled her into his embrace.

His arms felt like steel bands around her.

The feeling of warmth and security undid her.

She buried her head against his neck, his warmth and the comfort of his familiar scent unraveled her composure.

She couldn’t help but fist his shirt in one hand and cried.

She cried for their lost years, her lost happiness, the loss of not having a family, but most importantly, the loss of his love. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Hush.” His lips were against her ear. “Hush, my love. You had no choice.”

She caught her breath at the terms of endearment he uttered.

“But Harry needs to know the truth. If he decides he doesn’t want anything to do with Christa after he understands the situation, she’ll be heartbroken.

But I can’t in good conscience go forward with their wishes without that.

If Harry decides to walk away, I’ll have to convince her to marry Mounthaven.

” She grabbed the back of his shirt with her fists, holding him tightly against her.

“Please tell me you understand that this is the only way I know to protect her.”

“Harry won’t leave Christa. He loves her.”

Harry loved Christa, just as James had loved Nell.

What she had wanted eight years ago and had been denied, she would now do for her sister.

If only someone had been there to help her, but she wouldn’t dwell on that.

For the first time, she felt relief. Christa wouldn’t have to marry for money like she had.

She knew in her heart that James would shield the couple. That’s all she could ask for.

“Don’t worry about their future.” He pulled back from her and studied her face. His thumbs brushed away a new set of tears. Gently, almost with a reverence, he kissed each cheek. “Nell,” he whispered. “I do worry about you and your future.”

“I’m only interested in the present.” She pulled back and looked into his dark eyes, which had always offered contentment and love.

Without taking her gaze from his, she moved closer.

A mere inch separated them. When he closed his eyes, she did the same.

When their lips finally met, her body melted against his.

Without even a second thought, she moaned and opened her mouth.

Instantly, his tongue entered and caressed hers. One of his hands swept up and down her back. Their kiss sparked a renewal, or at least, she hoped it would. She didn’t know how to define it and didn’t care as long as he kissed her like he did years ago, like she was someone precious to him.

For all her years, she would forever miss moments like this. Moments that were sweet and intimate conversations between the two of them. Her life could have been so different if she’d defied her parents and married him. But that would have left Christa unprotected.

He angled his body closer to hers. His mouth desperate to deepen the kiss. He tightened his arms around her. Both were hungry and greedy to make up for all those lost moments that were stolen from them. Suddenly, their sweet kiss ignited a blaze that neither could control.

Nell reached for one of James’s hands and pulled it to her breast. She squeezed his hand, signaling she wanted him to do the same.

He chuckled slightly against her mouth. “Do I need instruction on how to please you?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s been a while since we’ve kissed like this,” she murmured as her cheeks heated.

“It’s been too long.” He slid his lips down her neck and licked the indentation at the base of her neck. “However, I believe it’s something that will always come naturally to us. Don’t you?”

“Hmm,” she answered. In a completely wanton act, she pressed her breasts against his chest.

He groaned his approval. “Nell, tell me you want this.”

“I do. I want to make love to you.”

At the words, he pulled away and searched her eyes.

“Please,” she whispered. “I want this. With you. Right now.”

He smiled gently. The warmth in his eyes seemed to caress every inch of her. “I want the same.” Without warning, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Though she was almost as tall as he, it made her feel delicate and feminine. He always had.

He gently lowered her to the mattress, then he untied her dressing gown. His mouth seemed to be everywhere then. She moaned when his lips trailed a path of heat down one breast.

She cried out when he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

How long had she dreamt of this moment when they once again shared the most intimate act a couple could give one another—the sharing of their bodies?

A slick heat slid down her abdomen, and her center tightened at the exquisite sensation.

He was a master at bringing her pleasure.

He’d always made her pleasure a priority.

“Please, James,” she murmured repeatedly, begging him for more. It became a litany for her. If she repeated his name, he couldn’t leave her. Not in this moment.

His gaze never left hers as he pulled back. He stripped his shirt over his head. With an easy balance, he drew off his boots and stockings.

When he went to unbutton the placket of his breeches, Nell sat upright and held out her hand. “I want to do that.”

With a half grin, James stepped right between her legs. “Your pleasure is my utmost desire.”

“Kiss me then,” she demanded as she worked the buttons free.

Together, they pushed his breeches to the floor. She wrapped her hand around his hard length, relishing his heat and strength. With her other hand, she cupped his sac and gently squeezed.

He hissed. “Sorceress.”

“I have fantasized about this moment for years.” She lifted her gaze until it met his. “I don’t think a day has passed without me wanting you.”

For a moment, they stood staring at each other as if suspended in time, her simple statement the ultimate confession.

“Darling,” he softly murmured. “I’ve wanted you the same. Let’s take our time.”

He dipped his head and took possession of her mouth. Her arms immediately wrapped around the breadth of his massive back. At her touch, his muscles rippled in awareness.

This moment between them was something she never wanted to forget. She spread her legs, and he moved over her. “For tonight, you’re mine,” she whispered as if laying claim to him so that all those other women who wanted to marry him were pushed away from both of their memories.

He kissed her again without answering. He deepened the kiss with his tongue, exploring hers.

Both were consumed with each other. She responded to his low growl with one of her own.

The feel of his skin and body against hers was pure heaven.

My God, how long had it been since she’d felt this way?

She had never experienced this completeness with Whitton.

With him, it was merely an act between a married couple.

With James, it was a cherished expression of love and affection.

She only felt this way when she was with him.

His attention turned to her breasts again. As he suckled, she lifted her hips in invitation. With each touch, kiss, and caress, he created a storm within her that would soon be unleashed.

“James.” She almost didn’t recognize the low thrum of her own voice. “Only with you have I ever felt this way.”

He pulled away but still watched her. He rested his weight on his elbows and lowered his body to hers. He slid his cock through her folds, teasing her with a promise of what was to come. “Do you feel that? I’ve imagined doing this to you since you arrived here.” He exhaled slowly.

There was no need for words. They both knew what was inevitable. When he entered her, her muscles immediately clenched around him. She hadn’t had a man inside of her in over two years.

He hissed, then withdrew until he was barely inside her. She cried out softly, and he answered by sheathing himself all the way in.

She let out a breath of contentment. The fullness she experienced wasn’t at all uncomfortable. This was like both pouring themselves into each other. Neither knew where one ended and the other began.

James moved with a rhythm designed to please her. She kissed him again and again until an undeniable force threatened to pull her under. She didn’t resist. Maelstroms of pleasure threatened to drown her. If she were in James’s embrace, she didn’t care.

James’s movements quickened, his hips pistoning as they met hers.

With each stroke, her pleasure grew until she reached the pinnacle, poised to be pushed over the top.

All her senses concentrated on that moment.

When the world seemed to stop spinning, she closed her eyes and let herself be swept away.

Her pleasure spiraled out of control, and she followed. “James.”

As her orgasm waned, she collected every sensation and memory to tuck away on the cold nights when she’d sleep alone.

Nell opened her eyes just as the corded muscles in James’s throat tightened and he crooned her name repeatedly as his seed flooded her.

She tightened her arms around him, desperate to keep this moment and him close forever.

When his gaze met hers, he smiled. With one hand, he brushed her dampened hair from her cheek. His chest glistened with sweat.

“Nell.” The sound of her name on his lips harkened back to a time of pure love.

She returned the gesture and pushed a wayward lock of hair that had fallen over his brow. “My love.” The words slipped out. She should’ve recalled them, but at this perfect moment between them, she spoke the truth. She did love him and always had.

He flipped to his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment as he brought his body and breath under control. Then he turned and gathered her into his side. She never wanted to be parted from the warmth of his skin against hers.

“Nell,” he said softly, then pressed his lips against her brow. “I came inside you.”

She burrowed closer to him wanting to hide in his warmth. “Don’t worry. I’m barren.”

He pulled away, then, with one hand, tilted her face to his. “Why would you say that?”

“Whitton and I...” It was mortifying to discuss, but he needed to know. James was the type of man who would insist on doing the honorable thing, such as marrying her. She couldn’t allow it. Not after what she’d confessed. Not to mention her inability to conceive. “We never were successful.”

“Maybe the problem was with him.” James pressed another kiss to her face. This time it was on the tip of her nose. “Always before when we made love, I’d pull out before I came.”

“Hmm,” she said noncommittally. Perhaps she had been barren even then.

An image of Valentina skated through her thoughts.

Nell had decided not to say goodbye to Valentina.

She couldn’t bear it. More importantly, it’d be better for Valentina.

After she returned home, Nell would send her a gift, perhaps another doll to keep Abigail company.

The soft, even breaths from James revealed he’d fallen asleep.

Without hesitation, she curled up next to him and closed her eyes. She’d take this night and cherish every second sleeping next to him. But the morning would bring back reality.

She was an early riser and would be gone before he woke.