He sat down at the table and his eyes took in the rise and fall of her chest. She was giving him the eye, but it was Thomas that finally said something.
“Something is different about you Callie. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I think we should become a real married couple Thomas.”
He knew what it meant, but it still didn’t register in his mind. “Don’t you want me?”
Thomas nodded that he did before he really even thought about it. He didn’t have to think about it because it had been on his mind since meeting her. Every night he had come home to yearn for her and after she had showed her displeasure of him having another woman, Thomas had just been letting it build up. His last try at satisfaction had not been enough and he knew that it was because of the woman across from him, seated at the table. It was Callie that he wanted in every way and he had recently figured that it was worth the risk. A stranger coming to take his wife back was enough to prompt him into really thinking about it all.
“How can you ask me that?”
Callie didn’t know what that meant and she looked down. It had taken all of her courage to say anything, but she knew that the only way he was going to stop her from going back to Chris, was to want her in all ways. She had to be the good wife and in the back of her mind, Callie figured that once her innocence was gone, Chris would have less want for her. He only wanted her so he could control her and be the first, but if she was already taken, maybe she wouldn’t appeal to a man like that anymore.
“I, I don’t know the way of men.”
Why was everything she was saying driving him crazy? Did she know what little things like that would do to him? Was she really that innocent?
“I think you know enough Callie, to know that the man this morning wants what every man wants from you. I am no different.”
It was what she wanted to hear, but it also made her shiver inside a little and look away. Callie was aware that many men wanted the same thing from her, but it did nothing to make it any easier to read the need for her in his eyes.
“Then why have you not…?” She couldn’t finish the sentence, though neither one of them needed her to. It was clear what it was that he hadn’t done. They had been married a week and she was as untouched as when she began. Callie was starting to worry that something was wrong with her. There was nothing she seemed able to do about it though. This was her last chance before Chris came the next day.
“I don’t have good luck with women that I… do that with. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“You wouldn’t.”
He sat back and saw something else on her face. It wasn’t just lust that he saw, but fear as well. What was she so afraid of?
“And this has nothing to do with the man here this morning?”
Callie looked away for a moment. Was she that easy to see through? It appeared she was and he was not giving her any slack whatsoever. “Chris coming here has nothing to do with the fact that we are married now.”
Thomas didn’t like the answer and it felt like he was being manipulated. He didn’t have to look hard to find something more in her look. She was not trying to seduce him because she was dying to be with him. It was because she was afraid and wanted his protection. That was how he saw it and he gruffly told her that she didn’t have to do anything to get that. “You are my wife Callie. I told you before that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I meant it.”
***
He went to bed that night and wished that he had gone against his first thoughts. There was something about the way she had looked at him, but he didn’t want her if she didn’t really want him. In the end, he had thought about it too much and for too long and by morning, Thomas was waiting for the man to come back. He wasn’t going to be welcome there and he had already decided that no matter who told him to do what, Callie was not going anywhere with anyone.
When the knock finally came, it was only the man that had been there the day before. He was there to offer more money and Thomas knew that the lack of help arriving, told him that Lord Farish wasn’t going to hear his plight. It was Scotland and though they may have done things differently there, she was his wife and there was nothing that Chris could do about it. No matter what could be said about Callie, she had found a way out of it.
Thomas told her later that evening when he got back what had happened and told her that she was free now. Callie thanked him, but she didn’t like the way he said it. She didn’t want to be free. She wanted to just be his wife. Callie wanted a family like every other woman and as Thomas still didn’t go to her at night, she felt like she was on the right road to getting everything that she wanted.
The two got closer together and it was several weeks later before Thomas’ needs came to a head again. It was too long to go without a woman and he noticed his wife a lot more than before. He also noticed more of all women. He just couldn’t get it from his mind. Callie seemed to notice a difference because she was getting closer to him and making more contact as they went through the days. At night she went to her own room though and he was left to think about the soft touches that they shared. It was a slow torture for Thomas and it was becoming harder to not wish for more.
Callie had learned a lot about her husband from gossip in the village. He was known to be something of a ladies’ man and he even turned the charm on her so much sometimes that she could barely keep her breath, but he never let it go any further. The tension in the house was rising and Callie tried to figure out a way to ease them. She wished that she knew what he wanted, wished that she could take away all of that self-control.
There were several times that she had tried in her own ways. She made him his favorite meal and made sure he had everything he needed. That didn’t work. So she started dressing with her neckline lower and giving him the same look that she had seen more experienced women use. That didn’t work either and Callie was really starting to think that she was never going to be able to catch his eye. She had tried everything in her arsenal of feminine wiles that she knew of and nothing seemed to work.
***
So several weeks into their marriage, both had gotten more relaxed with each other amongst the constant tension that crept in between them. Thomas didn’t stop on the way home anymore, hadn’t since she had shown such displeasure and though he thought about taking her in all ways, he was still worried that it would destroy the relationship. He wasn’t good with the after and even though he doubted he could ever tire of her, there was still something holding him back.
But all that was about to change and he didn’t even see it coming. He was home a little earlier, Bertraud taking the last post patrol by himself for the castle. He didn’t know why, but he really wanted to see Callie. They had been getting along well and she had promised to make him a dessert that he hadn’t had since he was a child. He expected to catch her in the middle of making it, but instead he caught her in a tub of hot water. There was nothing left to the imagination and he swallowed hard. She didn’t see him yet, washing herself with her back to him and he had to stop himself from dropping what was in his hand.
Thomas wasn’t sure how long he stood there for, but she stood up and all of her curves came to his eyes and his body responded from his long drought. Callie turned around to get something to dry herself off with and stopped when she saw him standing there. It wasn’t that he was there, more that he was looking at her in such a way. Callie moved to cover herself and he finally moved towards her and stopped her hand. “Don’t.”
Her body trembled from the burning inside of her and the cool air on her damp skin. Goose bumps covered her flesh as she stood there in front of him, waiting for him to do something, anything. Instead Thomas just looked at her and found himself shaking on the inside as well.
“I thought you wouldn’t be home for a while.”
Thomas nodded, but didn’t say anything. His heart was pounding in his chest and he knew there was no going back. He had to have her and all he could think of was wondering why he had taken so long to do so.
“I got home early. I think I should make it a point to get home sooner from now on.”
She blushed at his comment and the intense look on his face. He was taking in every inch of her and it was just too much. “I need to get out.”
He nodded, still not moving from in front of her. Thomas just nodded that he heard her, but made no indication that he actually had. He was transfixed. “You need to come to bed with me.”
Callie had a feeling it meant more than it implied. “Bed? Supper is not even ready yet, Thomas.”
Food was the last thing on his mind as he took her hand and helped her out of the tub. She was standing there dripping before he finally covered her with a cloth to dry her. He didn’t want to cover up her smooth skin. He wasn’t giving her any time to think about anything else, pulling her with him into his room. Thomas was shaking and hoping that he would be able to give her what she needed. He was too needy and worried that he was going to swallow her whole.
Throwing her down onto the bed, she bounced a little and his eyes were riveted to her chest. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t. Thomas was pushing at his own clothing, trying to be in the same state as her. He should have gone slower, not unleashing himself in the way that he did. In that way she was overwhelmed and backing away from him slightly. Thomas wasn’t taking any more time though and pulled her back to him and slid on top of her.
She was left gasping and then their lips met and she was left thinking of nothing else but the way he felt against her. Her thighs opened naturally for him to move between and then he was pushing against her most sensitive place. Gasping, her eyes closed and she waited for what was to come. The pressure on her was discomforting, but also made her want more. She moved her hips upwards, rolling his tip along her wet heat before he finally pulled back and pushed in.
Callie was filled and she cried out with the power of it all. It was almost too much for her, her sharp nails cutting into his back as she called out his name. Thomas had never felt so satisfied from one movement and he was ready to lose himself already. There was going to be no prolonging the pleasure, not when she was already lifting up and moving as she squeezed him tight. Gritting his teeth, he brought her to pleasure before falling off the same cliff.
He had been crazy to think that it couldn’t be the same. It was in some ways, but as he looked down at her and met her bright blue eyes, he knew that there was something more. They were something more and she had finally become a proper wife.
“We should have done this a long time ago.”
Callie nodded and whimpered as he pulled away and lay down beside her. It was too intense one moment and the next she was aching from an open space that she knew only he was meant to fill. It had been what she had wanted all along and getting it was even better than she could have hoped for.
She looked up at the side of his face and smiled. “I am glad you came home early. I didn’t think I was ever going to get your attention.”
Thomas just grinned and closed his eyes. “Well, you definitely have it now, wife.”
~THE END~