Chapter 23
Achilles
I t’s been almost a year and a half since I left Ashwood House at Fantasia’s demand, but it feels like a decade has passed. The last time I called this place my home, my grandfather was still hanging on to the last of his strength, and my bedroom felt so haunted by Madeleine’s ghost that I couldn’t use it. Some things have changed since then, but some are still the same.
My grandfather is dead and gone, his suite inherited by me, but Madeleine’s spirit still lingers. I’ll let it rest in our old space, the furniture covered with sheets or otherwise moved to storage.
We eat a simple lunch of sandwiches and fruit in Sidony’s room, then spend an hour getting her clothes hung up in the wardrobe, her bed made with fresh linens, and her stuffed animals arranged how she dictates. I despair of her afternoon nap being a possibility- she’s still far too wired from the events of the morning and the return to Ashwood House. But then Raleigh brilliantly declares that we all need naps after this morning, and she won’t be able to relax if she knows Sidony isn’t resting too. Sidony is far too generous to deny her new favorite person this downtime, so she immediately climbs into bed. Raleigh tucks her in as I sing her to sleep, and as she’s being carried off to dreamland, Sidony wishes us both a good night.
Raleigh meets my gaze over my sleeping daughter. The tentative smile that curls the very edge of her lips invites me to smile back, but I can’t. Not when I can also clearly see the bruise that’s bloomed over her cheekbone.
“Come,” I whisper, and lead her out of the room.
Two doors down from Sidony we find the stairs leading up to the third floor, which belongs almost entirely to the master suite. My bag sits by the door, but I’m not ready to unpack it yet. It’s still a little strange walking in here and no longer smelling my grandmother’s light perfume, or seeing my grandfather’s decorative swords missing from the wall. The bed in the middle of the room is made with an inoffensive blue coverlet and pillows instead of my grandmother’s quilts. The room has been stripped of their presence and left for the new man of the house to mold in his image.
My image.
I might have given up my control of the Ashwood businesses to Fantasia, but Ashwood House has, and will always be, in my name. This house and everything in it is mine, and has been for several years since my grandfather’s death. How long have I been ignoring it for the sake of chasing down Fantasia’s ghosts?
Raleigh closes the door behind us when we enter, and the soft click of it brings me back to the present. I turn to find her still standing tentatively beside my bag, as if unsure if she’s allowed in here, and for the first time I realize…
This room is hers now too.
Of course I could relegate her to another suite in the house. So long as I instructed the staff to be aware of her movements, I wouldn’t need to worry about her getting into trouble or wandering off. But I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to treat her like a hostage here. I don’t want to keep a cold distance between us like I have over the last two weeks.
I’ve behaved abominably, and I’m ending that today.
“You were incredible, Raleigh,” I tell her plainly.
She blinks, clearly startled by this praise. “What are you talking about?”
I step closer to her, and am gratified when she doesn’t retreat. “At the Hall. I saw you from my office- you didn’t provoke those bastards, but you didn’t cower either. And you kept Sidony safe. I can’t…” My hand hovers over the bruise that’s bloomed over her cheekbone. “I will never be able to thank you for that.”
Raleigh shrugs, clearly flustered. “I’m used to-” She bites that off quickly, searching for some other way to belittle her own strength. “I only did what was smart.”
“Most people don’t,” I say. She looks down, but I tuck a finger under her chin and bring it up so she meets my eyes. “You keep surprising me, Raleigh.”
“You keep underestimating me,” she replies, but it’s not cutting. She’s just speaking the truth.
I feel my mouth quirk into a smile, but I swallow it quickly. “I have been unfair to you,” I agree. “You’re here because of me- because of Fantasia, really, but I was the one who made the choice to bring you here. Everything that’s happened is my fault at the end of the day. Being angry with you for having questions and being discontented is unreasonable in the extreme.”
“Is that really why you were upset?” Raleigh asks. Her grey eyes are searching for something else in my face, but I can’t let that wall down. For her sake as much as mine.
I can’t…
Her gaze flickers to my mouth, and something lights on fire in my chest. I can taste her on my tongue so clearly- I’ve only been remembering it every other minute for the last two weeks. I can feel her desire pulling me down like an anchor. If I release the lock on my spine, I could give her what she wants.
What I want.
But I don’t. There’s a tentative balance we can find if I pull away now. I’ve apologized, and admitted some truths about my family to her that she’s been desperate to know. If I play this right, we can at least go from enemies to polite acquaintances. If she can trust me to protect and care for her, I can trust her to make the most of the position she’s found herself in. We don’t need to complicate this with emotions.
I let my lips brush her forehead, and that’s the most I dare to do. “Thank you again, Raleigh,” I say, and pull away.
“Wait, Achilles-”
Raleigh’s hand grips my sleeve. I turn back to her, but she freezes up, forgetting what she wanted to say or changing her mind about saying it. “I… I just wanted to tell you… Thank you. You were protecting Sidony, of course, but you saved my life too. And you brought me here with you when I’m sure Fantasia didn’t approve-”
“You’re her hostage,” I cut in, unable to hear her put herself down anymore. “But you’re my wife.”
Raleigh raises her chin, her lips parting to speak. I don’t let her. Bending down, I close my mouth over hers.
When Raleigh kissed me two weeks ago, I was taken aback, and somewhat embarrassed by the thrill it gave me. I’m a thirty-five year old man with a daughter, not a fifteen year old virgin. Kissing a woman shouldn’t have been such a shock to my system.
Especially when the woman in question is one I- theoretically- have no emotional attachment to.
That thrill is back, with none of the shame. I press hungrily into her mouth, and she gives ground for me, letting me sweep my tongue over hers. She’s sweet and ferocious in turn, tastes like fire and honey, moaning breathlessly when I suck on her lower lip, then biting down hard on mine. Her hands fist in the front of my shirt, pulling me down even further. She’s so short it must be hurting her neck to tilt it back so far, so I scoop my arms around her lower back and lift her right off her feet. She gasps against my lips, and I swallow the sound.
I meant to just give her a kiss- no, I meant not to kiss her at all . But I can already see that I’m not letting her go until I’ve been inside her and made her scream.
Raleigh wraps her legs up around my waist, but I don’t want her against the wall again. I don’t want to fuck her hard and full of spite. I want her in a bed, where I can thank her properly in a way she might finally accept.
I carry her to the mattress and climb into it with her still clinging to me. My weight settles over her, lining our bodies up just right. Raleigh’s hips roll up into mine, grinding my erection between her legs. I could sink into her right now, but there’s still layers of clothes between us. Neither of us want to break our kiss to undress though. I drag my teeth over her lip, trying to gradually pull back, but duck in to kiss her again when she whimpers for more. Her fingers immediately sink into my hair, keeping me close.
I manage to get my hand between us so I can drag it up her suede pants to her crotch and begin undoing the buttons there. Raleigh moans as I drag my thumb back and forth between her legs, before I’ve even removed any layers. How wet will she be once I’ve finally gotten her naked?
With some careful maneuvering, I drag Raleigh’s pants and underwear halfway down before I finally have to drag my lips away from hers. I can’t keep them off her skin, though. I leave a trail of kisses as I make my way down her body- on her chin, her throat, her collarbone. I shove up her shirt and bra to taste her breast, to feel the shudder of her stomach as my stubble tickles over it. Her abdomen is soft and warm, and I press a kiss there last.
Raleigh is panting like she’s running a race, anticipation making her fingers curl in the coverlet. She’s closed her eyes tight again, and I wonder if it’s to focus on physical sensations or because she’s being overwhelmed by them. I kiss her abdomen again, testing. She whines for more, so I eagerly oblige.
The first run of my tongue over her clit makes me groan and Raleigh shriek. She’s so wet that I’m lapping her up, and when I thrust my tongue into her pussy and suck, her taste fills my mouth. Raleigh’s fingers fist my hair, tugging and pushing me deeper between her legs in turn. Her back arches, her body coiling like a spring. She’s so responsive- already I’ve driven her to the edge.
When she cums on my tongue with another shriek, I feast like the starving man I am.
I want to stay just like this, my tongue in Raleigh’s pussy and her thighs in my hands, but my cock is so hard it’s almost painful. I need to be inside her now , but I’m still frustratingly clothed. When I sit up, though, Raleigh’s trembling arms reach out and cling to the front of my shirt.
Clumsily, racing her own desire, she unbuttons my shirt and shoves it off my shoulders, then attacks my pants. The brush of her knuckles against my erection makes me groan, and she whimpers with me. Her impatience fuels my hunger, and I manage to yank my shirt off as she finally sets my cock loose. We work together to get my pants off and the last of her clothes up over her head, and finally we’re naked together.
I don’t waste either of our time. I grip her hips and drive myself into her pussy until our bodies slap together. Raleigh’s hands grab at my shoulders, my neck, tugging me down desperately to kiss her again as our fucking finally begins.
It feels like a relief to sink inside her again and again, to rediscover the heat and shape and scent of her body after weeks of holding myself back. If I must consider sex with this woman as giving in to my weaknesses, then I’ll revel in my failure all night long.
I measure the pace of my thrusts, finding the speed and angle that makes Raleigh cry out with every impact. Her back is arching beneath me, pressing as close as she can without merging our bodies into one. And when she snaps, she screams into my kiss and I swallow it like candy.
My hunger is too intense. I’m ready to end this far too soon, but I can’t stop the momentum of my body. With my mouth pressed to Raleigh’s, I cum into her, pleasure suffusing my entire body. Raleigh sighs, with relief, with satisfaction, like she’s craved this as much as I have.
Well, if that’s how she feels about it, we can go again as soon as I’ve caught my breath.
Unfortunately for me, I’ve had more than a little excitement for the day, of the good and bad variety. My post-coital relief drags me down over Raleigh, her sweet honey scent coaxing me to close my eyes. She turns her face into mine, her eyelashes tickling my cheek, her breath warm on my skin, and I sink into sleep with her in my arms.