James keenly felt the absence of family on this most auspicious of days. He had attended enough weddings of his cousins over the past year to secretly wish that they were all sitting in the pews of the tiny family chapel, watching him now take his own leap into wedded bliss. Celebrations, of course, would come once he and Leah returned to London. But in light of the circumstance of their impending marriage, those celebrations would be kept strictly within the circle of his family. Along with the celebrations, there would also be repercussions to face. But first, he and Leah had to get married.
“I shall leave you to finish dressing while I go and make sure all is in readiness for you and your bride,” said Hugh.
James reached out and took a hold of Hugh’s arm. For a moment, they stood and silently looked at one another. He owed him so much. Gratitude. And love. Love for a father who stood by his children.
“Thank you, Papa. It is days like these that I am humbled to be your son,” he said.
His father chuckled. “You should be humble about that every day.”
After receiving a final fatherly hug, James went about checking his attire. He looked at himself in the mirror. His black suit was clean and pressed. The bronze-colored waistcoat with brass buttons, which he had worn on the day of Leah and Guy’s failed wedding, sat over a white linen shirt with a perfectly tied cravat. Sir Geoffrey’s valet had gone to great lengths to make certain the groom was immaculately turned out.
In his waistcoat pocket was a Radley family heirloom wedding ring, part of the collection passed down to his father by his paternal grandmother. It would match perfectly with the betrothal ring gifted to Leah by her grandfather.
The small family chapel which faced the Tresillian River was chosen for the ceremony. Leah and James had politely refused Hugh Radley’s offer of the use of the cathedral at Truro. They had arrived at Mopus Manor in a quiet fashion, and they would begin their married life together in the same way.
Sir Geoffrey escorted his granddaughter down the short aisle, and when they reached where James stood, he placed her hand in James’s. Leah wore a pale blue day gown, with some seaside daisies and ribbons threaded through her hair. Her simple, elegant attire suited her better than her first ostentatious wedding gown had done.
James chanced a look at Leah, and they shared a smile.
“I never dared to dream that I would get to make you my wife. This is the happiest day of my life.”
She nodded. “You are the happily ever after I have always dreamed of, James Radley. Let’s get married.”
Together, they faced Hugh Radley.
Chapter Forty-One
James held Leah by the hand as they climbed the steps to her bedroom. As of tonight, it was their bedroom.
Her tight grip on his fingers was the only outward sign of her nerves. Thank god her mother had given her the talk the week before she and Guy were due to marry. The conversation had been somewhat vague, but by the end of it, she had finally got an idea of what to expect.
He stopped at the door. “Ready?”
She nodded, laughing softly as he picked her up and carried her over the threshold and into the room. With a well-timed kick, he closed the door behind them, then set Leah on her feet.
A blush of heat burned on both of her cheeks and James bent and traced his fingers over the patches of blush. She shivered at his touch.
“Don’t be nervous. I will take good care of you. Trust me,” he whispered.
“I trust you. Hopefully the nerves will soon be gone.” Leah lifted her lips to his, offering up her mouth. James hungrily took her lips with his, kissing her deeply. She slipped her hands around the back of his neck before running her fingers over his short brown hair. She luxuriated in its softness.
Her fingers eventually drifted from his hair to the buttons of his waistcoat. She flicked them open one by one, softly humming as she worked. She was nervous, but Leah was determined not to be the passive partner in this encounter. She wanted her new husband to know that she trusted him.
James shrugged off his jacket and waistcoat. Then his hands set to work on the buttons of Leah’s blue gown.
“This won’t suffer the same fate as your other wedding gown,” he said.
Leah sucked in a deep breath. James leaned in and kissed her neck, the warmth of his lips sending a thrill of sexual heat down her spine. Her whole body was full of nervous anticipation.
Once laces and buttons were dealt with, and her gown removed, all that remained covering her was her thin muslin shift. She put a hand on James’s chest. “You are still in your clothes. Is that fair?”
A wicked smile appeared on his lips and his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Well then, wife, it is your duty to address that problem.”
Heat pooled in her loins; this was a duty she was looking forward to carrying out. Sensations Leah had only previously known in the privacy of her own bed now throbbed low in her body.
She set to work on the cuffs of his shirt. James lifted it over his head and threw it on a nearby chair. Leah laughed. “You seem eager, my love.”
He took her hand in his and laid it on his chest. The fine dusting of brown hair was soft to her touch. She spread her fingers wide, brushing them back and forth.
“And to think you are all mine,” she whispered.
“Always.”
James took hold of Leah’s hand once more and placed it over the placket of his trousers. The hard evidence of his desire for her jutted against the fabric. She licked her lips before letting a slow breath out. She could do this. She trusted James.
Steeling her nerves, she lay her fingers on his buttons and opened his trousers. His erection sprung free and into her hand. She gave a little startled “Oh!” to which he chuckled darkly and deeply.
Leah looked up, and James met her gaze. His eyes had changed from their usual warm brown into a darker shade, which reminded her of his onyx signet ring.
He teased her with a tender kiss on the lips. “Every inch of me is yours from this night on. Now place your fingers around the head of my cock and stroke up and down. There is a sensitive spot just below the base of the tip if you wish to give me extra pleasure,” he murmured.
Leah did as he had instructed; her sex throbbed as James let out a long moan the moment, she tightened her grip and began to stroke him. Within a minute, she had a strong rhythm established, the changes in his breath giving her all the guidance she needed.
The passion on his face as she stroked him was so beautiful, it made her heart soar. To know she could do this for him, to give sexual pleasure to the man she loved was elating.
The depth of his breathing became ragged, and she sensed he was close. James lay his hand over Leah’s.
“Enough. I beg of you,” he said, his voice rough with need.
She released her hold of him, watching with utter fascination as James closed his eyes and pulled in a deep breath. The knowledge that she had reduced him to a state where he was barely able to maintain control was powerful. She made a silent vow to keep him under her loving power forever.
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze settled on her shift. Placing a hand either side of it, he lifted it over her hips and then over her head. The chill night air kissed her naked skin. Her nipples peaked into rosy pebbles and she shivered, her body reacting not just to the cold but the fact she was now completely naked before him.
James reached out and cupped one of Leah’s breasts before running his thumb lightly over her hardened nipple. He then rolled it between his thumb and forefinger, and gently squeezed. She whimpered.
Their gazes met for an instant before James bent and took the tortured nipple into his mouth. He licked back and forth across her rosy bud, every rasp of his tongue making her shudder. When he took the nipple between his teeth and nipped, she gasped. The torture was magnificent.
He dropped a hand to the thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs. As he slipped a finger into her heat, Leah sobbed. This was heaven. She had touched herself in
the dark of her bed many times before, but nothing prepared her for the sensation of James’s thick finger stretching her. She clung to his shoulders, struggling for purchase in a world that had suddenly spun out of control.
“That’s it, Leah. Give in to what you need. Let me show you it all,” he whispered.
He settled her onto the bed, then climbed on next to her. After spreading her thighs wide, he knelt between her legs and dipped his head. Leah tried to sit up and see what James was doing, but the lash of his tongue deep into her heated core had her collapsing back onto the bed with a groan.
Her hips bucked as he licked and sucked her sensitive bud. She could not escape even if she’d wanted to. James held her down, his arms wrapped firmly around her upper thighs. Pleasure that she had never thought possible thrummed through her body. Leah lay back on the bed and let him have his way. She was a willing prisoner of his sexual torture.
Her wild imaginings of the art of lovemaking had not stretched to what James was doing to her right now. He was driving her out of her mind with urgent need. She was desperate to reach the peak and fall off the cliff, but at the same time she never wanted the exquisite sensation to end.
When he did finally release her, Leah clawed after him. James simply chuckled and took a hold of her hand, kissing her fingertips.
“Don’t be too greedy too soon, my love. We have a long way to go tonight.” A soft kiss was placed on her inner thigh. “Come up onto the pillows. We need all the bed for this part,” he said.
Leah scuttled back up the bed until she reached the pile of pillows and cushions which decorated the bedhead. James followed after her, like a stalking tiger. She wanted nothing more than to be his willing prey.
He sat back on his haunches and considered both her and the bed. Leah felt suddenly all too aware that she was fully naked, and he was not. Shyness gripped her and she picked up one of the cushions to cover herself.
James quickly wrestled the cushion away from her and tossed it onto the floor. “Never be afraid to show yourself to me, wife. We will see enough of each other to cure your shyness. I promise you that, my love.”
My love. The words made her heart flutter. Leah put a hand to her mouth, fighting back tears.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered.
“It’s alright. They are tears of utter relief and happiness. I cannot believe that it is you and I here tonight as husband and wife. I swear I wouldn’t change places with anyone else in the whole world right now. This is where you and I were always meant to be, James Radley,” she said.
He climbed off the bed before quickly divesting himself of his trousers and returning. He rose over her, placing a hand on either side of the pillow on which Leah rested her head. “With me is where you belong, Mrs. Radley,” he said.
The firm resolve in his voice had more tears springing to her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t be crying on her wedding night. James was not the sort of man who made women cry, but happiness threatened to overwhelm her.
He kissed away the tears on her cheeks and when he was done, he came searching once more for her mouth. The sensation of their tongues tangling in a sensual dance made Leah’s toes curl. She would never get enough of him.
His fingers slid down her hip and to her thigh. They settled at her knees before he pushed her legs farther apart. James moved into the space in between her legs. His thumb slipped into her wet heat and he began to stroke once more.
If she had thought that her ardor for him had cooled, Leah was quickly disproved of that notion. Within seconds, James had filled her body once more with aching and urgent need. Every stoke of his thumb across her sensitive nib sent shudders throughout her body. Slowly, his skilled caresses brought her back to the edge of madness.
“You are ready for me, Leah, ready for us to become one,” he said, releasing his hand. He set the head of his cock to her entrance, then slowly pushed inside. A slight sting as he broke through her maidenhead was all she felt. He held her gaze the entire time. When she flinched, he stopped, only continuing when she gave him a small nod.
“Good?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He withdrew slightly, then entered her deeply once more. James began to flex his hips, thrusting in and out. Leah silently pleaded for him to take her harder and deeper with his every thrust.
She came in a blinding roar of light. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear herself cry out his name. Then, before she could return fully to the world, he increased the tempo of his strokes, until finally stilling and softly whispering, “Leah.”
As James collapsed on top of her, Leah held on tight and took his weight. When he tried to roll off, she clung to him and refused to let go. “Stay,” she said.
Sometime later, when she finally, reluctantly released him, James grabbed the bed clothes and threw them over their rapidly cooling bodies. Naked together, they settled under the warm blankets, sharing words of tenderness.
“Sleep, my love. I will wake you when we are ready for a second encounter,” he said.
Leah looked over at her husband; James’s eyelids fluttered as they closed.
“Mrs. James Radley. Who would have thought it?” she whispered.” “Thank god.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Their stay at Mopus Manor had to eventually come to an end. Two weeks after they were married, a reluctant James and Leah packed up their things and made preparations to return to London.
“I shall miss your company. It has been nice having other people at my supper table each night,” said Sir Geoffrey.
James turned from watching the last of his and Leah’s things being packed into the cart for the trip across to Truro. In the morning, they would take the mail coach back to London. The barouche had sadly been returned earlier in the week; he already missed hearing Leah’s giggles as he gripped her arse when he helped her up into the carriage.
“We can never thank you enough for all you have done for us. I understand why Leah chose you as the one person she felt she could trust in all this madness,” he replied.
“But now she has you.” Sir Geoffrey motioned toward the garden and James followed. Once they stood outside the painting studio, Leah’s grandfather stopped. James had spent the previous day packing up his paints and completed works before reluctantly closing the door of the cottage for the last time.
“I don’t know what the two of you will find when you return to London. Knowing my son-in-law, there will be consequences and you must prepare yourselves for them. You must protect Leah,” said Sir Geoffrey.
James was under no illusion that Tobias Shepherd was going to make things easy for his wayward daughter and her new husband, but he would deal with it all in good time. Leah was his wife now, and beyond the direct control of her father.
“My family is not without significant influence in London. I doubt Shepherd will want to wage an all-out war against me,” he replied.
Sir Geoffrey met his gaze. “No, he won’t. Shepherd will find subtle ways to hurt you. Which is why I wanted to talk you. If the two of you decide that London is not for you, I want you to know that you are always welcome to return to Mopus Manor. You and Leah have a home waiting for you here.”
The generous offer took James by surprise. He and Leah both loved the place, but the thought of actually living at Mopus Manor on a permanent basis had not been something he had seriously entertained until now. He offered Sir Geoffrey his hand. “Thank you. I shall keep it in mind. If Leah and I had not married, I expect she would have stayed here for as long as possible.”
“I want you to seriously consider my proposal. You and I could come to an arrangement which would see you become a land owner and therefore eligible to run for office. I have enough influence to help secure your preselection as the candidate for the local seat. From what I have seen of you, James, I know you are someone who would put the interests of his constituents first.”
“Once again, thank you. And yes, I will give your offer some serious thou
ght,” replied James.
Sir Geoffrey headed back into the house, leaving James alone looking out over the water. He had never considered a career as a politician, having found Guy’s machinations not to his taste. If he did take a seat in the House of Commons as the local member for Truro, he would work hard to represent the people. And then, between parliamentary sessions he could still pursue his other career as an artist.
“Yes, definitely something to consider.”
They left Truro the following morning, and three days later, James and Leah found themselves standing in the courtyard of Fulham Palace.
“We are home.” He slipped an arm around his wife’s waist and drew her in close before kissing her tenderly on the forehead.
Leah smiled up at him. “A proper kiss please, husband.”
He set his lips to hers, receiving a warm and encouraging kiss in return. When Leah slid her hand inside his coat and rubbed her hand against his trousers, he nipped at her bottom lip. “Minx. Don’t you go getting me all aroused just before I am about to greet my parents.”
She gave him an innocent ‘what, me?’ smile in return.
Their flirting was interrupted by a squeal of delight which rang through the air. From out of the front door, Claire came running to greet them. “Helloooo! Welcome home!”
James held his arms out to her. But she, in typical Claire fashion, raced past him and embraced Leah. “My sister. How wonderful. I am so pleased that you married my big brother. I just knew he would be your hero,” she cried.
James frowned. Since when had he become a hero? And what did Claire know?
Claire released Leah from her hug, then came to him. Uncharacteristically for Claire, it was in an almost reverent fashion. As her arms wrapped around his waist, she leaned in. “Thank you, James. Thank you for saving Leah.”
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