The Ghost Who Loved Me (22 page)

Sadness was seen in her eyes as she thought of tomorrow night, of letting him go. This is what had to happen, yet a part of her resisted the inevitable. She was sure what they were doing was right, even if Percy now argued against it.

He was emphatic if they released James, they dealt with Isabelle. None of them wished to deal with her demonic image none would soon forget.

Elizabeth cringed to think they also released Isabelle from the curse, unsure what that could mean if she left the catacombs. Arthur and Daniel tried to talk her out of it, saying they hadn’t the skill to repeat the ritual, even after studying the spell she used repeatedly. The danger of opening that portal between life and death could be devastating for them all.

But, it was the only way they could think of to release James.

Elizabeth stared at the mantle clock, counting down the minutes until James came to her, grateful she let Annie go early tonight. Her servant was becoming a nuisance of late, always skulking about listening at doorways. It was funny she never saw that side of Annie before, always taking her presence for granted.

Elizabeth stood and paced, wondering at the fluttering in her abdomen, why she couldn’t seem to sit still as she waited. She nearly jumped when the mantle clock began to chime on the hour, her eyes riveted to the door, waiting for him to come through it, her face filled with longing.

~ ~ ~

James stared in fascination as his limbs began to take shape and become solid under his perusal. He stood in the center of his room, waiting for it to be finished. He grinned despite himself when as soon as it was accomplished he felt the incredible urge to piss as he always did. He chuckled as he sought the chamber pot to relieve himself.

He flexed his muscled arms and longed to seek his sword and see if he still maintained the same strength in his body. He sniffed himself despairingly at his underarms knowing the aged smell of mold always clung to him whenever he was restored.

He hastily bathed, grateful Elizabeth provided him with a tub full of water in the next room. He washed the years away of grime with a sigh of appreciation, feeling vitally alive at that moment, his skin warm to his own touch as he toweled dry and cleaned his mouth.

James left the tub and rummaged through his wardrobe, settling for a set of breeches that fit and loose shirt. He combed his long wet raven locks. He slid on his boots and stared critically at his image in the mirror behind the wardrobe, rubbing the dark stubble on his jaw, questioning whether he should shave before joining his lady.

He was disgusted to feel incredibly nervous of being with a woman for the first time in centuries. He wondered briefly whether he could satisfy her. Then, he thought of Elizabeth, warm and willing and waiting for him in the east wing and felt a definite tightening in his loins, smiling to be reassured he still functioned as he ought.

James left his room, tiptoeing to the hall that led to Elizabeth’s suite. All was quiet within the castle. All he could hear was his own heart thundering in his ears, beating erratically in his chest, aware of the fine sheen of sweat forming on his upper lip, his mouth going dry to think of her waiting beyond the door.

James stopped in front of her apartments, his trembling hand on the door handle, turning it and pushing it open. The sight that met his eyes within made them darken with desire. He hurriedly stepped inside and closed the door, locking it behind him.

~ ~ ~

Elizabeth stared in disbelief as James entered her room, his eyes meeting hers with amusement in them to see her immediate reaction to see him in the flesh. He was freshly-bathed and dressed in whatever he could find in his wardrobe, hoping she found him pleasing, uncertain for the first time in years.

She just stared at him.

James seemed larger to her now, standing at well over six feet in height. His shoulders were broad and muscled. The opening from his shirt showed her a fine matting of dark hair.

His strong jaw begged for a shave. A dark stubble on his cheeks stood out starkly in his sun-darkened visage. His full sensuous lips curved into a smile under her fascinated inspection.

“Do I meet with your approval, Elizabeth?” James smiled as she approached, seeing the candlelight showed the nude outline of her body under her nightgown and silk robe, swallowing hard as his heart raced to touch her at last.

“I can’t believe you are really here,” Elizabeth breathed softly and came forward, both of them closing the distance to stand before the other. “It’s unbelievable.” She reached up and placed a trembling hand to his cheek, her hand jumping slightly to feel his warm flesh for the first time.

James held her hand to his cheek and brought it to his lips, making her quiver from the feel of his lips on the back of her knuckles. “It’s me, Elizabeth. I’m as real as you at this moment. Don’t be afraid of me, my love.”

“I’m not afraid,” Elizabeth murmured softly and smiled tenderly up at him. “Come. Enjoy the meal Mrs. Abbot has made for you. After three hundred years, you must be hungry.” She bade him to sit at the table before the roaring fire, pouring them both a glass of wine.

James sniffed appreciatively as she handed him a crystal glass. He swirled it in the glass hesitantly at first, his silver eyes never leaving hers as she sat. He tested the wine finally, sighing in appreciation as the fine Merlot met his heightened senses.

“I don’t think it ever tasted as good as it does right now.”

Then, they ate, indulging in a fine beef roast braised with brandy and cracked pepper, honeyed carrots, and roasted potatoes covered in a creamy rich artichoke sauce. James ate with relish, eating everything on his plate, taking whatever remained on hers.

Elizabeth smiled as he indulged in the basket of fresh apple tarts, muttering over how wonderful they were between bites. He sipped his wine as he finished, his silver eyes filled with gratitude as they met hers.

“Though I can’t quite recall food ever tasting this good three hundred years ago my compliments to Mrs. Abbot.”

“She takes such things very seriously. I may take her with me when I leave Westerleigh.”

James frowned at her reminder the staff was to be dismissed. “What is to become of them all? Will Edward make sure they are all taken care of?”

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head sadly. “I don’t know. I hope so, but I can tell you their welfare is the last thing on Edward’s mind these days. He’s obsessed with making his companion happy and no other. I will remind him of it when he arrives. They don’t deserve this. They have served here faithfully for years. Some were even born here.”

“I knew Pettigrew’s grandfather,” James admitted with a wide grin of remembrance. “And I can tell you that man is much like him in manner. A fine man, really.”

“Are any of these servants related to the ones who—”

“No, they are all long dead,” James finished for her quietly. “Some took their own lives, others died of disease or accidents like the others.”

“Do you think Father Brannigan is right? That God punished them for what they did?” Elizabeth stared at him, waiting for his reply.

“I was never a Godly man in my life, Elizabeth.  I was a man of war, of logic and strategy,” James began softly. “And neither did I believe in witches and sorcery, yet here I am cursed by both. I cannot believe in one without the other anymore. My eyes are truly wide open to both good and evil.”

“If we fail to release you from this curse tomorrow night, what will you do?” Elizabeth had to know the answer, hanging on his every word. “There is something you must know—”

James smiled sadly, reaching out to touch her soft cheek, his long finger caressing her lower lip. “I heard everything. I know what happened to Lenore and my son. My only consolation is that something of us survived. I am pleased to know that much, if not his own fate. I will go on as I have and shall never question the reasons. And I shall treasure this moment as the best in all of my eternity.”

Elizabeth smiled tumultuously at him, sipping her wine. “I profess too being quite nervous despite looking forward to this.”

James reached out and grasped her hand, feeling it tremble in his. “I won’t hurt you, my love. You will never know pain in my arms. Come. Let us finish this talk another time. I would savor our time together. But first, I take no chances with your safety.”

Elizabeth watched as James removed a large bag of gunpowder he hid under her secretary. She watched him leave a trail of it across the threshold of her door to her room and the sitting room.

“You think that necessary?” Thoughts of Isabelle wandering the castle made her far too nervous.

James nodded and set the bag aside. “I put it down before the opening in the caves before you all arrived back in the wine cellar. She would have followed you if not.”

“How long will it last?”

“It lasts longer than rock salt but the draft in this place will certainly scatter it,” he answered grimly. “We can only hope it holds her off another night.”

Elizabeth set down her wine glass, allowing James to come around and help push out her chair for her. She held his strong hand in hers, marveling over the strength in him, of feeling his skin beneath her hands at last.

James walked her to the edge of her bed, sliding the peignoir from her shoulders, his hands shaking as they slowly caressed her shoulders, marveling in her satiny skin. He dropped a kiss upon her shoulder, the feeling of his stubble making her sigh softly.

His head dipped to hers, taking her lips in a gentle unhurried kiss. Elizabeth thought she might swoon in his arms as she tasted him at last, felt his strong warm lips part hers, his tongue scoring the inner recesses of her mouth.

They kissed hungrily then, each trying to devour the other. Elizabeth broke the kiss to help him divest himself of his clothing in her eagerness to feel all of him. James chuckled at her eagerness as his shirt slid from his shoulders and whispered to the floor.

She stared at his muscled chest with a hunger in her eyes, her hand sliding over his rippled abdomen slowly, enjoying the feel of his taut flesh under her hands. Her hands went to the fastenings of his breeches, fumbling to help him undress.

James pushed her hands aside and undid his belt, sliding his breeches down to expose his naked hips and long muscled legs. He kicked his boots off and stood proudly before her, his long arousal jutting forward from a nest of dark hair.

“Touch me Elizabeth, and know I’m real,” James whispered as he took her hand and wrapped it around his hardening sex. “Feel me, my love. That is what you do to me.”

Elizabeth drew a shuddering breath as she stroked his long, hard length, her hand fondling his warm throbbing flesh in wonder. She gasped to feel him stiffen within her palm. She stared up at him trustingly.

“Make me yours, James, for tonight, and for always.”

James groaned under his breath and swept her up into his arms, bearing her to her bed, lying beside her as he plucked at the ties to her nightgown, throwing the garment to the floor to expose her beauty under the candle’s glow.

His hands shook as they explored her, his fingers urging her coral-tipped nipples to stiffen under his caress. “How I’ve longed to touch you, Elizabeth. You are so very beautiful, my love.”

His mouth dipped and took a turgid nipple into his mouth, hearing her gasp as the tingling sensation it caused made her clutch his head to her breasts, closing her eyes in pleasure.

James lay next to her and took her lips once more, his lips tutoring hers expertly, while his hands explored her heated flesh. He savored her slowly, easing her to the pillows when she became impatient.

He smiled as his lips adored every inch of her flesh to his leisure, moving from her neck to her breasts and to her flat abdomen with blistering slowness.

Elizabeth bit her lip as James kissed and tasted her skin with aching slowness, his head descending between her legs, his long dark hair blanketing her thighs. She gasped as she felt his mouth, hot and searching as he explored her velvety folds, his teeth grazing the tender flesh until she bucked beneath his caress. She wept as he swirled his tongue around the tight bud, making lights blink before her dazed eyes, her knees clutching around his neck.

James lavished her flesh with such heated attention, she wept, her head rolling upon the pillows, her thighs splayed open to receive him, her hands clutching his head. The tightening feeling of her climax began, making her sob, arching under him.

He slid up and over her body to settle between her legs, his long turgid sex nudging her open as his weight descended upon her. His silver eyes were filled with reverence as he plunged deep within her tight warmth at last.

Elizabeth gasped at the first burning pain, holding him tightly, welcoming the pain as he surged within her.

James gasped and lay inert as he enjoyed the tight feel of her around him, gritting his teeth to go slowly. The feel of being inside a woman after three hundred years was his undoing, making him fight to hold back his own initial response.

Elizabeth was clutching at his back, her nails digging into him, her feet urging his buttocks to move. She gasped as he thrust inside her slowly. James took her lips in a fiery kiss, his body rising and falling slowly, his long sex plumbing deeper still.

It was maddening, the feel of him inside her at last. Elizabeth held him tightly, urging him on with soft words, her lips meeting his hungrily. They rose and fell as one, their bodies merged in a primal need.

James drove into her fiercely at the last, his body pinning hers to the soft mattress, his sex moving within her liquid warmth creating a dizzying friction. She cried out, meeting each downward plunge of his hard body with an eagerness that hurried his movements.

“Oh my love, I have wanted you for so long,” James whispered urgently at her ear as he stared into her flushed face as he felt himself beginning to climax. “I love you, Elizabeth. Oh, yes, that’s it my love. Come with me, my sweet. Don’t hold back.”

Elizabeth felt an incredible tightening within her, staring into James’ beloved face as she felt the dam give way at last. She clutched him to her tightly as she received him, sobbing to feel the explosive heat spreading within her with a joyous cry.

James cried out her name, his body shuddering as he spilled his seed within her, his body going rigid over hers, his hands clutching both of hers as they shook together and at last grew still. He remained deep within her, staring down into her face, seeing her tears.

“Did I hurt you?” He wiped at her tears with the back of his hand, his silver eyes filled with concern.

Elizabeth reached up and brushed his long raven hair from his eyes, smiling through her tears. “It was truly beautiful, James, all that I ever imagined it would be. I’m just happy. I’ve wanted this moment as much as you.”

“We have all night,” James whispered softly and dropped a sweet kiss upon her lips. “But we must go slowly. I don’t want to hurt you, my love.”

Elizabeth smiled mischievously as she leaned up to bite at his shoulder. “I won’t waste these precious few hours we have. I’m fine, truly. I want to know all of you, James, from the moment you fade from my arms.”

James smiled and kissed her softly, his hands sliding through her lustrous hair. “I will go gently with you, lady. I would savor ever bit of this.”

Elizabeth sighed as James pulled out of her and got up. She stared at his taut backside with a covetous look as he sought a wash rag in her bathing chamber. He returned to bathe her womanliness, seeing the blood upon the rag and washing it away tenderly.

Then, he left no expanse of her skin overlooked in his desire to explore her to the fullest. They savored and tasted, exploring and delighting in the feel of the other. Elizabeth was on fire as James finally rolled underneath her, bringing her atop of him, urging her down onto his stiffened sex, sighing as she eased upon his engorged shaft.

He cupped her breasts hungrily as she moved upon him, cuddling her buttocks as she rose and fell over him. Elizabeth slid up and down his glistening sex, crying out in delight as he filled her fully, her hands gripping his shoulders as he taught her to move, bringing them both to pleasure quickly.

James tutored her body expertly, rolling her onto her belly. Elizabeth gasped as he entered her from behind, easing her up on her haunches to thrust inside her fully. He grasped her long hair in his fist as he pulled her head back for his kiss, his hips smacking against her buttocks furiously.

Elizabeth wept as she received him, closing her eyes as he plunged deep, gripping her hips in a bruising hold. The incredible feeling of him inside her made her lose control, shuddering and splintering long before him, her hips moving backward to take him, making him groan in delight as he lightly slapped her buttocks in appreciation.

James gasped as he moved within her faster, his hands gripping her slender hips as he drove deep, his eyes glowing with fervor. He shuddered as he went rigid at the last, spilling himself within her again before they rolled entwined to the mattress, sweaty and sated. He held her against his chest tightly, his face buried in her fragrant hair, breathing raggedly against her ear.

“I love you, James,” Elizabeth whispered huskily as she met his silver eyes, biting her lip as tears filled her gaze. “I don’t think I can bear to let you go.” Her arms tightened around him as she pressed against him tightly, her face buried into his chest.

James held her as she cried, ignoring the burning in his own eyes. He stroked her back as she quieted against him. He lifted her chin from his chest and stared deeply into her eyes.

“I will always be with you, Elizabeth. You know that. Do not cry. We have this time. It is to be celebrated, my sweet. I’ll not let you weep for what cannot be. We have only this night. You hurt my heart to know I’m causing you pain. I wanted only to love you.”

Elizabeth sniffled softly and reached out to stroke his rugged cheek. “Then love me until the very moment you are gone from my arms, James. I want to never forget this as long as I live.”

James kissed her softly, his hands sliding into her hair. He breathed her in, holding her to him, easing her back against the pillows. She held him tightly, her heart in her eyes.

~ ~ ~

The candles were nearly gutted as James held her, kissing her awake when she slept, taking her again and again until she was weak and crying out in passion.

They finally lay still, entwined with hands clasped together. She stared at the mantle clock, seeing it was only an hour before dawn and relaxing once more against his strong chest.

“Time isn’t our enemy here, Elizabeth,” James whispered softly as he kissed her shoulder, his hands stroking her full breasts, sighing at the exquisite pleasure of holding her. “You have given me something I thought long forgotten all of these years. For that I shall treasure it.  I know what it means to be alive again.”

“I know I said I wouldn’t cry when it came time for you to leave me,” she whispered hoarsely and turned into his arms, pressing her body to him tightly. “I don’t want to be without you ever, James. I don’t think I can do that. Don’t ask me to.”

“Don’t say such things, my love,” James whispered hoarsely and held her fiercely. “You are alive, Elizabeth. That is a gift you mustn’t squander anymore. You must live, for me. Can you do that?” He tilted up her chin and kissed her lingeringly, looking deeply into her eyes. “Do as I ask. Take whatever love you can find in this life. Make it your own. Be selfish, my love. Do it for me. For all that I was denied.”

Elizabeth nodded and hugged him fiercely to her, feeling a hot torrent of tears pour from her eyes. “I shall love you forever, James, and beyond. I never realized how dead I was inside until the day I came here. I shall never look at life the same way. You have given me that.”

James kissed her fiercely, easing her back to the pillows until she soon forgot all but the feel of his body, warm and strong against hers. She gave and took with such force of ardor they both wept until the very moment when dawn approached, light filtering through the sheer draperies.

She felt James’ solid form easing from her side in the bed and growing lighter as each second ticked past. She sobbed as she reached for his hand at the last, gripping it fiercely until it too, disappeared before her eyes, and she clutched the air in vain trying to hold onto him. 

James grew fainter before her eyes, at the last growing transparent, the final sight of him the lingering sorrow in his silver gaze.

~ ~ ~

“Do you get up or do I make you?” James stared down at her with a shake of his head as she dozed. It was past noon and she still remained abed. “Elizabeth! You must get up! Daniel and Percy wait for you below. They have some ideas you need to hear. Isabelle rages below. She waits for night. You must get up!”

Elizabeth lifted her head from the pillow and glared at him, the braid of still hair clutched in her hand. “I am exhausted! Unlike some of us, I’m quite alive, thank you! I’ve had little sleep! Isabelle is going nowhere for the moment! I need more sleep! Leave me be!”

“You can sleep when you’re dead, woman! Get up! We have much to do this day. Edward arrives, as well as his light-footed companion. I heard Pettigrew instructing the staff.” He grinned as she shot out of bed, reaching for her robe on the floor, staggering to find the tea tray Annie left for her. When she imbibed one cup in gulps, he grinned as he floated before her, shaking his head. “Are you always this mean-spirited when you first wake up? You act the shrew, Elizabeth.”

“Always,” she muttered sourly and poured another cup of tea. “I am not a morning person, James. I need help as you can see. What do Daniel and Percy contrive?”

“They have been up all night in the library studying the texts. They have found something we might have overlooked in our haste.”

“What might that be?” She sipped her tea, feeling more awake by the minute.

“Isabelle made a mistake that night,” James told her smugly, grinning widely. “She was supposed to use the blood of an innocent for her ritual. We know that is not me. That is the reason her spell failed, not for any other reason.”

“But we know she killed many children afterwards,” Elizabeth protested in disgust. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“She didn’t do it on All Hallows Eve, Elizabeth. She didn’t think the date relevant. She was wrong in that. Without the blood of an innocent, her spell failed.”

“Well, that is too bad for her, isn’t it?” Elizabeth seethed heatedly, feeling sore from head to toe. “We have no more virgins here left for her purposes, thanks to you!”