''Kiss me, you fool. Don't ever frighten me like that again.''
Charlotte and Ralph kissed passionately. When their kiss broke, Charlotte was out of breath. ''I am not used to kissing for so long,'' she said.
''You'll have plenty of time to get used to it before we reach New York.''
''You were supposed to be waiting for me there. What happened?''
''Oh, my love, it has all been so sudden. One minute I was sitting in jail, listening to them building the gallows, and the next, there were what seemed like a hundred horsemen, breaking me free. They brought me to the docks and told me I was to sail to New York and wait for you there. Then I got a message I was to board this ship and wait for you here.''
''Thank the Lord. You are safe. I will never be able to repay my father for what he has done.''
''Neither will I. Never. Perhaps we can talk a little later? I want to have my way with you now.''
Charlotte nodded as he took her in his arms and kissed her again. This time, though, she felt his manhood pressing against her thigh.
They were both eager to be naked, and it wasn't long before Ralph lay between Charlotte's open legs. ''I want you, more than anything in the world,'' she said to him.
Ralph grunted, and Charlotte gasped when he entered her. As his shaft slid into her, he bent down and kissed her. She put her hand behind his neck and pulled him tighter to her. Her legs wrapped around his back as she bucked her hips under him. She matched his rhythm, encouraging him to thrust harder.
They both felt the ship beginning to move as it left the harbor. Ralph looked at her breasts as he thrust into her. He loved the way they bounced in rhythm to the movements of his hips. Charlotte opened her legs as wide as she could and put her hands on his buttocks. When she dug her nails into him, he gritted his teeth and pumped faster. Charlotte felt him ramming himself against her clitoris and she quickly began to feel her arousal building.
By now the ship had left the safety of the harbor and on a windy day, it began to roll gently. Without warning, Ralph pulled out of her and stood up. ''What?'' she asked. ''The window again?''
He nodded. ''Except they aren't called windows. They're called portholes. Now I want you to get up and look out of the porthole while I take you from behind.''
''You are very inventive, Ralph. I'm sure we're going to have a fantastic sex life.''
''This is just the beginning, wait until I tie you to the mast,'' he joked.
She stood up and looked through the porthole. She put her hands on the wall, one on each side of the glass. When she bent forward and offered herself to him, Ralph was so consumed by animal lust that he got to his knees, and put his mouth to her. When she felt his tongue licking her juices, she pushed back at him and opened her legs wider. He could smell her arousal, and it drove him to lick faster and deeper.
Charlotte had never experienced a feeling like it. The man she loved was performing an act on her that was so intimate, she wanted it to last forever. When she felt his tongue at the entrance to her, she had an orgasm.
Ralph felt her legs shaking and in a gentlemanly gesture, he stood up and held her. Soon he was inside her again. Charlotte gasped as his thrusts threw her tighter to the wall. Her breasts pushed against the cold glass, and it made her nipples harder still. Ralph was grunting now, and Charlotte realized he was going to come. She put a hand to her vagina and began to masturbate. She was keen to come with him. The sight of his future wife pleasuring herself in such an uninhibited way drove him over the top. When Charlotte felt a gush of hot liquid inside her, she too came.
****
''We've been lying here for hours. I need some air. Shall we go on deck?'' Charlotte asked.
''Yes, let's.'' They got up, put on some warm clothes and went into the bracing sea air.
''Ah look, Mary, our lovebirds have decided to leave the nest for a while,'' Lord Melbourne said, ironically.
''Yes, indeed. How kind of them to join us,'' Mary replied with a chuckle. Lord Melbourne and Mary were sitting on a bench looking at the gulls as they accompanied the ship on the first part of its journey.
''Very amusing, I'm sure,'' Charlotte said. ''Do you know, when we get to America, the first thing I am going to do is look for a husband for you Mary. Then I'm going to find a wife for my father.''
''In that case, please find one who is gentle, kind, and totally silent. My ears have had years of abuse, and they are in urgent need or repair,'' her father pleaded.
Charlotte peered towards the horizon. Black clouds had started to build up, threatening a storm. She glanced at Ralph, an inviting smile on her lips.
“A storm’s coming,” Ralph said, kissing Charlotte’s hand. “We had better get below deck.”
“Mmm. A storm.” Charlotte could already feel the warmth between her legs as she recalled that night at the inn. “I know just how we can ride it out.”
*****
THE END