by Brianna York
“Hmmm,” he said by way of a reply, his breathing still rough as he pressed full length against her.
“That was amazing,” she said honestly. “I could never have imagined anything like that happening to me.”
He laughed softly, his sticky cheek pressed against her breastbone. She felt the laugh as if it came from inside of her too and she experienced a rush of possessiveness at the thought that they were one now, both in the eyes of the law and the church but also in body. She refused to worry right now about if they would ever become one in spirit. She knew how she felt about Rob. She would not press him to say he loved her. He would tell her when he was ready. She knew in her bones that he did already. She did not need verbal affirmation, at least not right now.
“I have to be honest with you,” Rob said, finally rolling to the side and propping himself up on one elbow so that he could look at her. “I have never felt anything like that myself.”
Rosy felt a blush wash over her and chided herself for being silly. How could she blush after what they had just done? “I am glad that I please you,” she said quietly.
Rob’s face grew serious and he reached out a hand to cup her cheek gently. “You have always been my friend, Rosy. Now you are my wife and lover as well.” She smiled at him and turned her head to press a kiss into his palm. “Come here,” Rob said, gesturing for her to snuggle up against him again.
Rosy squirmed her way over to him and nestled herself into the hollow place he had made for her, their angles fitting together perfectly. Rob reached behind him and snagged a handful of the covers on the bed and pulled them around him to drape over them both. “Warm enough?” he asked as he tucked the blankets in around them. He felt Rosy nod and smiled a bit to himself as he closed his eyes. For the first time in a long while he felt truly content. He allowed the peace of being in this moment with Rosy in his arms wash over him. It felt good not to be alone.
Chapter Fifteen
Rosy stretched a little, momentarily confused about where she was. She blinked at the evening light streaming through the windows and her befuddled brain realized that she was in the Royal Suite. She became aware of the weight of Rob’s arm slung over her waist and she smiled when she realized that he was snoring softly. She wiggled her bottom closer to his body, enjoying the moment while he was still asleep.
She was married. She was married to Rob. She stifled a joyful laugh at the thought. Her fingers skimmed gently along his wrist, enjoying the smooth skin offset by wiry hair that she found farther up his arm. He murmured in his sleep but did not react otherwise. Feeling emboldened, she reached behind herself and pressed her palm to his flat stomach. She allowed her fingers to wander over the hardness of his hip bone and lower still to find the newly awakened erection that was coming to life against her skin.
“I thought maybe I dreamt this day,” he said quietly to her. “I realize now that I did not.”
“Does that make you happy?” she inquired lazily, her fingers continuing their bold explorations of his body.
She heard the smile in his voice as he answered her. “I could not be happier to find that I did not dream all of this.”
“Perhaps it is only your desire talking,” Rosy replied, wiggling closer to him as the arm draped over her body pulled her closer.
Rob refrained from answering at first, leaning forward to nibble her earlobe. She gasped with delight and tightened her hand on his sensitive flesh with unconscious invitation. The hand that had been resting on her stomach earlier while he was asleep took a side trip to see if she was wet enough for him. Finding that she was, he used the same hand to angle her body away from his slightly. His knee slipped between her legs and shifted her, allowing him access to her most intimate self.
“Oh, I do desire you,” he said as he gently eased the length of himself into her again. He smiled at her little gasp of surprised pleasure. He reached down to rub gently at the sensitive folds of her womanhood as he gently thrust into her. Her firm buttocks pressed against his hips as he sank himself inside of her at first with great care but then with more urgency.
Rosy had not imagined that there might be more than one way to make love. Being unable to see him and yet feeling him all around her as well as inside of her body was intoxicating and exciting. It also made her feel strangely enveloped in safety, surrounded by his care and attention. She had some more experience with the sensations she was feeling now and she welcomed the rising heat and tension in her body as his skillful fingers helped carry her toward orgasm.
“I love you Rob!” she gasped out as she came. The pleasure this time was much more than her prior experience and she cried out again as the remaining waves of sensation worked their way through her nerve endings.
Rob had been holding back for what felt like forever, trying to make sure that she came before he did. He felt her body clenching around him as she was taken over by pleasure and allowed himself to give in to what his body was begging for. He heard himself cry out as he climaxed but he felt as if the sound came from a long distance away. He had thought that he might have experienced the best sex of his life during his prior coupling with her but knew now that he had not. The shocks of pleasure coursing through his limbs were almost painful as they coiled through him. He heard himself panting as the reaction slowed to a slightly less intense level of pleasure. He felt a bit stunned by the orgasm that he had just experienced. He had never felt anything like that in his life and he was left a bit drunk on what had just come to pass.
She said she loved me. His addled brain suddenly recalled what she had shouted as she found her release. He was not sure how that confession made him feel. Everything between them had happened in such a rush that he had never considered that she might actually love him. He realized now though, that he had always known that she did even if he had not allowed himself to examine that fact too closely. He knew that he should tell her that he loved her back but the words stuck in his throat and would not come out. He thought that maybe with time they would feel more natural to say and he would be able to let her know that he felt the same way.
Rosy basked in the afterglow of what she had just experienced. Her body was still melded full length against Rob’s and she realized with a smile that he was still inside of her as well. One beautiful hand still cupped her intimately, its weight a reminder to her tingling flesh of what wonderful cleverness it was capable of. She had not meant to confess to him that she loved him. She had not even consciously thought the words before they tumbled from her lips. Now that they were said though, she felt relieved. She had loved him for so long and not been able to give voice to her feelings. Having them out in the open felt like a weight off her shoulders. She squirmed closer to him, her eyelids heavy again. She was just drifting into a doze when a sudden noise woke her again.
“Are you hungry, husband?” she asked with a little chuckle. As if wishing to reply for itself, Rob’s stomach growled again more loudly.
“Apparently I am, although I did not know it before this moment,” Rob said to her, a bit abashed at his body’s sudden interruption of their cuddling.
Rosy turned to him with a little grin, her hand reaching up to tangle in his hair gently. “If you kiss me again I shall get up and ring the bell for my abigail.”
Rob laughed at that. “Sounds like a fair trade to me.” He kissed her gently and fondly, careful not to invite any further passion for the moment. He was sure that she was going to be sore. He felt it would be in her best interest if they took a bit of a break. He watched with lazy pleasure as Rosy slithered from the bed and trotted on her little feet over to the dressing table near the windows. She gathered up a dressing gown that was draped on a chair by the table and then rang a little bell. Rosy’s servant was so quick to arrive in reply that Rob scrambled a bit to cover himself up as she entered the room.
“Yes, My Lady?” Hester asked as she slipped into the room. She glanced at Rob for a moment, took in glimpse of his naked upper torso, then ducked her head wi
th a blush.
“Oh, don’t be bashful, Hester,” Rosy chided her fondly. “You shall have to get used to seeing my husband in this state of deshabille.” She glanced at Rob with a bit of a wicked gleam in her eye. “I am afraid that it is ever so hard for me to keep my hands off of him.”
Hester giggled at that, still ducking her head so as not to see Rob. “Yes, My lady. I shall try.”
“Good,” Rosy said with a little nod. “Now, if you could please send to the kitchen for our dinners, we should be grateful. We shall not be going down to dinner.”
Hester bobbed a little curtsy. “I had assumed that you would not,” she said sotto voce. “I should not want to leave this room for anything as boring as dinner.”
Rosy laughed aloud at this and reached out to hug her abigail for a moment before sending her from the room. Still smiling broadly, she approached the bed again. She admired Rob’s naked chest with its light dusting of dark hair as she approached. She felt the sticky reminder of his repletion on her thighs and the soreness of his conquest making itself known. She felt deliciously bruised and very pleased with herself.
“You are looking at me as if you might eat me,” Rob teased her gently. “I am not edible, I fear. You shall have to wait for our dinner to arrive.”
Rosy arched one dark brow at him. “You may not be edible, My Lord. That does not mean that you are not good enough to eat.” She gave him a wicked smile as she allowed the silky robe to slip from her body with tantalizing slowness. She climbed lithely onto the bed, pushing the covers off his body as she went. She straddled him, her long hair trailing on his chest and her full breasts tempting his hands.
“You are surely quite sore by now,” Rob said to her fondly, reaching up a hand despite himself to cup her breast. “We do not have to do anything else but rest.”
“Does it look like I want to rest?” Rosy whispered throatily to him. She leaned forward to kiss him, then reached back and slowly guided herself onto his ready and willing maleness.
“You shall spoil me,” Rob said to her as he helped guide her first tentative movements with his hands on her hips. She quickly got the hang of the motion and he allowed his hands to roam over her body again as she took care of the rest.
“I should not wish for you to become bored, husband,” Rosy said saucily as she rode him.
“I very much doubt that I shall become bored, my dear,” he replied honestly. Her long hair shimmered in the firelight as it waved across her shoulders in response to her movements. He admired the narrowness of her little waist and the delightful jiggling of her breasts as she moved. Why had he taken so long to realize that she would be so perfect for him?
“We shall have to hurry,” she whispered to him as she increased the tempo of her movements. “Dinner should arrive soon and I should hate to be interrupted.”
“In that case,” Rob said, seizing a hold of her waist and rolling her beneath him. She giggled breathlessly as she tumbled onto her back, then sucked in a breath as he suckled her breast while still thrusting into her.
Rob felt as well as heard her release wash over her and he triumphed briefly in the knowledge that he could cause such pleasure before he allowed himself to join her in repletion. As he rested his head on her soft breasts and felt her hands play with his hair, he willed himself not to think past this moment. There would be time enough to worry if he would disappoint his wife when they removed themselves to his country house. In the meantime, he would enjoy their growing closeness. Truly he could not remember a time when he had been this happy.
Chapter Sixteen
The rest of the week at the Norwood’s country home passed in idyllic happiness for Rosy and Rob. Matthew, Tess, Alex and Forrest all removed themselves after a couple of days to return to their own homes away from the city. This left Rob and Rosy alone other than when they chose to dine with Rosy’s parents. They spent much of the week in bed, talking about the possible future, books they were both fond of and exchanging silly gossip about members of upper class society. Rosy had never known such joy in all her life, finding that she and Rob were as well matched in bed as out of it. For Rob’s part, the company of an intelligent woman who was widely read and inquisitive about the world around her and her place in it was such a novel experience that he did not labor under the weight of boredom or unease at being away from his own home as he had expected he might.
“It feels strange to think that I shall not come to this house every year now,” Rosy said musingly as Rob’s carriage departed down the long lane. She looked out the window at the house as they drew away, her heart a bit sore at the thought of leaving her family home to embark on her new life as a married woman.
Rob watched her profile as she looked outside and felt a bit of sadness coil in his chest. He had grown so comfortable with her company over the past week that he had quite forgotten that he was asking her to leave her family and everything she had ever known. “I am sure that we can come and see your parents every year when we leave town. Their home is on the way to our estate.”
Rosy turned to smile at him. “That is very kind of you, my love,” she said happily. “I should like that.”
Rob smiled back, relief at having assuaged her worries for the moment easing the knot of tension at his core. “Come sit with me,” he invited, gesturing for her to join him on his side of the carriage.
Rosy did not have to be asked twice and settled herself against his shoulder as the carriage jounced a bit over the country lane. “How many rooms does your house have?” she asked idly, toying with his fingers where they lay on her thigh.
“Only six bedrooms and a few common rooms. A ball room of course and all that,” he said casually. His mind’s eye saw the peeling wallpaper in the ballroom and the sitting rooms and he cringed a bit. Nothing for it but to weather that bit of trouble when she first saw them. After all, he supposed, wall paper could be replaced at a fairly reasonable cost.
“A nice size,” Rosy replied easily. “I should hate to have so many rooms as my mother has to care for.”
Rob kissed the top of her head softly, grateful that she sounded sincere in her wish to have a modest home. Having spent a week in the sumptuous lodgings of Rosy’s father, he personally felt a bit of a pang at leaving such comfort behind.
“I shall likely be bad company,” Rosy said with a yawn. “I am always falling asleep in the carriage.”
Rob squeezed her fingers fondly. “That is quite all right. It has been a very busy week for us both. You deserve the rest.” He adjusted himself a bit on the seat and allowed her to pillow her head on his shoulder. In moments she was asleep. Listening to her soft snoring, Rob felt his heart contract with affection. She was such a kind and generous soul. He hoped that he should not fail her in any way as a husband. Having never planned on being one, he was finding that he had no real idea how to fulfill that role. He felt confident about his knowledge of physical passion and of conversation but he had to admit that he had not had much in the way of experience with those in the married state. His father never remarried after the accident which took Rob’s mother from him and he had only recently witnessed his friends marrying and starting families.
He sighed out loud. His thoughts were going in circles. He would have to do the best that he could and see how it all played out. He should be grateful that Rosy was so clearly in love with him and not look that particular gift horse in the mouth. Attempting to still his wayward thoughts, Rob leaned his head back against the squabs and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.
∞ ∞ ∞
“Wake up, my dear,” Rob said quietly to his new wife. The carriage was about to turn up the drive to his country home and he wanted Rosy to be able to see if from the road as they approached.
Rosy sat up and stretched, trying to alleviate the kink in her neck from resting her head against Rob’s shoulder. “Where are we?” she asked sleepily.
Rob smiled at her kindly. “We are just about to turn into the drive for our home,” he
told her.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, sliding over to the other seat so she might see out the window more clearly. “Did I truly sleep the whole way?”
Rob chuckled. “Indeed.”
“You have quite worn me out with our nighttime activities,” Rosy said, quirking an eyebrow at her husband suggestively before turning away to look out the window.
The house was situated on a slight rise. A long drive lined with trees led the way to the front of the home and a pretty pond sat alongside the road to the home. As Rosy watched, a pair of swans floated into view on the pond, their long necks arched elegantly.
“Oh! You have swans!” she said with delight, clasping her hands together in front of her.
Rob grinned at her. “I do. They are beautiful but also very spiteful if they are disturbed. Best to see them from afar I am afraid.”
“Noted,” Rosy replied with a nod. She regarded the house as they pulled closer. It was much smaller than her father’s country estate, probably more in line with a large hunting box than a true country home. Yet she could see the character of its age shining through the improvements that had been done to make the home more modern. The side of the home facing them had climbing ivy covering its brick walls and old-fashioned mullioned windows. It was not as grand as she was used to but she was immediately drawn to its beautiful setting and the cheerful character that it exuded to the world.
“It is beautiful, Rob!” she breathed out. “It has such a lovely park surrounding it as well!”
Rob realized that he had been holding his breath and released it in a rush. “I am glad that you find it pleasing. It is a quite an old house but my family have made improvements over the years to try and make it somewhat more modern.”
They were pulling around to the front of the house now and Rosy switched sides of the carriage again. As they drew to a halt she saw a little group of servants awaiting them before the front door. She looked up at the soft stone walls and old-fashioned windows of the house once again before turning her attention to the servants.
