Colin's Conundrum: A Steamy 19th Century Romance (The Victorians Book 3)

by Simone Beaudelaire

  Awed, he tilted Daisy's chin up and lowered his face, touching his lips to hers in a kiss of such pure, beautiful passion, it stole the air from his lungs and illuminated every dark corner of his heart.

  Colin's arms tightened around Daisy. Releasing her lips, he looked down into her eyes, his soul unguarded.

  Her thick golden lashes covered her wide gray-green eyes and then pulled back to reveal the internal luminescence that had obsessed and tortured him from the moment they met. This is your moment, man. A turning point. She's a gift from God. An answer to prayer. She's here. She cares for you. You care for her. Make the choice to turn from where you were to a new future. You've lain together twice. You cannot resist her. You have no reason to do so. Stop trying. “I…” He cleared his throat. “I love you, Daisy.”

  Her lips curved upward, even as her eyes crimped in the corners and became shiny. She squeezed them shut.

  “What is it?” he asked her softly, unnerved by her reaction.

  “I never thought I'd hear you say it.” She sniffled.

  “Well, you did,” he replied.

  She opened her eyes and snared him again in her glistening gaze. Then she shook her head. “Here we are then. Married beyond all redemption.”

  “So it would seem,” Colin agreed. “Isn't it marvelous?”

  She nodded. “I've always thought so.” She swallowed hard, throat contracting.

  “Not to put a damper on the evening,” he made a gesture with his hips, letting her know what he had on his mind, “but we need to consider the possible consequences. I… I'm working hard to be a better husband and understand how everything will be fine, but… I'm not ready to be a father yet. Perhaps Mother could offer some suggestions of how we could delay that for a while. I could get a French letter…”

  “I talked to your mother the last time we were in London. She gave me the recipe for a tea that suppresses conception.”

  “You did? She did?”

  “Yes, Colin. I may be eager for us to draw together, but a baby would complicate our already tense meeting and transition more than we need at this time. I've been drinking the tea daily since then. Your mother warned me it was not a failsafe, and I would need to be aware of my body and my cycle to avoid the most fertile days.”

  “Have you been doing that?”

  She nodded. “I was fertile last week, but this week, it has passed. I'll menstruate next week. This is a fairly safe time. Colin, there are never guarantees. The Lord has overruled us once. He may again, but on my end, things are as safe as they're likely to get.”

  He nodded.

  “Will that suffice for you?”

  “I suppose it will have to,” he replied with a sigh. “I'm glad you took the initiative, and I certainly have no intention of stopping. You're too delicious. Too tempting.”

  She grinned, though it still had a watery look about it. “Luckily, as we are, the way you said, married beyond redemption, there's no need to resist temptation.”

  One corner of his mouth quirked. “Good thing. I don't think I could have held out much longer anyway.”

  “Well then,” she suggested, “shall we succumb again?”

  “Right here and now?” he asked, stunned. “Will we never make love in our marriage bed?”

  She shrugged. “Look around. Here is this magical fire. It's a lovely summer's night. We could be so well-behaved and creep into our bedroom as though our lovemaking is some kind of dirty secret. We could do that if it would make you more comfortable. On the other hand, it would be a shame to waste the beauty of the night, the breeze, the dying fire. I mean, isn't this what being newlyweds is all about? We have the rest of our lives to be stuffy, married folks.” She stroked one hand down his cheek and ran her thumb over his lips.

  He touched her with the tip of his tongue.

  “For this short time, we get to be wild, free and natural, let our passion take us over. What do you want to do, Colin?”

  Colin considered her words. Though he'd passed thirty, and life had long since killed his sense of being playful, young or free, he felt the draw of her words. The night is magical, he reminded himself, and the tenants have all taken their children home to bed. No one will know. It can be our delicious secret.

  In lieu of words, not wanting to commit aloud to such rash action, Colin nonetheless made his choice. He claimed Daisy's mouth in a kiss that abandoned gentleness and encouraged passion to rise.

  Eager as always, Daisy tugged at Colin's shirttails, dragging them out of his trousers, and slid her hands underneath to caress his skin, or try to. His undershirt foiled her efforts.

  “There's still so much coming between us,” she said sadly.

  “You were the one who suggested we not go back to our bed, where we can undress in private and truly enjoy one another. Do you want to be naked in the open?”

  She shrugged.

  “Wild vixen. Come on.”

  Colin led Daisy away from the fire into darker night. Clouds floated past the moon, moving fast and revealing shifting patches of denser and thinner darkness. Away from the heat, the breeze grew chilly, teasing skin and disarranging Daisy's hair so it escaped its pins and danced.

  Colin tugged off his jacket and laid it on the soft grass of the meadow. Daisy tugged off her dress and added it to the pile. She challenged Colin with an inviting glance, daring him, it seemed, to take the next step.

  Gulping, he tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it down. “You're going to have a wonderful time cleaning the grass stains out of our clothing,” he said.

  “Oh well. I have plenty of paint stains already.” She turned, presenting her back to him, so he could loosen her stays.

  The boned undergarment dropped, and Daisy stepped away, nudging it aside with her toes. Free of its constriction, she crouched, unlaced her boots, and set them aside as well.

  Colin took advantage of the moment to remove his own shoes. Their stockings quickly followed.

  Daisy wriggled her toes in the grass. He could barely make out the movement in the sparse, silver light that filtered down on them between the hurrying clouds.

  “Your turn, Lord Gelroy,” she teased.

  Colin's powers of speech deserted him. He opened the buttons and let his trousers fall before tossing his undershirt to the nest they were steadily creating, where their love could take hold.

  Bold as always, Daisy reached forward with one hand so she could stroke his firm erection through the fabric of his underpants.

  He could see her nipples, equally hard, pressing out the fabric of her chemise. He slipped it from her body, shaking his head. “Naked outside for all to see. What a wild, wicked girl.”

  “You like me that way,” she sassed. His drawers succumbed to her questing fingers, and he stood, nude and shivering, as the night wind caressed him in places he'd never expected. It is magical, he thought. Wild and free, like Daisy. The things this woman does to me.

  He regarded his wife as she fumbled nervously with the fastenings of her bloomers.

  “Shy, love?” he asked.

  She bit her lip and nodded.

  “Don't be. I've claimed this portal before.” He cupped her, bold as she had been a moment ago, and slid his hand through the open seam to touch her intimate places. Her private folds parted, and he felt warm, wet flesh that pulsed wantonly under his fingers, “and I will again. And you'll like it again, and make all those sweet, sweet cries that turn me wild. Here, in the out-of-doors. That's what you want, isn't it?”

  She nodded.

  Colin tugged the drawstring and let the garment fall from his wife's hips. Tugging her around, he reclined onto the nest of clothing and sank onto his back, guiding her down on top of him. Awkwardly, still unsure how all the mechanics of lovemaking worked, she straddled his belly.

  Colin slid his hands up her ribs and cupped her breasts, one in each hand, delivering a firm pinch to her nipples.

  Daisy squeaked and moisture surged against his skin.

 
“This is what you asked for,” he growled. “Have you changed your mind? We can still make a run for our bedroom.”

  She shook her head. Straightening her hips, she rose and shifted back.

  “Oho, my bold lady. Here, help me.” He grasped her hand and guided it to his erection. The touch of her fingers on his bare skin made him groan. Together, they levered the heavy shaft upright, tracing it along Daisy's saturated folds until they found the opening. He laid his free hand on her hip to guide her downward, working his penis deeper into her than he'd ever been before.

  “Oh!” she gasped.

  “A lot, isn't it?” he managed to growl, though words were failing. Colin grasped both her hips and guided her upward so she could sink down again, tutoring her in the fine art of riding her man.

  Daisy's head tipped back, and she released a soft cry of wanton pleasure. Her sex clenched on his.

  This position left her pearl exposed. Now that she'd grasped the rhythm, he slid his hands between their straining bodies to caress it.

  Another sound, this one choked and rasping, escaped her. Her thrusts faltered, but she quickly resumed the movements, reaching for the peak of pleasure.

  “That's it, love,” Colin murmured. “That's it.”

  Daisy gasped, moaned. A flurry of wild bounces drove him deep into her core. He kept his gentle, firm pressure on her most sensitive spot, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold out long, and he would be following shortly thereafter.

  Daisy rocked her hips, adding a sideways shimmy to their eager thrusting, and climaxed unexpectedly. She wailed, a sharp, thin sound in the darkness, and her hands came to rest on Colin's chest. Her womanhood compressed in tight squeezes and flutters that had him on the brink in moments. He made no attempt to hold back but shouted his ecstasy to the night sky.

  * * *

  Filthy pigs, the watcher thought sourly, frowning at the naked spectacle perfectly outlined in the firelight. Pagan beasts. They deserve what's coming to them.

  * * *

  Awareness dawned slowly for Daisy. She found herself lying on her husband's body, his sex softening slowly inside her. She grinned. It had been wild. An untamed mating fit for nature deities. I hope it's not the last time we make love in the outdoors. How enticing.

  The breeze teased her skin again, and she shivered.

  Thunder rumbled again, but an irresistible urge drew her up off of Colin's body and towards an enticing scent. On the fence that contained the estate's largest pasture, wild roses bloomed in heady profusion, their flowers pale pink like flesh. Cautious of the thorns she could not see in the darkness, she gathered a handful of petals and returned to her husband. He lifted himself on one elbow to watch.

  “What are you up to now, love?”

  “A bit of magic,” she replied. She sprinkled the petals over his prone form. “ 'Rose leaves, rose leaves, rose leaves I strew. He that will love me come to me now.' ”

  “I already have, Daisy.”

  “I know.” She bit her lip. “I forgot to mention earlier, though I'm sure you know. I do love you, Colin. I'm ever so glad you're my husband.”

  He grinned, teeth flashing in the pale light.

  Thunder cracked again, and this time, the clouds opened, and a deluge of icy droplets fell on their naked skin.

  “Oh no!” Daisy made a wild grab for her clothing as Colin leaped to his feet. Gathering everything they could find in the dark, they ran, laughing like children, to the door of their home.

  Chapter 12

  “Argh!” Colin groaned. The pink light of sunrise filtered past the curtains that covered the bedroom window, illuminating the couple who lay in a small bed in a small farmhouse on a small estate. Resting his weight on his forearms, he lowered his head to his wife's chest.

  Daisy stroked Colin's hair, soothing him down from orgasm to relaxation. She kissed the top of his head and he settled onto her body. “You finally got your wish,” she teased.

  “Oh?” Colin more gasped than asked.

  “You've been asking for days to make love in our bed. Was it all you dreamed of?”

  “Oh, yes,” he breathed. She could feel his muscles flex as he moved to cover her. He lowered his mouth to hers for a kiss of tender affection. “I love you, Daisy.”

  Her heart welled with joy at how easily he admitted it. She drew him down again, fully onto her so she could hold him close. “Oh, my darling.”

  He sighed, and his shoulders and back relaxed in a way she'd never seen in him before. She trailed her fingers up and down his spine.

  “I have to go,” he murmured, regret heavy in his voice.

  “No,” she whined. “Don't go. Stay with me. Those smelly geese can live on without your intervention for one day… let the tenants handle them… not working is it?”

  “No,” Colin told her. “You'd no more take advantage of them than I would.”

  She grinned. “You're right. I just wish… I wish we could spend a few days together.”

  “I'm a farmer, love. Winter will come before you know it. Then, you'll have so much time with me, you'll regret wishing for it.”

  “Not a chance,” Daisy replied. “I enjoy your company whenever I can get it, Colin.”

  He sat back, grinning a gentle, genuine smile. “I may never understand why, but I'm grateful.”

  “You don't give yourself enough credit,” Daisy informed her husband. “There is so much to appreciate about you. I wish you could see it.”

  “It's enough that you can,” he said.

  Daisy grabbed him tight with both arms around his neck and dragged him down to kiss his lips. “If you must go, go with my love and come back to my arms at sunset.”

  “How poetic, but you know I'll be back in a couple of hours for breakfast. Um, love?”

  She met his eyes.

  “Could you please prepare something hearty? I'm… starving.”

  She smiled. “Of course.”

  “Thank you.”

  He wriggled out of her arms and crossed to an ewer of tepid water set on the washstand, so he could clean their mingled love from his sex. “It was a lovely encounter. I could do that again every night.”

  “I might take you up on that,” she replied. “At least until my next menstruation starts.”

  “I might let you,” he replied with a grin, tugging on a clean pair of drawers and searching for new trousers and a clean shirt.

  “Did your clothes get stains on them?” she asked.

  “I think so,” he replied, tugging an undershirt over his head. “You might have noticed I was a bit busy. I didn't stop to examine them.”

  She giggled. This new, more relaxed side of her husband had a charm that even surpassed his compelling sorrow she'd seen the day they met. “I imagine not. Busy is right.” She sat up, letting the covers fall away from her body, and Colin froze.

  “You're a danger to my sanity, Daisy,” he said, eyeing her plump breasts. “I could take you again, right now, with no problem. Good God, I feel seventeen.”

  She grinned. “It's the novelty of it, I suppose. Once we're used to the idea that we can make love any time we want, we won't feel such an overwhelming need to prove it.”

  “Perhaps.” He tugged on a pair of trousers, winked at her, and meandered out of the room.

  Stretching luxuriously, Daisy rose from the bed, retrieved a nightgown from her bureau and dropped it over her head, not in the mood to bind herself up in stays and shoes and garters. “Modern clothing, even simple clothing, does nothing for comfort. I was up late, and I have a lot to do around the house this morning. The ladies aren't supposed to come and learn to hang wallpaper until the day after tomorrow, so no one would know if I didn't get dressed at all.

  The floor felt cold under her feet as she made her way into the kitchen to brew coffee and consider her options for the hearty breakfast Colin had requested. She couldn't recall a time when he'd made any request of her, and she intended to feed him in every way she could. “Sausage, coddled eggs, toa
st and fresh jam. That should satisfy his body. I can only hope what we shared last night—and this morning—will satisfy his heart. I know it did mine.”

  “Oh, Good Lord!” Colin's voice filtered into the kitchen just as Daisy set the kettle on the stove. He sounded… horrified.

  “What is it?” she called. “What's happening, love?”

  Colin stood in the open door that led from the sitting area into what had once been the ornamental front lawn of the manor. Several summer flies zoomed past his frozen frame and hurried into the kitchen, intent on making a nuisance of themselves.

  “Colin, what's happening?” Daisy squeezed past him, peering into the yard and the trees beyond, expecting to see someone lurking. Colin grabbed her around the waist and arrested her movement.

  “Who would do such a thing?” he asked, not her in particular, but the universe.

  Daisy noticed his gaze fixed on the ground. She nearly gagged at the sight of two gray legs, severed and laid out in an X shape. A pile of innards lay at in the bottom opening of the grisly shape. At the top, a long, gray face stared at them with blank, clouded eyes. Red-brown drops drew her attention to sprinkles of blood thrown over the ground and, as she followed its path, the door and its frame.

  “Good Lord,” she breathed, horrified. “What on earth? What is that?”

  “It's Stormcloud,” Colin snarled. “The horse I had with me when we met. Remember, I lost him in the woods?” He exhaled in a noisy whoosh.

  “In my village? Oh, no!”

  “And look at that.” Colin indicated the ground near the revolting pile of offal and blood. With a stick, someone had dug deep into the soil in strange lines that swam with blood.

  “Is that… words?” Daisy asked.

  She felt rather than saw his nod. “I think it says 'sinner'.”

  Daisy squinted and the macabre display. “I think you're right, but… what sin? And who are they accusing? And why?”

  “I can't imagine.” He shook himself. “Come away, love. Don't stare at it. We'll clean it all up. I know the men will help me.”

  She let him lead her inside, back into the kitchen, where the kettle had begun to boil. Daisy sank into a chair while Colin spooned tea leaves into the teapot and then added the water.