by Sophia Lynn
Jordan saw the strength of his body, the tender wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, the strange hints of pain that darkened his expression from time to time. She saw the faint silver at his temples, and the power of his shoulders and his mouth, his beautiful mouth that had made her feel so, so good.
"Are you coming?" he asked, and taking a deep breath, Jordan made her choice.
"Yes," she said, and she stepped into the house with him.
***
Dinner was a delicious hash of potatoes, onions, and pulled pork, and following it was an enormous home-made apple pie topped with luscious scoops of vanilla ice cream.
"You know, I wasn't sure that you would even eat stuff like this," Jordan said, taking another bite even though her belly was completely full and then some. "I thought when I first came to Waverly Manor that it might really be all . . . I don't know, caviar and big steaks and things like that every night."
Cord raised an eyebrow at her, a slight quirk of amusement on his lips.
"And yet you decided that you needed me to be exposed to walking tacos today?" he asked, and she giggled.
"Well, I wasn't going to miss that opportunity," Jordan said. "After all, I got that picture, and I know exactly where it’s going to go."
Cord tensed up at that, but then she flashed the phone at him. There, on her lock screen, was a picture of him standing in a gas station in his expensive clothes, a bag of chips in his hand and a quizzical look on his face as he chewed something.
"You're just going to keep it there like that, are you?" he asked, and she laughed.
"I'll give you one of me eating some walking tacos if you’d like," she offered, but he waved her off.
"No, I think I will wait until you least expect it," he said with a sly smile. "That sounds only fair, don't you think?"
Jordan looked at him over her bite of pie, frowning with her eyes narrowed.
"That sounds awfully suspicious . . ."
"Well, I could wait until you were sleeping, or until you were in the shower or the bath . . ."
Jordan squawked.
"No, that would be terrible!"
Cord shrugged.
"I suppose it would be. If I am going to take pictures of you like that, however, I do want them to be very willing indeed."
"Like that?" Jordan asked, laying her dessert aside. She wasn't sure why her breath had caught, but she knew that every cell in her body seemed to be paying attention to Cord right now.
"Your body is stunning, Jordan, and I would never do something that you do not wish, but I find that having a reminder of it when I am traveling or away from you . . . that does sound very good. I'd be happy of one of your face, especially if it was a face you were making when you were in the deepest throes of pleasure."
She caught her breath as she realized what he was saying.
"You mean . . . you mean you might want to take a picture of me while we were . . . while we were . . ."
"Having sex, yes," he said, and the wicked smile on his face made her shiver all over. "Nothing obscene. Nothing that obvious, though perhaps if you wanted to do that, it could be arranged. However, what I had in mind was simpler. I simply want to see you at the moment of your pleasure, when all that matters to you is tipping over that edge . . ."
She listened to him talk like some sort of small bird that had been hypnotized by a snake, and when he stopped, she had to shake herself slightly to snap out of it.
She thought about joking how that seemed like a pretty big order in return for a picture of a man eating walking tacos, but her throat was too dry. That warmth that he could call out of her so easily was there again, and she longed for him to reach for her.
"Would you like to be taken right across this table?" he asked in the same casual voice. "Would you like to have that dress ripped from your shoulders and placed naked on the table?"
Yes, her brain shouted, and she could almost feel her dress split apart under his strong hands. She could feel the coldness of the wood against her back as he pushed her down on it and the warmth of his body as he rose against her . . .
It was too much, and even as her body cried yes, she shied away from it. She covered her face with her hands as if she could hide, and after a moment, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, little cat. Sometimes, when we talk, it feels as if we must have known each other for a very long time. I forget that you are so new to . . . well, all of this. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," she whispered. "I want to. It's . . . it's just so much."
She knew that she wasn't making much sense, but she didn't need to. Somehow, it was as if Cord understood her instinctively. He kissed her gently on the temple, and when she turned toward him, letting her hands drop, he kissed her tender mouth.
"We walk before we can run," he said with a grin. "There are many pleasures to be found if I'm easy on you, if I take care and make sure that you aren’t rushed. In a lot of ways, it's like breaking in a filly . . ."
Jordan's eyes narrowed at that.
"I'm pretty sure that I should be at least a little upset about being compared to a horse," she said warningly, but he laughed. She might have protested, but then he leaned in again, nuzzling the side of her neck and feathering a half-dozen kisses there.
"It was once a common thing," he murmured. "A hundred and fifty years ago, when this house was first built, a woman would have come as virginal to her husband as you did to me. She might be afraid or curious, ready to heed a gentle hand or frightened of shadows, just like a young filly. A good husband, just like a good rider, knows when to push and when to bribe, when offer gentleness, and when a firm hand might be needed."
"A firm hand . . . I think I might prefer the gentleness," she whispered, but neither of them missed the way she shifted in her seat.
"I'm sure that many of those young wives thought so as well." Cord chuckled. "But sometimes, the best way to make sure that a certain lesson sticks is with a few firm swats to the rear, don't you think?"
"I don't know about that," Jordan said, but there was a quiver to her voice as she imagined it. She remembered Cord's joking swat on her rear earlier and how it had sent a pulse of heat through her. She thought of what it might be like to relax into the calm and firm guidance of an older man. Would it feel safe, as if she at last had found a home that she could trust and have faith in, or would it be delightfully dangerous at times? An older man like Cord was worldly, with a kind of wisdom she had felt was locked away behind closed doors for her.
“Don't you know?” Cord asked, his voice dropping slightly. There was a kind of menace there, but again it felt as if he were hypnotizing her, making sure that she never noticed the tiger behind the purr, not until it was far too late. Too late for what? She didn't know, but her heart beat a little faster at the idea.
“I'm not sure I know anything right now,” Jordan confessed, and Cord laughed a little, running the edge of one finger along her jaw.
“Well, then it sounds like you should listen to me, doesn't it?” he asked, and for some reason, that idea sounded perfectly likely, perfectly reasonable.
“I think I might,” she said, unwilling to give up everything, and her natural stubbornness asserted itself. “At least for a little while. Sometimes.”
Instead of being irritated, Cord simply laughed.
“All right then, little cat. Why don't you run upstairs? Our suite is at the very end of the hall. I want you to go into the bathroom up there, and I want you to take a bath. Not a shower, a bath. Do you understand?”
“Is that all?” she asked, feeling strangely disappointed. She had been expecting something more . . . more intense, perhaps, or more invasive. A bath . . . that just sounded like getting clean.
“It's enough,” he said. The hint of sternness in his voice made her heart beat faster, and she decided that he was right. “Get going.”
She thought about smarting off again just to see where that got her, but instead, she
only looked at him with wide eyes and scurried up the stairs as he indicated.
Chapter Thirteen
Jordan allowed herself a moment to be slightly spooked in the long corridor to the room that Cord had indicated. The house was old even if it was beautifully maintained, and she couldn't help thinking of all the people who had lived and died and passed through. She wondered if they had cared about things as deeply as she did, if they’d had feelings as strong as she did for Cord.
The room itself, however, held absolutely no menace at all. It was large and luxurious, but there was a coziness to it that made Cord's master bedroom at Waverly Manor seem sterile and plain. This room, with its simple wood furnishings and enormous wedding ring quilt on the bed, seemed like something altogether different. It was a place for people to live, to talk, to be with one another, and after a moment to contemplate it, she hurried to do as Cord told her.
Jordan hung her dress carefully on a hanger in the closet, and after a few moments of hesitation, discarded the rest of her clothes as well.
The bathroom had surprisingly dim lighting that made her think of candlelight, and it gave the cast iron claw-foot bathtub a kind of antique glamor.
Well, at least I don't have to pump my own water, she thought with a slight smile. When she twisted a handle, hot, steaming water came gushing out, and as she let the tub fill, she looked around at the bottles on the ledge close by. She supposed that most people who came to stay at the bed and breakfast brought their own shampoo and soap, but why would they ever do that when there were such curious options available, all in glass bottles that made her think of a time long gone?
She found a small bottle labeled juniper-scented oil, and when she dribbled some into the water, the room was filled with a sweet and piney scent. At that point, Jordan reckoned the tub was full enough, and turning off the water, she slid in hesitantly.
The oil gave the water an almost silky feeling, and for several minutes, Jordan simply swept her hands through it, sighing with pleasure at the lovely warm sensations.
Cord had said that the house was more than a hundred years old. Jordan wondered about the women who had bathed in the tub before her, the young wives who had rested in the hot water just as she was doing now. Did they listen for their husbands' steps in the hall? Did they welcome them or meet their touches with shudders of fear and revulsion?
Even in the hot water, Jordan could feel her nipples tighten at the memory of Cord's touch. There was something about him that was different from the men she had known. He could be terrifying sometimes, but there was a kindness and a firm control to him as well. he was a man who was well-used to being in charge. When she obeyed him, he gave her such pleasure that it made her feel as if she were just going to levitate off the bed.
She shivered. She wondered what he would be like if she disobeyed him or played him false. What would he do to her if he figured out why she was in his house in the first place? If he realized that she was not quite the brave and valiant maid whom he thought he had slept with? Without thinking about it, she curled into herself, afraid in a way that was difficult to describe while also feeling an intense curiosity rise in her.
That man makes it difficult to think straight, she thought, shaking her head. I need to be on my guard, or all of my secrets are just going to come spilling out of me whether I intend for it to happen or not.
She got to scrubbing herself, and she was just standing to rinse herself off under the modern shower head when the door opened and Cord walked in.
Jordan yelped with surprise, but Cord paid no attention to the way she was trying to cover herself. Instead, he came to the edge of the tub as if he had every right in the world. She could see a demon light of desire in his eyes and a curve of sensuality to his lips that went straight to the pit of her belly.
Before she could vocalize a protest, he wrapped the damp hair at the nape of her neck around his fist and pulled her close. The only way she could keep her balance was to fall against him, painfully aware of how wet she was getting his clean clothes. Then his lips were descending down over hers, and she was pulled into such passionate kiss that she nearly forgot her own name, let alone his clothes. His tongue swept into her mouth, claiming her with intense need, and when he pulled back, she only stared at him.
"I want to see what's mine," he said, and to her shock, he simply looked at her. She stood in knee-deep water, but when she might have sunk back down in it, he stopped her with a touch. Instead, Jordan stood, her hands by her sides as Cord took in her slippery body, her round breasts, her wide hips, her narrow waist, and her thick thighs. She knew that she was no swimsuit beauty, but Cord's gaze was hungry, practically ravenous.
"Very beautiful," he said at last. There was something almost impartial about it, like a man who was rendering a judgment on a filly he was prepared to buy, but she could see the need that was running through him.
"Come on, let's get you washed up."
She started to tell him that she would, but then he reached for the detachable shower head. He tested the water, and then he turned the warm spray on her, rinsing the suds from her body. After a moment of shock, she leaned into the water, turning as he told her to do so. A part of her knew that she should be embarrassed, but it felt too good. She liked being washed, but more than that, she loved the sensation of being watched by a man who was so full of need for her.
"All right, that's enough, I think. Time to get out."
"No," she whimpered sadly. "It feels so good."
"Does it really?" Cord asked mildly, and then she shrieked as he hit her with a suddenly frigid blast of water. He turned it off before she had even really acknowledged what he had done, but it still left her shivering and whimpering.
"Ready to get out now?" he asked with a grin, and she nodded meekly.
Once she had proven herself reasonable, he was gentleness itself. He lifted her out of the tub, and then using one of the fluffy white towels, he dried her with beautiful thoroughness. She was feeling warm and almost sleepy when he finally lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom. Instead of setting her down on the bed, however, Cord tilted his head toward her.
"I want you to climb on the bed and get on your hands and knees," he murmured. "Is that clear?"
"What? Why?" Jordan blurted out, and he raised an eyebrow.
"I want you to think about that order, and then I want you to think about whether you want to be disobeying me so very soon after I have given it."
She got the hint, and she scrambled onto the bed. For a moment, a stubborn part of her wanted nothing more than to defy him, but then she thought better of it. Perhaps some part of her wanted to be rebellious and defiant, but another part of her simply wanted to be good, to earn all the pleasure she knew he was going to give her.
She got into position, more aware than she had ever been of her breasts hanging down toward the mattress and how exposed every bare part of her was to Cord's gaze.
For a long moment, he said nothing, but when she turned to look at him, he gave her a light smack on her rear. She squeaked more with surprise than with pain, and he chuckled.
"Keep your eyes on the bed in front of you," he directed. "It's only respectful."
"So is this traditional?" Jordan asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "A thing that husbands and wives do together?"
"It was a long time ago," Cord said, his voice clear and entirely as if he did not have a naked woman bent over in front of him.
"Once upon a time, husbands were the undisputed heads of their household. A good household was a well-disciplined household, and it was the husband's responsibility to make sure that everyone obeyed the rules. That, of course, included his new wife when she entered his house."
"That doesn't sound very fair," Jordan objected. "Who was going to make sure that he obeyed the rules?"
Instead of being irritated, Cord only laughed.
"Very perceptive, little cat," he said kindly. "The answer was usually no one. Many of the men from t
hat era, much like the men from today, were not worth the trouble. They were oftentimes bullies who made the lives of their wives and children a nightmare, and there were many wives who were just as fit, if not more fit, to run their households."
She started to respond, but then his warm hand cupped the back of her neck before trailing down her spine. He stopped short of the curve of her rear, but she could almost feel the ghost of heat there, as if he had.
"I do not think I’m interested in discipline tonight," he said presently, "though of course, that might change. Tonight, I want to see how very obedient and biddable you are. Those are both good qualities for a young woman of the world."
Jordan laughed a little nervously.
"Unfortunately, I'm not sure how really obedient I am—or biddable," she said, and she was surprised by the tone of apology in her voice. She had never thought that either of those things would be very fun, but right now, for some reason, she felt a strange tug at the bottom of her belly at the idea.
"Oh, I think that you might surprise yourself," Cord said. His voice was mild, and then it took on a sterner note. "Spread your knees apart."
Jordan gasped a little at his tone, but she found that her body was obeying almost before she understood. She shifted so that her knees were more than a shoulder's width apart, but that apparently wasn't good enough for Cord. He ran his hand up and down her thighs and pressed his hand between her legs to briefly fondle her breasts, but he didn't touch the aching core of her, the part that had started throbbing for him almost as soon as he had entered the bathroom and started watching her with his bright gaze.
"Beautiful, so beautiful," he murmured. "But I want more than that."
He put a little pressure on her thigh with one hand, getting her to stretch until her knees were so far apart that her haunches were almost level with her shoulders.
Jordan whimpered at the sensation. Not only was there the beginning of an ache through her thighs, but she could feel how very exposed she was. Looking at her from behind, Cord could see her completely, and somehow, the feeling both made her want to hide and to show him more.
