Sleeping Lord Beattie

by Em Taylor

  She sighed and rested her forehead against his. “I like being on your lap, husband. You make me feel safe, and cherished.”

  “Then let us just enjoy being in one another’s company, wife. Rest your head on my shoulder and we shall just enjoy being together for a while.” He rested his own head back against the squabs and soon they were both dozing.

  He woke when the carriage turned into the private road up to Aelton Manor. He shook his sleeping wife awake. She looked a little tousled but not tumbled. She had the imprint of his jacket on the skin of her face.

  “I must look a complete fright.”

  “You look beautiful.”

  “What will Robert say.”

  “Robert can go to the devil.”

  “Yes, I suppose he can. I am your concern now.”

  “You are indeed.”

  Robert was holed up in his study when they arrived back and was not to be disturbed, according to the butler. They could go wherever they wished in the house and grounds. He had arranged for them to be sent dinner to their apartment at eight o’clock. If that did not suit, they were to inform the housekeeper.

  Emily was looking a little askance at this information and looked up at him as if not sure how to proceed.

  “It is a lovely day. We could go for a stroll around the park. I have missed the sunshine, I must confess.”

  “Oh, I have too. Yes, let us go for a walk.”

  Colour came back to her cheeks and she led the way back out the door. They walked in silence for a while through some well-tended gardens until they arrived at what appeared to be the beginning of a wilderness walk.

  Gideon spoke up.

  “Back at the house, you looked afraid as though I was going to jump on top of you and ravish you right there and then, but in the carriage, you seemed rather keen on the idea.”

  She pursed her lips and looked past him. She clearly did not wish to meet his gaze.

  “We were in high spirits in the carriage. If you had taken me there and then, I would not have had time to get nervous. I must admit though, I am a little afraid.”

  “Of what?”

  “The pain. Of not being good enough. Of being clumsy and awkward.”

  He nodded. He understood her concerns. He was sure had he stopped long enough to consider his own worries when he had been a virgin, he would have had the same concerns. However, he had followed the direction his cock was pointing in. He’d drunk a little too much of his father’s brandy and tumbled his sister’s very young governess. It had come as a shock to him that the very young governess was older than she’d looked and was, in fact, not a virgin. She’d taught him a thing or two, been a very skilled lover and instructed more than his sister that Season. Sadly, she had found herself a vicar to marry, obviously convinced him she was an innocent young lady and he never saw or heard from her again once she headed off to rural Shropshire.

  “I have no concerns, my love. You are a quick learner. You were very adept at bringing me pleasure that day in the carriage when we had to change out of our muddy clothes. I understand the pain is fleeting as long as I only take you once and prepare you properly, which I shall.”

  She nodded in understanding.

  “Am I being a ninny about this?”

  “Anything we have not yet experienced is bound to give us a certain amount of apprehension, so no, you are not a ninny about this. You did say you trusted me. Trust me now that I can make the experience good for both of us.”

  She drew his face down and pressed a delicate kiss to his lips.

  “Yes, you are correct. I do trust you. Thank you for being so understanding.”

  “Show me around the rest of this park and let us enjoy the sunshine before we must return to rainy old Herefordshire.”

  Never mind going to hell, Gideon Beattie believed he may be beatified when he died if this week was anything to go by. He had just spent an hour watching Lady Emily Beattie eating her dinner, her tongue sticking out to lick her lips, her lips wet from the wine in her glass, her bosom almost spilling out of her evening dress and her cheeks almost scarlet every time he looked at her. He was changing in the dressing room off the green bedroom and could hear the murmurs of voices, Emily and her maid in the room next door.

  He stroked his hard shaft in the hope of getting some sort of relief from the persistent ache.

  At last, he heard the outer door of the room click shut. He waited a moment and knocked.

  “Emily, may I come in?”

  “Uh, yes, I suppose you may.”

  “Well, you know how to make your husband feel welcome,” he said, the sarcasm evident in his tone as he walked into the room. Expecting to see her sitting at a window or her dressing table in a nightgown, waiting for him, he was surprised to see her naked, scrambling into the large four-poster bed.

  “Where is your nightgown?” he asked.

  “There.” She pointed to the chair where a nightgown lay discarded.

  “Why are you already naked?”

  She frowned. “I understood that to be the point, Gideon. Oh, give me the nightgown.” She started to scramble back out the bed but he hurried to her and caught her by the hips.

  “No, you are right. That is the point. Do you ever have a moment thought out in your head so many times that when it does actually happen, it is not how you imagined it and you say entirely the wrong thing?”

  She chuckled. “Frequently.”

  “All week I have imagined this moment, but you were sitting at the window in your nightgown and I came over and pulled you to your feet and kissed you on the lips then led you to the bed. Instead, my hands are already on your bare hips, my teeth…. tugging at your earlobe, your pert little bottom pressed against my erection. I must say, it does feel divine. Much better than in my imagination.”

  He moved his hand up and cupped her breast, brushing his hand over her erect nipple.

  “Gideon!” Her voice was a breathy moan and his cock jerked against her bottom.

  “Get on the bed and lie on your back while I remove this dressing gown.”

  She did as he asked and he was crawling between her knees and up her body seconds later.

  She giggled nervously when his cock jerked and touched her stomach. He looked between them and smiled.

  “He’s happy to see you. He knows we are at last going to consummate this marriage.”

  “He?”

  “It does sometimes feel as though it has a mind of its own, especially when I am near you.” He moved to her side and onto his hip drawing her into a heated kiss. His tongue plundered her mouth as he moved his hand between her legs. She was tense—obviously worried about this moment. He had to get her to relax or it would be so much worse if her muscles were tight.

  He moved his hand away from between her legs and just concentrated on kissing her again. When she threaded her fingers through his hair, moaning and rubbing her calf against his, he knew he was doing the right thing. She was responding as a lover should.

  He broke the kiss and her lips trailed over his chin and down his neck. Damn, she was a sensual woman. She was clearly going completely on instinct, but it was his turn.

  She was kissing his chest and trying to wriggle down the bed, her hand reaching for his shaft.

  Devil take it. It was tempting to let her, but it would be all over in seconds and he would not disgrace himself on his wedding night, no matter how good it might feel in the moment. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing down the inside of her arm, warm, wet, sensual kisses, her skin was as soft as satin.

  She was becoming pliant in his arms again instead of being the aggressor. Gideon would have no problem with Emily being in charge in the bedroom occasionally. He liked his woman to ride him to completion sometimes, but not tonight.

  He kissed down her breast until he closed his mouth over the tip of one beautiful pink nipple. Yes, she did have large nipples and he loved them. Using the flat of h
is tongue to lick around the areola, the mewl of pleasure he pulled from her made him groan with need. He needed to be inside her soon.

  He moved a hand between her legs. This time she opened for him easily. She was wet and wanting. As he stroked his fingers through her folds, she bucked into his touch.

  He needed a plan. He would have sex with her, let her recover and then, since she would be sore, he could use his mouth on her later. She could use her hand. That would suffice. He already needed her again and he had not yet slaked his lust with her the first time.

  He loved her breasts. She was so wet for him.

  He pushed a finger inside her. She grabbed his shoulder.

  “Gid…”

  “Shh. I said I would prepare, you, my love.” She relaxed onto the bed and he eased his finger in and out of her. Damn, she was so hot and tight. Her breasts were better than any dessert. He feasted on them. When she started to moan, he added a second finger. Her grip on his shoulder tightened slightly but then she sighed and allowed her knees to fall to the side. He flicked her pearl with his thumb.

  “Oh, husband.”

  Christ, was she trying to send him over the edge?

  “Do you like that wife?” His voice was deep and gravelly. He did not think he had ever been this aroused in his life. He had never had a virgin before, and though he had given her two releases on the way here, they had been fast and furious, he had felt a sense of unease both times. For though he had planned to marry her, he knew he had not yet done the deed. Now, however, she was his, she had his fingers buried in her as deep as they would go and she was on the edge of the precipice.

  “Gideon, I…”

  “Let go, my love,” he urged.

  “Gideon!” Her body went rigid and the gentle strokes she had been making through his hair became a painful pull. She arched off the bed and closed her eyes. He moved up the bed, the muscles inside her still pulsed around his fingers but he removed them and enveloped her in his embrace.

  He held her as she wrapped her thighs around one of his and rubbed herself against him.

  Then Gideon rolled her over. It was now or never.

  “Bend your knees, my love.”

  She did as she was told and again she looked at him with hardly disguised terror. He placed a hand under her bottom and angled her slightly. Better to do it in one swift move once he was inside a small amount.

  He pushed in. She did not scream in pain but her thighs were like bricks. He was only in past the head of his cock. He would never get past her maidenhead going this slowly.

  He had noticed on the journey up that Emily was very easily distracted. She would start to tell a story, drift away for a second then tell a different story. He supposed she was unaware of this. But she was definitely very easy to misdirect.

  “What is that?” He lifted her arm.” She looked at the inside of her arm that he had just raised.

  “What?”

  Gideon leaned over her. He took the skin between thumb and forefinger and tweaked it.

  “Ouch!” she yelled. He was aware of her body relaxing and he drove home.

  “Sorry,” he muttered. Damn, she felt good.

  “Oh!” The look on the Viscountess Beattie’s face was priceless.

  Chapter 18

  “You pinched me!” Emily exclaimed as Gideon covered her mouth with his and stopped the tirade she was about to unleash on him. Mmm, she did like his kisses. He stroked her tongue with his—long deliberate strokes which mimicked the long deliberate strokes of his…

  Oh yes, that was really quite pleasant. There was a little discomfort, she supposed. Perhaps if she moved her legs around him. Would that be terribly gauche? Well, he had nipped her arm, so she did not care if she was gauche.

  As she wrapped her legs around his hips, he moved her arms above her head and withdrew from the kiss. He smiled down at her, his gaze meeting hers, his eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth.

  “You did that on purpose,” Emily accused.

  “Of course, I did. Are you in pain?”

  “No.” He pressed his lips to the point on her arm where he had nipped. Then he peppered kisses along her jaw and her neck. Emily could feel the now familiar tension building.

  “Gideon, please.”

  Gideon seemed to search her gaze for a moment. Then he let go of her hands and gathered her to him, his hands underneath her. He started to move in and out of her with such speed that Emily could only cling to him, but it felt so good. Her body was afire with sensations, dripping with perspiration and her husband, his rough chin on her shoulder, his soft lips at her neck became almost mad with his need, driving himself in and out of her body.

  Then the inferno became an explosion. She cried out his name and clung to him as pleasure assaulted her body, ripping through her. Gideon seemed to lose his speed and rhythm.

  He cursed and tensed and she felt the warmth of his release inside her. He thrust into her a few more times and then his movements slowed until he was barely moving. He was making little kissing motions with his lips against her neck.

  Emily ran her hands up and down his damp back. He had expended a lot of energy, she supposed. She was tired herself and he had done a lot more work than her.

  She allowed her legs to drop onto the mattress and it was then that he lifted his head.

  “I apologise. I must be heavy.”

  “No. It is fine. I like feeling you on top of me.”

  “Hmm.” He raised a sceptical eyebrow. Then he moved his hips, disconnecting them. She winced. That did hurt a little. “Oh God, I hurt you.”

  “No. At least I do not think so.” She tightened her muscles down there and felt no pain. He gave her a little rub. It felt nice. She hadn’t realised she had moaned out loud until she looked up into his grinning face.

  He lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. “I do apologise for pinching your arm but it was the only way I could think to make you relax. I recall once cutting my knee and the bandage had stuck to my skin with the dried blood. I was making a real production of getting the thing removed. The best thing to do was to distract me from the pain, so my nurse pinched me on the arm and it relaxed me enough to have the bandage removed. There was really very little bleeding from the sore knee and it really did not hurt so very much. I hoped that it might help you if I distracted you long enough to break your maidenhead.”

  He really was rather sweet.

  “Thank you. I did not notice it very much at all, and I did enjoy what we did.”

  “So, you are not averse to us having a full and active sex life, Lady Beattie?”

  “Not if it is like that—no.”

  “It shall be better. Once we get better acquainted. Now let me find a cloth and water and I shall clean you up.”

  He left the bed and walked to the dressing table. He poured water from the pitcher into the bowl and dampened a linen. Then he brought the wet linen and a dry linen to the bed. He opened her legs and, with the greatest care and gentleness, he cleaned her most intimate area. Then he pressed a kiss—right there. He gave his own manhood a quick wipe and put the cloths back.

  “Is there much blood?” she asked.

  “A little. Do you ride astride, perchance?”

  “Here in the country, yes, but never in Town.”

  “Because you are less likely to fall?”

  “Yes. Is that very bad?”

  “I cannot say I care very much either way, but it may be why there is less blood than one might expect. Though I must say, I have never had sex with a virgin before so I cannot say for sure how much blood one should expect.”

  “I am, I mean, I was a virgin. You do believe me, do you not?”

  He smiled and climbed back into bed, pulling the bedclothes over them and encouraging her to lay in his arms. She went willingly.

  “Of course, I believe you. You do not have it in you to tell lies, my love. You would be overcome with guilt and blurt out the
truth.”

  He was not wrong.

  “Do we just go to sleep now?” she asked, unsure of what should happen now.

  “It is not particularly late. I shall not take you again tonight as I would not want you to get sore, but there are other things we can do that are equally pleasurable.”

  She ran her hands across the parts of his body she could reach and hugged him tighter. She liked being in bed with him, naked. He did not seem to mind if she was gauche when they were alone. Was she being gauche?

  Her hand ran over his bare bottom and she gave the firm skin a little squeeze just to see what his reaction would be. He groaned and rolled her onto her back.

  “I see you have become quite confident, Lady Beattie. You think that just because you have lost your virginity you are now a skilled seductress?” He was teasing her of course as he took one of her nipples into his mouth.

  “I would never presume, husband.”

  He bit her nipple causing a little pain and she sucked in a breath, but as soon as she noticed the pain, he was soothing with his tongue. “What was that for?”

  “I told you what effect you calling me husband has on me.”

  “I thought you liked that effect. You did not complain when we were naked in the carriage and I brought you to release with my hand.”

  “Don’t remind me, wife. A man only has so much control. Now it is your turn to be brought to release…again.

  He kissed down her stomach and opened her legs wide. He looked at her intimate area like a starving man would look at a feast.

  “Gideon, I thought you were teasing about that.”

  “I never tease about sex, wife.”

  Then his tongue was on her, lapping, sucking, swirling. Somewhere in the middle of it, Emily could not help thinking she was glad that Robert had put them in the green room. Not because she was screaming in pain, but because her pleading was getting louder. She was begging Gideon for a release. The blasted man kept taking her to almost the peak then soothing her down again then repeating until she was almost out of her mind. The fifth time, as he chuckled into her flesh, she grabbed hold of his hair.