Chapter Fifteen
The door closed behind them. Margaret’s heart was beating so hard she was sure Jacob must be able to hear its pounding and maybe even see it thumping against the bodice of her dress.
She had no idea what would happen next. The only instruction her mother had given her was to let her husband do what he wanted and to take her lead from him.
So, with nerves, excitement and expectation waging a war within her, she waited for him to do what he wanted and let her know what he wanted from her.
He leant down and lightly placed his finger under her chin, lifting her head slightly so she was looking into his eyes. ‘Are you certain this is what you want?’ he said, his husky voice almost unrecognisable.
Margaret was never lost for words, but the restriction in her throat made it impossible for her to say Yes, this is exactly what I want, so instead she nodded.
‘Remember, if you change your mind at any time let me know. Ignore everything you’ve been told about wifely duty.’
Again, she nodded, wishing he’d hurry up and kiss her.
‘I don’t want you to—’
Her kiss interrupted whatever he was going to say. She didn’t want words. This was what she wanted, to feel his lips against hers. To feel his arms holding her tight. To be so close she was enfolded in the warmth of his body, to lose herself to him.
His hand slid around the back of her neck and he kissed her, his lips hard, hungry and insistent. Oh, yes, this was what she craved. Her body moulded into his, wanting every part of him to be touching every part of her.
‘Oh, God, I want you so much,’ he murmured as his lips nuzzled her neck. ‘I have to get you out of your clothes so I can have you. Now.’
With trembling fingers, Margaret undid the top button of the line down the front of her blouse.
‘No.’ He took hold of her fingers and lightly kissed them. ‘I want to undress you.’
With expert fingers, he quickly undid each button.
It was apparent she was not the first woman he had undressed, but she would not think of that now.
She would just surrender to the excitement pulsing through her and focus on the awareness that this intoxicating, handsome and oh, so desirable man was about to make love to her.
He pushed the top of her blouse off her shoulders and lightly kissed each one, then undid the buttons of her skirt and it dropped to the ground in a heap of fabric.
She stepped out of it and was now standing in front of him, dressed only in her undergarments.
Part of her wanted to ask for her clothes back, to cover herself up, worried that he might not find her as attractive as the other women he had taken to his bed, but as he gave no sign that he was disappointed with what he saw, she continued to be bold.
‘Turn around,’ he murmured and she did as he commanded. His fingers pulled at the laces of her corset and that too was expertly removed.
‘Lift your arms,’ he whispered in her ear. She did as he asked. In one swift movement he pulled her chemise over her head and tossed it to the side, tucked his fingers into the edge of her drawers and pushed them over her hips.
She gasped in a breath as his hand lightly stroked over her naked buttocks.
‘Beautiful,’ he murmured, close to her ear. ‘Turn around. I want to look at you.’
Her heart beating at a furious pitch, she turned to face him, resisting the impulse to place her hands over her breasts to guard them from his view.
His gaze slowly moved over her body. ‘You are so beautiful,’ he said, the raw desire in his eyes removing all doubt. He wanted her, he had to have her, and with him looking at her in that way, with such hunger, she did feel like a beautiful, desirable woman.
He continued to admire her, as if savouring the sight. The beating of her heart intensified, throbbing through her entire body with wild anticipation as she waited for him to act, to show her what he wanted and what he expected her to do.
He reached behind her head and pulled out the clips holding her bun in place, then tousled her hair around her shoulders. ‘You don’t know how many times I’ve imagined you like this,’ he said, curling one lock around her breast, his hand lightly caressing the nipple.
She gasped as desire shot through her.
‘Touch me,’ she murmured in an unrecognisable voice. ‘Touch my breasts.’
When his hands cupped both breasts, his thumbs stroking the now tight, sensitive buds, she was sure she would melt with pleasure. This was what she’d imagined him doing when she was lying awake on their wedding night, this was what had caused her to gasp out. And now her fantasy was a reality.
‘Yes,’ she murmured, closing her eyes. ‘Oh, yes,’ she gasped out again, as his stroking fingers sent waves of heat pulsing through her.
His lips found hers again, kissing her so hard it was as if he wanted to devour her, and that was what she wanted—for him to consume her and to satisfy her furious demand for him.
Still kissing her, he scooped her up into his arms, carried her across the room and placed her in the middle of the bed.
His eyes never leaving hers, he ripped at the buttons of his shirt.
His naked chest was exposed to her, and she lay back, drinking in the beauty of his sculpted muscles.
She really had been right when she’d thought to sketch him as a statue of a Greek god.
Every muscle of his chest was hard and delineated, just like a marble sculpture.
That was what she had felt under his clothing and soon she would feel those naked muscles pressed against her own naked skin.
He pulled off his trousers and tossed them to one side. Her breath caught in her throat. She’d seen naked male statues before, but that had not prepared her for the reality.
‘It’s rather big, isn’t it?’ she asked, looking from the body part in question, standing strong and proud before her, up to his eyes then back again. ‘And so hard?’
He laughed. ‘You really know how to flatter a man, don’t you,’ he said, joining her on the bed. ‘But I promise I will be gentle, and if I hurt you at any time, tell me and I’ll stop.’
Margaret doubted anything he could do would hurt her and her body was so desperate for his touch she was certain she would be incapable of stopping him from doing anything he wanted, but she nodded her agreement and lay back on the bed, just as her mother had instructed, and waited for him to do what was required.
He lay alongside her, his body close, and traced a line from her cheek, down her neck and across the mounds of her breasts. ‘I knew you’d be beautiful, but I never thought your body would be this captivating,’ he said, before leaning over and kissing each waiting nipple.
That was something she had not fantasised about, had not imagined he would do, but, by God, it felt good. His tongue swirled around the tight peaks, sending the hot, throbbing intensity inside her to surge ever higher.
‘Yes, yes,’ she gasped out repeatedly in rhythm with his tormenting tongue.
A reckless need possessed her and she wrapped her hands around his head, holding him to her breast. He continued to nuzzle and suck while his hand cupped her other breast, the surging intensity inside rising higher and higher with each stroke of his tongue and fingers until she was certain she could take no more.
His lips left her breast and he lifted himself up onto one elbow. ‘I want to watch you when you peak,’ he murmured as his caressing hand moved over the mound of her stomach towards her most intimate place. ‘Part your legs,’ he said quietly.
Without hesitation, she did as he asked. Her hunger for his touch was so fierce, how could she do anything other than what he asked? Still holding her eyes with his, his hand moved between her legs, lightly running along the folds and parting her.
Unable to breathe, she looked up at him in appeal, not knowing what he wanted of her, what she should be doing.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, before lightly kissing her lips. ‘If I do anything you don’t like, tell me. I want this to be about your pleasure.’
She nodded, still slightly unsure about what was happening but trusting him entirely, and certain he knew how to do what he’d promised—give her pleasure.
His finger gently pushed inside her and she sighed lightly.
This was not what she was expecting, but it felt good—very good.
His palm rested against the very place between her legs that was throbbing with such a demanding insistence.
He started to rub that pulsating core, softly at first, then with more and more pressure.
She released a loud sigh that was almost a cry. Yes, this was what she needed, what she had to have.
The pressure of his palm increased. The stroking intensified.
Not thinking, just reacting, her back arched in time to his rhythm as she rubbed herself against him, her cries coming louder and louder with each tormenting caress.
The fire inside her reached inferno level. Waves of pleasure rushed through her, the likes of which she had never expected or thought possible. She cried out loudly before collapsing back on the bed, luxuriating in the subsiding shudders that still rippled through her.
‘My, oh, my, no one ever told me it was going to be like that,’ she said when her heart returned to something resembling its normal rhythm.
‘I knew you’d be magnificent when you came,’ he said, nuzzling her ear. ‘And there’s so much more—we’ve only just started.’
Margaret moved sensually on the bed. ‘Then I want it all.’
Her mother’s talk had said nothing about what they’d just done. It had been little more than an anatomical lesson on what went where so marriage could be consummated and they could make babies. Now she wanted that as well. She wanted his what inside her where. And she wanted it now.
‘I believe I am ready to finish doing my wifely duty now,’ she said with a small giggle.
‘As you wish,’ he said, smiling down at her. His hand once again cupped her breast, his tormenting fingers stroking the tight nipple, causing that delicious pounding to erupt within her. ‘But I meant what I said. If you want to stop, let me know. I don’t want to hurt you.’
She remembered how big he was and briefly had some doubts, but she trusted him—trusted him explicitly.
‘I promise I will,’ she said, giving him the reassurance she knew he needed.
His body covered hers and he kissed her again. It was wonderful to feel him over her, naked skin against naked skin, the hardness of his muscles so different to the softness of her own body.
She wrapped her arms around him. Wanting to feel more of those muscles, her fingers stroked the contours of his back and down to those firm buttocks.
He moved one knee between her thighs and she parted her legs.
‘Wrap your legs around my waist,’ he whispered into her ear.
She did as he asked, opening herself up to him, offering herself to him, wanting him to fill her up and relieve her intense need for him.
She felt him hard against her cleft as he moved towards her opening, slowly, as if afraid she might break, then he positioned himself at her entrance. She gripped his firm buttocks tighter, pulling him towards her, letting him know this was what she wanted, there was no need to hold back.
Slowly, he entered her, and she could tell he was exercising restraint. She waited for the pain she’d been told she’d feel. There was a slight burn, but who cared, a bit of pain was worth the pleasure.
‘I want to feel you inside me,’ she whispered into his ear.
He pushed slightly deeper, and she sighed, loving the feeling of joining with him as one.
Slowly, gently, he withdrew, then pushed inside her again, slightly harder, slightly deeper.
‘Yes,’ she murmured, as much to herself as to him. She looked up into his face and could see the desperate restraint on his face. ‘Yes,’ she repeated. ‘I’m ready. I want this.’
The tension in his face relaxed. He leant down and kissed her lips, then pushed hard into her with a powerful thrust. She almost gasped at the fullness of him inside her and buried her head against his shoulder, so he would not stop for fear of hurting her.
‘Are you all right?’ he whispered in her ear.
‘Yes!’ she cried back. ‘Yes, yes!’ she repeated, all other words failing her, but fearful that he might stop if she didn’t let him know how much she wanted this.
He withdrew from her and thrust into her again and again.
The initial shock disappeared as her body reacted to the increasing tempo.
Clutching his buttocks tighter, she moved her legs further up his back so he could enter her even deeper.
Her back arching, she lost herself in his rhythm as he took her higher and higher, her sighs becoming pants, then moans, then cries.
Her body at fever-pitch, he pushed into her harder and faster, until spasm after spasm of pleasure ripped through her, each more insistent than last time, and she cried out loudly, her fingers digging into his buttocks as she shuddered beneath him.
He thrust inside her a few more times then withdrew, his release coming outside her body.
She told herself not to let that ruin something beautiful. He had made love to her. They had consummated their marriage. He had never said that he wanted her to bear his children. That had never been part of the deal and she had no right to even think it.
‘Is your curiosity now satisfied?’ he said, pushing a damp lock back from her face and tucking it behind her ear.
‘Well, something was certainly satisfied,’ she said, causing him to smile, as she’d hoped. ‘But I am a very, very curious woman, so maybe I’ll need a bit more satisfying.’
‘I’m more than happy to oblige your curiosity whenever, wherever and in whatever way you want.’
Margaret sank back onto the bed in a state of bliss. That was what she would focus on. Not on the way she would never truly be his wife or the mother of his children, but the woman with whom he was making the best of things—and his best was simply wonderful.