Chapter Ten
Penelope’s heart galloped at such speed that she feared it would break through her chest. Were they actually going to do that? Were they actually going to share such intimacy with each other?
Of course, they were. She was the one who pushed and encouraged them to do it. For a moment, she thought of her life. There was one before she met Edward, and another after he came into it. He made everything more colorful. More beautiful.
She couldn’t imagine doing something so private and special with anyone except for him.
Still, a sense of uncertainty plagued her. What would he think of all her curves and rich endowments?
She shouldn’t dwell on such thoughts as Edward loomed over her.
His warmth and hardness met her softness.
She could feel his erection through their clothes.
He sat up quickly and drew his loose shirt over his head.
The muscles of his biceps flexed with the movement.
She’d seen his naked arms before, but that was when she’d caught him swimming in the pond on her estate. He’d been fifteen. A mere boy.
Now, he stood before her a man, one whose desire for her made his blue eyes darken like a midnight sky filled with stars.
“Pen?” His rough voice deepened, and he carefully pushed away her dressing robe, then unbuttoned her chemise. When he pulled it aside, his breath caught.
She could feel the cold air sweep across her chest. Her hardened nipples tightened even more. For a moment, she didn’t know if she could look him in the eye. She didn’t think she could bear it, if he found her “too much.”
“Look at me,” he murmured as he gently turned her chin to face him.
His eyes locking on hers. “You are beautiful. Inside and out. Never, ever doubt that.” He lowered his head and kissed the indentation in her neck where her pulse pounded.
With the gentlest of touches, he swept his lips lower and took one of her breasts in his hand.
She stole a glance. He cupped her and squeezed, all the while watching her face. She drew in a shaky breath as pin pricks of pleasure swarmed like a murmur of skyward starlings swooping in a free fall. This was torture, but one she relished.
When he took a nipple in his mouth and sucked, she arched her hips.
“Easy,” Edward whispered against her skin.
She took a deep breath as his hands slid up her thighs, tracing patterns against her skin. Her heart pounded in excitement and fear. She had never felt anything like this before. It was almost enough to make her forget about the nerves churning in her stomach.
“Edward,” she whispered, studying him. His desire softened his face.
He leaned forward, pressing his lips softly against hers, their kisses growing deeper and more passionate by the second.
His tongue tangled with hers, sending shivers down Penelope’s spine as his hands continued to explore every inch of her body.
As he withdrew and gulped a deep breath, Penelope studied him without hesitation.
He was beautiful. The way his muscles tensed underneath his skin every time he moved or moaned softly against her mouth.
She wanted nothing more than to touch him everywhere at once, to feel every part of him she could reach.
He was more magnificent than she had imagined he would be.
If she enjoyed his touch, then it stood to reason that he would also enjoy hers. Without hesitating, she reached to stroke his chest. The warmth and hardness as his muscles rippled at her touch. He smiled with genuine affection. “Do you like my body?”
“I adore it.” She bit her lip. “You know I do.”
Edward pulled back slightly, resting on his knees. His own breath came faster now too. He unbuttoned the fall of his breeches slowly and slid them down his hips, revealing his hard cock. Without taking his gaze from hers, he stood and disrobed completely.
At the sight of his naked form, her cheeks flushed with a red-hot heat worthy of a farrier’s fire. It wasn’t embarrassment. It had to be a mix of excitement and anticipation. But she paused. He was so large, which meant his cock was huge as well.
The sight of it sent a rush of warmth and desire to her midsection.
“Edward?” How to ask if it would fit? “Have you done this before?”
This time, he was the one who looked to be in a quandary. He nodded abruptly as he came back to her side. “A time or two in my youth.”
She felt as though she were in midair, falling to the ground at that information. He must have sensed it as he quickly kissed her again.
“But not since I was a lad full of himself. I quickly learned I didn’t enjoy it because it wasn’t pleasurable if I didn’t care for the person I was with.
” He cupped her cheeks. “You see, there was and always will be a certain lady who is all I think about. She possesses a fondness for ridiculous hats and haunts my dreams.”
Penelope sat up and pressed her lips against his. “Thank you for telling me that.”
She lowered herself back to the rug where the firelight in the hearth leapt with each gust of wind. Her gaze met his. “I wonder if you think”—she waved a hand toward his genitals—“it will fit.”
He laughed, and mirth danced in his eyes. “It will, sweetling.”
He leaned over her and opened her dressing gown fully.
“Gorgeous.” He traced her curves softly, then arranged himself over her.
They were aligned so their bodies were flush against each other from chest to thighs.
He was breathing as heavily as she was. Their hearts pounded in rhythm together.
It was as if they were in a dance, an intimate one that only they would ever share.
“Are you sure?” he asked softly into her ear, his voice trembling slightly with anticipation and nerves alike. “We don’t have to do this. I can pleasure you.”
Penelope placed her hand against his chest, the constant pounding soothing. “No. I want you. I’ve always wanted you.”
He pressed a kiss against her lips. “And I you.”
She nodded, unable to find the words to tell him how much he meant to her. She trusted him implicitly despite the uncertainty swirling around them.
Edward slid his erection in between her legs and through her wetness. A desperate moan escaped from his lips. Her own sounds of pleasure joined his.
“I know, darling,” he whispered, then pressed his lips to hers. Slowly, he inched forward and lined himself up with Penelope’s entrance and pushed inside her. There was a slight gasp from both of them as she felt the initial penetration.
It wasn't painful, but it was slightly uncomfortable. She was quite tight around him, and she’d never felt anything like it. Honestly, it was pleasurable, but she felt full. Filled to the brim, so to speak.
“All right?” He stopped and waited for her response.
“Yes, but it’s more than I imagined.” She said as she twisted her hips, hoping to find a comfortable position.
“Perhaps it would help if you wrapped your legs around my waist.”
She did as he suggested, and immediately, she felt as if she could breathe again.
Their hips moved in rhythm as their soft moans echoed throughout the room. No one heard their murmurs and sighs except for the storm outside.
The sensation of being joined together felt both deeply intimate and exhilarating at once.
It was like standing at the top of a tower and having an updraft almost lift you off your feet.
She smiled at such a thought. It was like the first bite of an ice from Gunther’s on a hot day.
And she loved his kisses. Salty sweat mixed with the distinctive masculine taste of him. The flavor was incredible.
With each thrust in and out, Penelope closed her eyes, concentrating on the rush of sensation that raced through her. The stretching sensation mixed with pleasure coursed through her veins like warm honey on a cold day. She moaned softly, her body beginning to relax into his rhythm.
“Darling,” he whispered. “Being inside you is heaven.” He shook his head as he wore a sheepish grin. “Let me collect my thoughts. Being with you is everything.”
“I feel it too.”
The sounds he made echoed in her ears like music playing just for her. It was a symphony of moans and gasps that sent shivers down her spine each time it resonated through the air between them.
“That’s it. Take it. Reach for your climax.
” He slid his hand between them and rubbed the bundle of nerves in her center.
No one had ever touched it before except for her.
And that was only when she was in her room at night, accompanied by thoughts of Edward kissing and touching her.
In this perfect moment, his touch centered her as she chased her release.
Their lovemaking became more intense by the moment.
Their movements grew faster and more urgent.
“Edward,” she cried.
“I have you.” His sweat began to mingle with hers, forming droplets that ran down their skin.
It became too much, and she closed her eyes. Her internal walls clenched tightly around him with every thrust. She arched her back violently, crying out his name as a thousand stars exploded behind her eyelids.
Edward followed suit not long after, letting out an animalistic growl as his release crashed through him. His whole body shook as his seed flooded her.
When he murmured her name over and over, she hugged him tightly against her. He pressed a kiss to her lips and then to her temple.
It was beautiful beyond words. She’d never dreamed that making love with someone would be so moving.
But she should have known it would be like this.
It was Edward, and he always made her feel beautiful and loved. For the first time in her life, she didn’t dismiss the thought or try to hide it.
She loved him and always had.
And always will.
“Are you all right?” he asked, slowly lifting himself.
“Yes.”
He pressed his lips to hers. “Stay right there,” he instructed with a smile.
As he stood, she marveled at the muscles that moved and flexed from his back and buttocks as he walked.
Within minutes, he came back to her with a wet cloth and gently cleaned between her legs before he cleaned himself.
When he was finished, he threw the rag to the side of the fireplace.
He reached for a quilt that lay across a chair and wrapped it around them. He pulled her close.
Pen tucked herself against his warmth and studied the dying embers. Neither of them said anything for a long while.
She pressed a kiss to his chest where his heartbeat thudded strong and true.
“Well,” she murmured, “I daresay we’ve passed the practice stage of this marriage.”
“Penelope—” He tenderly kissed the crown of her head. “—I’ve loved you all my life.”
Her breath caught. She looked into his eyes, filled with emotion. “Then you ought to have said so sooner.”
He smiled wryly, brushing his thumb across her cheek. “I’m saying it now.”
“I love you,” she murmured, then sealed her declaration with a kiss.
Tonight was their first night of forever.