Chapter 29
Kalina
The second night of her marriage was very much like the first.
Tossing. Turning.
Wondering if her husband would come.
Wondering if she’d detected a slight softening in his attitude toward her after today’s shopping trip with his sisters.
Certainly, Julianna and Emma were warmer with her now than they had been before today.
But she was not sure if her perception that Hereford might be following suit was nothing more than hopeful imaginings.
As she began to finally drift off, the door between their rooms opened. She rolled over onto her back, breathless.
Eager.
Hereford came to the bed, dropping his dressing gown, much as he had the night before, and climbed beneath the covers with her. Unlike last night, her body already felt roused, ready for him. She knew what was possible now. The hardness of his body sliding against hers made her shiver.
Before she could open her mouth to say anything, he lowered his lips to her throat and kissed her, his hand sliding over the curve of her hip and then skimming up her body to cup her breast. Kalina moaned, sliding her own hands over his arms. As freeing as being unable to touch him had felt the night before, she now reveled in touching him.
Exploring him.
His mouth moved lower, to her breasts, to suckle her nipples.
Kalina shuddered, wrapping her legs around his body as he sucked hard, dragging his teeth over the tender buds.
Every part of her body came alive at his touch, pleasure heating her from the inside out.
She grasped his head, her fingers sliding through his hair, and she heard his groan. Felt him rock against her.
A moment later, he was pushing her hands back up above her head again.
“Let me touch you,” she pleaded.
“Hush.”
Wrapping her fingers around the spindles again, he put his hand over her mouth as he went back down to her breasts.
Rather than obey this time, Kalina opened her lips—only to find the tips of his fingers thrust between them.
Emboldened, frustrated, she sucked on them hard, dragging her teeth across them as he began to ply his attentions to her breasts again.
Though she did not release the spindles, she was not entirely passive anymore, either.
His fingers twisted in her mouth, turning the pads side-down, and she ran her tongue over them.
With his head at her breasts, she felt his cock rubbing against the seam of her pussy, sliding back and forth in the growing wetness between her lips.
Nipping at his fingers did nothing to spur him onward. He continued to tease her, growing her passion as she writhed beneath him.
When he finally pulled his fingers from her mouth and settled down between her legs, she was aching with need.
She gasped as his tongue parted her nether lips, seeking the little button of pleasure at their apex.
Moaning, she moved her hips upward, trying to get more of the pressure her body was demanding.
Then she gasped as she felt something at the entrance of her anus, slick and hard, pushing on the tiny opening. One of his fingers, lubricated from being in her mouth.
Did he know?
Of course he does.
But that was where he wanted to touch her.
His finger pushing into her bottom, his tongue sliding against her wet folds… it did not hurt exactly, but it was not comfortable, either. Surely, that was not decent…
Yet she could not find it in herself to deny him.
If this was what he wanted, she wanted to give it to him.
Even as she gasped and clenched, her body automatically trying to push his finger back out, pleasure swirled within her.
His mouth moved over her, and he sucked the nub of her clitoris into his mouth as his finger burrowed deeper inside her, making her writhe and dig her heels into his back as he tormented her with sensual pleasure while also pushing her senses to a new height as he began to pump his finger back and forth where it should not be.
His arm moved over her. With his shoulders under her thighs, propping her legs up atop him, his mouth on her pussy, he now wrapped his free arm over the top of her hips, holding her in place so he could do what he willed with her.
All the while, Kalina could merely grip the spindles of the bed and gasp and writhe and moan.
She wanted to touch him so badly.
But she wanted to please him more.
By the time he flipped her onto her stomach, she was breathless from pleasure, whimpering from how sensitive every part of her felt.
The sudden thought that he might mean to put his cock in her bottom slid through her, but then he was thrusting into the wet heat of her pussy and obliterating that fear from her mind.
Kalina pressed her forehead against the bed, moaning as he rode her, hard and fast, sending her senses spiraling out of control yet again.
Sliding his fingers down beneath her, he began to rub the little nub that he’d previously suckled, stroking the over sensitized piece of flesh.
“Please…” she begged, squirming against his thrusts and fingers, caught between them. “I cannot…”
She could not possibly handle another peak of pleasure. Just floating on the haze as he moved inside her was barely tenable.
“Again.” His fingers moved more forcefully. “One more time.”
The cry that burst from her was barely human as he rubbed rough circles over her slippery flesh, his cock thrusting deep inside her. It was as though her body could not deny his command, no matter how far beyond the bounds he pushed her.
Once again, once he had spent himself inside her and utterly exhausted her, he rolled them onto their sides, his cock still embedded within her.
Her head pillowed on his arm, back curled against his front, she felt his hand slide up her body to cup her breast. Holding her tight, his breath slowed along with hers as she slipped into sleep.
In the morning, he was gone again.
That was her life now.
During the night, a passionate husband who drenched her with pleasure. During the day, he was far removed from her. Not exactly icy, but not warm either. The distance hurt her nearly as much, though she clung to hope that perhaps he was a little less distant every day that passed.
Thankfully, there was plenty to fill her time with and distract her.
The first few days, she spent exploring the house and getting to know Nathanial’s sisters, assessing what they would require.
Fiona needed a governess, certainly, though she could read and do simple arithmetic.
Her preference was to be outdoors or with her animals, and Kalina was able to witness firsthand exactly how skilled she was with an injured or frightened creature.
To her amusement, she learned that Archibald, the wild hare, was a daily visitor to the Hall, as if he wanted to check in on the young girl who had once rescued him.
She was the only one whose touch he tolerated.
Kalina could not help but wonder what Monkey Sinclair would make of Fiona, as he was reluctant to interact with any woman other than Delilah.
Emma’s reserve lessened with every day that passed as she became more comfortable with Kalina.
She was not at all unwelcoming, or even all that quiet; she was just incredibly shy.
As she became more accustomed to Kalina’s presence and more comfortable with her, she very quickly became much more talkative.
She tended to follow Julianna’s lead in everything, but she was very clever, and her interest lay in the gardens.
She took Kalina through them, pointing out the various plants and weeds, describing the work she’d done to try to keep them at least somewhat in line.
Eventually, she’d had to retreat to a small space just behind the house, but that small plot of the garden was gorgeously maintained.
Much to Kalina’s amusement, quiet Emma was happiest when digging in dirt and chattering about plants.
Both Julianna and Emma would need a dance instructor, as neither of them had been taught any of the dances they would need to know.
They’d been tucked away in the country for far too long.
Both of them also needed to choose a musical instrument and possibly a singing instructor if either of them had a pleasing enough voice.
None of which would help them to run a household, but such skills were expected in order to land a husband.
Hopefully, one who would behave in a less confusing manner than her own.
After the first few days, the house began to be a bustle of interviews.
Hereford was hiring local men to refurbish the rooms in the house.
Kalina, with Miss Milford and Julianna trailing behind her, went through the rooms she would be expected to play hostess in, detailing her instructions.
Julianna seemed to find it very educational.
The dresses from Mrs. Collins arrived, much to the delight of all the sisters. They fit perfectly and were finer than the ready-made gowns. Though Emma still wore Julianna’s old dresses when she went out to tend the garden. Kalina made a mental note to have an apron made for her.
As she began interviews with the household, with Miss Milford at her elbow, she had Julianna sit in as well. She had never been trained to run a large household or how to hire new staff, though she had seen plenty let go.
She was clearly eager to learn, though, like her brother, she kept herself slightly removed from Kalina.
The two were obviously close, and Kalina had the feeling that Julianna had been Hereford’s confidant here in the house for a long time.
She likely knew far more about how Kalina and Hereford’s marriage had come to be than either Emma or Fiona—not that Fiona would have necessarily understood.
Emma had warmed up to Kalina very quickly, though. Julianna seemed to be withholding judgment, though she was friendly enough during their interactions.