Chapter 32 #2
Both Tiffany and Delilah looked at her consideringly. Lady Astrid raised her eyebrow as if daring them to try her. After a moment, Tiffany shrugged and turned her attention back to Kalina.
“What do you do at night? Does he come to your bed, or do you go to his?” Tiffany asked.
It truly did feel as if the room had gotten hotter, but Kalina wanted her friends’ advice. As long as she was not going to scandalize Mei or Lady Astrid, both of who seemed unperturbed, she might as well tell them all.
“He comes to mine. After dinner, we go to our separate rooms, and he does not come in until much later, usually when I am almost asleep. The first time, I did not even realize it was him at first. Now, I am used to it.”
“He comes creeping in the darkness?” Lady Astrid frowned. “That seems… odd.”
“Every night?” Delilah asked.
“Every night. And we do not speak. By the time we are done with the, ah, act, I am completely worn out.” Kalina’s cheeks were hot again.
“I fall asleep, and when I wake, he is gone. Though any time I have tried to speak, even if it is not to have a conversation, he hushes me. Sometimes he even puts his hand over my mouth.”
Tiffany blinked, her eyes unfocusing as if she was imagining what that might be like, while Lady Astrid frowned. Delilah raised her eyebrows, but seemed more thoughtful than censorious.
“What would you say if not conversation?” Mei asked.
Kalina supposed the seamstress’s daughter and the earl’s son must do their best to be quiet, as their affair was illicit.
“Please, more, right there, stop you toad, that’s the wrong spot…” Lady Astrid murmured under her breath, but as Kalina had paused before answering, they all heard her perfectly clearly. The tension that had grown around the table broke as they all burst into laughter.
“You speak to Drake that way?” Tiffany asked, holding her hand over her stomach as she laughed.
Lady Astrid gave her an arch look. “Who said anything about Drake?”
Everyone’s mouth dropped open, the laughter abruptly cut off because, of course, they had all assumed she was conducting any such activities with her fiancé.
“Astrid!” Tiffany’s voice was a squeal.
“Oh, shush, I already told you I am a virgin. But if he is running around having his bit of fun, I see no reason I cannot explore a bit as well, as long as I remain virgo intacta. That’s all that supposedly matters.”
“But if you’re discovered…”
“Then he will likely break off the engagement. Oh, no.” Despite the sarcastic way she said the last two words, some of her uncertainty leaked through.
Kalina could not help but think that if Lady Astrid was dancing with danger in such a way, it was at least in part to have some revenge on her fiancé for his own behavior. Which might matter to her if her pride was pricked, but it felt like more than that.
“We are going to discuss you and Drake eventually, but I believe Kalina has the more pressing need at the moment,” Delilah interjected, shaking her head.
Her husky voice was full of amusement. “Kalina, you may have to go to him, and I do not mean in his bedroom. Somewhere that is more neutral territory, but where he still feels in control. His study, perhaps.”
“I do not know how to start. I walk in and say, ‘I am sorry my father trapped you into marriage with me, but I promise I had nothing to do with it’?” She sighed. “Why should he believe me? That’s if he lets me finish my sentence.”
“You need to catch him off guard with something surprising,” Mei suggested. “Something to take him aback, so he cannot muster an immediate response.”
“You could always ask him to spank you.” Tiffany blushed as every eye landed on her.
“Spank her?” Lady Astrid sounded more than a touch incredulous, despite her earlier claim that they would not be able to surprise her.
“Yes. As Mei said, it would catch him off guard, especially if he is feeling a desire to punish her in some way. And it would give her the opportunity to tell him the truth.”
“But it will hurt.” Lady Astrid was making all of Kalina’s points for her, so she kept her mouth shut.
To her fascination, a hot red blush spread over Tiffany’s cheeks.
“Well, it depends on how he does it. It can hurt, but…” Tiffany shrugged. “And I do not believe Nathanial would be the type to want to harm her, even if he does feel as if some punishment might be justified.”
“She has a point,” Delilah murmured, drawing everyone’s attention to her.
Mei’s eyes had gone very wide. Apparently, Lady Astrid was not the only one who was surprised, though Mei sat quietly listening in much the same way Kalina was.
“It can be not altogether unpleasant. In fact, it can be very pleasurable, eventually, and especially as she is the one asking for it… Sometimes, such things can make men more amenable to conversation afterward.”
“You and Zachary…” Lady Astrid looked utterly aghast.
“Yes. In the past. Though I very much feel as though he is the one in need of a spanking now.” Delilah sniffed haughtily, but real hurt lurked in her dark eyes.
Still, Kalina laughed along with the others. The idea of Delilah spanking the upright Duke of Grafton was certainly an amusing mental image.
“How can a spanking be pleasurable?” Lady Astrid demanded to know.
“It is like a balance against the pleasure. It stings, but with the pain there comes a rush of…” Tiffany waved her hands in front of her, as if at a loss for words.
“I think I understand,” Kalina said softly, thinking of how she felt when Hereford’s teeth dragged over her nipples or when his finger had slid into her bottom. Pain but also pleasure, twined together. Discomfort that she bore for him, which added to her overall ecstasy.
“Well, I am sure I do not,” Lady Astrid huffed, but it was clear her curiosity had been piqued. She looked at Delilah. “But what about you? You’ve taken up with Conyngham; do you engage in such activities with him?”
“Oh, no.” Delilah laughed. “Conyngham is just a bit of fun. He’s easy to be around and quite skilled when it comes to pleasure, but we are not like that.”
But she had been ‘like that’ with Grafton. Kalina could only imagine it would be a while before Delilah opened her heart to another man.
The conversation wound onward, Lady Astrid skillfully deflecting any questions about her own experiences and who they may have been with, while Tiffany and Delilah compared notes about what kind of spankings they enjoyed.
Mei and Kalina listened with wide eyes and open ears, and the thought turned round and round in Kalina’s head.
What if she asked her husband to spank her?