The life of a husband, Jimmy found, was suiting him far more than he'd expected it would.
He still had his job at Downton Abbey, for now, but it was nice to be able to leave the place at the end of the day, to come home to his little cottage to find Ivy waiting, no matter how late it was. She always greeted him with supper and he always ate it, even if he'd already eaten at Downton. She was a good cook, better than Mrs. Patmore seemed to have suspected.
"Keep this up," he said one night, through a mouthful of quiche or rabbit stew or chocolate cake, "and I'll be burstin' me buttons."
"Good," Ivy replied. "It'll keep the other girls away." She smiled, but even now, with his slender gold ring around her finger, there was worry in her voice.
And then there was what came after supper, every night like clockwork. The first few weeks had been less than exquisite, due to mutual inexperience, but now they were getting the hang of it. Jimmy would undress in their tiny, cold bedroom, alone. When he was naked, Ivy would come in with her hair undone, usually wearing her cotton nightdress but sometimes in the silky lace gown that had been her saucy wedding present from Mrs. Patmore and Daisy. She would begin the matter, slipping a small, soft hand around him and stroking it over his prick. That was the indication, the permission to continue, and from then on, Jimmy would take the lead.
He liked it. He liked to be in charge, to provide Ivy with pleasure. It was flattering to him as a man, and as a husband. He lay her back on their small bed, the old feather mattress dipping beneath her. Slowly, he rolled the nightdress or the lace nightgown up from the bottom, his thick fingers brushing her pale, freckled thighs. He kissed her, on the cheeks and the forehead, moving down her neck and licking at her collarbone. Her hands came up, running through his hair, and she would squirm and sigh, her body already beginning to heat.
He bypassed her sex, his hands instead trailing up her sides, caressing her beautiful skin and encircling her breasts. Jimmy didn't have much to compare them with, but they seemed particularly lovely, a good size and round, with rosy pink nipples that sprung to attention when he touched them. Jimmy's prick was leaking. He allowed himself to rub it once against her soft stomach, but experience had proven that the longer he could hold off, the better it was for both of them.
Instead, Jimmy bent his head, his blond fringe brushing Ivy's chest, and nibbled first at one breast, then the other, allowing a little nip of teeth behind his lips. He soothed the bite with his tongue and moved down again, trailing kisses back down her body. He stroked the inside of her thighs, feeling them quiver beneath his touch. Moving lower still, he dipped his tongue into her navel, then lower, to dance along the top of her most private place.
Ivy was quiet, usually, no matter what they did in bed, but this act always made her moan. It seemed lewd, shocking even, but nobody was to know and it seemed only fair. She sometimes did the reverse to him and, while Jimmy realized marriage was not egalitarian, he did at least think it should be as equal as possible. Besides, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed slipping his tongue into her wet warmth, he liked smelling and tasting the evidence of her arousal, the arousal he had caused. It lay thick on his tongue as he pressed in, burying his face in her silky dark hair. Ivy's legs spread further apart, accommodating him. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, her short nails scoring pleasurably into his back. He kissed her as deeply as he could, his tongue swiping upwards and poking against the little nub that seemed to be the source of her ecstasy. As she moved one leg further up, he drew back, not ready for her to achieve her peak just yet.
"Jimmy." Her face was flushed, her lips bright red. The sight sent a surge of pride, and a surge of lust, through Jimmy's body.
Jimmy sucked his own middle finger into his mouth, coating it liberally with saliva. Holding Ivy's gaze, he reached down and breached her gently, pushing against the wall of muscle she had inside. It gave way much more easily than it had when they were first married, and Jimmy added another finger, sliding them back and forth with an indecent, smacking sound. She opened to him, and he at last allowed himself to give in.
The first thrust was always incredible, enough to send Jimmy's eyes rolling back in his head. She had been a virgin on their wedding night, Jimmy had never doubted that, but it had been his first time, as well. Ivy was the only woman he had experienced like this and, even through the difficulties of their first few encounters, he had known she would be the only one. He didn't need anything more. Her heat, her tightness, was unmatchable. He could lose himself in her. He nearly did, but Ivy wrapped a leg around his back and he remembered his marital duty.
Holding himself up on one arm, he used the other hand to touch that secret place of hers, the little bulb of flesh that caused her to gasp in his arms. He was rougher than before, his thumb scraping against it over and over again, until Ivy's breath caught and she shuddered, her leg clamping down hard around him. He took that as his signal to move with abandon, rutting into her again and again. She met his every movement and, very shortly, lights flashed behind Jimmy's eyes and he came, spending his seed inside her. Eventually, that would have the effect nature intended and Jimmy would find himself with more responsibilities, more worries. It hadn't happened so far, though, and Jimmy tried not to think too hard about that future day.
After a long moment, Ivy got up and went to the washstand in the corner of the bedroom. She cleaned herself off, holding up her nightdress with one hand and touching herself with the flannel. It was an erotic sight, although Jimmy was not in a condition to do anything about it. When she'd finished, she came back to bed and used the same cloth to wipe off Jimmy, spreading the lukewarm water about his prick and thighs.
They didn't usually speak in such moments, apart from the occasional murmurs of gratitude and love, so Jimmy was surprised when Ivy said, "I know you didn't like me much, at first. I'm not as clever as some girls, maybe. Not as pretty."
"You're beautiful," Jimmy said. It was automatic, but also true. She was a lovely girl, and a very good wife. In all regards.
"I'm glad you came 'round, is all." She smiled and bent her head. Her hair enveloped him like a curtain as she kissed him, her tongue darting out to wet his lips.
"So am I." Jimmy smiled. She blew out the lamp and lay down beside him, and he took her in his arms.