"ZZZZZZZ... zzzzzz... ZZZZZZZ... zzzzzz..."
Maria rolled over in the bed for what seemed to be the one-hundredth time in the last hour. The snoring! Oh, Georg's snoring! She wasn't sure she could take much more of it. They had only been married four days and each night since the wedding his snores had not really bothered her but tonight, they were unrelenting!
Maria, out of frustration, thrust her head beneath her pillow. Finally the sound was muffled but she found she couldn't breathe! Plopping her head back on the top of her pillow, she rolled over yet again in bed, willing sleep to come to her. But it didn't. She didn't know how long she had been awake and she was tired.
She could wake him, she supposed, but she didn't. Since they had only been married a few days, she was just still trying to work out the intricacies of this new level of relationship that they now had. Not that she was timid or afraid of him. No, she had never been that, not even when they argued on the lakeside. Georg had always been so loving towards her and had never given her any reason to doubt him, however she did feel slightly uncertain about where the boundaries were of their newly found intimacy.
Oh well, she thought, I guess it might just take some getting used to. Since they were married, there were several things that she was getting used to, both pleasant and unpleasant. Thankfully, his snoring was definitely the only unpleasant thing she had experienced so far.
There were many much more pleasant experiences that she was enjoying getting used to. Like the way Georg ran his hands all over her body, the way he kissed her so passionately that it made her melt inside, the way he made love to her so tenderly and how he made her feel so loved and special. She loved the way he held her protectively in his arms as they drifted off to sleep after they made love and even now the feeling of the luxurious sheets wrapped around her naked body. So many new experiences and new sensations, sometimes she felt as if her head was about to explode with it all.
As Maria rolled over again, one very pleasant experience in particular from that very morning came to mind. She had left Georg on the terrace of their suite to finish breakfast while she went and showered. Only moments after she had entered the bathroom she realised that she had left her shampoo in her suitcase, still not fully unpacked since arriving in Paris two days before. She quickly left the bathroom to retrieve it and was about to head back in when a movement from the bedroom caught her eye. Glancing back into the bedroom, she saw Georg walking past taking off his robe revealing that he wasn't wearing anything but tight undershorts that left nothing to the imagination. Of course now being married to him, she knew exactly what lay beneath those undershorts but the sight of him in that attire was still enough to cause her heart to race.
Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him, the muscles on both his chest and back rippling as he raised his arms above his head to stretch. In a flash, he had dropped to the ground and proceeded to do push-ups. How many? Maria didn't know as she had quickly lost count while she stood transfixed watching her husband exercise. The strength of the muscles in his arms and the speed at which he completed the sets of push-ups along with the sound of his heavy breathing due to the strenuous exercise quickly made Maria weak at the knees.
The thought crossed her mind that at that moment that all she wanted to do was to go in there, take him in her arms and convince him to go back into the bed that they had just recently vacated, but she didn't feel confident enough to do that yet. They had only been married a few days and what would he think of her making such a bold move?
Just as Georg finished his exercise and stood up, Maria realised that if he looked up in her direction, she would be discovered watching him. Quickly, she retreated into the sanctuary of the bathroom where she proceeded to have a very, very cold shower!
Just re-living the sensual moment from earlier that day caused Maria let out a loud groan. She quickly slapped a hand up to her mouth but the damage was done. The sound of her groan disturbed Georg who stirred, rolled over but continued to snore loudly. Suddenly it felt very hot in the bedroom of the suite and Maria needed air!
Getting out of bed as quietly as she could, she retrieved her lacy robe from the other side of the room. Wrapping it around her, she left the bedroom to hurry through the lounge room of the suite to the terrace.
Opening the door to the terrace, the cool night air hit her face instantly and as she walked out to the balcony, the stone tiles were refreshingly cold beneath her bare feet. Standing at the balcony, she took large gasps of air while she tried to calm her racing heart rate. The fresh air had always been a soothing force for her. From her childhood growing up in the mountains to her time at the Abbey, she felt there was nothing better than fresh air. She recalled the many nights feeling cooped up in her tiny room at the Abbey, longing for the fresh air of the mountains. Just before dawn, she would quietly sneak out of her room, climb the tree in the Abbey garden to gain access over the wall and escape to her mountain. How she loved to watch the sun rise over the hills, drinking in the fresh mountain air, and to run over those hills singing at the top of her lungs!
Looking out over the Paris skyline and down to the street below, Maria was amazed to see so much activity considering it was the middle of the night: cars, people, lights. Didn't anyone sleep?
Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly by Georg's voice.
"Maria? Is everything alright?" He asked gently as he walked out onto the terrace to join her at the terrace railing. He was dressed in his robe, his hair ruffled from sleep. Maria thought how handsome he looked and the memories of watching him exercise that morning returned to her causing her to blush. Thankfully it was dark enough out on the terrace for her blush to go unnoticed.
"Yes fine darling, I just needed fresh air." She told him. "I couldn't sleep."
"Oh? Any particular reason? Something on your mind perhaps?" He asked softly as he reached up to tenderly stroke her cheek.
"Oh no, nothing like that." Maria replied a little too quickly, hiding from him that in fact she had been thinking of him in the most suggestive way. "Um... You were snoring." She confessed.
Georg chuckled. "Yes, I'm sorry my love. It is rather a bad habit of mine. Forgive me?" Maria smiled as she gave him a nod. "Next time it keeps you awake, just give me a prod to stop."
"Really?" Maria asked, wide eyed. "You wouldn't mind?"
Georg roared with laughter. "No, of course not. Anytime, my darling. I can't have you awake all night now can I?"
Maria let out a deep breath in relief. "I guess I'm just not used to sleeping next to a man."
"I should think not!" Georg exclaimed in mock outrage.
"Honestly though Maria, it will just take a few days to get used to having someone sleep beside you. Give it another week and the thought won't cross your mind again. Besides," he continued seriously, "it is much easier to get used to someone being there than to suddenly have them gone..." His eyes clouded over with sadness for a moment, Maria knowing he was referring to Agathe's death. Only a moment later, the look was gone, replaced by a cheeky smile.
"I, for one, am already enjoying having you sleep beside me. It also has the incredible advantage of certain other... ah.. pleasures..." He reached out to gently stroke her bare arm seductively with the back of his finger, sending shivers down her spine.
"So," Maria asked, her voice slightly husky with anticipation, "is it often that you can't sleep?"
"Sometimes," Georg replied casually, removing his hand from her arm to lean on the balcony railing and look out over the Paris skyline. "I just find other things to do with my time if I can't sleep."
"Oh? Like what? Reading?" Maria was suddenly quite intrigued.
"Reading? O-ho! Not at all, I spend too much of my day reading." He chortled. "Actually, I err… work out."
"Work out?" Maria repeated.
"You know, exercise… physical exercise."
Suddenly the cool night didn't feel so cool to Maria. Oh yes, I know you work out… thought Maria, but she felt a little naughty and was determined to play this little game with him.
"What kind of physical exercise?" she asked innocently.
"What kind? Um… well, I sometimes I do push-ups." Oh yes, you certainly do…. thought Maria.
"But then, if the weather is fine, I sometimes go out for a run." Georg confessed.
"In the middle of the night?" Maria asked surprised. "What happened to 'bedtime is to be strictly observed'?" She inquired quite mischievously.
Georg gave out a loud laugh. "Well, my darling, you yourself know that there are exceptions to that rule. Thunderstorms for instance. No, I find the cool night air and the exercise quite invigorating. I have never had any trouble sleeping after doing some exercise." He turned to face her, his gaze intense and piercing, causing her heart to really start racing this time.
"I would be happy to err… show you sometime if you wish." Georg leant forward to whisper into her ear, his breath hot on her skin. Maria had no doubt to what he was implying. Finding she was suddenly lost for words, all she could do was nod as he took her hand, leading her back into the bedroom.
After participating in a very different type of vigorous exercise in the bedroom, Maria snuggled close to Georg, feeling sleepy.
"I see what you mean." Maria told him in between trying to stifle a yawn. "I don't think I'll have any trouble falling asleep now."
"Good." Georg replied. "You feel free to wake me anytime when you can't sleep."
"Anytime?" Maria lifted her head to look into his eyes.
"Anytime." Georg confirmed before adding. "Also next time you want to see me work out, don't hide away behind doors, darling. Just come out and watch."
Maria was very surprised that he knew she had been watching him that morning, but the thought was all gone as he reached up to claim her lips with a kiss, pulling her on top of him.
A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this so please do review and be nice :) There will be more to come. I don't own anything etc.