Cora could not shake the feeling that something was not right. At first Rosamund and Edith's trip to Switzerland had seemed perfectly reasonable, Cora had not questioned it … except why Rosamund would work on her French in Switzerland rather than France. Cora had not even paid attention to Rosamund's mention of hospitals at the time; she had been so preoccupied with the Bazaar and their house guests and Robert being gone. But now all of those had been resolved and she was left lying awake next to Robert wondering about Edith. Edith. Their elusive and independent middle child. She often felt they had overlooked Edith. She had never given them any problems, always been so constant and well behaved, always done as she should. Now, in this post Sybil life Cora paid more attention to the things and people in her life that truly mattered, the irony being that she felt the more she tried to be involved the less she really was, and it worried her. There was just something not right about Edith's Switzerland plans. Why would she leave when Mr. Gregson was still missing? Why would she spend months with Rosamund? They were close … but that close? When did that happen? The more she thought on it the stranger and suspect this whole Switzerland trip seemed to be. The fact that Violet had kept her mouth shut on the topic had not gone unnoticed by Cora either. She was definitely missing something, and the thought of what it could be frightened her.
She felt Robert stir next to her and she turned her head to the side to look at his face. It was dark in their room, but she had been lying awake with her eyes wide open for long enough that her eyes were well enough adjusted to the light and she could make out the shadows of his face. He had been home for 3 days and she still felt her heart soar happily just being near him. She studied the way his nose curved and the way his mouth relaxed in his sleep. She had missed him when he was gone. She had missed his nearness, the ability to talk to him, the habits of their life together. Although they had been married a long time and their marriage, like all marriages required work, it had never been clearer to her how deeply she loved her husband until their recent Atlantic separation. She reached her hand out and gently touched the side of his face, just happy that she was able to do so, that he was home, healthy, in her bed, hers. So many marriages in their circle had fallen apart over years of neglect or untimely death. Their own daughter losing her husband far too early, their youngest daughter leaving a grieving husband – yet they were lucky enough to not only still have each other but to still love each other. She felt at this point she could say without hesitation that their love would never change. They had been to hell and back and loved each other still. Of course she was still driven mad by him at times, he knew how to push each and every one of her buttons and often did so, they disagreed, they argued – but they loved each other and only each other through it all. She had told him when he left for his trip to save her brother that she cherished him, as she gently rubbed her hand along his cheek she knew that she did.
Cora turned to her side facing Robert and moved closer to her sleeping husband slipping her hand from his cheek to his chest in an effort to be closer to him. She could feel the steady beating of his heart beneath her hand through his pajama shirt. The constant drumming of it gave her peace of mind, he was still healthy, still strong, and he was home. The longer she laid next to him hand on his chest, eyes taking in his shadows the more she relaxed. She was concerned about Edith, she could not escape that, but having Robert near helped her to relax and keep perspective. She resolved to find Edith in the morning, track down her elusive daughter and have a frank discussion with her. Edith had been avoiding her mother and Cora knew it, it had hurt her feelings at first but now she had her suspicions and she wanted them answered. Robert's presence back home had given Cora the foundation she needed, he was the constant in her life and she needed him like she needed air to her lungs. His absence had given her a sudden and poignant reminder of the way she needed him, and she knew he needed her in return. Aside from her mother, no other person had known her longer than Robert. Not even Harold for they had spent so many years apart. If she added up the years living in the same house Robert won hands down. He had become such a part of her that when he was gone she had felt as if she had been missing a limb. But that was done with. He was here. She nuzzled her face against his chest and breathed in his scent, pressing her face against the firmness of his chest and reveling in his closeness.
She did not know what the time was anymore, she had been awake for hours and after playing through the thoughts in her mind she was finally exhausted, her mind had been busy for so long she could not think anymore. The only thing running through her mind now was how happy she was that Robert was here with her again. Home. Within touching distance, kissing distance. They had been together several times in the last 3 days; his private welcome home in her bedroom had been wonderful. But now, she wanted to be close to him again, to solidify physically what she knew mentally – that he was home, that he was hers, that their love was burning. She couldn't prevent her hands begin to roam his body as he slept and she leaned her lips against his neck kissing him softly there. Feeling his skin touch her lips was delicious, she could feel his warmth, and she marveled again that her body responded to his without him having to even lift a finger. She loved him, all of him, she always had. One hand ran up and down his chest while the other slipped along his hip running under his pajama shirt to caress his back. At the feel of her skin against his he stirred slightly mumbling something Cora could not comprehend. For a brief moment she felt bad waking him, he was sleeping so soundly … but she knew he wouldn't mind. Her mind was tired, her body needed him. With this thought in mind she moved both hands to his pajama shirt and unbuttoned it swiftly as he continued sleeping. When her hands slid across his chest she grinned to herself at his bodies shiver in response. He wasn't yet awake, but his body was responding to her touch already and she knew in a few moments he would wake up completely. She leaned her head down and gently slid her tongue across his bare nipple enjoying the freedom she had to explore him. By the time she clasped her mouth fully around it she felt him stir more fully and moan under his breath, this time she heard what he said.
"Cora" he moaned sleepily as he felt his wife's tongue and lips waking him from sleep in the most delightful way. He was still half asleep lost somewhere between dreaming and reality as he felt the warmth of her breath and the slickness of her tongue flicking erotically across his nipple and chest. He could have mistaken it for a dream, similar to the ones he'd had in America when he missed his wife and ached to make love to her, but the gentle bite of her teeth against his chest and the scraping of her fingernails along his abdomen alerted him to the reality of the situation. Eyes still closed her murmured her name once more and placed a hand at the back of her head threading his fingers into her dark hair as she moved to tease his other nipple with her mouth.
Robert had only been aware of her attentions for a few moments but he could already feel his body reacting to her touch. The way her hand moved across his chest, the other sliding down his thigh and cupping his increasing manhood in her hand brought his eyes flying open with a groan of pleasure. "Cora" he murmured as he appreciatively caressed the back of her head with his hand holding a fistful of her glorious dark hair in his hand. His reaction only served to spur her on and she slid her fingers around his shaft while lifting her lips to his neck where she nipped and kissed him erotically. The feel of her was mesmerizing; he could barely get his bearings. One minute he had been fast asleep, the next his wife's hands and mouth were bringing him pleasure in the most sensual way. He had missed Cora when he was in America. He had told her that her words would keep him warm as he crossed the raging seas, but nothing had been able to replace the feel of his wife in his bed and in his arms. He had not slept terribly well while he was gone, Cora had been missing from his bed and prohibition had made drowning his sorrows without her much more difficult. He had felt almost like an adolescent schoolboy on more than one night being aroused in his sleep by an erotic dream, always staring his beautiful wife, always waking up with a raging erection and an aching need to bury himself in his wife. She had certainly welcomed him home when he returned 3 days ago. Following the bazaar she had retired to her room and he had followed soon after, walked straight in without a word and pulled her into a passionate embrace. It had been quick, frantic, and full of need that first time, both of them left breathing heavily laying on the bed still partially dressed. They'd managed to sneak in another turn before dinner, and then after retiring for the night a longer, slower, more sensual and romantic coupling had taken over an hour. They had both slept very well that night.
Cora wriggled her body against Robert's as she fondled him with her hand and lapped at his neck with her mouth. She loved the way he held her head, so full of desire and passion … it gave her tingles everywhere. She relished the feel of him as he placed his free hand around her waist and gripped her tight, then he pulled her head back from his neck and crashed his mouth against hers in a passionate kiss. His tongue immediately sought entrance to her mouth and she willingly allowed him access enjoying the feel of his lips, the taste of him. God she had missed him. Even though they had been together several times since his return she could not get enough of him, her body had craved him, and she needed to be close to him in this way. She slid both hands away from his body and wrapped them around his neck and held on as he turned them both over and climbed on top of her. The weight of his body against hers made her gasp in delight and she parted her legs so he could fit between them. Silently she cursed his pajamas and her nightgown, without then he could already be inside her. She pulled his pajama shirt from his body having already undone it while he slept and she ran her hands across his thick shoulders appreciatively. There was not a part of him she did not find attractive, not a part she didn't want to touch. When he removed his lips from hers and began kissing her neck passionately she let out an excited sigh, "Oh, Robert" she breathed as he began pulling up her nightgown. "I missed you" she murmured as he slid he slid his hand up further, into her undergarments and touching her between her legs as she moaned wantonly. "Oh God" she threw her head back on her pillow and Robert ministered between her thighs and slid his tongue across her throat.
Cora had planned to wake her husband, to take advantage of him, to take control … but now he had turned the tables on her and turned her into a quivering mass of need and desire. With little effort he removed her clothing and pulled his pajama pants down before he slid into her swiftly. Cora gripped his shoulders and gasped happily as she felt him fill her completely.
"Cora" his voice called her name huskily as he moved above her and she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his head down to kiss his lips. "I love you" he murmured against her lips as they kissed, and Cora felt herself nearing the edge.
"Say it again" she breathed pulling away to look into his eyes, "Oh, Yes … right there, Oh God, say it again" she scratched at his back holding onto him for dear life as his body moved above her hungrily.
"I love you Cora" he groaned and his eyes rolled in his head as she reached the back of his head and pulled on his hair gently, "Ahh, I love you so very much"
He felt his wife shudder beneath him, her eyes rolled back in her head and enjoyed hearing the gasping sounds of pleasure that she made. Her legs started to slip from his waist as her boned turned to liquid beneath him and he used one hand to hold one leg in place as he drove into her so close to the edge himself. It was only a few minutes later when he spilled into her, moaning wildly as he did, his head in a mixture of dream and reality. She spasmed beneath him arriving at her sweat destination once again as she felt him release into her body. He collapsed on top of her breathing heavily, his body satisfied and sweaty.
Rolling off her and lying next to her he grinned and ran a hand through his now messed hair.
"What was that about?" he laughed, leaning in to kiss her shoulder.
Cora smiled, satisfied, happy, and so incredibly sleepy. "I just missed you so much when you were gone Robert. I just had to have you"
He liked to hear how much she missed him; it made him happy to know she was still mad for him. He was a lucky man. "You will always have me darling" He kissed her cheek before climbing out of bed to find his pajamas. After dressing and going to the bathroom he returned to their bed eager to cuddle close to his wife and drift off to sleep together. His plans were thwarted however when upon his return he found her sleeping soundly, mouth open, completely and totally dead asleep. He lay next to her closing his eyes, only to discover that he was now much too awake for slumber and lay wide awake in the darkness. His mind reviewed all he had been told since returning home. Mary's suitors, the plans for Roses' presentation, Edith and Rosamund's plans to travel … was he the only one thinking it strange that Edith and Rosamund wanted to go to Switzerland? He lay awake next to his wife and his mind pondered what was going on with his middle daughter, and where on earth was Michael Gregson?