AN: This is my first try at an M rated story and I only did to see if I could actually do it. Tell me what you think!

"Why don't you want me?" she asks him and that question is his undoing. His wife had been trying to get his attention all evening, sitting closer to him than necessary, touching him constantly. He was sick of it. All her attempts to make him love her, even make him want her, really want her, had so far led to nothing. Until that moment. She has never asked him so directly. "Robert, why don't you want me? Or are you not man enough to really want me?" This makes him wild. How can she suggest such a thing? He walks towards her, grabs her by her waist and pushes her into the wall so forcefully that she hits her head. But he doesn't care. He'll show her that he is man enough for it. He attacks her with kisses everywhere and uses his hands to pin her arms to the wall. He knows this is painful for her and will leave her bruised but he doesn't care. She deserves this, deserves to know what he is capable of. He pushes his body towards hers and hears her gasp when she feels the bulge in his pants. "You wanted me to want you, Cora." "Yes", she says and this takes him by surprise so much that he lets go of her for a second. He looks at her, sees how flushed her face is, how much desire there is in her eyes. He wants to push her against the wall again, wants to take her right there and then, but she is faster than him, turns them around and with surprising strength pushes him into the wall and attacks him with kisses. But he is stronger than her and he overpowers her. He pushes her towards the bed and divests her of the little clothing she is still wearing on the way there. He pushes her down and looks at his wife's naked body. He realizes that he has never seen her without any clothes on. She sits up again but he growls "no", at her and climbs on to the bed himself, his legs on the outer sides of hers. She begins to undo his belt and does so very skillfully, considering that she has never taken of a man's belt before. She also gets rid of his shirt although he has no idea how she did it. But it arouses him even more. When he gets up from the bed to take of his trousers and underwear he looks at her and almost explodes right there and then. But he holds himself together; he wants to show her that he is man enough for her. So he pushes her legs apart and looks into her eyes for a second. No matter how much he wants to do this without her permission, he can't. He can't go that far. She nods and her eyes are clouded over with passion. She wants him too, he is sure of it. "Take me", she says and he does, so forcefully that he is sure to hurt her but her cries don't sound as if she was in pain. And he doesn't care, or so he tells himself. "Oh God, Robert", he hears her say and that is his final undoing. Waves of pleasure rush over his body and he feels that she feels the same. "God, Cora", he says. He has never felt like this before. Never. He looks into her eyes and gets lost in them. He is still in shock. Never could he have imagined his marital duty to feel like this. She moves her head up towards his, puts her hands into his sweaty hair, pulls his face close to hers and gives him a kiss so deep he almost comes undone again. She looks into his eyes. "I love you, Robert", she says. "I love you too", he says and kisses her back. They don't stop at kissing, but this time it is something else they are doing. There is no forcefulness but tenderness in their motions. He doesn't ask for permission because he knows he has got it. It takes both of them longer this time but he doesn't mind, he has never felt so close to anyone. When they have both experienced another wave of pleasure he rolls of her onto his back and pulls her with him. Her head lands on his shoulder, her arm on his chest. They don't speak and fall asleep within minutes.

He wakes up again later because he feels extremely uncomfortable. He is not in his own bed, Cora is laying half way on top of him and neither of them is dressed. This is not how he likes to sleep. He gets out of bed without waking her but the moment he opens the door to his room she says "Robert?" "Yes, darling?" he answers and wonders where that last word has come from. He turns around, looks at her and it all comes back to him. The reason why they slept in such an uncomfortable position without any clothes on. And he realizes that he can't leave her. "I am only getting my pajamas. I'll come back. You should get dressed too. I don't want you to be cold", he says. "But you will come back?" The insecurity and pleading in her voice almost makes him cry. "Of course I will, love." It is too dark for him to see her face but he is sure that she is smiling at him now.

When he gets back he sees her sitting on her bed in the night gown he took off of her a few hours before. She has turned on the lights on both bedside tables. He knows that he should apologize for his behavior but before he can do so, she asks him "Do you really love me Robert? Or did you just say that?"

"I didn't plan on saying it. I had no idea how I felt until I told you. But the moment I told you I realized that it was true." He is now sitting next to her. She touches his face and says "Tell me that you love me while you look into my eyes." And so he looks into her eyes and sees how impossibly beautiful, kind and loving they are. "I love you", he says. "With all my heart." The kiss he is rewarded with sweeps him of his feet and he wants to do much more than only kiss her back. But he still has to apologize.

"Cora, before we take this any further, there is something I should tell you. Don't look so worried. I just wanted to apologize for how I, how I forced myself upon you. I shouldn't have done that. I am stronger than you are but I shouldn't have used that to my"

She puts a finger on his lips. "Stop talking", she says. "You didn't force yourself upon me. You asked me for permission. Maybe not with words but had I not told you to take me you wouldn't have done it."

"But I pushed you into the wall, I pushed you onto the bed."

"Yes and I let myself be pushed. You'd have stopped had I asked you to stop. And I am not complaining. I liked being overpowered by you. You overpowered me with my consent. And I gave you that consent because I trust you. I trust you not to hurt me."

"But I did hurt you. Look at your wrists. And your head hit the wall. And I didn't care in that moment."

"Maybe you didn't care at that moment, but you care now. I didn't care either, I don't care now. You didn't do it on purpose. We both lost control a little but I think that's part of a passionate marriage. As long as I know that you'd have stopped the moment I asked you to, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you have to apologize for."

"You are right, I would have stopped. I just had no idea how my baser urges, for lack of a better word, could have such an impact on me."

"I am glad I caused that impact to happen, because this was the first night that our love making wasn't perfunctory. It was the first time I got something out of it as well. The first and the second time."

"I know. I am glad I could make you feel that way. It made the whole experience very different for me too. I never thought I could feel that close to anyone. Or that I could want anyone so much."

She kisses him and he opens his mouth for her. He feels her hand between his legs and feels her smile against his mouth when she realizes what an effect she has on him. She keeps on kissing and stroking him but he wants this to be about her and so he pushes her away from him ever so gently, takes of her night gown and puts her on her back. He trails kisses all over her body but stops shortly before he reaches the part between her legs. "Robert" she pleads. "Go on." And so he kisses her between her legs and because he has no idea what he is doing he takes his lead from her reactions.

When her breathing and movements become ragged he stops and moves up to her face gain. The look of desire and exasperation on her face makes him laugh and he realizes again how much he loves her. "You are a very cruel man, Robert Crawley" she says to him, pushes him on his back and undresses him. He briefly wonders what she is about to do, but then she straddles him and it is a dream come true for him. Ever since he saw a drawing of this in a book a friend showed him at university he has wanted a woman to do this to him. And his wife does it without him having to ask for it. She guides him inside her and he stops thinking. He says her name over and over again until even the ability to speak leaves him when he feels her tightening around him. It sends him over the edge too and Cora collapses on top of him. He kisses the top of her head and says "I love you so very much," into her hair. She sighs in contentment and kisses his chest. He strokes her hair and her back. "Robert, I am really uncomfortable," she murmurs. He sits up, rolls her onto the bed, gets up and collects their nightwear. "Darling, put your night clothes back on. My mother will have a fit anyway when she finds out that I slept here, she doesn't need to hear anything about us being found in your bed naked."

"Why would that be bad?"

"Because it isn't t proper. You do your duty and then you sleep in separate rooms."

"But you intend to sleep here tonight."

"I intend to sleep here every night from now on. My bed is too small for both of us and I can't imagine sleeping away from you anymore, unless I absolutely have to."

The smile on her face is priceless. "Then come to bed you rebellious man. Wanting to sleep next to your own wife. What a scandal."

"If people knew what you've just done to me they'd be mortified."

"But you enjoyed, didn't you?"

"Oh yes. It was amazing. How did you know I wanted that?"

"I didn't. I just took a guess. I thought you'd tell me if you didn't want it. How did you know I wanted you to kiss me like that?"

"I took a guess as well. Maybe we should take more guesses in the future."

"Yes. We should."

They don't say anything for a few minutes.

"Cora?" he asks and when she doesn't answer he realizes that his wife has fallen asleep in his arms. It is another dream come true for him, a dream he never knew he had until that night.