Maria's body trembled as she slowly paced the bedroom in Paris that she and Georg would be sharing for the next six weeks, her hands wringing in front of her as she tried to take deep breaths to calm her nerves a little. She had been bold earlier that afternoon as she had been teasing him, but now she couldn't remember a time that she had felt so small. So timid and shy. She hadn't even felt so nervous during her first acquaintance with the Captain, and that was saying something. She had changed into the silk nightgown that he had purchased for her a few weeks before the wedding, but she still didn't feel any more beautiful. During her childhood she had been taunted and insulted by her family and other children around her neighbourhood, all of them saying that she'd never find a man who really loved her, and that she would never amount to anything. Before she had moved into Nonnberg Abbey she'd had long golden hair that stopped just before her lower back, but she'd had it cut to make it easier to wear her wimple. None of the sisters or the Reverend Mother had judged her for the way that her hair looked, but she had been stared at whenever she was out in public, and could hear people making remarks about her. However, she had learned to brush off their words and not let them get to her any longer. Yet now, she had never felt less attractive. She stopped in front of the large mirror that stood in the corner of the room, and turned slightly to the side to take in her appearance. Her breasts had never been too noticeable which is something that she was quite self-conscious about since apparently, that was what men always seemed to notice first about a woman. She'd also been teased about being flat-chested during her adolescence. Moving further downwards, she took in the width of her hips. They hadn't widened in the least since she was the young age of sixteen, and it made her a little ashamed of her body. When she took in the sight of the other women at Georg's house parties, their hips were wider than hers and they were much curvier than she was, which was probably why the men that they attended with couldn't keep their eyes off of them. However, saying that, Georg could never keep his eyes off of her when they were dancing or she was standing alone in a corner.
She was pulled out of her thoughts as the sound of the bathroom door opening stole her attention, and she turned to face her husband as he left the room with his shirt opened halfway, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as his hair was mussed. She felt her heart speed at how handsome he looked when he was relaxed, and she gave a gentle whimper as he gazed at her lovingly. He made his way over to her slowly as his brow creased with concern, his hands finding the familiar flare of her hips as she cast her eyes down towards the carpet. 'Hey,' He hooked a finger beneath her chin and slowly brought her gaze to his, seeing her eyes holding gentle tears as she trembled against him. 'What's all this?' She tried to think of an excuse for her nerves, but in the end she cuddled against him with a soft gasp and gripped his shirt gently as she nuzzled into the dark curls upon his chest. She breathed in his warm, spicy scent as she gave a sigh and allowed her eyes to fall closed, his fingers combing through her hair. 'Maria, you're shaking so terribly, my love,' He pointed out as he dropped a slow kiss to her head. 'Are you scared about tonight, darling?' She let herself pull away from him slowly and her gaze locked with his as she released the shaky breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, nodding tearfully in reply. 'Oh, my Maria,' He peppered her face with feather-light kisses, his hands resting upon the small of her back. When he'd kissed her cheek lingeringly she allowed a solitary tear to trickle over the curve of it, and he slowly wiped it away.
'I'm sorry,' She whimpered as she cupped the sides of his neck gently and stepped closer to him, their chests nearly touching.
'Sorry, my love? Why on earth are you saying sorry?' His brow knitted together in confusion. 'It's perfectly normal for you to be scared when it's your first time, my angel,' He stroked her jaw with the back of his knuckles.
'You're not annoyed with me over this?' She asked as another slow tear fell and he kissed it away, taking hold of her hip once again.
'Of course not!' He cupped her jaw in his hand and brought her close for a tender kiss. 'Why would I be annoy-' He sighed as the realisation hit him, and when he looked to Maria for conformation she dropped her gaze to the carpet with a slight nod. 'What did Elsa say to you, my love?' He asked softly, remembering how she had come to visit just two weeks before the wedding.
'She, um-' Maria stammered as she wrung her hands gently in front of her. 'She told me that if I told you I was scared on our wedding night and that I was nervous about making love, then you had the right to pin me down and force me. That you had every right to do what you pleased to me without asking for my consent first. She said that that's the way a wedding night between a man and a woman goes,' He took Maria into his arms and brought her close to his chest, nuzzling into her hair as he let a soft sigh escape him.
'Elsa,' He groaned irritably as his eyes fell closed and Maria trembled nervously in his arms, her soft tears soaking through his shirt as she broke down silently. 'Come here, Maria,' He took her hand gently and led her over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it with her as she moved to sit in his lap, her arms going around his neck. She gasped softly through her tears as he cupped her face and wiped them away with the pad of his thumbs, kissing her rosy lips slowly and lingeringly as he traced her jaw with his fingertips. They parted softly as he sucked upon her bottom lip and her eyes remained closed when they pressed their foreheads together, her nimble fingers teasing the soft hair at the nape of his neck. 'I'm going to slowly go through what's going to happen tonight, my love, alright?' She nodded as her eyes fluttered open and her hand slipped down to his chest, her fingers running slowly through the soft curls there as it served as a comfort to her when she lay her head upon his shoulder. 'For most of the night we are just going to lay together and I'm going to hold you in my arms on the bed, giving you gentle kisses and cuddles until you feel a little more comfortable with us being intimate, and them I'm going to slowly start to touch you,' He admitted. 'Only on your arms and perhaps your legs, but nowhere intimate, Maria. I don't have to touch you intimately until you're ready for me to, darling. Heck, we don't even have to make love tonight if you're not ready to. Everything that happens tonight is going to be controlled by you, and we're going to go as slowly as you need. If you're not ready to make love yet, who cares? It's enough for me to just be able to call you my wife in the first place, my sweet one,' She smiled lovingly at him before cupping the sides of his neck and kissing his lips softly.
'Oh, my Captain, you're such a gentleman,' She swooned as she looked into his eyes and he chuckled gently as he fell further in love with her.
'Only for you, Maria,' He promised her, kissing her brow, then her temple. 'I'm only ever a gentleman for you,'
A short while later, Georg and Maria were laying together in a comfortable silence next to the lamplight as her head was upon his chest and his arm wrapped around her waist gently to anchor her to him. He had meant what he had told her, he hadn't tried to push her into intimacy, and every kiss that had been given had been initiated by her. His shirt was now fully opened since she had felt comfortable enough to take that step during their last bout of kissing, and she was trailing her fingertips up and down his toned mid-section. 'Maria,' Georg hummed softly into her hair as he ran his hand up and down her side through her nightgown. 'There is no better feeling in this world than being able to lay with you, hearing your gentle breathing as you're so content in my arms,' She giggled softly as she turned her head into the curls on his chest and left a light kiss there. 'Can I touch you, Maria? Please?' He asked softly once she had settled against him once again.
'Where would you like to touch me, Georg?' She replied as she looked up at him and he pecked the tip of her nose.
'Just on your hip and the top of your thigh, my darling,' He reassured her, waiting for her reply. She hesitated for a moment before nodding and laying her head upon his shoulder, nuzzling her nose against the crook of his neck as he moved his hand slightly lower to rest upon her hip, his fingers slowly grazing the very top of her thigh through her nightgown. 'How does that feel, hmm?' He asked as he slowly caressed her thigh.
'Nice,' She admitted as she draped her arm across his chest. 'Relaxing,' He pressed his lips lightly to her hairline as her eyes were closed and he smiled lovingly down at the beautiful woman who had completely won his heart and brought him back to the land of the living. As he took in the sight of her laying there in his arms, so peaceful and content, he thought about all that she had accomplished over her time with the family. She had first arrived as a timid young woman who seemed somewhat immature and clumsy at a first glance, but then appeared to be quite charming the more he got to know her. Yes, the dress that she had arrived in hadn't been very flattering, he couldn't deny that, but there was no hiding the fact that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever been blessed enough to lay his eyes on. On her first night at the house, after she had sat on the pinecone that the children had planted on her chair to try and drive her away, he knew that he loved her. It was the beauty of the shock in her eyes when she stood back up and the children had tried to stifle their laughter. It was also clear to him then that despite her never even having a suitor before, she had a way with children since she could make them feel guilty over their prank at a drop of a hat. She was the only one of the Governesses that had put up with the children's pranks, even though the children had been rather annoyed at that fact. That was, until he had caught them all dancing and singing in her bedroom that same evening. Everything she did made him fall deeper in love with her, and she would never stop making his heart race whenever she entered a room. 'Georg?' Her hand was upon his bare chest when she brought him out of his daydream with her soft, loving tone, a beautiful, yet relaxed smile upon her rosebud lips. 'Where did you go off to? You were miles away just now, darling,' He kissed her lips gently as he smiled against her mouth, cupping her cheek warmly in his palm.
'Ah, yes, thinking about you usually does distract me,' He smirked, feeling her smack his chest halfheartedly as the familiar blush rose in her cheeks. 'Thinking about how beautiful you are, how lovely,' She blushed crimson as he continued to compliment her.
'Georg, stop,' She giggled as she buried her face into his shoulder.
'How I set my alarm to 6:00am every morning so that I can be the first to greet you when you come down the stairs to make the children's lunch for school, how I can never take my eyes off of you whenever we're in the same room,' He could feel her body shake with her soft giggles. 'How I know that I'm the only man who can hold you in his arms and tell you how in love with you he is,' She slowly pulled herself away from his shoulder, fixing her eyes upon the collar of his shirt as she toyed with them. 'How I know that I am also the only man who gets to kiss your neck and hear the soft sighs that you give as your eyes drift closed and you lean back into my chest, my arms going slowly around your middle,' His lips slowly found the creamy skin of her neck, and thankfully she didn't pull away from him.
'Don't stop,' She gasped softly as she held the back of his neck, his lips covering every inch of the side of her neck with soft kisses and nips.
'The only one who knows that you have a ticklish spot just beneath your right shoulder, and gets to use that to his own advantage,' He ran his fingers over that area and she writhed next to him as soft giggles escaped her. 'And,' He slowly rolled her onto her back as her arms wrapped around his waist, the fear gone from her eyes as she looked up at him, the corners of her lips turned upwards as he rested between her thighs. 'The only man that will ever get to see you like this,' He kissed her cheek lightly. 'Looking so beautiful and innocent as you lay beneath me, your hand resting at the side of your head as your cheeks are flushed from the attention I give you,' Her head fell back as he left a gentle kiss to her collarbone that peeked out from the top of her nightgown. 'Please, Maria,' He nuzzled his nose along her jawline until his lips were by her ear. 'Let me make love to you and show you how much I love, honour, and cherish you and your body. Everything about you is exquisite from head to toe, and I never want you to think otherwise. I swear to be gentle from start to finish and I will go as slowly as you need, but you can stop me at any time if you need to,' He sucked upon her earlobe before biting it gently. 'It will hurt a little when I join us for the first time, but that's just because you've never experienced this sort of thing before, my darling. It won't hurt so much the next time, and then soon enough there'll be no pain at all when I join us. Please, Maria,' She stroked his hair slowly and brought his gaze to hers.
'I trust you,' She whispered, seeing his eyes light up a little. 'If you say you'll be gentle then who am I not to believe you? You've never lied to me before, and I don't see why you would start now. I trust you to treat me properly and like you think I deserve, and I have every faith in you that you're going to take my feelings into account, Georg,' She kissed his lips and then his cheek. 'I give you my full permission,' He nodded as he nuzzled his nose against hers, slowly beginning to kiss her neck as he drew her nightgown up her small figure.
They did make love that evening, Maria and Georg, and he opened her eyes to just how close a married man and woman could possible become. As they had lay in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Maria shifted closer to him and put her lips next to his ear, whispering, 'Thank you,'
A/N: Please Review x
