Disclaimer: Please see the prologue

A New Beginning

Apologies

Madison

Madison was glad to be back in her room at the inn. After visiting the seamstress, the glove shop, and a ready to wear clothing shop she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse into a steaming hot bath and relax.

Sarah stored away Madison's packages against the far wall and helped her undress, then excused herself and hurried off to her own room downstairs.

The gas lamps had been lit for hours and they cast the bathing chamber in a warm glow. She crossed the room to check her window, it was locked, and she pulled the curtains together. She moved into the attached, private bathing chamber and turned the knob that ran fresh water into the tub.

She sat on the edge of the white garden tub and trailed a hand in the hot, flowing water. Indoor plumbing like this was a luxury she was rarely afforded at her father's house where maids could pump water from the indoor cistern, but would still have to heat it over a stove. Despite the expansion of pipes into the countryside and the little well on their property her father had never updated the old plantation house.

While the tub was filling she re-entered her temporary bedroom and opened one of the boxes of her new packages. Among the necessary undergarments that she had purchased there was a new night shift. It was a more elegant version of her normal clothing, and it was slightly scandalous.

She fingered the fabric and marveled at the soft silk that was woven loosely until it was nearly transparent. Madison touched the blue silk bow that ran between the holes in the lace at the collar and smiled. Setting it down on the bed she crossed back into her private bathroom, and seeing that the tub was full and hot she turned the knobs closed and began to undress.

With gentle tugs she undid the corset laces at her back and breathed in a sigh of relief, then unclasped the front steel hooks and shrugged her shoulders out of the straps, laying the garment on a small chair. Putting both hands in the waistband of her pantalets she pushed them down and stepped out of it letting it pool at her feet. She sat on the edge of the porcelain tub and unhooked her stockings from her garter belt sliding the silk material down her legs.

She folded them and placed them on top of the corset on the chair. The half shift that came to the bottom of hips was next, along with the garter belt. The air was warm from the bath's steam as she stood naked in the bathing chamber.

Her reflection in the mirror caught her attention, and Madison paused and surveyed her frame. Her waist was small compared to her full hips and large chest and she ran a hand down one breast, stopping to tease the dusty pink nipple, and then the underside of the breast, as Erik had earlier that day. It smoothed down her soft stomach and abdomen to caress her thigh, barely brushing the tuft of hair between her legs and the sensitive skin that it covered.

And as she surveyed her frame and her ivory pale skin she wondered if Erik would like the way she looked; if he would like her large breasts that hung heavy from her chest and her soft stomach.

She shook her head to clear these thoughts from it and pulled the pins from her hair letting her dark gold tresses tumble down her back. Then stepping one foot carefully, and then the other, she sank slowly into the hot water. Once she had cleaned her hair and skin she sank back down into the now cooling water to enjoy the last few minutes of warmth.

In every shop she had been met with whispers that stopped when she turned to find the source, and a few times even outright, malicious laughter with snide looks aimed her way. She had expected to become the talk of the town, but a small bit of her had hoped that news of her debacle would have died away for fresher gossip. Apparently, however, nothing more scandalous as her late night adventure at the gypsy camp had surfaced.

She cringed and tried not to cry even as she felt the prickling sensation that heralded tears and splashed the now cool water on her face. 'If I could go back and stop myself… oh but that's useless, I can not change anything now.' Unstopping the drain she rose from the bath and toweled herself dry, patting her damp hair and running fingers through the tangled waves.

Madison turned to retrieve her new night shift and realized that she had left it on the bed. Wrapping the pale blue towel around her nakedness she opened the bathroom door and peeked into her room. It was empty.

With her back to the curtained window she dropped the towel to the floor and pulled the clean shift over her head, smoothing the fabric into place and pulling her long, damp hair from out of the fabric. The silk slid down her curves sensuously.

A slight breeze chilled the water droplets that made the gown cling to her skin and Madison paused, 'I closed that window, didn't I?'

She padded lightly over to the closed curtains and yanked them aside so that she might lock the window, and upon seeing the dark figure of a tall man standing there she screamed.

A hand shot out of the darkness to cover her mouth while another reached out to grasp her arm.

"Erik!" she scolded once he had let go of her, "what are you doing hiding on my balcony like a thief?"

She placed a hand to her chest to stop the frantic beating of her heart. Startled shouts and running feet pulled her attention from the window, and she pulled the curtains closed to block him from view just as the door to her bedroom banged open.

The hotel owner barreled into the room, a hand holding a candlestick holder raised high as if to beat down any potential threat. The maid whose eyes were wide in fear followed the old woman into the room.

She stepped away from the window to draw their attention away from it as they surveyed the room for an intruder.

"We heard you scream, miss, you alright?" The host asked as she and Sarah scanned the room's corners.

"Oh yes, I am alright. I thought that I had seen a mouse. I am very sorry to have troubled you, everything is fine." With the shock still causing her heart to beat frantically it was easy to pretend that it was only a pest that had startled her.

"Mice… in my hotel… well I never. I'll have the cat brought in at once. Well, if you're alright, then…" she trailed off uncomfortably.

"Yes, I'm fine, it must be gone by now. I'm very sorry to have bothered you, I'll just go to sleep now." She shooed them out her door and leaned her back against it once it had closed. She made sure to lock the door.

Erik pushed the curtains aside and stepped into her room, only to halt as he recognized the look on her face.

"Oh there you are, mouse. How dare you come into my room and frighten me, when you have been gone off doing who knows what all day without any word. You're not the phantom of the opera anymore, you know, you just cannot go skulking around frightening people!" she whispered as loudly as she dared, wishing that she could yell at him for startling her so.

Erik

He paused mid step to look at her incredulously. 'This woman, this small golden haired slip of a girl, is scolding me?' His lips quirked into the beginnings of a smile that only seemed to make Madison angrier.

"You should not be in my bed chamber to begin with, Erik, this is highly inappropriate," she scolded. Her hands crossed over her chest to preserve what she could of her modesty.

"Forgive me, Madison, I truly did not mean to startle you." His eyes raked her frame approvingly, "you look lovely tonight."

Madison stiffened and uncrossed her arms in defiance, challenging him to stare openly at her. He noticed the way that the thin nightgown clung to her damp breasts and thighs.

He looked his fill at the soft curves of her body and the sheerness of the fabric that let him see the faint outline of dusty nipples and a triangle of hair.

She was blushing faintly, he noticed, but she refused to let him intimidate her into covering herself more.

She whispered in a hushed and silky tone, "does your little breaking and entering serve a purpose, Erik? Is there a reason why you simply could not knock on my door?" she clenched her hands into fists at her side. She seemed t war with herself as if wanting desperately to shield herself from his probing gaze, but she was too stubborn to be the first to give in.

"Would you rather I had knocked on your door, chancing that someone might see me enter your chamber at night? Because if so, I can exit and re-enter properly."

She stomped her bare foot and made a sound of unbelief, "oh, you are incorrigible!" He watched as she pulled her damp hair to one side of her neck and said, "Hmm… I suppose that I could forgive you for giving me such a fright if you were to somehow make up for it." She smiled impishly.

He grinned in reply and moved towards her, around the bed, inch by torturously slow inch until he was standing directly in front of her, "I stayed behind the curtain because I thought that you might be a maid. I wanted to leave this for you." He handed her a box, as small as the palm of her hand with intricate panels of different types of wood with carved roses.

"Oh," she exclaimed as she un-balled her fists to receive it, instantly forgiving him. It was heavy and denser than she had expected. He watched her as she turned it over and around to examine it, "does it open?"

Her brow furrowed when she noticed that there was no latch or any type of lid or hinge that she could find.

"Yes, it opens, but it is a puzzle box and the mechanic can be hard to figure out, unless you know the secret of course."

She looked up from the box to him, "what is the secret then?"

He raised a finger to his lips, and eyes dancing merrily, said, "but it would not be a secret if I told you, would it?"

Her lips smashed together in a firm line of anger, eyes sparkling hotly, "so you broke into my room to give me a puzzle which I obviously have no hope of solving? And just how did you get into my room anyways?"

His smile widened, "I climbed over my balcony into yours, but that is of little consequence now. You have not even tried to solve it."

She set it down on the nightstand behind her and turned back to him, "I've no need of puzzles tonight, Erik, I am not in a pleasant mood."

His hands dropped in disappointment, "I thought that you had forgiven me for scaring you. It really was an accident, Madison."

She sighed and rubbed a temple, pushing her drying hair out of the way, "oh Erik, how can you be so oblivious?"

His brow furrowed in confusion and the beginnings of anger, "you are cross with me, and I do not know why."

She sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed one hand rubbing circles on her temple as if trying to ward off the beginning of a headache. "No, I suppose you do not know why. Shall I tell you, then?" His frown deepened at her tone.

She continued, "The fact is, Erik, that you left me alone all day to deal with the people of this wretched town. I have spent all day listening to people mock me, speak in whispered tones as I walk by, talk to one another behind their hands, or cross the street to avoid me. If you'd been beside me I could have tolerated it." Her face screwed up in hurt.

He sank down on the edge of the bed beside her, and covered her free hand with his own, "Madison," he began, but she interrupted him.

"Don't. I'm sorry, I know that you did not mean to leave me to handle their prejudice alone. They just put me in such a terrible mood today with their side-long looks and too-loud whispers." A tear slid down her cheek as she averted her gaze.

He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side so that she had to lay her head against his shoulder. Erik moved his arm down to rub a comforting hand along her side and back. His fingers brushed accidentally against the underside of her breast.

The movement shocked her into remembering that they were sitting on her bed, alone, and she was scantily clad. She jumped from the bed with flushed cheeks and taut nipples, "You should go, Erik, it is late and I just want to go to bed."

He regarded her thoughtfully, and then leaned back on both arms on the bed, "oh, I do not think that you are tired at all," he drawled in a sultry tone.

Madison fidgeted nervously from one foot to the other, "truly, Erik, you should go back to your own bedroom now for I grow tired and my head is beginning to ache."

He straightened up, rising to stand beside her, "Madison," he began in all seriousness, "you must know that I will never force myself upon you, that you may say no to my advances and I will respect your wishes. Even… when we are married."

Madison

She swallowed nervously and nodded. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach suddenly as he moved to grasp her hands in his and slowly turned her so that his arms were wrapped around her. He was pushing her against him and as she turned her head she saw them reflected in the mirror.

She closed her eyes as he pressed soft kisses against her neck, his hands on top of hers as he moved them, forcing her to explore her own body. The mask made his ministrations on her neck awkward, so he shifted his attention to her earlobe and alternated sucking and biting it as his tongue trailed across her jaw and his hands forced hers to caress her thighs. Their combined hands grasped under the edge of her nightshift and together they inched the fabric up slowly revealing her naked body.

Madison opened her eyes and watched their reflection as he used her hands to pull the garment over her head and toss it to the floor. She stood trembling from the sudden shock of air against bare skin and the idea that she was letting him see her exposed. Her knees wobbled in nervousness as she arched her back against him.

His hot breath on her neck and ear brought a throbbing to the junction between her legs along with the hint of moisture. She watched their reflection in the mirror and smiled shyly as his eyes devoured the sight of her. When his hands left hers and returned to her body she moaned softly, reveling in the feeling of his slightly callused hands against the sensitive flesh of her thighs, hips, stomach, and breasts.

He cupped the globes of tender flesh, his fingers rolling over her erect nipples eliciting another moan as she closed her eyes and threw her head back onto his shoulder. "You are so beautiful," he told her, and she turned in his embrace. Her hands grabbed and began to pull his shirt free of his trousers. One by one she freed the buttons until his shirt splayed open revealing his toned and muscular chest.

Erik brought his face down to hers and captured her lips in a kiss that was torturously slow as she pushed the shirt from him and reached down lower to undo his trousers.

His hand on hers made her pause, "no Madison, I will not dishonor you, and if I remove my trousers than nothing in the world could stop me from taking you completely."

She paused, confused, "you do not want… but I thought…"

He leaned her back against the bed and climbed up to lay beside her. His hand explored every inch of her from collarbone to her breast, from the smooth skin of her belly to the sharp flare of her hip and supple thighs. His fingers teased her, trailing everywhere but the part that needed him the most. And then his mouth joined the game by capturing one breast as his tongue flicked and swirled deliciously around her nipple.

He spread her and raised one leg then leaned in and nipped at her large breast and its dusty pink nipple. His long fingers trailed up her inner thigh and found her core.

She moaned and closed her eyes, throwing her head back into the pillow as his tongue laved her nipple, his teeth nipping gently now and then, and his fingers rubbed her.

He splayed the folds stopping to massage the aching mound with the heel of his hand, and then he once again inserted two slim fingers into the folds to rub against the center of her pleasure.

She gasped when he made contact with her most sensitive part and her back arched as her eyes squeezed shut against the painful pleasure as he rubbed her center with lazy circles and explored the entrance to her womanhood.

The feel of his finger entering her was almost too much when paired with what he was still doing to her breasts with his mouth. She tried to call out to tell him to stop, that it was too much pleasure, but she could only manage two brief words. She cried out, "oh, Erik," as he inserted another finger into her. She felt the familiar ache begin to tighten within her.

Madison's breathing grew ragged as her hips bucked in time with his deliberations. And when he pressed the heel of his palm into her swollen flesh she moaned again. He withdrew from her and left her an aching mess upon the sheets.

She opened her eyes, puzzled to see him sliding down the bed as he kneeled before her naked body. "Erik? What are you… oh, God…." she cried as she brought a hand up to stifle her moans. His tongue had replaced his fingers. She nearly lost control as he flicked his tongue along the length of her.

She bit down on one knuckle to keep from screaming out in pleasure as he licked a path around her clit and grasped her hips.

The cool mask lay against her inner thigh but the odd sensation only added to the contrast of his warm mouth licking a hot trail around and inside of her.

Her hands grasped the fabric of the bed cover as her head thrashed back into the pillow just as his tongue penetrated her hot core.

She was panting, no longer able to form coherent sentences or thoughts. She was too far gone to worry about screaming and being found out. Madison let go of the blanket to explore her now tender breasts as his tongue and mouth continued their attention to her swollen flesh.

The pleasure was rising, building more and more every second until it stopped precariously, leveling off, and then with one last thrust of the tongue and flick of her clit she came in a rush of delicious spasms. She moaned his name and arched her back as the waves of pleasure rolled down her body in a wash of throbbing release.

She lay there a moment oblivious to the world around her and it took a few minutes before she was able to speak. "Where…" she asked between gasps for air and satisfied moans, "did you learn to do that?"

Erik rose from between her legs to lie against her languid body. His erection was evident as he held her legs splayed and rubbed his manhood against her mound. He wanted more than anything to rip off his trousers and take her, bringing her to paradise a second time, but he knew that that would be too much, too fast for her. So instead he allowed himself to rub himself against her sensitized mound.

She did not seem to mind, but at this moment he would not have cared even if she did; he needed release.

"From that wicked little book I gave you. Did you read it?"

She nodded guiltily and watched him as he rubbed himself against her, "Erik…" she began but trailed off nervously.

He opened his eyes, "I'm sorry, ma cherie, but if I do not finish soon then I do not think that I will be able to keep my promises."

She shook her head, "no, that isn't it. One of the chapters described… um… a woman taking a man into her mouth, like you did to me. I was curious… if you would like to try it?"

He stared at her, barely registering what she had asked, but managed to nod and stare at her dumbfoundedly as she rose from the bed to kneel on the floor in front of him.

Her eyes held his as her small hands fluttered to the clasp at the front of his trousers. She popped the buttons free and slid the pants down his hips. Her hands grazed the smooth flesh of his buttocks as she undressed him.

Erik leaned forward to capture her mouth in a kiss as her hand explored his stomach and thighs and gently made its way to his organ.

Erik

He groaned into her mouth suddenly aware that she was touching him, that this was not a dream and that she was touching him in a place that no one else ever had. It was everything he had hoped for, and nothing that he had expected.

And then she was pushing his chest and maneuvering him down onto the bed. He watched as she pulled the trousers free of his legs and tossed them on the ground then knelt above him.

Her gaze raked over his form as he reached out to cup her breasts. He held perfectly still as her hands moved over his groin, her small fingers wrapping around his member.

She looked down at him as her hands pulled his skin back to reveal the tip of him with a pearl of milky fluid beading at the center.

Madison stroked him, reveling in the feel of silky smooth, pale skin that hardened under her grasp.

He shuddered and leaned up on both elbows to watch her as she lowered her head to flick her tongue against the tip of him, tasting him as she rubbed her little hands up and down his length.

His hips bucked wildly and he tried to control his movements as she slowly swirled her tongue around his tip. It was driving him mad. He was already half gone in pleasure when she firmly grasped his base and slid him into her mouth, her firm tongue licking along his underside.

She looked at him for guidance, unsure of what to do now that he was in her mouth.

"Move your hand along the shaft," he moaned. And when she did he threw his head back in rapture, his moans guiding her as she wrapped her slim fingers around the width of him and pumped it up and down as her tongue swirled around his tip.

After the first few moments of unsure timidity she slid him further into her mouth and with lips locked around his member she rubbed the base of his shaft with her hand.

Erik moaned and tried to still his thrusting hips as she flung her hair out of the way. The soft golden tresses landed on his stomach. He grasped a lock of hair and stroked it as she flicked her tongue against his length.

He became more frantic as her ministrations continued and her tongue licked along his underside. Madison's hand rubbed up and down, and he was brought to the precipice until her mouth sank halfway down his length at the same time as her tongue circled him. He soared over the edge and his hips bucked wildly until he was forced into her as far as she allowed.

Erik leaned up once again on his forearms and watched as she tested and swallowed the fluid, then licked him clean.

He pulled her up to him and together they crawled under the covers. She settled into the crook of his arm and he felt content with holding her. Resting his chin atop her head he stroked her back and ran his fingers through her hair. Minutes passed that felt like hours. Placing a kiss to the top of her head he murmured his confession, "Madison, I love you."

But she was already asleep, a faint smile on her face, as she sank into his embrace.