Thank you all for the reviews on the last go round! Your reward is a chapter that is a bit longer than usual and while not STEAMM, it is a bit steamy ;-) Consider yourselves warned!
The phone sounded sometime later rousing Edith from her sleep. She smiled as she looked at Anthony, still soundly asleep, a slight grin on his face. The phone rang again from the other room and she recognized it as her ring tone. Hurriedly she scurried through the hall to retrieve it from her former bedroom. "Mama," she greeted her mother when she saw the caller ID.
"Hello darling," her mother's soft voice came through the earpiece. "Your father and I were wondering if you and Anthony are ready fora dinner?"
They weren't of course, for different reasons. Edith wasn't sure she would ever be ready for another confrontation with her father and she knew Anthony was worried about her parent's reaction the two of them. But for Edith, her father's words made her feel young and foolish; for Anthony it was quite the opposite. Her father would remind Anthony of all his own misgivings about his age. And after her premature actions earlier, the last thing she wanted was to create more insecurity in Anthony's mind.
"Not yet, Mama. Anthony still tires so easily. And he's still on his pain medication which sometimes upsets his stomach. Let's give it another week or two, please?"
"Of course, Edith. Whenever the two of you are ready. But I want you to know that I've worked at getting your father to see reason… I know he was less than enthusiastic when we visited you before but I do believe he is coming around."
"Thank you, Mama. I hope so because if I have to choose between the two of them…." She swallowed because she really didn't want to hurt her father but then continued, "I'll choose Anthony," she said firmly.
"I think your father understands," Cora Crawley assured her daughter. "And he does like Anthony. It's just…"
"I know, the age difference. But I don't care about that. He makes me happy, Mama; so very happy. He makes me feel… cherished." Just then, Edith felt a strong arm snake around her waist and pull her back to a very long, lean body as warm lips nuzzled at the her neck, just behind her ear. "As you should be," Anthony's soft voice whispered.
The sensations Anthony created in her made listening to her mother difficult but somehow, Edith managed to end the conversation without any telling gasps or distracted moans. As soon as the call ended, she turned and tried to glare at her husband. "You beast, that was … mean!"
"But you enjoyed it," he fired back, his eyes aglow with mischief, an easy smile on his face revealing a bit of self satisfaction.
Edith fell into his chest, unable to resist his charm. "You devil," she murmured as his arm wrapped around her and held her close, his lips lingering at her temple as he stooped to make contact with her skin. "Yes, you do bring out the worst in me," he teased.
She sighed contentedly, which of course Anthony misunderstood. "Edith?" he asked as a nervous tingle shot through him.
"I'm just so… very happy," she replied softly, tears threatening.
Anthony leaned back, loosening his grip on her. Peering into her face and seeing the tears sitting in her eyes, he frowned. "Really?" he inquired, his own face a study in concern. "Are you truly happy?"
"I am, I really am," she smiled up at him shyly.
His startlingly bright blue eyes surveyed her face, noting every nuance written there and finally settled on her eyes. "I'm glad," he finally whispered, "so very glad." And then he kissed her, softly, gently, and so full of promise of something more to come.
Leaning away after finishing the kiss a small smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. "I think my appetite is back."
"Oh. I think I might be able to find something in the kitchen. If not then I could call out for some take away," she said as her features took on a look of contemplation.
"Not that appetite, my sweet," Anthony replied in a low, almost husky voice. He watched as understanding overtook her and she looked up, first surprised, then questioning, and finally mischievously. "Oh," she answered, her eyes wide with anticipation.
Edith turned to walk to his room. Anthony, in one swift motion, sat on the bed in his guest room grabbed her hand and tugged her down into his lap. "Too far," he growled as his lips attacked her neck.
Edith turned in his lap to sit astride him and then captured his lips with her own as she leaned into him, pushing them both to lie flat on the bed. The motion shot an arrow of pain through his shoulder and down his arm and he grimaced. Edith, otherwise occupied missed his initial reaction but caught his gasp as another wave of pain flowed back up his arm and into his shoulder. "Anthony?" she cried as she sat up to discern the cause of his obvious agony.
"Nothing my dear," he replied gallantly as he fought back the desire to grab his arm and cradle it. "Just a shot of pain. It'll pass in a moment." Briefly he wondered if this was to be his future, their future… him crumbling in pain every time his shoulder took a bump. He chased the thought from his mind as he looked up to see the trepidation on Edith's face. He was determined not to let her see how bad it was. "Really, my sweet; just give me a moment. And perhaps for the near future we should let me settle in the bed before we engage. Seems I'm not quite up for the gymnastics I just initiated."
With an impish grin, she replied. "Hmmm, yes… need to be much more careful. Restrict the gymnastics to your lower body," she said as her eyes travelled down his torso to settle over the intended target.
He decided he liked her this way, so shy and yet confident, full of concern and cheekiness. There were so many facets to his young wife and he was certain that in time, he would have the pleasure of uncovering them all.
Whether it was a matter of his pain subsiding or his body's other responses overshadowing it, he didn't know. As he lay there gazing up at her as she contemplated his readiness the pain faded and other sensations seized him. Reaching for her again with his left hand, he caressed her cheek and then slipped his long fingers through her hair to hold the back of her head and pull her toward him. Eyes on her lips, he anticipated his target eagerly and locked on. Her lips were welcoming, eager even. And her hungry moan as he intensified the kiss turned the switch in his body from rendezvous to full onslaught. Clothes were dispensed with and strewn on the floor haphazardly as they worked to get closer to one another.
It didn't take either of them long to understand that Anthony was still not up to the task, no matter how much he wanted to be. But instead of letting her pull away when things became clear, Anthony pulled Edith back to him caressing her with his lips and his free hand. "Let me pleasure you," he whispered into her ear as he nibbled along her jaw. "Let me at least do that…"
She relaxed into his hold on her and let him have his way. She couldn't help but respond with her own attentions to him even though she was afraid he would become self conscious. But Anthony understood that she was only responding to his attention and let her hands wander, concentrating instead on what he was doing to her. And what he was doing soon had Edith writhing next to him on the bed.
Her entire body tingled and pulsed with sensations that were almost too much to bear and it all worked together to create the most luscious heat in her groin. She also felt intense need growing there; need that only he could satisfy. When she thought she couldn't stand it any longer and was ready scream with want, his hand cupped her and slowly began to massage her craving. Trying to speak, all she could manage were grunts and groans of yearning. It sounded and felt so very animalistic to her and yet she was reveling in it, in his touch. He worked his fingers along her and then slowly between the folds there, gently applying pressure. All on their own, her hips rose to meet his hand as she sought something more. While his hand was busy with her nether regions, his lips were busy on at her peaks, nipping and kissing and sucking her closer and closer to his goal. She felt a first one finger enter her and after a few strokes, another. His pressure there began gently but as he felt her responding, he pressed harder and pumped a little quicker, his fingers seeking that little part inside of her that would give her release. Once again her body reacted on its own and she felt all self control falling away as the sensations Anthony created overtook her. And then she was gone, her body matching his strokes, her hands grasping for something to hold, something to ground her as she flew out of control over the edge. The hands found him and she held on, clutching him tightly as her out of control body pounded his fingers, striking against his hand frantically. Explosion after explosion over took her, her mind senseless as one after another cascaded over her until they weakened and faded leaving her completely spent and feeling like jelly.
Anthony let her convulsions subside and slowly withdrew his fingers as he watched her settle next to him. Awed by her responses and not entirely sure what he had done to cause them, he also felt some relief. He could satisfy her. It wasn't a permanent solution he hoped, but for now it appeared to suffice. Judging by her torpor, she might agree. Yes, this might be alright….
Exhausted from Anthony's attentions, Edith pulled herself to him, her head settling at his shoulder as she draped her arm over him, her fingers lazily stroking the planes of his chest. "That was… incredible," she said languidly. "Just….incredible."
"Mmmmm," Anthony hummed with a certain satisfaction of his own.
"I didn't know… I mean, I knew that it was possible to … well, you know, multiple times but…I lost count!"
His male ego rising at her declaration over his ability to please her, Anthony began to truly believe that his second marriage might be a successful one. Or at least, if it wasn't the failure wouldn't be due to his inability to please his young wife. Edith, watching the subtle reactions in Anthony's demeanor thought of a peacock with feathers on full display. Looking up at his eyes and seeing shinning bright blue circles glowing back at her, she understood that somehow another one of his walls had been breached.
Now feeling overwhelmed in a very different way than just a few moments ago, she nuzzled against him. "If that's what you can do to me with just your fingers, I'm almost afraid to think what it will be like when you are fully recovered," she confessed.
Anthony pecked a kiss on top of her head. "But you do know… it isn't as if we haven't…"
"But that was before…" she interrupted.
"The mechanics are the same, my sweet."
"Yes," she replied with a grimace. "Although I'm quite certain I don't want to think of us as being mechanical. What I mean though is things are different now. You're different."
Anthony looked puzzled. "No I'm not, except that my wing is broken."
"You are. You… you aren't trying to push me away."
"My dear, I don't recall pushing you away in our hotel rooms."
"No, no you didn't but… you were holding back. And now you aren't."
Anthony looked at her thoughtfully. She saw his lips curve into a secretive smile. "No, no I'm not. No holding back. You are stuck with me, I'm afraid. Once I've healed, I'll most certainly be a pest about it all; after you constantly."
Edith giggled as she reached up to kiss him. "And maybe sometimes I'll even let you catch me."
Anthony returned her kiss and then hugged her to him as tightly as he could. "I have you now."
"Mmmmm, yes you do. So I suppose we are stuck with each other."
Both were quiet for a few minutes as each contemplated their fate. Edith was hesitant to move and break this warm spell they seemed to be under but nature called and she was forced to slip from the bed. When she returned, he was gone.
She found him in his room holding his cell. "There's where you disappeared to," she cooed. "You've had a call?"
"No, making one," he answered with a smirk.
"Oh? Is there another woman I don't know about?" She slithered against him as she spoke, her bare skin on his forcing a hiss from him as it sent a jolt of electricity through him.
"If there was, I've quite forgotten all about her," he quipped as he turned to smile at her. "I called Wilkins to tell him to forget everything."
"Oh," Edith chirped happily. "Very good." Leaning over her to nibble at her neck, his warm breath tickled her as he replied, "very good indeed."