Kiss Me Again
A/N: Thank you to adama-roslinlove for this prompt. You keep me inspired to write! Thank you to SashaElizabeth for being the best beta reader I could ask for. This is actually a combination of two prompts, and is pure Cobert fluff. I hope you all enjoy! Contains Series 4 spoilers.
"It's time I headed home," Violet spoke from her seat in the drawing room. "Everyone else has gone up. I should let the two of you get to bed."
"Nonsense, Mama," Cora responded, although she was rather ready for her mother-in-law to leave. "You know you're more than welcome to stay as long as you like."
"Thank you, my dear, but I really must be going. I've been invited to Isobel's for luncheon tomorrow. No doubt I will need all of my energy to get through it." Cora couldn't help but smile at this. Isobel and Violet had a way of pushing one another's buttons. They were friends, no doubt about that, but they did have a rather unusual way of expressing it.
Cora breathed a silent sigh of relief as she and Robert watched Carson help her mother-in-law into the motor. It had been a rather tedious dinner. Edith has just recently left with Rosamund for a so-called sabbatical to the continent, and no one seemed to know why. No one, that is, except for Violet. The Dowager Countess had remained strangely silent on the subject, which wasn't at all like her. It struck Cora as odd that the normally sharp-tongued Dowager didn't offer a single opinion on the matter. Cora thought the entire situation odd, to be honest. Something was going on with Edith; she just wished she knew what it was. Robert's voice brought her out of her reverie.
"Are you ready to go in, darling? It's a bit chilly out tonight."
An idea suddenly popped into Cora's head. "Not just yet," she answered. "Let's go for a walk first."
Robert looked up at the sky, noticing the ominous looking clouds that gathered there. "I don't know, Cora. It looks as if it might rain."
"Just a short walk. Please, Robert. We've hardly had anytime to ourselves since you're return from America. Please?" Her face took on a look she knew her husband was powerless to resist. Robert narrowed his eyes, knowing he had been had.
"Oh, alright," he conceded, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his arm. "A short walk."
The two ambled down the driveway, headed for their usual path. Cora thought of all the walks they had taken over their thirty-three years of marriage. It was one of her favorite parts of the day. They talked of everything and nothing, just the two of them. She smiled at the memories playing through her mind, secrets they had shared, stolen kisses when they thought no one was looking. She startled Robert when she suddenly halted.
"Cora, what is it?" he questioned, concern evident in his voice.
"Kiss me," she said, stepping closer to her husband.
"What?" his brow furrowed, wondering what on earth had come over her.
"Kiss me," Cora repeated, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his chest. She looked up at him, her blue eyes bright with love and mischief.
Robert couldn't help himself. He captured her lips in a fiery kiss, bringing his hands up and placing them on either side of her face. Cora ran her hands up and down his back as Robert began to run his fingers through her hair not mindful of ruining a design it had taken Baxter a half hour to arrange. The two stayed just as they were for untold minutes until Robert felt a drop of rain hit the top of his head. He reluctantly broke the kiss, looking up. "We had better get back inside, my dearest."
"Oh, lighten up, Robert," Cora chided. "It's only a drop of rain." No sooner had the phrase left her mouth than the proverbial bottom fell out. Buckets of rain seemed to pour from the sky, drenching the pair within a matter of seconds. Robert grabbed his wife's hand and tried to pull her in the direction of the house.
"Come on, Cora!" he shouted, raising his voice to be heard over the downpour. However, as he went to sprint toward the front door, he was pulled backward slightly when Cora didn't so much as budge. He turned to her, incredulous. "Cora! We need to get out of the rain. Come on!"
Cora only shook her head and uttered three little words. "Kiss me again."
Robert couldn't believe what he was hearing. She wore no coat, and her dinner dress was sleeveless. She had to be freezing. "I'll kiss you again when we're inside, dearest one. You'll catch your death if we stay out here much longer."
She wound her arms around him once again. "You worry too much," she responded. "Just one more kiss."
Against his better judgment, Robert kissed his wife. He could feel by the way her hands threaded their way into his hair just how much she wanted him. Truth be told, he wanted her, too. His lips left her mouth and made their way down her delicate jaw line, her neck and across her collarbone. She sighed audibly at his attentions, the fact that the rain was soaking them the furthest thing from her mind. She tilted her head to give her husband greater access to her neck.
"You know," she mused, "the bench is just right over there."
Robert paused and looked over his shoulder, a smirk twitching on his lips. "You wicked little minx," he growled, tightening his grip on her waist. Cora only giggled, leaning further into him. "You know," he continued, "if I can convince my beautiful wife to come inside where it's warm, we could…" here he whispered his desire in her ear. He watched as her eyes lit up, and had to run to keep up with her as she finally hurried toward the house, eager to begin the rest of their evening.