Witchcraft On Your Lips
"This is a ghastly holiday."
Cora laughed merrily at her husband's grumbling. She adored Halloween. And thanks to some magnificent mistake in planning, the pair of them had ended up spending the end of October in New York with Cora's parents.
It wasn't that she enjoyed the spooky things or the monsters or anything scary. But if there was one thing Cora had loved her whole life, it was dressing up. Any excuse for a costume or a gown or an event that let her wear a tiara or anything like that. As a countess, she had more opportunity for it than she would have if she'd married someone else, even a millionaire here in New York. But one thing she did not have in her charmed, elegant life at Downton Abbey was this: Halloween.
Cora's parents always threw the most marvelous costume parties her whole life. The last few years, of course, she hadn't been able to go to any of them. Mother would write to her and tell her all about who dressed up as what and all the entertaining and dramatic things that had happened, and Cora always felt left out.
But not this year! This year, she and Robert would be attending together and dressing up, and they were sure to have such fun. At least that was Cora's intention. She had been so excited for all of the pageantry of it that she had forgotten or at least ignored that her beloved husband absolutely detested such foolishness. Anything that lacked dignity was looked down upon and not tolerated. Robert could be such fun and sometimes, when no one was looking, he could be silly and entirely undignified. The fact that Cora got to see all of those sides to him was so much a part of why she loved him.
He was not in that silly, undignified sort of mood today, however. She had arranged for a costume that he could wear. A ghoul of sorts. Mostly just a mask to wear along with his perfectly dignified suit. Robert didn't much like it, but he was tolerating it for Cora's sake. Yet another reason she loved him. He did these things for her when she knew he didn't want to. Robert seemed to always step up to help her family when they needed it, and Cora took it as a real act of love.
"What do you think, darling?" Cora asked when Robert came into her room before the party. Her maid was not quite finished with the final touches of the costume, but Robert always came to sit with her to wait for her to be ready before an event.
Robert was grumpy over the fact that he had to wear a costume at all—and the fact that they had been in New York for more than two weeks already—but he was at least pleasant when he came to Cora. "You look lovely. What are you supposed to be?"
Cora laughed and had her maid put her hat on her head. "I'm a witch, of course." She wore a witch's hat and a black gown. Otherwise, she did not look much different than usual. A mask would have been more traditional, but Cora had very little interest in that. A black dress and a pointed hat would sell the costume just fine.
She grinned and finished the final touches.
"Come on, the party is starting." Cora took Robert's arm and made sure he put his mask on and they made their way down the stairs.
Everyone's costumes and masks were such fun. Cora delighted in making her way amongst the guests and seeing everyone and greeting old friends and meeting new ones. There was a lovely band playing as well, and Cora got to have a few dances here and there.
At last, though, she got Robert to dance with her. Custom dictated that married couples danced with others at parties as a form of socializing, but America was much less rigid in these traditions than England. Cora wanted to dance with her husband, and she would.
"Are you having a nice time?" she asked as he led her in a waltz.
"It's a bit…much," Robert answered diplomatically.
She laughed. "I'm grateful for how polite you've been through all of this. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
He smiled. "Well, I can hardly behave poorly in your mother's house. It's different and difficult, but I would never want to do anything to embarrass you or your family."
"And you never would," she assured him. "You are the Earl of Grantham, and most of the guests here tonight have no idea what that means. But what it means to me is that you are a gentleman, and I am immensely proud to be your wife."
Robert kissed her cheek, even though he probably shouldn't have.
Cora felt a little tingle of recklessness build within her. Maybe that was because it was Halloween, a night of impishness in and of itself. Maybe it was because she's had quite a few glasses of wine tonight. Maybe it was because Robert held her in his arms. Whatever it was, Cora found herself leaning forward to murmur quietly in Robert's ear so only he could hear. "I love when you hold me in your arms while we dance," she told him. "Almost as much as I love when you hold me in your arms while you're inside me.
Robert was so shocked, he stumbled over his own feet.
Cora had already pushed herself past the initial embarrassment of speaking in such a way, and she appreciated her husband's response. And she wasn't ready to stop yet. "The way you move, Robert, it's intoxicating. Your rippling muscles and the thrust of your hips into mine. The touch of your hand is like an electric shock."
He was recovering now, eager to join in on her naughty game, even at this party in front of her mother and the New York elite. "Tell me how you like me to touch you, Cora," he whispered back to her, pulling her body flush against him as they continued to dance
It was definitely the win that caused Cora to speak as she did. "When you drum your fingers over my ribs. When you squeeze my thighs. When your fingers tease me…there."
Robert knew he was going to be shamefully hard by the time they finished this, but he had no desire to dissuade her. Quite the opposite in fact. This party was the last thing he wanted to be at, but having Cora in his arms and speaking to him this way was utterly bewitching. If he didn't know better, he'd think she had cast a spell on him with magical powers from her costume. "What else do you like?" he breathed.
Cora felt a bubbling low in her belly at the prospect of even saying these words. "Your lips and your tongue on my breasts and between my legs and everywhere else. I feel the ghost of your touch hours later, and I love it. It always reminds me that I'm yours."
"And I am yours," he vowed, practically panting with arousal. All concerns about the foolishness of Halloween and the Americans had flown from his mind. All that existed was Cora. Cora in his arms, in that gown, and how he could get her out of it—or at least get himself under it—as soon as possible. "Let's go upstairs," he begged.
"We can't," Cora scolded him. Though on second thought… "But I bet we can find a room somewhere. It's an awfully big house. I'm sure there's a dark, quiet place for us somewhere."
"My god, I love you," he groaned. He gave a subtle thrust against her so she could plainly feel what she did to him.
"Mmm," she hummed in appreciation. Cora took a quick nip of his earlobe as they danced their way to the edge of the room and subtly down the hallway.
Robert practically dragged her up into the first door he could find. Linen closet. Perfect. "Cora, I need you," he whispered desperately before he kissed her deeply, his tongue delving into her mouth.
"Yes, Robert, take me," she begged in between his ardent kisses. They couldn't do much in such a small space with the party right there, but that didn't deter them. Her nimble fingers found their way to his trousers, pulling down the zip so she could free his hardness.
He moaned against her neck as she stroked him. He clutched her hips tightly as he sucked hard against her pulse point, eliciting a breathy groan from her.
"Please," she whispered, needing to feel him deep inside her.
Robert pulled away from her only enough to grab the voluminous fabric of her dress and find his way to her body underneath. He grabbed the back of her thigh and hitched her leg over his hip. She was dripping wet, so he moved the fabric of her drawers aside to thrust into her. Cora shuddered in his arms from the suddenness of his entry. It took everything in him to hold off, to stay still while she adjusted to him. But as soon as she shifted her hips against him and exhaled in a pleasured sigh, he withdrew almost completely and pounded into her in earnest. She met his thrusts with her own, clutching the fabric of his jacket and clinging to him. Her hot breath on his neck was coming in high-pitched pants as he built her up higher and higher until she broke, shattering around him, her body clenching him in rolling waves of pleasure. His pace took on a frenzied rhythm as he followed her to ecstasy.
Their hearts were pounding as they breathed heavily, still holding one another tightly. Robert was softening inside Cora but couldn't bear to part from her just yet. She stood on one leg, leaning against him as her entire body buzzed from her release. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you," he replied breathily. Neither of their voices seemed to work, which was probably just as well.
"We should…" she trailed off.
"Yes," he agreed. They needed to get back to the party. They'd be missed if they were gone too long.
"Does my hat look alright?" Cora asked, trying to straighten herself up.
Robert took a moment to look at her. She did look somewhat ravished. It made him immensely proud to see, knowing he'd brough her to such a state of erotic dishevelment, but it also wasn't proper in the least. He helped put her back to rights and then took a small step back as best they could in the linen closet. "There. Perfect," he proclaimed.
"Thank you." Cora kissed his cheek and then opened the closet door behind him.
They both exited the little room, intending to sneak back to the party without having been noticed. Only they had been noticed.
"Dear god, you two!" Martha Levinson scolded.
Cora felt herself go bright red and she hung her head in embarrassment being caught by her mother. And Cora knew that her mother knew exactly what they had been doing.
For his part, Robert was frozen with shame. Such a scenario had never befallen him ever before. His father had once caught him in a compromising position with Cora in the library, but that was only once and it was a long time ago. Now, Cora's mother knowing exactly what they'd gotten up to was utterly mortifying.
Martha just sighed in resignation. "Just go back out there. But Cora, dear, you've got…"
Cora's hand instantly went to her neck at her mother's pointing. Robert had been kissing her neck. Maybe more than just kissing her.
"New York society has the fortitude for a little love bite," Martha conceded.
Robert was ready for the earth to swallow him whole.
But Cora just took his hand and dragged him back into the fray. "Dance with me," she muttered insistently.
He did as he was told. They did not talk as they went through another waltz. But the music relaxed them a little bit. Cora forgot, as best she could, about the blooming red mark on her neck.
"Happy Halloween, Robert," she said as the band finished the number and everyone applauded.
"I suppose it has been a very happy Halloween, all things considered," he responded.
Cora blushed. "Yes, I think it has. Not such a ghastly holiday?"
"No, perhaps not," Robert agreed.
THE END