Warning!
This chapter contains adult content and if there is any possibility of being upset or offended, skip it. There will certainly be a PG-rated recap of the most important events at the beginning of the next chapter.
Both Miss Flossy and Lady Legrace have read this and judged that it's okay to post this here as is, so I'll go ahead with it.

Sorry to anyone who was annoyed that this left off at a delicate place. I could not for the life of me get the correct tone for this scene for days. Many thanks to Miss Flossy for supportive mentoring during my email whining about lack of inspiration and lambs (or kittens) who passed for men! And thanks to Lady Legrace to for mentoring as well.

I was looking for something to show Pullings in a passionate light, and the only thing I could come up with was when he shouted at Stephen during the mumps epidemic. Of course, mumps are pretty harmless in children, but in grown men, it can render them permanently impotent. Scary thing for anyone!
"And as he was disentangling himself from the belaying-pins he happened
to loop a fancy-line about his ankle and walk off with it until his old friend
Tom Pullings bawled 'Stop playing with that fancy-line, and go below' with
a ferocity that might have daunted Beelzebub."
The Ionian Mission

Time and Privacy

Once up in her room with the door locked and the soft evening breezes wafting the floor length curtains, Tom Pullings was impatient to have her in his arms but also worried that he was perhaps pushing her a bit too fast. "My dearest, loveliest Rose," he said, taking both her hands and pressing a kiss first on one wrist, then the other. "You must know I have nothing to offer you. I am a mere lieutenant with not even ten guineas a month."

"Now you are merely hinting for compliments and want me to tell you what a fine-looking man you are and that a girl couldn't ask for more," she teased. "Know that I have no interest in ten guineas or a hundred thousand guineas. If I wanted, I could have all that and more. All I want is to feel safe and to feel loved. Can you offer me that?"

A little smile and he nodded. "With all my heart." Their gaze held, and she smiled as well, flushing gloriously and glittering like the stars to which he had earlier likened her.

"Now, sir." She began to unbutton his waistcoat, which seemed to him at that moment like an excellent idea. "I know very well how proud you are of your blue coat, but I am afraid I must ask you to take it off, at least for a little while."

For a moment, he just watched her hands as they moved down from one button to the next. "As my lady wishes," he said in a voice so husky that he had to clear his throat. She finished with the buttons and then moved back slightly and she stood watching with a smile as he shrugged his coat off and set it on the back of a chair.

As his waistcoat followed his coat and he began to unravel his neckcloth, she kicked off her shoes and reached up to the plain white buttons on the front of her gown. Like other ladies who had no maid, she wore easy clothes that fastened in front, and he watched her almost mesmerized as her hands moved down the front of her gown. One by one, the buttons opened. He yanked his shirt over his head and off quickly so as not to miss a fraction of a second. Finally, she slipped the lavender cotton gown off her shoulders, and then down off her hips, and let it pool around her feet on the floor.

Underneath, she wore a simple cotton shift and he swallowed hard. The garment was fitted at the top and supported her bosom, and thus he could see how full and ripe her white breasts were and how her still-slim waist and rounded hips completed her softly voluptuous figure. As badly as he wanted to get his hands on her, he stood motionless, watching as hypnotically slowly she reached up to remove her hairpins. His eyes followed her every move, and she shook her head, sending a cascade of silky red hair down over her shoulders. For a second, he stopped breathing and fought the urge to rip off the cotton shift and ravish her.

Taking a step closer, she slid her hands up, brushing lightly over the fine dark hair that coated his chest, and he shuddered at the sensation. "Rose, you don't know how I want you."

"You will have to show me," she replied in a low, caressing tone, and another thrilled tremor ran through him.

Unable to contain himself for another instant, he seized her in his arms and, lifting her off her feet, carried her over to the high featherbed and tossed her down in the middle of it. Her first response was to gasp, but she began to giggle a little. He leapt up beside her kicked off each shoe onto the floor. "Now, my lady, shall I unwrap you from that pretty shift like some fair parcel?"

"Are you certain you can manage the buttons?" she asked, her eyes dancing with devilish brilliance.

There were tiny buttons on the front of it, and he felt far too clumsy and was afraid of breaking them off. Instead, he grasped the garment by the hem and dragged it up, baring her body to his eager eyes. Laughing and breathless, she helped him, sitting up, wriggling out of it, pulling it off over her head, then lying back down and flipping her hair over the pillows.

He did not know where to put his hands first and instead just devoured her with his eyes. She was very fit but with a soft, round body made for a man's pleasure. "My God, woman," he swore. "You are the fairest sight I have ever yet seen."

"Even after all those children," she laughed, but his words obviously pleased her greatly. At first she let him look his fill, then she reached out for him, drawing him to her with almost as much eagerness as his. Half on top of her, feeling her warm, soft flesh pressed against him, he kissed her, but hard this time, and hungrily. No protest did she make, nor did she surrender limply; rather, she kissed him back with a heat and a passion just as strong as his own.

With a groan, he shifted and struggled out of his breeches and silk stockings, not caring where they fell. Leaning his weight on one elbow, he reached his other hand to her soft, full breasts as gently as he could manage. She sighed in pleasure, and he watched her flushed, sweet face as she closed her eyes.

Paramount in his mind was to see that she enjoyed it. Without restraint, he knew he could selfishly abandon himself in the moment, but that was not what he wanted. Slowly and gently, he told himself. Her arms reached for him and pulled his head down a little to bring his mouth down to her breasts, so he lowered his head to lick and suckle at her nipples. She gasped, cried out, and squirmed. "Oh, Tom!"

Again, he shifted till he knelt above her. With both hands, he caressed her perfect breasts and suckled at one then the other, listening to her little moans to judge what she liked. "Do I please you, my sweet?" he asked in her ear.

"Yes, yes," she gasped, then took hold of one of his hands and guided it down over her belly to her thighs and then in between to stroke her petal-soft flesh there. "Like that." She guided his fingers to show him where and how she liked to be touched.

When he had gained the rhythm and stroked her the way she showed him, she let go of his hand and he continued on his own. Now, she was squirming back and forth and uttering fantastic little cries that aroused him more and more. "Don't stop," she begged.

"Mmmm, never," he murmured as he leaned again to capture a nipple in his mouth. Instinctively, he wanted her now, he ached to climb on top of her and take her, but she wanted this, and this was what he would give her, for as long as she wanted.

Time had ceased and he rubbed her, stroked her, made love to her with as much gentleness as he possessed. Her ever-increasing arousal was evident, and he knew she would soon reach her climax. The thought both thrilled and excited him: he wanted to please her but he also relished the control he had over her, knowing that it was his ministrations that were going to give her the ultimate release.

Finally, she opened her eyes which were hugely dilated. "Stop, stop," she gasped.

Immediately, he stopped and sat up to look at her. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked worriedly, cursing himself for his rough, callused hands.

"No, no. I want to get on top of you. Lie back now," she asked him urgently in a husky voice.

For a second, he stared at her, not actually comprehending what she had said. On top of him?

She sat up and pushed him back, and he finally realized what she wanted. He grinned at her as she looked down at him with her hair covering her like a curtain. Her hands ran over his chest, and then she swung one leg over his waist and sat astride him. He reached to help her as she grasped his swollen shaft and pushed herself down atop him. With a deep sigh, her soft flesh enveloped him and she leaned forward to kiss him. Deeply, with his tongue caressing hers, he kissed her back. The lady was far more experienced than he had realized, he knew as she raised her head and took a deep breath after the kiss.

His hands closed gently around her breasts and she propped her left hand against his shoulder for balance as her other hand moved down to rub herself. Craning his neck, he was able to take her nipples in his mouth, one and then the other, and he teased the hard nubbins with his callused fingers. Rose was flushed, gasping and wiggling, and the sensation for him was immensely exciting, both the sight of her in the unselfconscious throes of passion, the gorgeous little sounds of pleasure she made, the soft, warm scent of her, the ripe breasts in his hands, and the feel of her moist flesh around him.

In this position, he could hold out for a long time, so he did nothing to rush her. In fact, he wanted so much to see her find pleasure that he pushed away his own aching need and concentrated on her. Patiently, he caressed her, nibbling and squeezing. Her breaths were coming fasts, in little gasps, and then she stopped breathing altogether, and he knew that she was on the brink.

A feral cry of pleasure welled up in her throat and she threw her head back. Grasping her firmly by the hips, he drove up into her and she responded with another lovely cry of pure pleasure. Holding firmly to his shoulders, she rode him, her body slithering like a serpent. "Yes," she gasped. "Oh, Tom…"

Her eyes opened and focused on him, gazing into his face with pure love and bliss. She was beautiful, too beautiful by far, and precious beyond all things. Her movements slowed a little, her shudders became further apart.

Clasping her tightly in his arms, Tom held her against his chest, and without separating where they were joined, swiftly flipped her onto her back. The lady was completely disoriented and gasped in surprise, but then looked up at him with a sweet smile. Now in control, he covered her mouth with his and began to thrust into her gently. Her fading climax eased back into a building one.

"Oh, gods! Tom! Faster!" she pleaded, arching up to him.

He was able to control himself long enough to watch her blessed face as he pleasured her. She was flushed, eyes closed, her lips parted and so inviting. Tense, trembling, on the verge of release, he held himself back, controlled himself, forced her towards the monumental climax that was building. On the razor's edge now, they felt the touch of the other's soul. Then, she whimpered, and her whole body convulsed as the second more powerful orgasm shook her. She wailed, a long keening cry of wild release as he took her as hard as he dared.

She opened her eyes, mindless with ecstasy. "Tom," she breathed, looking at him with love and passion and complete surrender. "Tom, my love."

He grinned down at her. "Do you love me?"

"Yes, by the stars!" She dug her fingernails into his shoulders.

"Say it, my sweet, tell me, please."

"I love you, Tom. Yes, yes, oh! Tom, I love you."

With a sound between a gasp and a growl seemingly torn from within him, he fell atop her and forgot all else as he abandoned all thought and knowledge in the supple, perfumed heat of her flesh and took her hard, rutting like an animal. Rose was all he knew and all his mind could hold. Hardly even aware of what was occurring, he felt the moment of climax and cried out hoarsely as he emptied himself inside her. My Rose was his only thought, his intoxicating female, his lover, his woman was the only thing that existed in the world, was all that mattered…

Like floating in a dream, he became aware again. Under him, she was breathing slowly, and he could feel her soft and warm. Her scent filled his senses, and her arms held him, gently stroking his back. It was a dream he had had before, more than once, but there was something about it this time that was different. He clung to the blessed dream, knowing that any minute he would have to get up for the morning watch.

From far away, he heard the sound of a sigh and felt her move. That wasn't part of the dream. No dream at all, he realized…

Tom's eyelids fluttered and he tried to speak. In that moment, he was so vulnerable, so purely himself, and her heart began to ache deeply. She eased him gently onto his side. He was not quite conscious, and she sat gazing upon him for a moment, then got up and moved about the room, putting out the lamps and cleaning herself up a bit.

The air was cool and when she came back to bed, she pulled the coverlet up over him before lying down next to him. Only partly aware of his surroundings, Tom felt the delightful warm, soft creature nesting against him. Both needing her and wanting to possess her, he wrapped his arms around her and shifted more comfortably. The brush of her lips against his face made him open his eyes in another little flutter. "Rose, I love you," he murmured, nearly inaudible. And then his slow, deep, even breaths signaled that he was asleep.

An emotional tightness constricted her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut as she fought tears. The dreaded days ahead had just become even more immensely complicated than they had been before. Safe, she was, though, safe here with him, at least for this night, safe and loved. Feeling his strong arms around her and the steady beat of his pulse, she lay awake trying to preserve the feeling.