She waved to the children as they walked out the gate, on their way to their first day of school. The little ones waved back at her with tears in their eyes from nerves, but she smiled in encouragement. It amazed her that she had originally been planning to leave them all within the next week, but suddenly her place had become permanent. She had never been so pleased to know where she belonged in her entire life.

As she entered the house, she found it to be eerily quiet. No maids or staff members bustling about, and Georg was nowhere in sight. She shrugged, assuming they must all just be otherwise occupied, and she made her way to the kitchen to put on some tea. Georg had suggested that she meet with Frau Schmidt in the near future to determine which household tasks she should be taking over after the wedding. She was glad to do so, especially when the children were away at school. There would have to be something for her to do to occupy her time for her to feel useful, and he would not hear of her working a part time job; he made that perfectly clear when she suggested it.

She sang quietly to herself as she began to make her tea, finding the kitchen completely empty as well. It had been a long time since she found herself alone, and she wasn't sure how to fill the quiet. She didn't mind, really. She had spent a lot of time alone growing up, as making friends never seemed to be her strong suite, no matter how kindly she treated everyone. She was looking through her options of tea leaves when suddenly there was a hand over her eyes. She gasped in surprise, dropping one of the canisters upon the counter.

"I've never seen someone look so sexy making tea." She sighed when she heard Georg's voice, placing a hand upon her chest as he released her. Turning around, she gave him a look of annoyance.

"Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Not at all. I was surprising you." He smiled sheepishly, a glint of humor in his eyes. She sighed and rolled her eyes, giving in immediately as she wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a gentle kiss upon his lips.

"For future surprises, I would suggest not doing so while I'm within arm's length of kitchen knives." He laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her close.

"What are you going to do with your time now that the children are in school?"

"I don't even know. I was hoping to find Frau Schmidt to ask what I can be doing, but I haven't seen a soul since breakfast."

"Ah yes, I sent them all away until suppertime." She looked at him confused, brow furrowed. He had never sent his staff away for the day.

"You did? Whatever for?" He leaned forward to place gentle kisses upon her cheek, slowly trailing to her neck, and causing her to smile at the feeling of his lips upon her skin.

"Well, I thought you and I had never had a chance to truly be alone in the house. I've been craving you." He nibbled at her earlobe, and she laughed, her body warming at the feeling of his hands moving over her backside.

"You sent everyone away so you could have your way with me in the kitchen?" He pulled back to look into her eyes, eyebrows raised.

"You'd do it here? I thought I'd rush you back to my bedroom at least." She shrugged, leaning forward to kiss him, biting gently at his lower lip as she pulled away.

"You did say we're alone, after all." He smiled before lifting her from her feet and placing her upon the counter, the rest of the tea canisters sliding across the marble countertop as he pressed a rough kiss to her lips. She sighed, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him close.

They had missed quite a few nights together the past week, as Marta had been plagued by anxiety over starting school. She had come to Maria's room every night for four nights straight, and it very much derailed any plans they had of spending the night together. She found herself desperately wishing for the day when they would share a bedroom, but knew how completely scandalous it would be if they did so before they were married. The life they were already living was a bit scandalous, especially since she wasn't sure if she was still technically considered his governess or not. She had no other home, so she supposed she could call herself the governess if it meant living there.

She pushed his jacket off his shoulders, as he began unbuttoning the front of her dress, excited for the ease of buttons in the front rather than the back. His warm hands moved beneath her open dress, and he caressed her breasts over the lace of her bra as his tongue entered her mouth. Quickly unbuttoning his shirt, she ground her hips against him in anticipation, already feeling his erection pressing hard against her. He pulled her off the counter, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the island in the center of the kitchen, finding it more height appropriate.

"I've missed you." The heat of his words caressed her neck as he placed gentle kisses all over her skin, moving downward to kiss between her breasts. He pulled her dress and slip over her shoulders, leaving her upper half clad in only her bra as his kiss traveled down her chest. She ran her hands through his hair as he pulled off her shoes. His gentle hands moved up her legs, and she reached down to help him remove her stockings, tossing them to the ground. He laughed as she quickly pulled his undershirt off and began unbuckling his pants at lightening speed. "Am I going too slowly?"

"Yes." She pushed his pants around his ankles, and he stepped out of them, along with his own shoes. She began to reach beneath her dress that was pooled about her waist, attempting to remove her panties, but he stopped her with his own hands.

"No, I get to do that." She raised her eyebrows at his authoritative tone, smiling as he reached beneath her dress and pulled her panties down her legs, slowly to tease her a bit. While she enjoyed taking charge when she could, there was something so sensual to her about the times he was a little more forceful with her. He ran his hands over her smooth legs, pushing up her dress as he lowered his lips to her inner thighs, placing moist kisses along her skin. She nearly lost her breath as she watched him, his hands lifting her dress enough so she could see him as he placed his mouth upon her center, his tongue sliding across her at an agonizing pace.

"My God, Georg." She gasped, her head falling back as he moved against her. His hands gripped her backside as he pulled her closer, and she felt her body fall back against the cold tiles of the island as her hips squirmed beneath his mouth. He suckled gently before thrusting his tongue inside of her, moaning against her as he tasted her arousal.

He had told her once, after she complimented his talents, that most men he knew found it emasculating to pleasure a woman in such a way. It was apparently a very taboo subject in his social circle. She was quite thankful he disagreed with that notion, as he was incredibly talented at sending her soaring with nothing more than the warm flick of his tongue. He knew he could make her come undone immediately if he wanted to, and his arrogant approach would have been quite annoying if it weren't completely true. He was setting her on fire. She gasped when he suddenly pulled away, looking to him immediately in question.

"I need you, right now." He slid his underwear down his legs and pulled her hips toward him, entering her swiftly and beginning to thrust, her body sliding against the tiles from the sweat beading upon her skin. She gripped the edge of the island in her hands, effectively stopping herself from sliding and adding her own friction to his thrusts. She sighed as he ran a hand over her chest, his palm caressing one of her breasts as his other held tightly to her thigh.

He took one of her legs and lifted it to his shoulder, sighs escaping their lips at the depth allowed by the new angle. She felt his fingers digging into her thigh, the pain and pleasure intermixing beautifully as they moved. When she couldn't take it any longer, she sat up and pulled him to her for a deep kiss, tongues battling. He dropped her leg from his shoulder, and she scooted closer to the edge of the counter, pulling him deeper with her legs around his waist.

"Harder, darling." Her voice sounded breathless, and her request was met without hesitation, a breathy moan escaping against his mouth as he rushed to kiss her, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. He reached behind her, unclasping her bra and roughly pulling it from her body, needing to feel all of her against him. She held him close, her bare breasts pressing against his chest as he slammed into her.

He pulled her off the counter, dropping them quickly to the floor, and never breaking their connection as he continued to thrust deeply. His body glistened as he moved over her, his hands sliding across her skin like liquid. She gasped, her walls clenching around him as she began to shake in ecstasy. He quickly reached between them and pressed a thumb against her, near their connection, rubbing circles and intensifying her pleasure in a way that made her cry out for being completely taken off guard. At the sound of her climax, he could no longer hold himself back. A deep moan escaped his lips as he let go, thrusting deeply as his body jolted against hers. She held him tightly as he filled her, his hot skin sliding against her own from the perspiration between them. He gasped, thrusting a few more times before ultimately collapsing on top of her, completely out of breath.

"Oh, Maria. You're going to kill me." She laughed breathlessly, still clinging to his body in the afterglow of their passion, their connection pulsating. She began placing lazy kisses against his shoulder, his neck, anywhere her lips could reach.

"I love you so much." He pulled back to face her, running a hand over her cheek.

"I love you, desperately. I can't wait to call you my wife." She smiled, and he kissed her, slowly and passionately. As he pulled away he began to pull out of her, but she held him close and rolled them over to maintain their connection a bit longer, her body pressed tightly on top of him. She wasn't ready to part yet.

"Stay inside of me a moment longer." She kissed him, feeling his hands gently caress her thighs before resting on her bare backside beneath her dress, which was pooled about their waists.

"This floor is freezing." She giggled, meeting his eyes.

"Yes, and so is the countertop. Some things are worth it." He laughed, but before he could respond with something quippy, Max suddenly appeared around the island, gasping at the sight before him.

"Max, what the hell are you doing here?" Georg nearly shouted as he sat up, Maria hurrying to cross her arms over her chest as he held her upon his lap. She swore she could feel herself blushing all the way from her hairline to her feet to be caught in such a compromising position. Max turned his back to them immediately, his face quite red as well.

"Regretting every decision I've made today."

"You were supposed to be back days ago." He lifted her to pull out, and Maria quickly stood from his lap. She grabbed her bra from the counter and hurriedly began to dress herself as Georg did the same.

"Clearly not for chaperone duties, as I was led to believe!" Maria felt mortified as she buttoned her dress. She could have crawled into a hole and stayed forever, she thought. "Didn't your mother call? She ran into me in Vienna and insisted I wait and drive her."

"My mother? She's here?" Georg stopped dressing from the shock, his eyes wide.

"I thought you weren't speaking to her?" Max laughed at Maria's question, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. She was not at all prepared for meeting her future mother-in-law. She thought she would have considerable time to prepare at least.

"She said she would phone you before I brought her...I'm going to guess she did not." Georg gave a small, gruff groan as he tucked in his shirt.

"We're decent, Max." Their company turned to face them, but Maria couldn't meet his eyes over her embarrassment. She looked to her shoes, running a hand over her hair to make sure it was in place.

"She is quite upset that she learned of your engagement from your sister. She is in the drawing room waiting while I was looking for Frau Schmidt for some tea." Maria took that as her opportunity to put the tea kettle on the fire, hurrying to find a tray and begin putting things together for their company.

"I've relieved the staff until supper time."

"For good reason, I see."

"Max!" Max held up his hands in apology and chucked.

"I'm sorry! We're all clearly embarrassed. Maria's face is the color of a tomato." She turned and gave him a dirty look, but could feel that he was probably correct.

"Georg, I'm not properly dressed to meet your mother. Do I have time to change?" She was wearing a simple dress she had made for the comfort of chasing after the children, not at all expecting company. He nodded, and she rushed from the room, the remnants of their morning escapade making her thighs feel slippery.

"So..."

"None of your business." Georg cut him off with a wave of his hand as he moved to finish putting together the tea tray that Maria started. Max smiled delightedly, moving closer to put a hand upon his friend's shoulder in encouragement.

"How does one get a former postulant into their bed, I wonder?" Georg turned and gave him a frustrated look, but quickly moved away as the kettle began to whistle. There was a moment of silence before Georg chuckled to himself, doing his best to calm his nerves.

"A sufficient amount of inappropriate teasing, I'm afraid." Max laughed, glad they had finally found a better mood. They only hoped it would last.