"Someone will see." She gasped as he backed her into the kitchen counter, biting at her throat as his hands caressed her backside. She gripped his shoulders, feeling his pelvis press against hers as her stomach caught fire. She opened her eyes for a moment to look out the window, seeing the children far in the distance on the beach as they set up their space for the day.

"I can't keep my hands off you." He palmed her breasts through her robe as he kissed her deeply, their tongues battling for dominance between their mouths.

She had innocently gone to the kitchen to drink a glass of ginger ale before heading to the beach with the rest of the group, when he came out of the bedroom from changing and began to rub her shoulders. The moment everyone else walked out the door, his hands were everywhere. She hardly minded, as her body seemed to constantly burn for him, but she knew they were being irresponsible. She didn't mind the children seeing a kiss or two, but anything more would surely make her heart stop in the moment.

She sighed as his hands untied the waist of her robe, revealing her bathing suit beneath. It was quite modest, per her usual style, but it certainly left nothing to the imagination when it came to her newly forming curves, and he groaned at the feeling of her body beneath his hands. His fingers trailed downward to rub between her legs, and she bit her lip to keep quiet at the sudden sensation. She opened her eyes again and saw that the rest of the group was playing in the sand, not one care in the world to their absence, and she allowed herself to relax a bit as he slipped a warm finger beneath the bottom of her bathing suit to touch her skin.

"Last time we did it in the kitchen…" His kiss silenced her from finishing her sentence, knowing full well that the last time they were intimate in the kitchen was when her friends had walked in on them at her apartment. It felt like so long ago, but she was certain the embarrassment had never quite left her. He kissed down her neck, moving quickly down her body and falling to his knees before her.

"I won't need but a moment." She felt herself blush with his confidence, whether it was in anticipation or because of the fact that she wouldn't need more than a moment either, she wasn't sure. He pulled her bathing suit to the side and parted her with his tongue, a gasp escaping from her lips as he applied the perfect amount of pressure immediately.

"My God, how do you do that?" She gasped, her legs feeling weak in an instant as she held herself steady with her hands upon the island counter behind her. He smiled against her, loving nothing more than the sound of weakness in her voice and her unguarded words as he lapped at her.

It didn't take long at all for her to feel she was nearly panting under his ministrations, his wicked mouth moving against her as if he would never taste her again, savoring every part of her arousal he could reach with his tongue. His mouth moved deeply, sensually, and she bit her lip to keep silent, lying her head back a bit as she felt her knees beginning to give out, her pelvis beginning to pulsate.

"Fraulein Maria, are you still…oh!" She gasped as Liesl's voice reached her ears from behind the counter, and she hurried to push Georg away from her, closing her robe over herself once more as her heart nearly beat from her chest. She turned to meet Liesl and Christopher's eyes in horror as Georg stood from the floor, revealing his position behind the counter with little room left for imagination. And then they were met with the most oppressive silence she had ever heard in her life, all faces hot and red from embarrassment. She felt she could have died in that very moment. She looked at Georg, who was at a loss for words himself, and she felt lightheaded.

"Um…Maria and I were…"

"Don't finish that sentence." Maria's words surprised herself, and he shrugged as Liesl began to laugh through her discomfort.

"I think we were simply all on our way to the beach at the same time. Shall we?" She smiled, Christopher appearing astonished as he took the opportunity and began to rush out the door. Georg took Maria's hand, and she met his eyes in complete alarm as he began to lead her toward the door, grabbing their bag for the beach. Perhaps the rest of them could quickly pretend nothing happened, but there was no way she could. She needed a moment to gather herself.

"I've forgotten my hat." She let go of his hand and rushed to their bedroom as quickly as her feet could carry her, needing to be as far out of sight as possible for a moment. She could have hit him for coming onto her in the open like that, where any one of the children could have walked in. They had been incredibly irresponsible, and clearly were paying the price for it.

She adjusted her bathing suit more comfortably from where he had haphazardly snapped it back into place in their haste to right themselves. She sat upon the edge of the bed, holding her face in her hands as she tried to pull herself together. There was no way she was going to be able to face them again, likely ever, she thought. She felt incredibly humiliated.

"Fraulein Maria?" A knock echoed through the door, and she jumped at the sound of Liesl's voice. She had expected to be left alone for a bit, even Georg would have known to leave her alone. She took a deep breath, shaking her head as she stood to open the door, revealing her future daughter. "I'm so sorry we embarrassed you."

"Oh, Liesl, no. You have nothing to be sorry about…I'm sorry. I suppose we thought everyone was at the beach."

"Obviously." Liesl laughed, but Maria could hardly find the humor. She wasn't sure she would ever stop blushing. "You shouldn't be embarrassed about being so in love."

"Well, that certainly is one way to look at it, isn't it?" She chuckled a bit, bringing her hands to her hips. She sighed before meeting Liesl's eyes with a small smile. "Are you alright?"

"Actually, I…can I…um…oh, goodness." Maria laughed, placing a hand upon her arm in comfort.

"What on earth was that about?"

"Oh, this is so inappropriate." She sighed, shaking her head in frustration.

"I'd say we could be equals in that regard today." She laughed a bit, trying to put her at ease. She was very clearly nervous, a frown line resting between her eyebrows.

"What is it he was doing to you?"

"What?" She didn't realize she could have blushed more than she already had, but her face felt as if it were on fire. She vaguely wondered if anyone had ever fainted from blushing too hard, and she brought her hands to her cheeks to cool them.

"I really don't know much about…intimacy, I suppose. And you seemed like you were enjoying it very much." She ran a hand through her hair, eyes wide with astonishment.

"I will surely faint if I try to have this conversation, Liesl." She felt hot, a bit queasy at the thought.

"I don't want to make you even more uncomfortable, of course, but I haven't had a mother for most of my life. There were so many things I would have liked to know before being married." Maria could completely understand, for having lost her own mother at a very young age, she knew there were many things she would have benefited from knowing, things that only a mother could teach. "And I thought, if you're technically going to be my mother soon…"

"This is our first mother-daughter conversation? We can't start with anything else?"

"This is my current, most pressing matter." Maria sighed, wishing she had the heart to simply say no and walk away from her. It certainly was a tempting solution, but the look on her face told her that the young woman truly was distraught. She knew she couldn't turn her away. Instead, she motioned for Liesl to join her as they sat upon the foot of the bed together. She licked her lips, her hands clasped tightly.

"Um…okay, some people like to pleasure one another with their mouths."

"Like, put their mouths directly on one another?"

"Yes."

"Oh…" She appeared surprised, as if the thought had never crossed her mind. It likely hadn't, thought Maria as she tried even harder to put her nerves aside. While Maria knew she had very little sexual knowledge herself before she met Georg, she wasn't sure she had ever been quite as innocent and unknowing as Liesl. She had at least experienced the world through schooling and the friends she made there. "And it's enjoyable to do that?"

"Yes, quite."

"I'm so shocked. I thought there was only the one way to make love." Maria frowned, unsure what she meant by that. She was a bit concerned that the children had been so sheltered and guarded their entire lives, that perhaps none of them really had received any kind of education on the topic.

"Only one way?"

"You know, where you lie upon your back and wait for it to be over." Maria's eyes widened, but Liesl looked completely serious.

"My goodness, how dreadful. Has it not been enjoyable at all to you?"

"I don't know how it would be. I mean, I do enjoy being with Christopher, and I love him very much."

"But…doesn't your body feel anything special?"

"Sometimes a bit, I don't know. Even now, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with my hands."

"Goodness gracious, Liesl." She ran a hand through her hair, feeling incredibly sorry for her future daughter. "Well, you just touch him."

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want, he's your husband. Move your hands over his back, wrap your legs around him. You're not just there to lie still and take it." She felt a bit frustrated at Christopher, but did her best not to be. She had grown quite fond of him over the past couple of months, but she wished he had shown his wife proper care in bed. Or, she wondered, perhaps he didn't even know himself. "Do you ever try to move on top of him?"

"Like riding a horse?" Maria laughed, taken aback.

"I suppose, but only if the horse is lying on his back."

"It's never occurred to me." She shrugged, looking down at her hands upon her lap. "Why would I do that?"

"Because it feels good. Liesl, it's supposed to be fun and feel good. You're supposed to feel a connection to one another, that's the whole point." Suddenly, Liesl began to cry, covering her hands with her face immediately.

"I know! I swear I connect with him in every other way. I simply have no idea what I'm doing, and I can't get out of my own head, and..."

"Calm down; come here." She pulled her into a hug, comforting her the best she could as they cried together. Maria couldn't help crying along with her, as her hormones had made her quite emotional, even without the young woman crying in front of her.

"I don't know what to do." Sniffling, she pulled away, looking into the eyes of her future mother with hopelessness in her own. "I can tell he knows I don't like it. It's only a matter of time before he doesn't want me anymore."

"He's your husband, he loved you far before you shared a bed. Haven't you talked to him about this?"

"No, I have no idea what to say."

"Say everything you just said to me. Tell him you need something different. Explore your bodies together." She shrugged, unsure exactly what advice she could give that would be of any use. She and Georg had merely fit and were completely compatable from the start. Making love to him for the first time had felt natural and instinctual.

She thought back to her conversation with him upon the beach the night they arrived, where she had surprised him by asking about his history with women. While she had truly felt nervous that he would grow bored with her, just as Liesl was about her husband, she somehow suddenly had a thankfulness about his past conquests. He had the experience to know what to do with her body, and he did it in expert fashion. In that moment her own insecurity seemed silly.

"I just don't know what to do." Liesl sighed, wiping her eyes once more.

"I'll tell you what. Your father and I are taking everyone shopping after lunch. I promise to keep everyone out of the house until five, at least. You and Christopher stay behind and take some time to yourselves."

"I'm not sure how that will help…"

"Start by talking, open up the line of communication. Tell him you know there's a disconnect, and discuss how you both think it should be worked out. Then try it." Liesl smiled a bit, shaking her head.

"Is it better in the kitchen?" Maria gave a short laugh, shaking her head.

"Do it wherever you like. I can assure you, the kitchen is bad luck." She wrapped her arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug before standing. "I promised the boys they could teach me how to build a sandcastle. Shall we?"