The days quickly turned into a week before their eyes, and they were suddenly well into their honeymoon. They had been all over the city, sightseeing, shopping, and eating everything in sight. He had surprised her with two operas, which she loved every moment of, and he even surprised her with an extremely fancy dinner one night.
At present they were walking through the Louvre, which was utterly fascinating. They held hands as they viewed someone the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures, and Maria felt that she had been transported to another time altogether. She had never been one for museums, if she were honest, but something about being there with her husband made her see everything with new eyes.
He excused himself to the bathroom while she perused a new display of sculptures. She had heard bits and pieces of a conversation at the opera that this new display was very controversial. Some found it to be too risqué, and a lot of people had been offended by the work. On the same hand, a lot of people found it compelling and cutting edge. She was intrigued by whatever art could bring such controversy, so she walked ahead a bit without Georg.
They had phoned the children before leaving the hotel that morning, and she was missing them terribly. As much as she loved the alone time with her husband, she wouldn't necessarily have minded going home to the children either. Her whole life she had wished for a real place to call home and a real family, and she was feeling a bit homesick for it all.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks as she approached the sculptures. Her eyes widened at the sight; a man and woman joined at the hips in passion, her head thrown back and her hands upon her own breasts. Maria nearly giggled like a child in discomfort and raised a hand to her mouth, unable to believe what she was seeing. She turned to the next sculpture, which was very much the same, only the woman was on top of the man, his hands holding her thighs. Without meaning to be so intrigued, she was.
Her sexual education was not much. Aside from whatever she saw from the animals while growing up on a farm, the occasional self exploration, or filthy description of an escapade from her roommate at teaching school, she really had only known the most basic details when she married Georg. As she looked at the sculptures before her, it was clear that there were still so many things she didn't know; so many different ways a man and woman could fit together.
"My apologies for taking a moment. I've never known a men's restroom to have such a line." He wrapped his arm around her as he returned to her side, but she only continued looking at the art before her, the man taking the woman from behind. "What in heavens name are we looking at?"
"I think you know."
"Yes, of course." They walked to the next sculpture. The woman was on her knees before the man, his hands tangled in her hair as she used her mouth on him. Maria's face flushed upon the realization of what exactly the art depicted, and she suddenly felt sweat prickle on the back of her neck.
"I believe I've sufficiently embarrassed myself, Georg." He laughed, placing a gentle kiss upon her cheek and leading her away.
"Are you alright, darling?"
"Of course I am, they're only sculptures." She laughed, calming herself as they walked past some landscape paintings, which proved to be a much safer place for her eyes. "I do find myself quite intrigued though. Do you like those things?"
"What things?" He was obviously trying to avoid her topic of conversation, but being in a place where there was a language barrier and hardly anyone around, she felt a sense of freedom to speak her mind.
"The ways that couple was making love." He scoffed, looking around to see if anyone was listening.
"I would hardly call that making love."
"It certainly wasn't lacking passion. What would you call it then?" He shrugged, the tiniest smirk upon his lips.
"Fucking?"
"Georg!" She slapped his arm, looking around to be sure he wasn't heard. He clearly was trying to rattle her, which she did not appreciate. "Shame on you."
"Well what would you call it?" He laughed at her reaction, taking her hand in his as they made their way out of the museum.
"I don't know, but not that. It was certainly lustful, primitive maybe." They walked across the street, making their way back toward the hotel to freshen up before dinner. "Have you done all those things before?"
"Maria..."
"Do you want to do those things with me?"
"Maria, please."
"What? I should have the right to know what you like."
"This is a conversation for another time."
"You've never thought about me putting my mouth on you like that?"
"This is turning into gutter-talk, and I simply will not have this conversation in the street!" His words were quiet, but forceful. She felt as if he were scolding her like he would one of the children, and that touched a nerve within her.
"You'll talk about fucking in a museum, but not making love in the street?" He was clearly frustrated, but shook his head when he replayed her words, stopping their movement to look at her, his eyebrows raised. She couldn't believe what had come out of her mouth either, nor the venom that drenched her words. She had never spoken with such harshness toward him, even when they had argued in the past. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
He didn't respond, he simply tightened his grip on her hand and led her the rest of the way to their hotel in silence. She could tell he was angry by the way he pulled her. He wasn't being rough by any means, just purposeful. She wasn't sure what the source was for her own frustration, if she was honest. She supposed married life intimidated her in many ways, especially when it came to intimacy. Her parents died when she was too young to remember much about them, and her aunt and uncle's marriage was full of arguments that resulted in verbal and physical abuse. It occurred to her that she truly had never had an example of a marriage, and no idea what to expect from a good one, when she agreed to marry Georg.
Upon their arrival to the hotel, he nearly dragged her into the elevator, causing her to become even more angry at his handling of her. While they hadn't spoken since her apology, he was clearly holding himself back. Her anxiety was beginning to peak as they walked down the hallway to their room, where undoubtedly he was going to yell at her and tell her how improper and inappropriate she was, how embarrassing she had been to him; how much he regretted taking her as his wife.
They entered their room, him quickly pulling her inside. Before she had time to think, he shoved her against the door, slamming it with her body, as his lips crashed against hers. She gasped in surprise, but felt her body melt into his as his tongue penetrated her lips. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, his obvious excitement pressing against her already. Her head was spinning delightfully as he worked quickly to free himself of his jacket, pulling her with him as he backed toward a plush chair in the sitting area. He bit her lip as he pulled away, a bit too hard, but she found that she quite liked it at the same time. Her heart was pounding at the intensity of her own desire. He pulled away from her, leaving her breathless, as he sat down in the chair.
"The positions you saw today require you to take control." He sat back in the chair waiting, and suddenly her heart dropped. She had no idea what to do next, her breathing still heavy with lust. What she did know is that he expected her reaction, and somehow if she didn't step up to the challenge, he would delight in the fact that he had won. She squinted her eyes at him, noting his slight amusement.
Without another thought, she dropped to her knees in front of him, quickly unbuckling his belt and working to remove him from the confines of his pants. She didn't look into his eyes, but she could tell that he was surprised, and extremely aroused as she pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles, not even bothering to fully remove them. She had no idea what she was doing, but before either of them could think, she took him fully into her mouth.
He groaned, his head falling back and his body tensing beneath her. She slowly pulled away, taking him in once more to an equally intense reaction; obviously he liked it when she did that, so she gained a bit of confidence. She pressed her tongue against the bottom of his shaft, enjoying the noises he was making under her control. She vaguely thought that a month ago she would have been disgusted by her own actions, but there she was enjoying every moment of pleasuring him with her mouth. One of his hands came to rest in her hair, guiding her in a more fluid motion. After a moment longer he pulled her hair gently, removing her mouth from his body.
His eyes were dark, and she knew exactly what he needed in that moment. She stood, pulled her panties down her legs, and straddled his lap, pushing her skirts out of the way and taking him in fully. She hadn't realized just how aroused she had become herself, and her body was more than ready to connect and react.
She moved, quickly finding her rhythm, as his hands moved under her dress to caress her bare backside. His fingers dug into her flesh, and she leaned down to kiss his neck, biting at his pulse point as he had done to her before. Suddenly he reached for their connection, rubbing his thumb agains her and eliciting a gasp from her lips. She came before she could even comprehend her body's reaction, doing her best to continue her movement, as he pulsed and let go as well.
They lay together for a moment, her face still buried in his neck as they calmed their breathing. He lifted her chin to look into her eyes, placing a kiss upon her lips. He jumped, however, when after a moment she bit his lower lip, just as he had done to her not five minutes before. She released his lip and looked directly into his eyes.
"It would do you well to stop treating me like I'm a fragile, ignorant creature."
"Maria..."
"Don't ever underestimate me." She didn't wait for a response as she stood, disconnecting their bodies. She grabbed her panties from the floor and walked toward the bathroom to clean up and get ready for supper, leaving her husband disheveled and incredibly astounded.