I just wanted to see you

She sat at the foot of the bed, waiting patiently for her husband to come knocking at the door that adjoined their bedrooms. Her eyes were trained on the candles beside the bed, watching as the light in them flickered. It would only be a matter of minutes now before these candles were blown out for their nightly activities. It was, of course expected, for them to have these nightly encounters. How else would they be able to produce an heir? But no matter how much she expected this, for this to happen nightly, or as often as was possible, this was not quite what she had expected.

She didn't know really what she was expecting, but she did know that it wasn't this. Maybe she had wanted a grand love affair. Maybe she had dreamt of love. Maybe she hoped for it, despite the fact that this had been basically a contract marriage—a marriage bought by her money. A marriage that had been going on for months now but still left her feeling alone and empty.

Months of marriage indeed had not changed the fact that her husband was not in love with her.

And now, she had to face the fact that if it still hadn't happened six months into their marriage, then it probably wouldn't happen anymore. Maybe she had to live the consequences of the actions she'd made.

She heard the door squeak softly, and turned her head up to look at the door. She watched as her husband poked his head through the door and scanned the room for her. She smiled at him when their eyes met, and gestured for him to come in.

"Have you heard the news?" he asked her as he made himself comfortable on one of the settees. He looked up at her with a smile that took her breath away.

She nodded slowly, watching him as he took his shoes off. "Yes, I have," she answered softly. "Rosamund was very excited, although Mama is less than thrilled."

Robert grinned. "Well, that would hardly stop Rosamund," he said in a laugh. "You know her. She would marry Marmaduke even if Mama attempted to drag her out of the church."

She nodded, not really knowing what else to say. She did know Rosamund. She also did know that Rosamund loved Marmaduke the same way Marmaduke loved Rosamund—in a way that Robert didn't, couldn't love her. The thought made Cora's heart break.

"Cora, are you alright?" Robert asked, startling her out of her thoughts. He was looking at her, his visage concerned. "Are you feeling well? Maybe I should—,"

She held her hand up and shook her head. "It's alright, I'm alright," she said, looking at him directly. She smiled at him a little. "I'm feeling well."

He walked over to where she was and took a seat beside her. "If you're not, then I can always spend the night in the dressing room—,"

She placed a finger against his lips. "It's alright, Robert," she said. "I want to." She looked down, biting her lip. She closed her eyes as she felt the blush rise up to her skin, and she could almost hear her heart beating.

She felt his finger tilt her chin up, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself drowning in his beautiful blue eyes. They had always been the ones that had captivated her first about him—amongst many other things.

"Well if you're sure," he said, his voice turning deep and husky, and his accent going cockney, as his lips started to descend unto hers.

"I'm certain," she whispered back, before his lips were on hers, engaging her mouth in a heated kiss.

It didn't take long before the candles that illuminated the room were blown out, and half of their garments were divested—just enough to get the deed done, but not enough to make it feel intimate, not nearly enough to let skin touch skin.

He kissed her again, this time soft and slow. His tongue begged for entrance, one that she granted quickly and eagerly. It was a surprise for her, for him to be taking this long—to tease her. Most of the time, they didn't really take that much time. They just got it done with. After all, this was merely an obligation, not to be done out of pleasure.

"Cora," he gasped. One of his hands was resting on the small of her back, and the other near her clavicle, just above the first button of her night gown. His lips were making a trail on her neck, giving her little shocks of pleasure whenever his teeth would graze her skin.

"Robert," she moaned as she clutched him closer. She realized that both of them were now in the middle of the bed, their chests heaving, and their limbs entangled.

He lifted his head from her neck long enough to give her a kiss, making her smile. But it didn't really take very long for that smile to turn into a frown when he suddenly pulled away from her and disentangled their bodies.

"Robert?" Her once breathy gasp had turned into a question.

He didn't speak instead he moved towards the side of the bed and lit a few candles. He turned to her afterwards and gave her a smile.

"What's going on?" she asked, as she watched his hand reach for her nightgown. "Robert? What are you doing?"

But instead of answering, he only gave her a soft smile and tried to help her out of it. Confusedly, and maybe a little bit dazedly, she let him.

She realized that he was trying to get her fully naked, and though she didn't know why, she only sat in bed as piece by piece, he took her garments off. Once she was divested of all her clothing, she looked at him in question. Her hand came up to cover her chest, and she was almost sure that she was turning red from head to toe.

"What—Why?" she asked as she tried, in a very futile attempt, to cover herself up.

He only smiled and pried her hands away.

"I just wanted to see you," he said.

She wanted to tell him no. For the first time since she married him, she wanted to be the one to say that this wasn't done. She didn't really want to imagine all the thoughts running in his head. There had only been a handful of times that Robert had seen her naked. And on all of the times, the lights had not been this bright.

"You're beautiful," he said as his finger came to caress her cheek. "Never doubt that Cora."

She smiled, letting his sincere eyes calm her raging nerves. She might never believe him, not now, not in this setting, but she appreciated his word, appreciated him trying to calm her nerves.

She lifted her hand and placed it atop his shirt. She fiddled with the first button until it came undone. "Well, then I want to see you as well," she whispered, her voice sounding shaky even to her own ears. He didn't answer, he only helped her get his night clothes off of him.

Cora couldn't really think straight. The sight of his body on top of her, his skin sliding against hers, and his lips leaving her skin blazing as he trailed kisses down her body—it left her head and all her senses spinning out of control. This was somehow different. It felt different.

She knew that she was shaking, her hands were definitely trembling, and at that moment she could never trust her voice to speak. At the back of her head she wondered what he thought of her, of her body, of this. She wondered about what brought this on and why now.

But none of this mattered, nothing else mattered, the moment she felt Robert slide into her. It felt glorious, it always had—and she knew that it felt the same for him, as his moans filled her ears. She could feel herself floating, floating away to bliss at every thrust, and she knew that it wouldn't be long before she would be over the edge. And she had been right. A few more thrusts, and she was done, with Robert following behind her—grunting her name.

He fell against her tired body, but she didn't mind. She liked the feeling of his weight against her, now with his skin sliding against hers.

This night really was different.

"Cora," he said, rolling them over. He settled down in bed, facing her, with his arms still around her.

"Hmm?" she hummed, as she stared deeply into his eyes. The blue orbs held her mesmerized, and she reckon, she'd be mesmerized still for a very, very long time.

"I…" he paused a while, as if trying to find the words. She watched him in anticipation, trying to will him to say the words she longed to hear—but not really expecting him to say it. "Thank you…for being wonderful."

She closed her eyes and let out the breath she had been holding. She couldn't be disappointed now—not after the night they had.

"You were wonderful, yourself, Robert," she said.

He smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her once again before pulling her closer to him, and she basked in the feeling of his arms around her,

Tonight he'd said that he wanted to see her. And she realized that for the first time in months—since they married—he did. He did see her. He really did.

Fin (3/20/15)

Prompt: Cobert + "I just wanted to see you"