Hi friends!Sorry for the wait. It took me longer than planned to complete my entry for Age of Edward contest, and a few days to get my head back into this story.
I am grateful to LovePotionsBrewer for being my beta and sending me the corrected version back so quickly.
Chapter-8
(Present)
Spending the whole night wrapped up in Edward's arms is a wonderful experience. Anthony used to cuddle, but he always left some time during the night. No matter how early I woke up in the morning, he would be gone.
Edward is in no hurry to leave me, clearly. In fact, he is the one who wakes me up, dropping soft kisses on my face and neck, while his warm hands fondle my breasts and my belly. Sometime during the night my gown must have bunched up, for I can feel Edward's cloth-covered erection against my behind. When his finger slips inside my warmth, I moan.
"Edward, it is morning."
He smiles against my neck. "I know, my love."
"We should get up. Breakfast…uh, you said…"
He adds another finger, and the movement makes me lose the track of my thoughts. What did I want to say?
"There is time yet, Bella. It is too early right now. Meanwhile, I want to have the pleasure of pleasing you."
"But we are not…uh, supposed to do this in the morning, are we?"
He chuckles, the sound making the back of my neck vibrate. "We can do this any time we want to, love. The only important thing is—do you like it?"
I want to lie, but evidently my mouth is not obeying my mind. It may have to do something with the heat spreading through my body, of course. His fingers, his lips and his hardness—all are combining to produce sensations that are making coherent thought impossible. I give up trying to voice my objections and lose myself to pleasure.
I must have slept, for when I open my eyes again, I become conscious of the warm weight of an arm across my front and the hardness of a bare chest against my back. Slow, even breaths lead me to believe that Edward is still asleep. Curious, I turn around to face him and study his features, taking advantage of his closed eyes.
Edward is beautiful. There is no other word for it. I had never noticed before how long his eyelashes are, but in sleep they brush his high cheekbones. His nose is not quite straight, yet it does not spoil the symmetry of his face. His hair, carefully brushed back during the day, falls over his forehead in an unruly fashion.
I have never had the opportunity of studying his face this well earlier. In fact, I never even had the chance of studying Anthony's face this well. When we were alone in my chamber, there was no light. And during the day when there was light, he was busy with his duties. We usually had breakfast and dinner together, but then there were always servants around. It would have been very awkward had I stared at him openly!
There is a slight scruff on Edward's cheeks. It tempts me to touch him. I want to know how it feels.
Cautiously I lift my hand and let my fingertips trail over the stubby hair. It feels rough, the same roughness that I had felt against my skin the previous night. Just recalling the sensations I had experienced while his lips were wrapped around my nipples makes me flush with pleasure.
Oh, his lips! They are unusually full for a man, but his strong jaw balances them nicely. Nobody can accuse Edward of having a feminine face, in spite of his beauty.
Unthinkingly, my fingers trace the outline of his lips, remembering how firm they are, but also soft. Kissing him is another pleasure I am learning to like rather quickly.
Suddenly his mouth opens and my finger is trapped between his teeth. I gasp sharply. His eyes are open and laughing at me.
"When did you—I thought you were asleep, my lord."
"I was," he answers, releasing my finger, "until your perusal of my lips woke me up from a most enjoyable dream."
"Oh, I am sorry." What could he have been dreaming of? Someone he had met in France?
He shakes his head. "Don't be. The reality was even more enjoyable. Exploring your body in a dream was nothing in comparison to seeing you in front of me in the flesh."
I blush again at his frankness. "Really?"
"Really, my darling. I dreamt of you more or less every night while I was in France. Sometimes you were a light shining in a dark forest and I would try to get close to you, only to lose you amidst the trees. In other dreams I would see you standing near the edge of a cliff and would run to save you, only to miss your hand by inches while you toppled backwards. There were a few where we would be riding together, or talking and laughing, or making sweet love." He sighed, his eyes serious. "Those were the most painful ones."
"Because they reminded you of the past?" However brief that past was, it was something I had thought about again and again while Edward was abroad and Anthony had become a stranger to me.
"No, because they always ended when I woke up, making me realise that you were far away from me. When I woke up just now, I thought it was another dream."
"So what made you realise it was not?"
His smile is somewhat teasing. "Your smell. In my dreams, I could never smell you."
"Oh." I am mortified. "I apologise, my lord. I will take a bath as soon as possible. I had not realised—" I try to sit so I can leave the bed.
To my surprise, he laughs and pulls me closer until my body is flush against his. "First, I asked you to call me Edward. And second, I love your smell." He runs his nose along my shoulder, ending up in my neck. The tickling sensation makes me giggle and squirm.
"Stop squirming, darling, or I will have to take matters in my own hands," he groans. It puzzles me until I feel him growing hard behind me.
"Oh," I say again. I am curious as to what exactly he means by taking matters in his own hands, but I am not sure I want to know.
"Um, I think we should rise, my—Edward," I suggest, catching myself in time. "The morning light is getting stronger. Soon it will be time for breakfast."
"Hmm, my Edward. I like that." His voice is a low murmur against my skin. Seductive, inviting.
"Edward, please let me go." I really do not want to face James' barbed words first thing in the morning.
"Call me my Edward again, and I will."
I can't help laughing. He is behaving like a child!
"My Edward."
He laughs too. It is a joyful sound.
"All right. Let us go face the ogre then." He sits up, and so do I. "Although, you can break your fast in the parlour, if you like. No need to see his unpleasant face if you can avoid it."
I make a face. "I would much prefer it, but I don't want you to face him alone either."
Strange as it seems, I already feel as if we are a team.
After Edward makes sure that I truly do not mind, he leaves me for his own chamber and bath. He also promises to ask Jasper to send Alice to me.
However, the moment he steps outside, Alice comes in. She must have been waiting for us to wake up.
Quickly she builds up the fire and arranges for my bath to be brought in. The hot water has rose petals floating in it, sending up a very pleasant fragrance. Once the maids have left, I disrobe and submerge myself in the water. Alice takes a washcloth, soaps it and cleans my back. She has offered to do my whole body many a times, but I refuse every time. The thought makes me uncomfortable.
While I do the rest, Alice washes my hair. This is something I enjoy. The sensation of her fingers on my scalp is so soothing.
My mind immediately goes back to the night I have spent with Edward, the words of love he bestowed upon me, the kisses his lips rained upon me, the caresses he—
"My lady, may I be bold enough to ask you something?"
Her voice brings me out of my dream-like state.
"Of course, Alice. What is it that you want to ask?"
She hesitates.
"You can ask me anything, Alice. I won't mind."
"My lady, are you happy?"
Well, I had not expected this.
"Yes, of course I am happy. Why do you ask?"
She pours a mix of diluted vinegar and rosemary tea on my hair, combing it with her fingers at the same time. It gives shine to the hair and adds a pleasant fragrance.
"It is nothing. I had never seen you smile by yourself, that is all."
"What do you mean, Alice?" I focus on removing the lather from my skin.
"During the years I have spent with you, I have seen you smile with happiness only when you are speaking with Miss Lizzie. You also smiled when you had guests in the house, but that was a different smile. After his lordship passed away, I thought you would never smile again; you were that sad." I indicate that I have finished my bath, and she helps me stand and wraps me in a large towel. Another, thinner towel goes around my hair.
When my skin is dry and I am sitting on a stool in a robe, Alice begins to brush my hair carefully. "My lady, I was not sure if this marriage was to your liking. But today, I saw you smile even though nobody was here to see it. You looked happy. And Lord Masen, when he came out of your room, was smiling too. It led me to believe that perhaps you are not unhappy in this marriage. That is why I asked you."
Soft as her words are, they fall upon me with the harshness of a deliberate taunt. I jerk my head and wince when the brush pulls at my hair.
"Do you think I should not be happy this soon, Alice?" My tone sounds curt even to my own ears.
Her eyes widen so she looks almost scared.
"No, of course not, my lady. I am glad that you are pleased with this marriage, truly I am!"
I worry that I reminded her of her previous mistress. I know that she was verbally abused by her, maybe physically too, though Alice hasn't said so in words.
Besides, it is not her fault. Anybody who sees me will wonder how I could weep broken-heartedly for Anthony for days, and then suddenly appear cheerful and smiling.
I am wondering too.
"It is all right, Alice. I know you did not mean anything like that." I say as gently as possible, and see her shoulders relax.
"Can you move near the fire, my lady?" she asks eagerly. "It will help your hair dry faster. Then I can pin it up. Would you like a few curls on the side?"
I agree, and we move closer to the fireplace. Alice gets busy with my hair while I debate whether I should join Edward and James for breakfast. However arrogant and pompous James might be, Anthony was his son. He may have insisted on this wedding to secure the estate, but that does not mean he wants to see me looking happy.
What is wrong with me anyway? I have not spent a full day with Edward yet, and yet I am affected by him. Was my grief for Anthony a complete lie? Was I only afraid of spending my life alone, much as Edward's mother has?
Now that the uncertainty is over, now that I have a husband again, have I shed that grief like a snake sheds old skin? Am I that shallow?
I was sure that I was only doing my duty in marrying Edward. I had expected no pleasure to be gained, in my bed or out of it.
Either I was wrong in thinking that I had no feelings left for him, or I am wrong now, in allowing myself to feel something for him. Which is it?
Is my heart changing because of his sweet words?
It is quite possible. For years there was nobody who would shower compliments upon me, call me sweetheart and tell me that he would do anything for me. On the contrary, I was as lonely in this mansion as I would have been had I lived in a dark forest. Yes, I had Lizzie, and I visited my parents occasionally, but they could not fill the void in my heart.
And now Edward is here, making his feelings clear for me, saying sweet things and bringing me the pleasure that I had not known before. It is making me a mite giddy.
Yet I must be careful of my behaviour in front of other people. I have a reputation to preserve, after all, the one Anthony was careful not to tarnish while he was alive.
With this resolve in my heart, I go to the dining hall. Edward and James are already there, though they have not begun eating. Indeed, it seems to me that they had been having a conversation not meant for my ears, for both of them stop speaking instantly. I keep a neutral expression as I greet them.
The meal is more or less a silent one, punctuated only by a yes or a no when the maids ask if they should serve more of a particular dish. I am glad when it is done and I can escape to my room.
Edward follows me, informing me that he and James are going to Forkton, to check how much progress there has been in the wool-making factory. They want to have a word with the people working there too, to assure them that their jobs are secure.
He leaves after a chaste kiss, whispering that he is looking forward to the night. However much I remind myself that I am only doing my duty, his words send a thrill through my body.
A.N. : Please head over to the Age of Edward Contest 2015 and read and review the entries. Voting begins on the 10th of January!
There are more contests coming up as well. Straight Thru the Heart, Control Possess Seduce, and the Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey Cheaters Contest. If you are interested in entering in any of them, do go check the dates.
Happy New year!