You people are the sweetest! Everybody liked how Edward reacted to Lizzie's request, and how caring he is towards Bella.
Milk40 made me laugh with her review, saying all the talk about food made her hungry. :)
Unbeta'ed.
Chapter-16
Edward is busy in his office the whole afternoon, even having his tea there with a visitor. I keep myself busy with sundry tasks, and then I read a book. Somehow, time is passing more slowly than it used to, and my need to see Edward is increasing with every movement of the clock's hand. By the time I am dressed for dinner, I have some idea of what Edward meant by saying he missed me in the morning.
It is not as if I want to discuss anything specific with him. No, that's not true. There is something I am dying to ask him—several questions, in fact—but mostly I just want to see him. His smile, the way he raises an eyebrow while asking me a question, the sound of his soft chuckle, everything draws me in. I want to see him, hear him, and touch him. Simply put, I am craving his company.
I have always dressed for dinner carefully as it is expected from me. But this evening I want to look my best for Edward. I choose a deep rose gown; Alice says it brings colour to my cheeks and makes my eyes sparkle. She might be biased, however.
I enter the dining room to find Edward in conversation with Mr Stanley. But it seems he hears my footsteps, for he pauses and turns around immediately. My favourite smile lights up his face, and I smile back shyly. He nods to the butler and proceeds to meet me half-way to the dining table, taking my hand in his and pressing a kiss on the back of it.
"Isabella, how do you grow more beautiful every time I see you?" he murmurs against my skin, raising goosebumps on my arms. "In the morning you reminded me of Aurora, the goddess of dawn, but now you look as regal as Juno. I feel as if you should be holding court over us mere mortals."
My cheeks feel extraordinarily warm, but I manage to answer him. "If I look like Juno, my lord must be Jupitar, mustn't he?"
He raises an eyebrow, clearly amused, and then throws back his head and laughs loudly. The two maids entering the room with large trays in their hands look at us and smile.
Not too long ago, I would have construed the smiles as sarcastic, but today I see only warmth and happiness. Being happy has certainly changed my perception of others!
Mrs Stanley joins her husband, who is pouring wine for us. To my astonishment, Edward asks her about her daughters, Jessie and Amy, and she beams while telling him how well they are doing in their life.
I didn't even know the Stanleys had any children. It just shows how absorbed I have been in my misery all these years. Granted, none of them had shown to me the openness they display in front of Edward, but I should have made some effort to know them.
The meal proceeds cheerfully, with Edward telling us about his day and his plans for the estate. He is going to invite two young men who had assisted him in the training of horses while he was in France. Obviously he doesn't have as much time as he had then, so while he will supervise the training and choose the horses going for the Derby, the assistants will be the ones doing the daily training.
"We will also recruit boys from nearby villages and towns," he says, his voice strong with enthusiasm. "Besides selling horses, I am also thinking of racing them, and that means we will need our own jockeys. Why not look among the local boys and see if some of them are interested in being trained for this profession?"
All of us agree that it is a good plan. Mr Stanley even suggests a few families who have boys in the required age group and are looking for some kind of occupation for them. Edward says he will interview them and decide who will be most suitable for which kind of job. Clearly we will need more stablehands too. In fact, we might need a new stable!
When the meal is over, we thank the Stanleys and the kitchen staff, and retire to our rooms to wash and change for the night.
While we were having dinner and speaking on various subjects, my mind was focussed on them. I was also thinking that the large dining room did not seem as cold and uninviting as it used to before. But now that Alice is helping me undress and put on a nightgown, I suddenly realise that we are going to be alone for the whole night.
The very thought makes my heart race and my cheeks flush. I bite my lower lip so as to suppress the smile that is threatening to break and make me look like a lovesick fool.
Not that I love Edward; it's too soon for that. But I like this new Edward, with his strength of purpose and decisive manner. Combined with the gentleness he shows towards me and my daughter, he is almost irresistible.
Alice has barely begun brushing my hair when Edward enters my room. Perhaps he too has a need to be alone with me?
Just like last night, he holds out his hand for the brush, only this time Alice knows what he expects. She hands it to him with a smile and a good night to both of us. Edward makes sure to bolt and lock the door after her.
Carefully he brushes my hair, stroking it with his long fingers, then moving them to my neck and caresses the skin there. His touch makes me squirm and giggle.
"Are you ticklish here, Bella?" He asks, his smile full of mischief.
"I—I don't know, my lord. I haven't been tickled here before." I move my shoulders so as to avoid his fingers, but they only move to my back, tickling me even more.
He laughs. "Is that so? Well, I think we should rectify that. Everybody should know where they tickle most, shouldn't they?"
He puts the brush aside and starts exploring my torso, and I stand and then try to run away. It is useless, of course, as he doesn't let me move an inch. So I do what any smart woman would do and join the fun, attacking him with my fingers wherever possible.
His arms are impervious to my fingertips, but then I discover that his chest and stomach are not, and focus my attention there. This time he runs and I chase him, and we end up on the bed, laughing uncontrollably. I hope there are no servants nearby; they will think we have lost our minds.
Edward has captured my hands in his, and we are trying to get our breath back. My head is resting on his chest. I feel utterly content.
"Don't you want to see if any other part of me is ticklish, my lovely vixen?"
I smile. "Your feet? If you loosen my hands, I will try."
He laughs soundlessly. "I was thinking something a little above them."
"Hmm, the back of your knees? Many people are ticklish there."
"More…to the north." To make his meaning clear, he places my hands on the right part. Even through his pyjamas, I can feel it reaching for my hands.
"Your staff?" I gasp. "Surely that can't be ticklish!"
"Well," he drags out the end of the word, "nobody has tickled me there, so I don't know. Why don't you find out?"
I lift my head and look at him, and his smile is so naughty. His hands over mine move them, rubbing his thing through the fine cotton.
"You want me to touch you there? I thought men considered it too precious to let their wives touch it!"
He chuckles heartily. "Oh Bella, believe me, men allow women to do a lot of things to their staff. In fact, they want them to, very much."
"Really?" This is fascinating information. Some lady this or that had once imparted a few pearls of wisdom to me after she had had a few glasses of wine. One of them was that I should never touch my husband's generating tool, since it is meant only for furthering the noble lineage of the man.
Maybe her husband was ticklish there and didn't want her to know?
"Really." He lets my hands go and fumbles with the drawstring, finally loosening it and sitting up to take his pyjamas off. Then his shirt is gone too, and I am looking at my fully naked husband, my mouth open with astonishment.
He snickers when he sees my wide eyes fixed on that part of him. It does resemble a staff, I suppose, only shorter and less straight. The head is bulbous and reddish, and seems slightly wet at the top.
"Well? What is your opinion?"
"Umm, it's…nice?"
"Nice?" His eyebrows rise considerably.
"I mean to say…it's crooked, but I suppose that's normal…" I stop, unsure what to say. What does he expect me to say, anyway? I can't say it's pretty like his eyes or perfect like his jaw!
More snickering. "Why don't you touch it?"
Tentatively, I extend my hand and give the lower part a gentle pat. To my consternation, it bobs, and I snatch my hand back with a scream.
Edward rolls around in the bed, laughing his head off.
"Stop laughing!"
"I can't help it," he gasps through the guffaws. "The expression on your face—as if it had bitten you!"
Annoyed with his smugness, I reach again and hold the whole thing in my hand; well, as much as I can. For the first time I wonder how it fit inside me last night.
At least it makes him stop laughing. Curious to see how hard it is, I squeeze it, and Edward groans. But when I let it go, worried I might have hurt him, he shakes his head and asks me to do that again.
"Move your hand up and down," he instructs, and I comply. "Yes, just like that…a little more pressure…ahhh..."
"This feels good to you?"
"Very good."
"You are not worried I might damage your staff?"
He gives me an intense look through half-closed eyes. "Bella, you are the queen of my heart. I think my staff is safe in your hands. In fact, it belongs to you as much as I do."
"You belong to me?" My voice is full of wonder.
"Um-hmm. The same way you belong to me, my darling."
His words make me swallow hard. How does he think of these things?
Suddenly he sits up and tugs on my nightgown.
"Take it off, Bella. I want to play with your breasts."
His frankness makes me blush. He is so comfortable with his body. I wish I wasn't so conscious of mine, but the lessons I have learnt right from childhood insist that I should always keep my body covered. When I grew up, the only change was that I must let my husband do whatever he pleases, to assure that we have children. The deed was to be done in the dark, and nothing was said about playing with any part of our bodies.
I take off my gown and let it drop on the floor. Edward pulls me closer so that I am straddling his lap, with his member poking at my lady-parts. As he kisses me, his hands are busy fondling my breasts, and I begin to squirm again. It makes the tip of his staff rub against my kitty, producing strange sensations. I moan, loudly.
Edward stops kissing me and looks at me, his eyes hooded and his breath hot on my face. One of his fingers slips between us and enters me, searching for something. When I gasp and moan, he adds a second finger and begins rubbing in earnest. I clutch at his hair as I try to move away, the sensations flying across my body, but it only results in my breasts being right in front of him. Immediately he takes a nipple in his mouth and sucks, and in a few seconds I am screaming his name, my whole body jolting with pleasure.
When I raise my head from his shoulder where it has been resting while recovering from the jelly-like state, I find him beaming at me.
"Was it good for you?"
I nod, unable to find the right words. Then I feel the hardness below me.
"You are still…"
He laughs softly. "Yes."
"Don't you want to do something about that?"
"I wanted to give you a few minutes. Can you lift your hips a bit? That's it." He moves me a bit so that I am directly above his stiff member. "Now, sit down."
I look at him in confusion. "How…"
He shakes his head. "It's all right. Just lower yourself gradually. Wiggle your hips if necessary."
I follow his instructions, his hands helping me, and feel him entering me, slowly. The sensation is exquisite, and I close my eyes and let myself just…feel.
When I open my eyes, I meet his intense stare.
"Very good, Bella. Now move up and down."
I do, supporting myself by holding his shoulders. With every push and pull I feel new sensations invade my body. Gradually I get into a rhythm, and he joins me by lifting his hips in time to match my movements.
I had imagined that I had received the greatest pleasure from his fingers, but this is…more. The hardness inside me, the friction between our bodies, my breasts rubbing against his chest…
Faster and faster…our sounds and sighs…my eyes close as my body thrills with pleasure again. Seconds later, I feel Edward go rigid as he sighs my name, and then he relaxes and lies back, with me draped over him. Somehow he manages to cover us. But when I try to move, his arms cage me and he commands me to stay as I am.
It feels utterly shameless to remain naked and connected after everything is over, but I am too tired to argue. And so I drift to sleep, promising myself that I will wake up soon and get my nightgown.
A.N. And of course she forgot about the questions she wanted to ask him. Can't blame her though, can we?
All credit goes to Lotus Wright for making the conversation regarding the p-word funnier than I had initially planned. She insisted that Bella not find it pretty!