Third and final chapter, quite a lengthy one, too, but I hope you enjoy!
Christmas Day, Evening, 1920
Robert sat quietly, finishing his Scotch, half listening to Mary and Matthew chatting happily together. Isobel and Mama had been bundled into the motorcar an hour or two earlier, and everyone else had excused themselves as they got too tired, and made their way up to their rooms for bed.
Cora had been one of them. Robert feared that he'd ruined her gift for the both of them.
Everyone had eventually settled down after Mary's remark and Violet's admonishment, a few of the family still not knowing exactly what any of it was about - thank God, Robert thought. The remaining gifts had been opened; everyone oohed and aahed over Mary's shawl, particularly Mary herself. They had dinner and charades as usual, and everyone appeared happy and enjoying Christmas. But every time Robert locked eyes with his wife, she would quickly look down, a blush in her cheeks. By the end of the night, he did everything he could to avoid looking at her, not wanting to cause her any more embarrassment.
Finally, Mary and Matthew stood, and Robert stood as well, to bid them goodnight. He and Matthew shook hands, and he embraced his daughter and kissed her cheek. Mary examined his face, becoming concerned about how tired – or possibly something else – he appeared.
"Papa?"
"Yes, Mary?" He sounded… weary? Disappointed? She couldn't quite make out exactly what. But she waited until he looked at her before she continued, finding that she wanted to reassure him somehow.
"I love my gift. It's absolutely beautiful. In fact, you did a wonderful job choosing presents for everyone." She smiled. "I thought that even Edith looked lovely in that hat," she joked – although she sincerely thought that.
She was rewarded with a slight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It wasn't enough.
Mary turned to Matthew. "Darling, I want to talk to Papa for a moment. I'll follow you up in a few moments." She gave him an encouraging nod of the head, and he left the room.
"Papa, what is bothering you? Please tell me." He didn't answer, but she thought she detected a slight flush coming to his face. "If it's what happened earlier, I am sorry. I shouldn't have read that card once I realized it wasn't meant for me…."
"It's not your fault, Mary. I got distracted when I got to a certain point of wrapping your gifts, and I didn't get chance to look again before I labeled them. It's my mistake, and I'll take the consequences of it." He examined his hands as if they were the most fascinating things he'd ever seen, a flush most definitely evident now to Mary.
"If it makes any difference, I AM certain that Mama loved your gift. She kept blushing and casting her eyes down all evening, grinning to herself…." She smiled, remembering her mother's face whenever her father would look at her. Since becoming a married woman, Mary felt she understood better how important it was that her parents were as close as they were and loved one another as much as they did.
Robert's head snapped up. "Mary, did you say your mama was grinning?"
"Yes, Papa. I'm sure she was. Especially later in the evening." She began grinning herself, and she leaned a bit closer to him. "It's very possible that she is upstairs right now, getting 'wrapped up.' You shouldn't keep her waiting." She arched her eyebrows.
"Mary, how you can say such things to your own papa, I'll never know." But his face was all alight with relief and happiness, albeit bright red. "Goodnight, darling girl." He kissed her cheek once more before starting across the room in all haste.
"Goodnight, Papa." She called after him, smiling knowingly.
Bates was waiting for him in his dressing room, and the valet thought several times that he might have to tell his master to be still so he could undress him properly. Robert was practically hopping to be done with this part of evening, because Mary had given him hope….
Finally, he could dismiss Bates and knock on the dividing door. "Come in," came his wife's voice.
Instead of the electric lamps being turned on as usual, candles had been lit, filling the room with a soft glow. Cora sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair, apparently having decided to do this herself rather than have O'Brien perform this task. When her eyes met his in the mirror, she blushed immediately and looked down as she had done all evening – but this time, Robert noticed the grin wreathing her lips. She put the brush down and pushed her hair back over her shoulders, looking at him again in the mirror.
When Cora stood and turned to face him, Robert felt that his heart might have skipped a beat. She was literally breath-taking. The rosy color of her face touched her neck and reached down her chest, making her radiant. The chemise fit her perfectly, hugging her curves in a manner that caused even his fantasies to fade like a dim black and white image by comparison. The peach color highlighted the alabaster of her skin without being harsh against it. And it was shorter than he'd realized, barely reaching mid-thigh, exposing most of her long, shapely legs.
He could see, even by candlelight, that she wore nothing underneath.
She started walking slowly across the room to him, and the effect was magnificent. The fabric had a kind of luminosity that he hadn't noticed while it was in the box; or perhaps the candlelight simply shone off her exquisite skin. When she reached him, she stood in front of him and gazed up into his face, smiling that saucy smile that he knew so well and had hoped would be part of her ensemble.
Cora tilted her head slightly. "Do you need help picking your jaw up off the floor, darling?" she asked in a low voice, coyly. She could tell that she might have acquired the upper hand tonight, and she planned to utilize it to her own – to both of their – advantage.
Robert's mouth opened and closed several times in answer before it finally shut with a snap. "Um, er, you… Cora, you're…" He stuttered and stumbled over his words, drawing a very low laugh from his wife.
She stepped as close to him as she could get without actually touching him and stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, "Weren't you going to unwrap me?"
Robert took one step back, and for one long minute, he neither moved nor spoke, but his eyes swept up and down her body in a way that made her blush even more intensely, feeling as if she might not have the upper hand after all.
Not that she had one doubt in her mind that it would still work out to both of their advantage.
He continued his perusal of her form, delighting in the way she blushed and began to fidget a trifle under his steady gaze. He thought of all the things he wanted to do to make her continue to blush and fidget… and burn and sigh and glow… and look at him with continued desire and love.
Without a word, he picked her up – to a delightful squeal from her – and crossed the few feet to the bed, laying her gently upon it, and then stretched out next to her. He began by caressing her face, then kissing her with both tenderness and passion. He drew back, breathing three words – "you are beautiful" – before moving slowly over her body with his hands and lips and tongue, touching her through the fabric. Cora had never been touched through such a sheer garment before, and his attentions were producing incredible sensations in her. The sounds of her enjoyment spurred Robert on, and she began to writhe slightly next to him.
Hoping to prolong her pleasure, Robert pulled himself level with her head, and kissed her again, not touching any other part of her. She put her hands on his face and deepened the kiss, exploring his mouth with her tongue in a most agreeable manner. After a few marvelous moments of this, Robert detached his lips from hers and sat back. He propped himself up against the pillows and pulled Cora sideways on his lap. She looked at him, excited and curious about what he might do next. He kissed her again, slowly and appreciatively, one hand wrapped tightly around her slender waist, the other working its way languidly down her body, pausing to cup her breast and graze her nipple, making her gasp against his lips. He stroked her legs, the outside and then back up along her inner thighs and underneath the hem of the chemise.
Robert leaned back slightly, resting his hand on her inner thigh and searching her eyes. "Cora," he whispered. "Cora." He spoke her name like a prayer, like a devotion, an adoring acolyte to a luminescent goddess. "Cora," he breathed, still gazing worshipfully into her eyes, as his fingers sought the juncture between her legs, to enter her slowly.
Cora gazed back at him, caught under his spell for a few moments, before she began to move her own hand to the front of his pajama bottoms, where it was unmistakable that he was as stimulated by their activities as she. His hold tightened on her waist as he shook his head slightly. "Not yet, my love." He pressed his lips to her ear and whispered. "Right now is only about you." He kept his lips there to nibble on her earlobe gently as his fingers stroked and fondled and caressed. Robert cradled her with his other arm, moving it up from her waist and leaning her back slightly when he sensed she was ready for his fingers to explore ever deeper.
Exhibiting incredible self control on his own part, (at least Cora thought – as long as she was capable of rational thought – which wasn't for very long), Robert kissed her neck and continued while she gasped and moaned, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. Once she started bucking against his hand, he bent down and gently took one of her chemise-clad nipples between his lips, flicking his tongue against it repeatedly. He could feel her grow tighter around his fingers, when she suddenly closed her legs around his hand and stiffened for a few moments, then went limp, breathing heavily. Releasing her nipple, he smiled and buried his face between her breasts while she took time to recover.
Catching her breath, Cora sat up in his lap and looked at him with what she was sure had to be a stupid grin on her face. She whispered teasingly in his ear, "But you still haven't unwrapped your gift. You've caused me to be quite undone, but I remain wrapped."
Robert chuckled slightly, then turned his head so he could whisper back, "Might you unwrap me first?"
Waggling her eyebrows at him, she slid off his lap and began unbuttoning his pajama top, with excruciating deliberation, it seemed to him. He was aching to be inside her now, having seen her, felt her, climax against his hand. It had excited him to a point where he was clinging desperately to coherent thought. And he made the effort, because he still wanted to please his beautiful wife, who was kissing his chest and teasing his nipples with her lips, making it incredibly difficult to hold on much longer. He wanted nothing more than to flip her over and plunge into her, but it was also the last thing he wanted to do. He bit his lip and breathed hard, groaning.
Cora reached his pajama bottoms and pulled the waistband up and over him, then down his legs, throwing them behind her on the floor to join the discarded shirt. She started to bend down, and…
"Cora…" Robert's voice was deep, hoarse with desire, and he looked at her in a way that pleaded with her. As well as he knew what she needed, she knew what he needed….
And so she straddled his legs, and crawled on her knees until she was positioned just right above him. He was still sitting propped up against the pillows, and Robert rested his hands on her hips through the thin fabric of the chemise. Their eyes locked as she lowered herself upon him slowly. Before she could move, though, he shook his head and began untying the bows on the front of the chemise… unwrapping her.
Although he'd wanted to unwrap her slowly, he felt he might lose control if he went too slowly, so he pulled at the ribbons and bows, not roughly, but determinedly. Even in the dim light, he could see a lustful gleam in her eye, and she was already moving slightly against him, moving her body in the tiniest of circles while he finished with the bows. She grinned at him and lifted her arms so he could pull the chemise off. It sailed to the floor in a peach blur.
Cora pressed her breasts up against his chest and wrapped her arms around him, her eyes still on his. In a low voice, she quoted, "I cannot wait to feel you against me, your creamy, silky soft skin against mine…."
Robert smiled, recognizing his own words from the card he'd included with the gift and realizing that she must have read it multiple times and taken it to heart. As she began to set a rhythm, he slipped his arms up around her, pulling her even closer to him. He kissed her as she continued to move against him, faster and with more urgency. He began to feel as is if he couldn't hold on much longer, and he thrust upward with his hips to meet her, stroke for stroke. He nuzzled his head into her neck, just below her ear, and moaned with intense pleasure.
"Robert," she cried out against his hair. "Robert…"
She sat down hard and pressed herself as tight against him as she could, staying still. He pushed up into her one last time, her release triggering his own. They remained that way for several moments, their arms wrapped around one another, before he gently took her head in his hands, lifting it up to look deeply into her eyes.
"Now wasn't that a gift worth unwrapping?" he asked.
She grinned at him, remembering his card again. "And one that will keep on giving, I hope."
"So do I, darling." Robert brushed her hair back from her face, began playing with it. "Cora, you are beautiful and incredible, and I love you more every day."
Tears sparkled in her eyes at his words. She smiled at him. "And I love you more every day, Robert. My steady, predictable husband, who is also a constant surprise. Merry Christmas, my love."
Robert kissed her, and then said, "Merry Christmas to you, too, my gift who never stops giving."