Author's note: Wow! Huge passionate response from you readers after Melanie's beating in the last chapter. Within 15 minutes of posting the chapter I had messages popping up and was up late trying to answer them all. I finally had to call it a night at 1 am because I had to get some kind of sleep for work the next day! The next morning, even more messages. You all have grown to love Melanie and are fiercely protective of her.

I just want to assure you that the physical beating of Melanie is over—that is what most of the mail and objection was about. She will be fine and Tavington has not become a serial wife beater.

Please know that in the 18th century, men really were "the rulers". They owned all the property the wife may have possessed before the marriage, and basically owned the wife and her body after the marriage—she was also considered a piece of his property. At that time, there weren't laws in place like there are today to protect a wife. Though it may not have been honorable or bragged about, a man could beat or rape his own wife and there was no recourse for it. People and the law did not interfere with what a man did to his wife. We would find that offensive with today's laws and sensibilities. I'm sorry if the chapter offended.

Simply, to William Tavington, she had defied him. To him, the beating was her punishment and deterrent not to do it again.

Both Melanie and William have strong personalities. He is a military commander skilled at intimidation and coercion. ("I remember you on that farm and that stupid little boy! Did he die, hmmm?") And Melanie was raised in a pacifistic household and may have been allowed to have an opinion and speak her mind at home. Melanie hasn't learned yet just when to keep her tongue at bay.

Together, this has caused some friction in this new young marriage. In a sense they don't know how to be married. They both have never been married before and are learning how to live together and be married. Give them some time—they will eventually learn as most couples do!

Thanks again for reading and your patience and understanding.

JScorpio

Chapter 63 Games People Play

It was now early evening and after her bath, a tense and broken spirited Melanie Tavington remained in her bedroom. She was too frightened to leave, afraid of seeing her husband, thinking he might not be done dishing out discipline.

The young woman took supper in her room, though she was too sick hearted to eat much of it. She jumped at every sound she heard outside the confines of the large boudoir, whether coming from outside or inside the house, not sure if it was William coming back. She hoped he had spent his ire and had no more left to inflict on her . Nevertheless she remained nervous and vigilant within the bedroom until bedtime.

She saw no more of General Tavington after he'd finished with her earlier in the afternoon, mercifully. He didn't request her presence at the dinner table, demand that she leave the room, or even come upstairs again.

Melanie finally eased herself into bed at eleven that night, assuming that he would be joining her this night. After two apprehensive hours of laying awake in the dark, she gave herself permission to fall asleep as it seemed that Will would be sleeping elsewhere tonight.

She didn't care or even what to know where he was or what he was doing; the young woman was relieved that he wasn't there.

Indeed, Tavington finished his work outside, then took dinner alone in the dining room, reading a recent newspaper from Charles Towne as he ate. When finished, he then headed out to the tents of the camp followers. The officer spent the night in the arms of the pretty young whore that his wife had chased from the house earlier in the day.

The doxy, a new arrival to camp and fresh from England, had not been with General Tavington before. She enjoyed his adept attentions in her tent all night long.

The next morning dawned and the staff let the battered plantation mistress rest in. They brought her breakfast in bed, but the girl still hadn't much of an appetite. Melanie thanked God that William had spent the night elsewhere, and that he hadn't awakened her this morning when he came in to change clothes.

Mrs. Tavington planned to spend the rest of the day in the bedroom again, not wishing to cross paths with the general. But she knew she couldn't avoid him forever.

The young wife shifted her bruised body painfully in bed and looked up at the ceiling as she reclined on the pillows. She knew that Will would eventually come for her, and that she had to protect herself somehow, for she felt that if she didn't, that her mind would come unglued.

Melanie laid there quietly, analyzing the situation. She recalled both beatings she had received with a shudder. The woman reviewed the events that led up to each incident. Both times began with her being upset over something he'd done. Both things were clearly his fault: first he had come home extremely drunk, the other, causing her horse to fall which led to her miscarriage. Both instances of his fault ended with her being beaten.

She recollected that he hadn't been upset that she'd confronted him, for he readily admitted fault both times. Melanie remembered that both times she had refused him something. In one instance it was sexual relations. In the other instance she refused to stay at home and not confide of it to someone, then when she'd returned, she'd refused to stay in the same bedroom with him any longer, thus cutting off marital relations altogether.

He was furious when she defied him. Obviously, challenging him or refusing him, to William, equaled defiance, which was intolerable in his eyes. Mrs. Tavington had seen it with his men and prisoners. Defiance deserved punishment. Melanie surmised that she must now guard carefully what she spoke up about and be equally as careful not to defy him. This was her shield to protect herself.

So, she decided that she could be quiet for the remaining few days until her husband left for duty. The young woman knew that he would eventually show up again demanding her body. She made another decision that since he now owned all her property, including her physical person, that she could keep her emotion from him.

Melanie had learned in the few weeks they'd been married that William loved and practically fed off of hearing her satisfaction and joy during lovemaking, and his knowing that he'd brought her to completion. He enjoyed and nearly needed her to respond to him in bed.

So, her next shield would be to become a 'cold fish' in bed: unresponsive to his ministrations and unemotional when dealing with him at any time. He could force her to submit, but he couldn't force her to come to orgasm. She realized that he needed for to have one nearly as much as she wanted one. Mrs. Tavington made a pact with herself not to have an orgasm, or at least to hide it as well as possible and not moan unabashedly. She only hoped her body would not betray her.

Melanie did remain in her room again all day. And just as she guessed, William appeared that night, demanding that she perform her wifely duties.

When the officer made advance and tried to kiss her, she cooly evaded the romance, calmly removed her clothes, and lay down on the bed. Will assumed she was still upset with him for her beating and that she didn't care for the passion just now. That was fine with him. He could excuse her unresponsiveness for one evening.

A naked William soon covered her body with his and penetrated her. He moved with long, slow strokes inside her for a few moments, kissing her neck and breasts in turn. When he tried to possess her mouth, she turned her head to the side and closed her eyes.

This bothered Tavington more that he would admit aloud or time himself. He had just spent two nights in a row satisfying whores, making them scream, and he wanted none less from his wife. And he never failed to make Melanie coo, purr, and shiver with delight.

The officer took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. His eyes betrayed him to her, silently begging her to let him satisfy her. But she stayed cold.

He then claimed her lips with his mouth in a passionate kiss which she did not return. William pulled back from her when she failed to respond.

For an instant, she became scared, afraid that he may be angry and raise his hand to her. She spoke quietly without emotion.

"I didn't refuse you," she murmured steadily, pointing this out. "I've let you have your way with me."

Will know his wife was right in that she'd submitted without question, so he could not honorably punish her.

"It makes no difference to me whether you enjoy this or not," he lied. "That's up to you."

He began to thrust again, this time hard and spitefully. He knew this caused her slight pain because she let a bit of a wince escape.

Then suddenly, he stopped. An evil smirk crossed his face. "Perhaps your body will betray you."

Melanie panicked inside, trying to stay calm. She hoped he was wrong and that her resolve would remain strong.

William withdrew his hardness from her and began to slowly kiss his way down her body. When he lingered on her belly, kissing and nuzzling it softly, she protested without thinking.

"No, Will," she pleaded in a whisper, "Please don't."

Melanie cringed, wishing she could take back her protest. "How could I be so weak?" she thought. She cursed herself, then set about to fight off the physical pleasure. "I can beat this," she thought.

Tavington smiled to himself knowing that he could get to her this way. He knew her well enough to know that she enjoyed his oral pleasuring of her body in lovemaking. The officer knew he could make her come and set out to do so.

Soon Will's mouth was nipping and kissing the insides of her thighs, driving her crazy. After a few moments of that exquisite agony, he moved to her most intimate anatomy, kissing, sucking, and nuzzling all the folds of it except her little pearl. He wanted to draw out the teasing for as long as possible.

After another few minutes of his mouth playing languidly on her womanhood, his tongue snaked out from between his lips and lightly flicked the bud of her core. Her hips twitched slightly, involuntarily, as he did. And Melanie hoped he hadn't noticed this, but he had. His tongue began to dance lightly on the now hardened little pearl.

From between her legs, he stole glances at her body and face, trying to guage if she was close to completion. Then his lips closed around the tiny bud, drawing it into his mouth and sucking lightly on it.

The slight pressure of that suction on it was driving Melanie mad! She let out a nearly inperceptible whimper, hoping it wasn't enough for William to hear.

The young woman fought it as best as she could, but the involuntary physical feelings were winning. She cursed her body for betraying her. The girl threw her arm over her mouth to stifle anymore renegade cries of pleasure that might escape. For good measure, she bit her lip to keep her mouth closed.

Will's tongue continued its assault on her core, flaying her hardened pearl easily. The general smirked to himself when he saw her left hand grab a fistful of the sheets to hang on.

Melanie kept fighting the orgasm as best as she could but knew she was losing the battle. She closed her eyes as the feeling started to wash over her body.

In another moment, her husband sent her over the edge, her back arched and her head thrown back. Her body quaked with the orgasm.

A few whimpers of pleasure escaped her lips, muffled by her arm. Melanie could take only small satisfaction in that she hadn't writhed wildly beneath his touch; that she hadn't moaned loudly in ecstasy calling Will's name over and again.

But William took great delight in that he'd made her come. He pulled his body back up equal to hers and looked her in the eyes. A triumphant smile lit up his face.

"Melanie, you can't win this game," he taunted, "I'm too good at it!"

With that, he thrust his rigid manhood back into her, quickly finishing himself off with a victorious groan. When he was done, he rolled onto his side in bed and much to Melanie's dismay, pulled her betrayer of a body against his and settled in for the night's sleep.

And so this little game between the two of them continued on every evening until the day he left. At night, William continued trying to make his wife come, and Melanie continued fighting the orgasms and denying him the victory of bringing her to completion.

During the days, the couple barely spoke to each other, much friction from their fights hanging still between them. The atmosphere in the whole house was tense. The servants noticed and began to count the hours until the General returned to duty, hoping his absence would return the mistress to her old self, and peace and tranquility to the homestead.

The servant staff had surmised that the bliss of the honeymoon period was now over.