A/N: Well... time ran away from me on my vacation with the family... this chapter has been done for a few days now, but never had a chance to read it one final time when I got it back from my beta...

I can't give a promise on when the next will come... have one more chapter and an epilogue in my mind, things that just needs to be written... but seeing as the next couple of weeks is still vacation time for the kids I won't have much time... so it might be a waiting game for you... sorry about that :( But would like to know what you think about this...

Thanks to the wonderful ladies on the TSOM facebook group that helps me with this story... If you want to know more please PM me... ;)

Hope you all have a great summertime... happy reading... :)

Chapter 4

Georg closed the door to the lounge, and they walked into the corridor. Maria was somewhat relieved that they were finally away from the prying eyes of the two ladies, and everyone else for that matter. Georg felt her relax more and more the closer they came to their train compartment. He slowed down slightly while he tried to get a closer look at his wife; her face was calm with an eager expression. When Maria felt him slow down she looked up at him, trying to figure out what was on his mind.

Georg smiled widely down at his rather puzzled wife. He saw the want and desire in her eyes, and she silently asked why he by all means delayed their arrival to their compartment. He winked at her and bent down, capturing her lips in a kiss that promised her more to come soon. Maria leaned into the kiss with a hunger that told him that she wanted more, but her conscious mind also held back slightly, as they where still out in public. His mouth did some mind-melting things to her state of mind, and she soon forgot where they were standing.

They were so occupied with each other that they didn't notice what was going on around them. Suddenly, they heard a strangled cough and someone else gasping out in surprise. Georg reluctantly pulled away from Maria and turned his head towards the intruding sounds. Lo and behold, there stood none other than the two haughty ladies from the lounge car. He cringed inwardly, but held his façade and gave them a short wave of his hand in a somewhat mock greeting. Then he turned towards Maria again and had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Her face looked horrified by being "caught in the act" once again. She hid her face in his chest, hoping with all her might that the ladies would just disappear.

Seconds ticked by and, with outraged puffs of air emitting around them, the two women walked past the still embracing couple. When they were at the very end of the corridor, Georg looked one last time at them, and he knew that they would forever be appalled by his and Maria's sudden public display of affection. For himself, he couldn't care less, but he knew that Maria would be on edge tomorrow when they would eat their breakfast in the dining car, and there would be a slight chance of them meeting the snobby ladies once again. In that instant, he decided to order their breakfast to be delivered to their train compartment.

Georg more than felt his still shocked wife tremble in his arms. He gently kissed her forehead, and whispered to her: "Please don't think too much about those two. They are snobs who have never been fortunate enough to experience the special thing called love that we do."

Maria gave him a grateful smile and raised herself up to give him a short kiss on his cheek. She knew that they shared something wonderful, something that would forever keep them together, and for that she was forever thankful. She just had to get used to other people reacting differently to their love and passion they so clearly shared.

Georg took Maria's hand in his and walked the short distance to their compartment. When the door was closed and securely locked, Georg took his wife in his arms, just holding her close. He felt that she was still somewhat shell-shocked over the incident in the corridor. She would need some time to calm herself down. He looked around and decided that the small couch in the compartment would be a perfect place for them to find peace again.

When Maria felt him pull her towards the couch, she was secretly relieved that he obviously wanted her to calm down before they would do anything else. Her mind reeled with the various possibilities of how this night would progress. But feeling his arms lying securely around her shoulders, she calmed down and let her mind and body rest.

While Georg sat there, he thought about what had happened. He hoped that Maria had not been so upset over the whole affair that she would withdraw herself from their budding intimacy that they had only just started to discover together.

Suddenly, he became aware of what Maria was doing. Her hand lay on his chest just over his heart, and her fingertips drew small circles on his shirt. This tiny movement of her fingers caused Georg to hold his breath as he felt his whole body ignite with passion, and he still feared that moving too soon would scare her off. Seconds ticked by, and soon he felt her fingers moving in a lazy and slow motion over his shirt. When they hit the barrier of his tie he looked down and noticed her calm face. She seemed somewhat unaware of what her body was doing to him, but suddenly, he noticed a small and knowing smile forming on her lips. He held his breath, letting her make whatever move she wanted.

Maria pulled in a short breath of air to regain focus, and then moved her finger under his tie. She was now very conscious of just where she wanted her fingers to be at that moment. She felt his body heat through the shirt, and her mind only thought about one thing: feeling his hot skin against her fingertips.

Georg tried to keep his breathing under control; he rested his head on the couch with a wry smile playing around his lips. He had an inkling of just where his wife was trying to move. Those annoying buttons she seemed to loathe so much, at least when they where alone, had to be her focus point. Soon enough, his suspicion was confirmed as he felt her nimble fingers trying to pry one of his buttons open.

Unknowingly, Maria groaned out in frustration when her mission seemed to fail her. Why was it so difficult to open a button with one hand? Oh and that annoying tie just seemed to be in the way. She tried to move the offending tie out of the equation by moving it slightly over to one side.

Georg chuckled when he saw her attempt to move his tie out of her way, and then he rose himself up slightly without them breaking contact. Maria looked up at him with a silent question in her eyes. He took the opportunity to give her a quick kiss, and then started to unfasten his tie. Maria turned her eyes down in shyness; she had not wanted him to be so aware of where she wanted to go.

"Ah, that's much better, don't you think, darling?" Georg winked at her when she looked at him again; he smiled knowingly when he saw a small blush creep up her neck. He pulled the tie away from his neck and carelessly threw the small piece of clothing on the small table. Maria moved her eyes away from him and stared for a few seconds at the discarded tie, and then she looked back up at him with a small twinkle in her eyes.

"Hmm…much better, I…" Her voice failed her as she had no idea what to say in response. She was not used to this kind of banter, and she looked sheepishly at him, hoping that he understood.

Georg smiled and pulled her back into his arms, kissing her temple. Maria let her head rest on his shoulder, and soon her hand found its way to its previous location. When her second attempt to open the button with only one hand failed her yet again, she sighed, sat up and turned her body around so she was partly facing him. Now that she had her other hand free to assist in her mission, her eyes where fully fixed on her task at hand, not daring to look at him just now.

Within seconds, she had successfully opened his topmost button and smiled triumphantly to herself, but Georg noticed the smile and chuckled. When she heard his laugh she looked up at him, and what she saw made her face burn. She was still unsure if what she was doing was even acceptable. But when she looked closer, she realized that he was very pleased with what she was doing. His eyes burned with passion and love. The ball of fire in her stomach coiled into a blazing fire that took her breath away. She sat motionless for a few seconds, thinking about what to do now.

"Please do continue," Georg stated shortly. He was amazed at what this seemingly small gesture of opening his buttons for him did to his own state of mind. He saw that she needed some encouragement in moving on, so he continued: "You do know that I've realized that you are the button expert in this marriage, so you might as well help me with my buttons." He gave her a mischievous wink and smile, gently letting one of his hands caress her cheek. Then, gently taking one of her hands in his, he placed it on his shirt again.

Maria was still somewhat shocked that he was so casual about the whole thing. How could he be like that, when her own insides felt like burning up in flames? She tried to focus on her hand that lay on his chest, and drew in a long breath of air, trying to calm herself down a bit. Then she started to unbutton the rest of his shirt, her eyes only focused on the task at hand.

When she reached his belt buckle she paused slightly, not knowing what to do with herself. Georg helped her by pulling his shirt out of his trousers so she could undo the rest. With shaking hands she spread open his shirt, letting her hands travel up his torso. She felt him tense up under her fingers, and she felt in awe of how much an effect she had on him. Still smiling to herself, she let her own body rise slightly over his, giving him a short kiss on his chin. Her lips lingered for a short while, and then travelled up his jawbone, finally reaching the spot just below his ear. Her hands rested on his upper body, the heat from his naked skin burning her hands and sending shivers through her body.

Georg had tried to hold his hands at his sides, but when he felt her small kisses on his chin and finally on the very sensitive spot under his ear, he took her in his arms. Her small frame was now fully resting over his own. They where almost laying down on the couch, something that Georg didn't mind one bit.

Maria kept kissing him under his ear; she knew he liked that. With a huge satisfied smile on her lips, she pulled away slightly, or as far as his arms would allow her. She let her head rest on her folded hands on his chest; she knew he was pleased with her actions as she saw the passion in his eyes. Still not sure how she could express herself vocally in a situation like this, she merely just lay there with slightly raised eyebrows, asking silently what he would want her to do now.

Georg was still amazed at how easy it was for her to throw him off balance with the smallest of gestures, and as she lay there looking at him, she was radiating some form of new confidence that he was very, very pleased that she had finally found. He still saw the tiniest trace of her insecurity lurking in the corner of her eyes, but he knew she still needed time to fully be at ease when they where alone together.

Giving her a mischievous grin, he let his hands travel around her body, finally resting on her back, just hovering over the zipper in her dress. When she felt his fingers fumble slightly with the tiny zipper, she had to suppress a small giggle escaping her lips. But he did hear the small sound coming from her, and he raised an annoyed eyebrow when he looked at her. His annoyance soon evaporated when he saw his smiling wife.

"Oh, so you find this amusing, do you, my darling? Why do they even make zippers on dresses?" He huffed out in slight frustration, but he could also see why she thought this situation was rather comical.

Maria just smiled back to him, while she was somewhat pleased that he too could get annoyed with things getting in the way of…of them being together. Finally she decided to help him. She lifted herself away from him and turned her back towards him, giving him a clear view of her back. She heard him chuckle at her actions, and she was happy that he seemed to be thankful for her solution to his problem.

Georg laid his hands on both her shoulders, gently rubbing her neck with his fingers; he bent down and lightly kissed her neck. This made Maria slightly dizzy with anticipation of what there was to come. Then she felt him move his hands to the offending zipper, and within mere seconds he had it opened. The blue dress hung loosely around her shoulders; with an unnerving gentleness, he slid the fabric over her shoulders. Maria felt shivers run up and down her spine, especially when she felt his mouth follow his hands over her skin. His hot breath lingered over the edge of her camisole, gently nipping her sensitive skin.

The dress pooled around her waist, and she felt that Georg had started to gently tug the camisole free so he could pull it over her head. She held her breath and relished in the feelings and emotions running through her body at this point. Still the somewhat shy and inexperienced new bride, she was very much aware of everything that went through her body. She wanted to learn everything that she could about this wonderful new experience.

Within seconds, Georg had managed to pull her camisole over her head and now had free access to her upper body, though with her back still turned his way. But looking at his wife's back was not unpleasant in any way, so he took a few seconds to just admire the beauty of his wife. He saw some slight tension in her shoulders, and he gathered that she was silently wondering what took him so long to move again.

"Hmm…much better. No more zippers getting in the way of what I have wanted to do this entire evening." He touched her sides with both hands, gently following the curve of her back, and then he let one hand lightly caress the length of her spine. This caused Maria to take a long shuddering breath; her whole body felt on fire in this moment, and she wasn't even looking at her husband.

Maria felt the shivers intensify when she again felt his hot breath on her neck, tickling the short hair on her nape. Georg let his mouth travel over her shoulders, letting his hands travel around her waist, caressing her abdomen. Unconsciously she let her own body lean back in his embrace, needing to be closer to him. Georg grinned into her heated skin when he felt her move closer to him; it seemed as if she was eager to be close to him. He liked this thought very much.

"Why don't we move to the bed?" he whispered into her ear, gently pulling her with him when he rose from the couch. Maria felt her legs being slightly shaky as she now stood there with his arms around her waist, her dress slowly sliding all the way to the floor. She leaned into his chest, feeling the heat from his body against her back.

Maria turned slowly around in his arms, and looked up at him with timid eyes; she only saw the burning passion in his dark blue eyes. She nodded her head in agreement, also trying to give him a confident smile. Her eyes scanned over his upper body and she noticed that he had not removed his shirt. With a twinkle and a small smile playing in the corner of her mouth she laid her hands on his shoulders.

"Well…eh…I would think that you're slightly overdressed…are you not, darling?" Her voice was a mere whisper, but Georg heard her attempt to sound suave and seducing. He grinned down at her with a gleam in his eyes that told her how much he appreciated her approach.

Georg only nodded his head, giving her his assent for her to continue what she so obviously wanted to do. Maria felt heat rush to her face but held his gaze while she slid her hands under his shirt, pulling it down his arms. When the offending piece of garment was removed, Maria let her hands glide over his warm torso, exploring every dip and curve of his body. Soon her hands drifted down towards the edge of his trousers, Georg held his breath, not sure what she would do now.

When meeting the barrier of his trousers, she was unsure what to do next. What was he expecting from her? She peeked up at his handsome face with questions in her eyes, questions that she felt unable to put into words. Georg saw the various emotions flicker in her eyes, and knew he had to take the lead from this point.

"Come here," Georg stated shortly, taking her hands in his, gently pulling her towards the bed.

When they were standing next to the bed, he pulled her in for a short kiss, or so he thought. Under her insecurity lay a powerful need, passion, and want to be closer to her husband. Her kiss and everything else in her body language told Georg just how much she wanted this, wanted him.

Georg gently pulled away from her, grinning widely when he heard a small whimper of protest when their lips parted. Maria dared looking into his now smouldering eyes, making her body respond with heat waves running from the pit of her stomach to the tips of her toes.

Giving her a mischievous wink, he gently scooped her up in his arms and then placed her on the bed. Within seconds, he had taken of his trousers and joined her on the bed. He lay on his side with her body close to his.

"Thank you for loving me. Thank you for opening your heart to me. Thank you for being you. Thank you for opening my eyes. Thank you." His voice was a low timber and filled with raw emotions that had Maria spellbound. Her head tried to keep up with all that happened within her, but when she heard his loving statements she gave up trying. Georg kissed her temple, letting small kisses rain over her face. When his mouth was only millimetres from her ear, he whispered: "I love you, and I want you to fully enjoy what we're doing tonight. I love you."

Maria felt her insides boil with heat and passion, with so much intensity that she had never experienced before. She trusted Georg with all her heart and body, and that night she experienced new highs of passion that she had never thought possible.

TBC...

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