A/N: I am overwhelmed by the response to the first part, thank you all so much.
hope the second part lives up to expectation.
(WARNING: a bit more graphic than you might be used from me - I am sorry if I've squicked you)
previously:
When she wakes the sun is struggling through the crack between the curtains and she's still in Charles's arms. She is on her back and Charles's hand in on her hip. The nightgown has ridden up to halfway her thigh and the left shoulder strap has fallen down to reveal a rather great expanse of freckled skin. She sighs. When she stretches, she can feel something against her leg and she worries her lip.
She makes a valiant effort ignoring the feeling of his thing against her leg by slowly turning to face him and kissing his brow. He stirs and there it is again, now closer to her… well. There. She clears her throat, unused to the way her heart starts to race and the need to feel closer to her husband.
Her husband.
She remembers how solemn his words had sounded in the village church. With my body I thee worship - directly followed by: with my Earthly goods I thee endow. The things she worried about most. She worried she wouldn't be able to please him and she worried that she might become a burden to him. The second fear had been quenched quite effectively. But the first one still lingers.
She puts her hand on his where it lies on her hip and she kisses his cheek. It's a little rough; his beard is coming in. She kisses his temple; his skin there is impossibly soft. She runs the tip of her finger over his sideburns. The room is still shrouded in shadows, but there's enough light to see how smooth his forehead is while he sleeps. She leans in and nuzzles his nose with her own, pressing herself against him a little more.
His hand slides from her hip to her bum and his voice, thick with sleep, murmurs:
"Is this how you plan to wake me every day, wife?"
She is happy he cannot see her blush, but she still buries her face in the crook of his neck.
He pulls her closer and his thing is now hard and heavy against her and she gasps.
"I am so sorry, Mrs Hugh-Carson… Elsie… I didn't mean to…"
She can tell he is mortified.
"No… It's… It's alright, it's just…"
Intimidating. Slightly frightening. Exhilarating.
She runs the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip.
"Why don't you kiss me," she suggests and he smiles.
His lips are a little chapped, but pliant. His kiss is gentle and sweet. Elsie turns towards him a little more, her breast against his chest. There's only the flimsy white cotton of her gown and his pyjamas between them now.
She kisses him back, a little more forceful, her hand traveling up his arm and landing on his shoulder.
Her bottom lip gets caught between both of his and she opens her mouth slightly, her tongue touching his. Her heart is racing and she lets herself be held tightly. Their kiss is getting frantic, her hand cups his cheek. She is panting and with every breath she takes, she smells him.
Cologne.
Tooth powder.
A touch of sleep.
The hand that was on her hip first and then on her bum is now slowly - achingly slowly - inching up the hem of her nightgown. His fingertips run over the back of her thigh to the crease of her bottom, over her underwear. He slips a finger under the elastic and she lets out a sound.
They break apart and she is as surprised as she is. He gives her a smile.
"Is everything alright?" he asks.
"Yes. Yes, I think so," she answers and finds her voice isn't as clear as usual. Instead it is smokey. Huskey even.
They are quiet. Charles is breathing as hard as she is. His thing is trapped between them and she tilts her hips experimentally.
Charles moans softly, his eyes flutter closed.
She tries it again. Another moan. She shifts so his thing is snug between their legs and tilts again. He pushes back and she gasps as it touches her there.
"Elsie?"
"Yes, Charles?"
"Do you want to…"
She swallows and nods.
"Yes… I think so…"
He's unbuttoned his pyjama top and shrugged it off. He's not wearing a vest. The light that falls through the crack between the curtains highlights the broad expanse of his chest and the curling, silvery hair.
She daren't look anywhere lower than his navel.
He is on his knees, between her legs and she lies back, tense and worried. He leans in, kisses her again. One elbow is beside her and his belly is touching hers. His kisses trail from her mouth to her cheek, down her jaw.
They land on her shoulder. More kisses. Tiny, little kisses planted along her collar bone, connecting her freckles. He carefully pushes the strap of her nightgown aside to kiss her there.
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, trying to chase away the trepidation she feels.
His hand is on her her hips, still clad in her underwear and he claims her mouth again.
His skin feels wonderful under her hands. The little marks of time and of a lifetime of labour only make him more beautiful to her. If only she could calm herself enough to really enjoy it. He kisses her and touches her. The back of his fingers over her belly tickle her and she stifles her giggle; unsuccessfully.
He smiles at her again.
She's never seen him so happy.
He sits back and pushes up her nightgown and she lifts her bum to help him. His palms are on her sides and push up the gown further, exposing her to him. Inch by inch.
She holds her breath when she feels the cool air on her naked breasts and has to fight the urge to cover herself until she glances at her husband who is looking at her reverently.
"You're so beautiful…" he whispers and she can see tears welling up in his eyes.
"Oh, Charles…" is all she can say and she props herself up on one elbow and kisses him, pulling him down on top of her with her free hand.
His bulk on top of her is an experience she never expected. His hips are between her thighs, his chest against her and she kisses him, kisses him - like they've never kissed before. A fire stoked in both of them and her worries about accommodating lessen. She can feel him against her and she lifts her knee, giving him more space, pulling him closer.
"You're still sure?" he asks and she sighs.
"I don't know…"
"It's alright if you don't want to…"
"I know… It's not that… I'm just…"
He kisses the corner of her mouth and says the exact right word for what she's feeling:
"Nervous."
He does all he can to alleviate her worries. He holds her and kisses her and she finds that her body responds to his touch. She shivers when he places an open-mouthed kiss on the swell of her breast. She threads her fingers through his hair when he sucks on the nipple of the same breast whilst he palms the other. Her legs widen further and he pushes against her.
"Let's try it…" she whispers in his ear.
He doesn't answer, but hooks his thumbs under the waistband of her knickers (they're new: a luxury she's granted herself) and pulls them down.
Then he pushes down his pyjama bottoms and his shorts and she looks away. She's never seen one and she finds she is quite frightened of it - the way it grew against her earlier, the way it went from soft to hard, from small to larger.
Big, really.
How will it ever fit?
"May I touch you?" he asks.
She frowns. Hasn't he been touching her all along? Then it dawns on her that he wants to touch her there. She can feel a flush run over her cheeks.
"Do you want to?" she asks.
"Very much…"
"Alright then…"
Their voices are barely audible. Outside the day is starting. She can hear motorcars and the waves breaking upon the shore. She holds her breath when she feels his fingers run through the curls that cover her.
"Oh…" she whimpers when he opens her up tenderly. She grasps the sheet in her fists when he kisses her low on her belly. His finger slides over her, making her let out another whimper. Her breaths sounds loudly in the room when he keeps touching her, stroking her, and she clenches the sheets tightly. She bites her lip when he lets his finger enter her and bites down harder when he slowly - slowly, carefully - adds another one after a while.
~tbc~
(stay tuned - the rest will be posted this weekend)