September 18, 1927~

What a full day this is turning out to be. It's one p.m. and I'm just now sitting down at my desk for the first time, having spent the better part of the morning attending an auction at a nearby estate. One of many great houses being forced to sell out. Since we're always on the lookout for good second-hand furnishings for the hotel, Caleb and I decided to go. Although, I really didn't think there would be much we could afford, even at auction prices. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I would like to have found a couple of nice chairs for rooms four and seven, or maybe a bookcase for our reception area. That was not to be, however. What I did find was even better. A big, lovely, four panel folding screen with rich fabric inserts. I didn't realise until I saw it how much we needed one.

You see, with the girls still sleeping in our room, and Anna nowhere near ready to move them into the nursery, we've run into a couple of problems. We like to lie in bed at night, reading and whatever...and we don't want the light disturbing the girls. Putting a movable partition between their cots and us seemed like the perfect solution. And then it dawned on me, they might be able to sleep longer in the morning if the sun streaming into the bedroom didn't wake them. If they sleep in so can Anna. I may have mentioned how she enjoys a good lie-in.

Well, I made a bid and won. Caleb and I covered it with a blanket and tied it to the back of the Austin, and drove very slowly back to the cottage. Anna was so surprised and happy. We carried it upstairs and set it in place, as she stood there bouncing on the balls of her feet, her hands making tiny clapping gestures.

I do love surprising her. It matched her vanity table like it was made for it. I think it will serve it's purpose well.

John Bates~l

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Yes, the folding screen is perfect! I'm so glad John had the idea of buying one. I would never think of such thing, to be honest, but that man always comes up with the best ideas!

William's friend Percy was here again today. They spent most of their time in the garden hidden under a big bush, discussing the worth of one's lost teeth. By their estimate a child should make at least ten pounds with an entire mouthful, which I certainly beg to differ. Ten pounds? Those little beggars. I kept a close eye on them because as I've mentioned before I don't trust Percy. God forgive me for saying that. John is a bit leery of him too. We shall see. I am not forbidding William to play with him or invite him over, I would never do that without good cause. There's just...something about that boy.

Finn and Fee have both eaten, and John is now on the floor with them babbling sweet nonsense. William has crawled up on his daddy's shoulders and put his hands over his eyes saying, 'Guess who, Dad?' I think he might be a tad jealous of the time John spends with the girls. He hasn't said anything, it's just a feeling I have. And believe me, John spends plenty of time with him too.

The girls love being on a blanket on the floor. They have more space to flail their little arms and legs around than in their baskets and they can see more. Finn is beginning to raise herself up on her forearms for a couple of seconds at a time, when she's on her belly. Fee hasn't managed that yet but I've no doubt she will before long.

William mentioned this morning he saw Fee smiling at Charlie but I'm not sure about it...I mean, they're barely two months old and just starting to focus on things. I'll have to that see for myself to believe it. John, of course, said, 'Why not? My girls are the smartest girls in the world. They take after their mummy.'

John's motioning for me to join them on the blanket and I'm going to do just that, before one of my girls smiles again and I miss it!

~ Anna Bates

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~ Punished ~

Anna watched as her girls slept contentedly in their cots. The new folding screen John had bought was beautiful, making the little corner of the room where the twins slept into a cosy nook. Anna had moved a little round table and small lamp between the two cots with her rocking chair close by. She decided that this was the perfect option for them, rather than the nursery, at least for now. Not that their babies cried that much during the night but when they did, she would rather have them at arm's reach than across the hall. That and after spending one week with his sisters in his room William was none too happy to have them back. He loved his sisters greatly but there was a limit to the little boy's patience.

Anna smiled contently, giving one last look toward Finn and Fee before getting ready for bed. The house was silent and the boy was already asleep, and the only faint sound she could hear came from her husband mere steps away. John was sitting at her vanity table, still fully dressed, his eyes focused on the magazine he was flipping through.

'What's that?' she asked, smiling as she approached him. 'Going through my things, Mr Bates?'

He didn't answer at first, closing the magazine and looking up at her with a grin on his face. That wonderful grin that reached his eyes and only made her fall more in love with him. 'I was looking for a nail file,' he told her. 'And I found this. I had completely forgotten about it.'

He held up the Art Lovers magazine and Anna stared at it, her eyes widening. It was that same magazine she had caught him peeking at before the twins were born. Above the title it said, Beauty, Fiction, Art & Life, but it was basically a girlie magazine. She had put it away in the drawer with the idea of looking at it herself, but like him, it had faded from her memory.

'I had forgotten all about that too ,' she replied. 'I rarely use that drawer.'

He smiled, tapping the racy collection of pictures on his leg. 'Where's the nail file?'

'In the top drawer…' she shot him a look. 'And why were you looking at it again, may I ask?'

Up shot his eyebrows, 'To show you. You should hide it better or throw it away. William could find it. You wouldn't want that.' His voice was serious as he opened the top drawer of her vanity and found what he was looking for.

Something told her there was more to his words than just a caution. But before she could question him further he stood up and grabbed his pyjamas and robe from the foot of the bed. He handed her the magazine with a secret smile on his face and told her he was going to wash up for bed.

Anna didn't move, looking down at the magazine in her hands, curious, but hesitant. After all, that had been the reason she had brought it home in the first place. She remembered back to that day she'd walked into John's office and found him looking at it. The silly man had tried to hide it from her and then he had feigned innocence, claiming he'd found it left on his desk. By whom, he didn't know. Well, maybe he didn't. She'd forgiven him, of course. She wasn't a prude, for heaven's sake. Anna well understood the allure of the forbidden. So she had told him that maybe, after the babies were born, they could try out some of these seductive poses.

Curiosity won out. She opened the magazine. 'Oh my…' she whispered. Very naked ladies...well, not ladies...she pursed her lips. Women. Very naked women posing in rather improper ways. Showing everything. They were beautiful and young, their bodies were curvy, and Anna imagined that any man would like to take a peek at these photographs.

A confident feeling washed over her, as she turned the pages, telling her this was the right time to surprise her husband. So, taking a final look at the magazine, she hid it under a pile of blankets on the top shelf of the cupboard, far away from her child's reach, and hurried herself before John came into the room again.

She quickly let down her hair and stripped off her clothes, not caring where they landed, and not five minutes later she was ready, waiting for him on the bed. Posing like one of those wanton women. Two candles on each of their nightstands illuminating her body.

She heard his steps then, and for one last time, she ran her fingers through her hair, making sure her locks fell over one shoulder, covering her breasts just slightly. Oh yes, he would like that!

And that's when John opened the door. His eyes nearly popped out of his head and his mouth hung open. He was dressed in his undershirt and pyjamas bottoms, and his robe. His hair was damp and loose, and his face was freshly shaven. He couldn't have looked more devastatingly handsome if he had tried. The expression of surprise on his face made her chuckle and after a couple of seconds he entered the room and locked the door behind him.

'If something ever came of my looking at that magazine, I thought it would be a punishment,' he told her, placing his neatly folded clothes on the chair.

'Well then...' she bit her bottom lip seductively, '...why don't you come here and let me punish you?'

He sat down on the bed and bent over her. 'You are very naughty girl, you know…?' he told her. He ran his hands through her hair, pushing it aside, baring her breasts to his hungry eyes. '...but so, so irresistible.'

Anna giggled shaking her head. 'I don't want you to resist me, John.'

'I have no intention of resisting you, my darling.' His voice was low in her ear, as he leaned into her, to kiss along her jawline. He kissed from her lips, across her neck and collarbone, moving down to the valley between her breasts and on to her stomach. Playfully he tickled her across her ribs, his touches light and delicate as his hands moved along her body, to her thighs, then her knees and until he reached her calves, and back again.

'Undress,' she whispered to him, playing with the belt of his robe and it didn't take him too long to do exactly that. He stood from bed and took his clothes off, under the attentive eyes of his wife, who roamed his body with an urgency. He smiled at her, pleased by the blissful expression on her face, but before he could join her in bed, he froze in his place. The sight of her own hand travelling down her body filling him with unbelievable expectation. When she reached her goal, her eyes never leaving his, he could have sworn if he was not on the verge of dying the most wonderful of deaths, he was certainly close to it.

She called his name then, almost pleading, her breath catching in her throat as she touched herself, and he felt his length throb painfully against the candlelit air of the room, so ready to be welcomed into the moist warmth of her body.

He closed the distance between them, standing at the edge of the bed, and pulled her gently by her legs toward him. Kneeling down on the floor, he spread her legs and she gasped in anticipation when she understood what he was doing... and before she could make another sound, his mouth was on her centre, lapping lazily against her wet skin.

'John…' she breathed in, her hands pulling at his hair and her legs wrapping around his shoulders. Every time she moaned, his tongue would tease her slower, lingering at her entrance, as his hands caressed her thighs and travel up to her breasts.

But before she lost all control, he stopped, kissing the inside of her thighs with a mischievous look on his face.

'Why did you stop?' she asked him, breathless.

'I didn't stop, I just took a break,' he chuckled, kissing her core every so lightly before standing again.

Her body trembled, and the sight of him, naked and so hard only added to her craving for him.

From her position, lying across the bed, she stretched her foot out to touch his chest, a racy look on her face. He took her leg in his hand, placing several kisses along her skin, before pulling her toward him again. He held her thighs apart, rubbing the tip of his hardness against her until he could take no more. No more of his desire, no more of her begging whispers, no more of the need to be inside her, and with a slow but sure thrust he joined them together.

He leaned down on her body to kiss her lips, as she begged him to move. 'Oh Anna.' he tried to make sense of his words, as he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him there. 'You feel so good.' he whispered, thrusting harder and deeper into her.

She couldn't speak. Her strength drained from her body as he kept moving in and out. It was heaven and so painfully good. His hands were on her breasts, massaging her with every movement, but in new a burst of pleasure, she pulled him to her.

'Sit on the edge of the bed, John,' she told him, absolutely oblivious to how demanding that sounded, but, of course, he did as she asked. He broke their connection, only for a minute, rushing to sit on bed and not to waste any precious time. The last thing he wanted now was to be apart from her too long. She climbed on his lap right away, facing him and wrapped her legs around his waist. 'Love,' she whispered against his lips, her arms, once again possessively around his neck. 'This is wonderful. You are wonderful.' She kissed him then, their tongues moving together, in unison with their bodies.

Every time she moved on him, the need for release built up. It was making her lose all control. He warned her about the noise and she giggled into his shoulder and continued to move, rolling her hips against him.

Soon, she found herself burying her face in his neck, her nails digging into his back, as she tried to control her cries of pleasure. John hugged her tightly in his arms, telling her how good she felt, so tight and warm around him, and it didn't take him too long to follow, crying out his end muffled against her hair.

They fell back on the bed then, exhausted. Anna still on top of him, trying to enjoy their connection until the last possible second.

'Anna, my dear…' he whispered breathlessly, 'you are ruthless when it comes to handing out punishment.'

She giggled, lifting her head from his chest and looking deep into his eyes. She allowed her hand to play with that delicious lock of hair falling over his brow. 'Watch yourself, Mr Bates… or I'll be forced to punish you again.'

'You wouldn't...' he winked playfully.

'Let's rest and then I'll let you know.'

He kissed her after that, slowly and passionately. If their daughters slept as soundly as they normally did, she would show him exactly that...indeed, she would.

The journal entries are written by handy for the bus & terriejane.

We'd like to thank the lovely annamays (aka fuzzydream) for being our beta.

Thank you for reading :) please review