He was snoring when she entered his bedroom, and she sighed in relief at the fact that he was finally sleeping. Everyone was thankfully sleeping, and she was so pleased to finally have a moment to herself. Georg hadn't been a terrible patient since they arrived home, but he had needed quite a bit of help in the beginning. He was in a lot of pain, mostly from the broken ribs, but they were finding ways to move him around that were better than others. She had helped him with many things he felt uncomfortable with her helping, but he knew he needed her and didn't argue any more than she expected he would. She supposed the pain pills the doctor provided helped him feel relaxed enough not to put up much of a fight.

Thunder rumbled overhead as she entered her own bedroom to change and ready herself for bed. While she had been sleeping with Georg since he came home, she still kept up the appearances of having her own bedroom for the sake of the staff and children. It wasn't as if there was much secret about their relationship by then, but she still felt it was right of her to at least keep her things separate from him before they were married. At the very least, it made her feel a little better about the nature of their relationship. She supposed there was some amount of Catholic guilt still running through her heart, she thought with a sigh.

The younger children had been difficult to get to sleep that evening, the obnoxious thunderstorm making it quite difficult to settle them. Gretl asked for more cuddles while Marta begged for one more song, and then they wanted another story. She loved the girls dearly, but even she had hit the limit of her patience. By the grace of God, they finally fell asleep just in time for her to have kept her cool. It wasn't that the children hadn't seen her frustrated before, but she made it a point to never come off as cross with them if she could help it.

She frowned as she sat to use the toilet, a bright red stain glaring up at her from her panties as they rested between her knees. No wonder she had been so frustrated all day, she thought with a sigh as she reached for the drawer that held her supplies for her monthly cycle. It sure was a nuisance to be a woman sometimes, as she wondered what exactly men had to suffer so often in comparison. She supposed they had to deal with the moody women, but even still that seemed to be no comparison for bleeding for days on end without control.

It was difficult for her to admit it, even to herself, but the presence of her monthly cycle made her feel a bit low for another reason. Georg had seven children, Otto had quickly impregnated the woman he was currently courting…so it felt very clear that she was the problem when it came to the possibility of having a baby. Of course she wanted to be married to Georg before even thinking about such things, but it did cross her mind that she surely should have gotten pregnant by that point. They rarely ever took any precautions anymore, as foolish as it probably was, but it didn't matter, as her cycle made its appearance every month like clockwork.

She finished getting ready for bed, doing her best not to feel too upset about it. She couldn't control her own fertility, after all, and she knew that Georg's age likely played a role in the possibility of her pregnancy too. There were so many possible reasons for it, she reminded herself. It wasn't that she actively wanted a baby, she was exhausted already by the seven children in her life, but she wanted to know it was possible if one day she decided she did want a child of her own. She tried to ignore the thought that her body may not have been able to do the one thing it was supposed to do, and how it made her feel incredibly confused, cheated almost.

She sighed as she nearly passed out into bed, her body aching as if she were a woman three times her age. Taking care of Georg was fine enough, she was happy to do it after all, but there was something about the moment that her head hit the pillow that made her feel like a weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders. She never realized just how much time she was spending on everyone besides herself until she finally found herself alone and exhausted at the end of the night. With Georg's difficulty sleeping, she made sure he had a pain pill and a sleeping pill by his side at bedtime every night, so there wasn't much opportunity for therapeutic conversation at the moment.

It didn't matter, none of it mattered, as she knew the difficult times in life were only meant to pave the way to better things. She simply had to remain strong for her family and not allow herself to become overwhelmed by her own feelings. It would do none of them any good if she fell apart too at that moment. It wouldn't be for much longer, not really, she thought as her body began to relax and a deep sleep overtook her.

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He groaned angrily, his body betraying him once again as he lay upon his back with his casted arm propped upon a pillow next to him. His ribs ached as they healed, but that was absolutely not the ache he was concentrated on at the moment. He was incredibly aroused, a victim of a dream about his future wife, and her lying beside him with her nightgown crooked in a way that showed him a lovely view of her cleavage was not helping one bit. She looked so innocent sleeping next to him, and all he was thinking about were the countless ways he could defile her, the sounds of pleasure he longed to hear escaping her lips. What he would have given to be able to strip her bare and have his way with her in that moment.

He watched the rise and fall of her chest, her breasts heaving beneath the thin fabric of her nightgown. Her skin looked so soft to the touch, he wanted nothing more than to run his tongue down the center of her chest, to take her breasts in his hands. He sighed, biting his lip as he imagined the breathy sounds she made when he drove her to climax. He groaned, kicking the blanket from his body the best he could to relieve some of the pressure against his pelvis, but even that didn't work. He pressed his hand against his erection, sighing in frustration as his left hand did not work quite the way he needed it to. He cursed beneath his breath, more than agitated by his plight.

She awoke to the chill of the room as the blanket was kicked from her body. It was the middle of the night, she could tell by how disoriented she felt from the fact that she hadn't been asleep very long at all. She heard Georg taking deep breaths and blowing the air out through his mouth as if he were trying to ease pain. It didn't surprise her at all, his ribs in particular were quite uncomfortable it seemed. She opened her eyes and gently touched his shoulder, and he jumped as he met her eyes, clearly not having meant to awaken her.

"Are you alright?"

"No, please don't touch me for a moment." She pulled her hand away, confused by his gruff tone.

"What can I do for you?" He chuckled a bit, if she only knew…or perhaps she could tell. "Oh…"

"Oh?" He looked to her once more to find that she did in fact see what was wrong with him in that moment, her eyes having traveled down the length of his body. She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, at least thankful that he wasn't in pain from his injuries.

"Are you a teenager again?"

"This is your fault."

"Mine?"

"You have to look the way you do…" She laughed, moving closer to press her lips against his cheek, her breasts brushing against his arm. "Maria, please."

"Please what?" Her lips moved down his neck, and she ran her hand down the center of his stomach, running her palm over his erection before he could even begin to stop her. He hissed as he took in air between his lips, and he felt the tip of her tongue touch the flushed skin of his neck.

"You do quite enough for me." She laughed, adding more pressure through his pants as she moved her hand over him again. She began kissing further down his neck, her lips touching his collarbone, and he groaned as he felt he was already too far gone if she stopped in that moment.

"While dressing and bathing you have been fun, you must admit that neither has yet to be pleasurable." She moved her hand to the waistband of his pants, and he wrapped his own hand around her wrist to stop her. "Shall I use my mouth instead?"

"No, Maria, I will not ask you to do this." His voice was commanding, but she knew from how hard he had been beneath her hand that he felt a bit desperate.

"You're not, I'm offering. I want to."

"I wouldn't feel right about it." She laughed a bit, moving to sit upon her knees before she leaned forward and pressed a heated kiss to his lips. He groaned as her gentle hand moved across his bare chest, her thumb running over his nipple. She bit his lip as she pulled away, and he met her eyes in pure agony.

"Don't worry, you'll return the favor at some point I should think." She raised her eyebrows, and a short laugh escaped his lips. She gave him a seductive smile as she leaned down and began pressing kisses against his stomach, careful not to rest any weight upon him. The doctor was sure to mention that he didn't need to be undergoing any strenuous activity for quite a while. Up until that point, he hadn't really wanted to do much of anything that involved moving at all, so it wasn't something they had experienced quite yet. She certainly didn't want to hurt him.

She slowly removed his pajama pants and underwear, the silk sliding against his skin in a most tantalizing way. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he felt her slowly kissing his thighs, her hands pushing his legs apart so she could move between them. She ran the tip of her tongue across his thigh, avoiding his erection completely as she moved her tongue across the sensitive skin upon his hip. He could feel her breath against his flesh, the warmth of her body as she hovered above his pelvis, and he nearly came undone from the anticipation alone.

"Maria…I can't take it anymore." She smiled brightly, looking to meet his eyes from between his legs. His face held a look of passion, pure desire for her, that she felt her heart double its pace. The idea that she was the one making him feel so out of control made her entire body turn to fire. She moved to the base of his erection, maintaining eye contact as she slowly pressed her tongue against him and licked all the way up his shaft. "Fuck…"

She smiled to herself as his head fell back against the pillow, and she ran her tongue over the tip of his erection. She slowly opened her mouth around him and took him in as far as she could, his pelvis jolting toward her without his control. She took him in again, unable to stop a small moan of delight from escaping her at the feeling of him filling her mouth. She applied suction, and he groaned when she released him from her mouth.

"Do you like that?" He laughed a bit, and she smiled before she took him in once again, sending shivers of pure desire throughout his body. She could tell he was already close every time she took him in, with every slide of her tongue or added suction, he throbbed and pulsated in her mouth. She wasn't sure how he got to be in such a desperate state, but she certainly didn't mind pleasuring him in that way. She loved to hear his heavy breathing, the panting sounds he made when he was at her mercy.

"My God…I'm going to come." She knew he was close without him needing to say anything, but she loved nothing more than the sound of desperation in his voice as she brought him closer and closer to the edge of his feelings. He grasped her hair in his hand, and she moaned against him, her own body hot from the way he was reacting to her. He began pulling her hair a bit, trying to remove her from his body. She groaned in frustration, continuing her ministrations. "I said I'm going to come."

"So come in my mouth." She paused only to say the most arousing words he swore he had ever heard from her, and he immediately felt himself letting go inside the warmth of her mouth. She swallowed enthusiastically, her breathing heavy as she licked and sucked every possible bit of him down her throat, her fingernails gently grazing the sides of his thighs. His body jolted and convulsed, his ribs aching at the movement, but he had no control in the slightest over his body. She had completely made him hers in every possible way, yet again.

"Oh, Maria…you are incredible." She smiled as she released him from her mouth, certain he was completely finished before she kissed back up his chest. She pressed a kiss to his lips, wondering how he felt about kissing her after the things her lips had just done, but he only deepened the kiss and pulled her close with his good arm. She pulled away and met his eyes, quite proud of what she had accomplished in that moment.

"To be fair, you were quite desperate, even before I got to you." He chuckled, and she pulled the blankets over his naked body, cuddling against his side as he wrapped his arm around her.

"You have the ability to make me feel desperate constantly. Everything about you…I can't believe how blessed I am to have you by my side." She laughed a bit, knowing she would never get over hearing such beautiful words. Even though they had agreed to put their more recent argument to bed, the only time she so foolishly took his ring from her finger, she found his reassurance to be incredibly comforting. She wondered if perhaps she still had some things she needed to work through herself, in that regard.

"I feel the same way. Now, try to get some sleep, darling. You do need your rest." He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he held her close to his side. He closed his eyes, sighing in relaxation as he began to drift into sleep.

"You just wait until I'm well enough to ravish you." She bit her lip, but couldn't stop herself from giggling. She sometimes wondered if perhaps his pain pills he was taking made his words fall from his lips a bit more loosely than usual.

"I can't wait." She gave him a gentle squeeze, smiling to herself as his breathing evened out.