The reception ball was held at Colin's residence, or rather his and Penelope's residence, the Bloomsbury House. Colin had rather liked the idea of being able to sneak Penelope away at a moment's notice, after the festivities of the wedding.
To the disappointment of the members of the ton, who were at the wedding itself, the reception afterwards was a much smaller affair; only their closest friends and family. They all drank and danced and ate to their heart's content. The atmosphere was joyous and lively.
He did not stop until Penelope sat down in a chair looking rather exhausted, so he thought it might be a good time to call it a night. He had wanted to steal her away all to himself hours earlier, but she looked to be having so much fun, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He was confident that either his mother, or perhaps even Lady Danbury, would take over hosting, as they could probably guess what an newly married couple would want to do in the late hours of such a day.
He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You look tired. Did you want to go to bed?"
The previously slumped, tired looking Penelope, suddenly perked up as if electrocuted. The sudden jolt caused her head to collide with his nose painfully "Ah!"
"Colin! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Her face was horrified, realising what she had done and moving to clutch at his face in concern, "Are you alright?"
"Ah, Pen" he winced, holding his nose "I didn't mean to scare you"
"Scare me?! Ah no... You didn't- I think I-" She stammered "I think you just caught me off guard"
"You don't need to be ' on guard'. It's just me ." He tried to smile through the pain, in an effort to comfort her. He didn't want to admit it, but it stung a bit to hear her say she felt the need to have her guard up with him at all . "Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Are you?" she asked again.
"I don't know." He raised an eyebrow at her, "Should I expect more of this aggression moving forward, Pen?"
She chuckled awkwardly, her eyes apologetic, "I hope not".
"Okay then" He smiled at her again, feeling glad she seemed to calm down a bit, even if it was only a bit. He took her hand in his and kissed it. "I'll try again then. Are you done for the night?"
"My feet are rather sore."
"Very well", with that, he turned and led her through the crowd, up the steps.
"But we can't leave, we're the hosts-" Penelope started, seeming a little worried.
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure my mother will take over that responsibility and shoo everybody out once everything is over." He continued to lead her down the hallway to his bedroom.
Penelope couldn't help but feel her anxiety rise as they moved down the hallway. Her chest was tight, her breathing quick and shallow. 'This is it! This is what everything has been building up to. Oh God, please let everything go as planned!', she panicked internally.
She realised Colin and herself had already been intimate once before; just after the engagement announcement, but something about tonight felt different. She struggled to understand why that was the case. She wondered whether it was because they were married now and there would be different expectations of her. Or perhaps it was the build-up to this night that was making it all suddenly so strangely terrifying.
Her and Rae had planned out this evening well. They had managed to quietly organise everything with Colin's house staff, in preparation for the surprise she had waiting for him upstairs. She wanted this night for Colin to be perfect, but she was ashamed to admit her nerves were getting the better of her.
They approached Colin's bedroom door, he put his hand on the doorknob to open it but stopped when he noticed Penelope's hand shaking in his. "Are you alright, Pen?" He looked at her, a worried expression clouding his previous joyful one. "You're shaking".
"I- er... I- I guess I'm...just...well..." she swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry.
Colin's head tilted to the side, as confusion danced about his face "Are you cold or something?"
"Er, yes!" she piped up, glad she could jump on any other reason other than the truth.
'No, Colin. I'm just terrified I'm gonna screw something up tonight, and it's going to set the tone for our whole marriage!', she argued internally.
"Yes! Just cold." she reasserted, with an attempt at a smile, doing everything she could to be convincing.
Colin didn't seem convinced though, but he turned to let them both inside the room.
"Wait!" She grabbed at the doorknob before he could fully open the door. "Colin, I er... I forgot to mention, I got you a wedding gift"
"Pen, you didn't need-" Colin started.
"I know. But I wanted to. Only... I- I'm not sure if it is… presentable yet, can I poke my head in first?"
"In there?" he asked, pointing at his bedroom door. "Your gift is in there already ? When did you-?"
"My maid, Rae, helped me. She organised with your house staff so we could set it up without ruining the surprise for you." She smiled tentatively up at him.
"So sneaky" his eyebrow raised as a playful smile played around his lips. He released his hand from the doorknob, holding them up in surrender in front of him.
"Er, no-... no peeking! Look the other way for a moment"
"Alright, alright." he said, just closing his eyes, still in the surrender position.
Penelope squinted at Colin's face, waving a hand in front of it. She even stuck her tongue out at him in the silliest face she could think of. Assuming that his face would've shown some change of expression at her antics, she finally assured herself that he was not spying on her through barely open slits.
She nodded and opened the bedroom door, just enough to peek inside.
She saw Colin's bed, large and majestic with posts at each corner. Dark embroidered sheets and satins were sprawled across its length. And behind it, leaning against the wall, was Penelope's gift: an ornately framed mirror, almost equally large and long as the bed it sat beside. Penelope was relieved that Rae's and her work had paid off and it arrived in one piece.
She nodded and closed the door again. 'Now...', she thought to herself, inhaling deeply, 'the rest is up to me'.
She tried to push her nervousness away. She turned and opened her mouth to tell Colin to open his eyes again, but she stopped when she was his face. He was still in the same position, calm and innocent, eyes closed waiting patiently for her. She berated herself for her nerves.
This was Colin.
This was a man whose kindness and fierce loyalty were only a few of his greatest characteristics.
Above all, he was trustworthy and he loved her.
She wondered if it was his gaze that triggered her panic, and now that they were hidden she was suddenly able to think straight again. Her eyes drifted down to his lips, so soft and enticing she was tempted to press hers against them.
"Pen? Can I open my eyes now?"
"Wha-? Oh yes!" she stammered. Had she been staring at him? She honestly wasn't sure. "yes, it appears my gift arrived without incident!"
"Good", his eyes fluttered open and he looked at her expectantly, "well? where is it?"
"Inside", Penelope opened the door again and gestured for him to enter; she followed in behind him.
Colin's mouth dropped open. Penelope's and his own wide-eyed reflection stared back at him in the most grandiose mirror he had ever seen.
"Well? Do you like it?" Penelope tried her best to seem nonchalant. She, of course, understood the hidden meaning of the mirror, but she did not want to appear too obvious. "I wasn't sure what would be good. What can one buy for a man that has everything?"
He coughed and nodded, "Yes, thank you... I must admit, I didn't expect anything quite so large, though". He moved to his cabinet, grabbed a whiskey bottle and poured some into two glasses. "Whiskey?"
She nodded with a smile, taking it from him and eyeing it curiously.
"You can sit, Pen." he said, gesturing at the bed. "You said your feet were sore, did you not?"
She glanced gingerly at the bed. 'The bed?! Oh God, it's happening! It's happening! Calm yourself, my fluttering heart.' Her inner voice only made her panic worse.
She sat down slowly at the head of the bed, back against the wall, her reflection to her right.
On the other side of the room, Colin was silently dealing with his own internal struggles.
'She got me a mirror?!' He battled with the thought, 'She had to be doing it because of what he had said to her the last time they were intimate ...Wasn't she!?' he stole a glance her way.
Seeing her calmly sat on the bed, leaning against the wall and sipping her whiskey, he began to doubt it.
Colin gulped his entire whiskey in one and poured himself another. 'If she had got the mirror with that intention behind it, then surely she would be...I don't know...blushing? Or something!? But I see no blushing! Was it just a coincidence, then?'.
Meanwhile Penelope sat on the bed, completely obvious to all of this.
She focused instead on her ankles, which she had clasped in her hand and moving about, apparently in an attempt to relieve pain.
He tried his best to regain his composure, trying to seem as casual as possible. He moved towards her, sitting down on the end of the bed and leaning against the bedpost.
"Here, let me", he held his hand out expectantly.
Penelope blinked in confusion, she started to hand her whiskey glass back to him, clearly not understanding his intent.
He laughed, "no, not that."
He grabbed her feet instead and pulled them into his lap, earning him a little gasp of surprise from her. " This . You said your feet were sore, but you still haven't taken off your shoes." He got to work undoing the laces and slipping them off her.
"Colin! You know I can-" she started protesting, beginning to blush.
Until he cut her off with a change of topic, "really is quite exquisite", which actually seemed to make her blush even more.
"W-what?" she stuttered, wide eyed.
'Actually... Maybe finding out could be fun. Because that reaction makes me think I was right the first time' He thought slyly to himself.
"The mirror" He said gesturing toward their reflections.
"Oh right! Y-yes, quite" she chuckled awkwardly.
With her shoes now removed, Colin began palming her feet with his hands. It triggered a small surprised noise from her, before she quickly covered her mouth to stifle it. His eyes squinted at her, a tiny smile toying at the corner of Colin's lips because of her reaction.
"Although it does make me wonder what made you think of it as a gift..." he raised an eyebrow playfully at her. His hands massaged her soft skin underneath her thin stocking, inching up slowly.
"N-no reason" She tried her best to appear indifferent, but her increasingly rosy cheeks gave her away, "Like I said, you already have everything else, so..."
"So it has nothing to do with...what I told you?"
Penelope's breath quickened at his question. Her mouth opened and closed, unsure of how to answer. Colin felt like he could almost hear the cogs working in her brain, looking for ways to seem innocent in this conversation. But he was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that it was not only him who had been reliving their first experience together.
He studied her face. Her flushed cheeks, her shallow breath, her eyes seemingly begging as they locked onto him...All reminded him of their first time together.
There were certain things in life, like writing, that Pen was more experienced and confident in than he was. However not in this . Her inexperience made her shy, insecure and nervous. But despite that, if he read between the lines, it was much more obvious that Pen wanted this just as much as he did.
The mirror as a gift would have been a beautiful gesture regardless, but with the added connotations of what the mirror meant for them in particular... or rather the fact that the only time either of them had discussed one, was when he was expressing his most secretive fantasies to her.
With that he took the leap.
He leaned forward, half crawling toward her, closing the space between them. His gaze trained on her face, watching for her reaction. One of his hands keeping him steady, while the other trailed teasing fingernails up Penelope's calf.
"If I didn't know better, Pen...", he said, as his fingers moved to stroke her thigh. "I might even think you had been thinking about our last encounter".
She seemed to try to speak again but words failed her. She gulped audibly before slowly nodding. He smiled devilishly at her, taking his hand from her leg only to cup her cheek instead. His lips touched hers, so soft and tentative, before pulling away slightly, "don't worry. So have I."
Her half-lidded eyes looked to his, then to his lips and back. Her want was written all over her face. She reached her hands up to his collar, gripping it tightly and pulling him closer to her again. Her lips crashed into his passionately, one of her arms wrapping around his neck, causing his arm to buckle and his body to fall onto hers.
Both their hands seemed impatient, searching for the other's skin. Her hands pulled the fabric of his shirt, untucking it and allowing her entrance; touching the soft skin of his back.
His found their way back to her thigh, gripping it roughly through the stocking. His hand clutched at it, pinning it against his side as his hips ground down against her. She cried out, breaking their kiss, his hard sex pushing against her core.
His lips found her neck, kissing and sucking at her. He revelled at the sounds it brought from her. She threaded her fingers through his hair and wrapped one leg around his hips, pinning him against her. He trailed kisses down her neck, nipping at the top of her breasts. He growled at the fabric of her dress, stopping him from exploring more. She arched her back into him, aching for his lips on her skin.
He pulled her close and rolled them both over until she was the one straddling his legs. He sat up, being pulled into another kiss by Penelope. Her fingers fumbled messily at the buttons of his vest, while his own found the laces at the back of her dress. He tugged them loose, finally freeing her breasts to the open air.
He took her nipple into his mouth, causing her to gasp out in surprise, "Ah! C- Colin!"
"Hmm?" His eyes looked up at her, his mouth open, tongue still playing with her nipple.
Her golden brown eyes looking at him helplessly, her fingers still struggling with his tiny buttons. "No- Not fair..." she managed, breath hitching in her throat.
He smiled, almost taking pity on her. "All your plans foiled by just a few buttons, Pen?" He chuckled at her indignant expression, like a child with their favourite toy taken away as punishment. He grasped her hands at his chest, kissed them sweetly and took over the task of undoing the many tiny buttons of his vest. "Better?" he smiled up at her, one eyebrow raised.
Her eyes shifted from left to right, "...yes", she finished curtly, seeming embarrassed.
He pulled her into another kiss, distracting her. She moaned against him, her hand cupping at his cheek and wrapping around his waist. He gripped at her hungrily, pushing her back toward the mirror and onto the bed.
He crawled backwards off of her, pulling the dress down the length of her body and discarding it on the floor.
For Penelope's sake, he decided to remove his vest and shirt completely too, but he certainly enjoyed the view as he did so.
Penelope lay flushed and dishevelled before him. Her auburn curls splayed against the bed, golden eyes half-lidded and wanting, with plump rosy cheeks. Her lips slightly swollen from their kisses, as shaky breaths left them, making her bosom swell with each one. The only clothes she had left were the wedding undergarments; a half-corset around her waist with straps to hold up her stockings and a silky pair of underwear.
"Colin...", she covered her chest with one hand, the other reaching out to him, "Come back to me..."
He smiled at her, kneeling back onto the bed at her feet.
His hands massaged their way up one of her legs, trailing nips and kisses up the inside of it. Penelope had sat up slightly, leaning on her elbows to watch him. He moved one arm underneath her leg, wrapping around her hip, positioning her leg over his shoulder and out of the way.
His hot breath against her core made her shudder in anticipation. He traced a thumb along her slit, nothing but a thin layer of material separating them. He felt his member feel ever tighter beneath his breeches, when he realised just how aroused Penelope already was. Her underwear was already soaked through.
He smiled teasingly up at her, "You're already so wet, Pen, and I've only just started".
"Colin!" Her hand reached out to cover his mouth, "Don't be so... embarrassing!"
He chuckled and bit one of her fingers playfully, "Is it not the truth?"
"I- I don't know what you're talking abo- Ah!" Colin's mouth closed around her core, cutting off her thought and making her head fly backwards in shock.
His tongue licked her through the fabric. His finger laced around the undergarment and pulled it to the side, allowing him unfiltered access to her most intimate place. He licked at her hungrily, greedily tasting her, committing it to memory.
"Ah! O-oh God!" she moaned breathlessly.
The sounds she made caused him to look up.
"Col-...Colin...Ahh...", she was incoherent, so caught up in the feeling, he didn't think she even realised what her hands were doing. One kept switching between clutching at her own breast and clutching at the bedsheets desperately. While the other grabbed at the hair on the back of his head, shamelessly pushing his face against her core.
He looked past her, even past the two beautiful mounds on her chest, to the mirror behind her. He was thankful again that she had chosen this particular item as a gift for him. He saw Penelope's face reflected back at him. Her head hanging off the bed, eyes closed in pleasure and mouth hanging open, soft pants emanating from her lips.
He watched her, enraptured, as he teased and sucked at the little bundle of nerves at the top of her slit.
She bucked her hips rhythmically, grinding them against him. He watched her bite her lip, her expression becoming more desperate with every passing second. Colin increased the speed of his tongue flicking across her clit, he watched as her eyes flew open and found his in the reflection.
"O-oh God!" she cried out, before stifling the sound against her arm, biting down hard against it.
All the muscles in her body went tight, as the waves of pleasure rippled over her. Colin felt momentarily crushed between her thighs, as her legs kept him locked in place, but he was certainly proud of himself for getting such a strong reaction from her.
After a few seconds, she fell limp and panting against the bed; she only occasionally trembled at the aftershock of the sensation.
He crawled up her body, leaving kisses as he went. His hands explored her up and down, a grasp at her breast, then running down her side again to grasp at her voluptuous bottom. As his kisses found the fresh bite mark on her arm, next to the older one, he had noticed a few days ago, his curiosity got the better of him.
"No need to damage yourself, my love."
"...Hmm?" murmured Penelope, seeming dazed.
"The bite", he answered, gesturing to the indentation marks on her arm.
"Oh? Well I... I didn't want to make too much noise..." she said, looking away shyly. "there might still be people downstairs...I don't want them to hear me".
He growled, kissing and nibbling at her neck. "But I want to hear you", he whispered at her ear. His dark gaze found hers again, "but it does beg the question...why do you have two bite marks, Penelope?"
She blinked in surprise, "Oh! Err well err... that was..."
"That was..?", he insisted as his fingernails trailed up and down her inner thigh.
She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "...it was...practise..."
"Practice?", he raised an eyebrow at her. He wondered if she meant what he thought she meant. "Oh really? What kind of practice exactly?"
Her mouth dropped open, horrified and indignant that he was asking her to spell it out for him, "Oh! You know!"
"Not at all." He tried to appear innocent, "But I would love to be educated on the matter".
She rolled her eyes, but resigned herself to continue. "Well... last time I was not so... prepared . So I tried to... prepare myself. So I copied what you had done.."
"What I had done? Whatever do you mean?" he said in mock ignorance.
"Colin!"
He sighed dramatically, "Well if you will not tell me..." he moved as if to leave, "then I suppose I should g-"
"No, wait!" Her arm wrapped around his waist, keeping him pressed against her side.
Her trembling hand moved to cover his one, that was still trailing at her inner thigh. She moved his hand slowly up, until it rested against her wet, sensitive core. Her breath hitched in her throat.
He smiled and lent down to whisper in her ear, "show me".
Her fingers laid over the top of his own and moved his hand to rub against her. A breathy sigh left her lips as her hips moved ever so slightly into the sensation. His kisses continued against her neck, as she took control of his hand. She moved them in little circles around her core, both their fingers slick in her honey. Her pace quickened, pushing their fingers to flick quickly from side to side across her clit, taking her right to the edge of her pleasure peak before suddenly slowing down before going over the edge.
He found himself strangely proud of her, she really had been practising, because that wasn't something he had shown her. Keeping herself balancing at the edge of an orgasm, just to prolong it? That she had figured out all by herself. His hard member ground against her hip, imagining Penelope touching herself alone for the first time, biting herself to stop from screaming out as she came.
She surprised him again when she pushed his finger inside her wet folds. Her back arched at the sensation. He felt her nails dig into his back, desperately needing his skin against her own.
He couldn't help but watch her, mesmerised by her. His own arousal grew intense as he watched her pump their fingers into herself, moans escaping her lips as she did. His member, still restrained within his breeches, felt wet and hard even from this. He wondered whether he might cum before he even managed to insert it in her. He smiled lustfully at her, before deciding he was fine with that if he did. He didn't want to rush her, he was already seeing a side of her now he only dared to imagine.
His lips found hers in a passionate kiss. She moaned into him, her fingers lacing into his hair. She pushed another of his fingers inside her. He felt her contract around him, tight and wet, pulling him in. Her hand pushed both their fingers in as far as they would go, all the way up to the knuckles, holding it there in place.
She broke their kiss to release shuddering breaths. She wrapped both her legs around his hips, and pulled him on top of her, her whole body shaking. She wiggled their fingers inside her, pressing against something deep within her.
Her face looked like she was barely holding herself together. Her pumps started again, slow at first, but quickly picking up the pace. Her back arched and Colin couldn't help but take her nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue.
"Ah, Colin!" She cried out in surprise, her golden brown eyes meeting his as she came, tightening around his fingers. "Oh! Oh God!"
He pumped into her wildly, watching her lose control of herself beneath him, riding waves of pleasure.
Her head fell backwards on the bed, exhausted. Her chest breathing deeply, sweaty and spent. Colin unwrapped himself from Penelope's legs, crawling off of her to finally free himself from his breeches. His member popped out, standing up eagerly. He groaned as he stroked himself firmly; the tip, hot and slick from his arousal.
He moved to kneel on the bed again at Penelope's feet. He picked up her feet, kissing them and placing them on each of his shoulders. She looked at him, curious, still half dazed. He grabbed his member, rubbing it slowly up and down against her wet slit. She bit her lip, gazing up at him with pleading eyes. Her hands reached up for him. He obliged, leaning over her, bending her in half in the process.
"Colin..." she captured him in a kiss. Her hands clutching at his back and his thigh, needing to close the space between them.
He teased at her entrance, "Please, Colin...I need you"
He kissed her deeply, pushing himself into her, her deep moan breaking their kiss.
He growled against her shoulder, trying to control himself as he felt her hot sex contract around him.
She threaded fingers into his hair, calling out in estacy, any self consciousness falling away, "Oh God...yes..."
"Penelope... Ah...", he thrust into her slowly, attempting to pace himself, not wanting to finish too soon. He bit lightly at her neck; between shaky breaths and incoherent thoughts, "Penelope..."
"...don't stop... d- don't... don't stop..." she begged as his pace increased, her own hips bucking at his movements. He smiled against her skin. How could he refuse a request like that?
He leaned back against his heels, straightening up and holding her legs in place over his shoulders.
He took a moment to admire the view. Penelope splayed out before him, in nothing but stockings, underwear and a half corset. Hair dishevelled and breasts bare, her nipples erect from his teasing. Her soft voice begging him for more. Not to mention the reflection of her in front of him, allowing him to enjoy her from every angle.
She moaned impatiently, grinding her hips against him.
He looked back at her, smiling fiendishly, "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I too... slow?" He emphasised his last word with a deep thrust into her, earning him a delicious moan.
"Ah! Colin!"
With a reaction like that, he couldn't help but do it again, "I just wanted ..."
"Ah!"
And again "...to enjoy ..."
"Ahh!"
"...the view ..." He continued, earning sweet nothings from her lips with each thrust. His pace quickened, thrusting harder and faster.
"Yes! Ah...don't stop! ...Don't stop! Ahh!" Her body suddenly tensed around him, her back arching, almost sending her toppling off the bed, head first. He managed to keep her from falling fully, his arms clutching her legs to his chest.
"Are you trying to run away?" He chuckled, panting.
"You're… fault..." she managed, barely able to catch her breath. "You're pushing me off the bed!"
"Oh yeah ?" He thrust again into her already sensitive body.
"Oh God!"
"Well I can work with this too", he pounded into her with reckless abandon, no longer any need for warm ups.
Her body dangled helplessly off the bed, her hands struggling to find a place to support her. He turned to bite at her leg, his eyes fixed on the mirror. He growled against her skin, only growing more aroused at her begging expression in the mirror.
He couldn't take his eyes off her, he couldn't believe how much he wanted her. She was beginning to feel like a drug to him; her muscles contracting around him; lost in her own pleasure, which only made his own more intense.
He wanted her.
Always.
He wanted her to know, with everything he had, that she was his, and he was hers.
He wanted her like this, again and again.
Her beautiful body at his mercy, her breasts bouncing around excitedly just for him.
Her face, flushed with desire, lips open, calling his name...
And her eyes...
Her beautiful eyes that had a way of melting him.
"Pen...", he called out breathlessly to her, sounding more like a beg than anything else. Pleading her to open her eyes.
And she did.
Her eyes fluttered open and met his in the mirror. Her golden pools melting him, taking him over the edge.
"Oh, Pen...Ahh!" With a final thrust deep into her, he felt his release reach its peak. He clung to her, a guttural groan escaped him as he filled her. His body tensed as waves of pleasure took over him, all coherent thought gone.
Eventually, his body relaxed again, sweaty and spent. He pulled out of her, a gasp leaving her lips at the sensation. He pulled her back onto the bed, before collapsing next to her exhausted.
They both tried to catch their breath, nothing but the sound of panting in the air.
She rolled over to face him, smiling happily to herself. With one finger, she tucked his hair behind his ear, before letting it rest against his cheek.
"I love you", she whispered, kissing his forehead and letting her own rest against it. "so very much".
"I love you, too, Pen." His trembling arm, wrapped around her waist, pulling her close, "With all I have". He chuckled to himself, "and thank you for your gift. It was a good choice".
She chuckled as well, "You're welcome".