Robert tried to hide the small box in his jacket, but it was too big. He decided to just hold it behind his back. The change was there that Cora would not really look the moment he stepped inside her room. He heard her talking to Baxter. This was the moment he said to himself and entered.

As he had hoped, Cora looked briefly at him, gave him a soft smile, and turned back to her mirror so Baxter could pin the last curl up. Robert would love to see all those pins back on the table, and Cora's chestnut brown curls cascading over her shoulders and back. If he got lucky, he would see that tonight just before they went to bed.

He saw how Cora took the gloves, Baxter handed her, and then he watched Baxter leave the room. He stepped closer towards Cora, who was trying to get her hands in the gloves. He lowered himself and kissed Cora's cheek. She smelt heavenly. "Do you have a new scent?"

"It is still Lanvin Arpège." Cora kept her focus on her glove, which did not want to go on her hand. Her fingers got caught in the fabric of the glove. Annoyed, she pulled the whole glove off. Straightened the fabric before trying it again.

Robert pressed another kiss onto Cora's skin, this time a little bit lower, in her neck. He felt Cora's reaction, exactly as he hoped. This made him lower his kisses even more, up to the point his lips kissed her colar bone. With the tip of his finger, he followed her colar bone.

Cora felt heat deep down in her core, her insides gone weak. Robert always knew where to touch her to get her riled up. She forced herself to focus on that damn glove that still did not want to slide on her hand and arm. Her light sweating that Robert caused did not help. A deep sigh left her body. She would love to leave them on the table and go downstairs bare-handed.

Robert noticed that Cora was still struggling with her gloves. He had to refrain himself from going lower with his kisses and make her struggle even more. He knew she would keep trying while also trying to ignore her tightness deep down. Once he felt Cora let out a deep sigh, he stopped his caressing of her skin and sat down on the chair next to her. He knew he needed to stop, before he would start growing himself.

Finally, Cora managed to get one hand in her glove. Before she started with the second one, she half turned towards Robert. "Well, that did not help." She joked. She batted her eyelashes before putting on the other glove. This one slid up a bit easier.

"You cannot tell me you did not like that." Robert said with his voice low in his chest. He knew Cora went weak when he did that. And he saw exactly that on her face. She struggled to keep her composure.

"Stop teasing me." She moaned, pressing her hands in her lap.

Robert got up again and stepped behind Cora. "I am sorry, I will leave the rest for tonight."

Another moan left Cora's mouth. "That doesn't help much containing this feeling." She stretched her neck, so her head fell back. Cora puckered her lips, and Robert answered.

"I have something for you." He said when they broke the connection.

Through the mirror, Cora looked at him. Robert's hand was firmly on her shoulder, so she could not turn around. She heard something open and Robert's voice. "Close your eyes." She did as instructed. The waves of unanswered pleasure were still rushing through her core.

Suddenly, she felt something cold on her skin, and her hand reached up to her neck. Her eyes shot open. "Pearls? Robert?"

"I know we do not have something to celebrate or any other special occasion. But do you remember when Lady Ingleby was here?"

All the heat that was still in Cora's body left instantly, and she lowered her hand and head. Of course, she remembered that evening. Robert had just walked into her room when Mr. Bricker had forced himself in. Robert was so angry that evening, even Violet had noticed something was wrong between them. She also remembered trying to keep the conversation going between her and Robert, so she commented on the pearls Lady Ingleby was wearing. She said something along the lines of being jealous.

Robert pressed his lips on Cora's temple. "You do not like them?" Both his hands rested on her shoulders.

"Oh no, I love them." Cora said, unsure. "But I did not expect you to remember that comment."

"I know. I had been unreasonable mad at you, but I did hear everything you said that evening. And because you only deserve the best, I bought the best pearls you can get in London."

"Oh Robert." It was almost a sob coming from Cora's mouth. She got up and wrapped her arms around Robert's neck. "You did not have to do this."

"I know, but I wanted too." He could not finish the rest of his sentence. Cora pressed her body against his and her mouth crashed on his. Robert moved his hand to her lower back and pressed her even closer to his chest. When Cora leaned back to get some air, Robert continued his kisses on her jawline and neck. One hand rested in her neck and massaged the base of her scalp.

Cora tried to wrap her leg around Robert, but her tight skirt prevented her from that movement, so she leaned even heavier on him. This made Robert scope her up and press her against the wall. Cora tried to pull up her dress as far as possible, so her legs had more room to move. She managed to wrap them around him. Robert pressed his manhood against Cora's core and grinded against her. She could feel his stiffness. Her breathing got faster, and she almost ripped the dress shirt of Robert's chest. Robert's hand was moving up in Cora's hair. A pin dropped to the floor, and this made Cora realise, they were preparing for dinner. Robert's mouth was on her chest, just where her dress line started. He could not reach her breasts due to the fabric. She forced herself to lower her legs and push Robert off her.

He was like a dog that wanted his toy and he looked at her panting. "Why are you so irresistible." he moaned. "Can we skip dinner?"

Cora tried to fix her dress and put the pins back in her hair in front of the dress mirror. It looked like a whirlwind had gone through it. She needed Baxter to fix this mess, but how was she going to explain this disaster. She looked over her shoulder at Robert, who also was trying to fix his clothing, she still saw a bulge in his pants, and she quickly looked up. Seeing his excitement did not help settling down her own heat. "I will go up early tonight with a headache."

Robert gave her a concerned look. "Why did you not tell me you had a headache, I would not have..."

"No silly." Cora tugged on his bow tie to get it straight again. "But I need you to take care of me later tonight when I have a headache."