Hello Everyone!

This chapter is a long one! I have been so busy lately that writing consistantly has been a challenge, so I am sorry for the long waits. But my schedule is clearing up now, so you can expect more consistancy from me.

Thank you all, so much for reading. I can't even tell you how much it warms my heart to read your comments, I absolutely love getting them and I am so truly grateful for all the suport.

I hope you are all well, take care!

xoxox

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Jane got changed as quickly as she possibly could that night. She splashed her face with water, unpinned her hair and got dressed in her robe before leaving her room to check on Adele. Jane indeed still wore her husbands housecoat that she had obtained in the first days of their marriage in private, but when she was outside their room, she adopted a rather more suitable one.

When Jane opened the door to Adele's room to look in upon her she found that she was already sound asleep. She crossed the room with caution and moved beside her bed, smoothing Adele's hair and kissing her forehead. Jane moved away from the bed and closed the curtains of the window for she knew that if she did not, Adele would wake up with the sun and not rest again until she had woken everyone in the house. The thought made her smile. She paused momentarily to admire the beautiful night sky- how calm everything looked. How still. She thought she could even see the beginning of a snowfall.

Outside in the hallway Jane ran immediately into Leah, who looked very preoccupied with the stack of linens she carried in her arms.

"Oh, m'lady, I am sorry that I put Adele to bed without your permission"

"Oh no Leah, I am very grateful that you did. She was so tired in the carriage on the way home. Indeed, I am sorry you are up so late and working, at that! I know you must be tired. I am mortified if I gave the impression that you had to work tonight".

"Quite tired, I'm afraid. But you gave me no such impression, I am just keeping busy"

Jane took the stack of linens from her arms and looked firmly at her.

"Then I wish you goodnight. And I want to thank you for all you have done, truly".

"No, I wanted to thank you, m'lady. I- Well, when it was first learned that you and Mr Rochester were to move I admit I feared that me and Mr John would be out of work. It would have been understandable, for we are not young, nor as useful as we once were. Yet I somehow knew I would not be abandoned in my old age".

Jane took her hand in hers,

"No, Leah, it is I who should be thanking you. This year has been one of great change for me, in which I have had to learn a lot. You have only ever been gracious to me, and kind when I have faltered. No one has been quite so generous with me as you have. If my thanks can be conveyed in the simple action of having you part of my home as a mentor and friend, I am more than lucky"

Leah smiled, nodding.

"You are a wonderful mistress, madam. The best I could ask for. Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas Leah, and to John as well".

As she turned and walked one way down the hall Jane turned to walk the other way. She opened a closet in the hallway and placed the linens inside, making note to return the next day to fix up the untidy stack she had created. As she closed the cuppboard door she turned to see her husband leaning characteristically in their bedrooms door frame. They smiled at one another as Jane approached.

"What is it?"

He pushed away from the door frame, standing before her as she reached him. The smile that illuminated his face was one of absolute prideful love and admiration.

"Nothing, nothing at all"

Jane raised her eyebrow, looking up into his dark eyes.

"Hm, I see"

He kissed her forehead sweetly and placed his hand in the small of her back.

"Bed?"

. . .

Jane watched Edward intently move about the room. He washed his face eagerly before shedding his clothes onto the floor- it was too late to worry about properly putting it away. He stood completely naked as he searched for his nightshirt which he could not see was hung over a nearby armchair, completely unaware of how desireous it made Jane to see him so unaware of his own beauty. Jane grinned to herself as she covered herself in the blankets from the bed. Edward eventually located his night shirt and in pulling it over his head looked up at his wife.

"You watch me, my darling"

"Indeed"

"I cannot imagine why"

"I like what I see, and I want it in my bed at this moment"

He chuckled as he climbed over the bed, the fire illuminating his beautiful form through the light material of his nightshirt. His loose curls hung around his face, which he pushed back easily with his hand as their lips meet. She immediately drew him nearer to her, deepening the kiss. She tugged unconsciously at the neckline of his shirt, trying to get to his skin, to get closer to him. This action made him smile into the kiss. His hand moving up Jane's leg and to the hem of her nightdress before she broke the kiss, looking up at him. Her hand traced his cheek affectionately as he looked questionally at her.

"Edward, not tonight, I'm sorry. I fear my very skin burns with desire for you, yet I am so tired, even now I could fall asleep".

He pressed his lips gently to Jane's forehead.

"No, of course. Do not apologise my darling"

He relaxed back into the bed, drawing her to his chest, but Jane turned to him, propping herself up on her arm slightly.

"But, if you are still willing to indulge me a little bit..."

Jane tugged her husbands nightshirt off over his head with his assistance without the slightest objection. He grinned amusedly at her as his naked form was once again exposed. She knew he smiled at her open honesty in her desires, for he often commented on how happy it made him feel. She in turn pulled off her own nightdress so that their bare skin touched as she sat up and climbed on top of him.

"Mmm" he moaned, wrapping his arms around her waist and looking deeply into her eyes "Now you are just teasing me"

Jane ran her fingers along her husbands back, tracing the scar on his shoulder lightly and bringing her lips to it. She felt his body slightly shudder beneath her touch and the thought made her chest expand and fill with joy. She knelt up, straddling both sides of his legs so that she could kiss his neck gently, sucking slightly in a teasing and loving way. She felt his hands grip her side as he drew the space between her breasts to his skillful lips. She gasped slightly as he kissed her breasts, throwing her head back. Her mind was unable to concentrate anymore on the kisses she had been planting along his neck and collarbone.

"Sweetheart?"

"Yes?"

"You are driving me mad'

Jane relaxed back against him once more. She felt his hand rub her back reassuringly as his other hand slipped between her legs. She felt his thumb brush her womanhood slightly, and with rather embarassing force, her body responded by thrusting into his touch. He chuckled, looking into her loving gaze.

"You do want me, don't you?"

"Mmm"

She kissed him in response, his arms pulling her into a close embrace. The sexual energy that had run strongly between them had turned to a less desperate, and more loving one. It was one of the skills they had aquired in their marriage. Jane never felt unsatasfied, even if she couldn't engage in lovemaking, because Edward someone knew how to make her feel excessively loved, if with nothing else other then a look, a touch, or a kiss. With this, she could never feel unsatisfied, and she knew the same was true of her husband. As frequently as they made love, as passionate as it was at times, and how slow and gentle at others, to him, her hand touching his chest, her lips pressed to his lips, her fingers tracing his scars, her voice in his ear was what he craved above all else.

"Now, tell me Ms Rochester, how do you feel after having survived your first ball?"

"I feel wonderful, and that you know"

"I do indeed, you were practically glowing the whole of the night"

"That is because I am happy. Happy to be seen as your wife, happy to dance, happy to see you so well admired by all around you. I am just so happy about so many things"

He chuckled softly as they relaxed back into bed, Jane laying against his chest. How perfectly she fit into him.

"Tell me them all"

Jane paused in thought.

"I am happy that it is Christmas Eve. That little Adele lies asleep down the hallway, that through that window I can see snow falling in large and heavy flakes to the ground, that all is very quiet and still-"

Jane paused again, still looking outside into the snowy winter night.

"And I am happier than I could ever express in knowing that I lay here on your chest listening to the sound of your heart. There is no greater form of love that I know".

"Come here" he breathed softly.

He pulled her chin towards his mouth slowly and kissed her lips sensously. When the kiss broke he put his hand to her cheek, caressing it naturally with his thumb. She smiled into his eyes and kissed his lips briefly before laying back into his embrace.

"Merry Christmas Edward"

"Merry Christmas, my love"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Jane?"

Jane felt her husbands hand on her shoulders, trailing down her arm gently. She stirred from her sleep easily, the tone of his voice indicated that nothing was wrong, and so she let her eyes flicker opened easily. The room was still mostly dark, though she knew if she pulled back the curtains even the smallest bit, a flooding of warm dawn light would fill the room and cover them. She turned to see her husbands face, laying beside her, flushed and full with feeling.

"My darling, I am sorry. You have been resting, and I have tried to sleep beside you, but I cannot"

Jane's hand reached for his and held it tightly.

"My love, why can you not sleep?"

"It is you, Jane. I have watched you for hours laying beside me and all I have wanted is to take you into my arms and make love to you, slowly and passionately. I need to see your head roll back, to see the way your eyes slightly cross when you are overtaken. I need to hear you. You will think me a brute for waking you up to express such, especially with you saying that you were tired-"

"Well now I have slept" Jane said, releasing his hand from hers with a grin and moving closer to him, placing her chin on his chest.

"And what is it that you would like now?" her husband asked.

"Well, I should only like to go back to sleep if you have sufficiently, and thouroughly tired me out".

The words were hardly out of her mouth when his lips met hers in a passionate embrace. He pulled the blankets back from around her, revealing her to be laying on her stomach. His hand traced around her leg lightly before sliding up to the top and to her bum. He moved atop her, bringing his lips to the inside of her thigh, and kissing her sensuously before moving to the other side, all the time masaging her bum and hips. She moaned deeply into her pillow, clutching it to her as his skillful lips moved to every place she needed to be touched. She gasped sharply, her breath coming up short as he lifted her hips and moved beneath her, his lips finding her most intimate area.

"Edward" she breathed.

Edward pulled his face back from his work, listening to the silent protest of Jane's moan as he stopped. She felt his smile against her skin as he kissed her softly on her lower back.

"Darling, let me love you in this way"

Jane nodded, sighing deeply.

"Yes love?"

"Do not stop"

"No?" he murmured in her ear,

"Please. Do not stop."

He chuckled softly at his wife as he willfully obeyed her command, resuming his position beneath her. Jane felt her stomach burning, expanding to an unbareable degree. She felt as if she was about to burst, the groan coming from her mouth sounding quite foreign to her. Her raised hips gave him perfect access to her,and as she started to shake under the influence of his lips, unable to control herself any longer from spilling over the edge, he pulled back.

"Why-" she began to debate,

"My darling, I plan to make you wild with desire. To drive you to the very brink in every way I can. Do you trust me?"

Jane looked into his dark eyes. How warm they were even now as they burned with longing.

"Of course I trust you".

He turned her over onto her back so that he could move to enveloping her lips. His kisses felt so complete, they took every other feeling away from her mind- she could focus only on him. It was his smell, his touch, the way she gripped his arms, strong and muscular. As their lips continued in a passionate embrace she felt him prop himself up slightly, moving one of his fingers into her core with absolute familiarity.

The sensation immediately overtook her. The kiss broke as she panted slightly when he stroked within her, indeed she felt so close to the edge that her head spun with expectation and need.

"Stay with me love, look at me"

Jane brought her face back to his, she did not notice how close he was to her when her eyes closed and her head had fallen to the side. As he moved his fingers in one deep motion Jane bucked up, her back arching, her face torn in equal pain and bliss. How could he tease her so, how could she be so helpless in his presence. It was frustrating, she could not have him yet, and she needed him now.

She forced her eyes opened again, she wanted to see him, to have her gaze fixed on him so that she could communivate with her eyes what confused words could not.

"You are so beautiful" he wispered softly, but she could muster no other answer than a frustrated moan. She wanted him to be more swift with her, to move faster and harder. But he insisted on his slow and sensous rhythm.

"I know darling, but do not fight for it, it will come"

Jane clung tightly to him as he inserted another finger against her in a new spot. She wrapped her arms around his back, her nails clawing his skin in desperation. He smiled at the feel of her hot breath on his collarbone. Her small noises were becoming more desperate, her breath shorter. She exhaled sharply, her plea overtaken by a deep, silencing kiss. As she thought she could bare no more he once again stopped, taking his teasing fingers out of her and moving his lips to her breast. He focused on her nipple, cupping one breast in his hand while the other was occupied by his mouth. She pushed her heels into the bed, throwing her arms over her head.

"That's it sweetheart, be still for me"

She tried to stop her writhing beneath him as best she could, to oblige him and to please herself in obeying, but it was harder than she thought. Her head was dizzy with desire, feeling equally like a feather and like a ton of lead. She never felt so aroused in her life, had she not woken up needing him so badly she would have loved this torture, but in this moment it was only torture that she could not have him. As his tounge flicked the small peak of her breast she cried out unexpectantly. Edward grinned against her skin, looking up at his wife's face with ardent love.

"Tell me" he implored, "Tell me what you want, my darling"

"I want you" Jane begged, her husband kissing away the single tear of frustration that had slipped from her eye. "I need to feel you inside me"

He smiled at his wife, holding her face in his hand

"Jane, the way you just called out-"

"Mmm, I shall do it again if you will give yourself to me"

He spread her legs with his knee easily, moving once again over her. He kissed up her stomach, to her shoulders and to her collarbone before lingering on her neck. She gasped, eyes closed, into his feather light touches, desperately pulling him nearer to her.

"You are so wet" he breathed softly to her, but moreso to himself, his hand running proudly over her soft mound. Her only response was laboured breathing.

Finally, at long last he positioned himself and filled her instantly with the ache that had been panging in her since he had woken her. She contracted around him, feelings of love surging through her body in waves. She cried out in final relief, a sound that to her husband was was better than any music, finer than any sound the world could create. The sound of her golden voice was divine, the only thing he needed to hear was-

"Edward"

It tipped him over the edge. He rocked into her, the perfect pace establishing cries and begging and moaning from his wife. But as she felt him becoming harder, and she felt herself slipping away from anty chance of recovery, she put her hand on his chest.

"Wait" she said hastily, and her husband stopped immeidately, looking into her face.

"Jane, are you alright? Have I hurt you?"

Jane shook her head, closing her eyes and smiling.

"No, you have not hurt me. I do not want you to finish before I can have my way with you"

The sound of her words made his heart throb, that she stopped them in the middle of breaking her over the edge because she did not want him to finish before she could make love to him. The thought tore at his heart.

"Then sweetheart, let me help you finish, and then you can do what you want with me".

"Be fast" she breathed, "I need you"

He moved her above him, ready for his action which he knew would have her crumpling in his arms in a matter of seconds. He pressed his thumb into her sensative area, applying pressure to her womanhood so that her moans and groans resumed. He then moved his lips to her private area and within seconds of his skillful mouth entering her, her body was flooded with waves of euphoria. Her body shook with pleasure after the long-awaited result had come, his scent filling her head, his touch burning her like fire. He moved away from her, laying beside her so that she could recover, regain her hitched breath, and slow her racing heart. Without looking at him, without opening her eyes, she felt for his hand, and in entertwining it with hers, placed it over her heart. It was enough to touch him, to feel him close- to know the protection he guarded her with, always.

"Ms Rochester, you are-"

"Not finished yet" she said, breathlessly.

Still recovering from her high, but wanting to feel him inside of her, she moved atop her husband, pulling him into a sitting position and straddling him. He groaned at the feeling of her weight on him, he loved when she was filled with the passion to take control. She moved her lips to his in desperate need, ajusting herself easily so that she could insert him inside of her. The reaction was instant. His low, masculine groan echoed in her ears as she began to move, slowly at first, but then rapidly. He was perfect, she thought, watching his face contort and strain. It did not take very long for her to climax again, and him to reach his peak, releasing himself within Jane.

Their joint cries rang momentarily in the still air.

Jane, tired and overwhelmed, fell onto her husbands chest, her face resting in the soft place between his neck and shoulder. She felt his heart pounding in his chest as he raised his hand to rub her lower back. She closed her eyes, trying to slow her own breathing. The vulnerability of making love caused her heart to crumble apart every time, but the deep love she felt for her Edward, and the deep love she felt in return, pieced it back together with the reassurance that it was stronger now then ever before. How lucky she was, to feel no fear or reservation in the face of her husband. He was the keeper of her soul, and she was the keeper of his. Nothing could be more divine than that.

Jane felt Edward lean back into the headboard, but she was too tired to look up from his shoulder. He moved her with him, gathering the blankets from the bottom of the bed and covering her in them. It was such an intimate action. She cuddled into his strong frame, feeling safe and reassured with his arms wrapped around her. His lips brushed her temple softly, sweeping over her brow.

. . .

"What was your first time like?" Jane asked some time later.

At one point she had gotten out of bed to open the window coverings and let in the morning light- the sunrise was too beautiful to ignore behind thick curtains. They had lay together for quite some time in silence, simply observing the scene outside, how the warm morning melted the chilled night. But suddenly Jane had the thought cross her mind and so she asked it out loud.

"My first time with a woman?"

"Mhm"

He looked slightly apprehensive, a look Jane was not used to seeing on him. He faced the window, so the thoughts which played over his face were heightened by the orange light which flooded all it could touch in the room.

"I have not asked before, because I know it does not matter, not to how I feel about you anyways. But, seeing as you know what my first time was like.."

He smiled at their memory, looking back into Jane's eyes.

"No, perhaps it does not matter much, but I promised to tell you anything you wished to know. I was sixteen when I was first with a women. It was an extremely awkward situation. I had been around the house much in the summer, for my plans to go and stay with my uncle in London had been changed last minute and I had no occupation. There was a girl who worked in the kitchens of the house, I do not believe she was there for very long, but she found me one day in the barn in midafternoon and sort of came onto me. Believe it or not, I was niave then, and I didn't quite sure what she was implying I do for her. It was rushed, and unfeeling and ended very quickly."

"Did she like you? I mean, did she fancy you?"

He smiled, "No darling, I do not believe she did. Or at least, I think she fancied the money that she would be granted if it turned out she was pregnant as a result. Again, I was young and foolish, I had no idea of the way these things play out, I was terrified afterwards".

"But nothing came of it?"

"No, like I said, I do not think she was in the house very long before she left again, so it all amounted to nothing".

Jane thought for a moment, but her thoughts were quickly interupted by a question.

"Did you never wonder, Jane? Were you never tempted by a man?"

"I had natural curiosities, yes. But the men I was surrounded by were horrible creatures, and they made us all believe that we would go straight to hell if we indulged in affection from a man. I pushed those feelings to the side, and concentrated on other things-"

"Like what?"

Jane grinned at him, "Like my work, and advertising for a position outside of Lowood school".

He smiled,

"Then you came to me"

"Indeed" she said, looking into his angelic face. "And all the feelings I had pushed to the side came rushing to the surface, threatening to smother me in their power. You awakened every need in me that I did not even know I had"

A strong, deep, and loving kiss was his response.

"You musn't tell me such things, love. They drive me to the brink of insanity".

Jane let him smooth her hair for a second before she looked more seriously at him,

"Is there a reason you did not want to tell me? I am not used to seeing that look of hesitance on your face when I ask you a question"

"No, it is not that I tried to hide something from you, it is only that it was so senseless, and meant absolutely nothing. In ways I wish I could have been for you what you were for me. Perhaps you would have enjoyed it more-"

"I would not have" Jane said, firmly. "Your experience made it perfect for me, it was easy for me to trust you"

"And how vulnerably you trusted me. You surprised me that night, Jane. You were so unafraid, you were so receptive. I was scared that my desire for you may frighten you off"

Jane shook her head, playing with the hair on his chest,

"I knew that while I did not know what to do, you would keep me safe. You soothed me, you asked me to trust you, and I did with me whole heart. You would never have forced me to do something I was not ready to do"

"No" he agreed softly, "I could never do that to you. I loved you too dearly then, and I love you too dearly now to make such an intimate act one that was harmful or unpleasant to you".

"Still" she continued, "At times you must have wanted to indulge yourself more than you did. When we first made love you made it about me alone, and all the pleasure was given to me"

He corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he bit back the happy memory.

"I wanted you to know the full extent of what intimacy could be, and I didn't want to push it on you too quickly. It was true then, and it is true now, my greatest pleasure comes when I can see you are satisfied"

Jane kissed his jaw appreciatively, she knew that her lips in that spot undid him every time.

"Besides", he maintained "I knew my time would come. And it has, a hundred times over my wildest expectations".

A few moments of silence as she lay against his skin,

"What is the difference?"

"In what, darling?"

"In making love to someone you love, and to someone you do not"

"Everything" was his ready response, "Everything is different. Everything is deeper, everything is more loving, everything is more divine. You forefit yourself to someone you love, and you put up walls with someone you do not. One act is selfish, and self indulgant, because you serve only to please yourself- the other is the deepest form of selflessness there is, because give up yourself in becoming one with the other person".

'That is beautiful"

"All divine things are beautiful, and you, Jane Rochester, are divine".

He played with her fingers as she spoke, and when he was finished he pressed his lips at length to Jane's forehead before kissing her brieftly as he pulled away.

"My love, you should try and go back to sleep. You had such a long night, and you were so tired going to bed"

"I'm not sure I want to. Talking with you is so much better than sleep"

He chuckled, "I agree with you, but we can't have Ms Rochester falling asleep at the Christmas table tomorrow, can we?"

"No, I suppose we cannot".

She turned over so that she pressed her back into her husbands chest, his arms enveloping her. From here, she could see the morning sun for herself, its orange glow still filling the room. She heard the low hum of her husbands voice in her ear, one of the most comforting sounds in the world. Everything in that moment was perfect.