~ 6 ~
* the next morning *
The sun's morning rays hit Penelope's face through the window of Colin's childhood bedroom, waking her. She blinked several times at the sight of the unfamiliar surroundings in an effort to remember where she was, considering for a moment if she'd also heard a distant knock somewhere in her state of half-sleep. But the room lay quiet. She turned in Colin's embrace to face him, watching him sleep for a few precious moments before he, too, began to stir. She smiled as his eyes opened to meet hers and a sleepy grin appeared on his face. Without warning, he rolled over onto his back, taking her along until she lay sprawled on top of him. Reaching out to brush away a stray lock of hair from her face, he whispered, "good morning, beautiful."
"Good morning," she said, her morning voice still a little raspy from sleep.
"Didn't fall off the bed last night, did you?" Colin asked. His sly grin let her know that he had not forgotten their first overnight trip to Aubrey Hall as boyfriend and girlfriend, when she, during the course of a very heavy make-out session, very nearly did fall off his old single bed. It had since been replaced by a comfy queen bed.
"Nope, you kept a pretty tight hold on me last night," she answered with a kiss and a sly grin of her own.
"Yeah, see I'm not doing all the weightlifting at the gym for nothing," he laughed, pulling her a little tighter to his chest, where she planted a kiss before laying her head down. "I even carried you to our room last night when you were too tired to take the stairs on your own."
"Pay me later for this little training session, will you?" she jested with a grin, playing with the hairs on his chest, feeling the rumble right there as he quietly laughed at her in return.
A peaceful moment passed, neither of them speaking as Colin slid his hand across Penelope's belly that wasn't yet showing any signs of her pregnancy.
"So, what do we have planned for today?", she broke the silence when she felt the movement of his hands less frequently, thinking he was about to fall back asleep.
"Do you think it would come off as impolite if we stayed in bed all day?" Colin suggested, picking up where he had left off, letting his hand travel further up to the soft skin on the underside of her breasts. They were even fuller now, more sensitive to his touch so he was being extra careful with his ministrations as he cupped one of her breasts with his hand.
Penelope closed her eyes at the feel of his soft touches, a small moan escaping her lips at the sensation. "Colin!" She slapped his chest, trying to stop him before it was too late.
"What? I love sleeping with you. Can… you… blame… me?" He mumbled between kisses.
Contrary to Colin, she hadn't completely lost her sense of restraint, knowing where they were and that Hyacinth's room was right next to theirs. She steeled herself, considering her next words carefully.
"Would you find it impolite if your mother and Marcus didn't show up in the house all day?"
Boom. They had hit Colin exactly like she'd planned.
"Thank you for that mental image that I won't be able to unsee now." He withdrew his hand, sighing disappointedly. "What time is it anyway?"
"It's almost 10," Penelope answered after a quick glance at her phone on the nightstand. "I don't know about you but I feel completely refreshed."
"No wonder, you slept through both "Home Alone" movies and even "A Nightmare before Christmas," of all movies," Colin said lovingly.
"I can't help it. It's the pregnancy hormones. I guess they prepare you for all the sleep you're not getting once the baby is born. Like some kind of advanced concession."
Her pale blue eyes, shining with excitement, locked with his. Colin looked at her for a long moment. She really did look especially beautiful this morning, rested and glowing, her disheveled mop of hair framing the soft features of her face. It was almost too much for him, and his cock was aching for attention.
Penelope felt the shift in the air when his gaze turned hungry once more, causing other hormones to take over within her as she suddenly wished for his hands to return to where they were before. She felt herself getting wet with need by the way he was simply looking at her in awe.
Damn! She knew how to be quiet, they both did, as they had proven at many untimely occasions over the past years – the ladies' room at the hospital where Penelope's sister Prudence had recently given birthbeing one of them.
Colin read her like an open book. The microsecond her gaze had turned hazy, he ran his hand over the skin of her thigh and up her hip, lingering on every curve, leaving a burning trail behind.
"You know… I could give you an advanced concession for some other… things… we're probably going to miss out on once the baby is born," came Colin's sheepish suggestion, his hand now roaming all over her nude back underneath her sleep shirt – his sleep shirt, to be fair – until it came to rest on her butt cheek, pressing her closer to his now obvious erection. Penelope felt the last thin string of restraint within her snap.
He brushed his lips over hers, and she nibbled at his top lip, letting her tongue trail across it before slipping into his mouth, where it met his in a sweet and silky touch. A little out of breath, he added, "And I promise I'll be good and respectful and reticent for however long you need me to be, once our baby is here."
"Stop talking and just… take me," Penelope mumbled, pulling the night shirt over her head and tossing it and her damp knickers onto the floor.
"What about foreplay?", came his husky voice, and he licked his lips, eager to please her with his mouth first.
"No need!", she breathed back as she positioned herself, opening her legs for him readily.
A split-second later, Colin tore down his boxer briefs greedily. His pulse quickened, a flow of hot lava now burning through his veins. In another moment he was over her. Penelope let out a soft cry, feeling the tip of his erection sliding between her slick folds. Guiding himself with one hand, he made a circular motion at her warm entrance.
"Oh, yes," she whispered. "Yes!" Blindly, she raised her hands and grabbed hold of his shoulders, driving her fingers into the taut muscles.
His head came up and his fiery eyes bored into hers as he began to push slowly into her. It was as if they were staring into each other's soul; a moment of concentrated stillness and electricity, with only the intense sensation of their bodies melding inexorably together.
When he was fully immersed inside her, Colin bent down to kiss her tenderly. She smiled up at him with shining eyes.
Returning her smile, he slowly withdrew and thrust firmly back into her, still gazing into her eyes. A little gasp of pleasure escaped from her, encouraging him to repeat the action several more times. Each time she cried out softly, feeling the jolts of pleasure pile on top of each other, becoming more intense with each thrust, until she was straining upwards with her hips to meet his plunges, climbing faster and faster towards the height of her passion. She struggled to keep her eyes fixed on him, seeing her own searing need reflected back in his dark pools of burning desire, watching his internal struggle with the intense urgency to release and explode within her.
The rest of the world vanished, allowing for this one moment, this one amazing moment, where all that existed was them. Him within her. She was his, he was hers.
Their breathing and movements became erratic, both of them drawing closer to the point of no return. Whimpers and cries of pleasure muffled as they each pressed their mouths to any stretch of skin of the other within reach…an outstretched arm… a sweat-covered shoulder… a soft cheek… a straining neck…Confused senses were no longer able to discern just where one body begun and the other ended. They were one. Intimately fused together, bodies and souls intertwined.
Until suddenly, finally, the entire universe shattered around them.
Penelope's body shuddered as intense waves of ecstasy washed over and through her. Colin's last coherent thought faded away into nothingness, the feel of her inner walls throbbing and rippling around him as she climaxed, sending him right over the edge. Head spinning, he gave one final thrust, spilling himself within her, a long, suppressed cry of pleasure escaping him.
A moment later, he collapsed next to her, panting madly.
Penelope turned to her side and snuggled closer to Colin, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder. She ran a hand over his chest, letting it rest just above his pounding heart. He slid one arm around her, hugging her tightly to him. With the other hand, he reached for the blanket and tugged at it so he could cover them with it.
"Ugh, I should probably go and take a shower, but I don't want to get up just yet." She closed her eyes, taking in Colin's musky scent in a deep breath. "Why do you smell so amazing in the mornings? That's not fair."
"I'll tell you my secret. I set the alarm every morning a half hour before yours so that I can hop in the shower and brush my teeth for you before you even open your eyes," Colin explained, a small smile playing at his lips.
"I'd almost believe it if I didn't know you hate getting up early," Penelope said, sniffing once more. Then she mumbled, more to herself, "I bet I smell funny. I didn't take a shower last night like I usually do."
"You smell exactly the way I like it," Colin reassured her. "Besides, this bed looked and smelled worse during my teenage years."
"Ew, way to kill the mood!"
"What? You started it!"
"I was merely complimenting you and…you know…fishing a little bit."
"Okay, here goes your compliment." Colin pulled her closer, smelling her hair. "You smell like Penelope Bridgerton, my wife, my best friend, my home. And I wouldn't have her any other way."
She sighed, pleased with his words, feeling his slowing heartbeat and his chest rising and falling under her hand. "Shower with me later?"
"Absolutely," he agreed, closing his eyes as he felt a deep contentment settle within.
In their moment of pure bliss, they let the minutes tick by, barely doing much more than breathing…, daydreaming, and feeling each other's warmth.
Realizing he was at risk of falling back asleep again with Penelope in his arms – which at a different time and in a different place he very much would have allowed to happen – Colin eventually stirred, got up and went to the en-suite bathroom, only to return within a few seconds, carrying a piece of toilet paper. Handing it to his wife so that she could clean herself up a little bit, he noticed something.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Hmmmm … I smell coffee. Mom and Marcus have probably been up for hours already, and I have an inkling that there are blueberry waffles down there waiting for us."
"Well then," Penelope quickly rose from the bed and reached for her robe, "what am I hanging around here for?" With a backward glance at Colin and a wiggle of her eyebrows, she left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.
At the bottom of the stairs, Colin caught up with her and tugged her back into the stairway just as she was rounding the corner. Pulling her to him, he leaned down and gave her a long, soulful kiss. Pulling away only slightly, he whispered against her lips, "I forgot something." Then, to Penelope's surprise, he glanced in every direction, checking to see if the coast was clear before he dropped to his knees in front of her. Placing a kiss on her stomach, he whispered, "Good morning, baby E!"
Penelope smiled and ruffled his hair. "You know, he or she can't hear you yet." She bent down to his level and he grinned sheepishly at her. She gave him one more kiss before pulling him to his feet. Together, they walked into the kitchen.
As Colin had predicted, Violet was already there, along with a fresh pot of coffee and a tower of blueberry waffles. She greeted them both with a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning! I hope you don't mind that it's just the four of us this morning. Gregory and Hyacinth stayed up late last night and asked not to be woken, and Eloise got up bright and early and drove to Canterbury. Their Christmas World has opened for the weekend, you know," she explained merrily. "She tried to ask you two to join her but you never answered when she knocked at your door this morning. So, she went alone."
"We were asleep. Sound asleep," Colin fibbed. "It's alright. Maybe Pen and I will go by ourselves tomorrow."
"She borrowed your car, by the way," Violet added, and Colin let out an exasperated groan. "She figured you didn't want to take your Mercedes out into the woods." Colin groaned again, knowing he and Penelope were left with Eloise's questionable set of wheels to get around.
Violet handed Colin a cup of steaming, hot coffee, but at the smell of it, Penelope politely refused the one she was proffered. Sharing an amused smile with Colin, she poured herself a glass of milk. When Marcus walked in a few moments later, the sight of Colin and Penelope trying not to giggle and his wife eyeing them suspiciously greeted him.
"Well, good morning, lovebirds. I see you've finally risen from the dead?" he said, breaking the awkward silence in the room. "Penelope, I didn't know you were a cold-milk-in-the-morning kind of person. Maybe I ought to try some. Is it any good? Although, I think anything is better than that black sludge that Vi concocts every morning."
Violet glared at him. "Feel free to make the coffee yourself instead of rushing out to those chickens first thing in the morning to see if they had laid any eggs."
"Mom, your coffee is the best." Colin hurried to say as to lighten the mood, taking a small sip from his cup and almost coughing it up again. "And it's also the strongest." He coughed once more. "Too bad, Pen can't have… I mean doesn't want any…because she's now… a… milk person… apparently." Colin closed his eyes at his own lame joke. Then, he realized the inadvertent double entendre of his words, and immediately, a goofy grin started spreading on his face.
"Good morning, Marcus!" Penelope said, feigning cheerfulness while giving Colin her best spill-our-secret-now-and-you'll-die look. "It's very good, indeed."
Colin cleared his throat, greeted his stepfather, and looked anywhere except at his wife as he absentmindedly drizzled maple syrup over his waffles. "We have a big day ahead, folks. We need to go get the tree," he said, relieved to have found a topic to distract Penelope from the fact that he almost gave away their Christmas surprise. "It's really a shame that Anthony and Benedict couldn't make it this year because the kids are sick. So now, the honor of picking out the Bridgerton family Christmas tree is all ours, babe," Colin said, spreading out his arms like a bodybuilder and letting his biceps twitch.
Penelope rolled her eyes at him and took another tiny sip of cold milk.
She hated milk… when there was no coffee mixed with it.