by Lucy Langton
Candelabras had been positioned around the room to give them plenty of light to see. Flynt had expected Ada to go straight to the servants’ cord to summon her lady’s maid to help her change into her nightgown, but when Ada began to unlace her own gown, Flynt couldn’t help watching as his heart seemed to speed up.
“Can you help me?” Ada asked, peeking over her shoulder at him. “I don’t want to wake Miss Jane if it is unnecessary. And with you here, you can help me.”
Flynt nodded, his mouth becoming dry as to prevent him from speaking. Slowly, he approached Ada and helped her with the ties of her gown. He’d helped many women out of their dresses with a quickness, but now that he was helping an innocent out of her gown, he felt himself becoming quite nervous once more.
The moment Ada was able to step out of her gown, Flynt stepped away and turned from her. He began to fiddle with his cravat, tossing it aside the moment it came loose. Slowly, he worked on his own clothing to strip away the layers until he could put on his nightclothes. The whole time, he tried to give Ada as much privacy as she needed, even slipping underneath the covers of the bed and turning away from her.
When the light in the room began to dim, Flynt reasoned Ada was snuffing all of the candles. He felt the bed shift and heard a rustling of the covers as she no doubt got into bed with him. And when he felt her delicate hand resting on his shoulder, his whole body tightened up as his mind raced to comprehend what she might need.
Slowly, Flynt rolled towards her and looked over his shoulder at her. She had dressed into a modest nightgown and left her hair braided. She was smiling at him, the appearance of her glowing in the moonlight that faded in from the windowpanes.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Flynt,” she teased.
“Is my discomfort that obvious?” he asked with a sigh, coming to face her as he bunched the covers in his hands as though to create a wall between them.
“You hunch your shoulders when you become tense, as though to make yourself appear smaller,” Ada explained. She reached out and took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. For a moment, Flynt focused on that connection and the feeling of her fingers with his. It felt comfortable enough, so he focused on her face once more.
“Don’t you find me attractive?” Ada asked then. Flynt furrowed his brows as he looked at her, thinking she would be daft to think otherwise.
“I find you very attractive,” Flynt said. “Any man would.”
“But you are not just any man, Flynt. You are my husband,” Ada continued. “And we have yet to share the same bed or be intimate in any way.”
“Is it what you want?” Flynt asked, not wishing to speak of any more excuses for his behaviour.
“Yes, I do,” she said with a bright smile. “I have been patient with you because I know that one day we are surely to be intimate so you can have an heir. And, I wish to be truly married to you … to really be a woman.”
“Ada, to be completely honest with you,” Flynt said, feeling his body fill with a feverish heat, “I am afraid to bear children. I am afraid my poor choices will only hurt the people around me more.”
“And you think I’d let you make a bad decision?” Ada teased. “You must remember, Flynt, that you can rely on me to help you make decisions.” Flynt smirked, thinking he had been offered plenty of assistance that day and yet had never considered asking before that moment.
“I guess I have perceived this marriage all wrong,” Flynt confessed.
“And, if you do not wish to have children right away, I am sure there are other ways to be intimate without producing children. I can only assume you are an experienced man,” Ada said, her voice becoming soft. The idea sent a shiver over Flynt, his manhood stiffening at the thought of finding release without having to be nervous about the idea of Ada becoming pregnant.
“Are you sure, Ada? The first time can be quite uncomfortable for a woman,” Flynt said as he moved closer to Ada, resting his hand on her shoulder and pulling down the blankets to expose her.
“I am sure, Flynt. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I trust you, and as my husband, you will be the only man I ever share such things with,” Ada said, noticeably shivering. Flynt pulled her to him then, the feeling of her soft body in his arms making him more excited than he thought he’d be.
“I promise to be gentle,” Flynt murmured as he began to kiss her forehead, trailing kisses down to her mouth. She responded by tilting her head back and allowing him to kiss her fully on the mouth. When he felt Ada lift her leg and rest her knee on his hips, he reached his hand down and pulled up her gown, exposing her bare bottom. Touching her naked flesh by gripping her bottom made Flynt growl against her mouth as he became heated with desire.
“Flynt, I’ve never felt this way before,” Ada said against his mouth. “I feel hot all over, as though I have a fever.”
“It’s your body responding to mine,” Flynt explained.
“I feel this urge, this wanting that I don’t understand,” she confessed, rotating her hips forward to press against his. “I feel it in my core, and I want to know what to do about it.”
“I’ll take care of you, I promise,” Flynt said in a husky voice. Carefully, he stripped them both of the rest of their clothing, tossing it aside as the room became very hot with anticipation. He guided Ada’s hand down to his throbbing manhood, allowing her gentle fingers to feel him as he moaned with pleasure.
“Your manhood is very large,” Ada said, almost breathlessly. “So warm and smooth.”
“Oh, Ada. Your inexperience is intoxicating. The gentle way you handle me makes me shiver with delight,” Flynt confessed. She gripped him then and began to stroke him lightly, making him yearn to sink his manhood deep inside her core.
Parting Ada’s legs by encouraging her to lay upon her back, Flynt settled in-between her legs. Ada’s hand stayed on his member as they settled into a more comfortable position. With her legs spread, Flynt was able to reach his hands down between her and feel her sensitive nub.
“Oh, Flynt!” Ada moaned, her hand tightening on his shaft as he began to rub small circles against her nub. “You are making the yearning and urges in my body increase.”
“Yes, my dear. These parts of ours are very sensitive. Just like how you are stroking my manhood,” Flynt said through gritted teeth, the feeling of her soft touches drawing him closer to his own release. His mind became lost in the feeling of it all. He quickened the circles he was making with his thumb against her sensitive nub as he felt his release nearing quickly.
“Flynt, please don’t stop,” she begged. “I feel myself so close to something I can’t understand.”
“You have the same effect on me, my dear. I will surely release soon,” Flynt moaned as he started to thrust slowly into her hand. He finally found his climax when she arched her back and began to moan in earnest, signalling that she was peaking as well. His seed spilled all over her stomach, but she did not shy away as her hand remained firmly secured around his manhood as she slowly stroked him.
“I never knew it would be like that,” Ada confessed as she relaxed her body and let go of him. He slipped from the bed and was quick to wet a clean cloth in the water basin to help clean up the mess they had created.
“You surely have only experienced a fraction of what can be,” Flynt said with a soft chuckle as he cleaned her body before fetching another damp cloth for his own needs. Then, he returned to the bed and pulled Ada close to him.
“What was the substance that sprung forth from your member?” Ada asked after their breathing had returned to normal.
“It was my seed,” Flynt explained. “When I find my release inside your core, it will produce a child.”
“Such strangeness,” Ada said, and Flynt couldn’t contain his chuckle then.
“But you seemed to enjoy yourself,” he teased as he held her bare body to his own.
“As well as you,” she retorted. “But you must understand something, Flynt.”
“Now that I have experienced the pleasure that can be obtained between a man and woman, I am bound to want it again and to know what your large manhood would feel in my channel,” she said. The very thought caused his manhood to stir to life once more, but he used every ounce of determination to keep himself relaxed.
“All in time, my dear,” Flynt muttered. Then, he kissed the side of her head and turned away before he really fell into a temptation he was not ready for.
Chapter 16
When Ada woke the next morning, she had a buzzing sensation running through her body as though she was a hive alive with bees. She had not dressed after her intimate time with Flynt. Therefore, upon waking, she found herself as bare as she had fallen asleep.
She rolled over in bed away from the sunshine that was coming in through the windowpanes to see that Flynt was sprawled out on his back, his head to the side as he snored softly. With him still asleep, Ada had plenty of opportunities to observe her husband in all his glory.
As Ada got up from bed and dressed herself, thinking it would be wrong to wake Flynt by summoning her lady’s maid, she thought how lucky she was to be married to such an attractive man. And from what she experienced last night, she had an idea of what type of lover Flynt would make.
Ada wasn’t sure yet if her heart could love him because he seemed just now to be opening up to her. But she still held plenty of hope towards the idea that one day she would feel a sure love for Flynt, and he would feel the same for her.
Making her way downstairs after shutting the bedchamber door quietly behind her, Ada couldn’t help smiling. She’d dressed in a comfortable day gown, looking forward to what type of day she would have with Dowager Statham and Dowager White.
Perhaps they would go shopping, and this time Ada would be able to make her own purchases now that she was Lady Statham. Or, perhaps she and Flynt could attend the fashionable hour at Hyde Park to be seen as a proper couple and to view other families walking the park.
When she came down to the dining room that morning to enjoy breakfast, she was surprised to see that Miss Butler was already in the room. She gave the woman a kind smile as she settled down at the table and allowed the waiting footman to serve her from the buffet of hot foods.
“Good morning, Lady Statham,” Miss Butler said, her brogue accent apparent. She had braided her red hair, yet it still looked rather wild and exotic like a parrot at botanical gardens.
“Morning, Miss Butler. Is Dowager Statham ready for the day?” Ada asked, having always attended to her employer before coming down for breakfast.
“She is being tended to by her lady’s maid,” Miss Butler explained. Ada bit her tongue then, not wanting to voice her own opinion of how Miss Butler should treat Dowager Statham. Ada knew that she had become quite attentive during her employment even when a lady’s companion was just supposed to keep her employer company when requested.
Ada smiled when the widowed sisters came down for breakfast. They were looking rather happy that morning, and Ada hoped that the two of them were as pleased as she was that they were all together once more. It felt as though she was just starting another day with her charges. The only difference really was that there was another young lady in the room.
“Ah, Ada. So good to see you at the breakfast table already. I was just saying to my sister that we should all go down to the ports and see if there is any new fabric in the marketplace,” Dowager Statham said with a bright smile.
“My Lady, do you think that such a boisterous place would be wise?” Miss Butler said even as Ada was about to agree to such a lovely idea. “I would hate you to feel exhausted after the ordeal.”
“Oh, I suppose I did not think of such a thing,” Dowager Statham admitted.
“If we go together, I am sure it will be fine,” Ada spoke up then. “My Lady, you’ve always enjoyed the fresh air of the ports and the lovely manners from the stall hacklers. Even on the busiest of days, you have managed it well.”
“That is true, Ada. But things have been harder for Lavinia in the last few weeks,” Dowager White said with a grimace on her face. “We should be mindful of her health.”
Ada became silent then as she glanced at Miss Butler and back at her mother-in-law. It was true that she was no longer the woman’s companion and perhaps should trust more in the young lady who now was. She focused on her breakfast, then, a mutual silence falling upon the room as they ate.
“Good morning,” Flynt said as he came into the room. Ada looked up to see that he’d dressed in riding trousers and a muslin shirt but had actually taken the time to style his hair. Though he wore clothes, Ada could still clearly picture how he had appeared that morning. As he settled down at the table next to her, she couldn’t help blushing as she drank water from her glass.
“We were discussing the likelihood of visiting the ports this morning,” Dowager Statham announced after Flynt had been served a hot breakfast.
“I suggest that we attend towards the noon hours when there are fewer people frantically trying to make their purchases. If we are to simply browse, then it will be best to go later in the day,” Flynt said. “More so, I would like to take Ada riding this morning.”
“Riding? A woman?” Dowager White said, clearly surprised by the idea.
“Yes, Aunt Bertie. Women do ride in these modern times,” Flynt replied. Then, turning to Ada, he asked, “What do you think, my dear?”
“I would love to go riding,” Ada exclaimed, having not done so since she came into Dowager Statham’s employment.
“Then it is settled. After breakfast, I shall take my wife riding. Then, we shall all go down to the ports to browse the wares,” Flynt said before focusing on his breakfast. Ada couldn’t contain her smile as she tried to eat, too excited to do so now that she thought about taking a pleasant ride with Flynt. She listened to the widowed sisters talked excitedly about their outing today. And when Ada looked up at Miss Butler, she saw a sour look on her face. Ada averted her eyes then, not wanting to seem as though she was staring.
Ada dressed quickly into a riding dress and proper boots before heading outside to the stables that housed the horses and carriages. Flynt was already waiting for her, and as Ada crossed the lawn towards him, she fixed her riding hat made of white fabric and black lace to help protect her eyes from the sun.
“I did not even think to ask if you have ever ridden before,” Flynt said with a chuckle as he rested his gloved hands on his waist.
“Fear not, good sir. I have been taught to ride by a loving father,” Ada assured as she adjusted her gloves. “As long as there be a side-saddle, I will be well off.”
“Do you not wish to ride astride?” Flynt asked with a smirk on his lips. He came near and lowered his voice as he said, “I very much like the sight of your bare legs.” Ada covered her mouth as she giggled, raising her other hand to gently push him aside.
“Contain yourself, husband. Or I shall think I have made a monster of you by insisting on intimacy,” she said as she continued to laugh.
“Oh, you’ve certainly done something,” he teased as he followed her into the stable.
“My Lord and Lady. Your steeds await you,” said the stable hand as he held the reins of two geldings, one white while the other was spotted with brown. Ada reached towards the horse that wore the side-saddle, speaking kindly to it as she nuzzled the horse.
“You are so pretty,” she told the white horse. When ready, Ada pulled herself up into the saddle by fixing her foot into the stirrup and pulling up on the horn. As she was situated, she accepted the reins from the stable hand and steered her horse out of the stable.
“Wait after me!” Flynt called. Ada chuckled as she looked over her shoulder and watched as he mounted the spotted horse in a hurry.