"Oh the poor thing," his mother said, almost gushing. She threw another look at her husband. "Well, Henry here will certainly provide her with a fatherly presence."
"Of course, of course," his father muttered, looking amused at his wife's ordering of his life.
Pursing her lips, his mother focused on Felix, her dark eyes intent. She pointed at her son. "You will woo that girl, do you hear me Felix Francis Hood? You will treat her to romance. You will show her that you didn't just marry her to save her. And you will allow her to retire early as many times as you need to."
Standing up, she swept over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're a good son. I know you'll be a good husband."
As long as he followed her advice, was the unheard message. On the other hand, Felix couldn't really argue the point. Smiling, she gave her husband an inviting glance over her shoulder before gliding out of the room. Standing up, Felix's father began to follow after her, pausing to rest his hand on Felix's shoulder.
"And if she's anything like your mother, don't hesitate to bend her over your knee when she needs it."
Sitting alone in the room, Felix stared at the complex, swirling design of the carpet while he thought over his parents' advice. As far as he could see, they'd shared their own secrets to a happy marriage. His father still brought his mother flowers from the field or ordered them from a shop, even though she had her own gardens. His mother still ensured that his father always had his favorite liquors and ales in the house, and that he ate at least one of his favorite foods at least once a week. They still flirted with each other, especially when they thought no one was looking, and he'd once seen them waltzing under the moonlight, out on the patio, with no music.
Courting his wife seemed like a novel idea, considering that he'd always thought the courting was a means to an end but... it worked for his parents. Why not try to make it work for him? And, if Gabrielle became too spoiled from being showered with gifts and affection, then he could always take his father's advice and turn her over his knee.
******
Tossing restlessly, Gabrielle scissored her legs together. The bed was incredibly comfortable, the countryside was wonderfully silent (unlike London, which could be quite noisy even late at night), and she should have fallen asleep quite easily. Her nightgown tangled around her limbs and she kicked at the covers.
Under the sheets she was too hot, with them off, she was to cool.
But that wasn't really the problem. The problem was that every time she closed her eyes, she could feel Felix's lips on hers. His hand on her breast. His tongue in her mouth. His hard body pressed against her. His manhood, his desire, digging into her soft belly.
Since the day she'd accidentally spied upon Cordelia and the Marquess, Gabrielle had occasionally indulged in pleasuring herself, touching herself between her legs until she reached that ecstatic peak. It always left her feeling limp and satiated afterwards, but she hadn't wanted to do that here. She knew it was wicked - it felt wicked - and her room in Dunbury House hadn't adjoined anyone else's. There had been no one to hear her there.
And there, her imagination had always given her a nameless, faceless lover, whom she fantasized about touching her and entering her the way the Marquess had done to Cordelia. That imaginary lover always had a resemblance to Felix, but tonight she knew that she would be able to picture him and only him. There would be no pretending otherwise.
But her body ached. Her womanhood was throbbing again. Would she be able to sleep if she didn't?
Clenching her jaw, Gabrielle cupped her breasts and squeezed - hard. The pain and pleasure flashed through her, making her scissor her legs again. Her nightgown rode up her thighs, the silky material wisping over her skin, as if teasing her.
Frustrated, exhausted, she'd reached the end of her rope.
Pinching her nipples through her nightgown, she moaned as the lace over them scratched against the sensitive nubs. Her body arched, her thighs spreading as she tormented the little buds, tugging and pinching on them so roughly that they stung. She liked it, almost as if she was punishing herself.
The idea of punishment made her think of the Marquess spanking her... Felix had threatened to do that once. The thought should have enraged her - it certainly had at the time - but instead her body just throbbed again. It was all too easy to imagine bending over in front of Felix, her belly resting against a chair's arm, her bottom high in the air for him to swat.
Disturbed, Gabrielle forced those thoughts away, instead picturing herself leaning back on a window seat - just like Cordelia had - while Felix kissed his way down her neck, his hand squeezing her breast. One of her own hands took care of that, while the other moved down between her legs, pulling the hem of her nightgown up so that she could touch herself. She was wet, slick, and it felt so good as she dragged her fingers through her sensitive folds, circling the little nub of pleasure at the apex of her womanhood.
Her fingers pressed into her body as she remembered what the Marquess had looked like, thrusting his manhood into Cordelia's womanhood, picturing Felix above her, doing the same. She whimpered, her hips jerking as her fingers moved inside of her, her body clenching around them. Abandoning her breasts, she moved her other hand down to her swollen folds, using one to pump her fingers in and out of her while the other rubbed against her pleasure button, making her gasp and pant for air as her passion spiraled, her body straining for completion.
Felix's dark eyes flashed into her mind, the heat of his body, the hardness...
"Oh... Oh!" Ecstasy exploded inside of her as she sobbed out her relieved rapture, her fingers pressing against her sensitive spots, circling them, soothing them as they tingled and sparked. Her last exhalation came out as a sigh. "Felix..."
******
Bloody buggering hell.
Gripping his cock, it was all Felix could do not to try and break down the door separating himself from his wife. His wife who, if he wasn't mistaken, was quite familiar with self-pleasure and was thinking of him while she did it.
He hadn't meant to listen, he'd just been unable to stay away from their adjoining door, and when he'd laid his forehead against it, wishing he were on the other side, he'd heard the unmistakable sound of a lady panting with pleasure. Soft, barely audible moans... slowly rising. Little, muffled whimpers. And then those last sounds, the ecstatic cries and, finally, his name.
Stumbling back from the door, he jerked his cock several times, grabbing up a handkerchief from his dresser. Wrapping the silky material around the fat head of his cock, he pumped his fist, groaning as his seed spilled into the fabric, his body throbbing with need.
Panting for breath, and from the effort of keeping himself quieter than Gabrielle had, he braced his arm against the edge of the dresser and leaned his head against it. His thoughts whirled. Of all the things he might have expected to hear from Gabrielle's room, those soft moans and his name said in such a manner would certainly have never made his list. It had been hotly erotic, damnably frustrating, and had given rise to hope.
Perhaps his wife was not as averse to him as he'd thought.
Chapter 4
When Gabrielle came down to breakfast the next morning, she couldn't help but be a bit nervous. Molly had come to wake her and get her ready for the day, along with the message that Felix was already up and would meet her in the dining room. Although she wasn't so eager to face him, she did hope that his parents would be there. Not just as a buffer, but because she truly did quite like both of them. And because they seemed to quite like her.
So she went into the dining room with quite a few emotions colliding inside of her. She was a bit embarrassed about her fantasies from last night and her activities before she'd been able to fall asleep - even though no one knew about them, she'd still done it in their house. Even more unnerving, she had no idea what Felix's reception of her might be after she'd denied him his wedding night. On the other hand, she was hopeful and anxious to see his parents, hoping that they would like her just a
s much in the light of day as they had in the evening.
To that end, she'd put on a pretty pink day gown with a gently scooped neckline, quite modest and flattering, that had a pale yellow ribbon trim. Very fashionable, yet perfectly fitting for the country. Her hair was done up in a simple chignon with just a few tendrils falling to frame her face. Nothing too fancy, but she knew she looked well... she wanted to look as presentable as possible. If it were just Felix, she was honest enough to admit to herself that she might not have made the effort, but she did want to impress his parents. She certainly didn't want to do anything that might change their positive opinion of her.
"Good morning, dear!" Lady Hood - Mother - said as Gabrielle came into the room. She was sitting to the left of her husband, who was seated at the head of the table with Felix on his other side. Both Felix and his father were reading different sections of the newspaper, just as Philip did at breakfast. Mother had a small section next to her as well, although she didn't even glance at it again once she saw Gabrielle.
"Good morning," Gabrielle responded, smiling. Her smile faltered for just a moment as Felix rose, but he just gave her a little half bow and pulled out the chair next to him.
"Good morning," he and his father said, although the Viscount's salutation was much more absent-minded, whereas Felix's was said directly to her, with a rather rakish smile.
Well he didn't look upset about last night.
Gabrielle didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Shouldn't he be at least a little aggrieved about the events of last night? What kind of man didn't care that he'd been denied his marital rights?
On the other hand, did she truly want him to be angry at her on their first day of marriage?
Taking her seat, Gabrielle blinked as she looked at the gorgeous bouquet of wildflowers in a vase that had been placed above her plate. A quick glance confirmed that they were not part of the central arrangement, and her place setting was the only one thus adorned.
"Those are for you," Felix said as he sat back down, nodding towards the flowers.
"For me?"
"I got up early this morning and picked them myself."
"Oh..." Gabrielle reached out to touch the petals of a particularly pretty white and pink flower. They were so soft under her hand. Her voice caught in her throat. These were her first flowers from him and they were beautiful... and he'd picked them himself! Somehow that made them even more special than if he'd just ordered an arrangement. Gabrielle had seen quite a few arrangements delivered to her door and she'd known that, even though the gentlemen might have chosen the flowers, they'd done very little beyond that other than pay. Felix had taken the time to get up and pick out each one of these flowers and then to arrange them in a vase for her. "Thank you."
******
The absolute wonder in Gabrielle's voice hit Felix like a lightning strike to the chest. Her fingers stroked the petals of the flowers, brushing over them like she was touching them to see if they were quite real. Across the table, watching her, his mother blinked back a couple of tears. Even his father was peering over his newspaper, a look of astonishment on his face.
The utterly heartfelt sincerity in Gabrielle's thanks was almost humbling.
When Cordelia had told him that Gabrielle had been quite thrilled to receive flowers from so many suitors, he'd been under the impression that she'd taken them as her due. That she'd been thrilled to see the money spent on her. He'd been under the impression that Gabrielle coveted worshipful male attention, preferably in the form of expensive fripperies. Cordelia had talked quite a bit about Gabrielle's material acquisitiveness, even as she'd explained that was how Gabrielle's father showed his affection, but this looked like something different.
After all, Felix hadn't spent a dime on these flowers, and yet the expression on Gabrielle's face was almost reverent.
"You're welcome," he said, a bit roughly. When he'd gotten up early to pick the flowers, he had to admit, he'd done it because his mother had told him to. He certainly hadn't expected such a reaction on Gabrielle's part, or on his. Now, he felt as though the early morning and the effort of tramping through the nearby wildflower fields was more than worth it when, five minutes ago, he'd considered it almost a penance.
Hell, if it made Gabrielle that happy, he'd be out in the fields every morning.
"They're beautiful," she said, and he received the kind of smile he'd been craving from her for weeks. The one he'd rarely seen her bestow, but which was open and sweet and completely without guile.
Across from him, his mother smugly sipped her tea.
A footman came in with a plate for Gabrielle, and she smiled and thanked him prettily, before turning her attention back to the flowers. Felix kept watching her, the newspaper forgotten on the table. Gabrielle was much more interesting as she inspected each flower, as if she didn't want to accidentally miss seeing a single one.
"Do you enjoy gardening?" he asked, suddenly curious.
"I've never really had the opportunity," she said, a bit wistfully. "We didn't have much in the way of gardens, and none of my stepmothers were very interested."
"Well you may join me in my garden at any time," Felix's mother said, smiling encouragingly at Gabrielle, who immediately perked up. "Do you have a favorite flower?"
Gabrielle's fingers lingered over the petals of the pink and white flower that he'd noticed she seemed to touch the most. "I love all flowers, although I will admit, I do have a bit of a preference for anything pink." She glanced down at the dress she was wearing and smiled.
It occurred to Felix that he'd never even though to ask what her favorite flower might be. Or her favorite color. Bugger it all.
At least now he had the answer to two of those questions.
"Well, perhaps you shall pick one eventually," his mother said breezily. She beamed at them. "I have a wonderful idea! Felix, why don't you show Gabrielle around the gardens this morning? It's a glorious day out and Gabrielle can familiarize herself with what we have to offer."
Giving him a completely unsubtle significant look, his mother nodded her head decisively.
Fortunately, Felix was not adverse to her suggestion. The weather was shaping up to be sunny and quite glorious, the gardens were fairly private and romantic, and it would give him the opportunity to get to know Gabrielle better.
"I think that's a wonderful suggestion, Mother."
******
Out in the country, Felix was dressed very differently than when he was in London. His breeches were more worn and softer looking, the color a faded dark brown, his cravat was also soft looking and tied simply, and it was obvious no one had bothered to stiffen his collar. Even his hair was a bit different, the dark strands flopping into his eyes until he brushed them back again.
Gabrielle found this version of him just as attractive as the more sophisticated side he had shown in London. It didn't hurt that he'd taken hold of her hand when they'd entered the gardens and hadn't let it go yet. Not put her hand on his arm, as a gentleman would, but actually had his fingers looped through hers.
Even when she pulled away, he'd be there a few moments later, his fingers pressed against her lower back or brushing a strand of hair off of her shoulder, before eventually searching out her hand again. The little touches were making her feel quite breathless.
In London, there had been times when she'd wanted to be the center of his attention - had yearned for it in fact. Now, she barely knew what to do with it.
"Oh, this is beautiful," she said, near to gasping as they stepped out from the path into a small glade. Weeping willows hung around an ornamental pond and fountain, marble benches laid out in the shade, and small bushes dotting the scenery. It was quite the loveliest setting she'd ever seen.
"There are gardens very like this on Philip's estates," Felix said, following her to the fountain. She trailed her fingers through the water, shrugging.
"I've never see the estates, and we had nothing like this at home." Her lip curled. "My
father was not an outdoorsmen and none of my stepmothers were particularly interested in gardening. I hope the Marquess doesn't expect Cordelia to manage his."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Felix frown at her, and she felt like biting her tongue. Why had she even had to mention Cordelia's name? She didn't want to talk about Cordelia. She certainly didn't want to hear Felix go into his usual raptures about how perfect and wonderful Cordelia was.
To her relief, other than frowning, Felix didn't respond to the comment. Perhaps he realized it would do no good. Certainly, if he had said something in Cordelia's defense, their conversation would have taken a swift turn for the worse. Gabrielle just couldn't help the bitterness that welled up in her sometimes, even though at other times she actually liked and appreciated her stepmother.
When it came to the relationship between her Cordelia and Felix, though, the bitterness that welled up seemed to be endless and overwhelming.
"There's a rather pretty folly, just a bit further into the gardens," Felix said, his voice determinedly affable, but she could hear the strain that was now in it, and she silently vowed not to bring up Cordelia again.
Perhaps there was a chance that she could make Felix care for her at least as much as he did for Cordelia. After all, she was here and Cordelia was not. With some space, maybe Felix would decide that he liked her better. Just the thought, just the glimmer of hope, made her heart ache a little because she knew - she knew – how unlikely such a venture would be. Had anyone ever preferred her over anyone else? Felix’s parents liked her well enough for now, which was probably where this tiny well of hope sprang from... and he seemed as though he wanted to try and be a husband to her. It was a start.
At worst, she might fail and then he would return to London and she could stay here with his parents. Hopefully wouldn't change their minds about her even if she couldn't inspire some kind of affection from their son.
Gabrielle's Discipline (Bridal Discipline Book 3) Page 5