The silly chits chasing my brothers have gotten worse now that you're away and married. I do believe they thought that one or the other must have been courting you. Now we're assaulted from all sides, and I'm fair buried in compliments. I wore a new dress last night and I could scarcely greet anyone without being told how utterly fantastic I looked - as if I needed their brown-nosing to be aware - and what a smashing hit my dress was. I swear, I could dress in a barrel and these twits would declare it a new fashion, if only I'd introduce them to poor Isaac. As if I'd ever let some silly hen get her claws in him that way! Not that he appreciates it, since his response is to send me onto the dance floor with the latest bore.
Arabella's entire letter was like that - gossip and descriptions of her latest purchases interspersed with derision over her brothers' strictures and dramatic bemoaning of her life without Gabrielle. It made Gabrielle giggle, but it also made her miss her friend.
London and her life there seemed so far away and so long ago, although in reality it was only half a day's travel and she'd only been on the Hood estate for a few days. Still, she and Arabella had been nigh inseparable in London. Cynthia had spent quite a bit of time with them as well, but she'd also been distracted by her husband, often disappearing during balls for a length of time with him. Now Gabrielle had a much better idea of what they'd been doing.
She kept Cordelia's letters for last, which was truly a pity as reading them completely ruined her mood.
******
The smile on Gabrielle's face had been strained all morning. Felix had done his best to distract her with checkers, and then began teaching her chess. Gabrielle had truly enjoyed that, her eyes coming alight as she pondered the more complex game. Since Felix was only a negligible chess player he wasn't able to explain the strategies as well as someone else might, but it also meant that it wouldn't take much for Gabrielle to reach his level. She picked up the basics very quickly and her attitude was much more competitive than it had been during checkers.
She fairly crowed with triumph when she managed to capture his queen during the third game, and Felix realized he had better apply himself more to his tactics and less to admiring his wife.
"You aren't letting me win, are you?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"No," he grumped, bringing back her smile, as she saw his irritation with himself. "You're a much faster learner than I was."
"It's fun," she said, her eyes scanning over the pieces. She was much more focused on the game than he was. "Like watching a play... or people in a ballroom. Every move has a counter, like a dance." And Gabrielle was a superb dancer.
"Perhaps we should start playing for wagers," he murmured, moving his rook out of danger of the trap she'd set. Gabrielle pouted at him, although her eyes sparkled.
"Wagers? How would one wager on chess?" she asked, moving a pawn forward.
"Like this... I take your pawn," he said, sliding his knight across the board and picking up the little white piece, "and you give me a kiss."
Gabrielle laughed as he leaned forward, cupping her chin with his hand and lowering his lips. She met his kiss with her own, their tongues sliding together, and his hand slid down to the sensitive nape of her neck, brushing it with his fingers. Since she was mostly immobile, thanks to her ankle - despite the reduction in swelling - he had to go to her, but he didn't mind. The kiss was eager, playful, but by the end she was just as distracted as he had been.
Now when she looked down to study the board, her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink and she kept peeking under her lashes at him. "What about me? What do I receive?"
"What do you want?"
She bit down on her lower lip, her cheeks flushing even brighter, piquing Felix's interest. He raised his eyebrows at her, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees as he tried to meet her eyes.
"Now you must tell me," he teased, giving her his best, most charming grin. "I have to know what put that pretty pink in your cheeks."
Gabrielle tossed her head haughtily, refusing to be embarrassed, meeting his challenge head on, and arousing him more than if she'd attempted to play coy. "Very well. I wish you to remove a piece of clothing as forfeit."
Now it was her turn to laugh at his shocked expression, laughter that he joined in with after a moment. Completely unexpected, brazen, and yet somehow still very Gabrielle. She met his challenge with her own, and knocked him off balance for good measure.
"Then make your move," he said, slowly unbuttoning the front of his vest in preparation. Also as a distraction. Gabrielle was now watching his fingers as they popped each button out of its hole, rather than looking at the board. Since he wasn't more formally dressed, he needed her distracted otherwise he'd probably be completely nude very quickly.
His tactic worked well enough that he didn't lose his vest until a couple moves later, and only after collecting a second kiss. This one even deeper and more lingering than the first.
The second piece of clothing he lost was his shirt, leaving him sitting bare-chested (but for his cravat) across from Gabrielle, who was obviously having more and more trouble concentrating on the game. As he'd meant her too, which was why he'd chosen the shirt to go. Her green eyes kept flicking up to look at his exposed body, and Felix smiled like the cat who ate the canary, his gaze steady on her. Enticing. Distracting.
When he took one of her knights during his next turn, he decided he wanted more than her lips.
"Felix! What are you doing?!"
"I never specified a destination for my kisses," he said, chuckling as he nimbly unbuttoned the front of her day gown, baring her breasts. Gabrielle gasped as his lips brushed over her skin, his hands parting the opening in her dress.
"At least lock the door! What if one of the maids comes looking for us?" she whispered urgently. "Anyone could walk in!"
Doubtful, but if it would make her feel more comfortable, then he would indulge her. It was the work of a moment to hop up and lock the door, before returning to her, leaning her back to bare her throat and chest to him. The sun coming in through the window was a golden glow on her skin as his lips moved down from her neck, over her collarbone, and then to her breasts. Gabrielle whimpered as he took each tightly furled nipple in turn, tonguing each bud as he suckled, before letting them free, leaving them slightly shiny.
Then he quickly returned to his seat.
Gabrielle's green eyes flared brightly before narrowing at him, her breasts heaving as she panted for breath. Her dress gaped, framing the creamy mounds and pretty pink nipples, as if inviting Felix to return and continue his kisses and caresses. His cock was on board with that, but he was having too much fun with the game.
With a long, slow look at him, Gabrielle sniffed and then turned her attention back to the board, leaving Felix frowning, but only for a moment. The stiffness of her nipples and the color in her cheeks gave away her ardor, despite her pretense otherwise. He loved that she was pretending. He especially loved that she was pretending her open gown didn't bother her, braving her discomfort in order to distract him more fully. It was working. Seeing her so disheveled, her breasts framed so nicely, and the pretty pink flush on her cheeks made him want to study her, not the chessboard. Her shoulders rounded forward, trying to hunch a little, and revealing that she wasn't quite as confident as she would have him believe.
Lovely.
This time he took another of her pieces before she could take one of his. He wondered if she'd realized that he was no longer concerned with winning, he just wanted to decimate her troops and win as many kisses as he could.
This one started at her uninjured ankle and Gabrielle gasped and giggled as he pushed her skirts up ahead of his lips, kissing all the way to her womanhood. He could feel her tense, as if waiting for him to leave her now that he had her aroused and eager, the way he had with her breasts. Instead, he spread her thighs wide and kissed the wet, swollen flesh beneath her dark curls, licking his way up.
"Checkmate," he whispered.
"
Is not!" Gabrielle protested, trying to push him away. Felix just chuckled and crawled up her body, purposefully kicking his foot out to knock over the board and send the pieces scattering across the floor. She scowled at him. "You did that on purpose."
"I have a more interesting game," he said, leering at her as found her wet folds with his hand, sliding his fingers immediately into the warmth of her body and making her moan. "It's called, how many times can I give Gabrielle pleasure in one afternoon... and I plan to win." He used his thumb to circle the bud of her clitoris, feeling the little nubbin stiff and swollen against his touch, and making her hips jerk.
"How do you win?" she asked breathlessly, her back arching as his fingers curled inside of her. She reached up to take hold of his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh. Pumping his fingers, Felix enjoyed watching her writhe for him as he stirred her arousal, coating his fingers in her wet heat.
Instead of answering, he just chuckled and thrust his fingers again, leaning down to kiss her nipples as they thrust upwards in response. She whimpered, her hands sliding into his hair, pulling him against her, holding him in place as he suckled her nipple, her hips moving, riding his fingers. Sexual smugness filled him at how uninhibited she was, how eager.
She had her first orgasm on his fingers, squeezing them tightly as he expertly used the heel of his hand to stimulate her clit. Then he moved his mouth down to her pussy, sliding his honey-soaked fingers into her crinkled rosebud, stretching the tiny hole while he licked and sucked her to a second, sobbing completion. Her breasts jiggled, nipples pointed heavenward, as she tugged on his hair and screamed with ecstasy.
Rolling her over onto her stomach, he propped up her hips with two cushions, making sure that her injured ankle was taken care of as well, before sliding into her smoothly from behind. He wouldn't have risked this position with her injury, but she was too satiated and limp to really move back against him as he began to ride her from behind. Slow, smooth strokes of his cock into her sopping wetness, his fingers sliding easily back into her rear entrance, filling her completely as she moaned and clenched around him. He could feel his cock moving through the thin separation between her holes, and the sensation was fantastic.
Gabrielle was his dream woman... laid out in front of him, vulnerable and submissive, giving him access to her entire body - not just without protest, but with passion. She whimpered, she moaned, and she cried out in pleasure as he took her from behind, slowly at first and then moving faster and faster, slamming into her with force and watching the flesh of her ass jiggle.
Sliding his fingers from her tiny hole, as his movements began to make it difficult to keep his place, he began to swat her bottom, moving his hand all over. Not a single blow was enough to really hurt her, or even pink her skin, but her moans increased twofold in response, her pussy clenching down around his thrusting cock like a vise. Watching her flesh jiggle under his assault, the pink lips of her pussy stretched tightly around his shaft, Felix's lower back began to tingle, his balls tightening.
An extra hard smack in the middle of Gabrielle's fleshy cheek made her shriek, and then her pussy spasmed hard around him, rippling as she began to climax. He groaned using both hands now to grip her hips, slamming into her with as much force as he could, the tingling in his lower body spreading and shifting into sexual bliss as he began to empty himself into her ready body. Spurt after spurt of his seed being pulled from him by the contractions of her pussy, milking him dry.
He slumped forward, totally drained, his body draping over hers. Her head was turned to the side so that he could see her profile, her eyes closed, thick lashes resting on her pink cheeks, a small smile curving her lips.
Felix brushed a kiss over her temple, flexing slightly and enjoying the way she shuddered beneath him.
"Sweetheart? Did I win?" he asked, impishly.
"Mmmm."
He chuckled, disengaging from his exhausted wife, and set about putting her to rights. Pulling her skirts down and straightening them, rolling her onto her back with her ankle appropriately propped up, and then giving her gorgeous breasts each one last kiss before doing up the demure buttons of her gown. Through it all, Gabrielle stayed limp, only stirring occasionally, too exhausted to do anything but sleep. He'd quite worn her out, he thought smugly.
Once she was presentable again, he unlocked the door, and went back to the table, sitting where he could watch her. She lay in quiet repose, her chest moving slightly as she breathed in her sleep. Truly a sleeping beauty.
Picking up the letter Cordelia had written her, he finally indulged his curiosity, and once he had, he almost wished he hadn't.
He loved Cordelia, like a sister, but what was wrong with her? The letter that she'd sent to him had been like a letter from a sister to a brother - full of her and Philip's activities, the balls, the riding lessons, her new horse and her new friends. In stark contrast, her letter to Gabrielle was filled with gentle scolds. Gentle, except that they weren't offset by anything to make them more palatable. No news. Nothing of Cordelia's life or even light gossip. Just an accounting of the gossip that had sprung up after the wedding, a reminder to be thankful to Arabella's family, the Hoods, and Philip and his family for their support, and some rather stilted marital advice. The majority of which seemed to revolve around not causing Felix any trouble.
While he appreciated the sentiment of that last, the overall tone of the letter was one of censure. He wouldn't have thought Gabrielle particularly sensitive before marrying her, but now he knew differently. Now he'd seen firsthand exactly how Gabrielle had reacted, to both letters. The difference between them was night and day - it was obvious Cordelia enjoyed Felix's friendship and that she thought of Gabrielle as a burden, and that she didn't expect much of her as a wife.
Incensed on Gabrielle's behalf, after thinking through everything for a few minutes, he could only sigh and shake his head. He would have to read through whatever response Gabrielle wrote to Cordelia to ensure it wasn't too antagonistic, even if it would be somewhat deserved. Now that he'd seen each of their perspectives, it was obvious to him that the easing of tension in their relationship would have to come from their husbands.
Part of that would come from Cordelia only receiving one letter in return for her two. Now, even though he wished he could have kept Gabrielle from being hurt by comparing the tone of the two letters, he was glad that he'd reacted the way he had over breakfast this morning. Cordelia would know that both of her letters had been received and that he and Gabrielle were a united front. Although he appreciated her protectiveness of him, it was not her responsibility, and he was a bit annoyed that she didn't show any such consideration towards Gabrielle.
Not that Cordelia should think that Felix would harm Gabrielle in any way, but her entire letter to Gabrielle had sounded like one long assumption that Felix would be a wonderful husband to Gabrielle and that Gabrielle would have to work hard to deserve that. Nothing was further from the truth, and he couldn't fathom why Cordelia should think so. After all, she'd often been the one defending Gabrielle... although her defense was usually along the lines of Gabrielle not truly knowing better. Gabrielle as a person to pity because of the way her father had treated her. Gabrielle as a hapless victim of fate.
But she was so much more than that. It was becoming more and more clear to him that, despite her affection for Gabrielle and her defense of her, Cordelia didn't see her stepdaughter very clearly. Understandable, perhaps, but Cordelia and her feelings were not his concern. Gabrielle was.
Putting the letter back down on the table, he got up and moved over to the daybed, crawling on beside his wife and gently sliding one of his arms underneath her head as a pillow. Murmuring sleepily, she turned her face into his chest, happily snuggling in. He would keep her safe and make her happy, even if he had to face off against one of his best friends to do it, for he was quite sure that Philip felt the same way about his own wife.
Chapter 11
"I think I'll write a letter a
day," Gabrielle said over breakfast. She hadn't had time to write yesterday. After her nap, Felix had righted their chess game and they'd finished it. He'd won, of course, but she'd come very close to beating him, she was sure of it. Today he'd promised her another match, as well as some time in the gardens, although she would have to walk with a cane, with him on her other arm. "Would it be too much trouble to send the letters that way rather than all at once?"
"Not at all," he said with a smile. "Appleby will send someone to take the post down, no matter how many or few letters we have each day."
"Wonderful. I thought I might write your mother back today, and then Arabella tomorrow, then Cynthia, and then Cordelia." She eyed Felix to see if he reacted to her proposed schedule. He just smiled, nodded, and went back to his coffee and newspaper, leaving Gabrielle feeling quite pleased that he didn't care it would be several days till she wrote Cordelia back.
Besides, she needed some time to decide what she would say to her stepmother. She was still irked by the letter Cordelia had sent to Felix. It had been overly friendly, entirely too familiar, and perhaps even a bit flirtatious. Although Gabrielle had no doubt that Cordelia loved Philip and would never betray him - it just wasn't in her stepmother's personality - it appeared that she still wanted her hooks in Felix as well. Even though he was now married to Gabrielle.
If Felix had responded positively to that, or wanted to write Cordelia back on his own, Gabrielle didn't know what she would have done. Her hope that Felix might eventually prefer her to Cordelia would certainly have dwindled. Now she dared to hope that perhaps he already was starting to prefer over her stepmother. He'd been surprised and pleased to have his own letter from Cordelia, but he hadn't been interested in writing her back. Even though her letter had been excessively friendly.
Gabrielle's Discipline (Bridal Discipline Book 3) Page 15