Portrait of a Scandal

by Danielle Lisle

  It was another thing that bothered her. He had assured her that he would keep to his wife’s bed and her bed alone. But what if she did not please him? Would he stray? Then what was she to do? Live with it, simply accept the life she had been dealt? Would it be her penance for taking the money to save her family?

  Nellie sighed as she sat at the dressing table in her father’s London home. They had arrived yesterday. Thomas’ mother had asked Nellie if she would mind holding the ceremony at Westminster Abbey instead of the church on her ancestral estate. She had agreed, not caring in the slightest. All the Dukes of Sterling had been married there, and his mother did not want Thomas to be an exception.

  Thomas’ mother was a kind woman who seemed pleased her son was settling down. Thomas was an only child and his family, like her own, seemed to be filled with love. Nellie hoped it would carry through the generations.

  Tonight she and Thomas would spend their wedding night at his London townhouse and she worried about the deception in their past, as she perhaps always would. Thomas had said that the past should remain there and that they should look to the future, but still it pained her. The deceit did not sit well with her. Yes, she knew she had returned her family to rights, but it had been at Thomas’ expense.

  Nellie had thought she would only ever give herself to the man she loved. She sighed. Did she love Thomas? No, not yet, but she did have strong feelings for him, and she believed those feelings could grow into love. Or so she hoped.

  Thomas was the only man who accepted her for who she was—or at least, who he thought she was. How could she refuse him, with her father’s ultimatum or without?

  * * * *

  Pulling her coat tighter against the chill of the evening, Nellie waited for Thomas to exit the carriage before she followed, taking his hand when he offered it. Once her slippered foot touched the ground he did not release his grasp. Instead, he gave her hand a squeeze and led her towards her new home.

  The servants stood at attention as they entered, lining the lobby. Nellie smiled at them, not that they saw. They all stood, chin up and looking at the centre of the room. It was custom to be placed on show for the inspection of their new mistress. It was an odd and demeaning tradition.

  Thomas assisted with her coat then moved past the servants, introducing them one by one. Once they’d reached the end, he started towards the stairs. Nellie stopped, causing Thomas to halt also.

  “I look forward to meeting you all more informally over the next few days,” Nellie said.

  It was almost unheard of to address servants as people, not property, but times were changing and if they were to work in her home, Nellie wanted to be able to trust them. She and her father had earned very loyal servants at her family estate by getting to know them individually and treating them with respect. It was something she planned to ensure here, as well.

  She turned back to Thomas, who gave her hand another squeeze and offered a smile before he led her up the stairs.

  “I will, of course, give you a proper tour of the house tomorrow,” he said as they reached the first landing.

  “And not tonight?” she asked.

  He regarded her with a smile. “No. I thought you would be tired. It has been a long day.”

  Yes, it had indeed. Nellie had been slightly overwhelmed with the amount of people who had descended upon Westminster Abbey for the ceremony, then to Sterling House for a celebration ball in their honour. She could barely remember all the names and faces. Thomas’ mother had spared no expense. Her father had cried and hugged her fiercely, foregoing any attempt at decorum. She had been glad, and had hugged him back just as fervently. Nellie was worried for him and would speak to Thomas about it. She hoped he would not mind allowing her to return to the country for regular visits. She was all her father had left.

  Thomas moved to the door at the end of the long hall and pushed it open. Anne rose from where she was sitting and smiled. Nellie tried to offer her one back but feared she failed.

  “I will leave you in your maid’s capable hands,” he said, raising her gloved hand to his mouth and giving it a kiss. He offered her another smile and left, closing the door gently behind him.

  Nellie started at the closed door for a moment, disappointed.

  “Oh, my lady, he is truly handsome. You are indeed a lucky woman. Come, quick!” Anne said eagerly.

  “What is the rush?” Anne had never been in such a rush to prepare her for bed before.

  Anne grabbed her arm and hurried her to the mirror, already working on the ties of her dress. “I have a bath prepared and already have your mother’s nightdress out and ready.”

  “My mother’s?”

  “Yes, I dug it out of storage and had it cleaned before we left. You will look divine in it.”

  Nellie stared at her maid. “Why would I need to look nice for bed?”

  Anne paused, a frown creasing her brow. “It is your wedding night, my Lady.”

  “I am aware of that, Anne,” she said, feeling disgruntled about her new husband’s lack of interest in her.

  “But do you not want to look nice?”

  Nellie stared at her maid in puzzlement. “Why would I need to look nice when I sleep, Anne? I never have before.”

  The woman blinked twice then bit her bottom lip. “Ah, did your mother not tell you about the bedding?”

  It was Nellie’s turn to blink. “I am aware of what goes on between a husband and wife, yes. However, it seems my new husband is not looking to perform that deed tonight,” she almost spat. “And how do you know what goes on in a married bed?”

  Anne blushed for a moment then shook her head. “No, my Lady. He is giving you time to prepare.” She had not completely answered the question, but Nellie was too busy processing her comment to pursue the subject further.

  “Prepare?”

  “Yes. He will come for you, I am sure of it.”

  He would come for her… Oh, my!

  A short time later, Anne departed and Nellie waited, sitting briefly on the side of the bed before standing—unable to control her unease she paced around the room.

  Her chamber was beautifully decorated—Anne had seen to it today. The lavender walls displayed pictures from Nellie’s chamber at home, or her father’s home, now. Favoured trinkets of hers also decorated the room. She let her finger run over the glass horse her father had bought for her in Paris. It reminded her of Geist. The stallion had not travelled to London with them. Nellie had worried he would not like town life, and had asked the stable master to turn him out to pasture until she returned for him. He was an animal who needed to run free. Hyde Park was not a place to offer this.

  Nellie again sat on the side of the turned down bed. Would he come here, or was she supposed to go to him? Several minutes passed, and suddenly she became hurt and angry. He did not want her. Perhaps, although it was their wedding night, he had gone into the arms of one of his loose women. Tears suddenly sprang into her eyes and she blew out the candle beside the bed, casting the room into darkness.

  Crawling beneath the covers, Nellie acknowledged she had been foolish to believe she could mean more to Thomas than a broodmare he had acquired to birth his young. Her father had been wrong. Thomas was heir to his father’s estate, after all. That was all men sought woman of breeding for, wasn’t it? Simply to give them young. She felt such a fool for thinking she could mean more to her husband.

  She snuggled into the softness of her pillow, allowing her tears to be absorbed in the fabric beneath her.

  Sudden light spilled into the room and Nellie sat up with a start. Thomas stood in the connecting doorway, a candle in hand, wearing nothing but a pair of navy pantaloons. She felt herself swallow.

  Thomas simply looked at her for what seemed like an eternity, before he walked forward and closed the door behind him. He went to the opposite side of the bed to hers and placed the candle on the table as he pulled back the covers. His gaze never left hers as he unbuttoned his pantaloons one button at a ti
me. Nellie felt her eyes widen but could not draw them away. She was fixated on the movement of his fingers. Once all the buttons were undone, he allowed the fabric to drop, his eyes still on her. Nellie’s mouth went dry as he stood naked in front of her, his proud cock standing to attention, the moisture at its tip glistening in the soft candlelight.

  Moisture gathered at her core as well, her inner muscles clenching with the thought of him being inside her, his impressive cock sliding into her, bringing her pleasure unlike anything she had ever felt. Nellie had never seen a man’s cock before now, but she could not imagine them getting much bigger. She doubted her small hand would surround its girth.

  Thomas slid into bed and blew out the candle, placing the room into total darkness once more.

  Nellie’s heart raced as she sat wondering what would happen next. She did not have to wait long.

  “Come here,” Thomas whispered as he pulled her up alongside him, resting her head on his chest. “Goodnight, wife.”

  Thomas was in physical pain. Oh, God, he wanted his wife! She had sat there, watching him undress with wide eyes. She was clearly virginal—if he had not believed her word before this, he would believe it now. She knew nothing of what it was like to be touched by a man and he couldn’t wait to show her, but he would not rush into it. She was delicate, his new wife, and he would not frighten her by taking her too early. He would allow her to become comfortable with him first, then he would take his pleasure by evoking her own.

  She settled upon his torso, working her delicate hands though the hairs upon his chest. Puffs of her warm breath caressed his nipples. His balls would surely be blue by morning.

  Oh, God! This woman is going to kill me!

  She shifted closer against him, her soft body melting into his hard one. Thomas mentally cursed his restraint, but held on to it regardless. Even so, all he could imagine doing was flipping her onto her back and loving her until morning.

  “Are you tired, husband?” she whispered.

  Husband. Yes, indeed he was. “No, wife.”

  “Oh? And this is my chamber, so may I ask why you are not sleeping in your own?”

  He looked down at her but the action was fruitless. He could not see a thing. “I have no desire to sleep apart from you, unless that is your wish?”

  “No,” she was quick to say. “But I wonder why we are not making love, then?”

  Always to the point. He huffed out a laugh. “I would be more than happy to make love to you all night, my dear, but you looked at me with fear. I have no wish for my wife to panic when I approach.”

  He felt her sit up and slap a hand down on his chest. “I am sorry, my Lord, but I am not a seasoned lover like you are used to. I have no clue as to what to expect and no idea what to do. If you wanted something or someone different, perhaps you picked the wrong woman to be your bride,” she said angrily, and poked him in the chest with an irate finger.

  He laughed and pulled her down on him, her breasts coming to rest upon his chest and her face inches away from his own. He raised a hand to cushion her cheek.

  “It is that fire that made me choose you,” he whispered back, and for the first time reached forward so his lips touched hers. This was a kiss so different to the rushed one they had shared in the church. He intended to savour it.

  Nellie took a moment but as he brushed his lips along hers, she finally leaned into him, returning the kiss boldly, though she was clearly unskilled. He did not mind this. Thomas would take great pleasure in teaching her.

  When he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, Nellie groaned and parted her lips. He swept inside her mouth, touching her tongue with his own. She rubbed it back, moaning into his mouth as she moved her hands to his face—one touching his cheek, the other sliding into his hair.

  Thomas glided his hands down her curves, shaping her body in the darkness. As he moved his palms down her back, he enjoyed the silky feel of her shift, but wanted to touch her skin and nothing else. He slid lower, cupping her bottom and pulling her fully onto him. She gasped into his mouth as he settled her over him, so that she straddled his thighs and rested against his aching cock.

  “You want me?” she asked.

  “Can you not feel how much I want you?” he asked, and rolled his hips upward.

  Nellie moaned. “I do not fear you,” she mumbled as he took her hips in his hands and rocked her against his hardness.

  He smiled. “No?”

  He could imagine her shaking her head. “No. I want to know what it’s like to be touched by another.”

  Another? “Have you touched yourself, my Nel?” he whispered as he pulled her down for one more kiss. Her lips eagerly locked with his upon the first touch. He broke away after a moment and laid kisses along her jaw. “Have you, wife?”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled against her skin. “Have you thought of me touching you?”

  “Yes. It never felt this good, though,” she murmured and rubbed into him, a long moan escaping her lips.

  God! She pleasured herself and thought of me! His cock twitched in anticipation.

  Grasping the fabric of her shift in his hands, Thomas pulled it up over her head and discarded the garment. He let his hands drop onto her shoulders and again shaped her body, this time from the front. The gentle swell of her breasts and the aroused points of her nipples made him groan as he slid a hand behind her and pulled her towards him, taking one of the aroused peaks into his mouth. Thomas smiled around the flesh as she moaned, her hips grinding into him as if of their own accord.

  He wanted to see the desire for him in her eyes, but in the darkness he could see nothing. “I need light,” he muttered as he broke away from her skin, pleased by the moan of protest she issued. He leaned over, still holding on to her with one hand, then reached for the candle. The room was quickly filled with a soft glow and he looked back to his bride. Thomas could not help but smile at her nervous expression, her bottom lip taking the brunt of her worry.

  “Do not hide from me,” he whispered, moving her hands from where she had placed them, over her breasts. He leant forward and blew gently onto the heated flesh. She shuddered.

  Thomas reached up and pulled her lips down to his own. She worked her fingers into his hair once more. Slowly, he rolled her onto her back and came above, settling his weight in the V of her thighs. He could feel the heated moisture of her cunt against his stomach. She wanted this. It was all he needed to know.

  Unwilling to delay his feast of her any longer, he travelled his hand to her core. A gasp escaped her as he threaded his fingers through the hair that guarded her heat. She was dripping for him, her body calling to him in desperation.

  He ran a finger along the dampness. She tilted her head back, away from his kiss, and her groan, closed eyes and parted lips spurred him on. He rubbed his thumb along the bud of her clitoris and she bucked, jumping her hands to his back and digging her short nails into him. He slipped a finger inside her and she clenched at his digit, eagerly claiming it.

  Massaging her both inside and out, Thomas watched as she inched closer and closer to release. He wanted her to come in his hands, then again with him inside her. He wanted her to be relaxed with pleasure when he took her, claimed her.

  When he slipped another finger inside, she bucked and whispered breathless words of pleasure. Oh, she was close. She called his name, her volume growing as she writhed against his hands. He drove in farther, worried that she might not be ready to take his girth. She was so very tight. He felt her barrier, his assurance that she was a pure woman. Not that Thomas would have cared at this point, but the primal man within growled at this. She would only ever be his!

  He fanned his fingers slightly, trying to gently stretch her as he increased his pressure on her clit. He wanted her to come, he wanted to be inside her soon or he would finish without her. That was something he was not willing to allow.

  He leant forward and latched on to her nipple. At the same time, he flicked her clit and drove deep into h
er with his fingers. She gasped and froze, then all of a sudden her body quaked around his hand. He looked up to see her eyes wide gazing into space, her lips parted in a silent scream as her cunt milked his fingers. Thomas kept them moving and bit down gently on her nipple again. Nellie’s tremors slowly diminished and her body melted into the mattress. He smiled down at her as he withdrew his fingers and slid up her body.

  Lazily, she opened her eyes and gazed up at him, her pleasure-filled expression warming his soul.

  “We are not finished yet, wife.”

  He slipped a hand beneath her bottom and lifted her hips slightly as his cock touched the heat of her. She moaned and he was hard pressed to hold in his own.

  He moved the head of his cock between the drenched lips of her cunt. She arched against him and Thomas was mindful to go slow, while all his body wanted to do was fuck her hard. But still, he held back, slipping into her inch by inch. She was tight—oh, God, she was tight! But he fit within her perfectly. He reached the barrier and she looked up at him with pleasure-filled eyes. He leant forward and took her mouth with his own as he broke through, her gasp swallowed by his kiss.

  Thomas paused inside her delicious warmth, waiting for her to relax. She slid her hands down his back and flexed her hips, as if testing for pain. He pulled back and she moaned as he slowly pushed back into her, her fingers digging into his arse.

  Oh, God! I’m going to come!

  Thomas ground his teeth together as he thrust into her warmth. Already, she had started to clench around him with each entry. She cupped his arse then let her fingers roam. He would not last long if she kept this up.

  Keeping a hand by her head, holding his weight off her, Thomas rubbed her clit with his other. It only took two strokes for her eyes to glaze over and her hips to arch suddenly against his, drawing him deeper still. Her scream was not silent this time, digging her hands into him as her body quaked around him, her cries of pleasure filling the room. Thomas let out a growl of his own as he thrust into her a final time, then called her name as he shot his seed into her depths.