by Golden Angel
When she'd first woken, she'd started touching him, almost in wonderment that he was there... but also because she'd been aroused.
"If you run again, I won't make the same mistake I did last time," Alex said quietly, his eyes boring into hers. His words had the feel of a vow. "I will chase you down and I will blister your bottom. First, for leaving me again, and secondly, so you tell me why. I’ll admit, I'm not sure I would have handled it the way I should have, if you had come to me the last time. What I said to your father was wrong, and it did take our separation for me to realize how wrong. If you had come to me, I would have expected you to understand, but it's me who should have had a better understanding of how to be a husband. I thought I was happy with the marriage we had, but now I know I want more. I want what Edwin and Eleanor have, what Hugh and Irene have, and what I'm fairly certain Wesley and Cynthia are going to have. I'm sorry it took me so long to get my head out of my ass."
Grace reached up, cupping his face in her hands, feeling the wiry scrape of his facial hair against her palms. The tender, fierce look in his eyes was everything she could have ever wanted.
"I want that too," she whispered, unable to speak any louder when her throat felt so choked with his beautiful promise. Even the promise to spank her if she ran was beautiful, because it showed how much he cared. "I love you."
"I love you," he murmured back, his gaze flickering over her face, until he met her eyes again. The warmth and caring she saw in them slid through the last of her defenses, melting every sliver of ice still in her heart, and crumbling the remains of her walls to dust. She had no trouble believing that he meant every word that he said.
It would be so easy for both of them to resent the other. They'd both made mistakes, at the beginning of their marriage and throughout their separation, but neither of them wanted to dwell in the past. Alex had been focused on their future from the very moment he'd decided to reconcile, and Grace had joined him in that outlook after she realized he was serious and that there might be hope for the kind of marriage she'd always wanted.
She drew him down for a kiss, rocking her hips against his, wanting - needing - him inside of her. Alex pulled his knees up to take his weight, allowing him to slide his hands down her sides, caressing and teasing the sides of her breasts, before cupping them more fully. Moaning against his lips, she canted her hips upwards, seeking him, as he thrummed her nipples with his thumbs.
Hot pleasure flashed through her, making her need simmer. She craved the intimacy of love-making, a physical enactment of their declarations to each other. Whimpering as Alex pinched her nipples, her fingers tangled in his hair as she kissed him harder, more desperately.
Groaning, he rocked, and the length of his cock slid through her pussy lips, coating the underside of his rod in her honey. Grace moaned as the head bumped against and then passed over her clit, making the little bud swell. One hand came down to rake nails over his shoulder, clutching at him. The slight pain in her bottom from her previous spanking was already fading, melding into the pleasure that was growing in her core.
She made an impatient noise, wriggling as Alex squeezed her breasts, pinching and rolling her nipples between his fingers. It felt so incredibly good, and at the same time it wasn't nearly enough. The sensations went straight to her pussy, which only made her aware of how empty and needy she was. He was rubbing the outside of her pussy with his cock, rocking back and forth, teasing the sensitive lips, but leaving her so empty and aching inside.
"Alex, please," she begged, moaning, as she pulled his head up and away from her lips.
His dark eyes glittered at her, filled with dominance and heat, searing her with his gaze. It utterly took her breath away and she gasped as he pinched her nipples so hard that her back arched to try and relieve the pressure on the sensitive buds. The pain made her ache even more to be filled. She clung to his shoulders, digging her nails in, as her pussy clenched around nothing.
"What do you need, sweetheart? Tell me."
Like he didn't know. He just wanted to hear her say it. She'd felt his cock jerking against her thigh as she'd pleaded with him.
"Please... Alex, I need you inside me... pleeaaa-oh!" Her entire body felt like it was throbbing as he pushed in, hard and deep, filling her completely with one almost brutal thrust.
Her inner muscles clenched and protested against the suddenness of the invasion, even as they sang with ecstasy. Alex wrapped his arms around her thighs, sliding her knees into the crooks of his elbows, spreading her legs wide as he leaned over her. She was completely open and vulnerable to him, her hands pressed against his chest, her pink pussy lips wrapped securely around his cock. They could both look down the length of their bodies and see her impaled on him, see him filling her. Grace shuddered and moaned, clenching again at the sight.
Doing his best to control his own demanding need, Alex began to thrust, slow and sensually, in and out of Grace. Because of the way he had her bent in half, she couldn't wrap her arms around him. She ran her fingers through the hair on his chest, before letting them fall down beside her head, writhing in pleasure as he took his time with hard, slow thrusts. Her pussy massaged his cock, shuddering and spasming as he buried himself in her, over and over again.
He hungrily gorged on the sight of her writhing before him, her breasts bouncing with every thrust, hands reaching up to grab at the pillow as she cried out when he ground himself against her swollen pussy lips and clit. He had absolute possession and control of her body, and she trusted him with it. Reveled in it. Screamed his name as she lost herself in it.
As she writhed in orgasm, he slid his hand between her legs, pinching her clit and rubbing it between two of his fingers. Grace screamed again, tears beginning to leak down her cheeks from the overwhelming shock of ecstasy. She grabbed at his wrist as the pleasure became almost unbearable, but she couldn't stop the twisting, rubbing friction against her clit, as he pushed her over the edge into torturous rapture.
"ALEX!" She sobbed his name, her legs straining against his arms, trying to close, trying to stop the erotic assault on her senses.
When he finally released her clit, she only knew a moment's reprieve before he was pounding into her, harder than before, intent on his own pleasure. He rasped against her sensitive tissues, holding her open as he groaned her name, his balls tightening in anticipation. Grace's writhing and shuddering beneath him, her sobbing cries, had him losing all control.
The hot clasp of her pussy sucked at his cock as it swelled and began to throb, pulsing inside of her as jet after jet of his seed filled her womb. His weight rested fully on her, pushing him so deep that he felt like they were melded together, the heat of her cunt binding them together. Rocking against her, he could feel the shuddering aftershocks of her orgasm, wracking her body.
Replete, he let her legs slide down and he held her close, dropping kisses along her brow and kissing away the tears that had fallen from the intensity of her pleasure. Grace whimpered, sweetly feminine, and all his. Their limbs were tangled together as he rolled onto his side, taking her with him, unwilling to relinquish his hold on her.
He knew that this wasn't the end of their troubles. They would have to continue building their trust in each other, work on their communication with each other, and make the effort to show and share their love, but it would be worth it if he could hold Grace like this for the rest of his life.
Epilogue
The Honorable Lord Marcus Simon Villiers blinked solemnly at the faces peering over him. His rather wispy hair was a sunny golden blonde, his rosy cheeks utterly at odds with his dark serious eyes, and he pursed his lips as feminine cooing surrounded him from all sides.
"Oh isn't he just adorable?" Cynthia said, reaching down and tickling at his stomach. She frowned. "He's not ticklish?"
"No," Eleanor said, almost sadly, as she looked down at her progeny. "He's my serious little chap. A little bit too much like his father, sometimes."
As if sensing his mother's disappro
val, young Marcus gurgled and smiled, making all of the women gasp and coo again. Just like his father, he already had a devastatingly charming smile. Eleanor laughed and shook her head as Irene, Grace and Cynthia fell over themselves to tell him what a good, handsome, charming baby boy he was. She was sure that Marcus was already all too aware of his effect on the opposite sex.
He was such a good baby though, almost as if to make up for the positive horror he'd been during the pregnancy. Once he'd started to move, he'd never stopped, which had been particularly trying at night. She'd become so tired and over-stressed that Edwin had been going a bit mad trying to care for her. The labor had been difficult as well, and since then he'd treated her like breakable glass. The spankings and discipline she'd been promised at the beginning of her pregnancy, when she'd still had the energy to cause trouble, hadn't been mentioned by him once.
It was making her rather antsy. Not because she thought he would spring a spanking on her unaware, but because she had a feeling he didn't mean to spank her at all. In fact, for all they slept together in the same bed every night, he'd been remarkably reticent about being seduced, insisting that she was still recovering.
Marcus was three months old and she was quite recovered, thank you very much.
"I hope my baby is as sweet as you are," Grace cooed at baby Marcus, garnering the attention of the other three women. She looked up at them and winked.
"You're expecting?" Irene asked, looking thrilled for her.
"Yes," Grace said, looking serenely happy as she placed her hand over her stomach. Eleanor had been relieved to see the immense change in Grace and Alex's relationship by the time they'd arrived at the Manse. They were so very obviously in love; he absolutely doted on her and Grace had found her happiness again. She was nothing but smiles most of the time - although she was occasionally the recipient of a look from her husband that Eleanor recognized very well.
Apparently Alex was still disciplining his wife when he felt she needed it. Eleanor wondered what she would have to do to make Edwin realize that she still needed it as well.
"So everything turned out well between you and Alex?" Cynthia asked, watching with interest as Eleanor picked up the baby, who had started to fuss. He quieted, now that he was able to look around the room, winding a lock of his mother's hair around his chubby little hand. "You look much happier."
"I'm so much happier," Grace said, the smile on her face completely genuine. In fact, it didn't look like she could stop smiling even if she wanted to. "He says that he didn't mean what he said to my father, that he was just trying to be like my father in order to secure the deal... and he's apologized for that. We've both apologized, for the mistakes that we've made, but we're focused on the future, not the past."
"Your past lovers don't come up?" Cynthia asked.
"No," Grace said. Then she smirked. "Although, Conyngham and I are still friends, which Alex tolerates. They actually get along quite well, as long as he doesn't think about how Conyngham and I began our acquaintance."
Cynthia made a face. "I can't imagine being friends with any of Wesley's mistresses. Some of them still write him the most appalling letters."
"How do you know?" asked Irene, her eyes widening in shock.
"We read them together," Cynthia said, with a shrug of her shoulder. She snickered, glancing around the room as if to make sure that the men weren't within hearing distance, even though they had gone down to the stables almost an hour ago. The other women leaned in, knowing that whatever was making Cynthia wary to share was probably going to be deliciously shocking. "Some of them make the most salacious suggestions about what they'd like to do with him. So then I do it with him instead. It's quite fun."
Eleanor and Grace both laughed, but Irene frowned, looking a bit indignant. "What do you do with the letters afterwards? He doesn't answer them, does he?"
"Oh no," Cynthia said, waving her hand carelessly. "We burn them. Although, being ignored doesn't seem to bother them. I actually met one of them, recently, and thanked her for all the wonderful ideas. She hasn't written him since, but she's the only one."
"It's a wonder Wesley hasn't spanked your bottom raw," Eleanor said, amused.
"He thought it was funny," Cynthia admitted. "I thought for certain I was done for when he overheard me, but he just laughed. Later, I cursed when I tripped getting into the carriage and he spanked me the whole way home! I never know what's going to set him off." The way she spoke, the women all knew that she wasn't upset about that, more amused than anything else.
"Edwin hasn't spanked me since I told him I was pregnant," Eleanor blurted out. Irene looked a bit envious, Grace surprised, and Cynthia a bit horrified. "And he hasn't... we haven't..." It was surprisingly hard to say out loud, despite the frank speech she often enjoyed with her friends. Tears sparked in her eyes, of frustration and a little bit of shame that her husband hadn't touched her intimately in so long. She didn't doubt his love for her, but right now that very love was making her feel unhappy because of the way he was expressing it! She clutched at Marcus a little bit tighter, and he started to fuss again, as if her upset was spreading to him.
"Oh dear..."
Grace and Cynthia leaned in on either side of her, comfortingly, as Irene reached out and plucked Baby Marcus from Eleanor's arms. She let go of him willingly, not wanting to distress him just because she was upset. He settled again in Irene's arms, and she brightened at holding him, so much so that Eleanor felt a little brighter herself just from looking at them.
"I keep telling him I've recovered, but he doesn't seem to believe me," Eleanor said, sighing. She looked at Irene. "Do you remember, in Bath, he told me that he was going to keep track of my infractions, tally them and hold me accountable later?" Irene nodded. "Well, he hasn't. When I mentioned it, he brushed me off, implying that all was forgiven. I'd rather he spank me than not touch me at all!"
"Did you tell him that?" Grace asked, sympathetically. "He may need you to come right out and say it."
"I haven't, but I practically threw myself at him the other night, before you all arrived," Eleanor replied, wringing her hands a bit as she remembered her embarrassment when he'd told her that she wasn't recovered yet, and tucked her into bed like she was a child, rather than treating her as his wife. "You know how he is, he thinks he knows better than me about everything. Even though he wanted me, he acted like I was being irresponsible by tempting him."
The rejection had smarted, and it was a damned good thing he made her feel loved in other ways, or she would have started to seriously doubt his love for her. It did help that he stayed by her side at the Manse the whole time, so that she didn't fall prey to her old insecurities about his faithfulness.
It was cathartic to finally talk about all of this. Even with her own mother in residence, she hadn't been able to talk to her or Edwin's mother about this. It was just too embarrassing. Now that her friends were here, she was finally able to unburden herself.
Cynthia's head turned towards the window. "Where are they now? Are they still at the stables?"
Standing, Grace moved quickly over to the window, peering out. "No, they're at the kennels, looking at the Earl's dogs."
Edwin's father's favorite bitch had a new litter, which he was almost as proud of as he was of his grandson. Eleanor's lips twitched. She wasn't at all surprised that he'd insisted on showing them off.
"Good," said Cynthia, sitting up straighter. The devilish look in her eye made Irene look at her warily, even as Eleanor straightened in anticipation. "I know exactly how we can show Edwin you're fully recovered... although it may mean sore bottoms for all of us."
"Of course it will," Irene muttered, but she listened just as intently as the others to Cynthia's plan, and she didn't even attempt to talk them out of it.
******
The cavorting pups didn't hold Edwin's attention as much as his friends, because he'd seen them quite a few times before. His father was in his element though, happily showing off the litter and exp
ounding on their bloodlines. Wesley wasn't nearly as interested as Hugh or Alex, but he'd always been more interested in horses than dogs.
"How was the honeymoon?" he asked, leaning back against the wall of the kennel, watching as one of the pups nipped at Alex's outstretched fingers.
"Edifying," Wesley said, flashing a quick grin.
"It must have been, considering you extended it," Edwin teased.
Gossipy letters had flown fast and furious when Wesley had sent word to his friends and family that he and Cynthia were visiting France and Spain, along with Italy. No one had expected him to be gone from business so long. Privately, Eleanor had told Edwin she'd heard there were many disappointed ladies in the ton.
"The pile of mail I returned to wasn't nearly as pleasant," Wesley said, shaking his head. "My partners did their best while I was away... but nothing beats the personal touch."
"You and your penchant for controlling even the smallest details," Edwin said, laughing. "I'm amazed Cynthia convinced you to stay away for so long."
"Well, she does have her ways." The smugly masculine smile on Wesley's face, made Edwin ache a bit. He'd been holding himself back from Eleanor for months now. The doctor had insisted she rest in bed the last two months of her pregnancy, and had warned him against claiming his marital rights - not that Edwin would have anyway, when she was so pale and weak.
The birth of his son had been joyous, but the time before that had been the worst hours of his life. Only the women and the midwife had been allowed in the room, while he'd been left to pace the library with his father and Hugh for company. Because it was such a hard birth, after the first few hours, the mothers had sent Irene out of the room as well, not wanting to alarm her. He'd felt so helpless. So useless. Even though he accused Wesley of being overly concerned with control, the truth was, Edwin was as well, and in those long hours he'd had absolutely none.