The blood was pounding in her ears as she grasped her husband firmly by the root and gently circled the tip of his manhood with her tongue, pausing to laugh softly when
his whole body stiffened, his whisper both shocked and delighted as he muttered, “Oh my God, Cressy, you are full of surprises.”
Cressida raised her eyes to slant him a sly smile. “While looking for you, I stumbled upon a tableau not meant for the eyes of a lady.” She thought a moment, adding, “And yet I think we were all ladies at Mrs. Plumb’s, and most of us were looking for the same thing.”
At his momentary frown, she clarified in a low whisper, “Ways in which we might combine pleasure with power.” She stroked his shaft then kissed it with great tenderness as she continued to smile up at him. “You surely will not blame me for putting to good use the lessons I learned as I searched for the truth you’d been keeping from me, dearest? For I’ve come directly from Madame Zirelli. She told me why you were there, and you’ve no need to worry I harbor the slightest doubt about your constancy. We’ll talk later,” she soothed. Any reply of which he might have been capable was truncated as she took him deeply into her mouth, sliding her tongue around the base of his engorged member, her whole body tingling with excitement, power and anticipation at his responses as she licked and suckled.
His hands tangled in her hair as he threw his head back, his face a mask of ecstasy. “You are exquisite,” he groaned, his breathing tortured as Cressida built up the tension with her tongue.
It was all so new to her, and all so wickedly exciting. She could afford to be as tantalizing as she wished, for she had precautions and she had knowledge. A week ago, this hugely important aspect of her life, the foundation of her marriage, had been mired in dark, swamp-like ignorance.
While Justin moaned his pleasure, Cressida could provide him with all he could want of a wife, fulfilling her conjugal side of the contract. With interest. It was exhilarating, and it was just the beginning.
“And now it’s my turn,” she whispered when she felt him nearly at the cusp. She wanted this moment to confirm their sexual life would never be the same. Still holding him with one hand, she hastily retrieved the French letter from the reticule at her knees and slipped one of the strange sheaths onto him, just as Madame Zirelli had shown her, easing it on, stroking and massaging him. He was shocked at first, but he understood, throwing himself into the game with as much enthusiasm as she’d hoped. His desire matched her own, for her womb throbbed with want and she was wet and desperate for him by the time she rose to her feet, twisting in his grasp so she had her back against the table.
She did not have to say the words that had been forming on her breath—Take me here. Her actions conveyed their own eloquence, and now it was Cressida’s turn to throw back her head and gasp as his hands encircled her waist and he lifted her onto the table, moving in to take her ankles and wrap her legs around his waist.
Breathless, panting and excited, they both grappled with her full, heavy skirts, hoisting them to her waist.
She wanted no preliminaries. She was clear about that, her lust too advanced, her desire too urgent. She needed to feel herself full and hot with him thrusting deep inside her. She wanted him to lose himself in her as he’d done when they were lovers as much as newlyweds, and the consequences were a bonus, not a bane.
She wanted to reclaim him.
With her arms supporting her weight, she opened heavy eyelids as Justin pushed into her, first with tentative exploration, for it had been so long since they’d done this, then with serious intent as he picked up the pace with smooth assurance. She sucked in a sharp breath as she closed her eyes, thrilling at the memory of Justin’s expression, glazed with passion.
It came naturally. She moved with him as he ground his hips against hers, and her mind inhabited a different plane, it seemed, while she immersed herself in the moment, her body a mass of heightened sensation. As important as the physical was the knowledge that she had all but claimed back what she’d thought she’d lost.
He came with a shudder, his body convulsing over hers, and she wrapped her legs even tighter around him and thrust her own body forward to clasp his head to her chest.
“My God, Cressy,” he groaned, “I had no idea how much I’d missed this. Please forgive me…for everything.”
Cressida just held him, satiated and full of joy, her husband still inside her. Justin had just made love to her for the first time in ten months—and she was not left with the fear and uncertainty of another pregnancy. They’d thrown themselves into bringing pleasure to one another with the joyful abandon that had characterized their early marriage, yet, with all they knew of each other, and their confusion and mistrust laid to rest, it had been even better than it was eight years ago.
“Oh, Justin, it was nobody’s fault, and it was the fault of both of us, but Madame Zirelli opened my eyes when she told me everything.”
They slid to the floor, embracing upon the thick wolf skin, stroking and kissing each other as renewed sexual desire quickly pushed aside post-coital lethargy. She noticed Justin had unsheathed himself but that he now had his own contraceptive between his fingers.
“Please…let me do that.” Cressida shifted position to take charge, the wondrous sense of power growing again as she felt her husband harden at his touch.
“Cressy, you don’t have to. Are you quite sure—?”A skillful squeeze stayed his objection, though instead of caging her body once more with his, he lowered his head to look her in the eye.
“Cressy, I had no idea the reason for your reluctance these past months was fear of another child.” He drew her across his lap so that he was looking down at her, his eyes clouded with guilt. “If I’d only known—” He cleared his throat. “If I’d only had the mind to think beyond my own pleasure and to consider what it might be like for you to face a potential confinement each time we did this, we could have been so much happier.” Gently, he stroked her face, and love and gratitude for the husband whose heart she’d been so fortunate to win swept through her. His voice gentled. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through, when you had no one to turn to.”
“Hush.” She touched his lips with her forefinger. “We both should have voiced what was in our hearts, but let’s not talk about that now. We’re back where we should be.”
He smiled as he drew her to her feet. With his hands resting gently on her shoulders, he walked her backward until she was up against the billiard table. “Now you are my captive, my sweet,” he whispered with a smile as he gently stroked her bottom and flanks. “There are a multitude of means to prevent another baby, Cressy”—he nibbled her ear, making her shiver—“and as I intend we talk candidly about our desires for each other and whether or not to increase our family, rest assured that in future you can leave all such related concerns to me, and I will not let you down. In the meantime, just enjoy the feeling of being loved. For indeed, you are.”
“Oh, Justin, I do love you,” she whispered, cupping his chin and nuzzling his hands, which rested lightly on her shoulders, adding quickly before he closed the gap to kiss her, “I’ve been to a place no lady would go, but what I’ve learned has liberated me.”
“You don’t feel tainted? Shocked?”
“I have been shocked. Very shocked!” She closed her eyes a moment, recalling the rapture on the faces of Ariane and Wentworth, the couple whose five-year marriage could not be made public but who’d clearly found ways to bring pleasure into their union. The license they allowed each other was not something she or Justin would contemplate for a moment in their own marriage, yet could she condemn others for finding satisfaction that did not impinge on the well-being of others?
“If I had been honest with you from the start about what I was doing there, you’d have been protected from the evils that were thrown in your face.”
“I’m not sure I would wish it any other way, Justin.” She crinkled her nose. “For one thing, I learned from Madame Zirelli how much I love you.” She paused, weighing up her words. “I also learned what a world of loving there is to be had.”
When Justin frowned, inviting elaboration, she was surprised at the wicked chuckle