Portrait of a Scandal (10 page)

He grinned, unable to control himself. “I am sure we will fight, Nel. However, from now on I will express my thoughts, no matter how inappropriate.”

“They are not inappropriate if they concern me,” she said, looking down at her hands, twisting them in the fabric of her somewhat sheer nightgown.

“Come to bed, wife.”

She looked up at him, her expression no longer displaying anger. Instead, she appeared nervous. She chewed her bottom lip—already he could see it swelling as a result of her worry.

“Come to bed, wife,” he repeated.

Nellie hesitated again, but only for a moment. She opened the drawer of her desk and slid the letter inside it, then gently closed it. She rose and blew out the candle on her desk. The only other light came from the one by the bed.

As she slid between the covers a moment later, she did not meet his eyes, looking instead at the bed canopy above.

“How can you go from being frightfully angry to nervous within moments?” he asked.

She sighed. “I am embarrassed by my reaction today. I did not understand your motives at the time.”

“Nor should you have,” Thomas reminded her, as well as himself. “I am sorry I upset you. It was not my intention.”

“I know.” She turned to him. “But we cannot make love, can we?”

“No. Not in the way you mean. But, wife, there are other ways to please each other.”

Interest sparked in her features. “There are?”

“Indeed, there are,” he said, and reached for the crisp white sheet covering her. He drew it down her body. Her harsh breathing made the rise and fall of her breasts unsteady. She lay there in a full-length nightgown, with her skin covered from neck to ankle. He hated it.

“Take it off.”

Her eyes widened slightly and she hesitated. Nellie was not the kind of woman to take orders, but he found himself wanting to give them to her now. His cock hardened at the thought of her allowing him to govern her in the bedroom. It twitched again as he noticed the shiver that raked her body. She liked it too.

“Take it off. Now,” he commanded.

She slowly slid her hands from her waist to the fabric covering her hips. She caressed the surface and he heard her breathing deepen. He suppressed a groan. Bunching the fabric in her hands, she raised her hips slightly, freeing the fabric from under her bottom and sliding it up her body before she sat up and pulled it over her head. She shook her flowing curls around her shoulders as she tossed the garment on the floor. Nellie’s eyes returned to his and he saw passion and desire in them, yet she did not do anything other than lie back down.

Thomas shifted closer to her but not close enough to touch. He needed to go slow and remember to be gentle with her. He leant forward and blew warm air over the heated flesh of her breasts. She whimpered and he was pleased to see her eyes drift closed.

“Promise me something,” he whispered.

She slowly reopened her eyes. “Yes?”

“Promise me you will never again wear clothing to bed.”

Her eyes widened. “Never?”

“No, never. I want to see and feel you without the barrier. I will not go as far as to demand you wear nothing during the day,” he added with a leer, “as society would shortly condemn me, but I demand it from you at night.”

“What about when you are not here?”

Her voice shook and Thomas reached out, hovering his fingers over the peaks of her breasts. Her breathing became erratic and she moaned, lifting her chest towards his touch, but he raised his hand, avoiding the contact, torturing them both in the process.

“I will always be here. There will not be a night when I will leave you. If I must travel, you will travel with me.”

She shuddered before him. “We will always share a bed?”

“Always,” he murmured as he finally lowered his hand and pinched her nipple. Her breath hissed out, before she sank into the mattress below her. He grasped the flesh, moulding it in his palm.

“T-Thomas?”

“Yes, wife?”

“C-can I touch you?”

He paused, his fingers tightening on her for a moment before he released her breast and rolled onto his back. Until last eve, she had been a maiden. Although she had clawed his skin during sex, he had not allowed her the time to explore him. Suddenly the idea seemed too good to be true.

“You may,” he whispered huskily.

He is not the only one who can tease.
Nellie rolled to her side, facing her seemingly relaxed but extremely aroused husband. His cock pointed to the ceiling, engorged, with thick veins marking the surface of the solid flesh. Her core clenched with anticipation.

 Thomas watched her, his predatory gaze sending tingles along her skin. Nellie sat up, but she did not plan on simply touching. She wanted to explore her husband in every possible way.

She slid between his legs, but she had yet to touch him. She was careful not to even allow the brush of his leg hairs to stroke against her skin as she settled between his strong thighs, letting her gaze drift along the firm muscles.
How can a man be so beautiful?
His strong, powerful body, coupled with his witty charm and deadlier than sin looks, made resisting him a fierce temptation…but she was his wife and there was no need to resist, was there? He did want her! Her earlier thoughts of the day now seemed so foolish in her mind.

Lowering her head, she blew gently against his skin, as he had done to her moments ago, starting at his toes and inching little by little towards her goal. As she reached the skin behind his knee, which was exposed owing to the angle of his leg, Thomas gave a little shudder. Feminine power surged though her and spurred her on.

As she came to the junction of his thighs, she could no longer resist studying his cock in eager detail. The crisp hairs at its base were a slightly darker colour than those on his head. The smooth shaft twitched under her perusal, and she smiled. The tip came out in a mushroom-like top, and a small seeping of moisture was forming upon the head. She moistened her tongue and wet her lips. A growl emerged from Thomas but she refused to glance towards him.

Raising a hand, she allowed her fingers to creep leisurely towards the hairs at his cock’s base, teasing them with whisper-like touches. His legs shook on either side of her but he did not move in an attempt to hurry her. It only encouraged her more.

When she placed the pad of her thumb to the base of his shaft, Thomas’ whole body shuddered but she did not slow her approach, simply allowed her index finger to touch his cock from the other side. With a fleeting caress, she slowly moved her hand, raising it towards the top. She followed the protruding veins along his skin with her barely there stroke and shuddered herself as more moisture leaked from the tip. Unable to stop herself, Nellie leant forward and blew gently over that weeping head. Thomas moaned and clenched his fingers in the bedcovers. Nellie understood his pain. It had been her own moments ago when he had teased her.

Lowering her head farther, she firmed her grip on him. Nellie flicked her tongue over the wetness, unsure if the action would pleasure him, but the thought only increased her desire to do so. Would he think her daft for the action? Apparently not, as his body quaked and he moaned her name softly. Giving in to temptation, she ran her tongue over the head and rolled it around the shaft, mapping it with her mouth. More of his seed leaked from the tip and Nellie eagerly lapped it up. She was pleasantly surprised by the tart and musky flavour of it. Thomas also seemed to approve—his cock hardened further in her mouth. She took him deeper, exploring her ability to swallow his thickness. She breathed through her nose and found if she caressed him with her tongue as she swallowed, she could take him deeper, sending Thomas into a moaning mess beneath her.

“Oh, Nel!” he moaned. He wildly thrust up and she accommodated him, loving how smooth his skin was as he pulled out of her, only to push hastily back in.

“Stop!” Thomas called. He suddenly reached a hand to her head when she did not acknowledge his cry. Gripping her hair gently but firmly, he pulled himself free.

As she looked up into his dark eyes, she quaked in anticipation. She did not care if she was still tender—she wanted him to take her, wanted the pleasure only he could provide for her.

“Come here,” he ordered in a deep voice.

She shuddered but did as he asked, coming to his left side, his hands still wrapped in her hair as she left the warmth between his legs.

“Suck me again,” he demanded and she obliged, leaning over his hips to do so. The angle had changed and his cock slid within her mouth differently than before. She seemed to be able to take him deeper, the head going farther down her throat.

She gave a choke of surprise around him as he grasped her hips and shifted her fully over him, spreading her legs to either side of his head. She clenched her jaw slightly in shock as the sudden rasp of his tongue slid along her clitoris. His growl rumbled along her heated flesh and she moaned around his cock as he gently nibbled the flesh of her core.

Nellie sucked him deeper, caressing him with her hand, matching her mouth’s action. Thomas licked her in time with her strokes. She realised he was copying her movements with his tongue. She pushed back into his face, craving the pleasure which slowly built in her. With each moment it grew stronger, more powerful.

They teased each other then. If she stopped—her legs quaking from the pleasure of having both his cock in her mouth and his tongue on her clit—he stopped his feast on her as well. She moaned in frustration and did not relent. Instead she continued to explore him, trying everything she thought might please him and in turn, herself.

Her body became boneless as ecstasy took control of her, and she was no longer able to hold herself up off him. He did not seem to mind and nor did she, since the pressure of his tongue only increased upon her as it delved into her channel or licked her swollen flesh. Who would have thought the action could be so pleasurable?

The lightly furred sacs at the base of his cock gained her attention. They seemed to be pulling closer to his body, becoming firmer. Reaching out with her free hand, she cupped them. Thomas nipped at her with his teeth, growling. Spikes of pleasure rushed through her and urged her to roll the delicate balls in her hand. Thomas pressed his mouth firmer against her, and she moaned around his thickness as he moved the hand that had been holding her against him to her core. He rolled his tongue over her clitoris as he plunged his fingers into her core, scooping up her moisture.

Too soon, his fingers left her and he replaced them with his tongue. Nellie froze as he rubbed his moist fingers around the tight hole of her arse, massaging it for a moment before he slipped the tip of a single finger in.

She bit down on him slightly, moaning as an unexpected pleasure tingled from her arse and vibrated though her clitoris and breasts. His answering growl had her scraping her teeth against his cock and squeezing his balls. He pushed his finger farther into her arse and she started to quake around his tongue and finger. He had been slowly working her up to climax and if he continued as he was, he would surely push her over.

Thomas pushed down on her arse with his palm, bringing her more firmly against his face as he drove his finger deeper. She moaned, bucking her hips, rubbing against his face as his tongue rasped against her. With each buck he withdrew his finger from her arse, only to push it back in. He fucked her arse, and it was divine! He started to drive his cock into her mouth with his hips and she tried to focus on him, knowing he would do the same to her, but it was impossible. She couldn’t help but moan and whimper around his cock as she took it as deep as she could. His balls tightened further and his cock pulsed against her tongue. Thomas shoved his finger deep, rubbing her clitoris with his tongue in earnest. Her body froze a moment before she screamed around his cock, her climax finally overtaking her. She clamped her lips down on his cock as she shook, swallowing his seed, drinking in the full flavour of his spend.

Slowly his cock softened and she let her eyes drift closed as it slipped from her mouth. Nellie rested her head on his hip as he licked her in a slow, caressing manner, not as greedily as he had before. It was simple, nice, relaxing.

Too soon, Thomas lifted her from his body and turned her to lie on the pillows at the head of the bed. As he wound his strong arms around her she settled back into his warmth. Sleep found her quickly.

Chapter Six

Nellie bounced down the stairs the following morning, unable to remove the smile from her lips. What a fool she had been to question their marriage. His morning kisses while she still dozed had been a wonderful way to wake up. His firm but caring instruction for her to go back to sleep as he rose for the day was something she had taken pleasure in obeying. She liked how he took control of her in the bedroom, but had not tried to do so outside it. Nellie was still her own woman—a woman who was, at that moment, rather happy.

A footman stood by the dining hall door and bowed when she approached.
What was his name, again? Wallace, William, Walter? Ah, Walter, that’s it.
“Good morning, Walter.”

The man blinked once before he nodded. “Good morning, my Lady,” he said as he opened the door for her.

A stab of disappointment greeted her as she noted Thomas had already left. She gazed out of the window and saw the sun was already quite high. Shifting her attention to the clock on the mantel, she saw why. She had slept away most of the day.

Parker entered. “Good morning, my Lady.”

“Good morning, Parker. How are you this fine morning? I cannot believe out of all the days London chooses to behold sunshine, I sleep in,” she said with mocking disappointment.

His lips twitched slightly. “A shame, indeed.”

“Yes, indeed,” she said, taking a seat.

“Your breakfast will be ready directly, my Lady,” Parker said as he moved around to pour her tea.

She frowned slightly. “While I am not at all opposed to you serving me, Parker, where are the footmen? Have Roger and Geoff been enlisted for other tasks?”