Dealing With Discipline (10 page)

"Well... shall we continue?" he asked
smoothly, reaching to take her hand and kiss it.  Even that
one small touch had his groin aching, but he controlled himself.
 

"Continue?" Irene asked, feeling
more than a little dazed from the assault on her senses and its
sudden removal. 

"With the tour of the house," Hugh
said, although a purely masculine smile wreathed his face.
 He'd never made love to a virgin before and he found Irene's
innocent and untutored responses, not to mention her obvious
passion, to be more appealing than he would have thought possible.
It was the way she fell into her actions, as though she couldn’t
help or stop herself, rather than being controlled and purposefully
seductive.  Although he'd desired her almost since he'd seen
her and had felt the attraction flare between them on more than one
occasion, he hadn't been sure how she would actually respond to her
wifely duties.  Any doubts he'd had were now erased and he was
more than eager to introduce her to the pleasures of the
flesh. 

"Oh... yes..."

Hugh kept his hold on her hand as they
continued onward.

Chapter 5

As her maid, Flora, helped Irene into the
scandalous filmy nightrail that had been provided as part of her
trousseau, Irene couldn't stop trembling.  Dinner that evening
had been pure torment.  All she could do was wonder what the
night would bring, her first night as Lady Stanley, and what the
marital act might involve.  Hugh had always been gentle with
her so she couldn't imagine him hurting her deliberately.
 Perhaps he wouldn't indulge in the act at
all? 

But it was her understanding that the marital
act was what would ensure an heir.  And he needed one of
those.  Biting her full lower lip, Irene gave her maid a side
long look and wondered if she dared ask her for some womanly
advice. 

She had not been brought up to be familiar
with the servants, but at the moment she was feeling a dire need
for some kind of feminine reassurance and it didn't matter the
social class of the giver.  A small gurgle of laughter nearly
bubbled out of her chest as she wondered what her mother would
think of Irene contemplating begging a maid for
advice. 

"You look beautiful, my lady,"
Flora said as she tied the gown at Irene's neck.  It would
have taken a completely unobservant person to not see Irene's
distress; it was clear from the tremors shaking her body, the
gnawing of her soft pink lip, the frightened eyes and the pale
cheeks that not all was right with the lady of the house.
 Flora's heart had gone out to this wane looking creature with
her soft voice and polite manners when she’d first been hired by
the Baroness and had been thrilled that Irene had asked her to
continue her position after Irene became a Viscountess; Irene might
not be the warmest mistress but she was certainly not a cruel or
haughty one either.  "Your husband will be very
pleased."

"Thank you Flora," Irene said, her voice
barely higher than a whisper.

That little bit of
reassurance helped bring some of the color back to Irene's cheeks
as she remembered her goal.  A goal that she seemed to have
forgotten ever since Hugh had kissed her in his -
their
 - bedroom
during the tour.  She needed to learn how to please her
husband; she needed to learn everything about pleasing a man so
that she could become Alex's next mistress.  Since she had no
idea what that would entail she would be her husband's student and
she would have his babies quickly and efficiently and then she
would be free to pursue the man she'd loved all her life.
 That was how things were done in the
ton
, she reminded herself, repeating
her mother's words.  There was no need to feel guilty that she
was already planning to break her marriage vows.

After all, this was an arranged match with no
love on either side.  According to her mother, Hugh would have
his own mistresses.  Strange how the thought made her stomach
curdle a bit.  Surely it was only because she disliked the
idea that there was no love at all within their marriage and she
was no longer free to wed the man who held her heart.   She
wondered if Hugh had a woman he loved but could not be with.
 But she didn't enjoy dwelling on that thought any more than
she did on his hypothetical mistresses.  Only because she
didn't like the idea of unrequited love, such as hers.  Of
course that was the reason she felt strange at the
thought.

"My lady?" Flora's soft voice broke through
her reverie.  "Are you ready?"

NO.  That was what Irene
wanted to scream.  No, she was not ready to face this
irrevocable future, to learn what the dreaded marriage act was, to
lie back and allow a man who frightened her to touch her and do...
something to her.   Was the act really so unspeakable that her
mother could not have given her any further instruction?

But she had no choice.  It was not as if
she could standing her dressing room all night, although thank
goodness she and Hugh had separate dressing rooms even though they
were sharing a bed chamber. 

"Yes," she whispered, steeling herself for...
well for whatever was going to happen next.  

The marital act.

After all, she reminded
herself, she had to learn how to do this if she was going to
eventually be Alex's mistress.  Men enjoyed it, wanted it.
 Whatever
it
was. 

Flora ushered Irene into the room.  Her
wide green eyes darted around the corners until she located her
husband, standing in a dark blue dressing gown in front of the
fireplace.  In the flickering light of the fire Hugh looked
even more angelic, especially as the velvety blue of his robe set
off his blonde good looks.  His hair shone like a star against
the night sky and Irene had to catch her breath as those strange
reactions his presence elicited rippled through
her. 

For his part, Hugh could only stare at Irene.
 The gauzy white nightrail she was wearing did very little to
hide her charms.  He could see her little pink nipples poking
at the material, the faintest blush of color behind the fabric, and
the darker thatch of coppery color glinting between her legs.
 His mouth felt dry with absolute raging lust and he had to
remind himself that she was inexperienced.  That he would need
to go slowly with her. 

"Wife," he said, his voice imbued with all the
desire he had for her, all the hope for their future.  Holding
out his hand, he forced himself to stand still so that she would
come to him.  Despite her obvious trembling, Irene tilted her
chin up with determination and stepped towards him.  The thin
fabric of her nightrail whispered around her, caressing her body,
and she felt the strangest throbbing in her lower belly as she
reached out and met her husband's hand with her own.  The
smile that he gave her was nothing short of wicked and she caught
her breath in her throat as he pulled her into his body the same
way he had when they'd last been in this room.

Except that there was no bed
behind her, instead his arms had wrapped around her like iron
bands, holding her in place as his mouth came down on hers.
 The kiss was gentle, coaxing, surprising her with its
tenderness and she found her mouth automatically opening to receive
his tongue.  This time she kissed him back. Shyly. Hesitantly.
Daring to dart her tongue out and explore his mouth as well,
causing Hugh to groan and press against her, tightening his grip on
her soft body and nearly lifting her off her feet in his
passion.

Irene was already lost in the
heady sensations that were richoting through her body.  She
felt consumed by the strange throbbings, the hungriness that was
erupting inside of her.  It was almost frightening how out of
control she was, and yet her fear was lost in the maelstrom of
other, more powerful sensations.  The gentleness of Hugh's
kiss shredded and his mouth claimed her, his hands pulling her
tightly against him. Irene’s pulse pounded as she moaned, allowing
him deeper into her mouth. 

Sweeping her up in his arms, able to wait no
longer and reassured by her passionate response that she wouldn't
panic, Hugh headed for the bed. 

Too lost in the heat that had
engulfed her, in these new sensations as Hugh stroked her body and
plundered her mouth, Irene didn't even notice where they were going
until her new husband was tossing her onto the bed.  Then she
had a moment to stiffen in fear as she remembered what they were
there for, a panicked expression crossing her beautiful face as her
mother's words and advice seemed to echo in her ears.  Yet
when she looked up at Hugh as he stripped off his robe, those words
seemed very quiet and very small.  

It was her first time seeing a naked man,
after all, and she was both shocked and curious about the
differences between their bodies.  Hugh was muscular, hard
where she was soft, with long flat planes of skin that was dusted
with wiry golden hairs, slightly darker than the ones upon his
head.  Rising from his groin was a thick, long staff of flesh
that was nothing like Irene had ever seen or imagined before.
 It was strange looking, with a reddish-plummy head that
reminded her of a dome.  The entire appendage was slightly
darker than the rest of his skin, and darkest at the tip where a
bead of moisture had gathered around a small slit in its end.
 Completely fascinated, Irene stared at him, watching as the
strange appendage jerked upwards before her eyes.

"Did your mother explain what
happens tonight?" Hugh asked as he crawled onto the bed, his cock
bobbing beneath him.  He wanted to hold it in his hand but he
didn't dare touch himself; he was so randy at finally having Irene
for himself that he didn't trust himself not to spend his seed
immediately.  When he did, he wanted to be deep inside of
her.

"She... ah... yes..." Irene's pale
face heated to a bright pink that clashed adorably with her flaming
hair.  Leaning back against the pillows with her legs firmly
together, as he approached she pulled her knees up to tuck against
her chest and wrap her hands around himself around herself.
 Her wariness returned now that he was no longer kissing
her. 

Hugh smiled reassuringly, laying
himself down on his side next to her, close but not quite touching
her. "It's all right, sweetheart," he murmured as he stroked his
hand down her arm.  She looked at it as if it were a snake,
his reminder of the talk that she’d had with her mother bringing
back her fear. So far everything had been quite delightful, which
meant that they weren’t to the bleeding, painful part yet or the
boring part.  "We'll take this slow."

He reached up to cup his hand
around the back of her head and pull her mouth back down to his.
 He'd already seen how she melted into his kisses and
considering her obvious anxiety over the marital act, he decided it
was best to slowly seduce her body until she was past the point of
thinking.  Past the point of worrying.  It might just
kill him to take things so slowly, but it would be worth it in the
end if he could convince her that making love was wonderful rather
than fearful. 

Slowly he shifted until she was
beneath him, although he didn't rest his weight on her.  Irene
was lost in his kiss, in his gentle caress as he stroked the side
of her stomach with one hand.  It wasn't until she felt the
brush of fabric against her thigh that she realized he was slowly
pulling the hem of her nightrail upwards, to expose her body to
him.

Putting her hands up, she was
shocked when her fingers encountered bare skin.  She'd almost
forgotten that he was nude.  Hugh pulled away to look down at
her as she stared at her fingers, splayed across his chest. Her
skin was so much lighter than his, he looked almost golden next to
her pale ivory.  Curious, she stroked the wiry hair she
encountered there, reaching down to explore the flat pink nipple
until she heard him hiss and she snatched her hands away,
remembering where she was and who she was with and what they were
doing.  

"Don't stop," Hugh husked,
grabbing her hand and bringing it up to touch his chest again,
lowering his mouth to hers.  The skin of his nipple was baby
soft with a hard little nubbin in the center, and she felt, more
than heard, him groan as her fingertip ran over it.  Suddenly
the length of his hard body was pressing against her side and she
realized that her touch must have some kind of effect on him.
 Perhaps the same disturbing effect that he had on
her? 

Experimentally she rubbed her fingers over the
little nub again and his kiss suddenly intensified, his tongue
thrusting deep into her mouth as his body pressed against hers.
 Perhaps that weight should have frightened her, but instead
she found herself turning towards him, eager to press herself
against him as well.   Despite the fire burning through her,
she found that she craved the heat of his body.  Her fingers
stroked through the hair on his chest, returning to his nipples
over and over again as he flexed his hips against the side of her
thigh.  

When his hand touched the bare
skin of her thigh she cried out in surprise.  Her nightrail
was ankle length when she stood, how had he pulled the skirt up so
high without her noticing? Now he was trying to pull it higher
still, to expose her body to him.

"Wait," Irene cried out, tearing her mouth
from his.  Her pink lips were swollen from his kisses but her
eyes were wide with confusion, desire and more than a touch of
fear.