Page 29 of Loving Mister Stratford
It was his turn to gasp as he screwed his eyes shut and laid his forehead on hers, their noses grazing as he started to move. He began slowly, infinitely careful and gentle. When a moan was torn from her lips, however, something snapped. Gone was Simon’s cultivated self-control, an animal was released from deep within. As much as she’d appreciated his care earlier, she savored this side of him. She hadn’t known her husband all that long, but she knew this wasn’t a side of himself he let anyone see.
He reared back to his knees and changed the angle of his thrusts. Watching him above her, witnessing the flexing of his beautiful, lean body as he worked her toward another pinnacle was almost too much for Odette. She twisted her fists in the sheets in a helpless effort to ground herself, to not lose control too soon. Without missing a beat, Simon snatched up one of the pillows before it fell to the ground, knocked wayward by their rhythmic movements. He so easily lifted her with one hand and shoved it beneath her hips. His palms held her thighs open wide and he watched the place where their bodies met like a starved man eyeing his first meal. He was so thick, so deep. His gruff sounds of pleasure, the rasp of his voice as he mindlessly told her how good she felt, how much he loved her body, the erotic sound of their wet flesh gliding and colliding nearly shoved her over the edge. She had to bite her knuckle to keep from screaming when Simon coated his thumb in her slickness and caressed that magical bud. He seemed to be enjoying the sounds she made, the way her body clenched involuntarily around his member because his head fell back in a guttural groan. His body never stopped moving, grinding against hers, stroking her higher and higher.
“Come again, Odette,” he panted.“Come again for me. Ineedyou to come—”
Odette shattered.
She came apart for what felt like forever and was only dimly aware when Simon followed behind. The muscles of his abdomen clenched and his hips moved jerkily as he swelled and throbbed deep within her, filling her with liquid heat, a roar of pleasure ripped from his chest.
This time, Odette could only think in wonderment,Oh…
Chapter Ten
Oh no…
Simon lay awake later that same night, staring into the flickering orange-tinted dimness. He pondered the pulsing shadows dancing across the beams of the low ceiling, the lines and angles as they disappeared and reappeared when another flare of fire bloomed in the hearth. Hours had passed since he’d returned to the room to find his wife looking virginal and pristine as she prepared herself for bed. Forhisbed. It had taken every fiber of willpower in his being to not immediately fall upon her like a voracious beast. Even as he’d done his best to hold himself in check, he knew he’d probably been bolder, rougher than an innocent required…but Odette hadn’t seemed to mind. In fact, she seemed only too glad to take everything he had to offer and still be hungry for more.
He’d slaked his immediate desire for his wife twice over now and already his body stirred for more…
As if sensing the turn of his thoughts, Odette curled more tightly against his side, snuggling herself closer to the warmth of his body. Her cheek lay on his chest above his heart, her arm curled loosely around his waist and her soft, shapely thigh thrown over his. The neat plait in her blond hair had long since come loose and the faintly floral-scented blond locks were spread around them like the spiraling fan of the Fibonacci sequence.
Even above the scent of their lovemaking and passion-induced sweat, Simon savored that sweet hint of something all Odette. His nose was already as attuned to it as his ears were to her sighs and laughter, as his eyes were to the way her expression softened and her eyes glazed when she neared her climax. He hadn’t a pocket watch on hand, but he hazarded a guess that they’d been married for less than twelve hours…and already he was more absorbed in her than he’d been before.
This night was supposed to be the culmination of his undercurrent of obsession with this woman. This night was supposed to be his cure, not an escalation.
Simon had a habit of hyper-fixating on tasks and other things that interested him. This was part of the reason his work so consumed him—more so than many of his peers. If something intrigued him, his mind wouldn’t let go until he’d examined it from top to bottom, inside and out, dismantled it and then rebuilt it, earned an in-depth knowledge of the subject, and squirreled away his newfound knowledge in the library cubbies of his mind.
Most of his all-consuming preoccupations passed once he satisfied his curiosity; the nagging of his mind would quiet once he’d assuaged his need for knowledge and exploration, and he’d then be allowed to return to his usual routine.
The freedom of finally taking Odette to bed was supposed to have quieted his mind and his body; it was supposed to have exhausted the insatiable desire he had to touch her, to be near her, to taste her and feel her… It was supposed to have allowed him to move on and focus once more on his work. But this…
Curiously, this evening had the opposite effect upon him.
For the first time in his life, Simon was spending the night in bed with a woman, rather than satisfying his natural urges and moving on. He’d been so confident in his usual routine that he’d even reserved another much smaller room across the hall. It wasn’t that uncommon for married couples of thetonto maintain separate bedchambers, so the innkeeper hadn’t so much as batted an eye at Simon’s request for additional accommodations.
All thoughts of the empty room immediately fled his mind when he saw Odette sitting before the hearth. All of his sterile intentions were instantly dead in the air.
Simon closed his eyes and filled his lungs with a long, deliberate breath. He held the air inside for one, two…five seconds and then expelled it. Odette’s head sank in minuscule increments as his chest slowly collapsed, now empty save for the thick desire still sitting leaden in his core where it demanded attention and cravedeverything.
Simon's usual routine was to run through his mental lists as a way to relax and lull himself to sleep. Now, all he wanted to do was bury himself in Odette, to lose his carefully cultivated peace and order as he brought her to another all-consuming climax.
This wasn’t good.
Not at all.
This night had only whetted his appetite for Odette.
His wife made a little coo in her sleep, the soft pillows of her breasts pressed against his ribs, and Simon lost his battle with his self-control.
Desire pooled in his groin once more as his fingers trailed across the lush curve of Odette’s hip and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. His fingers tightened as she nuzzled more closely. She wore a dreamy tilt to her lips when she tilted her head back and her eyes slit open, the lids still heavy with sleep.
This was the point of honeymoon trips, wasn’t it? To take every opportunity to learn and explore andenjoyone’s new spouse?
Simon rolled Odette so she lay over him like the world’s most succulent, tempting blanket. He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her mouth down to his.
It was only logical…
Simon had elected to stay at the inn two more nights than they’d planned. Odette had barely registered the passage of time because she hadn’t bothered to leave the room.
