Behind her, she sensed Nathaniel’s presence. His hands stroked her buttocks slowly and then slid downward before lifting her skirts and tossing them up over her hips.
Good God, he had her bare to the waist in his study! What if anyone came in or passed by the window?
Such questions were evidently not at the forefront of his mind right now.
Cecily whimpered as she felt the warmth of his hands on her bare buttocks, caressing rather than striking as he bent over and whispered in her ear, “Spread your legs a little wider, Cecily, and hold on tight.”
She did as she was bidden and then stood several moments in tense, agonizing anticipation, lewdly displayed before her husband and waiting for what would come next.
“Ah!” she cried out at the smack of his palm against her sex, swiftly followed by two more smacks. “Oh! Ooh!”
“How lovely you look like this, Cecily,” Nathaniel told her unexpectedly, his voice breathless and rough.
She was unable to reply, overwhelmed by the volley of spanks landing on her plump, naked flesh.
After the first salvo of quick strikes, Nathaniel spanked her more slowly, more rhythmically, and more deliberately. Cecily realized that she was now panting and crying out in exactly the same way as she had done in his bedroom with his head between her thighs.
“Good girl,” he crooned, pausing to caress her heated skin. “You are so perfect, Cecily.”
She cried out his name as his fingers suddenly dipped down to her slit and explored her wetness.
“Obedience deserves to be rewarded, don’t you think?” he whispered in her ear, once more pressing against her back.
Could he take her right here and now, like this? Would he? Cecily knew she would welcome it if he did. But that was apparently not what he had in mind.
His fingers parted and explored her before finding the swollen bud at the apex of her sex. He nuzzled her neck while his other hand cupped her breasts.
Before long, Cecily came undone with a long wail of pleasure, grinding her sex against his hand and her bottom against the throbbing shaft in his trousers.
Nathaniel nuzzled her neck again as the throbbing ecstasy in her core and belly dispersed through her whole body in waves.
“Oh, Nathaniel,” Cecily moaned, lost in sensation and unable to put together most of the questions she wished to ask him. “Nathaniel…”
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked, kissing her cheek and lips gently as she rested her head on the desk.
“You know I did,” she murmured. “When you touch me as you do, I can hide nothing.”
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“No, I trust you.”
It was true, despite everything. At least physically. Her body seemed to trust him completely, and her mind had learned that he was a man of his word. Only her heart held her back now from complete surrender.
“You are perfect, Cecily,” Nathaniel breathed, kissing her hair and gently fondling her breast.
“When are you going to take me?” she blurted out and then blushed at her eagerness. Although it was surely ridiculous for any woman to blush while so entangled with a man.
“Soon enough,” Nathaniel promised her with a growl of barely restrained lust.
CHAPTER 22
“Thank you, Cecily,” Lilian said as she snuggled down into her bed with a yawn that night. “Miss Osborne said I should thank you.”
Cecily sat down beside her stepdaughter on the bed. Although she had insisted that Lilian stay inside today to reflect on her naughtiness, she did not want the child to feel ostracized or unloved. After dismissing the nursemaids and governess early for the night, she had come upstairs to get Lilian ready for bed herself.
“Did she say what for?” she asked gently, stroking the little girl’s long dark hair that she had brushed and plaited neatly only a few minutes ago.
“I didn’t quite understand,” Lilian replied with a frown. “I think it was because you didn’t get me into trouble with Papa. But I wouldn’t care because I can shout as loud as he can and I can kick him and hit him, but he’ll never hit me. He would never, ever hurt me.”
