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She arched against him, pulling him hard into her, her hips moving upwards to meet him as she abandoned herself to the passionate sensuality of their coupling. His movements became more forceful, his weight bearing down on her as she struggled against the hold of his hands, wanting to touch him... to wrap her arms around his neck. The fight only added to their ardor, their bodies rocking together in erotic rhythm.
"Edwin..." Eleanor writhed and tightened. "Oh god... Edwin..." He knew that she was getting close when she began to sound like that, a kind of joyful frenzy in her voice, a desperation as if she worried that she might not cross over the edge into ecstasy. "Oh please... Edwin... Harder..."
The burn in her bottom as it was pounded into the mattress mixed with the rapturous friction of his rod rubbing against her insides, his hard groin pressing against the swollen nub of her clitoris with every hard thrust. Eleanor had stopped struggling for the use of her hands, she was beyond caring whether or not she could touch him, and in the back of her mind she knew that it excited him even more when she gave in on the fight.
His cock slammed into her, again and again, and she could feel herself come closer to glorious climax with every pummeling thrust. Just one more... it burned its way from her core up through her mouth as she screamed out her completion, her body bucking and tightening, massaging his cock as he moved even harder and faster, fucking her through the waves of sensation that assaulted her. The thickening of his cock inside of her, the pulsing heat as his seed jetted into her body, his own shout of pleasure mingling with hers, sent her reeling down a corridor of passionate rapture until she thought she might actually burst from it.
When Edwin settled into the comfortable haven of her thighs, his hold on her hands gentling as his passion subsided, Eleanor couldn't stop the shivering gasps and jerks as aftershocks of pleasure rippled through her. Her husband murmured sweet compliments against her neck, nuzzling her, as she moaned and shuddered against him, her body slowly coming down from the incredible high of pleasure. Was it any wonder she'd fallen in love with the man, she thought a little dazedly.
"So beautiful," she heard him say as he kissed his way up her neck. Then he chuckled. "Oops."
"Oops?"
Releasing one of her hands, he stroked his fingers over the spot just between her shoulder and neck. "I may have left a mark."
"Edwin!" Eleanor's first instinct was to jump up and go look in the mirror, but it was impossible with the heavy weight of her husband on top of her. He only laughed as he felt her try to shove him off, putting his lips on hers in a passionate kiss. For a moment she resisted and then her lips parted, letting him in.
It was a slow, languorous kiss that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with sweet emotion. The tenderness of his kiss nearly brought tears to her eyes and Eleanor found herself surrendering to it, the flash of anger she'd felt at discovering that he'd given her a love-bite melting away as he kissed her so sweetly. She loved the way that Edwin caressed and cuddled her after coupling, it always made her feel as though there must be something more there than mere lust or passion.
There had been a smugness about him, as well, as he'd made his little announcement. Was it possible that he liked the idea of having his mark on her skin? But if so, was it a sign of possession or something more?
"I don't know what you're thinking so hard about, but stop it," Edwin said, pulling away from the kiss with an almost amused expression on his face. "I want your attention here, on me."
Without waiting for a reply he was kissing her again, his hands moving down her arms to her head, cradling it and massaging her scalp as his lips moved over hers. Letting go of her worries and doubts, for now, Eleanor sank into the moment and gave herself over to loving her husband.
Chapter 10
The next morning Eleanor woke up to an empty bed. It wasn’t entirely surprising since she always needed more sleep than Edwin, especially after a night like the night before. He’d kept her up for hours. Even now she had a sore but satisfying ache between her legs. Unfortunately her bottom was still sore too but that couldn’t be helped.
With a sigh, she forced herself out of bed and rang for the maid to help her dress and put up her hair. She had planned to visit Grace today, but she knew that the visit was going to go very differently than she'd originally thought. While she still had a good deal of sympathy for her friend, her own impression of Lord Brooke last night said that he was not the man Grace described. Of course Eleanor was seeing him from a completely different viewpoint, but she couldn't shake the idea that she was missing something from the equation.
Perhaps Grace was missing something too.
"Good morning, my lady," said Poppy cheerfully as she bustled into the room. "His lordship is having breakfast and invites you to join him as soon as you're able."
"Thank you Poppy," Eleanor said
with a smile. It wouldn't surprise her to learn that Edwin had been in his office doing work until she had rung for a maid, specifically so that he could join her for breakfast. Little gestures like that made her think that perhaps he did care for her, in the way that she wanted him too. At the same time, she was afraid to read too much into them - after all, her father had done similar things for her mother when they were actually in residence together. The very next day, however, he might order her off to Bath or Stonehaven again. So Eleanor could not rely on those little gestures to tell the whole story. But she could certainly enjoy them. "I'll be visiting Lady Grace after breakfast. I think I'll wear the rose damask today."
"Yes, my lady," Poppy said, searching through the wardrobe for the requested dress as Eleanor stood and stretched.
******
"Ah Lady Hyde, please come in," Peters, Grace's butler said. He scanned over her head as if assuring himself that there was no one behind her as she came in the door.
"Is everything alright, Peters?" she asked, a small frown on her face.
The normally stoic butler actually hesitated before answering her. "Her ladyship is not at home today, although she gave me special instruction that you were to be the exception. We've had a number of callers come to the house the past couple of days." His voice lowered, despite the fact that there was no one to overhear. "It is my opinion that most of them were only here to drop gossip in her ladyship's ear."
Eleanor's mouth tightened. She could just imagine the kind of gossip the ton would bring to Grace's house in hopes of eliciting a reaction. Thank goodness her friend had the loyal and stalwart Peters to help shield her from the supposedly morally upright but less savory members of their class. The butler had been protective of Grace for as long as he’d been in her employ and it appeared he'd become even more so - and not without cause.
“Thank you, Peters,” she murmured as he showed her into the sitting room. It was decorated in cheerful yellows and pinks, not overly bright but enough that anyone in the room couldn’t help but eventually feel a bit more hopeful and happy. She wondered if Peters had chosen this room on purpose so that Grace would feel its effects.
Settling herself onto the cream sofa, Eleanor stared up at the familiar decorations on the wall; Grace’s favorite flower paintings were scattered about the room, as well as some watercolors that she’d done herself. Grace truly was a rather gifted artist, rather than just cultivating the talent because that was what young ladies had been expected to do.
Fortunately she didn’t have to wait long before Grace swept into the room, her usual cool demeanor looking rather fractured. The dark circles under her light eyes had deepened, making the blue of her eyes look almost feverishly bright, and her dark hair was slightly rumpled, as if she’d been touching it too much. Something Eleanor knew her friend only did when she was agitated. The deep violet of her dress normally looked quite well with Grace’s dark hair and creamy skin, but today it only emphasized the bruised looking skin beneath her eyes.
“Grace,” Eleanor said, by way of greeting, as she got to her feet.
