by Fanta C ©
This story
was split into 8 parts. Jump to any of the segments from here:
1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8
Note: This story
was originally submitted as one long story
and it was only broken into 8 parts for faster page loading.
Her long silken curls hung over the back of the chair, which was situated so that she could look out the window, and yet he could still see the tiny head of his child nestled against her round, ivory breast, sucking gently.
He shifted his weight slightly, hoping that she wouldn't notice his presence, for he enjoyed seeing her like this. But she stopped singing and lifted her head. Her eyes revealed no surprise to see him there, and no emotion what-so-ever that she was even remotely glad that he was there. Instead he encountered cold indifference, a look that told him that she didn't want him there, that she felt nothing for him. Hesitantly he stepped forward, unsure of what to say.
"You may as well come in. It's not as if I can stop you. They're your children too, after all. But be assured that you won't take one step out of this nursery with them, or you'll feel the cutting edge of my blade," she whispered vehemently, threatening him. She must have realized he was coming and donned her knife under her nightgown.
He looked away from her. So it had come to this. Trading threats and living apart, when all he had wanted was to be able to cherish and keep her. The rift between them had grown monstrous in the past five months or so and he knew no way to heal it.
He had come in here ready to do whatever it took to take the children from her arms, but he now realized the foolishness of the idea. She had looked so serene, bathed in moonlight suckling his child at her breasts, and all he had wanted to do was to go to her and hold her.
Slowly he walked to the cradle where the other child slept peacefully, already having been fed. It was so tiny with a dark mat of chestnut hair on top of it's head. It was dressed in a white gown and it's tiny fists were curled up next to its mouth.
"Which one is this?" he asked, awed by the love he felt for the newborn.
"That's Jaqueline," she replied, coming over to lay Alexander next to his sister, her gown still undone, revealing the swollen globes of her breasts.
"You know I envied him, when I first saw you in here feeding him."
"Why is that?" she asked, starting to button up her gown.
His hands stayed hers and he whispered hoarsely, "You really have to ask?" Then bending forward he placed his lips over her nipple where his child had just been feeding. She couldn't deny the rocket bursts of pleasure that soared through her body. Her head tipped back slightly and she almost moaned aloud. She couldn't deny the power he had over her body. But if he thought that after five months that he could just come strolling back in here and rouse her body like this he was sorely mistaken.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and for a moment he thought that she was giving in to him, until she pushed him away. He gazed at her uncertainly for a moment, wondering what she was doing. She took his hand and stood on her tiptoe to kiss him softly. Then, making sure that the children were soundly asleep, she led him down the hall to his chamber, walking inside with him.
Without saying a word she stripped his clothes off and then followed with her own. He reached for her, wanting to hold her in his arms, but she pushed them away and slowly stepped forward, pressing butterfly kisses down the length of his body, until she was kneeling before him.
Her hands tangled in the hair of his loins and her breath stirred against his manhood, causing his seed to rise hot and fast through him, arousing him to his full length. She took him into her mouth and he threw his head back as she suckled him like the babe had at her breast. But the sensation didn't last long as she released him, bading him to lie on his back on the bed.
He did as she asked and stared at her as she walked around to the end of the bed, placing her hands on it. He didn't see her drag her nightgown across the floor with her foot.
"You know, Nicholas dear, I thought that I wouldn't be able to forgive you for leaving and threatening to take my children from me. And you know what, I haven't," she said, whirling to pick up her nightgown, then racing through the salon that joined their two rooms, locking the door behind her and making sure that the other door to her room was locked as well.
Nicholas stared in dumbfounded shock at the door to the salon that had been left flung open. He hadn't even had time to react to her little statement before she had run from the room. He shifted on the bed, looking down at his aroused manhood. So that was why the little temptress hadn't stopped him in the nursery. She was angry and wanted revenge. He had been the fool to think that she would so easily fall into his bed again.
He pulled the down cover up over his body and knew that he would not get much sleep this night, not when Isabella saw fit to leave him in this state. He would have to discuss Hope with her tomorrow, if he could keep his hands off her.
Once again, several weeks passed and the entire household was set on edge. Emma had diligently remained at her sister's side, because it seemed that Bella and Nicholas could not even be civil to each other when they were in the same room. Two more stubborn people Emma had never met in her entire life, for it was obvious to her, Marcus, and Gavin that the pair desperately loved each other, but were too afraid of being hurt again.
The trio even tried a bit of matchmaking one night, setting up a romantic dinner for them in Nicholas' chamber. So as not to be rude, the couple tried to make it through the meal without a fight, but hadn't made it. The dinner ended when Bella threw her champagne into Nicholas' face and stormed to the nursery to be with the twins.
A week later, Isabella sat, Emma at her side, preparing the menu for the week when Nicholas, Gavin and Marcus strolled into the salon.
Emma glared at Nicholas and he smiled in return, drawing an even more hostile look from the girl. He sought to placate her by saying, "You know, Emma, Royce Sutcliffe could talk of little else but you for the past couple of weeks. I believe that he is completely enamored of you and misses you m'dear."
Emma gaped at him openly, then blushed profusely under the scrutiny of Gavin and Marcus' lecherous smiles.
"Nicholas, you certainly didn't come in here just to embarrass Emma, so I question what it is you want."
Her comment was the final straw. They were going to settle everything between them once and for all. "Emma, Marcus, Gavin, do excuse us for a moment," he said, grasping Bella's upper arm and escorting her from the room.
As he walked from the room, half dragging Isabella behind him, she complained, "Would you let go of me you big oaf! I know how to walk! There's no reason for you to act like a barbarian!"
"I disagree, Bella. There's every reason."
He led her to his chambers, practically throwing her onto the bed, then slamming the door behind him.
She sat up, pushing down her skirts, which had flown up when he threw her down. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, rising to stand in front him, poking her forefinger into his chest.
"I think that I'm going to talk to my wife, who I haven't seen in five months."
"That was your choice, not mine! You could have stayed! I begged you to stay! But your damn male pride was more important. I loved you and you left! So don't you dare talk to me about staying away for five months."
He staggered beneath the weight of her words. She loved him. His heart felt whole again, beating rapidly in his chest. "You love me?" he asked softly.
"Loved! As in I used to. Now I don't know how I feel about you. You broke my heart and I'm not sure that I want to forgive you. For five years I've been through almost more than I could bear, each problem destroying me little by little. First you took my innocence, and I thought that I had shamed my family. Then I spend a night with you a year later, bear a child out of wedlock, get forced into a marriage that I didn't want, and then I'm threatened with having my children stolen from me."
With all that stacked against him it didn't make for a good case. The fact that she didn't know if she loved him anymore made him feel so empty inside he had to change the subject. "When were you going to tell me about Hope?" he asked.
"Don't you dare speak her name! You may have sired her, but in no way could you be considered her father. You didn't seem to consider the possibility of my being with child after that night, and I was left to bear the weight of my shame alone! You're not fit to say her name," she spat vehemently.
"She was my daughter!"
"Only by your seed. Not by action. Where were you while I was grieving over my daughter? In India, probably seducing some sultan's daughter into your bed."
"How could I seduce someone else into my bed when the mere thought of bedding anyone but you repulsed me so much that I couldn't do it?" he snapped. She gasped when the reality of what he was saying set in. "That's right, ever since I met you and took you on that bench, the thought of touching another woman has seemed repulsive. Though I tried to forget you, to bed any wench, doxy, or strumpet I came across, I couldn't. I didn't want to believe that an innocent girl could affect me so much that I couldn't touch another woman, but the fact of the matter was that you did."
She stared at him, her mind whirling with conflicting emotions. She wasn't sure of what to say. Finally she whispered, "What do you want from me Nicholas? I don't know anymore. First you said you wanted a normal marriage, then you wanted to live apart, now you are saying all these things that have me so confused. Make it simple. I want to understand all this. I need to know what you want."
Her words were nothing but a choked whisper, but they filled him with so much hope. If they could start over, maybe she could come to love him again, maybe they could be happy. This was his one shot so he prayed that he got this right.
Gently he took her hands and sat her on the edge of the bed, kneeling on the floor in front of her. "I want you Bella. I always did. Why do you think I asked your father to arrange our betrothal? You infected my mind until I thought I would go mad with thoughts of you."
She laid her hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry I mocked you when you said you loved me. I was so scared of losing my freedom. It was vital to me that I have my independence. But I was wrong. I was so lonely when you left that I realized that independence didn't matter to me. You did. I loved you so much. . ." she broke off, tears falling down her cheeks in a flood, her hands flying up to cover her face. "How can you forgive me? I mocked your love. I didn't tell you about Hope. I really messed up."
"I can forgive you Bella, because I love you. Just like I know that you'll forgive me for leaving, because you love me too. Please say you do Bella. I couldn't bear it if you didn't." He reached up and pulled her hands away from her face then wiped the streaks of tears from her cheeks.
"I love you, Nicholas," she said. "But is it enough. So much has happened, I wouldn't even know where to start to become a family."
"Where are the children?"
"Mrs. Scollard is taking care of them. I needed some time to plan the menu for the week and look at the house expenses, so she offered to look after them until I had finished my duties as mistress of the house."
"Then I know the perfect way to start over," he said with a rakish smile, his hand moving slowly up under her skirts, over her pantaloons, to the opening in them at the apex of her thighs. She gasped when he reached inside and began stroking her, his thumb rubbing over the bud of her desire, arousing her slowly. His fingers stroked the petals of her womanhood and gently persuaded them to open, allowing his fingers to slip inside her.
He wasn't surprised to find her hot and wet. His fingers slid unerringly into her and he watched as her eyes glazed over and her head tipped back, her hips lifting into his hand."You're right," she gasped. "This is the best way to start over," she said, not wanting to deny him after so long. She was only human and she had been without him for so long. Just watching her arousal made him as hard as stone.
Deftly he extracted his hand from her pantaloons and she groaned with frustration of unfulfilled pleasure. "Don't deny me, Bella," he rasped in her ear as he undid the front of his breeches, his shaft springing out, fully aroused. "I can't go slowly, not this time," he said as he pulled her to the very edge of the bed, positioning himself at the portal of her body.
"I don't want you to," she gasped, waiting for the feel of his first thrust into her.
He made love to her like a savage, driving himself into her with a hammering need and a frenzied hunger he could neither curb nor fathom. He shouted her name when he climaxed, flooding her with his seed even as he absorbed her exquisite spasms of completion.
Afterward he gathered her in his arms, anchoring her to him to keep their bodies intimately joined, and laid down with her on the bed, her legs still wrapped about he waist. He had been more overcome by what had just happened than by anything else he'd faced in his life. The melding of their passion with the emotional words that had preceded it was more than he could fathom.
He took slow, steadying breaths, his heart racing - and not only from the unimaginable intensity of his climax. He looked at his wife who lay beside him. She looked deliciously content, a smug smile teasing her lips.
"What are you thinking about wife?" he asked.
"I was thinking that this was a perfect start to our new life." She opened her clear amber eyes and stared into his evergreen ones. "I love you," she whispered. "No matter what happened, no matter what I said, I never stopped. I should have realized it long ago. I wouldn't have compromised myself with you if I hadn't fallen in love with you at Amelia's gathering. I wouldn't have let you take me to your estate that night if I hadn't loved you."
"We have a lot to get through, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I love you too. We were meant to be together and we have to learn to trust each other completely, whatever comes our way."
Isabella leaned over and kissed him deeply, parting his lips with her tongue. Then she pulled away, not wanting to start something they couldn't finish. It was the middle of the day and the children would need to be fed soon. "We need to rise, Nicholas. We have company and the children will soon need to be coddled and fed."
"I wish we didn't," he sighed, before pulling out of her and fastening his breeches once more. She got up off the bed and smoothed down her skirts, hiding the evidence of their recent lovemaking.
"Come husband, we'll have the whole night to wile away and I expect to do so in your bed."
"When I first took you, I never expected to create a monster, starved for the hardness of a man inside you."
"Not any man. Only you," she replied, taking his hand, planting a quick kiss on his lips, then leading him down the hall to the nursery. They walked past the main stairway and Emma, Gavin, and Marcus happened through at the same moment.
They looked up to see Isabella smiling, her face aglow with merriment, at her husband, who smiled broadly back. Their eyes were locked on each other, neither noticing the audience below. Their love was palpable and Emma sighed turning to face Gavin and Marcus. "You see. All they needed was a little push in the right direction, a push toward each other."
"So they did, Emma. So they did," Gavin commented, thrilled for his friend.
"You know, now that they've made up, we've no more entertainment. Unless. . ." Marcus said, looking Emma in the eye.
"Unless what?" she asked cautiously.
"Unless you and Sutcliffe can provide us with some," he chided her, enjoying how her cheeks blushed.
"You are reprehensible," she said, turning to go to her room.
"M'dear, tell me something I don't know," he chuckled, his laughter trailing after her as she quickly strolled from the front hall.
This story
was split into 8 parts. Jump to any of the segments from here:
1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8
Note: This story
was originally submitted as one long story
and it was only broken into 8 parts for faster page loading.