Chapter 55

He wanted to lean down and kiss the worried frown from her lips, but he knew that if he started something here in the dining room, he'd never be able to stop until he'd had her again. She deserved better this time than another frantic coupling on the floor. Instead, he just pulled her close to his side and moved toward the staircase, carrying a lamp in his other hand. "In that case, my dear, why don't you show me the rest of your lovely house?"
"The cellar, perhaps?" she teased boldly. "Or the attic?"
He tugged playfully on her braid and waggled his eyebrows for effect. "Careful there, love. Saucy wenches are liable to be spanked."
"Hmmmm. I've heard that can be...arousing."
Adam stopped halfway up the stairs and gaped at her in shock. "Madam, where did you hear that?"
"Another teacher at the school. Veronica hired two seamstresses to teach needlework who used to sew costumes for the London stage." Her cheek dimpled as she grinned up at him. "Listening to them can be verrrry educational."
He was going to die on the spot. His ladylike little widow had hidden depths of passion he couldn't wait to discover. Tugging at her hand, he practically dragged her the rest of the way up the stairs. There were only three doors leading off the small landing and, looking through the two open ones, it was easy to see which was her room and which was the spare. Both were tidy and pleasant, but there was a hairbrush and a half bottle of scent on the one dresser and a dressing gown hanging over the back of a chair. The bedspread was a bit more faded but a brighter, cheerier design, and a patchwork pillow graced the seat of the rocking chair. This, he knew, was where Marietta slept. Thank God the bed was big enough - though barely - for two. He pulled her inside the room, set the lamp down on her dresser and tugged her into his arms.
Kissing Marietta felt like coming home. He moaned as she opened her lips, welcoming his tongue inside. Her taste was as sweet as he'd remembered, and he couldn't believe he'd survived a full week without it.
She wasn't wearing a corset, and that knowledge had been making him hard all afternoon. Even disheveled with flour on her nose, she'd still aroused him, body and mind. Soul too, he suspected.
Her small fingers worked feverishly on the buttons of his shirt and collar then she slid those strong little hands inside and tugged his undershirt up and out of the way. Her touch was like hot silk against his skin and he gripped her round bottom through her skirts with one hand while he buried his other in her silky hair.
Marietta's tongue dueled with his own, giving back as well as taking his passion joyfully. Her belly rubbed against the straining ridge of his erection, making him fear he'd spill before he even got inside her. That was not going to happen, he vowed, not tonight. Tonight Marietta would have the kind of loving she deserved - slow and thorough. He'd make sure she found her pleasure so many times she wouldn't have the energy to send him away.
Finally, desperate for breath, he drew his mouth away from hers and trailed a line of kisses over to her ear then down her throat to the high ruffled collar of her shirtwaist. He had to set her back just a bit in order to insinuate his hands between them and undo the buttons. There seemed to be a thousand of the tiny things and he took painstaking care not to damage her garment, though all his masculine instincts urged him to rip the offending thing away. When he'd opened it from neck to waist, he slipped it off her shoulders, leaving her in a sturdy cotton chemise that bared only her shoulders and arms. Adam growled in frustration then reached behind her back to attack the fastening of her heavy woolen skirt. First thing he had the chance, he was buying her some silk undergarments - very thin silk with lots of delicate lace to frame her beauty and cling to her curves.
While he dealt with her skirt, Marietta made short work of the buttons of his trousers. When the placket opened, she slipped her hand inside and opened the buttons on his drawers as well, freeing his aching shaft. Adam groaned as she took his cock into her soft, strong hands.
"Careful, darling, or that may surprise you," he muttered as she stroked her fist up and down the length of him. He shrugged his braces off his shoulders and pushed his trousers and drawers down to the floor alongside her skirt. Since Marietta was busy exploring his manhood, he took a moment to pull his shirt and undershirt off over his head as well, tossing them carelessly aside.
"Last time," she said breathily, "you kissed me - down there. Would you mind terribly if I wanted to return the favor?"
"Oh God, my love." Just the thought of her sucking his cock into that hot little mouth brought him close to orgasm. Her clever thumb found the droplet of pre-ejaculate and smeared it around the crown, inflaming him even further. "I wouldn't mind a bit. But later, please. This time I want to be buried in your sweet cunt when I spend."
"I want that too, Adam." The coarse words should have offended her but they didn't - they only aroused her more. She stepped back from him and pulled her chemise off over her head. Her round, full breasts heaved from her panting as she untied her drawers and shoved them down too. She kicked her clothing aside then sat on the bed to remove her stockings and boots, fumbling impatiently at the buttons on the latter.
Adam took a step to help her then realized he was still tangled in his own clothing when he stumbled. He bent to pull off his own boots and stocking, hating that for even a moment he had to look away from Marietta's voluptuous curves. When he straightened, it was to find her bent over the bed to pull down the covers, the lush globes of her arse pointing at him in blatant invitation.
Unable to resist, he stepped up, bringing his groin flush against her buttocks. She was shorter, so the angle wasn't right for him to slide inside her just like this, but the cleft of her cheeks cupped his rigid cock and he rubbed it against them, loving the rough friction of skin on skin. His hands circled her body to cup her breasts, his thumbs finding the plump nipples that were already pebbled with desire. He could smell the rich spice of her cream and knew she was already wet and ready to take him.