Chapter 78

Eli glanced down at Nettie's face glowing in the firelight, her wry smile, the wicked intelligence in her eyes. Had she really believed he'd break things off now that her father was dead? He pulled her into his lap and kissed her upturned nose.
He was done talking. Making sure her cast was properly supported on his chest, he wrapped both arms around her for a long, leisurely kiss.
"You're a quick learner," he murmured a few moments later. "That thing with your tongue - do it again." He brought his lips back down and sucked on her tongue as she slipped it into this mouth. One of his hands cradled her head. The other rested open on her delicate rib cage and felt the layers of silk shift across her skin. Dear lord, she wasn't wearing a corset.
While their kisses grew more and more intense, he let his hand slide down to the hem of her dress, which was rucked up to mid-thigh. He gave thanks for modern, shapeless styles as he moved up, past her stockings and garters to a pair of silky tap pants. He cupped her firm backside and she moaned into his mouth as he squeezed.
Demure little Nettie was a firecracker in disguise. Eli loved the fact that no one but him had ever seen this side of her. She plucked at the buttons on his shirt and slipped her right hand inside as he continued to explore upward. Her waist was slim, but not gaunt, her skin as soft as the silk she wore.
His lips left hers to graze down her jawline to her throat. She tipped her head back, allowing him access. It also shifted her torso, so that one soft, round breast slid under his palm. This time it was Eli who groaned. She wasn't large, but her breast was high and shapely, her nipple hardened into a perfect pearl. He traced it first with a finger and then, when she cried out, he gently pinched it between two.
"Eli!"
Mindless with need, he leaned down further and caught it between his lips. Despite the two layers of fabric, she swelled further and arched her spine, pushing into his caress.
"Come here." He knelt on the floor and tugged her down beside him. She lifted her arms, allowing him to pull the loose dress over her head. The slip she wore was sheer, allowing him to see dark, hard nipples and a damp spot from his mouth. "You're beautiful, Nettie." He bent to take her mouth again, but she pushed him back.
"Not yet." One-handed, she fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, so he simply slid his suspenders down over his shoulders, and pulled shirt and undershirt off over his head. "Oh, my dear, I think you're the beautiful one." She leaned over and kissed the light mat of hair on his chest.
He pressed her back to the floor, coming down over her, sucking her breasts through the thin slip. He pushed her slip up with one hand and pushed her underpants aside.
Jesus, she was wet. He wondered if she even knew what that meant. Meanwhile, he slid one finger along her damp, puffy crease and stroked between her lips.
Eli nearly came when she cupped his cock through his trousers. He was hard as a fire pole and ready to explode. How was he supposed to wait a whole month to do this every night?
The clever finger of her good hand opened the buttons of his trousers, and she mimicked him, sliding her hand inside. With a delicate touch, she explored his engorged penis, and painfully taut testicles.
Eli hadn't come in his trousers for decades. Hoping to distract her, he found the swollen bud of her clitoris and began to massage it.
She was so ready. Her hips began to flex in time with his stroked and her breath caught in her throat.
"Let go, sweetheart. Just feel it." He whispered against her breast, then nipped down harder and slid his thumb into her drenched channel.
Nettie shrieked and bucked up against him. Eli felt something give beneath his thumb as she cried out again. Realizing what he'd done, he pulled his fingers out and used the palm of his hand to soothe the stinging flesh while he kept up the onslaught on her breasts, gradually decreasing in both speed and pressure.
"Oh, my," she finally said after he'd collapsed beside her and pulled her into his arms. "Except for the sting, that was magnificent."
"I'm sorry, darling." He kissed her softly. "I didn't think that would happen. I thought..." he trailed off, unsure how knowledgeable she was about sex. A quick glance at his hand showed a fair amount of blood on his thumb and palm.
"Unless we actually coupled," she finished. "I didn't know that either. I knew there'd be pain the first time you...came inside me. Maybe now we've gotten that out of the way." She didn't sound as if she was particularly upset.
"You should probably take a hot bath. I've heard that can ease the pain."
"So I've read - which is where most of my information comes from, by the way. And from what I've read, you didn't...finish. That seems horribly unfair."
He brushed some hairs from her cheek. "Nettie, when we marry, the biddies in town will be counting on their fingers. We can't risk taking this any further until after the wedding night."
"Well, there has to be some way to reduce that swelling." She rubbed his cock. "I do learn quickly. Tell me what to do."
"Oh, Christ, Nettie - "
He wasn't sure what he was going to say next - probably go to the bathroom and take care of himself while her bath was running.
Then the fire bell rang.
"Son of a goddamn bitch."
Nettie groaned. "Crude, but accurate. Please stay safe. I'm not done with you yet."
"Take that bath." He stood and began to gather up their clothes. "I'll pop my head in to let you know when I get home."
"Thank you." She accepted his hand to draw her to her feet and kissed him, hard. "For tonight - and for being careful, as well as for knowing I'll be awake and worried."
He kissed her again at her bedroom door. Then he hurried to his own suite to clean up and change into the proper clothes.