Page 45 of With Good Grace
‘Never apologise for your passionate nature, Olivia. The pleasure you feel is natural and right; as God intended.’
‘And yet I have never felt anything even remotely like it before. I never would have believed…’
Jake didn’t want her making comparisons to Marcus, the only other man she had known, and so distracted her by giving in to her impatience. She responded to his demands with indecent haste and, watching her, Jake could gauge the precise moment when, eyes muddied with passion, she was gripped by a heady onslaught of pleasure. He would have gauged it even if her eyes did not then widen with shock, and even if she had not cried out as she closed herself around him and thrust her hips upwards in her impatience to find release.
He waited, somehow managing to hold back, until he was sure she had taken everything she needed from him. Then, with a guttural moan, he started to move again and unleased a starburst of pleasure as he followed her into sweet oblivion.
‘Oh my love!’ he sighed, breathing heavily as he leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her lips.
How inadequate the words sounded, he thought. But how could he possibly explain to his complex, intelligent yet sexually inexperienced beloved just what she had done for him? Intimate romps were nothing out of the ordinary for him but Olivia’s sweetly provocative innocence, her uninhibited enthusiasm, reminded him just how jaded he had become over the years. He, who considered himself to be a proficient and experienced lover, had just been taught a precious lesson. Olivia did not embrace passivity in this aspect of her life any more than she did in other areas of it. She had again allowed instinct to guide her as Jake introduced her to new pleasures and was not afraid to follow where he led; to experiment.
When Jake’s heartrate returned to something approximating normal, he glanced down at Olivia and saw that the unaccustomed activity had finally exhausted her. Her eyes fluttered to a close almost immediately Jake withdrew from her and rolled onto his side, pulling her close so that she again used his chest as a pillow.
‘Thank you,’ she said, so primly that Jake was obliged to stifle a laugh. This was all new to her. She was not yet ready to be laughed at.
He watched her as her breathing became slow and even and she fell asleep almost immediately; beautiful even in repose with her glorious hair spread all over his chest and a half smile gracing her lips. He knew at that moment what he wanted, what he had always wanted since first making her acquaintance in that grimy prison cell, but had been too afraid to admit to it. But now, everything had changed. He would somehow find a way to achieve it, since walking away from Olivia, risking another man taking what he already considered to be his, was quite simply out of the question.
Thus resolved he allowed himself a few more minutes in her bed and then reluctantly threw the covers aside, dislodging her head without wake her. She mumbled something incoherent and curled up on her left side. Jake smiled at her nakedness, wondering if he should wake her and redress her in her nightgown so as not to shock her maid too severely. Then he thought of the prim attitude of the maid in question and decided against it.
Chuckling, he collected his own scattered garments from the floor, stepped into his trousers and turned one last time towards the bed. He bent and gently kissed Olivia on the brow.
‘Sleep well, my sweet,’ he muttered, walking on tiptoe towards the door and reluctantly leaving the room.
?
Molly pulled the curtains aside with unnecessary force, waking Olivia from a delightful dream in which Jake was doing all sorts of exquisite things to her. They were so real that she could even feel pleasant soreness in certain strategic parts of her body. Her lips felt swollen too and her breasts were sore. She touched them beneath the covers and her eyes flew open when she realised she was naked. It was not a dream! She opened one eye and saw that Molly had draped her discarded nightgown, the one that Jake had stripped slowly and provocatively from her body the night before, across the chair beside her bed.
Molly’s back was turned as she tidied something on the other side of the room so Olivia sat up and took the opportunity to pull the gown over her head. Olivia knew that Molly was most likely watching her in the mirror, and disapproving of what she saw. Let her! Nothing could spoil Olivia’s mood today. Defiantly, she left the indent in the pillow beside hers; an indent that precisely mirrored the shape of Jake’s head. She left the few dark hairs that remained there too and cared nothing for the other evidence of their exploits that would be apparent on the linen when Molly tidied her bed.
‘Good morning, madam,’ Molly said stiffly, turning to face her.
‘Good morning, Molly. How was the meeting?’
‘Very uplifting, thank you.’
‘Is it raining still?’
‘No, madam. The skies are clear. It’s set to be a fine day.’
‘I am relieved. Tom will be able to sail his boat at last and perhaps he will then stop talking about it constantly.’
‘Are you ready for your breakfast?’
‘Yes, please bring it up. I am sharp set this morning.’
Olivia expected Molly to make some remark, or at the very least find some way to express her disapproval. She did neither, simply leaving the room to follow Olivia’s instructions. Perhaps she had learned the wisdom of holding her tongue, Olivia thought, as she padded into the bathroom that adjoined her chamber and attended to her ablutions.
When Molly returned, Olivia was wearing a robe over her nightgown, had brushed the worst of the tangles out of her hair herself, and was seated beside the fire. Molly pulled up a small table and placed a tray upon it. Olivia’s noise was assailed by the tantalising aroma of bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs. Molly poured coffee for her and asked if she needed anything else.
‘No, Molly. Leave me for half an hour.’
‘As you wish, madam.’
Olivia did wish. She wanted to enjoy her breakfast and relive her subliminal activities of the previous night with Jake without her sour-faced maid spoiling the moment with her silent disapproval.
Molly returned at the appointed time and had just fastened Olivia’s morning gown for her when Jane tapped at the door and put her face around it.
‘What is it, Jane?’ Olivia asked, alarmed. ‘You look as white as a sheet. Has Tom had an accident?’
