Hugh was taking Miss Chandler on a honeymoon to one of the family's many estates. As she was not at all well-traveled and hadn't been anywhere but her own family's estates and London, Irene had expressed herself content to stay within England. Since Hugh hated to travel this suited him admirably; he much preferred to spend his time out at the country estates with his horses and dogs, fishing and comporting himself outdoors. In the few private moments that they stole together to converse, he expressed his excitement about showing Miss Chandler the estates, as she'd declared herself quite a country miss at heart.
An unsettled feeling had roiled in the pit of Eleanor's stomach as her brother enthused over how well matched he and Miss Chandler were. Somehow from the few implications of her character that he made, Eleanor's understanding of Miss Chandler did not seem to match her brother's at all. She had certainly not received the impression that Miss Chandler would prefer life in the country over the glitter of London Society, and the odd conversation that she'd had at the dinner party with Irene stuck in her mind. But how to bring such a subject up to her brother? Before she could decide to speak, her mother interrupted their conversation and she and Hugh did not have another opportunity to speak.
Although s
he did not see Edwin during the day, he more than made up for his absence when he came to her rooms at night. Other than the days when she'd had her courses, Edwin had been a constant presence in her bedchamber, and these nights he seemed especially amorous. Her bottom was still quite sore, although healing, which only seemed to arouse him further. The very first evening he'd come into her bedchamber as Poppy had been brushing her hair. Dismissing the maid, Edwin had taken over the task. It had been a remarkably intimate experience, having her hair brushed by her husband, watching him in the mirror as he dragged the brush through the golden strands. With his broad shoulders and darkly handsome countenance he'd looked almost like a sinful dark angel, looming behind her light and gold features; dangerous yet erotic.
Soon he was dragging his fingers through her hair, rather than the brush, winding his hand into the silky locks and tipping her head back to devour her mouth in a hot kiss. They hadn't made it to the bed for that evening's first round of amorous pursuits. Instead Edwin had sat her upon the hard wood of her dresser, taking her away from the cushioned seat she'd been resting upon, and she'd cried out as he'd pounded into her, her sore bottom bouncing on the uncomfortable surface and somehow enhancing the pleasure she found as he speared her over and over again. Indeed, every night Edwin seemed to enjoy reawakening the soreness in her bottom, and to Eleanor's shame her climaxes were more intense than ever before.
Yet when he finally handed her up into their carriage to depart for the docks, Eleanor found that her husband had considerately placed her favorite cushion upon her seat, to ensure that she would ride in comfort. As they were leaving in the early morning she found herself leaning against her husband's broad shoulder, feeling strangely warm and secure beneath his arm. Neither of them were in the mood for conversation it seemed, and she drifted in and out of sleep as the carriage jolted and bounced along the streets, the slight chill of the morning air having no effect on her as she was warmed by her husband's body.
As usual her emotions towards her husband were conflicted. She still resented him for the loss of her Season, even though she knew that was as much her father's fault as Edwin's (and perhaps just a little bit of her own), and she hated that he had continued her father's methods of spanking... and yet the pleasures that he brought to her body were so wondrous as to be unimaginable. Even when her bottom had burned their coupling had been intensely satisfying, even more so than usual. Edwin was a mass of contradictions - stern, gentle, punishing, caring... the welts on her bottom had healed much faster than ever before thanks to the cream he had rubbed onto it. And now he was cradling her as if she was something infinitely precious. It was all too easy to lean into him and drift away.
Strong arms wrapped around her and swung her up into the air. Blearily, Eleanor blinked her eyes and squirmed.
"Hold still," said Edwin, his voice sounding somewhat weary but also amused. "I'd hate to drop you in the water."
"I can walk," she said grumpily, but she curved her arm around his neck, holding tightly to him as she let her head drop back onto his shoulder.
Edwin nearly purred with satisfaction feeling her snuggling up to him again. The carriage ride had been immensely enjoyable. When Eleanor dropped her guard she was a wonderfully tactile creature, not at all the nagging harpy she occasionally made herself out to be. Perhaps knowing she would have an elaborate and romantic honeymoon, when their wedding had been anything but, had finally softened her to him. Although he hadn't seen much of her the past few days something had certainly changed in her demeanor. Perhaps it was the birching but perhaps it was the trip as well. Even Mrs. Hester hadn't had any complaints over Eleanor's conduct as his wife had thrown herself into settling everything within the household so that they could leave.
Although it was now mid-morning he, like his wife, was feeling the effects of their hastily planned departure. Fortunately they hadn't had to plan their own dinner last night, they'd dined with Eleanor's family who had wanted to give them a send-off but would rather do so the evening before than the morning of. Edwin had received a note from his own family that afternoon, expressing regret that they had missed his wedding and imploring him to bring Eleanor to the Manse after they returned from their honeymoon. He had to grin and shake his head at his parents' foibles, the largest being their reluctance to leave the estate.
Laying Eleanor gently down onto the bed, he undressed her despite the fact that she was only half-awake and tucked her in before divesting himself of his own clothing and crawling in beside her. His wife murmured sleepily and squirmed next to him, tucking herself into his body in the most delightful way. If they weren't so tired he would have taken advantage of their unclothed state, but part of their exhaustion stemmed from how late he'd kept them up the night before. Wrapping his arms possessively around her soft form, Edwin closed his eyes and, despite the erection that was cradled against her stomach, fell almost instantly asleep.
********
When Eleanor awoke, feeling completely refreshed, it was to the smell of the sea, the gentle rocking of the boat, and the shouts of the sailors. She immediately became aware of the large masculine body wrapped around her, something she was unused to as Edwin normally awoke well before her even when he slept in her room. It wasn't entirely unpleasant to feel the hard length of his body pressed against her back, his heavy limbs across her legs and stomach. One hand cupped her breast gently, fingers not quite gripping but curved over the soft mound possessively.
Despite the satisfaction she'd received from him last night, Eleanor couldn't help but feel a warm glow tingling between her legs. The hard ridge pressing into her bottom, which was only a little bit sore now, indicated she wouldn't need much effort to wake her husband and receive satisfaction again, but she was too excited about her first time being on a ship. She wanted to walk the decks and see the ocean! Carefully she started to wriggle away from her husband's furnace of a body, squealing as his arm suddenly tightened around her and hauled her back.
"Where do you think you're going?" Edwin's dark eyes glinted with amusement as he turned her onto her back, his voice still fuzzy with sleep. Propping himself up on one elbow he cupped a breast in a gentle hand and toyed with it, rubbing his thumb over her nipple in a way that made her breath hitch.
"I was going to go up on deck," she said, staring up at him. "I want to see everything."
Her husband's eyes drifted down her body, which was uncovered to the waist, and Eleanor felt her cheeks heat. She didn't think she would ever become accustomed to the lasciviously proprietary way Edwin looked at her whenever she was unclothed. And often even when she was clothed. That little spark in his eyes always preceded a thorough bedding, to the point where every time she saw it her pulse started to race.
"I like the view down here just fine," he said in a rasping growl.
"Edwin!" Eleanor half-laughed, half-protested in exasperation as her husband shifted his weight on top of her, trapping her lower body beneath his as he peppered small kisses along her jaw, trying to reach her mouth.
"Stop moving away," he complained.
"I just told you I want to go up on deck!"
"You'll get there a lot faster if you'd cooperate." The teasing, coaxing tone of his voice was that of a little boy's, reminiscent of when they were younger and he would tease her into doing something that they would invariably get into trouble for later. Only now there was no one to hold them accountable for what they were about to do except for her.
He'd ignored the push of her hands against his chest, using his legs to pin her down as he caressed her breasts. Although she tried to ignore the tingling sensations he was awakening in her body, she could feel herself losing her conviction to go above decks. After all, the ocean wasn't going anywhere. There would be plenty of time, and if she went up now she would be hot and aroused without the release that she so enjoyed. She moaned, allowing Edwin to capture her lips as he squeezed one of her turgid nipples, toying with the sensitive bud, tugging at it as he coaxed her body to the state he desired.
Feeling her submission beneath him, Edwin deepened the kiss. Awakening with an armful of soft, warm woman trying to wriggle away from him had spurred his desires; although he didn't need immediate release upon awakening, feeling her trying to leave their bed had sparked an unusual amount of need in him. Eleanor writhed as he kissed down her neck, her hands rubbing over the flexing muscles of his back as he pleasured her. There was something satisfying about having her acquiesce to him, knowing that she had wanted to go above decks but that he could rouse her body enough to change her mind.
Dragging his tongue across the soft satin of her skin, he groaned as her legs parted further, his cock nudging at the damp flesh of her sex as she opened to him. The urge to shove deeply into her and ride her was nearly overpowering but he beat it back. He would not start his honeymoon with a quick fuck; by the end of this trip he wanted Eleanor to be deeply content with their marriage and he was of the firm belief that keeping her satisfied in the bedroom would assist mightily with that. He had not forgotten her suggestion of separate households, a suggestion which still made him feel somewhat panicked. While he didn't expect miracles when it came to her attitude, indeed he would be fairly disappointed if she never needed another spanking, he did want her to accept him and to do her best to please him as he was doing his best to please her.
Sucking one rosy nipple into his mouth he slid his right hand between their bodies and teased the slick folds of her quim. Eleanor's breath caught on a small cry as she shuddered, her hips lifting to meet his fingers, her body demanding more pressure from him. Attending to each of her nipples in turn, wetting them with his tongue and biting down gently to roll them between his teeth, Edwin made small circles against her heated flesh with his fingers, never touching the little scrap of flesh that ached for him the most.
"Edwin... Edwin please..." Eleanor's back arched as her body twisted, trying to force Edwin's hand to caress her in the way she needed, to
bring her to the brink and push her over.