Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

S he did as he had asked, overtly familiar with the consequences of disobeying him. Juliet gasped as a foreign thickness suddenly slid into the entrance of her womanhood. Hector slowly pushed his hot and throbbing member inside of her waiting chamber. She pressed her face into the pillow and tried to adjust to the uncomfortable sensation.

The strangeness faded quickly, and she adjusted to her husband’s thickness. Hector remained still and drew soothing circles on her skin with his thumb and waited for her.

“I…I am all right,” she said gently.

He pressed a kiss on her back and withdrew the full length of his erect shaft, leaving only the tip between her wet folds. With a moan, Hector thrust his manhood into her waiting warmth.

Juliet felt her maidenhood break, and she cried out his name as he filled her, her hands finding purchase on the sheets as he set a rhythm, rocking back and forth, each thrust drawing more groans and gasps from her lips.

Juliet was propelled into a sensual frenzy as his rigid shaft entered her again and again. The air was filled with sounds of their heavy breathing and the scent of their arousal. The collisions between their sweat-slicked bodies reverberated throughout the bedroom and echoed in Juliet’s ears.

Suddenly, a need grew within her, and her tone changed.

“Hec…Hector, please…I want to see you. I want…oh…I need to look at you. I need you to…kiss me…”

She feared he would ignore her, but he pulled out of her and rolled her onto her back. He lowered himself to kiss her as his hands parted her legs, and he wrapped one of them around his waist.

“You are going to destroy me, Juliet,” he groaned as he entered her again.

Juliet could feel his rigid shaft twitching and pulsing inside of her. Hector again pinned her arms to either side of her head and increased the speed of his thrusts; each snap of his hips upon hers buried him deeper and deeper within her heat. He kissed and sucked at her skin and reached lower to tease her pert nipples with his teeth.

Hector’s nips on her breasts made her arch into him fitfully as her body neared its pinnacle of pleasure. The slight change in her posture caused them both to groan in pleasure at the sudden rigidity between her legs.

“You really are far too much,” Hector huffed, and began to move faster.

Juliet was smitten by how handsome he looked with his dark hair matted to his sweaty forehead and his expression focused on his pleasure.

A familiar hot weight settled in Juliet’s groin, and she became desperate for her final release.

In a sudden frenzy of thrusts, Juliet’s body exploded into a million stars of sheer exultation. Hector howled as he released himself into Juliet and filed her with his seed. Juliet gasped wetly, her body overtaken by tremors.

As her euphoria decreased, she sighed in contentment as Hector smiled, nuzzled her jaw, and extracted himself from between her legs.

She winced when he released his hold on her, and a frown creased his face.

“Are you all right? Did I hurt you?” he fussed worriedly.

She shook her head and reached up to pull him to her for another kiss.

“I am…more than fine. You did not hurt me,” she assured.

He nodded, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and lay down beside her before he gathered her into his arms.

“I…” he began hesitantly. “I am sorry that you were upset earlier. Despite what it might have seemed, I really was worried about you. I am your husband, Juliet. It is my job to defend and protect you. I cannot do that if you do not speak to me when you are hurt or angry. So, tell me. What happened, Juliet?”

She hesitated for a moment while she burrowed more deeply into his embrace.

“It was quite vexing,” she started with a sigh. “I know it is not just her fault, my stepmother. I met her at the modiste and learned that she had been spewing lies about my mother and distorting the truth behind her passing. It pains me deeply when I think of everything and everyone my mother had to endure before she died, only to be further maligned and gossiped about in the years following her demise.”

“What happened?” Hector asked gently, stroking her hair.

“She…she had been quite ill. It did not seem like any typical illness. Some days she would have the brightest smile I had ever seen. Those days were incredibly good. She would play with me, take me into town, or we would have picnics in our backyard. She was always so lovely, so full of life in those moments. But they were never permanent. On her poor days, she would be weepy and distraught. At times, she could not even bring herself to leave her bed. She would either be sullen or prone to fits of hysteria, and I… I never knew what to do. I had heard the Ton’s rumors of demonic possession and their collective belief that she had been cursed. I never believed any of it because what cursed woman loved to sing and braid her daughter’s hair?

“Sometimes, when it was terribly bad, my father would have me stay with a relative for a short while, and when I returned, my mother would be gentler, more attentive, and happier. She loved to share everything she cared about with me. She taught me to play the pianoforte, told me about her favorite artists and authors, and showed me how to recognize their works.”

Juliet hesitated and sniffed a little as she pressed closer to Hector for comfort.

“On one particular day, she was happy. Really happy. She kept talking about how pretty the sky was and how wonderful the breeze felt. She claimed she could fly and climbed up to the roof. I was worried, so I followed her, hoping that her good mood would last because she looked so incredibly happy, and I always liked it when she was in a good mood because it meant my father and I did not need to worry. I…It all happened so fast. Before I had realized what was happening, she walked to the edge, jumped off the roof, and fell to her death. I…I have been afraid of heights ever since. My father, worried that my mother’s illness might also claim me, put me in the nunnery shortly afterwards.”

“St. Catherine’s,” Hector offered.

Juliet nodded. “I just wish people would let her soul rest. My stepmother told her daughter today that my mother had been possessed by the devil, and that is what killed her. She claimed my mother got what she deserved because of her wicked ways…which is not true at all! My mother was incredibly good and kind. The Countess also insinuated that I might also be tainted by whatever it was that caused my mother to behave the way she did. When I first arrived, she tried to keep me from meeting my half siblings. Today, she pulled her daughter out of my reach as though I carried the plague. Hector, I swear, I am not ill…”

“I know,” Hector said to her gently, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “I know you are not. You are perfect, and I am so deeply sorry for all you have had to endure. I will not let this behavior go unpunished. How dare that harridan publicly humiliate you? She has taken the very last misstep of her life. I will make sure she is ruined beyond hope of repair …”

“No,” Juliet shook her head quickly. “Please do not do that. As much as I do not like what she said and did, whatever punishment you choose to inflict upon her would invariably hurt her children. I do not want them to go through what I have had to endure for many years now. They are far too innocent. Please leave her be.”

Hector pulled back to stare down at her for a moment then sighed as his shoulders shed the tension they had been holding. He leaned in to kiss her deeply.

“You are too good for this world, Juliet,” he whispered.

Juliet blushed, silently tucking her head beneath his chin and relishing the feeling of peace that settled over her.

“Spend the night with me,” he muttered.

Juliet nodded, unable to imagine anywhere she would rather be than in her husband’s arms.