Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Amelia woke up to Reuben tracing her breasts with his hand. She smiled in amusement. "If you want to make love, why don't you just wake me up?"

His gaze met hers, and he smiled. "I'm sorry. I tried to resist, but the blankets were down to your waist, and your breasts were right there for me to look at."

"And touch," she added, noting the way he had one of them cupped in his hand.

"Yes, and touch." He leaned closer to her and kissed her. "I was just thinking of what it might be like to make a bronze statue of you."

She gasped and took her hand in his so he was no longer caressing her breast as if sculpting it. "I don't want a nude statue of me out in the open where anyone can see it."

"I would sculpt you with clothes on," he assured her. "I would never have you bare like this in front of others. You are for my eyes, and my eyes only."

She relaxed and let go of his hand. "All right. I don't mind being sculpted as long as I'm properly attired."

"I was just feeling you to get an idea of how I would mold the statue." This time, he placed his hand on her shoulder and traced the length of her arm. "As you know, I have sculpted before."

"Yes. That was a fox."

He nodded. "Doing that taught me how important it is to pay attention to how one part of the body is proportionate to the other parts. I was measuring you while you slept."

"It's funny how the parts you were most interested in were my breasts."

"Well, your breasts happen to be my favorite part." When she arched an eyebrow, he laughed. "I won't apologize for it. They're large enough to fill my palm, and they accentuate your figure when you're wearing clothes. They were the first things I noticed when I met you."

She feigned indignation. "And I thought you liked who I was."

"I did like who you were once I got to know you. But before I knew anything about you, I saw you, and you have been blessed with great beauty. The statue will fade in comparison with you. I'll never be able to capture how exquisite you are. All I can do is come close."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's really a sweet thing for you to say."

He pulled her closer to him and grinned. "Sometimes I can be a sweet gentleman."

"I know you can be, which is why I love you so much."

She kissed him and was rewarded with a low groan of appreciation for her forwardness. He then proceeded to touch her in a way that let her know he was highly aroused. She suspected he'd been aroused before she woke from sleep, but then, she supposed that was bound to happen if he couldn't wait until she was awake to touch her in certain places. She was sure his motives for touching her weren't purely for the sake of making a bronze statue of her. It was rather cute he had come up with that as the excuse so he didn't seem like a madman who had no control over his baser desires. But she secretly liked the fact that she stirred his passions with such intensity.

She hadn't had the courage to explore him like he had explored her, but since he had liked the fact that she'd kissed him in order to initiate lovemaking, she was emboldened to reach down and touch the male part of him. He sharply inhaled. For a moment, she thought he hadn't liked it, but then he wrapped her hand around his shaft and moaned. He lifted her leg and put it around his waist. Then he slid a couple of his fingers into her moist flesh. After a moment, he found her sensitive nub with his thumb and began rubbing it.

She let out a contented groan and shifted her hips to take him deeper into her. If he felt anything similar to what she did when he was caressing her most private place, then she was assured he most certainly enjoyed being touched, too. While he continued his ministrations, she explored him. She was tentative at first, but the more he moaned, the bolder she grew in her actions, and before long, she was stroking him in earnest. He was thick and hard, two things that excited her. She enjoyed how he felt when he moved inside her. Her body had been created to enjoy this part of him. His body, likewise, had been created to enjoy being inside her. It was remarkable how well they fit together.

Unable to hold off anymore, she urged him to roll onto his back so she could take him into her. They both moaned together. The contact felt even better after all the fondling they had been doing. He cupped her breasts in his hands and traced her nipples with his thumbs, an action that sent sparks of pleasure straight down to her core. She began to rock her hips. She couldn't tell which of them was the loudest, and at the moment, it didn't matter. All that mattered was the tension building up between her legs. She rocked her hips faster and faster still as she sought her release. When it finally came, she cried out and grew still. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed into her. This just might possibly be her favorite pastime. Nothing felt better than this.

As her body relaxed, he placed his hands on her hips and moved in her. Her body responded by sending more waves of pleasure through her. She voiced her enjoyment as he continued making love to her. He grew taut, and the familiar throbbing of his penis let her know he had found completion. She was too weak to do anything but hold onto him as he rode out his waves of pleasure.

Once they both relaxed, she bent forward and kissed him.

"Is it me, or does this get better each time we do it?" he whispered.

"It's not just you. I can't think of anything I enjoy doing more."

"We'll have to do it during the day then."

"Can we?"

He kissed her cheek and then her neck. "I don't see why not. We have all the time in the world to do whatever we want out here."

"In that case, I really don't miss London."

He chuckled and kissed her again. "I have no need for London now that you're here."

He continued kissing her, and before long, they were making love again.

***

"I didn't know you played the piano," Amelia said as she came into the drawing room.

Reuben's face warmed, and he hurried to turn from the piano keys. He had thought she was going to take longer to get ready for their horseback ride. He cleared his throat. "I tapped a few keys from time to time."

She sat next to him on the bench and put her hand on his thigh. "That was more than tapping. You were playing a beautiful melody." She scanned the piano. "I don't even see the book of sheet music you were using."

"Oh, well, I've played some music so much that I don't need to look at the book."

"That's quite impressive. That piece sounded complicated."

More warmth came over him, and he glanced away from her. "I learned that piece years ago. My sister-in-law taught it to me when I was eight."

"Why are you embarrassed that I caught you playing?"

His gaze went back to her. "Who says I was embarrassed?"

She gave his thigh a playful squeeze. "Reuben, you don't have to hide this part of yourself. I'm your wife. What you're interested in is important to me."

"When I was a child, it was easy to play in front of others, but when you're young, you don't think about your performance. I mean, you do a little bit. You want your mother and your brother to be happy with what you play. But when you get older, you realize their pleasure from hearing you play could have stemmed from the fact that they appreciated the effort you put into playing. It's hard to know whether the praise they offered was truly earned."

"Even if you didn't play the piece perfectly, the praise was earned because you were the one playing it."

"That's what I mean. I don't want people to tell me they love what I'm doing unless I'm actually good at it. With fishing, it's easy to measure how well I do by how large the fish is. Playing the piano is different. There's no objective way to judge my performance."

"It's all right if it can't be judged objectively. I heard you as I was coming here, and you have a great talent." As if she worried he might argue, she leaned into him and added, "I'm not just saying it because I love you. It's the truth."

He relaxed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She kissed him. "If I had known you were so good at playing music, I would have had you play at the dinner parties my brother hosted."

"Oh, I couldn't have played in front of a room full of people. I can only play with those close to me."

"I suppose I can understand that. It's easier to be who we truly are when we're with those we trust."

He nodded.

She ran her fingers along the keys. "Want to teach me how to play?"

"Do you really want to learn?"

"It might be fun to make some music with this fine instrument." She tapped a few keys. "I couldn't ask for a better teacher."

He offered her a hopeful smile. "Are you still willing to let me make a bronze statue of you?"

"I told you I'm fine with it as long as the statue is wearing clothes. I don't mind if you touch me in bed to figure out how big or small to make my body parts, but that's as far as I'll go."

"I'll only make a statue of you with your clothes on. I promise." When she offered a satisfied nod, he quickly added, "I can always draw you naked and keep that tucked away in a safe place to see whenever I want." She gasped, but he kissed her before she could say anything.

When the kiss ended, he gave her a wink then directed her attention to the piano keys. "This is where you place your fingers when you start learning. You want to start with C major because there are no sharps or flats. The sharps and flats are the black keys. You'll get to play these as you improve."

She debated whether or not to ask him if he had already drawn her without any clothes on. They didn't spend every second of the day together. There were times when she was taking a bath or getting dressed, and the other day, she had opted to read while he took care of something the servants needed him to address. He could have drawn her, and she wouldn't have known it.

"No one will find this drawing of me, will they?" she finally asked.

"Are you still thinking of something that trivial? I thought you wanted to learn how to play the piano. This is much more exciting."

"It is?"

"Yes. You'll have more fun learning this than you will searching my bedchamber. I've lived here all of my life. I know all of the best hiding places. You'll never discover them, no matter how hard you try." He smiled in a way that blended sweetness and mischievousness. "Why wear yourself out? Place your attention on things like this." He tapped the keys and played a quick melody.

She sighed. She could tell pursuing this would be a lesson in futility. "All right, but you better be really good at hiding things."

He chuckled. "No one does a better job." He kissed her again. "Have you decided playing the piano doesn't interest you after all?"

Turning her attention to the keys, she said, "I want to learn."

"Good. We'll start with the C key." From there, he taught her the basics of playing C major.