what manner?”
Her eyes dipped to his lap, marking the area she was most interested in exploring. “In a wifely manner, sir.”
Jeff almost gasped at the sudden thrill her request elicited. After enduring a lengthy celibacy, he had begun to fear that his wife wasn’t nearly as appreciative of the delights to be found in a marriage bed as he had first hoped. Since their morning activities, however, he had been greatly heartened. Her latest petition brightened his expectations even more. Sweeping off his top hat, he held it protectively over his lap as he captured her hand within his and molded it around the manly protrusion. “Does this attest to my eagerness, madam?”
Cooing softly in admiration, she inspected him through the closely fitting garment. “Your trousers leave much to the imagination.”
Lifting his brow, he eyed her askance. “You can unfasten them as well as I, my pet. I give you leave to do so.”
She peered up at him, but could read nothing in his handsome profile from the angle at which she sat and finally tilted her head inquisitively. “Would it unsettle you if I were to be so bold when the carriage is passing through the middle of town?”
“You’d disappoint me if you weren’t.”
Raelynn grinned like a child who had just been given a new toy. The fact that he welcomed her overtures assured her that she hadn’t shattered any rigid marital standard. What they did between them was suitable as long as they were both in accord. “I’ll see what I can do about working you free, sir.” As she sought to pry the side placket open, she was led to tease, “You know, Jeffrey, you’re not making this any easier.”
Tilting the topper upward, Jeff considered the telltale bulge beneath the costly trousers. “Such are the hazards of being a wife, my dear. You can hardly expect me to sit here unaffected when you’re trying to get into my underwear. As you can see, I’m eagerly anticipating your attention.”
She finally plucked free a packet, and soon her small hand was slipping inside to make her claim upon the warm flesh, snatching Jeff’s breath inwardly for a blissful moment. During the ensuing inspection, he strove hard to remember to breathe.
It gave Raelynn a strange sense of wifely satisfaction to be able to elicit the molding of his male flesh. When she could affect a man of his maturity and experience in such a way, she didn’t feel nearly so self-conscious about her naiveté or her youth. Indeed, she found it immensely pleasing to see just how completely absorbed her husband became while relishing her caresses, for he sat as one completely enthralled, basking in the titillation as if it had been years instead of hours since he had had the like. It came as something of a surprise, but she realized that she found it just as thrilling to please him as it was for her to be on the receiving end of his rousing stimulations. Having been keenly attentive to his instructions earlier that morning, she tested her newly learned knowledge with an enthusiasm that marked her own growing interest in their mutual familiarity.
Caught up in the sensual headiness of his wife’s caresses, it was a long moment before it dawned on Jeff that they were approaching their destination. Clearing the thickness from his throat, he leaned forward and opened the tiny door behind the driver’s seat.
“Thaddeus, forget about the couturier’s shop for the moment. Take us on a short tour of the city instead. I’ll tell you when we want to come back to Mr. Farrell’s.”
3
A HALF HOUR LATER , J EFF STEPPED DOWN FROM the landau with all the smiling aplomb of a monk and faced his wife with glowing eyes as she moved near the door. They exchanged secret smiles as his fingers squeezed hers meaningfully. Handing her down, he drew her arm through his and escorted her into the three-storied building, which, he explained as they entered, his friend had purchased five years earlier.
According to him, Farrell
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