“I’ve never beheld a sight so beautiful, sweetling. I have toured Europe, seen the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Trevi Fountain. I’ve seen the Taj Mahal. Nothing compares to you. I would stare at you all day.”
“How would you patrol? How would you fill out your logs or whatever it is you do with all those books and maps?”
“Let Theo or Will do it.” Suniti laughed at Rob’s dismissive tone. She suspected he didn’t jest. But she grew serious as her gaze roamed over Rob’s physique. Never had she seen something so perfect. He was like the Roman and Greek statues she’d learned about as an adolescent. She’d believed no man could compare, but Rob exceeded her imaginings. The longer she stared, the harder his cock grew. It pulsed against his lower abdomen, just below the ridges of muscle. “My darling, I shan’t last long if you continue to stare at me so. I don’t want to rush you.”
“Maybe I wish to rush you. Maybe I don’t want to wait any longer. Rob, I know there might be pain the first time, but I’ve seen images of couples making love. The ecstasy appeared like an addiction to some.” Suniti hesitated as her brow furrowed. “Were they exaggerations? Does coupling not bring such pleasure?”
“I do not doubt we shall find ecstasy together.” Rob skimmed the back of his hands along Suniti’s upper arm before cupping her breast. Its fullness and firmness made his rod leak. She brushed her finger across the tip to wipe the liquid from it. She met Rob’s gaze as she brought her finger to her mouth. “I shall maul you. You are beyond erotic, Wife.”
“It’s not temptation once you have it.” She slid her finger between her lips, unsure what she thought of the taste. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unlike anything to which she was accustomed. Rob bent and licked her right nipple as his hand supported the weight of her breast. His other hand’s fingers feathered over her belly to the thatch of hair covering her mons. They moved between her legs, and she widened her stance. Her fingers gripped his shoulders to keep her balance when he slipped his middle finger into her shallow sheath. She was unprepared for the sensations it elicited. One word came out breathlessly. “More.”
“You will have it all.” Rob scooped her into his arms and carried her around to the side of the bed. A servant had already turned down the bedding. Rob laid her gently onto the mattress before crawling on beside her. They adjusted the bug netting and made their own cocoon. Suniti rolled to her side and inched closer. Rob drew her leg over his hip as he slid lower to return his attention to her breast. He alternated sides as he suckled while his fingers danced between her netherlips. His thumb rolled her pearl before rubbing slow circles.
“What are you doing to me, my darling?” Suniti wasn’t sure how he would react to the endearment. She wished to offer him one, but she didn’t know if the ones he’d said were genuine or merely what an English husband said to his wife. When he pushed himself onto one elbow and cupped her cheeks, she suspected he liked it.
“Call me that again.”
“My darling.”
“The sweetest words I’ve ever heard.” Rob hoped one day that he would hear three words far sweeter than those. As he gazed at his wife, he knew he would love this woman until his last breath. He would grow old with her after they raised a family together. He had no way to explain the suddenness of the emotion, but it began as a fledgling seed six weeks ago. Perhaps it was the Indian heat that made it blossom so soon, but he suspected it was his Suni.
Suniti watched warmth fill Rob’s eyes, but he didn’t share his thoughts. She wanted to know, but she didn’t know if she was allowed to ask. There was so much about being a wife that she didn’t know, especially one to a man not of her culture. She suspected Rob adapted to India faster than she would England. But she would do whatever she must to please him as much as he pleased her. She knew she loved him, but she knew not whether she should tell him.
“Suni, there are a great many ways to couple. But there are two types. One is merely to satisfy a desire for pleasure. The other is to make love with a partner who means the world to you. I want you to know that even in our most—energetic—couplings, I will always make love to you.”
Suniti nodded, even more confused than she was a moment ago. Rob’s kiss was gentle as he stoked the banked fire between them. Suniti inched even closer, pressing their bodies together. Her hand roamed over his back and shoulder before grazing her nails over his belly. They trapped his rod between them, so she couldn’t explore as she wished.
Rob pressed her onto her back and kissed from behind her ear down her throat, his tongue lapping at the dip between her collarbones, before journeying down to her mons. He peeled back the petals and swept his tongue along her sheath. She shivered at the newest sensation. When his teeth nibbled on her nub before sucking, she nearly came off the mattress. His hand pressed her belly down as he continued his ministrations. Her hips twisted as he continued his pursuit to bring her to release.
“Rob, don’t stop. I—I—it feels so good. What are you doing to me? I ache for more, but you’re bringing me pleasure at the same time…Oh!”
Pleasure swept over her, beginning in her core, and fanning outward, making her toes curl. Rob watched her, enjoying every moment of bringing his bride to climax. He wished to see it throughout the night, but he knew that despite her objections to going slowly, she would be sore. He would do nothing to harm such a precious treasure. He moved upward until he rested on his forearms, his hips between her thighs.
“Did you enjoy that, sweetling?”
“I think you just wish to hear me say it. I’m certain you know the answer.”
“Maybe I do.” Rob grinned wolfishly. It was Suniti’s turn to pull him in for a kiss. It was her turn to devour him. She rocked her hips, hinting at what she wanted more. The tip of his cock slid through the pooling dew, her sheath inviting him in.
“I never imagined it could be that blissful. The images of ecstasy don’t do that justice. But I want more, Rob. I wish to make love too. I want to join with you and be your wife.”
Rob brushed hair back from Suniti’s temple. He knew what he needed to say before they went any further.
“My love, you would be my wife in truth, even if we never consummated our marriage. You are the only woman I will ever love, Suniti. I pledge my life, my name, all my worldly goods, and my love. I love you.”
Tears sprang to Suniti’s eyes as she nodded, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat. She stroked the bristles that had grown in since that morning. He was always freshly shaven, and she suspected it was because of the weather. She knew other Englishmen preferred a full beard.
“Robert, I love you. I wish to be your companion, your lover, your everything until I breathe my last. I expected to spend a life in a loveless marriage, hoping the union might pleasantly surprise me. I didn’t think I would already love my husband. I give myself to you: heart, body, and soul freely and without reservation.”
“No gift could ever compare.” Rob’s kiss distracted her as he pressed his sword into her sheath. When he felt her barrier, he pulled back. “I loathe hurting you. I pray it’s the only time I ever do.”
“Pain before the pleasure. I can live with that, but I can’t live with waiting anymore.”
Rob slid his hands beneath her shoulders, wrapping his fingers over the top before he surged into her. She bowed off the bed and kicked her feet before she sucked in a whistling breath.
“Suni, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Rob’s heart broke at her look of agony. He’d only been with experienced women. Ones prepared for his girth. He was a large man from his feet to his shoulders. He wondered if moving slower would have prolonged her misery or made it easier to accept.
“Shh, Rob. I know. It stole my breath, but I don’t want to stop. It’s—odd—but having you inside me is only arousing me more. I need to move.”
