Penelope was not sure she understood what he meant, but before she could raise any questions, he was asking one of his own.
“Did you do as I instructed you to last night?”
Suddenly, Penelope began to regret agreeing to engage in this activity with him, and especially on his terms.
“No,” she replied calmly.
To her utter discomfort, he smiled and shook his head.
“Ah-ah. Think again, Penelope,” his voice sounded deeper than she had ever heard it as he said her name, and for a moment, she was distracted. “I have already warned you about lying and the punishments that will follow. I would rather not start off our lessons with this.”
Embarrassment flooded Penelope rather quickly, and she disliked the feeling greatly, so she pretended to be more nonchalant than she felt, unwilling to let him have the upper hand over her.
“I did it. Like you asked.”
Cecil nodded, urging quietly, “Tell me more.”
The shame she felt was too great to ignore, but she also wished to hear what he thought of her afterwards, so she swallowed around the lump in her throat and forced herself to speak.
“I was going to ignore your words, to be honest. I tried… but I couldn’t. I did change into m-my nightdress and then I climbed into bed to sleep. However… I-I grew restless. And I kept thinking about what you told me. No matter how hard I closed my eyes and willed myself to stay still, I kept growing acutely aware of the feel of my sheets and covers against my skin. It felt… warm and crisp, and my nightdress is made of silk and so it… it rides up when I lie down. I was going to pull it down, and try to sleep once more, but the restlessness had awakened a heat within me. I – I couldn’t help it and ran my hands over my body – like you suggested. And I only grew hotter and hotter. No matter where my hands touched, I wasn’t sated. Not until my hand dripped between my legs. It was as though I had taken a sip out of an oasis after being thirsty for so long.”
She paused, wondering what he thought of all she had said thus far. When she raised her eyes to his face, the wild gaze that stared right back at her sent shivers down her spine, and she lowered her eyes. Somehow, knowing he was interested spurred her even more.
“A-And I… I began to touch myself. At first it was strange, because I was not sure if I was doing it right, even though it felt good. Eventually, it began to feel even better and my body grew tense, like a spring that was wound up. My instincts told me notto stop and I didn’t. Not until… after.” She mumbled, her hot cheeks rendering her dizzy.
The silence she was met with was deafening, and for a moment, she thought he was perhaps disappointed by her retelling of the events. Just as she was about to beg him to forget all that he had heard, he asked,
“Can I touch you now?”
Penelope felt herself nod, slowly but without hesitation. Cecil wasted no time closing the distance between them, taking her face in his hands as he kissed her deeply.
This kiss was much different from the one they had shared the night before.
Now, Cecil was plagued by some sense of urgency, evident in the way he pressed close, his hands roaming over her frame, grabbing at her clothes, and caressing her skin. His mouth moved hotly against hers, nipping and sucking her lips until they parted so his tongue could dance with hers.
It was not until she was breathless and panting that he leaned back that he muttered into the curve of her jaw.
“I want to do the same to you. I want to touch you like you touched yourself and show you how much better it is to share that feeling. Will you let me, Penelope?”
Perhaps it was the heat pooling in her gut and between her legs. Perhaps it was the way he said her name. Or perhaps her curiosity needed to be satiated once more.
Regardless, it did not take her long to agree, and she found herself nodding.
“Yes. You can touch me.”
CHAPTER TEN
Penelope’s permission gave him reason to kiss her again.
As her coherent thoughts seemed to leak out of her ears, she noted with growing ire that their second kiss that evening was somehow nicer than their first.
The candle on the table behind them threw warm light across the room, and within its glow, all of Penelope's carefully constructed reasons for staying sensible began, one by one, to crumble. His mouth was patient this time, coaxing little gasps and whines past her lips as he backed her into a wall. The solid structure behind her did little to offer stability, as it felt as though she was melting from the inside.
Cecil continued to kiss her, deep and unhurried in the way only a man entirely confident in his effect could be, and she found herself gripping the front of his shirt with both fists, not entirely sure whether she meant to push him away or pull him closer.
She did neither, though, simply holding onto him for dear life, it seemed.
“There,” he murmured against the corner of her mouth, drawing back just enough to look at her. “Breathe, Penelope.”
