Bittersweet Endeavors (24 page)

There was
a look of grace
that illuminated
her face.
  A proud smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 
Set
h reveled in th
e
fact that he
delivered
that content look upon her. 

Her lids lowered. 
Myra
’s eyes hazed over with a passionate gleam within the riches of her
bright,
amber eyes.  Dark black hair framed seductively around her face and the reddened highlights
of her ebony hair
shined
in the moon's shimmering glow.  A moan called out and she b
egged for more in soft whispers.  W
hen he
fulfilled
each
appeal
she made for more
, she cooed out her thankfulness.

Seth held himself in check
and was
careful
that
he’d no
t
rush
her
.  He wanted her experience remembered with thoughts of pleasure and not
that
of pain.  He wanted
her spared
the initial
discomfort
once he entered
her
,
and
reminded himself t
hat he’d
lessen her
uneasiness
by going slow
. 

Myra
thwarted his plan
.

It was difficult going his allotted pace, and
Seth's muscles tensed.  She writhe
d against his body with her supple curves
,
and when her hands took firm hold of his upper thighs, she urged him
toward her
self
. 

“
Myra
.  For your sake, we mustn't rush,” he urged. 
Although pleased by her enthusiasm, h
e nearly lost all self-control
.
 
She
relentlessly pursued him
. 

Myra
's hands remained firmly in place, still in a tug-of-war with his body as she urged hi
s body onward
.  Her head rose and
Myra’s
tongue grazed over hi
s chest
in seductive, enticing swirls.  Her
leg
rose and entwined around his, and her
limb
made a slow caress of his thigh until it finally found rest on his backside.  A pressure beckone
d him forward
again
when
she used her
leg
and brought
his body, his manhood, closer
. 
Even so, he retained a slow te
mpo so she w
ould
be well prepared.

“You are more than a man could ever hope for,
Myra
,” he whispered in her ear.

“Take me now, Seth,” she urged.

With his hands splayed on either side of her face, he looked down into her eyes.  “Are you sure? 
Tis truth that it shall not be
pleasant at first.”

She moved upward until her lips met with his again.  Her hands entwined through his hair, and with a soft sigh, she whispered, “
Aye
.
”
  Her
voice
faded
within the crook of his neck.

In one quick thrust, Seth entered
her
.  A sharp intake
of breath inhaled between her
lips by the motion, and he paused a moment as he felt the pain stab at his heart for her discomfort.

“Are you all right,
Myra
?”

She didn’t answer for a few excruciating seconds, but when she did, she replied with
sensual exploits
instead of words.  Her hips rose
and
it allowed
him
further entrance,
and
then
another gasp escaped,
but it wasn’t like the one she
had
made a moment before. 
Myra
's hands gripped his shoulders and her nails raked deep into his flesh.  Her head reeled back, and a content look cascaded
over
her face.  She lunged forward again as she met each of his strokes.

Sweat beaded
on his foreh
ead, and although
he
didn’t want
the
ir
passionate moment
end
ed
, his body sought surrender.  When
Myra
’s body prompted re
lease by the reaction of his
, he smiled.

“
Tis
perfect, Seth,” she said with a timid smile.  A blush tinted her cheeks.  She quickly rolled over and
sought
her clothes that splayed
across the lilies
.
 

He reached for her arm
and stopped her
.  Laug
hter rumbled within his chest. 
“You now become bashful?” 

She wouldn’t look at him, and in a tremulous motion, she bit down on her bottom lip.  “I don’t know w
hat came over me.  T’was
…
T’was like
…
W
ell, like I let loose of everything within me.  A
s if a
total loss of restraint.  I’m sorry,” she said embarrassed.

“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” he assured. 
He caressed her cheek with a brush of his finger
s and
then turned her
face
,
and made her
look at him.
“You were wonderful and I
truly
couldn’t ever imagine being
in such perfect harmony
with anyone
else
as I
am
with you in our lovemaking,
Myra
.  You should never be embarrassed about that.”  His hand moved from her cheek and brushed against he
r breasts and down her waist.  He kissed her lips, soft and gentle.  “
You’re so lovely,
Myra
, and if not for t
his being your first time, I woul
d take you again this very moment.”

An ornery smile creased her lips, and the blush of her uneasiness
q
uick
ly
fade
d
away.  “T
hen you mustn't let me stop you.
” 

Aye
, indeed, Seth thought, she
was
more than any man could hope for.

*                    *                    *

“Where have you been,
Myra
?” Lucia whispered
as she entered the door
.

Myra
sat on her bed
, careful
not to rouse
the other women servants in the room.
 
“I was with Seth,” she mouthed in a very low whisper.

“I figured as much.”  Lucia sat up and rested her weight on a single elbow, her palm supporting her cheek.  “I think Mister Preston followed Seth tonight,
Myra
.  I went out to the necessary, and I watched him take the path Seth
had taken
when he left
.”

Myra
's heart felt heavy and her cheeks warmed at the possibility
that
Anvil witnessed her and Seth's lovemaking.
Despite
the dark
ness covering
the blush that heated her cheeks, she hi
d her face with her hands
.
 
“Are you sure he
followed
Seth?  Could he have been only going into town, perchance?” 
Myra
rose and removed
her dingy
wool garment.  Pulling dried leaves from the faded material,
Myra
’s mind wandered, and she daydreamed about
her and Seth
’s
shared
unison of love
.

“I don't think so.  He came out of the house and followed Seth like a man with a purpose.  He
certainly
trailed
after
him.”

Myra
’s
hand went to her chest
and
she
took in a
painful
rush of air.
  “Dear
Lord, Lucia, what
shall
I do
?”

“You seem more nervous than usual about this.  Why are you so wor
ried about
—
”
Lucia paused when
Myra
passed the window,
and
the moon illuminated the smidgens of blood stains on her chemise.

Myra
followed Lucia’s stare and
l
owered her eyes to
ward
the virginal
spill that divulged her guilt
.  She
turned around.  “We made love tonight,” she whispered.  What if he saw us?”

“
H
e
shall
not let this pass without incident.”

“
Tis true
,”
Myra
nodded.  She cleansed herself in the
wash basin and reached underneath her hay filled bed,
and pulled
out a finely
crafted
silk chemise.

“
Take caution
in
wearing that
,” Lucia
warned
, her
head nodd
ing
toward the garment.  “If Mister Preston decides to come in here tonight and confront you
, he’ll not like it too much if he
sees you wearing something so ex
travagant
.”

Myra
agreed and tucked it away
, deep
beneath the cover
s
.  “He’d
surely figure out that Seth
provided
it for me.”

“Or accuse you of stealing it,” Lucia added.

Myra
rinsed the stains from her chemise and put the garment back on.  Cold and damp, she tucked herself in
to
bed.  Closing her eyes, she envisioned her and Seth's lovemaking
and it
chase
d
the chill away.  However,
the act would
never
repeat if his father saw them
.
She
had already
accepted the that they
’d
never
truly
be
to
gether, as husband and wife, but
when she thought
that
she may never have another moment with Seth
, it
sickened her. 

“I saw Miss Margaret leave the house earlier, too
.  Was she meeting
Mister Frederickson tonight?”

“I don't know.  They weren't with us. 
Yet
if Seth hears of it, he’ll
soundly
beat
Mister Frederickson
head to heel
.
  I don’t know why, but of late, he’s had a
great
dislike for him.
”

“I thought as much.”  Lucia sat up in bed and hugged her arms around her raised knees.  “I don't like that Mister Frederickson too much
, either
.”

“
Nor I,
”
Myra
added.

“Did you know him in England?  Rumor has it that he
was once one
of
T
he
K
ing's men.”

“
Nay
, I cannot say I have, but there's something very familiar about
his face
.”

“Some
people
have s
tated
that King Charles threw him out of the court and deemed him a traitor to the crown.”

“Hush,”
Myra
whispered, and
she placed her finger on her lips.
  She looked at their
four
other
roommates
as they slept silently in their beds.  “If someone overhears you making such accusations, they’ll surely whip you.”