The accidental groom

Chapter 16 The Unsaid apology

Chapter 16

The Unsaid apology

When Lizzie entered her room .Mary looked up from where she sat mending a lace hem .Both gown and needle slid unnoticed to the floor as the little maid flew to her side.

Lizzie put one arm up sharply, forestalling any questions, Gulping Mary nodded and silently helped her out of her destroyed gown . Her maid caught her breath at the evidence of grass and garden in the folds of the fabric and placed the dress in the bottom of her wardrobe

"Perhaps a nice warm bath , my lady ?"

Lizzie closed her eyes in grief . Yes, a bath was definitely called for . While she waited for heated water to be brought, Mary brushed out her hair, discreetly removing more vegetation from the tangled strands.

The two were silent, the crackling of the fire the only sound . Mary's brush moved slowly through Lizzie's hair, finding tender spots where Alexander had inadvertently pulled it.

A sense of unreality swept through Lizzie , a feeling that this was all a strange dream, and in the morning she would awaken .

It had been a disaster from the start and it had all been her fault . She was now truly trapped in this loveless marriage . A lifetime of probable solitude stretched before her.

When the bath arrived, she slid deep into its water . One advantage of her small stature had always been the relative luxury of tub size . Submerging to her ears she left the soft lapping of the water soothe her.

She was so dreadfully sore. No one had warned her of that, she had expected to feel pain only at the actual moment of the consummation.

She certainly had felt pain then, but it had not ended there. Lizzie had not been unduly shocked by the marriage act. She had grown up surrounded by animals, and at quite a young age she had concluded that what applied to them probably applied somewhat equally to humans. But she had not expected quite such a deep invasion of her person. And she had not expected that it would hurt quite so much. She had thought, as she lay beneath the weight of her husband's body that his movements would never stop. Each stroke had seemed to rub her raw.

But when he had begun to withdraw, she had thought for a moment that it was all going to start again, but blessedly he had let go of her after that.

She ached, was bruised and tender in between her legs. And while the heat of the bath stole into her throbbing muscles, relaxing them, but nothing could relax her aching heart.

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Alexander was pacing. He had been at it for hours. His mind kept returning to the beauty of it , bloody magic of it. Alarm stabbed again and again forcing endless movement in an effort to escape its barb. Never before had he felt himself so at mercy of desire and need. It had been dark and wild yet so wonderful .

He wanted more , and this time both of them would get pleasure out of it . He hoped she would give him another chance .

He envisioned himself undressing her slowly , kissing every inch of her softness as he bringing her to a state of perfect readiness. Next time he would not lose his self control and plunge wildly into her. Next time he would share the pleasure with her.

He'd always considered himself to be a ruthlessly disciplined man. Whatever the situation, be it provocation or temptation, he never lost control. So why, once his mouth had taken possession of hers, had he suddenly lost all ability to think rationally? In fact he'd stopped thinking altogether, his actions driven by an instinct so raw and primitive that he'd been well past control.