John sits frozen on the side of their bed, not daring to move lest he be tempted to look back at Margaret nursing their baby, Audrey Grace [(4) right]. John's hearing is so acutely attuned to his wife Margaret's every movement that he swears that he can hear the rustle of her untying the pink silk ribbon at the sleeve of her left shoulder before she exposes her left breast to baby Audrey Grace. John hears baby Audrey Grace latch onto Margaret's breast and begin suckling eagerly for her morning sustenance.
John closes his eyes trying not to see the image in his mind of his beloved Margaret providing life giving nourishment to their baby daughter. He is at once in awe of the mother -daughter bond--as well as, being jealous of it. He had glimpsed their communion only once. And he felt then--as he feels now--his desire for his beloved wife Margaret increasing. Yet John knows that he must give Margaret time to heal before they resume their lovemaking.
After Margaret switches baby Audrey Grace to her other breast and finishes feeding her, baby Audrey Grace falls contentedly asleep. Margaret smiles down at her sleeping baby, Baby Audrey Grace's little mouth still making opening and closing motions as her little hands and face seek the underside of her Mama's warm curvy breast in continuing comfort.
Not hearing any sounds of nursing, John surmises that they are done and he slowly looks over his shoulder. John sees Margaret's nightgown puddled at her waist with a blissfully happy Baby Audrey Grace nestled to her mother's bare breasts. John is transfixed by Margaret's loveliness and moved by the tenderness of his wife and daughter embracing each other. Margaret's breasts have changed due to her pregnancy and nursing. Yet John finds her even more alluring. John does not realize it, but he has turned his body and is leaning ever so slightly toward Margaret. Sensing a shift in the bed, Margaret looks up at John.
Margaret: "John?" Margaret asks, realizing that John is leaning toward her and she pinkens for her state of disshabille. His face shines with love and Margaret's heart answers his as she gazes up at him tenderly. "Will you take baby Audrey Grace and place her in her bassinette for me, please?"
John: "Ohhh!" John says deeply, nudged out of his reverie. "Of course." Margaret holds Baby Audrey Grace out to him, even as she tries to cover herself with her other arm. "Does nursing baby Audrey Grace hurt?" John asks caringly as he lifts their sleeping baby into his arms and carries her to her bassinette.
Margaret: "Only a little bit, at first. Now, I seem to be used to it." Margaret blushes as she adjusts her nightgown and reties her shoulder straps.
John turns around to face Margaret again. He is consumed with his love for her as his wife and as the mother of their child. Margaret stands up from their bed, but John reaches her before she can move toward her vanity table to brush out her hair from its sleeping braid. Margaret looks up at him shyly as she places her hands on his nightshirt covered chest. John moves his arms around her shoulders and back in a loving embrace. He gazes down at her with love and devotion--and with lust.
John: "Are you feeling better, Margaret My Love?" John's deep vocal timbre has a resonance to it that almost sounds like a purring growl.
Margaret: "I am. Thank you." She replies breathlessly.
Margaret can feel the heat emanating from John's body. And he does feel over warm in his nightshirt--given that it is still a rather warm August, though the mornings are cool. John wants so much to take his wife back to their bed and adore her completely. It has been over four months since they made love--since just before her seventh month of pregnancy. But John does not want to have his needs overwhelm his still healing wife. John kisses Margaret on her temple, but he does not relinquish his lips from her forehead. And he finds his lips moving unbidden down her face, bestowing small kisses upon her.
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"N&S: John Thornton, Love Lessons", by Gratiana Lovelace (2013-2014) (Done)
FanfictionJohn Thornton has an eager mind, starved for intellectual stimulation. But what John could not have foreseen was that just as his mind needs nourishment, so does his heart. Mr. Hale's proud, beautiful, kind, stubborn, and compassionate daughter Mi...
Ch. 68 (PG-13): Joy in the Morning
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