Free Becoming Countess Dumont by K Webster, Mickey Reed Page B

him.
    “Alfred, put me down. I’m not a porcelain doll to be carried around as if I’m fragile. I can walk.”
    My father growls with a possessive protectiveness I no doubt inherited. “You most certainly will not walk. I’ll carry you to bed. The doctor can see you from there.”
    “I’m sorry, children. Edith, please join me for breakfast on the back porch in the morning. Invite your sister and we’ll enjoy the sunrise together. The view there is magnificent,” Mother chirps in her usual tone.
    Since her demeanor is back to normal, I release the breath I was holding as I stand. “Goodnight, Mother. Edith, come, darling.”
    Father leaves the room with my mother, and Edith stares after them, still sitting on the floor. When she finally looks up at me, her face is stained with tears.
    “Will she be okay?” she questions with a wobble in her voice.
    I reach down with both hands, and she accepts them with her own.
    “She’ll be just fine. My mother is a fighter through and through. Where do you think I got my winning personality from?” I tease as I pull her to her feet. “Certainly not my father.”
    A small giggle escapes her as I sling an arm over her shoulder and tug her against me. It feels right to have her close to me.
    “She’s a lovely lady. I’m so worried about her,” she murmurs as we walk.
    The fact that she speaks so fondly of my mother unlocks something inside me. I want her to love my mother and my mother to love her. It’s upon this moment that I realize I am truly delighted to have Edith as a part of my family.
    Our stroll back to our wing is quiet, and with each step toward our bedroom, I find myself growing with desire to make love to her.
    Not fucking like earlier.
    Lovemaking.
    It’s out of character for me, but I want to kiss her decadent lips as I thrust into her tight body. I want our bodies to remain connected as our souls bond.
    The moment we enter our room, my thoughts are interrupted by sniffling.
    “What is it, Edith?”
    She lifts her head to gaze at me with tears in her eyes. “She reminds me of my own mother. When she fainted, I thought about how my mother became ill with cholera and was taken so quickly from us. I’m horrified that maybe God is punishing me for what a wretched woman I’ve been and taking out the people I love as retribution for my actions.”
    I tug her to me and shake my head. “Dear, you aren’t being punished. Besides, I have it on good authority that you’re far from the wretched woman you claim to be. I think you’re quite unique and you’re all mine.”
    Her lips turn up into the smallest of smiles. “You can be rather sweet when you want to be.”
    Leaning forward, I graze my lips across hers. “If sweet is rewarded with your smiles, then I shall be nothing but sugar and candy while in your presence.”
    A sigh momentarily rushes from her before I seize her lips. I taste her, and she tastes every bit as delicious as the candy of which I spoke. Then her mouth parts and she meets my kiss with fervor of her own.
    My cock thickens between us with each whimper that escapes her throat. When she jerks away with haste, I groan in frustration and have the urge to attack her lips again.
    “Alexander,” she says softly. Then her cheeks redden as if she’s embarrassed to say whatever is on her mind.
    “Speak, woman. I have many events planned for us this evening. Events where my mouth is the appreciative audience and your body is the deserving star.”
    Her eyes slam shut as she considers my words, but they fly back open when she resolves to say what’s on the tip of her tongue. “You hurt my feelings earlier today,” she rushes out in a whisper.
    That bottom lip of hers, which I so crave, quivers uncontrollably. Dipping down, I still it with a soft kiss to it. After I kiss her, I pull away to look into her eyes.
    “How did I hurt your feelings, lovely?”
    Now, she chews on her lip before speaking her words. “You fucked me as if I were your