Free Matronly Duties by Melissa Kendall Page B

his soft lips. Not having any idea what I should be doing, I try to follow his lead. As our lips meld, his hand slides up to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I copy his gesture, loving the silky feel of his hair. Goose bumps cover my skin from head to toe as he skilfully parts my lips. The tingling feeling that’s been dancing around in my stomach moves lower as I lose myself in the sensations. Just when I think nothing can feel any better, his tongue gently brushes mine. Some primitive instinct kicks in and I pull him closer, wanting to feel his body next to me. Sitting beside him is a little awkward, though, so I lean in as near as I can.
    One minute we’re sitting next to one another, kissing passionately, the next Howard is lying on his back with me half on top of him. It’s a mystery to me how we got here, but Howard is laughing.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “Nothing. I just lost my balance.”
    “Oh.” I try to move off him, but he puts his hands on my waist, holding me in place. “I’m going to squish you.”
    “No, you’re not. Not even slightly. I like you this close to me.”
    My cheeks heat, and I’m not even sure why. Howard puts his hand on my thigh and tugs so I’m no longer half on him and half on the ground. Now I’m all on him, straddling his hips. It’s strange being on top of someone else. Parts of my body that have never been touched by anyone but me are now touching him. I wiggle around a little trying to get comfortable.
    “Whoa.” Howard groans, stilling me with his hands on my hips.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean—” I move to sit beside him again, but his grip tightens and he moans like he is in pain.
    “It’s okay. Just stay still for a second, will ya?”
    “I’m sorry,” I say again, feeling utterly foolish.
    “Oh, Beth, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “What did you call me?”
    “Beth,” he says again.
    “I like it. People only ever call me Bethanie, or Ms Greene, and it all sounds so formal.”
    “Well, if you like it, then I’ll have to keep using it, Beth .” The sound of his name for me rolling off his tongue does funny things to me.
    I smile, and his mouth is on mine again, kissing me with a fervour I feel all the way in the tips of my toes. His lips are soft and he tastes so good I want to feast on him all day. When his hips shift beneath mine, a bolt of energy the likes of which I’ve never felt before courses through me and I gasp at the shock of it. Subconsciously, I mimic him. A quiet moan slips from my lips as a pleasurable ache develops between my legs.
    Howard shudders beneath me and pulls away again. “Beth, you can’t keep doing that.”
    “Why?”
    “Didn’t they teach you the mechanics of sex at that fancy school of yours?”
    “They taught us about fornication.”
    Oh my, is that what we are doing? I thought it would be like what that man tried to do to me. I thought it would be something terrible. It should be terrible. Shouldn’t it?
    Howard’s hands are on both sides of my head, steadying my gaze on him. The frown on his face is etched with concern. “What did they teach you?”
    I try to move away, but when Howard holds me in place, I close my eyes and answer him. “A man has a penis, and a woman has a vagina, and when the man’s penis gets hard, he sticks it in the woman’s vagina, and then they are fornicating.”
    A shudder works its way down my spine as flashes of how close it came to fornication the night I was attacked play in my mind.
    “Oh, Beth.” Howard wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. “Shh . . .” His hands run soothing circles across my back, and I sink into his chest. “What you’re thinking about, what you told me, that’s not sex. That’s not what it’s supposed to be like. Sex is supposed to be mutual, and it’s supposed to feel good.”
    I blink, trying to stop the few traitorous tears that threaten to fall.
    “Real men, good men don’t force themselves on a woman.”
    I lift my