Chapter Text
Colin and Penelope were greeted by their new housekeeper, who informed them that she had just sent for Penelope’s lady’s maid when they entered. Penelope, having thought there was a possibility that her marriage was over, had told Rae to stay at her mother’s house and she would send for her if anything changed. They thanked her before they both headed upstairs.
When they entered their quarters, Penelope stepped away from Colin, suddenly feeling extremely nervous. It seemed silly seeing as though they had been together before. In that very room in fact, but then they had been completely alone no staff to interrupt them.
“Pen….”
“Perhaps...”
They both started speaking at the same time making them both laugh nervously.
“Please, you were saying?” Colin inquired, ever the gentleman.
“I was saying perhaps we should take a few moments to ready ourselves for bed? Rae is sure to knock when she arrives and I don’t particularly wish to be interrupted when we.....” she trailed off in nervous silence. They had already started a routine. A routine that would now change since they would be spending their nights together. No sooner than Penelope thought it, there was a knock at the door proving her point.
Colin opened the door to find his valet.
“Just send Rae in when she gets here,” Penelope told him. Colin nodded and she made her way into the bedroom. He was slightly disappointed that he would not be the one taking off her dress, even though he had done it a hundred times in his head throughout the evening.
Colin sat at his desk thinking of how their evenings and mornings would now have to change. He had already dismissed his valet for the evening with his coat, waistcoat, cravat, and shoes and was simply waiting on Penelope. He let his valet know that he would no longer need his help in the evenings unless he rang for him.
Rae snapped him out of his thoughts when she exited the bedroom and bid him goodnight as she always had since the wedding. However one thing had changed from the previous nights, Rae had left the door to the bedroom open instead of closing it like she usually did.
Penelope stood in front of the mirror wondering if she made the right choice. She still had a couple of nightgowns that were made for her honeymoon and while she knew that Colin would appreciate them, she wanted something a little more seductive. Instead, she decided to forego a nightgown altogether and wore only her favorite dressing gown instead. It had been a gift from Genevieve when she made Pen’s new wardrobe. It was a light chiffon with a watercolor floral print, fully lined with, what she referred to as ‘Bridgerton blue’ satin.
Penelope’s fingers were tracing the satin edge across her chest when she caught Colin’s reflection in the mirror as he entered the room. The look in his eye upon seeing her made Penelope feel brave powerful even. She turned to look at him. He had disposed of his outerwear but was still completely clothed.
They moved toward each other at the same time. His hands slid along her waist while hers made contact with his chest and their lips met in a hungry kiss. Penelope pushed up on her toes to be closer to him. Her hands glided along the dark linen shirt covering his upper body wishing she could feel his skin.
Colin suddenly released her and started to work on undoing the buttons of his shirt.
“Let me,” Penelope said, pulling his hands away, still feeling that surge of bravery. “You did all the undressing last time. It is only fair that I get to be in charge this time.”
Colin smirked and dropped his hands, letting her take over the task, grateful he no longer had to fight against his arousal. As if the sight of her wasn’t enough to stir him, her words along with every brush of her fingers over each bit of skin she revealed went straight to his cock, making his breeches feel unbelievably tight.
She finished with the buttons, pulling the fabric free from his breeches before pushing it off his shoulders. Pen’s hands ran along the bare skin of his chest, over the flat disks of his nipples. It surprised her when they beaded up under her fingers, the same as hers do when aroused.
Colin almost couldn’t stand it anymore. He cupped her face and pulled her mouth back to his, kissing her passionately. His other hand ran along her back and bottom anywhere he could touch. He walked them closer to the bed, his mouth never leaving hers.
He wanted her so bad but he had to make sure everything was good for her. Even though she was oh so willing, she was also still so innocent. He let his wandering hand move between them, finding the opening at the front of her dressing gown. His breath hitched against her mouth when he found skin instead of the fabric of a nightgown. He couldn’t contain the chuckle that bubbled up, breaking their kiss.
“Taking shortcuts now Mrs. Bridgerton?” He teased sliding his fingers straight down to her center, finding her slick and ready.
Penelope gasped at the contact swallowing down a moan. It felt like a lifetime since he had touched her like this and the pleasure it evoked was beyond measure. She fought against the urge to close her eyes, while he slowly stroked her in the most delicious way. She managed to keep her eyes intent on his, which were now full of what she recognized as playful arousal.
“I must say I am thankful you decided to take the direct route Mr. Bridgerton,” she said trying to match his playfulness. She slid her hand into his hair, pulling his mouth back to hers.
Penelope whined at the loss of his lips and hands on her when he pulled away to divest himself of his breeches. He soon stood before her completely naked and she didn’t think she would ever get tired of seeing her husband like this.
“Lie down.”
It was an echo of what he said the first time they were together and just like the first time she followed his direction, climbing onto the bed that had already been turned down. Her head barely touched the pillow before her husband was crawling over her, nudging her legs apart with his knees.
“How did I get so lucky?” he said before leaning down to kiss her once again. She felt him slide his hands beneath her and before she knew what was happening he rolled them over until she was straddled on top of him. She squeaked out a little ‘Oh’ of surprise, her face a mere inch from his.
“I believe you said you wanted to be in charge this time,” he said grinning at her and making her smile as she braced her hands on each side of his head. She kissed him briefly before pulling back to look at his face.
“What do I do?” she asked.
Colin smiled at her innocence. While this was all new to her, in some ways, it was new to him also. He had never had to tell a woman what to do in bed before her. Never had to voice such things out loud.
“First you must take me inside you,” he said. “Then follow your instincts and do whatever feels good.”
“But what if it doesn’t feel good to you” she questioned. Collin leaned up and reassuringly kissed her.
“Trust me, anything you do will feel good to me.”
Penelope took him at his word and began to sit upright so that she could follow his directions. They both moaned in unison as her wet center slid across his rigid member. She experimentally rolled her hips against him and watched his reaction. She could see the pleasure on his face just as she felt it course through her own body.
“Pen, I need you” he groaned, his hands holding tight at her hips.
She shifted backward pulling aside the edge of her dressing gown to see his straining member bob in front of her. She met his eye and he nodded his consent. With that, she reached down and took him in her hand for the first time. His skin was unexpectedly soft for how firm he was. She very much wanted to explore him just as he had explored her. She let her hand slide along the length of his cock, feeling the wetness her own arousal had left behind. She marveled at how his soft skin moved with the grip of her hand as she stroked him. Pen noticed a bead of creamy fluid, that she assumed must be his seed, seep from the reddish-purple tip of his erection. She swiped a finger over it spreading it around the tip. Her eyes jumped to his face when she heard him groan.
“Please Pen” he begged. She wasn’t entirely sure what he was asking for, but the need in his eyes surged through her own body.
Take me inside you then follow your instincts. His words ran through her head. She lifted up on her knees, positioning him until his tip nestled at her opening and they both gasped.
Colin lifted his head from his pillow to watch as she slowly slid down onto him, praying it would not hurt her this time. He groaned in pleasure. Her body was so blissfully tight as she enveloped him slowly.
Penelope was so aroused that she was able to slide down his length smoothly. She was happy to notice that there was no stinging pain like there had been the first time. Only a pleasant stretch that was beyond satisfying.
His eyes darted back to hers when she had him fully sheathed. Penelope maintained eye contact while she remained still to savor the feeling of him inside her. The pleasant way he filled her. This was what she had been craving and wasn’t able to achieve on her own.
Colin couldn’t help but look back down where the auburn curls at her center met the dark ones at his and felt Penelope’s hands roam down the bare skin of his chest. He didn’t have to tell her to touch him this time. She didn’t think she could keep her hands off of him if she tried.
Pen flattened her hands against his chest to lift her hips up and slid back down his cock. The sensation was incredible. Her eyes closed and her head tipped back as she rolled her hips again. His hands sliding along her thighs and hips fueled her desire even more.
Colin couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her body moved like it was made to do this. Like it was made to give him pleasure while seeking her own and all he wanted to do was watch her. See that pleasure course through her.
Letting her instincts guide her, Penelope reached down and pulled him up to her, needing him closer, needing his mouth against hers. The kiss was passionate and hungry. Her pace quickened slightly as the angle shifted and her sensitive bundle was grazing against him with her every move.
“Colin” she moaned his name against his lips.
It was the first time she had said his name in ecstasy…. outside of his dreams at least and he reveled in it. He wanted her to have as much pleasure as he could give her. He tugged at the sash of her dressing gown, pulling it open to reveal her body to him. He slid his hand up her torso until he was cupping her bare breast. It was the first time he had actually fondled her without the barrier of clothing. The weight of her in his hand, the way her nipple, tight with arousal, felt against his palm was heaven.
Colin could feel her body becoming frenzied as she chased her release. Her hips were moving at a galloping pace and he could feel her feminine walls beginning to flutter around his cock. She was close and it was glorious. He had to fight not to release his seed into her right then.
Penelope felt herself hurtling toward that amazing feeling of release. She gripped his hair as the pleasure gripped her. She cried out before her hips stuttered to a halt against him. She was panting from her exertion and slowly opened her eyes to look at her husband. He had a look of awe on his face.
“That was the most beautiful thing I think I have ever seen,” he said fervently. He kissed her slowly and Penelope realized that her husband was still very hard inside her and pulled back to look at him again.
“You didn’t finish” she stated plainly.
“That’s because we aren’t done yet.”
Colin pushed her robe off her shoulders, baring her completely to him. He could just make out the flushed tinge of her skin in the candlelight brought on by her recent orgasm. He pressed his lips to the top of her shoulder then dragged his mouth up the column of her neck.
A surprised giggle escaped her when he suddenly rolled them over again. A giggle that turned into a breathy “Ohhh” when the movement it caused reminded her that he was very much still inside her.
“How do you feel?” Colin asked her, looking down at her beautiful face. She was all loose-limbed, with her arms resting on either side of her head, her hair spread across the pillow and a smile on her lips.
“Wonderful” she stated.
Colin wanted to give her a moment, so he kissed her softly before letting his mouth drift along her jaw back to her neck. He inhaled the scent of her before pushing up on one hand to look at her. He used his other hand to caress her, reigniting the sparks of arousal in her body. He started at her thigh, his hand barely a whisper against her skin as it moved over her hip and up her side until his thumb expertly grazed her hardened nipple. Penelope gasped and lifted her hips against him and that was all it took for him to start again.
Colin thrust into her rhythmically. Her gasps and moans feeding his soul.
“Please tell me that this feels good,” he said, trying to hold off his own orgasm. “I will stop if it’s too much.” He slowed his pace, needing it to be good for her.
“It’s so good” she breathed, one of her legs wrapping around his. “Please don’t stop. Don’t ever stop” her words melting into moans as he continued to push slowly into her.
His heart soared at her response and he lowered his mouth to hers, swallowing her whimpers of pleasure as he kissed her lips. He told her that nothing compared to the first time they were together and he meant it because it had been an all-encompassing pleasure that he had never experienced before. But as she panted in pleasure beneath him, barreling toward a second climax, he wondered if every time he made love to her would feel more significant than the last.
Colin pulled away to look at her face when he felt Penelope begin to tense below him. Pleasure was once again written all over her face. Her eyes were closed, and her lips, flushed and swollen from his kisses, were parted to release the sounds of passion that she couldn’t keep in.
“Oh god Colin” she cried out as she began to climax for the second time that night.
Colin let go when he felt warmth spread in his pelvis and his testicles began to contract as his orgasm set in. Penelope’s inner walls squeezed and fluttered around him, her release milking him of his seed. He dropped his head to the crook of her shoulder and neck as he stilled inside her.
Penelope ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying his weight against her. She hoped it would be like this forever. That she would always feel this blissful, this complete.
She couldn’t stop the sound of dismay that escaped her when Colin finally rolled to the side, slipping free of her body. He reached down pulling the sheets up to cover them before he pulled her body toward his until she was tucked snugly under his arm into his side, her head coming to rest against his chest.
“How do you feel now?” he asked, his hand stroking softly up and down her spine.
“There aren’t any words to describe how I feel” she murmured.
“The greatest gossip writer in Mayfair has no words?” he asked sarcastically with a chuckle.
Pen swatted him playfully on his chest, smiling as she tipped her head up to look at him,
“Oh I have words” she stated matter-of-factly. “It’s just that none of them seem enough to describe how you make me feel.”
Colin tipped his head down to kiss her softly, having no words of his own. They lay in comfortable silence, both lost in thoughts of the other.
Colin thought about all the ups and downs it took to get them to this point and he realized something that he hadn’t before. Penelope had never had any expectations. She told him straight out that she didn’t expect anything from him when she asked him to kiss her for the first time. Even after they got carried away after he told her he had feelings for her in the carriage, she still never expected him to propose. Then after finding out that she was Whistledown, she didn’t expect him to go through with marrying her. She even made sure to absolve him of any duty to her in her letter after he stupidly accused her of entrapping him because they had already made love.
He felt tears prickle in his eyes. He had made her feel unworthy the whole time. She always put him before herself. He swore to himself he would never make her feel that way again.
“I love you,” he said, the only undeniable words he could say.
“I love you too” she responded softly, turning her face and placing a soft kiss on his chest before settling her head back down.
Penelope never thought she could feel this happy. She pushed all the turmoil that has happened over the last few weeks to the back of her mind and focused on all the good things. She didn’t think she could feel happier than she did in that carriage when he told her that he had feelings for her and ended the whole encounter with a proposal. She had gone to bed that night dreaming about the way his hands and mouth felt on her skin only to find out how much better it could be the next day.
“Pen?” Colin said her name, pulling her out of her thoughts of how his fingers felt unlacing her corset.
“Hmm” she hummed that she was listening.
“Do you remember the letter you sent me two days before our wedding?” he asked. Penelope rolled further toward him lifting herself up until half of her upper body was draped over his chest and propped her chin on the back of her hand resting on his peck so she could easily see his face.
“Of course” she answered. Letting him pull forward some of the bad that she was trying to push to the back of her mind. It was obviously something he wanted to talk about. Besides it piqued her curiosity because he had never replied to that letter or even mentioned it before now.
“I was just wondering how is it you know you are not with child?” he asked, his question surprising her a bit. “I mean... I have been privy to a lot of pregnancy talk lately between my mother and Kate.” He let his fingers play with a strand of her hair, twirling the soft curl into a coil as he spoke. “She mentioned how her pregnancy with me went unnoticed for a while because she had very few symptoms, and it’s just that it had only been a few weeks since our first time…..” Colin let his words trail off when he saw Penelope trying not to laugh, apparently amused by his question.
Colin had five sisters, counting Kate. Four of whom were well past the awkward stage of puberty, so she would think that he was privy to a woman’s plight, but then again maybe not. She grew up in a household of all girls, so she wasn’t quite sure what brothers would know on the subject. Was it something boys learned at school or men talked about amongst themselves at their club? He obviously had never taken a mistress and was never with a woman long enough for it to affect him directly. It thrilled her to know that she was the first and only woman he would have a long-term relationship with. He would become fully aware of her monthly times.
He may have heard a thing or two about pregnancy but they obviously wouldn't talk about the change in their courses. Penelope couldn’t imagine that Kate and Lady Bridgerton would discuss that particular detail in front of him. She herself hadn’t even known until her mother told her when she asked how a woman knows she is with child and she currently had two pregnant sisters who were constantly going on about their symptoms. Even they must not have known because they suspected their pregnancies when they experienced other symptoms. She could see how missing your courses could go unnoticed for a week or two but beyond that, she was sure she would know.
“Well...” Penelope began not knowing quite how to explain it. She thought she better just ask what he knows. “You know that women have monthly courses do you not?” She could feel the skin of his chest warm with a flush under her hand.
Colin was aware of women’s monthly times. He had lived in a house that was fifty percent female after all. Although he knew what women went through once they hit puberty, it was never anything that directly concerned him. It had never crossed his mind that Penelope’s time of the month would be something he would have to think about…… that is, until now.
How would he react the next time she got her courses? It was something completely natural he thought. It meant that Penelope’s body was doing what it was supposed to right?
“Colin?” Penelope’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. They would just have to cross that bridge when they came to it.
“Yes I know about it” was all he said.
“Well, the night before I sent you that letter my mother decided that it was time to tell me about marital relations.”
“But we had already….” Colin cut in making Penelope giggle.
“Yes we had but I was not going to tell my ma’ma that.”
“Right. Please continue,” he said, his hand once again tickling along the skin of her back.
“All I had been thinking about was how you said I entrapped you. I was sure you wouldn’t think that I would force a marriage simply because we had been intimate, so it had to be the possibility of a pregnancy.” Colin nodded that her assumption had been correct.
“I wasn’t sure exactly how I would know if I was expecting. It had only been a few weeks and I still felt completely normal. So I asked my mother how a woman would know if she were pregnant. She said that often the first sign that a woman would know that she is indeed with child is that she would miss her courses. My courses started like usual the week before, so I knew that I was not carrying your child” she finished and just watched his face to see how this revelation made him feel. He didn’t say anything just stared at the ceiling like he was lost in thought.
Colin didn’t know why but hearing her say she was not carrying his child gave him a pang of sadness.
“Once my mother told me that, I knew I had to let you know….. Let you break our engagement if you wanted to.” She felt him hold his breath for only a second, like the thought of her words caused him pain. While all of this is easier to talk about now that they are married and happy, it still stings a bit knowing how it all started. “Colin….. what are you thinking?”
“I never wanted to,” he said looking at her. Her eyebrows knit in confusion. “I never wanted to break our engagement" he explained. "No matter how angry and betrayed I felt, I still loved you to no end. I never should have said you planned to entrap me. I spoke out of anger. Please say you’ll forgive me.”
“Of course I forgive you,” she said, placing a kiss on his chest to punctuate her words.
They grew quiet once again. Penelope laid her head back down on his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart while her fingers swirled through his chest hair. She hoped it would always be like this. Evenings of making love to her husband and then laying blissfully naked against his body, able to talk about anything and everything. Then fall into this perfect silence while his hands gently stroked her skin until he lulled her to sleep.
“Perhaps...” Penelope startled when Colin spoke.
“Sorry, I was drifting off,” she said making them both giggle. “What were you saying?” she asked looking back up at him.
“What I was saying is that perhaps there is a possibility that we made a baby tonight.” Colin watched her face for her reaction.
Penelope lifted her head completely so she could see his face properly. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? They both wanted children and it was obviously assumed that they would have them someday, but he seemed almost eager to have them.
“Would you like that?” she asked a little tentatively, in case she was reading him wrong.
Colin brought his hand up to her face, letting his thumb trace over her lips and cheek before sliding his fingers into her hair as he cupped her face.
“I can just imagine a little girl with bright blue eyes and red hair that is perhaps a bit darker than yours, she would have to get something from me after all” he smiled at her.
“What if it’s a boy?” she asked through a smile of her own, talking as if they had indeed made a baby.
“Well I suppose he would have blue eyes also,” he said with a chuckle.
“I guess we are officially in the baby race then.” Pen commented.
“Baby race?”
“I suppose with everything that has been going on I forgot to tell you. It turns out that the Featherington title and estate has been bequeathed to the firstborn male child that one of us has….. my sisters and I that is.”
“So our child would be the next Baron Featherington?” Colin questioned a little excited about the prospect of his child getting a title.
“I mean there is a possibility, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up so soon. Both of my sisters are already expecting and let us not forget that the baby would have to be a boy. Even if my sisters didn’t have boys you may just get that little girl you imagined” she teased.
“If we all happened to have girls then I suppose the race will just continue. You know how competitive us Bridgertons are,” he said with a cheeky grin. “In fact, this may be my favorite race I have ever had the pleasure of being wrangled into.” Penelope giggled at that and leaned up to kiss his smiling lips.
“I do believe the pleasure is all mine” she flirted.
Colin suddenly rolled them over, using his knees to once again part her legs so that he could drop his hips into the cradle of her body. Lowering his head to kiss along the skin of her neck, sending tingles through her whole body.
“I suppose it’s been longer than ten minutes” Penelope teased. Colin lifted his head to look at her with a smile matching her own. He loved how confident she had become.
“I just found out that I am in a baby-making race and I plan to give it my every endeavor, unless, that is, you have any objections?” he quipped.
Penelope shook her head. In what world would she ever object to her husband’s amorous attentions? She craved his touch, his kiss, his…… well, everything.
He smirked and lowered his head to kiss her slowly. His tongue slid over her bottom lip asking for entrance that she gave with a sighing hum. It was a gentle duel of tongues and lips that reignited the flame of need in both of them. Penelope moaned into his mouth and lifted her hips, sliding herself against his growing erection, needing friction in other places.
“Mmm. Topping from the bottom Mrs. Bridgerton?” he asked, delightfully amused by her abandon.
“I don’t know what that means,” she said, her voice breathy with need. Her display of innocence made him chuckle.
He didn’t explain, instead he pushed his hips against hers again, feeling her arousal coat him, watching her lips part on a gasp. He pressed his lips back to hers briefly before dragging them across the line of her jaw toward her ear. He inhaled the flowery scent of her hair. A scent that was uniquely Penelope.
“Do you want me?” he murmured into her ear. He knew the answer already, not just by how slick she was, but by the way he could feel her heart racing when his lips drew close to her pulse point. By how her skin grew warmer and her breathing grew quicker. A woman has never said they wanted him like this before and it honestly never mattered to him before now. But something inside him needed to hear that Penelope wanted him. Needed to hear his wife say it.
He felt her nod, her cheek rubbing against his. It was everything but not enough at the same time. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Tell me” he urged, moving against her slowly once again. It was a tease but one he knew they were both enjoying.
“I want you,” she said softly, holding his gaze.
Her affirmation was everything he didn’t know he needed. He dropped his mouth to hers, kissing her passionately as he pushed into her.
Colin made love to his wife slowly, drawing out her pleasure. He planned to show her how much he wanted her for the rest of his life. Even if they didn’t make a baby that night or the next or even the one after that, he knew they would at least have fun trying.