Corrected by the Colonel (11 page)

***

         
When she woke again the sun shone through the windows. She reached across the mattress for Blaise but she was alone in the bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced around their room. No sign of him.

         
Cassandra sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly very alone.

         
Of course she could not expect him to spend every moment with her, and he had mentioned some business which needed his attention, but after the intimacy of their wedding night, waking to find his side of the bed empty jabbed at her heart.

          
She dressed and realized she was quite hungry. Looking back, it had been more than a day since she'd eaten. Did she dare to ring for food? She had no money. Was she permitted to add an expense to Blaise's bill? Ought she to wait for him so they could eat together?

          
She searched the room for a note from him indicating his intentions and whereabouts. Finding none, she decided to put her needs before his, since that was obviously what he had done. No, she certainly would not wait around for him to give her permission to eat.

          
After the closeness they had shared, it hurt to think he'd abandoned her so quickly. She'd heard whispers of married men who kept mistresses. Was Blaise such a man?

         
She hated to think about it, but he clearly had experience making love. She imagined him with other women and wanted to scratch their eyes out.

          With her hat firmly pinned in place, she prepared to leave. Whether she ate or not, she would not sit around like a lap dog waiting for Blaise to return. She'd show him.

         
She squared her shoulders with determination and reached for the doorknob.

         
The door swung open before her hand touched it. Blaise, laden down with packages entered the room. A maid carrying a tray of food followed.

         
The maid worked quickly and soon a beautiful breakfast was spread on the sideboard. "Thank you," Blaise excused her with a few coins slipped into her palm.

         
When they were alone Blaise appraised her with his eyes. "Were you going out?"

          
"You left me. How was I to know what to do?" She defended against the accusation in his tone.

          
"You were sleeping so soundly, I did not expect you to wake before I returned. I apologize if I worried you."

         
Cassandra swiped at the tears threatening the corners of her eyes.

          
"Why are you crying, Cassie?" Blaise said softly, cupping her chin in his hand.

         
Her lips quivered and she fought against the wave of emotion building inside. "I don't know."

         
Blaise tipped her chin up until her eyes met his. He didn't say a word, though his stern expression said plenty. "Did you think I had abandoned you? Simply left without a care for your well-being?"

         
A single tear slipped from her eye and meandered down her cheek. "You weren't here. I did not know what to think."

        
"But you obviously thought something, and it doesn't seem like whatever it was flattered me, is that right?"

         
"Yes," she said, her voice a shame filled whisper.

         
Blaise released her chin and turned away from her. Her heart plunged to her feet. If he hadn't planned to abandon her before, he certainly must be now.

         
When he turned back to her, the hurt look in his eyes stabbed at her heart. "I thought you promised to trust me, Cassandra."

         
His use of her full name gave her pause. "Y-yes, I did."

         
"And is assuming I have abandoned you a sign of trust?"

         
She felt lower than a piece of mud on a shoe, but she answered. "No, it is not."

         
"Do you not believe I want to take care of you? Be a good husband to you?"

         
By now more tears streamed down her cheeks and Cassandra felt her whole world slipping away with them. "I am sorry," she whispered. "I have spoiled everything."

         
Blaise gathered her in his arms and pressed her tear streaked cheek to his shoulder. "Hush now. You have not ruined everything. We just need to work more on trust."

         
She snuffled into his jacket and then looked up at him. "How does one work on trust?"

          
He unpinned her hat and set it on a table, then deftly removed the pins from her hair. "I have promised to take care of you. Now I must fulfill that promise."

         
"By taking down my hair?" Cassandra tried to push the unruly curls away from her face.

         
"You are mine to take care of and that is what I intend to do." He worked the fastenings at the back of her dress and lowered it for her to step out of.

         
His actions confused her. How could standing around in her undergarments build trust? However, she had nearly botched everything with her doubts, so she kept quiet.

         
"First," Blaise said and lead her to the table, "you need to have a proper breakfast." Once she was seated he picked up her napkin, but rather than placing it in her lap, he crafted a blindfold from it.

         
She stiffened when she realized his intention. "Remember, Cassandra, you must learn to trust me."

         
She breathed deeply and worked to focus her tempestuous thoughts.

         
With hands clasped in her lap, she listened while Blaise moved about the room. Based on the sounds, she assumed he was getting himself breakfast. Her stomach rumbled and she licked her lips.

         
Blaise moved a chair to sit right next to her. "It is important to eat properly, don't you agree, Cassie?"

         
Was he taunting her? Would she be forced to sit blindly by while he enjoyed a luscious breakfast? She inhaled deeply—all her favorites—their aroma filled her nostrils and she licked her lips.

         
Without her sense of sight, her other senses were heightened and she recognized the sound of Blaise cutting food on his plate. She imagined a thick slice of bacon and her mouth watered.

         
A soft tap on her lip caught her attention. "Open please," Blaise said. When she complied, a delicious piece of bacon was placed upon her tongue. She smiled around the morsel of food.        "Thank you," she said.

          
"Did you think I would deny you food? Did I not just tell you that I intend to take good care of you?"

***

         
It pained his heart when Blaise realized Cassie thought he would enjoy breakfast and not allow her to do the same. She was so different from all the spoiled, entitled, bratty young women of his acquaintance.

         
Next he sliced an apple and held it under her nose and watched her delicate nostrils flare with recognition of the scent before offering her a bite. A trickle of juice slipped along her chin. He kissed it away.

         
He continued feeding them both, watching her face relax as she realized he would indeed take care of her needs.

          
When they finished, he dabbed a napkin to the corners of her mouth. Her small smile filled him with warmth as he helped her from her chair.

         
She moved stiffly as he guided her away from the table. "Relax." He swatted her bottom and followed with a soft squeeze.

          
She giggled and gripped his arm. "I am not used to being lead around."

         
"Yes, usually you are the one leading. It's time to learn to follow my lead."

         
Her pink tongue slipped over her lips nervously.

         
He tugged at the ribbons holding her undergarments in place and watched her gasp as they fell to the floor.

         
For a moment he studied her nude form, so creamy and delectable. Memories of their couplings the night before stirred his libido and his cock strained against his pants. He wanted nothing more than to bend her over the side of the bed and ram his cock into her tight little pussy and listen to her moans of pleasure.

         
But first things first.

         
He dug through the stack of purchases he'd made that morning and pulled out a pair of pantaloons, split in the centered and gathered at each ankle with layers of lace. He slipped the garment over his bride's bare feet and up the creamy length of her legs, skimming his fingers along the tender flesh of her inner thighs.

         
Cassandra clasped his shoulders to steady herself, a soft blush on her cheeks. "Pantaloons? I've never owned a pair."

         
"I want my wife to have pretty things," he whispered in her ear. Cassandra sighed and leaned against his body. Unable to resist, he slipped his arms around her from behind and cupped her breasts in his hands, using his thumbs to tease the pink tips of her nipples. In response, she ground her pantalooned backside against his groin.

         
He slipped his hands inside the opening of her new undergarments and caressed the smooth globes of her backside, pulling them apart and pressing a thumb against her puckered bottom opening. "Do you remember when I touched you here while we were in the stable?"

         
Her breath quivered through her body. "Yes," she whispered huskily.

          
"I am going to do more than use my thumb this time." She gasped and he kissed her shoulder. "Do you trust me?"

         
In answer she pressed her backside into his hand.

         
"Good girl," he whispered against her shoulder blade.

***

           Anticipation fluttered in Cassandra's stomach. Well she remembered their interlude in the stable. She'd felt shameful and thrilled and she was glad her eyes were covered so Blaise might not see the hunger in them.

         
Much as it was difficult to adjust to being unable to see what was happening, Cassandra took comfort in it. Completely at Blaise's mercy, she gave up any semblance of responsibility for her actions.

          
The silky fabric of her new pantaloons enticed her legs and brushed against the sensitized lips of her sex. Her husband's hands skimmed the delicate flesh of her back and shoulders before returning to work her rear end.

         
Without the option of gazing about the room or even glancing over her shoulder at Blaise, all her attention focused on his touch. His hands were strong yet she knew they could be tender as well. Her anxieties melted away while he plundered the slickness of her female passage. "Little Cassie, you are so wet. I believe you enjoy being blindfolded, do you not?"

          
"It is more enjoyable than I expected it would be." She gasped when he touched the nub of her desire and massaged it with his fingers until her legs quivered. As she moved closer to the edge of climax, Blaise coated her bottom opening with the slick juices of her sex and worked his thumb slowly inside.

         
He bent her over the edge of the bed and separated the moons of her backside. "Relax, Little Cassie." The head of his manhood touched the opening where his thumb had been and pushed forward. Cassandra braced herself against the bed and focused on loosening the muscles of her bottom while her husband entered her opening there. Slowly he filled her and she moaned with the pleasure of it.

         
Blaise paused to allow them both to become accustomed to the sensations assaulting them and then proceeded to stroke in and out, building tempo with each movement. Cassandra clutched the bedclothes in her fists and muffled her cries of pleasure in the mattress.

         
Where their couplings of the night before had been intimate, the plundering of her backside exemplified an entirely new level of not just intimacy, but a feeling of being owned, possessed, of totally belonging to her husband.

         
With a final thrust, the warmth of her husband's seed filled her and the two of them collapsed upon the bed.

         
Gentle fingers removed the blindfold and Blaise gazed into her eyes. "Now, you truly are mine."

Chapter Ten

          
"Blaise, 'tis outrageous," Cassandra chided her husband, gesturing to the heap of gowns, gloves, hats and shoes on the bed. "I have never seen so many clothes before. I shall never be able to wear them all."