In Front of the Fireplace...

'I'm completely infatuated with this man...' Gabrielle thought to herself. She wouldn't have been waiting there, like that, for him if she weren't. Her eyelids shut over her blue eyes, and she lay back on the sheepskin rug, feeling the soft plush of the rug crush into her skin, imagining the warmth from the fireplace was his body warming hers. She raked her fingers through her long, dark curls to sweep them out of her face as she opened her eyes to check the clock on the wall above the mantle; still another hour and a half before he was expected to arrive. She reached to lift the wineglass off of the hearth and brought it to her rouged lips. She took a few sips, leaving a shadow of the full shape of her lips on the rim of the glass. Breathing deeply, she smelled the candles she had recently lit in the room, and closed her eyes again as her thoughts turned to him. Her body shivered as her hands slid over the thin fabric of her gown, across her stomach and over the curve of her hip, imagining it was his hands touching her.

She was accustomed to being treated with respect by men; the early 1900s were not a primitive time, but not many 23-year-old females managed a plantation, and she did so marvelously. Most men, however, made her feel awkward, as though she made them uncomfortable. This man, though... Robert made her feel like an equal; he seemed perfectly comfortable discussing any business matter with her. Yet he always went out of his way to treat her like a lady; opening doors, pulling out her chair, standing when she walked into a room. And, God, his smile...

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The first time she met Robert, she had traveled to England to discuss an export/import agreement with his father, Mr. Hudson, who was interested in the profit her cotton was promising. Upon her arrival, she was met not by Mr. Hudson, but by a younger man, though still around 10 years her senior. He introduced himself as Robert Hudson, Mr. Hudson's son, and expressed his apologies for his father's inability to meet her; he had been called away by a family emergency, but such was his interest in Gabrielle's proposal that he asked Robert to stay behind to discuss the details.

"Hello, Mr. Hudson. I'm Gabrielle Lee. Pleased to meet you." Gabrielle said, confused by the amused expression that began snaking across Robert's face.

"Mr. Hudson is my father, Mrs. Lee. Please call me Robert." he said, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It's Miss Lee. Or Gabrielle. I'm sorry, sir, have I said something funny?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"No, Miss Lee, I'm sorry. It's just... your accent..." he began.

"My accent?" she cried, bursting into laughter. "I've barely understood two out of three words since I've been here!"

And so began the easy rapport they developed. Robert insisted they have their meetings over dinner, and they always stayed for hours talking every night, with barely half being spent discussing business matters. She knew the gossips of this small English town were likely talking about her every morning; it was scandalous, a young unmarried American woman staying all hours of the night at the home of this respectable gentleman, and then boldly leaving every night in the small hours before dawn, as though nothing was amiss. She didn't care; they stayed up all night and talked to each other, relating to things that were so similar on both sides of the ocean, and laughing about the small differences. He made her laugh and made her comfortable. She relished the feeling.

Late one night in the Hudson home's library, they were sitting together on a sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace, discussing the last details of the agreement. She was actually trying to draw it out, dreading a return to her dull life back at home. When they had finally reached a conclusion that was profitable enough for both involved parties, Robert mentioned that his father would like him to travel to Georgia to see Gabrielle's plantation first-hand and deliver the final papers to be signed. Her heart leapt, and it was then she realized she was falling for this man. Gazing into his eyes, she saw that he recognized the emotion within her, and her heart felt like it would explode as he leaned toward her.

She felt his hands on both sides of her face a moment before his lips found hers. The passion coursed through his body, and she parted her lips to kiss him back. She surrendered to the moment, raising her arms to wrap around him. He slipped his hands from her face, down her neck and over her shoulders. His hands lingered for a moment on the front of her dress, resting on her heaving breasts, then slid to her hips, pulling her close to him. Her body melted into his. This was everything she'd ever hoped for. After the long, unexpected kiss, they drew apart, both breathing rapidly.

"I, um, I'll look forward to seeing you in Georgia in a few weeks, then," she stammered, straightening her hair and her dress as she stood, unable to keep the smile from playing across her lips.

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Gabrielle had been home for two and a half weeks when she received a letter from Robert. He was expecting to arrive on Tuesday. Tuesday! That was the next day! Her heart began fluttering in her chest. She needed to prepare!

She flitted about her home, straightening this and cleaning that, and her serving-girls laughed. They had seen women act like this, but never the lady of this house.

The next day, she met Robert as he arrived, and they hugged for a moment longer than necessary.

"I have a gift for you," he said, passing to her a rather long package wrapped in brown paper. She lifted the corner of the paper to reveal a swatch of sheepskin, and they shared a smile.

"It's beautiful," she said, "I know just the place for it."

"I have a meeting with an agent my father has stationed just north of here. I should arrive at your plantation by seven o'clock. We'll go over the paperwork then."

"I'll see you then," she responded, smiling.

Back at her plantation, Gabrielle dismissed her serving-girls for the night, and carried the package into her receiving room. Laying the paper-wrapped rug on the sofa, she retrieved an armful of firewood from the back porch. Once she had the fireplace going well, she lit a handful of candles, giving the room a nice glow. Climbing the stairs to her bedroom two at a time, she changed into a blue sheer gown. Heading back downstairs to the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of wine, and arranged that bottle and another in an ice bucket. Carrying her glass, the ice bucket, and another empty glass, she returned to the receiving room and set the items on the hearth.

She turned to the sofa and began unfolding the paper-wrapped rug. She lifted the rug by its edge and laid it on the floor, in front of the fireplace. Looking at it there, in front of the fireplace, she recognized the shape; this wasn't just a sheepskin rug, it was the very rug that used to adorn the Hudson home library, where they had shared their first kiss. Smiling, she lowered herself onto the rug, and lay back.

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Gabrielle woke to a soft knock on her front door, and heard Robert calling, "Gabrielle, are you here?"

"Come in, Robert," she called back to him, pulling the open bottle of wine from the ice bucket and filling the empty glass, then freshening her glass. She heard him open the front door, then step inside and close it behind him.

"Gabrielle, where are you?" he called, then stepped down the hallway and saw her through a wide open doorway, lying on her side on the sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace in her receiving room, one arm outstretched and offering him a wine glass.

He smiled and walked into the room, leaning down to pluck the glass from her hand.

"I've been waiting for you," Gabrielle said softly.

Sipping the wine as he pushed off his shoes with his feet, he laid down on the rug next to her. He set his glass on the floor away from the rug, then reached toward her and touched her cheek softly. "It's good to see you," Robert said. Gabrielle smiled at him as he leaned in toward her. Her eyes closed as his lips found hers, and the contact took her breath away. Her hands slid up his arms, over his shoulders, and wrapped around his neck.

Robert's hands slipped down her body, touching her through the thin fabric of her gown. As their kiss deepened, his hands snaked over her hip, and he pulled her to him, pressing their bodies together as forcefully as she was pressing their mouths together.

Gabrielle rolled over onto her back and Robert moved above her, kissing her face and her neck as his hands slid lower, to the hem of her gown. She moaned as she felts his hands under the gown, on her thighs, and his head moved to her chest, nibbling her pert nipples through the thin fabric. His hands lifted her gown, and she stretched her arms out as he pulled it from her body. He tossed the sheer gown away, and she shivered as she watched him lower his head once again to her breasts, this time with no fabric between his lips and her nipples. His hands roamed over her body; over her stomach, up the sides of her body to cup her breasts, back down and across her hips, over her thighs.

His lips made a path of kisses from her breasts up her neck and to her lips again. Gabrielle moaned as their lips met, and his hands snaked under her hips to cup her bottom, pulling her body up to his. He released her, and his eyes drank her in as his hands explored her body again. She deftly maneuvered her hands to the buttons of his shirt, quickly unsnapping them and pushing it back off of his shoulders. As her hands stroked up the length of his arms and over his shoulders, she smiled up at him. He returned the smile as he leaned down to kiss her again. She dropped her arms from around his shoulders, and felt him shudder when he felt her hands at his belt. She unclasped his belt, then loosened his pants and pushed them down as far as she could. Robert pulled away from the kiss to push his pants out of the way, then quickly turned back to Gabrielle and caught her mouth with his again.

Gabrielle moaned out loud as she felt the weight of his length fall against her thigh. Their kiss deepened, and Robert's hands wandered her body, kneading her breasts, caressing her hips, and then his fingers found the slickness between her legs. One finger slipped easily into her body, as his thumb found the small nub just above. Gabrielle's body was writhing beneath him, and she was panting when he pulled away from their kiss to let her feel his swollen head at her entrance. He looked into her eyes, asking, and she raised her arms to his hips and pulled him into her. She closed her eyes and her body arched as she felt him stretching her. Their bodies drew closer together, and they moaned in unison when they were joined completely, hips against hips.

Robert pulled his hips away from her, feeling her body gripping him, squeezing him as he withdrew. He gripped her hips in his hands and held her body as he drove himself into her, more forcefully this time. Her eyes shot open and she looked at him, that smile playing across his lips again.

"I want to see you, Gabrielle. Look at me," he said softly, and she struggled to keep her eyes open as he withdrew again, her body still clutching him inside her. Developing a gentle but steady rhythm, he rocked into her, watching her face. He increased his speed, trying to match his tempo to her breaths. She began moaning with each stroke, and he could tell she was nearing her peak. Her breathing became ragged, and her body stopped moving with him, but was moving in an involuntary manner, jerking her hips up toward him. He gripped her to him tightly each time he drove into her, and soon she dug her nails into his back, holding her to him as she shivered and convulsed, her orgasm taking control of her entire body.

As her grip on his body eased, he continued stroking in and out of her body, moving slightly more easily now that her orgasm had come. His length still felt like it was being squeezed inside her, and she was moving with him now, meeting his strokes. This allowed him more speed, and he forcefully drove into her, then felt the tight grip of her body trying to hold him inside as he withdrew. He lost control and slammed his body into hers, sliding the rug across the floor. She moaned out loud as she neared another climax. His hands slipped under her body and pulled her to him as he sunk his body onto hers, shaking and moaning as he released into her. His hot, powerful orgasm pushed Gabrielle over the edge, and he felt her convulsions gripping him inside her as he drifted down.

Robert rolled his body off of Gabrielle's, his length slowly sliding out of her. He slipped his arm under her head, and kissed her on the forehead. She looked up at him and smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, Robert," she whispered sleepily.

"No, thank you, my dear. This is the most promising relationship I've ever been sent to secure."

'I'm completely infatuated with this man...' Gabrielle thought to herself again as she drifted to sleep in his arms.