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Chapter Text

Penelope

“I shall sleep on the sofa tonight.”

The simple sentence repeated constantly in Penelope Featherington’s—no, Penelope Bridgerton’s mind through the short carriage ride. She kept her gaze firmly on the window, not really seeing anything going on outside—her mind too busy racing, her heart too broken.

Colin Bridgerton, her new husband, was seated across from her in that same carriage, but she certainly couldn’t bring herself to look at him. He had uttered the sentence so simply—so definitively that it made her stomach ache. “I shall sleep on the sofa tonight.”

Granted, things between them had certainly been strained since he found out she was Lady Whistledown. She wasn’t expecting him to just scoop her off her feet after their marriage breakfast and carry her laughing and gleeful to bed afterwards. Penelope was hopeful, though, that, once home, they would have the privacy to continue the discussion they had begun the night prior, and that, maybe, just maybe they would find themselves falling into bed with one another.

All her hope was dashed with that short sentence, though. Colin would not be falling anywhere with her. He’d be on the sofa while she slept alone in their marriage bed on their wedding night.

“We’re here,” Colin murmured across from her, immediately moving to climb from the carriage and extending his hand to help her down.

Penelope looked at him for the first time since entering the carriage and she didn’t like what she saw. He had that impassive mask on and was looking like he couldn’t care less about the situation at hand. It made her stomach roil.

For a second, Penelope considered being petty and refusing to take his hand. She certainly didn’t feel like touching him at the moment. However, in reality, her dress was long and rather voluminous at the bottom. If she were to try and climb from the carriage without his assistance, it was very much possible that she would fall flat on her face. And that was something that she definitely wanted to avoid doing in front of him.

Penelope took hold of his sturdy hand and carefully extricated herself and the train of her gown from the carriage without issue. She allowed him even to guide her up the walkway to the front door of their new home, but froze on the threshold. The last time she was there, he was excitedly dragging her inside, his smile wide and earnest. In that present moment, though, he couldn’t be looking at her any more differently and it sent a fresh wave of pain beating through her battered little heart.

Colin was looking down at her, his still neutral expression carefully in place. But it was clear he was giving her time, giving her a moment to compose herself before he turned the knob and they finally crossed the threshold. It was only a small comfort to her, but still a glimmer of the thoughtful gentleman and friend she knew resided within the man before her.

Eventually, Penelope steeled herself to continue and gave him a tight nod. Colin didn’t hesitate any further, turning the knob and pushing the door open to reveal the foyer of their marital home. What had been previously covered in dust and sheets was now gleaming, spotlessly clean and freshly painted. It was a lovely formal entry way.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Bridgerton,” a slightly raspy female voice spoke beside them, drawing Penelope’s attention to the small gathering of staff that lined the wall. “Mrs. Bridgerton.”

Penelope swallowed. It was the first time anyone had referred to her by that name. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it, so she forced a smile and a nod.

“Mrs. Newell is our new housekeeper,” Colin introduced with a congenial smile. “She’s very experienced and I’m sure will take the very best care of us.”

Mrs. Newell appeared a little surprised by Colin’s generous words, her cheeks tinging slightly pink. Penelope knew all too well how it felt to be the subject of Colin’s compliments and charm. Mrs. Newell managed to clear her throat and recover professionally. “Of course, sir.”

Colin went about introducing the footmen, cook, and maids. Penelope did her best to smile and commit their names to memory, but she was fairly certain she would need to ask Colin to remind her. Her mind was too full to retain much of anything in that moment.

“Would you like to do a formal tour of the home now or perhaps another time?” Mrs. Newell offered, glancing unsure between Penelope and Colin.

Penelope knew the importance of a good relationship between the lady of the house and her housekeeper. That tour would be an important first step in forging that bond, but she felt far too overwhelmed to take it on now, especially as she stood there in her wedding dress still and all the emotions of the day hanging over her head.

Colin looked over at Penelope, his eyes assessing her face silently for a split second before turning back to their housekeeper. “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Newell, but I think Penelope would like to settle in today. I’m sure she’ll take you up on that tour another day this week.”

Penelope swallowed, grateful for Colin’s accurate interpretation, and found her voice. “Yes, thank you, Mrs. Newell. I’d love a tour tomorrow perhaps.”

The housekeeper smiled at her kindly. “Of course, ma’am.”

“Penelope’s lady’s maid Rae will be arriving shortly,” Colin added as he extended his arm for Penelope to take. “Please feel free to send her up to our rooms when she arrives so she can help her with her dress.”

Penelope felt her stomach roil once more. Another reminder of how wrong that day had somehow gone. Rae would be helping her remove her wedding dress that afternoon—not Colin.

Mrs. Newell didn’t appear surprised by Colin’s comment. She simply nodded and assured him she would follow suit. As Colin and she walked slowly upstairs arm-in-arm, Penelope suspected that was more due to the housekeeper’s years of practice in a role like this rather than any lack of surprise on her part. It was a little unusual to have a lady’s maid help a bride out of her wedding dress after all. That honor usually fell to the bride’s eager new husband.

If Penelope found it difficult to stand at the front steps of their new home and think back about her previous visit, standing in their personal rooms was positively impossible. Once the doors were closed and they were alone in there, Colin himself looked a little unnerved too, a fact that did little to comfort her.

An awkward, tense silence stretched between them—the two of them standing on opposite sides of the room with the infamous settee between them. The settee that Colin and she spent the afternoon on exploring a whole world of pleasure and intimacy that she had no idea even existed. The settee that Colin would apparently be spending their wedding night alone. Penelope never knew a piece of nondescript furniture could loom so large.

She realized in that moment that she had been composed and steady for about as much time as she was going to be able to manage. It was time to get away from Colin, get away from that settee, before she broken down entirely. So, Penelope turned on her heel, gathering her tulle skirts carefully so as not to trip, and strode over to the bedchamber.

Before she shut the wooden door behind her, Penelope turned back to tell Colin to just send Rae right in when she arrived. Her words get caught in her throat at the expression on his face, though. His mask had fully slipped and gone was that cool, unbothered man from earlier and in his place was her Colin. His dark blue eyes sad and his posture slightly slumped.

Part of her wanted to abandon her spot at the door, to run across the room and embrace him. To hold him and refuse to let go until he promised to figure this out with her—to find a path forward. But that would require too much vulnerability, too much openness from her. She didn’t have it in her to give him any more than she already had that day.

Instead, it was Penelope’s turn to be cool and unbothered. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “Please send Rae in when she arrives. I don’t want to be disturbed otherwise, though.”

Before he had a chance to process her words, before she would have to watch his expression change in any way, Penelope turned back to face her new bedroom and let the door click shut between them.

Colin

When Colin Bridgerton envisioned how he was going to spend the evening of his wedding, he had no shortage of ideas and aspirations. Pacing the small sitting room in their personal quarters for hours on end was not one of them, though.

It was a form of torture, he’d decided, being stuck on the other side, the wrong side, of the bedroom door. There was no one to complain to, however. It was self-imposed torture. He was trying to stand firm in his opposition to Pen continuing anything to do with Lady Whistledown. A foolish, reckless venture even to start with, carrying on with her gossip sheet now was positively dangerous with the Queen out for blood. The fact that she was intent on continuing it scared him more than he’d ever been scared in his life. He needed to make her see reason, to stop. It was the only way he could keep her safe, which may be his legal responsibility as her husband now, but it was also his foremost desire as a man in love with her. If he had to be steadfast, distant, and even a little cruel to accomplish it, then so be it. Penelope’s well-being was worth more to him than anything else.

He may be committed to the mission at hand, but that didn’t mean it was easy to stay on the other side of the door. It was hard. Never more so than when Penelope’s lady’s maid arrived after about twenty minutes and slipped quickly into the bedchamber. Colin had to physically hold onto the sides of the chair he sat in beside the fireplace to keep himself from bursting through the bedroom door and banishing Rae entirely. It should have been his fingers unbuttoning Penelope’s beautiful silk wedding gown, unlacing her corset, and shimmying down her petticoats. It should have been his eyes watching all the white layers of fabric pool on the floor one by one until Penelope, his wife, was bare before him. It should have been him.

Instead, like a fool maybe, he remained frozen in place on his chair. Rae emerged eventually, having stayed longer than he initially envisioned. She swept quickly and quietly through the room, but for a brief second he thought the lady’s maid might have been giving him a dirty look. It was over too quickly to tell, though, and Penelope and Colin were alone once again in their personal quarters.

As he paced the floor, Colin had plenty of time to think about everywhere he’d went wrong over the last few weeks. One had clearly been with this room. When he’d discussed properties with Antony, his brother had pointed out the lack of separate bedchambers for husband and wife. In his view at the time, that was certainly not a shortcoming. He was eager to share a bed with Penelope. He wanted to share everything with Penelope. Now, though, it felt like he was stuck in a prison of his own design.

Colin knew he was being a tad dramatic. He was the man of the house. He was more than allowed to leave their personal quarters and sleep in a guest room or at least sit in the library or sitting room. It felt wrong, though. The staff would all know that Colin didn’t spend the night with his wife and word would probably spread slowly throughout the ton from there. He was pretty confident it wouldn’t end up in Whistledown considering the circumstances, but still. He didn’t want anyone thinking that he didn’t desire his wife. He very much desired her. He was just drawing a line and refusing to cross it.

As the hours ticked by and the sky outside slowly darkened, Colin felt no more at peace than he had when Penelope shut the door on him in her wedding dress. The only difference was that he’d loosened the cravat at his neck, shucked his formal jacket, and was beginning to wear a pattern into the brand new rug with all his pacing.

Colin’s attention finally fixated on the settee in the center of the room. He’d managed to avoid looking at it somehow for a few hours, but sleep was drawing nearer and he’d need to face it eventually.

That settee had been the setting of what was without a doubt the most exquisite afternoon of his entire life. Penelope laid out, completely bare and waiting—all her creamy, soft, supple skin on display for his eyes and his eyes only. He’d taken her innocence there, his eyes drifting shut, unable to resist the images and sensations swimming around in his memory. It was very ungentlemanly of him to have laid with her the way he did, but he was overcome. Colin had never wanted anything more than he wanted her in that moment. And she was all too willing to give herself to him.

Now look at them. Spending their wedding night apart from one another—just a few feet away in distance but it might as well have been miles for as far away as she felt from him in that moment.

Colin paused his pacing in front of the window, his own reflection looking back at him. The man who laid with Penelope on that settee wouldn’t recognize him. That man would call him a fool to deny himself her company all because he was… what? Afraid? Angry? Jealous?

Colin leaned against the wall and buried his face in his hands. His head ached over all this. It was agony quarreling with Penelope. He just wanted to give in, relent. To say she won and she could be Lady Whistledown or whoever she damned well pleased so long as he could always occupy the space beside her. That would be enough for him.

But it wasn’t enough, the voice in the back of his mind reasoned. Colin couldn’t just relent so easily—not when the matter at hand was Penelope’s safety. Whistledown was dangerous. He couldn’t forget that. As much as he might want to in that moment.

In the end, Colin decided he might as well get to bed early and get some sleep. All his pacing and thinking wasn’t help matters any. His eyes glanced around the room looking for a blanket or a pillow and found neither. It would be a rather uncomfortable night on the sofa without either. He looked to the door and bit his lip while he thought. Penelope had asked not to be disturbed and he had intended to respect that. Surely he was allowed to seek out a pillow and blanket, though.

It took him a solid five minutes to work up the will to knock on the door, which was absolutely ridiculous considering it was his own bedroom door he was knocking on anyway.

“Come in,” Penelope called out quietly.

Colin hesitated a moment, a little overcome with just the sound of her voice after hours of agonizing on the other side of the door. But after a beat, he shook his head, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Penelope was sitting in a chair, a small book lying in her hands, gazing into the fire burning beside her. Colin didn’t know what he expected—maybe that she’d be in bed already. But instead she appeared to be wide awake. She was also dressed in the most intriguing thing he’d ever laid eyes on. It was a thin, white, drapey nightdress—one that seemed to highlight her bosom and cascade down the rest of her in loose layers. Her red hair shone in the light from the fire, hanging brushed out and loose over her shoulders.

It was the first time Colin was seeing Penelope in her night clothes. The first time Colin was seeing her with her hair completely free. It felt momentous to him.

“Colin?” Penelope questioned, making Colin shake his head slightly and come back to reality.

He felt his cheeks tinge pink and cleared his throat. “I only need a blanket for the settee.”

Penelope’s eyes flickered shut in sadness or disappointment for the briefest of moments before she nodded. “Of course.”

Colin saw a spare pillow and blanket resting atop a trunk at the foot of the bed and he crossed the room to retrieve it. With his hand back on the door knob, he was so close to leaving and shutting the door behind him before he froze.

No, no, no, Colin thought, as his resolve, his steadfastness began to drift out of reach. It was a mistake coming in here. He should have just slept uncomfortably on the settee. It was too hard to resist now being on the other side of the door, within view and reach of Penelope. She’s all he wanted. She’s all he needed.

“Pen,” he choked out, still facing the door and even letting his head fall forward to rest against the wood.

He heard her chair move, indicating that she’d risen, but no verbal answer otherwise.

“I don’t want to sleep on the settee,” Colin said quietly, still not managing the courage to turn and face her.

Colin heard her breath hitch slightly before she answered. “I don’t want you to sleep on the settee either.”

With that encouragement, he finally turned to face her. She was still several paces away, but she was in fact up on her feet. Colin suppressed a groan at the sight of her—she was even more alluring in that nightdress standing up than she was sitting down. He couldn’t believe that he almost missed getting a proper view of it at all. That would have been the biggest waste of the century.

The two of them remained frozen in place for several seconds, eyes both blazing and chests slightly heaving in anticipation. Suddenly, something broke in them at the same time and Colin was tossing his pillow and blanket and Penelope her book. They were in each other’s arms, lips locked in record time from there.

Colin peppered her with kisses, his movements frantic and desperate. He almost missed out on this. He almost went to sleep without kissing her, without touching her. He couldn’t imagine that now standing here in their bedroom with her in his arms.

Penelope moaned softly as his tongue sought entrance, her perfect, pink lips parting for him and allowing him in. Colin’s hands held gently at her hips and pushed her backwards until she hit the foot of their bed and came to a stop.

A surprised “oof” left her lips and had them separating a few inches for the first time. It gave Colin a few seconds to think, to breathe—to remember why it was he was trying to avoid coming in here in the first place.

“I’m very cross with you still, Penelope,” Colin breathed, his hands at her hips tightening, almost assuring her despite his words he wasn’t letting her go.

Penelope swallowed, her pale blue eyes searching her face. “I know. I’m a little cross with you too in fact.”

Colin opened his mouth to argue, to find out what on Earth she had to be upset with him about. Instead of asking, of starting a fight and ruining it all, though, he buried it. Colin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them once more.

“How about, behind these doors, we call a truce?” he suggested, one hand snaking its way up from her hip to cup the side of her face. “In these four walls, neither one of us is cross with the other.”

“Deal,” Penelope breathed, her teeth digging into her bottom lip as her eyes scanned his face.

Colin couldn’t help the smile that overtook his face as he returned his lips to Penelope’s. This was exactly where he belonged.

Penelope

Penelope was in bed with Colin Bridgerton. Correction—Penelope was in her marital bed with her husband Colin Bridgerton. And he was hovering above her, kissing her like his life depended on it.

This was quite a turn of events. She had fully resigned herself to sleeping in this giant bed alone for their first night in their new home. Colin had appeared set in his decision to spend the night on the settee. Penelope knew—or at least she thought she knew—that look on his face when he spoke, and all the things he’d said later reaffirming it, meant he was serious. He wasn’t backing down. There was only one thing that she could say or do to convince him otherwise and they both knew it wasn’t something she was willing to back down on either.

Yet, here Colin was, seemingly doing the opposite of what he’d said. Penelope wasn’t complaining, though. She was all too eager to agree to his bedroom truce.

Colin had one hand tangled in her hair, the other holding his weight up so as not to crush her. As they kissed and tangled together, though, Penelope found herself tugging on that arm propping himself up. She wanted to feel his full weight atop her. She wanted to know what it was like to be completely enveloped by Colin Bridgerton. It’s possible this might be her only chance—they hadn’t discussed how long this tenuous truce would last.

Penelope shoved that thought from her mind. There was plenty of time to worry about the future, but not in that moment. She needed to be present. She needed to be aware of every single thing that Colin was doing so that she could catalogue it in her memory and keep it always.

Colin’s lips separated from hers for a few moments to catch his breath, but he managed to whisper in her ear. “You look so beautiful, Pen. I can’t resist you.”

Penelope felt herself warm from the inside out. She did feel rather pretty in that nightdress, but Colin’s compliment really put it over the top for her. Initially she had questioned her mother’s and Genevieve’s insistence that she would need at least five new nightdresses for the honeymoon period. Perhaps she should thank them after all.

Colin’s hand that was in her hair began to slowly drift along her cheek, her neck, her collarbone—finally coming to rest at her bosom. Penelope’s heart sped up and her chest began heave slightly in anticipation and at the warmth she could feel emanating from Colin’s palm even through the fabric of her nightdress.

Colin’s eyes, currently a shade of blue so dark they nearly appeared black, were wild. Yet he was still pausing to seek her permission to continue. Penelope granted that permission in the form of her own small hand lifting to squeeze his against her breast and then a quick, breathless nod.

Colin groaned as his hand, still attached to her own, began to massage and fondle her bosom through the thin fabric of her nightdress. Penelope couldn’t help the quiet gasps and whimpers that escaped her lips as his ministrations intensified—nor could she help the way her nipples tightened and hardened.

After a bit, Colin slipped his hand inside the top of her garment, his big, warm hand palming her bare breast properly for the first time all night. Penelope’s noises grew a little louder over time, a little needier as he repeated everything he did above her clothes now underneath it.

Penelope, thoroughly enjoying the attention of Colin’s hands, decided to tease him a bit herself. She knew enough from their last encounter that the member between his legs was sensitive to the touch. He’d instructed her to touch him anywhere but there the last time, but she thought she’d press her luck and try again. Maybe it was alright if she did it over his breeches.

Penelope’s hand made a slow path from his shoulder down his body, pulling carefully at his tucked in shirt and slipping her hand inside to hold his firm, muscled side for a few seconds. She loved the way his bare skin felt on her hands and honestly didn’t know how she’d survived the last few weeks without it. She hoped to never go this long without touching him again for as long as she lived.

When Penelope felt bold enough, she let her hand subtly slide down and over to cup the bulge in his breeches. The second her hand was in place, Colin’s hips stuttered and jolted against her—his member being thrust further into her grip—and he let out a strangled sound from somewhere deep inside him.

Penelope’s eyes blinked at him in slight surprise but also with a little pride. She couldn’t help the smirk that spread across her lips at the look on Colin’s face as she gently squeezed him. His mouth was agape and his eyes screwed shut in the pleasure. She recognized it because it was so alike the face he made when he peaked inside her just outside that very door a few weeks prior.

“Pen,” Colin rasped after a few seconds, a hand of his own coming to cover hers and halt her movements. “Please. You will be the death of me if you keep that up.”

Penelope smiled and shook her head lightly. “I don’t want to kill you, Colin.”

Colin pressed a searing kiss to her lips before pulling back and rising to his feet. He began unbuttoning first his waistcoat, then his shirt before shucking them both to the floor.

Penelope shifted into a seated position on the bed and scooted all the way up to the headboard, her back pressed against it. From her new spot, she watched with rapt attention as he unbuckled and removed his belt and ultimately moved onto the fastening of his breeches. When he finished, and his trousers fell down his legs, Penelope sighed to herself at the sight of him there in front of the bed—his hard member standing proud and ready for her.

Colin’s chest heaved as he stood naked before her for a few seconds, his eyes just sweeping over her—almost as if he was imagining all the things he wanted to do to her. The thought sent a spark zipping up her spine in anticipation.

“Colin,” she called softly, unable to resist being so far apart from him any longer. She raised her hand to beckon him back to bed with her and, much to her chagrin, he dutifully followed suit.

Colin stepped around the pile of his clothing on the floor to slide back into bed, lying at her side as his hand attached itself to her hip and he pulled her into him. Both of Penelope’s hands cupped his face as she kissed him, long and hard and pouring every feeling she had for him into it.

“I want you, Pen,” he murmured against her swollen lips. “Do you want me?”

“Of course,” she answered against the skin of his jaw. “Of course I do, Colin.”

Penelope’s nightdress was bunched up high on her thighs, barely covering her most intimate parts. Colin’s hands running up and down her thighs certainly weren’t helping to keep it placed properly. It felt incredible, though, his thick, warm hands sliding over her skin, squeezing her bottom, pulling her somehow even closer to him.

Eventually, his hands drifted up underneath her nightdress and between her legs. Penelope tried to fight the smile spreading across her face, but Colin must have been able to feel it against his lips. He was pulling back a beat later and surveying her with a breathless grin of his own.

Colin’s fingers swept over her, gathering the wetness that had pooled between her legs, and coating his fingertips. He let out a soft groan, and said through his smile, “You want me too, Pen…”

“I told you I did,” Penelope answered before she gasped when one of those fingers slipped inside her where she was aching for his touch most.

As Colin’s lips worked at her neck and chest, his finger, soon two fingers, pumped slowly in her tight, wet channel. Penelope writhed and moaned as his pace intensified and his thumb sought out that magical little bundle of nerves at the top of her sex.

“God, Penelope…” Colin muttered against the skin at the top of her breast. “I love watching you find your pleasure.”

Penelope nodded, burying one of her hands in Colin’s unruly locks and holding him to her bosom. He quickly pulled down the front of her nightdress, his lips and tongue moving to tease her aching nipple. The dueling sensations of his fingers inside her and his mouth at her breast sent fire coursing through her veins. Penelope felt everything inside her tightening a little more with every passing movement—slowly lifting her higher and higher as she whimpered softly.

Finally, after Colin curled his fingers and managed to rub against some secret spot within her, all of the tension released in one big burst of light and energy. Penelope’s thighs shook, her breath came out in pants, and her hand gripped his hair so tightly she would have been worried she hurt him if she had the ability to think about anything other than how good she was feeling.

Colin’s fingers slowed as she came down from her high, but they never quite stopped moving over her swollen bud or inside her. At first it felt a little overwhelming. She was sensitive and still tingling from her peak. After a little bit, though, she felt a warm wave slowly cresting within her again.

“Colin,” Penelope said through a moan, her hips beginning to lift towards him despite herself.

“I need you, Pen…” he answered desperately, his own hips rolling against her, his hardness pressing against her thigh. “Please…”

“Of course,” Penelope murmured through a soft moan. “It is my wifely duty after all.”

Colin’s fingers froze and he lifted his head to look at her properly. His deep blue eyes, pupils blown wide, searched her face. “It is not an obligation, Pen. Never. I only want to take you if you want me to take you too.”

Penelope blinked up at him in slight surprise. She was only teasing when she referred to her “wifely duty,” but she supposed there was a little truth behind her words. In an incredibly awkward talk the night before, her mother had made it clear that, as his wife, it was expected of her to submit to Colin’s desires, especially on her wedding night. Portia obviously didn’t know about their dalliance at their would-be marital home a few weeks prior. She went on to explain that Penelope might not particularly enjoy Colin’s attentions in the bedroom. Penelope, though, knew just how intoxicating it could be to lay with him like that. If being available for him whenever he wanted her was her “wifely duty,” sign her up.

“I do want to, Colin,” she confirmed, her hands running over his arms, giving his biceps a reassuring squeeze. “It was only a small jest.”

Colin scrutinized her face for another few seconds before deciding she meant it. He kissed her cheek softly before drifting over to her lips and pressing one there. “There are no duties in this room. Only you and me and whatever we both want. You swear it?”

“I swear it, Colin,” Penelope insisted, squeezing his arms again. “Now, please…”

He smiled before nodding and shifting to hold himself atop her. Penelope’s hands shifted to his sides to hold him close to her as he pushed up her nightdress and lined his member up with her weeping center.

“You’re ready?” he asked one last time, one hand moving a few of her curls from her face.

Penelope nodded and surged forward to kiss him. Colin, having all the assurance he apparently needed, shifted his hips forward and began to press inside her. Her hands tightened at Colin’s sides as he slowly filled her inch by inch. He was right when he told her it would probably only hurt the first time—what she was feeling certainly wasn’t pain. But she did still appreciate the careful pace he was taking.

Colin let out a soft groan once he was fully seated inside her and Penelope closed her eyes and arched her back slightly. The sensation of being completely filled like that was incredible—one that she would struggle to find the words to describe should someone ever ask her. Joining as one like that, Penelope felt whole, right in a way she didn’t even know she was missing before.

Penelope’s hands ran over Colin’s back as he began to lightly pulse his hips and drive his manhood forward and back within her. The careful movements allowed Penelope the time and space for her arousal to grow, to form into a wave that was ebbing and flowing within her skin. Soon, her hips were rising from the bed to meet his movements, which only allowed him to drive himself deeper inside her.

“Oh fuck,” Colin cursed filthily, one hand sliding down her body to lift underneath one of her thighs and wrap her leg around his hips. Penelope got the message and copied the position with her other leg. He seemed pleased by this based on the way he nodded absently against her neck and pressed a wet kiss to her jaw.

Colin’s pace began to increase once she was wrapped around him like that. His free hand continued to grip her thigh, holding her there despite the fact she was making it pretty clear she wasn’t going anywhere. That new angle was incredible for her after all. It allowed his pelvis to rub against her swollen bud with every thrust of his hips and it was causing the heat and pressure to rise inside her. She was inching towards a second release, she was sure of it.

Colin began to let out a series of strangled grunts and groans as he began to jerk inside her. “I’m not sure I can hold off, Pen…”

“It’s alright,” she assured him breathlessly, her hand squeezing. “I want you to let go.”

Colin shook his head roughly. “I want to feel your peak while I’m inside you…”

Penelope didn’t know what to tell him. She wasn’t exactly well versed in these activities just yet and didn’t know how to extend things between them. Lucky for her, though, Colin seemed to have an idea.

Suddenly he was pulling off her and sliding to the side. Her hands followed him and she pouted as she realized he was stopping.

“Turn over, Pen,” Colin commanded quietly. “I want to try something.”

Penelope blinked at him. Turn over? For what?

“It’s okay,” he assured her with a gentle touch to her cheek. “I will take care of you.”

Penelope smiled at that. She knew he would. She knew she didn’t have anything to fear in that room with him. She didn’t have anything to fear with him period.

Penelope shifted onto her side before lying down on her stomach, her head turning to check in with Colin to see if she was doing what he wanted. He smiled kindly at her and tapped the back of her knee, which she took to mean he wanted her up on her hands and knees.

Colin pressed a kiss to her lips, holding her chin with his hand, before he disappeared from view behind her somewhere. She was wondering what he was doing, what was coming next, when suddenly she felt him against her bottom, his hands sliding slowly over her thighs and hips.

“God, Penelope,” he murmured, his body draping over her back so he could whisper in her ear. “You are so unbelievably beautiful.”

She couldn’t help the light chuckle that escaped her lips. “Even from behind?”

Colin groaned and she felt him lining himself up between her thighs. “Especially from behind.”

Penelope’s eyes widened slightly at his words, but she didn’t have any time to question him further. Colin’s hips shifted forwarded so his pelvis was flush with her rear and his manhood slipped inside her once more.

The moan Penelope let out at the sensation surprised her a bit. There was something different about him taking her like this—the angle, the position, the way she couldn’t see him but she could still feel him encapsulating her and covering her body.

“Colin,” she whined out, scrunching the bedsheets in her hands tightly as he began building a steady, solid pace. It felt so, so good.

Colin let out a long groan before his fingers fumbled their way around her thigh and landed over that bundle of nerves just above where they were joined. He circled the spot with two fingers, which had her back arching and another whine falling from her lips. She felt arousal building rapidly inside her. It intensified with every jerk of his hips, every slide of his fingers. Penelope was hurdling towards her release and she couldn’t wait to get all the way there.

Colin’s thrusts grew increasingly uneven and almost uncoordinated as his breathing became heavier—his fingers between her legs never faltered though. With a few more circles, Penelope felt the now familiar sensation of her body tightening before it all exploded and she felt her breath get caught in her throat in a choked out sob.

“Pen, yes…” Colin moaned roughly against her shoulder as his hips gave a few final gyrations before he planted himself as deep as possible and she felt him empty inside her.

Her body spent, satiated beyond belief, Penelope could no longer hold herself up on the bed. Her hands slipped and she came falling down to lie flat. Colin made a slightly surprised noise above her before he was falling forward too. Finally, his full weight was over her and he was pressing her deep into the mattress.

“Sorry,” he was apologizing and shifting his weight off her when Penelope’s hand flew back and pressed on his hip to keep him there. Colin hesitated for a second before letting his body slowly drop down again and pressing her down once more. He chuckled softly, brushing her hair to the side so he could kiss her neck. “I fear I’m going to crush you, Pen. You’re so tiny.”

She shook her head and smiled to herself. Words were escaping her at the moment, but she knew he wouldn’t crush her. Penelope had never felt so contained, so wonderfully satisfied and safe in her life.

Eventually, only after Penelope would allow it, Colin rolled off of her and onto his back. Barely a second passed before he was tugging her by the waist to lie pressed against him on her side, her leg thrown over one of his, her arm spread across his chest. She smiled to herself, eyes closed, as he buried his lips in her hair and inhaled.

They laid there in silence for a while, both of them gently sliding their hands through the other’s hair, over the other’s skin. Penelope had never felt closer, more connected to another person without needing to say anything. It just felt right.

After a while, a thought occurred to her and Penelope found herself needing to break their comfortable silence. She picked up her head and propped her chin on his chest so that she could look at Colin’s face while she spoke. She was pleased to find he was looking as blissed out as she felt too.

“I’m glad you didn’t stay on the sofa,” she said quietly, her teeth toying with her bottom lip. “I’m glad you’re in here with me instead.”

A warm smile overtook Colin’s face and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I am too, Pen.”

“Tomorrow,” she continued, gesturing to the door behind her. “We’ll figure out our differences out there. Promise me you’ll try. Really try.”

“I swear it, Pen,” Colin affirmed, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her lips. “We’ll manage it.”

Penelope grinned at him before letting her head drop back so her cheek could rest against his chest.

They would manage it, she thought as she listened to the rhythmic beating of his heart beneath his skin. Lady Whistledown wouldn’t come between them. She couldn’t come between them. They would find a way through it, past it. When Colin said something after all, he meant it.

Penelope drifted off to sleep there, her arm wrapped around her husband, feeling happier than she ever imagined possible.

Chapter Text

“Oh, Colin,” Penelope moaned, one hand fisted in the sheets beside her and the other tangled in his dark brown hair. “That feels… incredible.”

Penelope looked down at the sight before her. Colin Bridgerton, her husband, shirtless with his breeches still on, on his knees on the floor on the side of their bed. Penelope still had her evening dress on, but it was rucked up to her hips while Colin’s mouth was slowly taking her apart by licking and sucking at her tenderest spots.

They had been married for about three weeks and Penelope and Colin were on a tour de force of exploring the intimate side of their relationship. Colin was infinitely more experienced than she going into the marriage, but she was eager to catch up and he was a more than willing instructor.

This, Colin’s mouth on her, was one of her favorites. She had thought the first time he expressed his intention to try it and ask her permission that there would be no way it would compare to what he could do with his fingers. Penelope was quite happy to be proven wrong, though. Colin’s skill with his tongue left her shaking with pleasure even after she reached her peak.

To be specific, Penelope’s actual favorite thing was when he would suck and lick at her swollen bud while two of his thick fingers pressed inside her. It set her off like a firework—shooting off with a sudden burst of energy and light.

Sure enough, when Colin attempted the motion that night, Penelope found herself bearing down on his fingers and pulling at his hair while she peaked.

Colin smirked at her after he stood back up to his full height and draped himself over her body, pressing kisses to the tops of her breast and along her neck. “I wanted to do that all night, Pen. With every course of that dinner… All I could think about was eating you.”

Penelope laughed and swatted at his shoulder. “You should not be envisioning such a thing while we dine at your family home, Colin.”

Colin nipped playfully at her earlobe. “You should not be wearing such an enticing dress then, Mrs. Bridgerton. You know how I feel about that color on you.”

“Colin,” Penelope laughed again and shook her head. “I’ve yet to wear a color since we’ve wed that you’ve not found pleasing.”

“Exactly,” Colin answered with a grin. “That said…” he trailed off before lifting off her and tugging her to her feet. “I’d like to see this dress on the floor now.”

Penelope squealed softly as he pulled her up from the bed and turned her around. He began the careful process of removing her gown and all the layers beneath until she was completely nude. She caught a glimpse of them in the mirror across the room—the one that had been propped up in their personal sitting room up that first time she visited their home. Colin’s tall, strong body standing behind her short, soft one—they made quite a pair.

Colin caught on to what she was doing and stared directly into her eyes through the mirror. She watched, captivated as he dragged one of his hands up her side to her breast, holding her weight in his palm and giving her a squeeze.

“You’re so unbelievably beautiful, Pen…” he murmured behind her, his fingers beginning to knead and massage at her bosom. “I cannot believe I got so lucky.”

Penelope smiled, tilting her head up and to the side to look at the real him as opposed to his reflection. “Nor can I.”

Colin bent his neck the considerable distance down to meet her lips with his. Penelope turned to face him so she should wrap her arms around him and kiss him properly. A little thrill shot through her at the taste of him—the fact that her own arousal lingered on his lips was quite intoxicating. She found herself pushing him back until his knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell back across it.

Colin’s lips never detached from hers as he pulled Penelope onto the bed with him, his hands at her hips dragging her body up and over his on the bed. It hadn’t escaped her notice that Colin seemed to like getting her into this position, straddling his nude form. At first, when she was naked too, it elicited a degree of self-consciousness from her. She worried that every flaw she possessed was essentially on display for him in that moment—up close and personal. Colin, however, dispelled any such anxieties. The reverence in his eyes and the way his mouth would gape slightly at the sight of her only made her feel like a beautiful, sensual creature who was more than worthy of sharing his bed.

Penelope rolled her hips into him, delighting equally in both the way his hard member rubbed against her swollen bud and the strangled noise that escaped Colin’s lips. She was teasing him, she knew. But she couldn’t help it. He looked so good laid out beneath her that she wanted to draw it out a bit and keep him there a little longer.

Eventually, Penelope had enough of teasing and she lifted slightly on her knees, creating just enough space for her hand to fit between them. She took hold of his manhood, giving him just one final teasing stroke, before lining him up and sinking down slowly.

“Fuck Pen,” Colin cursed, his eyes flickering closed and his fingers gripping her hips a little tighter.

Penelope reveled in drawing the filthy word from his lips. Her gentlemanly husband always spoke in such polite, well-mannered terms in public. But behind closed doors, sometimes he slipped—overcome with desire or pleasure and uttering a curse word for her ears only. She loved it.

Penelope braced her hands on his toned chest as she built up a steady rhythm. She felt so good taking him like this, so in control and bold.

When one of Colin’s hands fell from her hip to instead strum at her swollen bud, Penelope’s movements faltered slightly. The spark it sent shooting up her spine clearly indicated that a second peak was well within reach for her that night and the thought warmed her from the inside out.

“Just like that, Pen…” Colin murmured, his eyes open and staring up at her full of adoration and need. “You feel so good riding me like this.”

Penelope whined out as Colin’s fingers began circling her faster and she neared completion. Part of her wanted to hold out and reach her peak at the same time as him, but the part that won out just wanted to get there herself first. She bounced on his lap somewhat absently while his fingers sent her hurdling over the edge for the second time in less than an hour.

Penelope heard herself call out rather loudly as her inner walls contracted and tightened rhythmically around Colin’s manhood still pressed deep inside her. It always felt so incredible finding her pleasure while still joined with him. She very much enjoyed the sensation of being filled so completely, so thoroughly by her husband.

Before she could fully come down from her high, Colin was gripping her by the hips and rolling them deftly so that he was on top of her instead. She could tell by the way his eyes were dark and full of heat that he was desperate for her—that he needed his release badly. Penelope was all too happy to lie back and let him find it.

Colin began thrusting within her at a fast pace, his breath coming out in harsh pants. There was something deeply satisfying about making love that way, Penelope thought. Even though the way he was taking her wasn’t intended to bring about her pleasure but rather his own, she rather liked when he got like this. It was all so primal and he was so needy in that moment that he just had to take her, hard and fast and rough. It was very attractive to her, especially after she had already reached her own peak. Twice at that.

It was only a matter of another minute or so before Colin was lodging himself as deep as he could go before he emptied inside her with a loud groan that sounded something like her name. She held him through it, gripping the straining muscles of his back while he peaked before transitioning into more soothing rubs after he collapsed at her side.

“You’re alright?” he prompted after a while, lifting his head from where it was resting atop her bosom. “I became a little carried away there.”

Penelope gave him a soft smile and dragged her hand up to his head to run her fingers through his hair. “I’m grand, Colin. That was… wonderous. Truly.”

Colin chuckled before he put his head back down on her chest. “Always a rave review from you.”

“You’ve yet to let me leave this bed disappointed,” Penelope replied, scratching his scalp in the way she knew he loved.

Sure enough, Colin hummed in appreciation before he reached down to tug up the blanket at the foot of the bed up and over them. They drifted off to sleep like that not long after, bodies intertwined like every night since they were married.

“Will you please stop looking at her like that while I’m trying to break my fast?”

Eloise’s question had Penelope jolting slightly before she covered her mouth to hide a shy smile. Colin had indeed been staring at her, no doubt thinking about something far too inappropriate for the Bridgerton breakfast table they found themselves at.

Colin simply shrugged as he reached for another scone. “How can I help it when my wife looks so particularly lovely this morning?”

Eloise made a disgusted face. “Aren’t you due for one of your long trips, dear brother? I could use a break from all this marital bliss to be able to actually enjoy my friend’s company for a change.”

The question, probably intended mostly in jest by Eloise, had Penelope wondering, though. Colin had such a penchant for travel. He’d spent most of the last two years abroad after all. Did he miss it? Did he intend to embark for some distant land any time soon? Would he like Penelope to accompany him?

Colin had ignored his sister’s question and was now engaged in some sort of game involving biscuits with Gregory and Hyacinth. Penelope’s mind generated more and more inquiries as she realized the two of them really hadn’t done all that much talking in the last few weeks of their marriage since resolving their differences over Lady Whistledown. Sure, they conversed—in bed, in their carriage, the occasions they opted to take their meals at home alone. But they hadn’t really spoken of the future—of what they wanted from each other and what they wanted for their life together.

Penelope did her best to put her thoughts from her mind and immerse herself in the chaos and joy of a classic Bridgerton breakfast. She could tell that she wasn’t doing the best job of it, though, based on the way Colin kept giving her curious looks from across the table.

When they left, Penelope asked Colin if they could walk instead of taking the carriage and he obliged. He extended his arm to her and she took it as they climbed down the steps in front of Bridgerton House. It didn’t take more than a few paces into their walk home for him to bring up his concerns.

“Is something the matter, Pen?” Colin inquired. “You seemed a little distant this morning.”

Penelope bit her lip. “It’s nothing…”

“Surely that is not true,” Colin pressed gently. “I can tell there is something on your mind. Please share it so that I might help assuage it however I can.”

Penelope sighed. “It’s only… Eloise’s question. It’s got me in my own thoughts.”

“About me looking at you inappropriately at the breakfast table?” Colin asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Penelope laughed lightly. “No. What she said about you being due for a long trip soon.”

“Oh,” Colin answers simply. “I believe that too was said in jest, Pen.”

“I know it was. It got me thinking, though. Do you want to continue your travels? We haven’t discussed much in terms of the future since we were married. I know rather little of what aspirations you have going forward.”

Colin’s eyes scanned her face for a few seconds before he responded to her. “In truth, I haven’t thought all that much about it either. I’ve been very much enjoying myself these last few weeks.”

Penelope gave him a sly smile. “I know better than anyone how you’ve been enjoying yourself, Mr. Bridgerton.”

Colin laughed genuinely, a sound Penelope loved dearly. “To answer your question, though, I do suppose there are other places I’d like to see, places I’d like to return to. But I do not feel any major impetus to do so in the immediate future.”

Penelope nodded slowly in response, but didn’t say anything. There was a question in her mind that she was working up the courage to ask directly.

“What is it?” Colin prompted, reading her well.

“I only wonder if these future travels… If you intend to embark alone or if you envision… company of some kind,” Penelope answered. She knew she wasn’t being very straightforward, but it was the best she could do in the moment.

Colin smiled slowly. “You’re asking if I would prefer the company of my wife?”

Penelope bit her lip and felt her cheeks tinge pink. “Yes, I suppose.”

Colin stopped walking, causing her to stop suddenly too and she swayed slightly. His arm holding onto her, though, kept her safely in place. “I want you with me always, Pen. Anywhere I go. Anywhere I am. I thought you knew that.”

Penelope felt herself warm from the inside out. “I had hoped so, but we’ve never discussed it properly.”

Colin leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, right there on the street in Mayfair. After gazing adoringly at her for a few seconds, he resumed their walk and posed another question.

“Is there anywhere you wish to travel to, Pen?”

Penelope hummed to herself. She had never been anywhere really—spending most of the last decade shuttling back and forth between London and the Featherington’s country estate not far outside of London. There were so many places she’d read about, so many far off distant lands that intrigued her. One came to mind, though, and she felt herself smiling.

“I have long wondered about those women in Paris you know.”

Colin laughed heartily. “They do not hold a candle to you, Mrs. Bridgerton.”

Penelope laughed too. “But really, I think I would like to see Paris.”

“Paris it is,” he answered with a grin.

“Paris?” Portia Featherington asked in horror later that week when Penelope mentioned the trip they were planning over a private afternoon tea at the Featherington house. “You cannot go to Paris.”

Penelope frowned. “Why not?”

“The honeymoon period has nearly passed,” her mother explained with a dismissive wave. “Your place is in your home, managing the estate. Perhaps even preparing to give birth…” She trailed off giving Penelope a hopeful look.

“Mama,” she whispered slightly embarrassed. “I’m not… with child.”

Portia frowned and sagged slightly in her seat. Penelope had her courses the week prior to the wedding and she wasn’t due to have them again for at least another week or so. She did not feel any different than normal either.

“But you are trying,” Portia pressed on. “Just because your sisters are both with child doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t still be the one to have a boy. Your son could still inherit the Featherington title. You are trying, aren’t you? Regularly?”

“I’m not…” Penelope huffed. She really didn’t want to discuss this with her mother and told her so a beat later.

Portia sighed in frustration, but dropped the subject thankfully.

Later that day, Penelope found herself thinking about what her mother had said. It was the first time someone so directly had suggested that she and Colin might have a baby, that they might have one soon. It was another subject she hadn’t devoted the proper thought and attention to over the last few weeks.

How would she feel if she were to become a mother? She supposed she’d be pleased. Penelope loved children. It was one of the things that always drew her to the Bridgertons—their large gaggle of children. Little Gregory and Hyacinth were so sweet and she very much enjoyed getting to witness them growing up over the years. The thought of a child of her own, one that was equal parts her and Colin—that had her heart swelling inside her chest.

But what about Colin? He was still relatively young to be married and settling down. They hadn’t discussed his thoughts on fatherhood really, but she knew intrinsically that he would make an excellent one.

Penelope also recognized that she and Colin certainly were not doing anything to prevent her from falling pregnant. She knew enough of how babies were made now to be aware they were taking their chances. If Colin wanted to delay fatherhood, they were going to need to make some changes quickly.

That night, Penelope and Colin fell into bed together in what was becoming a familiar but beloved routine. She found herself getting distracted, though. Her mind swimming so much with thoughts of babies and travel that she found herself pushing against his chest to create a little distance between them.

“Pen?” Colin questioned, his lips slightly swollen from kissing her and his shirt half unbuttoned already. “Are you alright?”

Penelope nodded but kept her hand on his chest. “There’s… something I need to discuss with you.”

Colin’s eyes flicked down to her bosom as his mouth formed a cheeky smirk. The tops of her breasts were practically spilling out of her nightdress. “Is there any chance it can wait?”

Penelope chuckled and rolled her eyes, shifting away from him so that she was sitting against the headboard of the bed.

Colin sighed and took his place beside her, lifting one of her hands in his as if he couldn’t bear to not be touching her even just a little bit. “What’s on your mind, Pen?”

“I was wondering what your thoughts on… fatherhood are,” she said, swallowing the lump of nerves in her throat.

Penelope watched as Colin’s eyes widened almost comically large. “Pen, are you trying to tell me something here? Are we to be—”

“No!” she interrupted, shaking her heads. “No. Well, I don’t know. Not yet at least. I’m just… wondering what your thoughts are on the subject.”

Colin smiled at her and began toying with her fingers in his hand. “If it were to happen… I would be quite pleased.”

Penelope blinked at him slightly dazed. “You would?”

“Of course,” he answered with a slight frown. “Why would I not be?”

“I don’t know,” Penelope said with a shrug. “You want to travel.”

“So do you,” Colin pointed out, giving her hand a squeeze. “That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t love to have children with you. We could still travel.”

“You’ve thought about it?” she pressed, unable to shake that idea from her head.

Colin nodded. “Yes, quite a bit actually.”

“What… do you think about?”

Colin intertwined his fingers with hers and gave her a gentle tug so that she was tucked into his side before answering her. “I think about little girls with red curls and the palest blue eyes you’ve ever seen.”

Penelope laughed out. “You envision a daughter?”

“More than one hopefully,” Colin added, giving her his best smile before pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. “I would love a house full of little Penelopes.”

She shook her head in slight wonder. “You are something else, Mr. Bridgerton.”

“Why?” he asked after a beat, tilting his head to the side. “What do you think about?”

Penelope sighed. “I honestly hadn’t thought too much about it specifically. I… would like to be a mother. I love children. And I think I would love your children most of all, Colin.”

Colin grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. This time, though, he didn’t separate from her. He continued pressing a series of kisses over her cheek, along her jaw, back to her ear. It was there that he whispered to her.

“I’d like to get started on attempting to make one of these children, Pen. What about you?”

Penelope laughed and nodded. “I’d like that too.”

So, that’s just what they did.

Chapter Text

Colin jogged up the stairs from the foyer of his home, letter in hand and excited to share its contents with his wife.

“Pen?” he called out, pushing open the door to their personal quarters open before immediately coming to a stop.

Penelope was laid across the settee sound asleep, a book lying discarded in her lap. Apparently she had been reading before slipping into an afternoon nap.

Colin smiled to himself, crossing the room quietly to place her book on the table and cover her with a blanket so that she might rest more comfortably. It was unusual for Pen to fall asleep mid-day, but he did recall keeping her up rather late the night before.

He did not want to wake her, so Colin decided to let her catch up on some well-deserved rest while he caught up on his correspondence at his desk in the corner.

Penelope roused from her nap after another thirty minutes or so, a soft gasp escaping her lips in surprise as she realized her surroundings. Her head turned, looking around the room before her tired eyes landed on him sitting at his desk behind her.

She laughed softly. “Colin. How long have you been here?”

Colin smiled, dropping his quill and walking over to sit beside her on the settee. “Only a little while. You were sleeping hard.”

Penelope leaned her head against his shoulder and put one of her small hands on his thigh. He loved these easy little touches between them—how comfortable she had become with a hand on his leg, her fingers swiping through his hair, a kiss on his cheek. It made him feel warm and safe beside her.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, his arm stretching out to wrap around her shoulder and pull her into him.

She nodded against him. “Yes. Just felt a little tired and dozed off.”

Colin pressed a kiss to the top of her head and decided to finally share his happy news with her.

“I came up here to tell you something.”

“Oh?” she asked, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him properly.

“I heard back from my old Eton friend—the one whose family has a chateau near Orléans,” he began. “They would be more than happy to have us stay for a few weeks at the end of the summer.”

Penelope’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Colin nodded eagerly. “You will love it, Pen. It is a gorgeous estate and the library… You’ll need to brush up on your French over the next few weeks.”

She grinned back at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Je ne peux pas attendre.”

Colin translated her sentence in his head (“I cannot wait.”) and gave her a laugh. “Je t’aime.”

Colin greatly enjoyed having a trip to plan. It was always one of his favorite parts of travelling—identifying destinations and sights, sorting out his accommodations, making the transport arrangements. It was his first time planning a trip with another person, too, and he was so excited to share in the experience with Penelope.

The two of them spent nearly an entire day going through books and Colin’s journals mapping out their Parisian getaway. He was excitedly explaining the appeal of Montmartre, a text in his lap, when he looked up and noticed Penelope with her eyes closed and her hand over her mouth.

“Pen?” he questioned, his hand reaching out to rest on her knee. “Are you alright?”

She didn’t respond right away but eventually nodded slowly and opened her eyes. “Just feeling a little queasy this afternoon.”

Colin frowned. “Are you unwell? Why did you not tell me?”

“It just came about all of the sudden,” she answered, her hand leaving her mouth to rest atop his in her lap. “I feel better now, though. Please continue.”

Colin’s eyes scrutinized her for a few seconds, but Pen was nodding at him and gesturing to the book still in his other hand. So, eventually, he did continue and they resumed their discussion.

Much later that night, as they readied themselves for bed, Pen apparently experienced another wave of nausea. He was stripped down to his breeches when he noticed her sitting on the edge of the bed, her head hanging down while she took several long breaths.

“Pen,” Colin said as he crossed the room to crouch in front of her. “Are you feeling ill again?”

Penelope nodded tightly but otherwise ignored him while she continued her careful breathing.

“Pen, I’m worried,” Colin whispered after a few seconds passed. “Should I call for a doctor?”

She shook her head, though. “No, Colin. I am alright. Just give me a moment.”

Colin swallowed, but abided by her wishes. He knelt silently at her feet, his hand gently rubbing her knee over her nightdress.

Eventually, the queasiness must have passed, because Pen was righting herself and looking at him in the eye.

“Sorry,” she said quietly, her fingers reaching out and tracing the side of his face with her fingertips. “I think I just need some rest.”

Colin, who was still very worried about his wife, leaned into her touch. “If you are not better by tomorrow, I am calling for a doctor whether you wish me to or not.”

Pen smiled back at him and gave his cheek a loving tap. “Yes, Mr. Bridgerton.”

Colin was pleased to find Penelope feeling well in the morning. He left to meet with Benedict and their solicitor over a business matter, but passed Lady Featherington in the foyer who was coming over to visit with Pen.

“Ah, Mr. Bridgerton, you are not joining us for tea?” Pen’s mother inquired, head tilting slightly to the side.

Their relationship had come a long way in a short while. It was just a handful of weeks ago that he was basically shouting at her in the sitting room of the Featherington house over her poor treatment of Penelope. Now, though, they were very cordial with one another after they both admitted to making mistakes in their past treatment of Pen and moving forward with better intentions.

Colin explained the need to attend to some Bridgerton family business with his older brother.

“I completely understand,” Portia answered with a nod of her head. “I will keep your wife company this morning in your absence. It is good of you to stay on top of matters with your estate while your brother is abroad.”

Colin nodded and was about to bid her farewell when a thought crossed his mind suddenly.

“Lady Featherington, I hope I might ask you a favor,” he began, lowering his voice slightly to avoid being overheard by the footmen at the other end of the foyer. “Penelope was not feeling well yesterday. Please keep an eye on her and send for me over at the solicitor’s office if anything goes awry this morning.”

Portia Featherington’s eyes widened in concern. “Penelope is unwell?”

“She claims to be alright,” Colin answered with a slight shrug. “But she seemed overcome with nausea a few times yesterday. It passed each time relatively quickly, but still… I am worried over her.”

Colin watched as her eyes shifted slowly over to the stairs, her expression transforming into something slightly unreadable for a beat. Before he could question her, though, she was giving him a careful smile and nodding her head.

“I assure you, Mr. Bridgerton, I will keep a close eye on your wife and will send for you should you be needed,” Portia said brightly.

Colin’s brow furrowed at her cheerfulness, distinctly getting the impression that he was missing something. Before he could ask, though, his eye caught on the grandfather clock in the corner and saw the time. He was going to be late for his meeting with Benedict and the solicitor, so he quickly thanked Pen’s mother and said goodbye.

The meeting with the solicitor went well. Colin and Benedict made a good team in Antony’s absence. While Benedict mostly tolerated the business side of managing the Bridgerton estate, Colin rather enjoyed it. He enjoyed the analyses of financial risks and opportunities and the careful review of the ledgers and family expenses. But most of all he liked the way it felt knowing that his actions were protecting his family and ensuring their future prosperity. The role of caretaker suited him.

As Benedict and he left the solicitor’s office, his brother suggested they stop by the club before Colin returned home.

“How about a drink, brother? To celebrate our successful business handlings?”

Colin gave him a smile but shook his head in reply. “I better not. Pen wasn’t feeling well yesterday and I’d like to get home to ensure she’s alright.”

Benedict frowned. “Your wife is ill? What has the doctor said?”

“She didn’t want to call him just yet,” Colin explained. “She was sure it was nothing serious. But still…”

“Of course,” Benedict answered quickly. “Best get home to the wife. I shall take up the Bridgerton drinking mantle on my own tonight, dear brother.”

Colin clapped him on the back. “You’re always very reliable in that department, Ben.”

When Colin arrived home, he quickly ascended the stairs up to their personal quarters.

“Pen?” he called out as the door swung open and his eyes swept across the room. He located her seated on the settee.

She rose when he approached. “Colin, hello.”

Colin’s eyes appraised her. She looked a little pale, slightly tired too—but otherwise well. “How are you feeling?”

His wife swallowed before taking his hands in hers. “I am well.”

“Oh good,” he answered, a weight lifted from his shoulders at her words.

The relief was short lived, though, when he noticed her bite her bottom lip in the way she did when she was worrying over something. Before he could inquire as to her anxiety, she gestured to the settee beside them as she took a seat.

“There is something I wish to speak to you about, however.”

Colin, not letting go of her hands, went ahead and sat next to her on the sofa. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Pen laughed nervously. “I… I spoke with my mother this morning about the… state I’ve been in of late.”

Colin frowned, not quite understanding where this conversation was going, but he nodded along anyway.

“And she suggested that I may be…” his wife trailed off before swallowing and straightening her posture. “I may be with child.”

It took a few seconds for Pen’s words to sink in and for him to fully process their meaning. She may be pregnant. She may be with child. His child to be specific.

She was watching him closely, a tight, hesitant smile spread across her lovely face. It transformed into a more genuine, emotional one a beat later when Colin finally reacted to her words.

“Are you quite serious, Pen?” he asked eagerly. “You’re pregnant?”

Pen nodded. “I believe so. All of the signs are present.”

“Such as?”

“The lethargy and nausea I’ve experienced of late,” she began. “My courses are also late. Quite late actually. A fact I somehow overlooked in everything that’s been going on the last month or so.”

Colin shook his head in wonder, his entire body practically vibrating in delighted surprise. “My god, Pen. I… I am so very happy by this news. I only hope you are too.”

Her light blue eyes filled with tears, ones clearly conveying joy instead of sadness. “I am happy too, Colin. So happy.”

Colin laughed out at that and surged forward to press a passionate kiss to Penelope’s lips.

They spent the rest of the night holed up in their personal quarters, even taking their dinner in there and enjoying it while seated on that sofa. They spoke of everything—of what it would be like to be parents, what their child would be like in terms of appearance and temperament, how they would inform their families.

Pen was the one to eventually bring up their impending travel plans. Colin had completely forgotten about their trip to Paris in the excitement of Penelope’s news. A small frown formed on her face as she spoke.

“Colin…” she trailed off, fiddling with her fingers nervously. “What of Paris? And our plans to travel?”

He tilted his head to the side as he considered it. “I don’t see why we should have to change our arrangements. We have many months until the babe would be born. Antony and Kate are en route to India as we speak after all.”

Pen nodded slowly. “That is true.”

“Only if you are still interested in travelling,” Colin felt compelled to add based on the unreadable expression on his wife’s face. “We could cancel or postpone the trip if you were so inclined.”

She shook her head after a beat, her hand reaching out to rest atop his. “I am not so inclined. We can still go. I’d like to.”

So, Colin and Pen continued planning for their trip and making the proper arrangements. In truth, it was mostly Colin taking on the responsibility of the travel plans, but even he was getting distracted from them a little over a week since they found out Pen was with child.

Penelope’s condition worsened steadily. She spent most of each day in a state of nausea, remaining almost entirely contained to their bed or the settee. Colin was intensely concerned over her state, but Lady Featherington, his own mother, and the doctor who had been called to confirm her pregnancy all assured him this was perfectly normal.

Pen, despite her clear suffering, maintained a surprisingly positive disposition. She still inquired over the Paris plans Colin was making, as well as encouraging him to see his family and maintaining his active role in the Bridgerton estate management. It was almost as if she was trying to ensure his life remained normal, that nothing was changing. It felt a little odd to him to behave in this manner, but it seemed to please Penelope. And Colin Bridgerton would do anything to please Penelope.

One evening, as Colin sat at the table with Benedict at their club, he found himself unable to focus on anything else but his thoughts over his wife. It was clearly noticed by his brother based on the way the older Bridgerton began waving a hand in his face and drawing his attention back to the present and away from his musings.

“Brother,” Benedict began in a playfully chastising tone. “You are most distracted this evening. Whatever is on your mind?”

Colin took a sip from the cup in front of him and ran a hand through his hair. “Penelope.”

“Ah,” Benedict answered with a smirk. “Always dear Penelope. Is everything alright? Is she feeling any better?”

“In truth, no. I don’t think she is.” He places his hand back firmly on the table, tapping the wood beneath his fingers nervously. “But she is attempting to act like all is well.”

Benedict tilted his head to the side and considered his brother briefly before speaking. “I am not well versed in this subject matter, but I believe our mother has stated that Penelope’s experience is perfectly normal so far, is it not?”

“Normal it may be,” he muttered quickly in response. “But it is horrid seeing her suffer like this. Horrid.”

Benedict gave him a small smile. “You really do love her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Colin scoffed. “Are you only just realizing that?”

“No, I suppose not. It’s just particularly striking me in this scenario.” Benedict paused before he continued with a slight shake of his head. “So what are you doing out drinking with me then? If you are so concerned over your beloved wife, get out of here. Go to her.”

Colin opened and closed his mouth. Why was he out at the gentleman’s club with Benedict? Because Pen encouraged him to, insisted upon it in fact. He had no desire to be there, though. His only desire was to be at her side.

Colin rose to his feet, drained his cup, and bid his brother—who appeared to be holding back a laugh at that point—farewell.

A short while later, when he pushed open the door to their personal quarters, Colin called out his wife’s name. “Pen? I’m home early.”

Pen was not in their personal sitting room, though. As he went about shucking his overcoat, wondering where she was, he heard a strange sound coming from their bedroom—the door shut tightly and muffling the sound.

Colin crossed the room and entered their bedroom without warning. There he found his wife, sitting up in their bed, hunched over and emptying the contents of her stomach into a large bowl. Her maid, Rae, was holding it firmly for her and neither of them noticed his presence.

His heart throbbed painfully at the sight of Pen so overcome with sickness like that. He knew she was feeling nauseous quite frequently of late, but this was the first time he was seeing her so ill. He desperately wished there was something he could do to aid her, to take on some of the burden himself in her stead.

Once she appeared to be finished with this bout of sickness, her eyes lifted and finally took notice of him in the room. “Colin,” she mumbled in shock, a hand raising quickly to cover her mouth.

“Mr. Bridgerton,” Rae also called out in surprise, stepping back from the bed. “I did not know you would be home so early.”

Colin crossed the room and took the lady’s maid’s place beside Penelope. “And I did not know how poorly your condition has become.”

He reached out a hand to stroke the side of her face comfortingly, but, to his disappointment, Pen moved away from his touch. She sat up a bit straighter, her own hand still covering her mouth.

“You shouldn’t be here, Colin,” she said quietly. “Rae and I can manage perfectly well. We have been for the last several nights after all.”

Colin frowned. “You have been this overcome with sickness on multiple evenings?”

Pen sighed and nodded her head. “It is very normal at this stage, Colin. There is nothing for you to be concerned over.”

Rae quietly interrupted in that moment. “I’ll go dispose of this, but I will return hastily, my lady.”

Penelope nodded to her maid before lying back against the headboard. Once the two of them were alone, her hand finally dropped from her face to sit in her lap instead.

Colin came forward to sit beside her, taking her hand in his and stroking his thumb over her skin.

“Colin…” she trailed off before swallowing. “Perhaps you should take up in one of the guest rooms… Temporarily of course. Just until my condition improves…”

Colin’s mouth dropped slightly in surprise. “You wish me to leave you?”

Pen hesitated before nodding. “I… I fear I will be awake for quite some time. I wouldn’t wish to disturb your sleep.”

“Pen, this is madness,” he rushed out in frustration. “You… you are trying to insist upon normalcy for me and my life. All while you’re going through this challenging brand new experience. Why are you pushing me away so? When all I want is to be near you, to be at your side. To help you.”

Her eyes began blinking rapidly before she wiped away a tear. “I don’t want everything to change for you. I want you to have everything you want.”

“You,” Colin said emphatically. “Are everything I want…” His hand, still clasping hers, moved to her yet unchanged stomach. “You and our baby, Pen.”

Pen’s eyes swam with tears as she nodded slowly.

“I am devoted to you—to your every need and desire,” he continued. “So please, do not push me away. I want to be with you always.”

At that precise moment, before Pen could respond, Rae returned with a clean bowl and awkwardly lingered off to the side.

“I think you can leave us,” Colin said after a beat, his eyes locked on Penelope and silently encouraging her to confirm. “I can take care of Mrs. Bridgerton.”

Rae was clearly hesitant and awaited Penelope’s instruction before she would depart. Another man might take umbrage at a servant awaiting a lady’s direction and ignoring the word of the man of the house. Colin was no such man, though. Rather, he greatly appreciated Rae’s dedicated service and care for his wife. No offense was taken.

She only left when Pen gave her a small nod and a wave of her hand. Colin assured the maid that he would call for her should they need any assistance for the rest of the evening.

“I love you, you know,” Pen murmured after the door was closed and they were alone again. “I love you so much.”

Colin felt his insides warm and he gave her a smile. He was just opening his mouth to express his great love for her as well when he watched Pen’s face pale and take on a frightened look as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. He had just enough time to reach for the bowl before she was buckled over and emptying the contents of her stomach once more.

Colin felt terribly for her, but there was nothing he could do but hold onto the vessel in front of her and push back her hair from her face to avoid it getting in the way. He whispered comforting words and apologies, doing his best to bring her any sort of consolation in that moment.

They spent much of the next few hours like that—Penelope becoming sick and Colin supporting her through it. Eventually, she felt somewhat confident that her nausea had passed and he finally took notice of the complete and utter exhaustion on her face.

Colin shed his breeches but left his long shirt on as he settled into the bed with her. Pen rested her head atop his chest as he held her loosely, tracing soothing patterns on her back and attempting to lull her into a peaceful sleep.

“I’m sorry to have been so wretched all evening,” she mumbled after a little while. “You are allowed to reconsider everything you said earlier and spend all your nights at the club and the guestroom. I shall not take offense.”

Colin sighed, his hand cupping her shoulder as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I take offense, Pen. There is nowhere I would rather be that at your side—in sickness or otherwise.”

“Thank you,” she whispered softly before sleep finally overcame her.

Penelope’s condition stayed more or less the same over the next two weeks or so, much to Colin’s disappointment and concern. She did allow him to remain close at her side, though, and that fact did seem to bring her a modicum of comfort at least.

One evening, the couple found themselves in a now familiar place—on their bed, a clean bowl at the bedside table ready and waiting for Penelope to become overcome with sickness yet again. It was quite late, but her nausea had not yet shown any sign of diminishing. Colin marveled not for the first time at how she could possibly keep being sick so many times when she consumed very little food in the first place. It was seemingly unending, though.

Colin gently pressed a damp, cool towel to her forehead as she lay back against the bed after a particularly taxing wave of sickness. There was something more forlorn than normal in her expression and it made his stomach sink in sadness.

“I’m sorry, Pen. If I could take even a bit of this burden off you, you know I would do it.”

Penelope covered her face quickly with her hands and cried out.

Colin was temporarily stunned at the outburst of emotion. She had been so stoic through everything so far. He was the one going to pieces over her condition whereas she seemed quietly resigned to it all. Once he processed what was happening, though, Colin was quick to shift closer to her and pull her into his arms.

“I’m the one who is sorry, Colin,” she said shakily through her sobs. “So very sorry.”

“Pen, you have absolutely nothing to apologize over,” he insisted. “This is beyond your control.”

She cried a little louder at that and buried her face in his chest, turning her body into his fully. “I’m keeping you holed up in these rooms, vomiting constantly and in a completely and utterly wretched state. I haven’t gotten dressed in anything but bedclothes for a fortnight practically and we haven’t laid together in even longer than that.”

Colin’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of their lack of romantic relations of late. Of course he did not begrudge Penelope for that, though. He had not been feeling particularly amorous himself given the state of things. His concern over his wife outweighed nearly every other feeling he had.

He was about to tell her as much, but she cut him off, continuing her despondent monologue. “And we’re supposed to go to Paris—to France in just a few days’ time! I can barely manage to make it to the sitting room never mind sit in a carriage or even worse a ship. I am ruining everything. You must be absolutely disgusted by me.”

“Pen,” Colin finally interjected, pulling back so that he could look at her face properly. It was red and her eyes were wet and wide looking back at him. “Please don’t say such things. You are ruining nothing. You are unwell. And I feel nothing but love and concern and tenderness for you. You must know that.”

Her lip wobbled and a fresh bout of tears began to stream down her face. “I do not think I can go to France. Kate and Antony might be able to travel to India. But I can’t do it… Not now. Not like this.”

“I know,” Colin answered, head bobbing rapidly. “I cancelled our arrangements already.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“We will go another time, Pen,” he soothed, brushing a loose curl from her face. “We have our whole lives to travel to Paris. It’s not going anywhere.”

“But you love to travel,” she insisted, her voice wavering.

Colin shook his head. “I have no interest in going anywhere right now. Not in the slightest.”

Penelope dropped her head to his chest and wept softly. He held her through it, his hand rubbing soothingly at her back as he kissed the top of her head and whispered words of love of comfort into her hair. After a while, she cried herself to sleep, though, and Colin followed her not long after.

A few more treacherous weeks passed, but eventually Penelope was feeling more like herself. She was still hit by waves of exhaustion from seemingly nowhere. However, the nausea seemed mostly to have passed her by. No one was more relieved than she, but Colin thought he might be a close second.

Colin and she had dinner one night at Bridgerton House. It was a quiet, comfortable evening out, but Colin still watched his wife like a hawk. She conversed easily with his mother, cleaned her plate, and seemed entirely engaged and happy throughout the evening.

The carriage ride home also went rather well. He had been worried that the bumpiness of the ride in combination of the rich meal they just partook in would upset Pen’s stomach. She seemed unaffected, though—much to his delight.

Colin busied himself with organizing some of the papers and correspondence on his desk while Pen’s lady’s maid helped her out of her gown and into her bedclothes.

“Francesca is apparently taking to Scotland quite well,” Colin said as he swept into their bedroom upon Rae’s departure. He was already unbuttoning his waistcoat to ready himself for bed when he caught a glimpse of his wife standing beside her vanity and rubbing some cream onto the tops of her hands.

Penelope looked gorgeous. She was dressed in a nightdress he hadn’t seen in a while—one that was thin and sheer in certain places, a shade of light blue essentially matching her beautiful eyes. Colin was complete struck by the sight of her and felt a faint buzzing under his skin for the first time in a while.

“Any word of Eloise?” Pen questioned, shifting her gaze over to her husband.

Colin swallowed and turned away from her to continue unbuttoning his waistcoat and to attempt to right his thoughts. “None. It’s entirely possible she might not be taking to Scotland quite as well as her younger sister.”

Penelope sighed. “She’ll adjust. I’m sure of it.”

Colin nodded, but didn’t say anything else as he stripped down to just his white shirt and climbed quickly into bed. Pen blew out the candles at her vanity before joining him, leaving the ones at her bedside table still alight.

“Tonight was fun,” she said as she got into bed beside him, shifting to lay beside him and placing a hand on his chest. “It was nice to finally get out of the house, even if just for a simple dinner with your family.”

Colin nodded tightly and swallowed. Her hand was just set innocently on his body, a touch that could only be interpreted as casually affectionate. Something had awoken inside him, though. His desire for his wife was thrumming under his skin and even that simple touch was making his heart beat wildly. He hoped she couldn’t feel it, that she couldn’t sense how badly he wanted her. It was unfair to put those thoughts on her, especially when she was only just recovering from the worst of her pregnancy sickness symptoms.

Penelope knew him too well, though. She sensed something was amiss and shifted slightly to look directly at his face. “Are you alright? You seem… tense.”

Colin ran a hand through his hair before nodding slowly. “I am simply tired.”

Her pale blue eyes searched his face and he knew instantly that she saw through the lie. Her mouth pulled slowly into a frown before her hand was lifting from his chest and she was sliding away from him to put some space between them in the bed. When she turned over to face away from him and blew out the candle, he began to sense that something was wrong. It was obvious in her body language, even lying beside her in the darkness.

The two of them laid in bed silently and not touching for quite some time. Colin was nowhere close to sleep and he could tell that Penelope was in a similar state despite remaining completely still beside him. As the minutes stretched on, he knew there was something unpleasant going through that brilliant mind of hers. And, though he wasn’t exactly sure how or why, he knew it was his fault.

“Pen?” he whispered when he couldn’t take it anymore, one of his hands lifting to touch her shoulder.

She tensed under his touch but didn’t answer him.

“Pen, I know you’re awake,” he spoke a little louder, sitting up a bit more in the bed.

His wife sighed in frustration before rolling over to lie on her back. “What?”

Colin blinked at her in the darkness, wishing he could see her face better in his attempt to interpret her mood. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing,” she answered tightly. “I am simply tired.”

She was mirroring his language earlier after she inquired about his well-being. Now he knew for certain he had done something to upset her.

Colin’s hand slid down her hand to touch hers. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you in some way. I promise it wasn’t my intention.”

Penelope relaxed her hand in his and let their fingers intertwine. “I’m not upset with you, Colin. I’m just… I don’t know. In my thoughts, I suppose.”

Colin felt the same. “What are you thinking about?”

“It’s…” she squeezed his fingers. “It’s embarrassing.”

“You can tell me anything, Pen,” he assured her fervently. “You never need to be embarrassed with me.”

It was hard to see her properly in the darkness of their bedroom, but he could tell she was searching his face and considering whether she should continue. Colin waited patiently. He wouldn’t pressure her to share anything she wasn’t ready to share with him.

When she answered him after a little while, he was both grateful and quite surprised at what she said.

“I’ve been feeling so much better, so much more like myself lately,” Pen spoke quietly. “And I thought… we might… resume our marital relations tonight.”

Colin gaped at her rather stupidly, his brain not working fast enough to put together a reply before she was rambling on nervously.

“But I know most husbands do not lay with their wives when they’re in a state like mine. I understand that and I’m not frustrated with you at all. I certainly do not begrudge you for not being interested in me in that way, at least right now. After everything you’ve witnessed these last few weeks…” she trailed off and let out a shaky breath before continuing. “I was just feeling a little… self-conscious I suppose. It will just get take a little time to grow used to this pregnancy and all the changes that it entails.”

Colin gave her hand a firm squeeze and finally found his own voice. “Pen, I… I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“It’s alright, Colin,” she assured him. “I am alright.”

“I’m…” he trailed off, shaking his head still in somewhat of a stupor. “I never intended to reject you. In fact, it was the complete opposite. I saw you in your nightdress this evening, looking so much like yourself, looking so healthy and I was… overcome. I only sought to spare you from those feelings as I thought you would not want me—you would not want that.”

“Oh,” Penelope whispered, her bosom rising and falling slightly. “You… want me? Even in this state?”

“Especially in this state,” Colin breathed out, his body shifting subconsciously closer to hers.

Penelope rolled onto her side and they were now face to face, both somewhat wide-eyed as they looked at each other with anticipation. He had no idea who moved first, but it did not take long for them to come together in a searing kiss.

Everything moved quickly from there—hands all over each other, bedclothes flying off. It was frantic and needy, but also light-hearted and fun. He found himself laughing along with her as he fumbled with the ties at the front of her nightdress and she had to help him with removing it. It felt so incredibly right—like coming home in a way.

Finally, she was completely bare before him and he couldn’t stop himself from running his hands along her beautiful body. Her breath was coming out in pants and her pretty blue eyes were heavily lidded with lust. It was an intoxicating sight.

When his hands slid upwards to palm at her breasts, Penelope let out a quiet hiss at his action. Colin frowned and let go of her, pulling away to look at her face.

“My bosom is… sensitive of late,” she whispered, teeth digging into her bottom lip shyly. “I think it must be a pregnancy symptom.”

“I’m sorry,” Colin was quick to say. “I didn’t know.”

“How could you?” she asked with a light laugh before she took his large hands in her small ones, dragging their intertwined hands back to her breasts. “You can touch me here. Just be… gentle.”

Colin groaned softly and sought out her lips with his. “Of course.”

He was careful to move slowly and tenderly as they continued. He wanted her so desperately, but he was also so nervous about doing something wrong or causing her some sort of discomfort. Colin’s nerves disappeared, though, once he slid down her body and found himself between her thighs. That was familiar.

As Colin’s lips and tongue swept over Penelope’s tender skin, he absolutely reveled in the moans and soft cries that escaped her lips. It had been far too long since he heard those sounds and he felt his cock growing impossibly hard. It advanced to the point where he needed to use his free hand to squeeze tightly at his base in an attempt to relieve just a little bit of the tension he was experiencing.

With two of his fingers inside her tight channel and his mouth sucking carefully at her swollen bud, Pen peaked with a loud whining noise and something resembling his name. He wished he could have given her a few minutes to come down from her high, but he was far too desperate. When her hands sought him out and squeezed at his shoulders, that was all the encouragement Colin needed to line himself up and slide inside her in a singular fluid motion.

“Colin,” she called out, chest heaving and her fingers tightening on his biceps.

“Pen, God,” Colin muttered, burying his face in her neck. “I need you.”

He felt her nodding against him, her hands sliding down to hold onto his hips. “Take me. Please…”

Colin groaned loudly as his cock jerked roughly inside her. He couldn’t help himself. Colin was overcome with the need to drive himself inside her over and over and over again. She egged him on with every thrust of his hips, her hands clutching his body firmly. It felt so incredible joining with her like that again—he found himself nearing completion far quicker than he wished for.

“Pen,” he choked out, his fingers fisting the sheet on either side of her. “I won’t last much longer…”

She nodded against him, licking her lips before burying her teeth in her bottom one.

“Touch yourself,” he urged, clumsily taking one of her hands and bringing it between them. “Please… I want to feel you tighten around me.”

Pen let out a soft moan, her fingers strumming over her swollen bud in time with his movements inside her. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Colin began to feel her walls contracting and quivering as he drove harshly inside her. It all became too overwhelming, felt too good, though, and he went surging forward into his own peak. His hips jerked against hers one last time before his seed filled her tight channel as Penelope found her own pleasure not a beat later.

Colin’s body gave out and he collapsed atop her, his breathing coming out in rough pants. Pen’s hands were on his back, holding him loosely as she caught her own breath.

Eventually, his mind cleared enough for Colin to realize what he was doing. He was letting his full body weight rest atop her and the thought had him jolting up suddenly and sliding to her side.

“Oof,” she uttered in surprise as he moved away from her. “What are you—”

“I shouldn’t be lying atop you like that, Pen,” he said quickly, his hand lifting protectively to her middle. “Not with the baby…”

Pen’s face shifted into a smile before her own hand rested atop his. “It’s alright.”

Colin did not rush to remove his hand from her belly, instead molding his body around hers and pulling her in a little closer to him. His fingers dragged gently and slowly over her skin. It was the first time he’d touched her properly like this since finding out she was with child. The thought that under his palm was his son or daughter growing within her was an overwhelming one.

“Colin,” Penelope murmured after a while, drawing his gaze back up to her face.

“I cannot believe we are having a baby,” he said softly with a slight shake of his head.

His wife let out a light chuckle. “You are only just coming to that realization?”

Colin shook his head with a smile. “No… But I continue to be amazed by the fact.”

Penelope smiled back at him before yawning and covering her mouth with her hand.

“Sleep,” he whispered, smoothing a piece of hair behind her ear. “You need your rest.”

She nodded and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you, Colin Bridgerton.”

“I love you too, Penelope Bridgerton.”