The Bench

A/N: Charles has to leave for London for the season but Elsie wants to give him something to take with him. RATED "M" for a reason!

Elsie stood perfectly still, though the summer breeze gently washed over her causing the skirt of her dress to dance lightly about her. Her heart beat quickly in her chest, full of anticipation and excitement, knowing what she was planning, knowing what she hoped would be the outcome.

Her eyes never left him. He sat alone on the bench beneath the tree reading his book. She had heard his footsteps as he neared her sitting room door. She had ignored his knock, sure that he would have invited her to join him. But that was not in her plan. She would join him, but when she was ready, when he was least expecting it.

Silently, she glided across the lawn, confidant that there was no one about to see or hear them. Not even Charles, so wrapped up in his book, had heard her approach. She stood tall behind him yet, close enough that she could have easily read the words on the pages of his treasured tome. But few words and no books had a place in her grand scheme. He could finish his book later ... on the train or in London, perhaps, but not today, not this afternoon.

She smiled as she slipped her soft fingertips over his eyes, startling him and causing him to jump. It only took the briefest of moments to recognize those slender fingers, that faint wisp of lavender surrounding her. And then there was her voice, warm and arousing as it caressed his ear when she spoke.

"Tell me you'll miss me, Charles. Tell me. I want to hear how you'll miss my fingers dancing along your skin, my voice in your ear, my lips against yours." As she spoke, she punctuated each sentence, each phrase with her lips on the side of his neck from his collar to his earlobe where she finally gave a teasing nip.

She removed her hands from his eyes, letting them ghost over the sides of his face before falling briefly on his shoulders where she gave him a little massage. Her lips whispered sweet nothings into his ear and along the sensitive skin on the side of his neck, telling him how much she was going to miss him, how her body would ache for his touch, his embrace, his affections.

When she heard him moan, she ceased her gentle massage, quieted her voice, and allowed her hands to slip over his shoulders and down his chest, rubbing it firmly through his many layers of clothes. He felt so solid and warm beneath her hands. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply as his muscles rippled beneath her palms.

"How many nights, Charles? Will you miss me?" She stepped around the bench and between his legs, shifting the angle of her eager hands. They started at the base of his ribs and moved up to his shoulders and back down again, slipping lower and lower before heading up his body once more, this time beneath his coat. As she spoke, she began to deftly unbutton his many layers of clothes, eager to reach his warm, broad chest. "Will you dream of us, together while you are away?"

She silenced him with her hand over his mouth and in one swift movement, Charles found himself gratefully trapped beneath Elsie Hughes as she straddled his lap. Her skirt was bunched between them and cascaded well past his knees, but she was determined not to let that deter her. She had carefully planned this seduction and was willing to stop at nothing short of absolute satisfaction for both of them. They needed this. They deserved this even more.

She slowly closed the distance between them, removing her hand at the last possible second to capture his lips with hers. The kiss was intense, both in passion and in need, ravenous in its desire to steal their very breaths while demanding they continue the kiss. Her tongue slipped past his lips, wasting no time in deepening the kiss while the rest of her body pressed firmly against his. She smiled as she tasted the shortbread biscuit he must have had with his tea. In his absence, she would wait until bedtime to eat one, hoping to recapture the intensity of this moment before she drifted off to sleep in the hopes of having him visit her in her erotic dreams.

When the kiss ended, she rested her forehead against his, their breaths coming in short bursts, his fingers digging into her hips and holding her in place.

"Elsie, you have no idea ..."

"Oh, but I do, Charles." She arched her back and pressed her body down onto his, feeling his arousal through his trousers. She arched an eyebrow and bit her bottom lip as she caught his eye. "Mmm, yes, I do know," she answered, rocking against him with a slow, circular motion, rubbing herself against him and taking immense pleasure in his reactions and her own.

Through her dress, she could feel his fingertips digging into her skin. She hoped he left a mark, somewhere, anywhere, as a memento of this afternoon. Even if it took the form of bruising, she knew it would serve a loving reminder of his passion for her and the power she had to make him lose control.

It wasn't long before she was drawn from her thoughts by his deft hands quickly working the fastenings of her dress. He would be surprised to find that she had foregone the usual undergarments this afternoon in anticipation of her little surprise. She watched his face, especially his eyes, as he slowly peeled the dress down her arms, fully expecting to see her corset but finding only flawless skin flushed with desire, suddenly realizing that she was most likely not wearing anything else. She felt his reaction more than heard it in the small gasp that escaped his parted lips.

She rolled her hips against his once more as she quickly worked her arms free of her dress baring her breasts to him. It took only a second for Charles to close the distance between them, his lips and tongue bathing her with silent praise and adoration. She ran her fingers through his hair, holding his head to her breast, encouraging him to continue as her desires coursed through her and settled in her very core. But she never ceased her movements against him, never stopped talking to him, encouraging him to continue and reminding him of the things she liked best. She knew how it excited him to hear her husky voice and her accent when they were at their most intimate, and she used this to her advantage. In truth, she felt the same way about him and his deep voice.

With his lips firmly locked around her nipple, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her securely within his embrace. She realized what he was planning and with one gentle nudge, he paused and locked eyes with her. "Not yet. I'm not finished." She leaned forward and gave him the softest, briefest kiss before slipping from his lap to her knees.

Charles looked down at Elsie. Her cheeks were flushed, as was her chest. Her hair was spilling from its usual confines and little wisps of dark hair tickled her shoulders. Tenderly, he reached out and ran the back of his hand along her cheek, down the slender column of her throat and across her shoulder causing her to shiver. "Do you know how much I love you, Elsie Hughes?"

Her only reply was a smile as she began to caress and massage him through his trousers. Light touches followed firm strokes. Up and down, back and forth, deliberate and very much controlled. She watched for the tell-tale signs that he was getting close and as soon as his hands reached out to still hers, she paused.

With nimble fingers, she quickly unbuttoned his trousers and gently eased him into the warm summer air. Using the same movements as before, she continued to tease him until he was begging for something, anything ... more.

Suddenly, once more his lap was filled with the delicious weight of Elsie and his mind exploded with sensations and feelings as he was wrapped in velvety warmth. He fought desperately for control of his actions, his body in order to prolong the moment and to bring her pleasure. And then his hands were everywhere all at once, touching any and every part of her as he met her thrust for thrust, moan for moan, gasp for gasp.

In that moment, nothing else mattered, nothing else existed but Elsie facing him and making love to him. He would carry this memory with him to London, cherish it, and use it to get him through the long, dark nights. Feeling himself growing closer and closer and losing complete control, he leaned forward, holding Elsie confidently in his arms and varying the angle of his movements.

"You first, Elsie. Ladies always first."

His deep voice rumbled through his chest and straight to her heart, the very center of her pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him tightly as she gave way to every emotion and sensation she'd been nurturing all day. With a soft cry of his name breathily delivered to his ear, she found her release but did not stop until he, too, had experienced the same joy, the intense satisfaction.

Charles gently leaned back against the bench and cradled Elsie to him as he whispered soft words into her ear while his fingertips traced intricate patterns across her bare back. "You certainly know how to make it more difficult for me to leave you tomorrow."

She laughed softly and nuzzled his neck. "Think of it as a preview of things to come when you return home to me. By then, I am sure I will have found another place to seduce you, Mr. Carson."

"By then, Mrs. Hughes, I will have had time to recover and think of a few places of my own. I do believe I shall have to return to Downton a few days early in order to make certain everything is in perfect order and well cared for before the family returns."

"I love you, Charles Carson. Please don't forget that while you're in London with all those pretty maids and ladies."

"As if any of them could ever compare to you, Elsie Hughes. I have everything I have ever wanted right here in my arms and I'm no fool. I would sooner let a maid serve in the dining room than to betray you, to let go of our happiness."

"A maid in the dining room? You must be serious about me, then."

"Meet me in the blue room off the men's corridor tonight and I'll show you just how serious I am. I'm sure by the time the family returns at the end of the season, you will have straightened the room and washed the sheets. It's a shame not to take advantage of the many rooms Downton has to offer."

Elsie leaned forward and smiled against his lips. "It's a date. Far be it from me to send my butler off to London without a smile on his face and a few warm memories in his heart."

The End

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