Moonflower - B. Bridgerton

15

Sofia awakens with a piercing ache in her stomach that signalizes that their days in the palace are slowly to come to en end. Her courses came let this time - which made everyone nervous and didn't really help to comfort Benedict's disbelief - but nevertheless they apparently came.
She opens her eyes to a still completely dark room. It must be in the middle of the night.
Please don't let there be a red stain on the mattress, she silently prays, as she slowly rolls out of the bed, careful not to wake up her sleeping estranged husband.
Unfortunately the room is so dark that she can't be sure about a stain being or not being there, so she carefully bends over to touch the mattress. It appears to be completely dry, a red spot is unlikely at this point. While she proceeds to stand up again, Sofia slips on her slippers and ungraciously lands on the mattress.

It's not a loud act, but Benedict nevertheless jerks awake. „What the hell?" he asks annoyed,, his eyes still searching for the cause of his awakening.
„I'm sorry", Sofia whispers. Benedict turns around to the source of the noise. He is still half asleep and it's quite dark in the room, but he still registers Sofia, standing on the edge of the bed, looking at the floor. Even with only the weak moonlight filling the room he can see that her hands are shaking.
„What happened?" he asks, real concern in his voice.
„Oh, it's nothing, really", Sofia tries to calm him, but he already turned left to light the candle on the bedside table. He then stands up, walks around Sofia and light the other one, too.
„Now we can at least see something", he declares.

Unfortunately, Benedict regrets lighting the candles in moment he turns around to face his wife. „You were wearing this?!"
Benedict came into the chamber long after Sofia. It had been his day of putting Ayla to sleep and he had lingered in his daughter's chamber for a longer time than he actually needed to make sure that Sofia would be asleep when he wintered the room. And she had been, safely covered in the sheets, facing the wall and not Benedict's side of the bed, making him see only a glimpse of her long, curly hair.

Benedict is thankful that he did wait until she was asleep, because fuck had he seen her in this... this... gown... he would definitely not been able to sleep. Hell, he is never going to be able to sleep next to her from now on. Was she always wearing things like that? For the entirety of the month they spent here? He wonders.
He shamelessly stares at Sofia, who nervously looks everywhere but not in his face. She's wearing a negligé, short enough to be a shirt. It's in a creme-tone that made him first think she might be nude, but at a better glance - and he took a better glance - he could see the material. White, flower-shaped lace is covering the gown, perfectly emphasizing the curves of her breasts, teasingly tracing a path down... down... the gown is so short, I wouldn't even need to take it off. I could just walk to her, raise her legs until she wraps them around me and-

Sofia immediately blushes as she remembers the gown that the modiste had forced on her the other day. Actually, it's not even a full gown, it's a negligé that barely covers anything. The modiste had gifted her this piece, because she wanted to show that she truly believed in Thunderbird' innocence. This will drive your husband crazy, she had blinked in Sofia's direction, a knowing grin on her face.
Crazy, is definitely the word that Sofia would use to describe Benedict right now. He looked wild... almost hungry as he shamelessly let his gaze fall to her exposed legs. His breath is loud and heavy.
„I... I think I finally got my courses. I was afraid that there might be a stain on the mattress", Sofia finally breaks the silence, still looking at the floor.