Read Online A Lady's Pleasure by Robin Schone - Free Book Online Page A

"And what then, Colonel Coally?"
"Then I'm going to put it back in."
Suddenly the damp, dreary rain was more pleasant than a sunny day.
"Perhaps I will have that toast now, Colonel Coally."
"We made a bargain, Abigail. Until the storm ends we call each other by our first names and you are free to indulge in any sexual urges that you wish."
The red-hot stove hissed as water boiled over onto it. Grabbing a towel, Robert picked up the handle of the bucket and poured the hot water into the little hip bath beside the sink. Steam roiled up to the ceiling. The remainder of the water he poured into a tea pot. Then he refilled the bucket and set it back on the stove.
"Are we on bread-and-water rations?"
"Only until Mrs. Thomas makes it through the storm. She and Mr. Thomas look after the cottage. For a few extra shillings a week she cooks and cleans and does my laundry."
"I doubt she'll make it today."
"No." A warm glow of anticipation grew inside Abigail's stomach. Another night with this man was well worth a little starvation.
Robert toasted bread to a fine turn. And spread strawberry jam lavishly.
She waved her cup toward the cupboard. "There's butter insidenot much, so unless you want to save it for later ..."
His gray eyes darkened. He met her gaze, a half-brooding, half-searching look. "Why did you pull away last night?"
She squared her shoulders, fully prepared to lie. If he had not discovered her faults, who was she to point them out? Instead, she said, "You were taking my hair down."
"You have beautiful hair, Abigail."
"I have gray in my hair, Robert."
She did not expect evidence of her rapidly approaching old age to inspire laughter. But it did.
She tilted her chin and held up her cup of tea with her little finger sticking out at the required degree. "I am glad you find my age amusing, Robert."
"Abigail, I am five years older than you are. And if you had any gray hairs, I would not be laughing."
"But I do," she stubbornly insisted.
"Then I don't see them."
"A woman my age should not let her hair down."
"Perhaps that is why there are men like me, to take it down for them."
She lowered her eyelashes to block those pewter eyes before she started believing in the impossible.
"Is your leg well?"
"Which one?"
Abigail's gaze rose to the bait. "Your left one"
Only to be stopped by the glint in his eyes.
"You have a wicked sense of humor, ColonelRobert."
"And you have a sore bum to look after, MissAbigail."
"It is not my bum that is sore."
"I know what is sore. And I know how to make it better."
The bucket of water on the stove hissed. He added it to the hip bathand disappeared behind a fog of steam. Vigorous pumping sounds penetrated the gray mist; they were followed by the cascade of water pouring into water. The writhing steam thinned, revealing Robert leaning over the tub, checking the temperature with a seductive swish of liquid.
He straightened. "Your bath, madam."
Abigail approached the tub and boldly dropped the blanket. Robert just as boldly picked her up.
He kissed her.
His tongue was scalding hot. It was flavored with strawberry jam.
The bathwater was just as scalding hot, with none of the sweetness.
Disregarding dignity, Abigail threw a leg over each side of the tub and heaved herself up. Robert was equally determined to hold her down. And far more successful.
"Let me up! This is scalding!"
"Hold still, Abigail. The water is not going to do you any good unless it is hot."
"Only a lobster would benefit from water this hot!" Closing her eyes in pain and frustration, she tried a more civilized approach. "Please let me up."
"Did I tell you how beautiful you are?"
Abigail knew perfectly well that she wasn't beautiful. Her eyes snapped open. "You are fond of the color red, I take it?"
A low, masculine laugh filled the hot steam. "Abigail, you get much redder when you blush. I promise that after you've soaked for a while, you will feel much, much better."
"You mean that after I have soaked for a while, I will be well done."
"Done