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Authors: Delynn Royer
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to get some rest, Sidney. You're not looking well at all."
*
After one full day of "luxurious" travel via the Union Pacific Railroad, Cole was beginning to think he wasn’t built for modern travel. His legs were too long for one thing. No matter how he tried to situate himself in their cramped compartment, it seemed he couldn't get comfortable for any longer than five minutes at a time.
He was also beginning to think he wasn't built to be spending so much time with Guinevere Pierce. Maybe it had been too long since he'd been with a woman. How else to explain that he was so easily distracted by her mere proximity?
When they had disembarked for dinner, Cole had only picked at the bland train station food on his plate, and this despite the fact that he had worked up a good appetite. The trouble was, the appetite he'd worked up sitting next to Gwin on the train hadn't been for food.
Throughout the rushed meal, Arthur had kept up a steady stream of chatter and questions about Cole's experiences in New York City. Nevertheless, Cole had found his attention wandering, his gaze repeatedly drawn back to the boy's sister, from her lovely face to the gentle swell of her breasts to the slender lines of her waist. He had found himself pondering the burning question of whether or not she wore a corset beneath that snowy-white jacket blouse and, after twenty minutes of furtive study, he had reached the conclusion that she did not.
Unfortunately, the result of all that mealtime distraction was that he hadn't found time to finish his dinner. His empty stomach had started growling an hour ago, and, by now, it was sending up hunger pangs sharp enough to put him in a bad mood.
Cole looked forward to escaping into blissful, dreamless sleep. He was exhausted. The night before, he had spent a restless night on the uneven puncheon floor of the constable's office in Caldwell, not quite trusting their prison security after that afternoon's fiasco. He was ready for a good night's sleep, but there was one thing he had to see to before he could close his eyes in good conscience, and that thing was Guinevere Pierce.
Cole had rearranged their seats into a lower sleeping berth for Arthur and himself, then pulled down the upper berth for Gwin. Safely snuggled in for the night, Arthur was already snoring peacefully.
Cole waited in the narrow aisle for his other charge to get settled. She huddled behind pulled curtains while Cole marked time, his arms folded stiffly. "Are you decent yet?"
Her voice was coy. "Are you saying that I'm usually indecent?"
"I'm very amused out here, Gwin."
"Good. Maybe it'll take that frown off your face."
Cole grasped the edge of the berth to steady himself as the train went into a curve. Sudden turns and bumps were becoming a nuisance, occasionally causing embarrassed passengers to stumble into one another as they passed in the aisles. "Will you hurry, please?"
"They do not make women's garments as simple as men's. You'll just have to wait while I ... " She paused and exclaimed breathily, "There! Oh, that feels so much better! It's so awfully hot in here, don’t you think?"
Cole had to agree, only it wasn't just the summer heat that had him in a sweat. A lot of it had to do with the mental image he was conjuring up of her disrobing behind that flimsy curtain.
"Here!" Her arm popped out from between the curtains, offering him a carpetbag.
"What do you want me to do with that?"
"I don't know. Just don't lose it. All my clothes are in there."
Cole took the bag and slid it beneath the lower berth. He straightened, jingling the handcuffs in his coat pocket. "Now, are you decent?"
"Decent as I'll ever get, I reckon."
Cole parted the curtains to find her lying on her side, a sheet pulled up over her chest, revealing the slim shoulder straps of a white chemise. Her head rested on one hand and her long-lashed eyes glimmered mischievously in the overhead lamplight. "What are you going to do now? Search me for
*
After one full day of "luxurious" travel via the Union Pacific Railroad, Cole was beginning to think he wasn’t built for modern travel. His legs were too long for one thing. No matter how he tried to situate himself in their cramped compartment, it seemed he couldn't get comfortable for any longer than five minutes at a time.
He was also beginning to think he wasn't built to be spending so much time with Guinevere Pierce. Maybe it had been too long since he'd been with a woman. How else to explain that he was so easily distracted by her mere proximity?
When they had disembarked for dinner, Cole had only picked at the bland train station food on his plate, and this despite the fact that he had worked up a good appetite. The trouble was, the appetite he'd worked up sitting next to Gwin on the train hadn't been for food.
Throughout the rushed meal, Arthur had kept up a steady stream of chatter and questions about Cole's experiences in New York City. Nevertheless, Cole had found his attention wandering, his gaze repeatedly drawn back to the boy's sister, from her lovely face to the gentle swell of her breasts to the slender lines of her waist. He had found himself pondering the burning question of whether or not she wore a corset beneath that snowy-white jacket blouse and, after twenty minutes of furtive study, he had reached the conclusion that she did not.
Unfortunately, the result of all that mealtime distraction was that he hadn't found time to finish his dinner. His empty stomach had started growling an hour ago, and, by now, it was sending up hunger pangs sharp enough to put him in a bad mood.
Cole looked forward to escaping into blissful, dreamless sleep. He was exhausted. The night before, he had spent a restless night on the uneven puncheon floor of the constable's office in Caldwell, not quite trusting their prison security after that afternoon's fiasco. He was ready for a good night's sleep, but there was one thing he had to see to before he could close his eyes in good conscience, and that thing was Guinevere Pierce.
Cole had rearranged their seats into a lower sleeping berth for Arthur and himself, then pulled down the upper berth for Gwin. Safely snuggled in for the night, Arthur was already snoring peacefully.
Cole waited in the narrow aisle for his other charge to get settled. She huddled behind pulled curtains while Cole marked time, his arms folded stiffly. "Are you decent yet?"
Her voice was coy. "Are you saying that I'm usually indecent?"
"I'm very amused out here, Gwin."
"Good. Maybe it'll take that frown off your face."
Cole grasped the edge of the berth to steady himself as the train went into a curve. Sudden turns and bumps were becoming a nuisance, occasionally causing embarrassed passengers to stumble into one another as they passed in the aisles. "Will you hurry, please?"
"They do not make women's garments as simple as men's. You'll just have to wait while I ... " She paused and exclaimed breathily, "There! Oh, that feels so much better! It's so awfully hot in here, don’t you think?"
Cole had to agree, only it wasn't just the summer heat that had him in a sweat. A lot of it had to do with the mental image he was conjuring up of her disrobing behind that flimsy curtain.
"Here!" Her arm popped out from between the curtains, offering him a carpetbag.
"What do you want me to do with that?"
"I don't know. Just don't lose it. All my clothes are in there."
Cole took the bag and slid it beneath the lower berth. He straightened, jingling the handcuffs in his coat pocket. "Now, are you decent?"
"Decent as I'll ever get, I reckon."
Cole parted the curtains to find her lying on her side, a sheet pulled up over her chest, revealing the slim shoulder straps of a white chemise. Her head rested on one hand and her long-lashed eyes glimmered mischievously in the overhead lamplight. "What are you going to do now? Search me for
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