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somewhere.”
“I know, but...damn!”
Blackmailer or no blackmailer, it was rather ungallant of Ben to show so much eagerness to escape my company. “You could mind your language, you know. There is a lady present.”
“You’d say damn too, if you were a few inches taller. Not only is John getting away, but there’s no room to stand up straight in this cursed cupboard. I have to keep my head ducked and my shoulders stooped, and I’m already developing a crick in my neck.”
“Well, sit on the floor, or plant your feet farther apart and lean your back against the side of the cupboard.”
“You happen to be in the way, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“And what, I’m too plump to maneuver around?”
“I didn’t say that,” Ben replied irritably. “Good lord, why does everything have to mean a quarrel with you?”
“With me? I think I’m showing remarkable forbearance, given that it was your idea to hide in here.”
“Just hold still.” He moved about in the darkness, squeezing against me as he worked himself into a more comfortable position.
The air left my lungs in an ooph when he nearly knocked me over.
“Sorry.”
Then he was all but wrapped around me, braced against the side of the cupboard with his legs extended on either side of mine. He’d slithered in so tightly that I had my hip pressed to his thighs, one breast brushing his arm. It was almost like being in an embrace.
He sighed with relief. “That’s better.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with better , but it was certainly more intimate. He was all hard muscle, and for someone who dressed like a stable hand, he smelled wonderful, like new leather and shaving soap. His warm breath fanned my ear. Realizing we might be in for a long wait, I sighed and relaxed against him.
Unfortunately, after less than a minute he nudged me away, and I all but fell against the opposite wall of the cupboard. “What are you doing?”
“Just...give me some room.” His voice sounded curiously strangled.
“What? I was there first! Besides, you’re bigger than I am. You’re already taking up more than your share of space.” Stubbornly, I squeezed back against him.
He made a small sound of protest, and in the same instant I realized why he’d pushed me away. Something was prodding my hip, a hard, insistent length that hadn’t been there a minute before. It took a good five seconds for its significance to register, then I cried “Oh!” and jumped as far away from him as the close confines allowed.
There was a brief, embarrassed silence. “I’m sorry. It just...happened.”
“It’s all right.” My face burned, while a different and curious heat made the oddest parts of my body tingle. “I should have been more careful to keep my distance.”
“If you want to slap my face once we’re out of here, I completely understand.”
“No, don’t give it another thought.”
“Really, you have no idea how embarrassing this is.”
“Do we have to talk about it?” I snapped. “It’s embarrassing for me too. I’ve never...you know, felt one before.”
“Really?”
I wondered with a nettled feeling what he thought of my morals if that particular gap in my education surprised him. “Well, how should I? I don’t exactly make a habit of slipping into cupboards with strange men. And I didn’t have much chance to feel yours, either, if that’s any comfort to you.” Actually, the more I thought about it, the more flattering I found his condition. Whatever else might come of all this business with Helen, Ben was attracted to me. That’s what it meant when... that happened to a man, according to the other girls I’d gone to school with at Miss Pritchard’s Academy.
As if he could read my thoughts, Ben hastened to sink my pretensions. “I have no intention of taking liberties, if you’re worried on that score. It was only an involuntary reaction. You had all your weight on me.”
Involuntary was a bad enough description, but all my
“I know, but...damn!”
Blackmailer or no blackmailer, it was rather ungallant of Ben to show so much eagerness to escape my company. “You could mind your language, you know. There is a lady present.”
“You’d say damn too, if you were a few inches taller. Not only is John getting away, but there’s no room to stand up straight in this cursed cupboard. I have to keep my head ducked and my shoulders stooped, and I’m already developing a crick in my neck.”
“Well, sit on the floor, or plant your feet farther apart and lean your back against the side of the cupboard.”
“You happen to be in the way, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“And what, I’m too plump to maneuver around?”
“I didn’t say that,” Ben replied irritably. “Good lord, why does everything have to mean a quarrel with you?”
“With me? I think I’m showing remarkable forbearance, given that it was your idea to hide in here.”
“Just hold still.” He moved about in the darkness, squeezing against me as he worked himself into a more comfortable position.
The air left my lungs in an ooph when he nearly knocked me over.
“Sorry.”
Then he was all but wrapped around me, braced against the side of the cupboard with his legs extended on either side of mine. He’d slithered in so tightly that I had my hip pressed to his thighs, one breast brushing his arm. It was almost like being in an embrace.
He sighed with relief. “That’s better.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with better , but it was certainly more intimate. He was all hard muscle, and for someone who dressed like a stable hand, he smelled wonderful, like new leather and shaving soap. His warm breath fanned my ear. Realizing we might be in for a long wait, I sighed and relaxed against him.
Unfortunately, after less than a minute he nudged me away, and I all but fell against the opposite wall of the cupboard. “What are you doing?”
“Just...give me some room.” His voice sounded curiously strangled.
“What? I was there first! Besides, you’re bigger than I am. You’re already taking up more than your share of space.” Stubbornly, I squeezed back against him.
He made a small sound of protest, and in the same instant I realized why he’d pushed me away. Something was prodding my hip, a hard, insistent length that hadn’t been there a minute before. It took a good five seconds for its significance to register, then I cried “Oh!” and jumped as far away from him as the close confines allowed.
There was a brief, embarrassed silence. “I’m sorry. It just...happened.”
“It’s all right.” My face burned, while a different and curious heat made the oddest parts of my body tingle. “I should have been more careful to keep my distance.”
“If you want to slap my face once we’re out of here, I completely understand.”
“No, don’t give it another thought.”
“Really, you have no idea how embarrassing this is.”
“Do we have to talk about it?” I snapped. “It’s embarrassing for me too. I’ve never...you know, felt one before.”
“Really?”
I wondered with a nettled feeling what he thought of my morals if that particular gap in my education surprised him. “Well, how should I? I don’t exactly make a habit of slipping into cupboards with strange men. And I didn’t have much chance to feel yours, either, if that’s any comfort to you.” Actually, the more I thought about it, the more flattering I found his condition. Whatever else might come of all this business with Helen, Ben was attracted to me. That’s what it meant when... that happened to a man, according to the other girls I’d gone to school with at Miss Pritchard’s Academy.
As if he could read my thoughts, Ben hastened to sink my pretensions. “I have no intention of taking liberties, if you’re worried on that score. It was only an involuntary reaction. You had all your weight on me.”
Involuntary was a bad enough description, but all my
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