my stomach lurch. I wouldn’t ever hurt a hair on Kristina’s head, no matter how hard she pissed me off. I wouldn’t let myself, but no amount of convincing was going to comfort Trudy. Over time, I’d just have to prove I wasn’t a danger.
Trudy’s knowledge of our dark secret put us all at risk, and if she took a fancy to protecting Kristina from a threat she imagined, and decided to share that information with the town? Well, me and Jeremiah would be hanging by a noose with our boots on fire at dawn.
Trudy led us down the street to the tiny house she shared with her man. She needed Kristina’s measurements before she went to work trying to save that tattered dress. A little shiver of excitement lit me up. You could tell a lot about the quality of a person by their reaction to unexpected situations, and so far Kristina had been entertaining to watch. She’d stood right up for Trudy in Cotton’s, and even if it was none of our business, pride had filled me when she popped off to that jack-wagon, Ray Ellerby. He’d been asking for it for years, and it was tiny, pretty, spirited little Kristina who gave him the walloping he deserved. Maybe I’d gone too far with the knife, but the animal inside was happy with the way I’d defended my mate, so it was pretty hard to stay mad at myself.
Trudy opened the front door to her home and I watched Kristina’s face as she introduced her man.
Elias Jones was tall, good-looking, easy smiling, and unquestionably white. Kristina’s eyes went wide with surprise just before she burst out into a grin bright as the sun when he shook her hand. I swear, I was going to get more enjoyment out of watching her animated expressions than I’d ever know what to do with.
Kristina’s hair was right pretty all done up in pins, and her face was clear and glowing without all that powder. Her lips were full and a shade of pink I’d only seen on wildflowers. A delicate nose and fine eyebrows just a shade darker than her sandy colored hair graced the feminine shape of her face. I wanted her and even the meanest, most stubborn bits of me had been taken with her and given up without a fight. I made a pathetic monster.
I had trouble paying attention to my conversation with Elias because Trudy was delicately wrapping Kristina’s chest with a flimsy measuring tape. I wouldn’t miss other men’s eyes on her cleavage, but I’d miss the dress for my own pleasures. Maybe we’d better keep it for fun later on.
Fifteen minutes later, Kristina came out of the back room wearing a fine dress of pinstripe navy with cream details. It fit her everywhere but the chest and the women laughed as Trudy let the stitches out a bit to better fit her shape. I was proud to have her on my arm in her whore get-up, but now I’d be dragging her to town every chance I got.
Damn, she was a pretty woman.
“I’ll charge you half price for this one, and then you’ll have two to wear,” Trudy said.
“Do you like it?” Kristina asked me with the most appealing look of hope in her eyes.
I’d like it better on the floor of my bedroom, but she probably wouldn’t appreciate the compliment. Instead, I smiled easily and said, “That’s a fine dress for you.”
She lit up like the North Star.
Trudy bit one last knot and stood back to admire her handiwork. “I’ll have the other one done in a couple of days if you want to stop by and pick it up.”
“What do we owe you?” I asked.
“Does one-fifty for the dress I’m re-sewing and two dollars for the new one sound fair?”
I hadn’t a guess on what women’s fashion cost, but it likely would’ve been a pretty penny more at Marta’s. I handed the money to Elias while the girls said their goodbyes.
Trudy wrapped up the old whoring dress and walked back as far as Cotton’s to take her turn feeding the masses again. After she waved us off, Kristina put her delicate hand in the crook of my arm as she hummed a song I’d never heard before. Did she feel
Trudy’s knowledge of our dark secret put us all at risk, and if she took a fancy to protecting Kristina from a threat she imagined, and decided to share that information with the town? Well, me and Jeremiah would be hanging by a noose with our boots on fire at dawn.
Trudy led us down the street to the tiny house she shared with her man. She needed Kristina’s measurements before she went to work trying to save that tattered dress. A little shiver of excitement lit me up. You could tell a lot about the quality of a person by their reaction to unexpected situations, and so far Kristina had been entertaining to watch. She’d stood right up for Trudy in Cotton’s, and even if it was none of our business, pride had filled me when she popped off to that jack-wagon, Ray Ellerby. He’d been asking for it for years, and it was tiny, pretty, spirited little Kristina who gave him the walloping he deserved. Maybe I’d gone too far with the knife, but the animal inside was happy with the way I’d defended my mate, so it was pretty hard to stay mad at myself.
Trudy opened the front door to her home and I watched Kristina’s face as she introduced her man.
Elias Jones was tall, good-looking, easy smiling, and unquestionably white. Kristina’s eyes went wide with surprise just before she burst out into a grin bright as the sun when he shook her hand. I swear, I was going to get more enjoyment out of watching her animated expressions than I’d ever know what to do with.
Kristina’s hair was right pretty all done up in pins, and her face was clear and glowing without all that powder. Her lips were full and a shade of pink I’d only seen on wildflowers. A delicate nose and fine eyebrows just a shade darker than her sandy colored hair graced the feminine shape of her face. I wanted her and even the meanest, most stubborn bits of me had been taken with her and given up without a fight. I made a pathetic monster.
I had trouble paying attention to my conversation with Elias because Trudy was delicately wrapping Kristina’s chest with a flimsy measuring tape. I wouldn’t miss other men’s eyes on her cleavage, but I’d miss the dress for my own pleasures. Maybe we’d better keep it for fun later on.
Fifteen minutes later, Kristina came out of the back room wearing a fine dress of pinstripe navy with cream details. It fit her everywhere but the chest and the women laughed as Trudy let the stitches out a bit to better fit her shape. I was proud to have her on my arm in her whore get-up, but now I’d be dragging her to town every chance I got.
Damn, she was a pretty woman.
“I’ll charge you half price for this one, and then you’ll have two to wear,” Trudy said.
“Do you like it?” Kristina asked me with the most appealing look of hope in her eyes.
I’d like it better on the floor of my bedroom, but she probably wouldn’t appreciate the compliment. Instead, I smiled easily and said, “That’s a fine dress for you.”
She lit up like the North Star.
Trudy bit one last knot and stood back to admire her handiwork. “I’ll have the other one done in a couple of days if you want to stop by and pick it up.”
“What do we owe you?” I asked.
“Does one-fifty for the dress I’m re-sewing and two dollars for the new one sound fair?”
I hadn’t a guess on what women’s fashion cost, but it likely would’ve been a pretty penny more at Marta’s. I handed the money to Elias while the girls said their goodbyes.
Trudy wrapped up the old whoring dress and walked back as far as Cotton’s to take her turn feeding the masses again. After she waved us off, Kristina put her delicate hand in the crook of my arm as she hummed a song I’d never heard before. Did she feel
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