"We'd better get you into the tub," he managed to choke out. He poured the rest of the water in and then knelt and felt it to make sure the temperature was good. His eyes were on the task at hand and he said, in an attempt to be a gentleman and mindful of her sensibilities, "Would you like some help in the bath or do you think you can manage on your own?"
When he lifted his eyes to her, he fell back onto his rear end. "Holy cats!" She'd opened the front of her corset and pulled it wide, leaving it hanging to the sides while her breasts—lush and beautiful with rose colored tips that were beaded and made him lick his lips in anticipation—were fully exposed to his view.
"I think I would like some help, if you are offering."
He scrambled to his feet and approached her. He reached out a finger to trace the outline of her breast before stroking over the tight bud of her nipple. She inhaled sharply and her eyelids drooped as a soft moan escaped her mouth.
"Has anyone ever touched you like this, Lizzie?" he whispered in her ear. He prayed the answer was ‘no’ because otherwise he'd have to hunt down the other man and kill him in a fit of jealous rage.
"Of course not!" She straightened and stared at him with a bit of imperiousness that surprised him. "How dare you say such a thing!"
He gave himself a mental kick in the ass. What was wrong with him? He had a beautiful, desirable and seductive woman in his arms and he brought up other men?
"I apologize. I don't know what's wrong with me, you're so beautiful, I lost my head."
That seemed to appease her and she shifted so that the corset fell open further. "Um, maybe we ought to hurry so the water doesn't get cold?"
As hot as he felt, Matt figured he could just dip his finger in and raise the temperature a few degrees, if not all the way to boiling.
He took a moment to open the collar of his shirt and toss aside the tie he'd been wearing all day. He was surprised it had lasted that long. He'd been distracted. Now, he felt stifled. The air in the room was thick with anticipation ... as was his cock.
Taking hold of the corset he carefully slid it down her arms and tossed it aside. Pausing for a moment, he drank in the sight of her topless. Holy cats!
His lurid thoughts were interrupted by the blue-green bruise forming on her side, reminding him of her injury and the need to put the liniment on right away. Tentatively he reached out and touched the edge of it. "Does this hurt?"
She winced. "A little."
"Well, much as I'd like to do all kinds of other things, including touching you all over, we need to get you in the tub and apply the liniment."
She nodded, the pulse at the base of her throat hammering. "I hope the doctor was right, that it will take away the pain in just a matter of minutes." She reached out and touched her fingertip to his arm, running it from shoulder to hand and then clasping his hand in hers. "I'm feeling some urges, Matt."
* * *
She wanted him and she wanted him now. She wasn't sure what all that entailed but she knew that her body was on fire and the throbbing between her thighs, the same feeling she used to get when reading a romance novel, only now it was ratcheted up a hundred-fold.
In the books she'd read, they just talked about a yearning and longing and flutters. She had all that, but now she realized there was more. Much more and she wanted it.
She realized she was being demanding and pushy and she’d noticed a shadow of something pass over Matt’s eyes. Perhaps he didn’t care for her being so forward.
Heated pulses moved through her body and she needed relief.
Unaccustomed to being told no, but, she was not in charge here, he was. That would be a lesson she needed to learn and the sooner the better.
Matt took hold of her hand and brought her palm to his mouth, laying a tender kiss to the center, then he guided her closer to the tub. Holding her hand to keep her steady, he helped her out of her drawers and stockings. Each touch of his fingers along her flesh sent shivers of desire through her and by the time he lowered her into the tub, she was desperate with need. Thank goodness the water had cooled some so that she could get her urges under control.
Matt knelt next to the tub, rolling back the sleeves of his shirt to reveal tanned, sinewy forearms. She stared and her breathing increased to the point where she was nearly gasping for air.
Matt tipped her chin up so she could see into his face. "Let's get this bath taken care of and the liniment too. I had planned to do all this slowly, but I am getting the impression that you are as impatient as I am. Is that true, sweetheart?"
She flushed and reached down for some water to splash over her face. "Y-yes," she whispered. "A-am I a h-harlot? I have never felt such wanton desires before."
He used a towel to softly dry the water from her face. "You are far from a harlot, my dear sweet Lizzie. You are simply a woman with healthy desires and that pleases me a great deal. A very great deal."
His praise helped to quell her uncertainty. Honestly it seemed that ever since she'd gotten on the train she'd lost track of herself, where Elizabeth—proper young lady who was used to being waited on, ended and Lizzie—carefree and high-spirited—began. Was it possible she was both? Always had been both? She'd simply never had the opportunity
