Chapter 3
1969 Words
3
ROBERT
The water in the copper tub was just starting to cool. It had been worth every penny getting the porter to deliver it along with pails and pails of scalding water, even with my knees bent almost up to my chest. A bath was a treat not offered in the military and I looked forward to it on a regular basis once my commission was retired.
I was just rinsing the soap from my arms when my door opened and shut with a flurry of pale green silk. My hands stilled, holding the dripping cloth as my eyes widened in surprise. It was her. For a second or two, she leaned back against the door as if someone were going to break it down, not paying me any mind. I saw the moment when her eyes found me in the tub.
"Oh," she gasped, spinning back around and putting her hand on the door. Had she entered the wrong room? I knew her to be a first-class passenger so her appearance on the lower level of the ship was unusual. What the hell was she doing here? I assumed she'd flee once she caught a glimpse of me, but she didn't. That was a telling sign. Whatever she was hiding from—and she had to be hiding from something—was worse than being alone in a cabin with a naked man in a tub.
I stood up directly and she slapped a hand over her eyes and gasped. I worried more about the person who was bothering her than her virtue. Opening the cabin door, I stepped out into the hall. Since I was dripping wet and naked, it was fortunate that no one was about. Satisfied danger had not followed the woman, I returned to my room and closed the door.
"Has someone been chasing you? No one is there now, but have you been threatened?" I asked. She still had her hand covering her eyes. "Is that why you remain?"
"I remain because you are blocking my way and I can't see where I'm going with my eyes covered. I can't believe you went out into the hall like that. Are you still naked?"
I grinned. Her voice was soft and melodic, and her innocence endearing. By her accent, she was American. I took a quick moment to study her. Her hair was the color of wheat, twisted up into a fancy and stylish knot at her nape. Her neck was long and slim, her entire body petite.
Surely my hands would span her slim waist.
"Yes."
"Don't you wish to… to dress?"
I grabbed my bathing towel and wrapped it about my waist. "I was in the bath when you barged in. I have to assume that since you chose my room, you are eager for my attentions. It is advantageous then that I'm already unclothed."
She dropped her hand—just as I'd hoped—her eyes wide with surprise and indignation, but after she took a moment to look her fill, she looked away, her cheeks turning pink. Good, she's curious. While she might be a maiden, she certainly wasn't a cold one. Andrew and I had no doubt she'd be hot in bed and her reactions to me confirmed it.
"I… I am not eager," she replied. She gasped when she realized she'd been ogling and brought her hands back up over her eyes. "It's just that I… I mean, oh my…"
While the air in the room was cold from my being wet, it did nothing to diminish my c**k. It stood out clearly, even beneath the cover of the towel. There was no chance it would go down. Not with her standing before me and while I could breathe in her soft, feminine scent.
Andrew came in through the door adjoining the rooms. "Ready for another night of—" He cut off his words when he saw the beautiful woman, saw me standing before her in just my towel. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Hello," he offered, instead of finishing whatever he was going to tell me. He was wearing his uniform, ready for dinner. I just wore a towel, and had the woman we planned to marry standing before me. Andrew was unflappable. "I am Andrew."
The woman lowered her hands, but kept her gaze clearly diverted to Andrew. "Has Robert introduced himself?" he asked.
She shook her head, but tilted it a little more away from me.
"No? He's usually more polite than that, but you did, I assume, interrupt his bath? Who might you be?"
"Ann," she whispered.
Ann.
Only a few feet from her, I breathed in her floral scent. Soft and feminine, just like her. I itched to touch her, to stroke her hair and feel the silky strands beneath my fingers. I didn't dare, especially practically naked.
"I won't hurt you." I held up one hand in front of me, the other securing the towel about my waist.
"No, we won't hurt you," Andrew repeated.
Her eyes darted to the door, then back at the two of us. "Humorous, isn't it?" she asked. "I'm safer in a stateroom with two men—one of them completely naked—than with my own father."
I did not like her words, nor the tone with which they were given. A young woman should not be afraid of her own father. I looked her over. Her dress was of the latest fashion, a high, demure neckline, long sleeves with lace at the cuffs, a full skirt. The soft color showed off her pale complexion and equally fair hair perfectly. She was lovely, stunning even, and yet she was upset. My eager c**k could wait.
"You're hiding from your father?" Andrew asked.
She nodded. When someone knocked briskly on the door, she jumped away from it as if burned. "It's… it's him," she hissed. Her pretty blush leached from her cheeks, her eyes widened in fear and she backed into the corner.
I didn't have to tell Andrew anything, for he came around and took her hand. "Come with me, sweetheart," he whispered as he leaned his head close to hers. She went with him easily enough, clearly more worried about the person at the door than wherever she was being led. "Robert can deal with whomever is knocking."
He gave me a meaningful look as he closed the connecting door. I heard the snick of a bolt sliding into place just before I opened the door to the hallway, holding the bath towel up. Whoever was there could get an eyeful for all I cared.
"Yes?" I asked. Instead of the softer tone I'd given to Ann, the one word was laced in annoyance and years of command.
Before me stood Ann's father. The only times I'd seen her had been at his side, but up close, he came across as a pompous asshole and he hadn't even spoken yet. A short man, his ample rolls and loose skin indicated a lavish lifestyle. The cut of his suit, the ring on his little finger all spoke to money. The sweat dotting his brow and the nasty gleam in his eyes indicated a frustration and anger.
"I am looking for my daughter and I was told by a porter that a woman entered this cabin." He flicked his gaze down my body, then tried to look around me.
The fact that he dared insinuate such a dishonorable action on a military man only showed his callousness, as well as a level of desperation. He didn't just want to find Ann, he had to. He wasn't a worried father. He was a worried man. A man who wanted Ann for something. Something she obviously didn't want.
I looked down at myself, water still dotting my skin. I opened the door a tad wider so he could see the tub. "As you can see, you've interrupted my bath, not a tawdry love affair."
"She was seen entering your room."
I sighed and pointed to my navy coat hanging from a hook on the wall. "Obviously I'm not wearing my uniform, but do you think a Lieutenant Colonel in the US military needs to answer to you? Get the hell out of here and leave me alone. Your daughter is your problem."
The man stilled then, realizing his gaffe. "My apologies, sir. But my daughter's behavior of late has been… questionable."
My eyebrow went up at the brazen way he construed his daughter to be a w***e.
"I assure you, no one is within." When he didn't move to leave, I sighed. "Search it if you wish."
Turning sideways, I allowed him narrow access to my room, but he'd have to squeeze past me first. As I was just holding my bath towel over my c**k, he decided against it and remained just in the threshold. He angled his jowled chin toward the adjoining door. "Where does that lead?"
I walked around the tub and to the door in question. If he had issues with my state of undress, then he shouldn't have continued to question. I turned the knob and tugged on it, proving that it was locked from the other side. "To the next cabin. Many of them have adjoining rooms in second class. Some purchase two rooms for a more spacious crossing. First class is more agreeable, is it not?"
Straightening his back, he replied, "Indeed."
"Do you plan on searching every room on this level, or just mine?" I began to use the towel to dry myself, letting him get an eyeful. He glanced left and right down the hall, not interested in being seen talking to a naked stranger. The situation was far from dignified for someone of his grandiose stature.
"We are on a boat, sir. I would think she would show up by the time we reach New York." I ran the cloth over my one shoulder, then the other. Talking to Ann's father had removed any eagerness I had toward her and my c**k lay long down my thigh. "While I have no interest in letting others know that I've been accused of dishonor, I assure you that others may not be so… discreet."
His cheeks mottled with color at my barbed words. He wished to put me in my place—which he considered a class or two beneath him—my size and background must have assisted him in holding his tongue. Instead of apologizing, he reached in and grabbed the knob, pulling the door shut behind him. I sat down on the bed and pulled on my pants, letting the suspenders dangle down the side of my legs.
Andrew opened the connecting door and I grabbed my shirt as I joined them. Ann stood between us—where she should be—wringing her hands.
"I don't mind you seeing my c**k, Ann, but since your father also got an eyeful, I think we deserve an explanation, don't you?" I asked.
"Yes, how can we help you?" Andrew added.
Instead of tears in her eyes as I'd expected, when she looked up at Andrew I saw a hint of fire there. Anger, but not at us. "Help?" She laughed, but without a hint of humor. "You saw my father. He's ruthless and will get his way. I'm just a pawn for him in his business negotiations with Mr. Atherton. The only way you can help me is by finding me a husband in the next half hour."
Andrew's eyebrows went up at her words, then he grinned. "All right, sweetheart. I'll marry you."
As her mouth fell open in utter surprise, all I could think about was how those lips would look wrapped around my c**k.
- Writer
