Page 42 of Landing Love

Ann took off her shoes and set them by the dresser. “Would you mind if I changed out of my dress?” There was nowhere for her to go, so she would have to do it out in the open right here. This was as good a time as any to get over her anxieties.

Bill turned bright red but said, “Of course. Make yourself comfortable.” He looked away and busied himself with hanging up his jacket, vest, and tie.

She undressed, knowing there was nothing to prevent him turning around and watching. She almost hoped he would peak as she slid out of her dress and took off her corset, stockings, bloomers, and chemise. She stood completely naked as she quickly pulled out her summer nightgown and a dressing gown to put over it. Soon, she was decent again, and she turned around.

His back was turned. He was in his shirtsleeves with them rolled up to the elbow. She could see hints of his shape as she looked. Despite his thin physique, he was well muscled. She couldn’t help wondering what he might feel like naked beneath her hands. “You can turn around now. I’m done.”

He turned around, his ears still red but his eyes full of fire. Clearly, he wanted her but was holding back. “What do you like to do in the evenings?” he asked in an obvious attempt to distract from the thick tension in the room.

“Usually, I knit or crochet. Sometimes I read a book.” She didn’t have knitting needles or a crochet hook, she realized, suddenly bereft. What would she do with her hands?

“Tomorrow, we’ll go to the dry goods store, and you can buy yourself whatever your heart desires. I can’t offer you any knitting tonight, but I do have some books.” He gestured toward a waist-high bookshelf with several dozen books on it.

She walked over and examined its contents, selecting “The Count of Monte Cristo” from amongst his selection of adventure novels. She would have to buy herself some Austen and Brontë to augment his collection.

“I love that book. I read it when I was a boy, and I’ve read it again and again over the years. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to read it aloud?”

“Of course,” she said with a smile. She looked around for a place to sit and realized her options were the bed or the tiny round table in the kitchen. They really needed to move to a proper house quickly. Deciding on the bed, she propped a pillow against the headboard, made herself comfortable, and began to read, “‘On the 24th of February, 1815, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signaled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.’”

“Forgive me if this is too much to ask,” Bill interrupted, “but might I lay down with my head in your lap?”

Smiling, she said, “Feel free.” She waited while he lay down and rested his head against her before continuing. As she read, he sighed, a smile on his lips, his eyes half closed. He looked so boyish and sweet, she couldn’t help stroking his hair as she read. His smile widened further. They stayed like that for at least half an hour before Junior started crying.

Bill was up in a flash, picking up Junior and making silly faces for his entertainment, but Junior would not be consoled. “He probably needs his diaper changed, and it’s getting toward time for him to eat again.” She reached for Junior.

Taking her sweet baby away from her sweet husband, she quickly changed his diaper, then grabbed a cloth and threw it over her front so that she could feed Junior as discreetly as possible.

Bill took over reading aloud as Junior ate, and soon Junior drifted off to sleep. She laid him down in his crib and took off her dressing gown. “We should get some sleep while we can,” she whispered to Bill. “He’ll be up again in four hours.”

Bill nodded and got up to take off his clothes, stripping down to his union suit. She averted her gaze but still caught a glimpse of his lean muscles and sculpted curves as he disrobed. When he was done, he turned out the light, leaving only the glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains.

As he climbed into bed, she whispered, “I should take the side next to the cradle so that I can feed him.” Nodding, he joined her beneath the light covers.

Heavens. It was a very small bed. There was no way for them to avoid touching. “Can I hold you?” he whispered in her ear.

“Yes.” There was hardly any choice in such tight quarters. She could only hope it didn’t lead to more. Except a part of her wanted more, even though she knew she wasn’t ready. What a glorious relief it would be to lose herself in his embrace, to let go and indulge the desire she couldn’t deny.

His arm slipped around her from behind, stroking her side and coming to rest just below her breast. Lord, how she ached for him to reach just a little bit farther. But instead, he kissed her neck and shoulder, sending thrills straight to the coiling heat at her center, as his whole body molded to hers. She could feel the toned muscle of him against her back and the undeniable evidence of his arousal against her buttocks, but he simply snuggled against her and his breathing settled into a deep and regular pattern that convinced her he was asleep.

16

Bill didn’t sleep a wink, though hopefully he had fooled Ann into thinking he was out cold. Agonizing hours passed as he wrestled with his aching desire to touch and kiss and caress every inch of the woman in his arms. But he’d promised he wouldn’t. No matter how painfully aroused he was by her mere presence, he wouldn’t rush things.

It was the middle of the night when Junior began to fuss. He had no idea what time. Well after midnight, he guessed. Ann stirred against him, making him grit his teeth to stay still. Moments later, she got out of bed to pick up Junior. Her sudden absence left him bereft and aching.

Unaware of his struggle, she sat back on the bed, rested against the headboard, and unbuttoned the front of her nightgown and expose one beautiful, perfect breast to the moonlight. Mary and Joseph, what had he ever done to deserve such tender torture?

He couldn’t look away as she held Junior to it, and the darker outline of her nipple disappeared, leaving only the swell of her breast visible. He closed his eyes and attempted to tamp down his desire.

Tiny snuffles and slurps filled his ears as Junior drank. Warring with Bill’s desire was overwhelming love and protectiveness. This was his tiny family now. This was the domestic contentment he’d imagined briefly when Betty told him she was pregnant. It didn’t seem fair that his wishes were coming true when Ann’s had been so thoroughly and finally dashed.

Would she take it amiss if he wrapped his arms around her? No, best to leave her alone and keep pretending to be asleep.

Soon, she got up to put Junior in his crib and climbed back into bed, facing him. “You’re awake,” she whispered.

So much for pretending. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”