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“You are so brave and strong, little Josie. I think the world of you.”
* * *
She floated up to the boarding house door on a cloud of emotion. Mrs. McCurdy was up and waiting for her.
“Coming home alone at this hour, me girl? And where have ye been, may I ask?”
Trying to brush past her, Lady Josephine said something about working late.
“‘Working late,’ is it? And what sort of work would that be? I know of no milliner, I tell ye, who’d waste precious candles on stitching hats at this hour.”
Lady Josephine replied with something unintelligible about the upcoming spring season.
“Aye, we all know what happens in the spring. Birds and bees and sap rising in the trees. But there will be none of that here, me girl. No walking out on the streets late at night with men. I keep a respectable house, and I won’t have it said otherwise. If I catch ye up to any shenanigans, ye’ll be out on the curb in a minute, yerself and yer friend and yer fancy hat boxes. D’ ye understand?”
Lady Josephine mumbled something and escaped upstairs.
* * *
The fourth night, Ace and Lady Josephine walked again through the park, their hands now clasped as naturally as if they were made for each other. Near the end of the path, Ace’s footsteps slowed. He guided her gently off the path into a darker, wooded area.
Taking her face between his hands, he stroked her cheeks. His fingers combed through her wavy hair, releasing the clasps that held it in place. Moving ever so slowly, he lowered his lips gently onto hers.
She had never been kissed before, and at first she was awkward. Then she caught the rhythm of his tongue thrusting against her lips, and she opened her mouth to him.
“Josie,” Ace murmured. “You’re so beautiful. Don’t be afraid. Just let me show you how. I won’t harm you, I swear it.”
She let his tongue enter her, and she found herself savoring it, gently sucking it. She mimicked his motions, slipping her own tongue between his hot, parted lips. For what seemed like an hour, they traded each other’s tastes, sampled each other’s tongues and bit at each other’s lips.
Ace reached gently under her cloak and found her waist, tracing its graceful slimness with his hands. One hand reached for the small of her back, kneading and stroking.
“Just let me touch your body—a little. I just want to feel the shape of you.”
Nearly beside herself with desire, Lady Josephine reached for that strong, knuckle-scarred hand and moved it up to her breast, prompting it to knead and stroke that soft orb as it had just caressed her back.
Ace moaned and pushed her, less gently now, against the trunk of a nearby tree. She could feel his manhood swelling and stiffening between his legs. It gave her a feeling of power and pride she had never felt before.
Acting purely on instinct, she spread her own thighs. Grasping his buttocks from behind, she pulled him against her, rising up to meet his hardness.
Ace pulled back suddenly, looking shocked. Silently, he shook his head, then took a few steps out of the wooded area, back onto the well-lit path.
Lady Josephine followed him. What had she done wrong?
There was a park bench a few feet away, and he beckoned her to sit there with him. They were silent for a few moments.
“Tell me, little Josie, what are you? Are you maiden or whore?”
“What?” asked Lady Josephine in surprise.
“When first I kissed you, just now, I could have sworn you were totally inexperienced.”
“I am. I was. Was it not a good kiss? Did you not like it?” Lady Josephine’s eyes were rapidly swelling up with tears.
“Josie, any red-blooded man in England would have loved that kiss.
“But—”
“But what?”
