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Seconds crawled by but neither of us moved. I was more than happy to wait her out. Promises were promises where I came from.
And I knew that, deep down, she really wanted to show me.
The anticipation was goddamn killing me. Honest Dan Kelly’s daughter, in my carriage, about to show me her corset. It was almost too good to be true.
Looking down, she removed her gloves one at a time. Then her fingers danced near her neckline, hovering. Nerves, or was the vixen actually teasing me? My muscles tightened, like an animal ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “Are you trying to drive me out of my skull?”
Her eyes sparkled. “Just ensuring you’re paying attention, William.”
William? My body went hot and cold, a bolt of white-hot lust filling every vein and cell. No one called me William, ever. I was Bax or Billy, occasionally “Monk.”
Jesus fuck, this woman.
While I was still reeling, she plucked at the hooks of her black bodice, unfastening them one by one. I stayed quiet, barely blinking, as she worked.
Lower and lower, her fingers kept going, tantalizing me, and my heart thumped louder than the carriage wheels bouncing over cobblestones. The entire city could have burned down and I wouldn’t have been able to tear my eyes away from her delicate hands.
When the bodice was undone, she held out her arm. “You’ll have to pull.”
CHAPTER5
Isabelle
Why wasn’t I nervous? I was removing my clothing in front of a man. Yet the way Bax looked at me made me feel powerful. Beautiful and in control.
He reached for my sleeve and gently pulled to help me slip my arm from the fitted fabric. Cool air washed over my newly revealed skin as I angled to give him my other arm. “Now this one.”
He complied silently, acting like the most handsome and dangerous ladies’ maid I’d ever encountered. When I was free, I let the bodice fall behind my back and squared my shoulders. Though my arms were now bare, I still wore a thin black cover over my corset for protection.
We turned a corner and the streets grew smoother. Broadway, probably. I was grateful for the heavy curtains that covered the windows. At least no one would ever know I had disrobed in front of the notorious Billy Baxter.
The buttons on the corset cover were tiny and my hands were trembling, so it was slow going. I tried to keep the sides closed as I opened the garment, just to prolong his torture—and mine. The intense way his eyes tracked my movements caused a slick heat to bloom between my thighs. Did he find this arousing, too? Would the sight of me in such dishabille produce another erection in his trousers? Oh, how I hoped so.
Finally, I peeled off one side and then the other. I let him look his fill at the red corset edged with white satin.
He took his time with his examination. My chest rose and fell quickly with the force of my breaths, and the carriage closed in on us, like we were our own little island. The sweep of his intense gaze caused goose bumps all along my skin.
“My God, Belle,” he rasped. “You are stunning.”
“Do you like it?”
“If you were anyone else, I’d be fucking you already.”
I almost asked why I didn’t qualify, but immediately thought better of it. There was no use in provoking him, not when I had no intention of handing over my virtue to him. “You are quite fond of that word.”
“Because it has so many practical uses. If you ask nicely, I’ll show you my favorite one.”
I didn’t dare ask. I feared I would like the answer too much.
Reaching for the corset cover, I started to shrug it on. He put up a hand. “Wait. Don’t.”
“Why?”
“Come here.”
The rough order was laced with quiet authority, an undeniable command. I considered refusing but, in truth, I didn’twantto. Whatever was happening between us pulled at a deep part of me, one I hadn’t even known existed. It was the place inside me yearning to be noticed, to be desired. Tomatterto someone else.
And Bax noticed me.
