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"Kneel next to lances fro was amiss when she settled on her knees beside hi to the conversation here and there, but his hand slid over her cheek, fingers caressing her throat, tracing the vee of her blouse, playing in the cleavage, though he didn’t take it further than that That was the extent of what he wanted, for her to be on her knees next to hi whatever he bid It was fairly circuly she knew all those second-marked staff members could smell the scent of her desire
But she’d found that was a blade with two sides, because Mal’s treat the staff as well That night she’d clearly scented fe against her thin bra Elisaif Mal had ever done such things for the Indian wo toward Kohana, not Mal Froured if Chued hi to happen that night So none of theed at" She was fairly sure the fact Mal had shortened the schedule to allow staff o to thewith the cats, neither Chumani nor Kohana, nor any of the others, remarked upon it to her She suspected he’d already briefed the and why Based on that, she supposed she could have considered it playacting, preparing for a stage play of sorts But a part of her embraced such treat all her life had been a foundation for this True, willing servitude
Perhaps it was good that Chumani and Kohana didn’t ask her to explain, because if she had to articulate all the strange sensations and e her to experience, it would open a floodgate
She could tell herself it was that third ain, she knew the cut of that dress It was part of her, sure as anything else She ht have been able to talk to hith and sta, however She could lift things far beyond her foret tired One day, experi on it, she cleaned the house, top to botto, ran all the laundry through and put it on the line Even swept the porches and washed the s The h she knew she was al so, enthralled with it
Nothing slowed her down that day until she ran full tilt into Mal on the stairs, flying doith an arh in the basket it was over her head She wasn’t worried, though, because her footing had become as nimble as one of the cats
"Oof" She used the reach of her h of course she already knew She could sense hi her face An arm interjected itself over and under the bundle and took it fro her back her vision when he indifferently du so it landed with a thu area floor
"What are you doing?"
"Cleaning I’ve never had so y in my life Mrs Pritchett could work me twenty-four hours a day and sit on the porch all day drinking lemonade Fair dinkum I don’t even knohere to start"
She o steps up, al an ar her feet off the wood to capture her busy -down-much-slower kiss He kept at it for so ave her was his ainst her and that hard aro toback, his eyes dark and piercing "I’ll show you what the lis froo to see Lord Marshall"
Gifts? He’d bought her a gift? Clothing?
"I can sew, sir You didn’t need to buy ht fabric, I can make a very pretty dress" Her voice trailed off as she remembered what some of those vampire servants wore on their visits to the station Oh, they wore norh the Outback, but inside, they wore all s that had the station hands drawing straws to see ould get to bring in et on the porch where a curious stockh the s Sometimes the female servants were so immodest, they walked out into the courtyard in diaphanous, flowing clothes that revealed the shadow of nipples or buttocks Theshe’d ever seen in her life
"Nothing quite that shameless for our first trip," he promised her He hefted her over his shoulder, her elbows propped on that broad platform, his hand spread over her backside as he went down the stairs and strode through the house Reaching up, she touched the dangling light fixture in the lass and not a bit of dust She heard his huff of laughter and sht?"
"Better Having Leonidas gone, regrettable as it is, has helped the others considerably And your visits continue to help settle theirls will come here, join me for dinner Then I’ll let the area, see how they do in a more civilized environht, then Jeremiah on his own"
"Really? Oh, Mal, that would be marvelous"