grinned, proud of his news. He glanced at the guns Dev had taken from his belt and laid on the bed, then raised one elegant brow. "Apparently he'd had a run-in with some fellow who'd bested him. The man who recognized Starmer said he was wearing an empty holster."
Dev looked down at the fancy pair of guns and realized belatedly that he'd had a chance to finish off the man who'd carried out Lil's orders for the kidnapping. "Embarrassing thing, losing your guns like that. Sounds like Stanner's getting careless."· If the outlaw was headed south, maybe he'd catch up with him. The possibility brought a gleam of pleasure to Dey's narrowed eyes, and as he flexed his blistered hands, Dey smiled, an expression that held no amusement at all.
Six
While the red-headed whore, Lady Alice, smiled at the red-faced, gangly youth who was trying to impress her by plying her with the cheap white wine Billy Evers had re-labeled champagne, her gaze flickered past him to the tall, quiet stranger who'd arrived almost twenty minutes ago. Her mouth twitched with irritation, and to mask it, she raised her glass and drank, easily evading the boy's fumbling attempts to fondle her large breasts.
That sly tart, Susie, had pounced on the only good-looking customer to come in for weeks now, and if Billy hadn't been sitting back in the corner with his usual glass of whisky, Alice would have started in against the slut-and won. But Billy was there, and he was mean whenever there was a squabble, too mean to risk getting him riled. Still, Alice thought with an amused smirk, she had the consolation of watching Susie's frustrated attempts to lure the man upstairs. He seemed interested in only one thing -watching the new girl.
Her crisp, near-perfect speech had prompted Bill to dub the girl English Annie. Alice hadn't tried to be friendly, and Annie had kept to herself, giving the impression she thought she was too good for Evers's house. Hadn't they all thought that at one time, though! Annie would get used to it-she'd have to if she wanted Bill to layoff using the whip against her smooth, white flesh.
Jenny wasn't aware that she was the object of such intense scrutiny. She had blanked out the sight of the tawdry, cheaply decorated room, the sounds of lewd, inviting laughter, and the business that was being transacted in the bordello parlor. One of the customers was playing a popular melody on the upright piano in the far corner, and one of the girls was giving her bawdy version in a wavering, off-key voice. A glass of "champagne" rested lightly in Jenny's fingers, and she sipped it occasionally, hoping it would further dull her senses.
When the settee creaked protestingly under the weight of the corpulent, sweating hulk who dropped down beside her, Jenny did not look up. She was afraid to, afraid of the greedy unconcealed lust she would see in his eyes. It was a look common to all the men who paid Evers for the use of her body. Tall or short, thin or fat, young and old alike, they resented
'having to pay for pleasure; and more often than not, it was the girls who bore the brunt of their resentment.
Now the man leaned close, and her nostrils flared as his fetid breath washed over her, as he
"complimented" her beauty, wondering aloud if she wouldn't like him to warm her up a little. His pudgy hand, damp with sweat, slipped onto her leg, squeezing her knee through the thin covering of the red satin wrapper she wore, sliding it back to test the texture of her black silk stockings.
Jenny closed her eyes with a shudder, tense under the trespassing hand of a strange man.
Only the knowledge that Evers was watching her kept her from slapping the man away and bolting from the room. Suddenly the man grabbed her, pinning her body against the back of the settee. With one arm around her shoulders, he pawed at her breasts, already exposed and vulnerable to the action by the half-cupped bodice of a tightly cinched black lace corset. His fingers closed cruelly on her
Dev looked down at the fancy pair of guns and realized belatedly that he'd had a chance to finish off the man who'd carried out Lil's orders for the kidnapping. "Embarrassing thing, losing your guns like that. Sounds like Stanner's getting careless."· If the outlaw was headed south, maybe he'd catch up with him. The possibility brought a gleam of pleasure to Dey's narrowed eyes, and as he flexed his blistered hands, Dey smiled, an expression that held no amusement at all.
Six
While the red-headed whore, Lady Alice, smiled at the red-faced, gangly youth who was trying to impress her by plying her with the cheap white wine Billy Evers had re-labeled champagne, her gaze flickered past him to the tall, quiet stranger who'd arrived almost twenty minutes ago. Her mouth twitched with irritation, and to mask it, she raised her glass and drank, easily evading the boy's fumbling attempts to fondle her large breasts.
That sly tart, Susie, had pounced on the only good-looking customer to come in for weeks now, and if Billy hadn't been sitting back in the corner with his usual glass of whisky, Alice would have started in against the slut-and won. But Billy was there, and he was mean whenever there was a squabble, too mean to risk getting him riled. Still, Alice thought with an amused smirk, she had the consolation of watching Susie's frustrated attempts to lure the man upstairs. He seemed interested in only one thing -watching the new girl.
Her crisp, near-perfect speech had prompted Bill to dub the girl English Annie. Alice hadn't tried to be friendly, and Annie had kept to herself, giving the impression she thought she was too good for Evers's house. Hadn't they all thought that at one time, though! Annie would get used to it-she'd have to if she wanted Bill to layoff using the whip against her smooth, white flesh.
Jenny wasn't aware that she was the object of such intense scrutiny. She had blanked out the sight of the tawdry, cheaply decorated room, the sounds of lewd, inviting laughter, and the business that was being transacted in the bordello parlor. One of the customers was playing a popular melody on the upright piano in the far corner, and one of the girls was giving her bawdy version in a wavering, off-key voice. A glass of "champagne" rested lightly in Jenny's fingers, and she sipped it occasionally, hoping it would further dull her senses.
When the settee creaked protestingly under the weight of the corpulent, sweating hulk who dropped down beside her, Jenny did not look up. She was afraid to, afraid of the greedy unconcealed lust she would see in his eyes. It was a look common to all the men who paid Evers for the use of her body. Tall or short, thin or fat, young and old alike, they resented
'having to pay for pleasure; and more often than not, it was the girls who bore the brunt of their resentment.
Now the man leaned close, and her nostrils flared as his fetid breath washed over her, as he
"complimented" her beauty, wondering aloud if she wouldn't like him to warm her up a little. His pudgy hand, damp with sweat, slipped onto her leg, squeezing her knee through the thin covering of the red satin wrapper she wore, sliding it back to test the texture of her black silk stockings.
Jenny closed her eyes with a shudder, tense under the trespassing hand of a strange man.
Only the knowledge that Evers was watching her kept her from slapping the man away and bolting from the room. Suddenly the man grabbed her, pinning her body against the back of the settee. With one arm around her shoulders, he pawed at her breasts, already exposed and vulnerable to the action by the half-cupped bodice of a tightly cinched black lace corset. His fingers closed cruelly on her
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