"It's your round, old boy," Wyatt said as he slapped his empty tankard down on the table. The tin cup made a metal-on-wood noise that brought Caelan's attention back to the man sitting across from him.

"What?"

"I said, it's your round to buy." Wyatt eyed him through a narrowed gaze. "Where were you just now, Jack?"

Caelan, better known on this side of New Orleans as Jack Boyd, seemed to realize his mind had wandered, and he glanced down at Wyatt's empty tankard, and his own, which was only half drained. "Ah, sorry, mate." A slight grin tugged at the corners of his generous lips. "Me attention seems ta have attached itself ta that wench across the room."

"Which one?" Caelan pointed. "Heh, I can see why. Fine backside on that one. Just right for grabbing onto," Wyatt commented as he watched the woman Caelan had pointed out.

"I've been too long without a good tumble," Caelan said, without taking his eyes off the buxom brunette that was serving frothing tankards on the other side of the pub. "I can just picture that lass on her back with her skirts up. . . "

Wyatt chortled. "Well, then have at it, Jack. I can buy my own beer, if you're that desperate for a woman."

Caelan wanted to respond with a Korrigan was never desperate. But that would have been a slip of the tongue in at least three different ways. Instead, he merely pushed his chair back as he stood and he left Wyatt alone at their table against the wall.

The Old Absinthe House was a seedy pub on the dockside of New Orleans. The public house itself seemed to go through phases, and with it the people that attended regularly. This month, it was a place commonly frequented by doxies and gamblers. Next month, it might be by merchants and actresses. But one thing would always be constant, and that was Caelan's presence. The Old Absinthe House was one of his chief points of business.

Caelan wove through the thick crowd of the pub. He'd left his coat behind draped over the back of his chair, and thus was left only in his mallard green waistcoast, crisp white shirt, and snug doe colored breeches. He wore a cravat at his throat. And though he looked quite the dandy, there were certain elements about him that threw the image askew. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. His cravat was loosened. His curly copper hair was boyishly mussed. If not for his goatee, he would have looked the part of the school boy who's thrown his jacket off to play after school. And even so, he had a mischievous spark in his eye as he approached the girl.

Suzette Fremont was used to being ogled by all the eyes in The Absinthe. So, when one pair of murky green ones particularly stuck to her, she didn't bat an eyelash. She went about her duties, picking up empty tankards, and replacing them with full ones. By week's end, this was the norm. That evening, she'd picked a dress to wear that she knew would be comfortable. A dress of thin cotton, for the heat in the pub once it was packed with bodies was horrid if one was constantly dashing about, like Suzette. The dress itself was a muted red, like over ripe cherries, and the corset she wore was one of her looser ones of a plain dark brown shade. The warm tones complimented her brown hair, and brought out the red in it.

Suzette, also, had pushed her sleeves up to her elbows, and she lifted one soft arm to wipe at her brow as she leaned across an empty table for a discarded tankard. But as she reached for it, a hand snatched it up before she could grasp it. She frowned and looked up at the owner of the hand; she almost gasped when she looked into his face. He was . . . beautiful.

"Might I offer some assistance?"

Irish. She recognized his thick brogue right away, despite the fact that they didn't get many Irishmen down in New Orleans. A sailor, perhaps? God, no. He was dressed like a fop! She was willing to bet his hands were softer than hers.

Suzette suddenly realized she was still leaning over, and giving the man the perfect vantage point to see right down her corset. She quickly straightened, but then pursed her lips when she realized that wouldn't do any good. The man was far too tall. And he was still holding the tankard out to her. She reached out and snatched it from him, suddenly irritated with him. "Thank you, monsieur," she said in a clipped tone.

French. Caelan would have heard the faint accent even if she hadn't tacked the French word onto the end of her reply. God in heaven. . . She was delectable. He looked down into her heart shaped face, which was red and flush from the heat of the pub. Her soft brown hair was piled on top of her head and trapped by pins. Her eyes were a dazzling jewel shade of blue, and they sparked with life. Her flower petal mouth was shapely, just like the rest of her, and her defiant little chin was raised at him. Her shoulders were rounded and white, and her breasts were full and pushed up toward him by her corset. And the deep line of her cleavage bespoke of all the flesh that still lay unseen beneath the dress.

Suzette studied the man as he stood before her. Now that she'd gotten over the initial shock of his unusually good looks, she could look at him critically. He was tall, that was the first thing that struck her. And he had wide shoulders, even though he appeared to have a slim frame. His bright copper hair was boyishly curly, and slightly long. Longer than any true fop who cared about such things would wear it. His lips were too plush for a man's, it seemed. They were too full, and had too much shape to look right with masculine features. But, fortunately, his features weren't entirely masculine. His fine bone structure, and his fair skin allowed him to pull off the image nicely. Too nicely. . .she could not take her eyes away.

The man started to step around the table toward her, and Suzette knew she ought to turn around and walk away. But she only watched him, noticing the grace he had in his long legs and slim hips. He was a treasure for the eye to look upon, that much was for certain. Before she knew it, he was standing in front of her, not a hand's width from her. She could feel his body heat, and she could smell his soap. He smelled like sandalwood. Her knees threatened to buckle.

Caelan looked down at her when he stopped in front of her. She was refreshingly tall, actually. She probably stood at least five foot seven. Her head would fit nicely just beneath his chin. He could smell her now. She smelled like cotton blossoms, and he suddenly wanted to see whether it was her skin or her hair that gave off the pleasant scent. Finally, he spoke.

"I couldn't help but notice ya from where I was sittin'. And, from the way you were dashin' about, it seemed ta me as though you could use a break."

Suzette was glad her face had been flushed from the heat of the pub already, because she knew her cheeks were flaming now, regardless of the heat. She started to shake her head, saying, "I can't. The less I work, the less wages I earn. And not all of us have the liberty to decide when we want to work, and when we want to play, monsieur." She was immediately sorry she'd phrased it that way.

One of Caelan's well sculpted copper brows arched upward, giving him a very amused expression. "So leave it to the ones with the funds to decide when you work and when you play," he said smoothly, reaching with one long fingered hand to trace her warm cheek.

His touch seared her, even though his hands were cooler than her skin. Finally, after a long moment, she managed a vague smile, though she coyly angled it toward the floor. "Are you saying you have funds?"

"Aye, dove. I do." Caelan traced a line down her cheek with his finger, and then continued down the side of her neck to the rise of her bosom. She did not slap his hand away or offer any indignant words. He took this a positive sign. "I have the funds, if you have the time."

Suzette lifted her jewel blue gaze to his, and for the first time she saw that his eyes were a specter shade of green. She found them lovely, and suddenly wondered what they looked like in the afterglow of passion. It seemed she would find out, for she did have the time. She would make time. "Oui, I have the time. And the place. Come with me, monsieur." She reached and took his hand in hers, and she'd been wrong. His hands looked soft, but they were not free of character. That only stirred her interest further. She turned and threw one more alluring, coy smile over her shoulder at him before she began to lead him toward the stairs that would lead to the floor above the pub.

"Jack."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Jack, dove."

"Ah, oui. Then you must call me Suzette." Suzette rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb as she led him toward the stairs. She was surprised to feel the pad of her thumb run over a scar on his knuckles. So, the dandy wasn't as pampered as he would lead her to believe. For a reason she couldn't place, that made her smile. She could feel his presence behind her as they ascended the stairs.

Caelan watched the hypnotic sway of Suzette's hips as she took the steps one at a time. He suddenly wondered how old she was. She couldn't be younger than twenty-five. And, working in a place like The Old Absinthe House undoubtedly took its toll, possibly making her appear older than she really was. As they reached the landing on the second floor, he decided to indulge his curiosity. "Just out o' curiosity, dove, how old might ya be?"

She looked back at him over her shoulder skeptically. "Does it matter?"

"Not particularly."

She gave him a wry smile that curled her plush lips in an enticing way. "J'ai vignt-sept ans."

Caelan arched his brows, wondering whether or not she'd just told him to mind his own business. She laughed, and it was a pleasing sound like deep toned bells. "I am twenty-seven years old."

Caelan just nodded.

Suzette led him to the end of the hall to the last door on the right. She fished a key from the bosom of her corset, and with it she unlocked the door, letting herself in with him in tow. It was a small square room with a small bed, a threadbare rug, a writing desk with a chair, a small night stand with a singular lamp burning, and a pitcher and basin. Caelan gave the room the barest glance over. The room didn't matter. And as soon as Suzette shut the door behind them he turned to her, and he lifted his arms, putting his hands up against the door on either side of her shoulders. She looked surprised at first at his forwardness, but the surprise soon melted away, replaced by a seductive curl of her lips. Caelan's already snug breeches tightened just a little more. He bent his head and he nuzzled her cheek, breathing in the scent of cotton blossom and powder. He could feel her breath warm on his neck, and it made him shiver.

Breathily, she asked, "And you, monsieur Jack?"

"Mm?" He didn't lift his head.

"How old are you?"

"Does it matter?" he quoted.

"Not particularly," she returned with another wry smile, though he could not see it.

"I don't know how ta say thirty-two in French." He nibbled very lightly at the flesh just below her ear.

"Trente-deux," Suzette sighed, lifting her hands to slide them around his slender waist.

"Fascinatin'." Caelan's tongue flicked out to lick at the edge of her ear, and he felt her tremble. He pressed his body in closer to hers, until he felt her breasts flatten up against his chest.

Suzette sighed again at being pressed against the door by his tall, lean body. She slid her hands up his back and curled them up around his shoulders while he continued to nibble and lick at her neck and ear. Already, she was beginning to grow warmer, and she was beginning to ache in ways that she'd not felt in a good long while. She suddenly noticed that she could feel his arousal pressed up against her upper thigh, and it made her bite her lower lip in anticipation.

Caelan slid his hands down the door until he could grasp her wide, soft hips. His fingers curled around them, and he squeezed tightly, pulling her pelvis toward him. She made a breathy noise, and she raked her fingernails down his back. He suddenly wished he weren't wearing his shirt and vest.

As if she read his mind, she murmured against his throat, "You are overdressed, Jack."

"Ya read my mind, dove. Help me remedy that?" He breathed against her soft hair, which was still piled atop her head and confined by pins.

"Mm," was all she said as she retracted her arms and brought her hands between them to begin unbuttoning his waistcoat. As she did that, Caelan reached up to her hair, and with nimble fingers began removing pins from the shiny brunette mass. About the time she had the last button undone from his vest, he had removed the last pin from her hair, and it came tumbling down her back and shoulders. He absently put the removed pins into his vest pocket. His lips curled into a soft smile at the sight of Suzette with her hair down. The soft brown waves framed her round little visage; made her eyes look bigger, her face younger.

"Never in me life have I seen somethin' more beautiful. . ." he breathed and he reached up and touched the soft hair that fell over her shoulder.

She gave him the same wry smile he was growing accustomed to. "Mm, maybe not, but I have heard that before."

Caelan just grinned, and he shrugged his vest off, letting it fall carelessly to the floor behind him. Suzette smiled a little more softly, but there was a spark in her jewel blue eyes. She reached up and began unbuttoning his crisp white shirt. When she had finished, she pushed it back and off his shoulders slowly, savoring every inch of lightly tanned skin that was revealed. She also made sure that her hands skimmed his flesh as she did so, and she felt him shiver under her fingers. When his shirt fell down his arms and to the floor, and the only thing he still had on his upper body was the cravat he'd worn around his neck, she silently asked him to step back by putting her hands on his stomach and pushing gently. He did so, stepping backward over his discarded shirt and waistcoat. She let her hands linger on his lean, muscular stomach before falling to her sides, then she brought one hand up to idly play with her lower lip while she inspected his upper body.

Caelan felt like he was under inspection for purchase, like a horse. He did not necessarily mind, however, when he saw the hungry look in her eyes.

"Shall I turn for ya?" he asked in jest, a rakish smile curling his lips.

Suzette looked up at him, his voice bringing her out of her thoughts, and for a moment, she considered his suggestion. But she just smiled, and shook her head, stepping forward, nudging his shirt and vest away with her foot. "I'm surprised."

"About?"

"Your attitude toward your clothing. You don't care that they lay on the floor."

Caelan snorted quietly. "It's just clothin'. It can be washed."

"You are not what you would have others think," Suzette mused as she turned around and slowly lifted her hair, indicating that Caelan was to help her untie her corset, which of course he was only too happy to do.

He didn't answer her on that as he slowly pulled the ribbon from its bow and began to unlace the corset. She was a little too insightful, but that probably came from working in a place like The Old Absinthe House. You learned to see through peoples' masks and look at their true faces.

Suzette waited impatiently as he slowly unlaced her corset. He drew the action out, taking his time, and it made her want to scream. She knew he was doing it on purpose, and at the same time, she had to smile. He was different, to be sure. Any other man would have had her on her back by now, clothed or not. But Jack took his time, seeming to savor her as she had him just moments ago.

When he pulled the ribbon from the last grommet, and he dropped it to the floor, Suzette pulled the restraining corset forward and down her arms and then dropped it to the side. She turned back around to face him in her loose red shift. The front of the dress dipped down so far that it barely covered her nipples, and actually in the removing of her corset, the fabric had shifted, and when Caelan looked down he could see a dark pink halo peeking above the neckline of her shift. He passed his tongue over his lips to wet them, and a needy glaze came over his eyes.

Suzette saw the change in his gaze, and she smiled. She stepped forward, and she reached up with her soft hands to cup his face in her palms, and she kissed his mouth. His mustache and goatee tickled her, but she didn't care. Oh, but his mouth was soft! She kissed his lower lip first, and then his upper lip, letting her tongue slip out to caress his mouth.

Caelan exhaled slowly as she kissed him, and he brought his hands around behind her and slid them up her back until they tangled in her long brown hair. The woman knew how to kiss a man and make him want her. He had already wanted her, but that was beside the point. He wanted her even more now. He felt her tongue caress his lower lip, and he groaned softly into her kiss. He felt her hands slide down from his face to his shoulders, where she squeezed his deltoids. Caelan then took it upon himself to deepen the kiss. He tilted his head and parted his lips, slowly probing her mouth with his tongue. She parted her lips for him, and he slowly explored the warmth inside her mouth. She moaned this time, softly and sweetly as he brushed his tongue against hers.

Suzette melted against him. No man had ever taken such care with her. He was only kissing her, but he was doing it so softly, and so slowly. She was unaccustomed to it, honestly. But she found it to her liking. She felt his hands move down her back to slowly slide over her derriere. His hands squeezed her soft cheeks and pulled her up against him until her breasts were once against pressed flat against his chest. But this time, he was bare chested, and she wore no corset. He could feel the softness of them as they were pushed against his body. He slowly began to gather the material of her dress in his fingers, slowly pulling the skirt upward as it bunched in his hands.

Suzette didn't even realize what he was doing until she felt the hem of her dress brush her calf. When she did, though, she giggled girlishly into his mouth, and she felt him smile against her lips. He took less care with it after he was found out, and he pulled her skirt up till it was bunched around her waist. But he stopped there, and he slid his hands back down over her buttocks. He caressed the soft curves of her cheeks, squeezing them and pulling her up against himself again. His member throbbed steadily, and he pulled her hips against him, trying to ease the feeling with the pressure.

She felt the hard length that pressed up against her lower belly, and she made another small noise into his mouth. She finally broke their kiss, and she crossed her arms in front of her to grasp her dress where it bunched around her waist. Then she pulled it up and over her head, baring her body to him completely. Tavern maids weren't known for wearing underthings like petticoats and pantaloons.

As she tossed her dress down to the side, Caelan stepped back just enough to be able to see all of her. "Jesus, Mary, an' Joseph, you're beautiful. . ." he breathed as he gazed over her. From her soft, white round shoulders, over her ample breasts tipped with dark rose nipples, down over her round belly and her wide hips. From the mound between her thighs hidden by a soft nest of slightly darker brunette hair, down her soft, fleshy thighs, shapely legs, and slender ankles. He wanted to kiss every inch of her.

Suzette's cheeks flushed at his praise. She'd never had a man so appreciative of her body before. At least not one who cared enough to voice his opinion aloud. She'd never thought much of her body. She'd always thought herself a little too fleshy. She saw the petite little flowers who pranced around with twelve inch waists, and she was slightly envious. "I am not anything special, Jack," she said firmly, as though the statement were a cold hard fact that she was very used to.

Caelan's eyes came up to meet hers, and his brows knotted in a frown. "Ya can't really believe that."

Suzette just looked at him pointedly.

Caelan smirked slightly and shook his head. "I'll show ya different, mark my words." He slowly curled his long, lean arms around her, and he embraced her gently, but firmly. The feeling of her bared breasts against his chest made him shiver, and his member ached with longing.

Suzette sighed softly as his mouth came down on hers once more. She could now feel the hard shaft of his arousal up against her lower belly very clearly now, and she too ached low in her loins. Then she felt herself being moved; shepherded gently in the direction of the bed. She moved with him till she felt the backs of her knees bump against the bed.

Caelan supported her with his arms around her back, and he slowly lowered her to the bed, all while kissing her. Very talented indeed. He did break the kiss while she scooted herself up the bed until her head rested on the single pillow at the headboard. He loomed over her, supporting himself with his hands, and looking down at her. She gazed back up at him, her cheeks pink, and her eyes soft, her brown hair spread around her head on the pillow like a halo.

"You're still half dressed, monsieur," she reminded him.

"What I intend ta do ta ya next doesn't require me bein' undressed," he responded with a sly smile. One of her slender brows arched, and he chuckled.

Caelan lowered his head and he pressed his mouth against hers. She accepted his kiss, and returned it, opening her mouth to let her tongue meet his, and caress it sensually. But he only kissed her mouth for a moment before he began trailing his kisses down her throat and over her collarbone. Suzette sighed, and she writhed slowly beneath him, bringing her hands up and holding onto his broad-if-slender shoulders loosely. Her jeweled eyes slipped closed, and she relaxed visibly under his kiss. She felt his mouth trail the warm kisses down her neck and over her collar. Then she smiled and bit her lower lip when his mouth traveled over the rise of her left breast. The closer his kisses came to her nipple, the more her back arched, pushing the rosy tip up toward him. And when he finally took the tip into his mouth, she gasped softly, and undulated slightly beneath him. He suckled at her nipple slowly, but firmly, and she arched her back more, pressing her breast against his mouth. Her flesh seared under his tongue, and things low in her belly began to throb and tighten.

Caelan caressed her nipple with his tongue, and he suckled at the tip of her breast strongly. He then took her breast in his hand as well, and he held it tightly while he teased her nipple with his mouth. He flicked it with the tip of his tongue and circled it several times before taking it in his mouth again. He heard her breathy sighs and every time she pressed her breast upward against his face, he suckled hard upon the nipple, just to get another gasp out of her lovely mouth. He was so hard in his breeches now, but his lovemaking code of ethics demanded that she get her pleasure first. He knew that a woman was more giving in bed if she knew that her lover was willing to satisfy her. So, he usually just satisfied her right off the bat.

Suzette whimpered a little when she felt his mouth leave her breast, but gasped when she felt his mouth suddenly take in her other nipple and give it the same treatment. She brought her hands up behind his neck, and she wove her fingers into his copper curls, pressing his face against her ample breast. He didn't complain. But then, suddenly, he was kissing his way down her soft belly, and her breath shortened the lower he went. He was positioned between her legs, so her thighs were parted already. She whimpered quietly. None but a few men had ever. . .oh! She cried out when she felt his mouth suddenly come down on her. She felt a shot of pleasure through her body, starting low in her loins, where his mouth pressed against her womanhood.

Caelan groaned against her. She was already quite damp with arousal, and he lapped at her cleft, and the slick heat it had to offer. He kissed her outer lips, and suckled at them individually. He brought the tip of his tongue up the length of her, and he stopped just short of that little pearl beneath her hood. Her hips undulated beneath his mouth, and he smiled slyly while he worked. He slid his tongue back down, then he plunged it into her opening and flicked it inside of her vigorously. That warranted a gasp from her, followed by a high pitched moan. He felt one of her hands come to cradle the back of his head and grasp a tight little fistful of his longish hair. The bold gesture made him groan against her, and press his mouth hard against her sex. He kissed his way up her cleft, and then he suddenly focused on the little bud of her core. He flicked his tongue at it, and circled it. He lapped at it, and he suckled it strongly, teasing it with the tip of his tongue.

Suzette moaned loudly, holding onto his hair tightly, pressing his face into her sex. She arched her back, and she pressed her hips up at him, as if to demand more than he was already giving her. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to like her brazenness, and he worked all the harder for it. Pleasure was building inside her, and she began to tremble slightly. It had been so long since any man had paid any attention to her needs, that already she was beginning to rise toward orgasm. Then, he suddenly plunged two fingers into her opening. She cried out loudly, and thrust her hips at him. He thrust his fingers into her up to the last knuckle, and then withdrew them only to plunge them in again. He continued this while he teased and pleased her with his tongue.

Soon, the pleasure mounted to its peak, and she gasped with a high pitched breath, as though she could manage no more. Her back was arched, and her hips thrust at him, and she trembled from strain of muscles. There was a moment in time where she felt suspended. There was nothing above and nothing below her, only the cresting of her pleasure. And then suddenly, it seemed to plunge in a downward spiral, and her body fell into shudders and she shouted her climax in the form of his name. Or, the name he'd given her.

"Jack!"

Caelan heard the name he'd given her leave her lips in a cry, and he thrust a third finger into her with the other two for the few precious moments that she was in her ecstacy. Finally, she collapsed back to the bed beneath her, and she was reduced to fierce trembles and soft gasping breaths. He slowed his fingers, and he did not take his mouth off of her just yet. In fact, just as a tease, he flicked his tongue at her just one last time. Her hips jerked and she cried out, helplessly pushing at his shoulder feebly. He chuckled, and he finally took his mouth off of her, and he pulled his three fingers slowly from her. He climbed back up her body, and he looked down into her face. She glowed with post-coital bliss. As she breathed heavily, her large breasts rose and fell, and he leaned down to take one of her nipples in his mouth for a short kiss. She whimpered.

"You're horrid," she informed him breathlessly.

Caelan laughed. "Am I now?"

"Yes."

"Well, then you'll hate me in a minute."

"Will I . . . "

"Aye."

Suzette finally opened her eyes when she felt him move his weight off of her, and she felt his weight leave the bed altogether. She looked up at him to see then he was removing his boots. She raked her blue eyes over his body a few more times, and she savored his lean muscles and slender hips. Then he was unbuttoning his pants. She watched eagerly. When he finally pushed them off his hips and down his legs to step out of them, her eyes widened slightly, and she smiled a little. Oh, he was nicely proportioned, this man. He was tall, and his arms and legs were long, and so was his manhood.

When Caelan stepped out of his pants, and nudged them away with his foot, and looked up and noticed where her eyes were looking. One copper brow arched, and he asked, "Ya like what ya see, dove?"

"I don't know. Bring it closer, and I'll tell you." Suzette smiled a sensual smile, and Caelan grinned in return.

He climbed back onto the bed, and she opened her thighs for him. He positioned himself between her legs, and he propped his upper body up with his hands. "Is this close enough then?"

"Not quite," she responded breathily, sliding her hands up his chest and over his pectorals. She fingered at his small, dark nipples, and his member jumped in response. Then she ran one hand down his body, and she suddenly wrapped her fingers around his girth. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, and he let her pull him down toward her until the head of his sex probed at her opening. "That's closer to close enough."

"I get your reasonin'," he said on a husky breath.

Caelan thrust his hips forward, and with the help of her slick liquids, he slid into her easily. She was not very tight around him, and he was not surprised, honestly. She was a tavern maid. But it did not bother him. His member was fairly slender, anyhow, just like the rest of him. He had length more than girth. But neither one seemed apt to complain about the other's shortcomings. He thrust into her until he felt his pelvis press against hers, her wetness against his groin and the sac beneath his member. He groaned low in his throat as he felt the heat and pressure envelop him like a sheath.

Suzette gasped a high pitched sound when she felt him slide his sex into her core. He had enough length that when he sheathed himself completely, she could feel his head bumping against the back wall of her insides. She brought her legs up and hugged them around his slender waist, crossing her calves behind him. Then she reached and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, demanding silently that he bring himself lower toward her. He did as she bid him, and she hugged him close to her for a long few moments.

Caelan lowered himself to his elbows when Suzette hugged him around his wide shoulders. He lowered his head and he nuzzled her neck, kissing her wetly, and softly. She mewled in response, giving his hips a squeeze with her legs. He took the gesture as a hint, and he slowly began to pull out a small ways and then push himself back into her. He took up the piston action with his hips, pumping into her slowly and gently, using her sex to stroke his length. She made small noises in her throat behind closed lips, and she kissed his shoulders and neck as he made love to her.

"I take it back; you're not horrid, you're wonderul," she breathed into his ear as he slid his shaft in and out of her at a slightly quicker pace. She listened to the sound of his pelvis slapping against hers lightly, and she focused momentarily on the feeling of his sac bumping against her.

"That is a treasured statement comin' from you, love," he said quietly and breathily as he pulled his upper body up just enough that he could lower his head and take one of her nipples into his mouth. She moaned and arched her back, pushing her breasts up toward his face. He pulled her nipple upward, suckling strongly at it. When he let it go with a slight popping noise, he watched it fall back down and slightly to the side of her body, due to its size and weight. He continued to watch it heave and bounce as he made love to her, pushing her body with his hips. It had the same hypnotic quality as her swaying hips did when she walked. Suddenly, Suzette's voice broke his trance.

"Please, Jack, harder. . ."

He did not hesitate to comply. He quickened his pace, and he added more force, pumping his slim hips at her strongly. The sound of their bodies slapping together was louder now, and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes to listen to it, combined with her gasps. He had considerable stamina, since he made love to women as often as he could. They were his one weakness. But when people told him this, he would respond with, "Only a fool would consider the love of a woman a weakness."

Suzette was sensitized by her earlier orgasm, and she could feel his slim pelvis rubbing up against her sex forcefully with each thrust of his hips. She was beginning to feel the same familiar pleasure rise in his body. That was why she'd begged him to take her harder. She wanted to feel it again, that ecstacy. And now as he pumped his hips at her strongly, she was closer to getting it.

The feeling came upon Caelan suddenly when he felt her squeeze his shaft with her inner muscles. She had fabulous control over them, and he stupidly wondered if she practiced. When he felt the extra pressure of her muscles milking at his member, the pleasure escalated suddenly, and he accommodated it by thrusting at her even harder until she was gasping loudly with every stroke. He was a quiet lover, actually, but the noises of the woman under him aroused him highly.

Suddenly, he felt her muscles contract even more, and she cried out beneath him. It was obvious she was coming once again. And the knowledge of that, combined by the extra pressure on his shaft sent him over the edge with her. He shouted briefly as he felt the pleasure bolt through him, and he hammered his hips at her even harder during the few moments that his ecstacy was in charge. He felt as though his stomach was flipping, and it felt as though there was nothing beneath them. And then, he began to fall, the sensation rushing out of him in a flood, making him dizzy and causing him to see white around the edges of his vision. And as the feeling flooded out of him, he felt himself release a strong stream of his seed into her.

Suzette felt him come inside her as she came down from the elevated high of her second orgasm. They came down together, actually, and his hips slowed, and finally stopped. They both panted heavily, and Caelan collapsed on top of her, resting his head on her shoulder. His sweat-slicked brow was hot on her skin, but she only stroked his hair softly in an almost maternally comforting way.

After they lay together like that for what seemed like half an hour but was probably only ten minutes or so, still coupled, him inside of her, his slender body on top of hers, Suzette finally spoke," I've changed my mind again. You're still horrid."

She felt his breath snort as he smirked against her neck. "Am I now. . .why've ya changed yer mind again?"

"Because," she said lightly. "I shall never have another man who will please me like this, and I'll be miserable every time I take a man into my bed knowing that he will not please me like you have. And it is all your fault, Jack."

Caelan laughed at that, and he finally lifted his head to look down at her with a rakish smile. "I'll just have ta make sure that I come back every so often, won't I?"

Suzette's face lit up, and she looked so pretty when she smiled that Caelan's breath caught in his throat. "Will you really? Do you promise, Jack?"

Caelan smiled warmly, and he leaned his head down to kiss her gently on her plush little petal lips. "Aye, dove. I promise."

Suzette smiled happily, and she hugged him close to her again.

They lay together for a while longer, Caelan having rolled off of her so she could cuddle into his side. But finally, Caelan deemed it time for him to go. He still had business to do tonight with a man named Lafiette. He forced himself out of bed, leaving her to pull the covers over her plush body. As he pulled his breeches on, she watched him, and she surprised him by asking, "Why is it that you like my body so much? You wouldn't prefer a girl of eighteen, with a twelve inch waist?"

Caelan turned and gave her a pointed look. "What is it with you women. Ya always want ta be younger an' thinner."

"Well, you men don't have to compete with eighteen year olds," she told him moodily.

"Who says?"

"Society says."

Caelan shook his head as he buttoned his pants. "I don't want a lass. I'm a man, I want a woman," he said slowly, looking at her meaningfully. She stared at him for a long moment, as if studying his answer, looking for untruths. Finally, she smiled, and she laid back against the pillow, seemingly satisfied. He smiled, too, and he finished dressing. When he was all dressed, she still lay beneath the covers, watching him with soft blue eyes. He approached the bed, and he kneeled on it, leaning down to kiss her mouth softly. She returned the kiss. He stood again, and he reached into his inside vest pocket for his wallet. From it, he retrieved ten dollars--a hefty sum in that day. He placed it on the night stand beside the bed. She only glanced at it before smiling at him and replying, "The next one will be free of charge."

Caelan grinned, and he straightened his cravat, which he had never removed the entire time, even while they'd made love. It was too much trouble to tie, so he was glad he hadn't. Suddenly he remembered that he still had her hair pins in his pocket. "Oh, you'll want your hair pins back, I'd wager."

Suzette shook her head and lifted a hand to stay him. "Non, keep them, lover. A souvenir of tonight."

Caelan smiled again, and he nodded. He leaned down to kiss her one more time, and then, he quietly left the room.

Suzette watched him go. She hoped he really would return. He'd gotten under her skin, and now she could not wait to see him again. He was arrogant, surely. And he was undoubtedly a womanizer, and a cad, and a rake. But those were the kind of men she'd been raised around, and no one would get all shocked and shaken if she fell for one.

Suzette rolled over and closed her eyes, snuggling under the covers. He had paid her more than she would have made downstairs; she wouldn't have to go back to work tonight unless she wanted to. And now, all she wanted to do was sleep. So, she lay there, and drifted off. The last things on her mind before slumber took her were moss green eyes and copper curls.

Whoo! The end. ^____^