A Time and Place for Us

The Party I

Sweeney's whole body ached as he returned to his cabin after a hard day of work. He'd been shaving patron after patron without so much as a bathroom break. Apparently, many passengers were anticipating getting a shave on board as the Anchor Line was famed for hiring the best barbers, and while that was good for his pocket, he was exhausted he had been forced to listen to their nonsense for hours on end. On top of it, his heavy workload had kept him from seeing Nellie today, and that meant one less day for him to get her back. Now it was well past dinner time, and he reckoned she was likely already asleep, since she didn't get much of it the night before.

He was pleasantly surprised to see her still up when he entered. From the threshold he allowed himself to pause and admire her, energy slowly returning to his body as he drank her in. She was looking at herself in the wood-rimmed wall mirror, frustration etched in her lovely features. She shot him a quick glance when she noticed his presence, before resuming her fight to pin a withering carnation to her messy updo without breaking the dry stem.

Sweeney smirked playfully at her concentration face, biting her tongue and all, but that smirk soon turned lustful as he properly took in what she was wearing. It was a dress he hadn't seen before, and he guessed she must have bought it when their business started booming but never got to wear it until now. A long voluminous garment in a deep plum colour with cream lace accents that gave her a somewhat innocent air as opposed to her usual vixen-like clothes he loved. That's not to say she wasn't breath-taking in it. The dress had a suggestive v-neckline and a velvety looking bodice that adhered to her sinful body like a second skin, hugging and enhancing all her curves.

"You look beautiful." The words left his mouth without a warning, and Nellie froze.

He'd never called her that. She had to admit that there were several times where she knew he found her appealing, when he proverbially ate her up with his eyes before doing so in a more carnal way. But he'd never made the effort to verbalize it until now. Beautiful. Not 'provocative', not 'sensual', not even the less intense but still appreciated 'pretty'. He'd called her beautiful, and it made her heart stop.

She barely had time to react before he was behind her, his dexterous fingers tying her corset. Not as tight as she'd like, but there was a baby to be mindful of now. The fact that he seemed to think of their child's wellbeing and put it above his obvious desire for her to be as attractive as she could be made tears well in her eyes. Stupid hormones! And then he dared to drop a kiss to her exposed shoulder. His warm lips over her bare skin awoke a different set of feelings altogether, coursing through her body like liquid fire and pooling at the core. It'd been less than a week since they were last intimate, but that was too long for them who used to indulge in such pleasures at least once a day. Her body knew and reacted accordingly. She would never not be amazed at the way she responded to him. Just having him this close was enough to inflame her senses.

"Beautiful" he repeated, his arms sneaking around her waist as he stared at their reflection in the mirror. She sucked in a breath, feeling faint. Damn him, no matter what he did to her, he still could turn her into putty with nothing but a sweet word and a soft touch. And damn her, for being so needy, so starved for attention and affection, that she felt tempted to disregard everything, her own convictions and the few values she thought she upheld, and cave in.

But she couldn't. Or rather, she shouldn't. So, with a difficulty she tried to conceal, she disentangled from his embrace, stepping aside and sitting on the bed. He remained immobile in front of the mirror, transfixed now by his own reflection that showed him as alone as he'd ever be. He could already feel the loneliness seeping into his bones, making his heart shrink. Nellie avoided looking at him as she worked on lacing up her boots. The same feeling of emptiness was threatening to consume her, but she was determined not to let that pesky melancholy ruin her mood.