Soiled Dove Page 2

  She was counting the brush strokes to herself when she felt hands sliding into the opening of her robe to enclose her breasts. The scratchy feel of Jack’s moustache prickled her neck.

  “Sorry, it took me so long, baby. Tonight was a very good night in spite of that little fiasco with Amelia. I put your money on the dresser,” he said.

  “Thanks, Jack,” she said as she sat up and brushed her hair back. She saw Jack’s smiling face reflected behind her in the mirror.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he said huskily as his eyes met hers in their reflection.

  “Thank you again,” she smiled, standing to face him. Jack was a charming man, but Loretta was very tired. If what she felt between her legs was any indication, it had been a very good night indeed.

  “What did you do with Amelia’s client?” she asked as she walked to her dresser and picked up the money laying there and counted it.

  “I reimbursed him, of course,” Jack shrugged.

  Loretta looked at him and held up the bills in her hand. “What the hell is this, Jack?” she demanded. “I know damn well I earned more than this.”

  “Well,” he started smugly as he stripped off his jacket and tie, “since you were part of the reason I had to reimburse that gentleman, I figured it was only fair that I took half from you and half from Amelia. You should have minded your own business, Retta.”

  “That’s horse shit and you know it, Jack Coulter,”

  she said, raising her voice a notch.

  “I could have taken the whole thing from your pay. Maybe I should have.”

  “How much did you have to give that asshole?”

  she seethed.

  “A hundred,” he said as he stepped closer.

  Smiling, he added, “I didn’t know he wanted her to suck him off, Retta. If I had…”

  “You would have charged him more,” she frowned.

  “And sent him to a different girl. Our clients don’t always tell me what they want up front, you know.

  Amelia wasn’t ready for that. Next time, I’ll ask for more specifics about what the client expects. Okay?”

  He bent his knees slightly to lower his body and looked into Loretta’s eyes.

  She couldn’t help but cast a half smile in his direction. He seemed to believe his explanation solved everything as he pulled her into his arms and drew her into a hungry kiss as his hands began pushing her robe away to allow him access to her body.

  “Come on to bed now, darlin’,” he breathed huskily into her ear before he turned away.

  Chapter Two

  “I HAVE A very special customer for you tonight,” Jack said, watching Loretta brush her hair and twist it into a neat stack on top of her head, later the following afternoon. She pushed a dark tortoise shell comb that stood out against her light hair into the mass and examined her appearance in the mirror of her dressing table.

  “How special?” she asked as she picked up a small brush and began applying dark pink rouge to her cheeks.

  “The customer requested you. Wouldn’t settle for any of the other girls.”

  Loretta smiled at her reflection. “That’s not new,”

  she said somewhat arrogantly.

  “The client will arrive around eight. Just passing through town and will be catching a train early tomorrow morning.” Jack squirmed slightly in his chair. “This will be something totally different for you, Retta. You were already booked this evening, but this client was willing to pay nearly five times the rate for your time and tender touches. This will be your only client tonight.”

  Loretta looked over her shoulder at Jack and cast him a coy smile. “Then I suppose I’ll have to be extra nice to him.”

  LORETTA PACED NERVOUSLY between her bed and the dressing table, stopping periodically to re-check her hair and make-up. She didn’t entertain many gentlemen all night, but she was familiar with what her regular customers wanted. With a complete stranger she felt wary and unsure what to expect. She was more accustomed to a few minutes of teasing and flirting before getting down to business. Certainly nothing that had taken more than an hour and usually followed by contented snoring before her client dressed and returned to his family.

  She frowned into the mirror and was startled by light tapping at her bedroom door. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and took a deep breath. A quarter before the hour. Officially Jack’s establishment wouldn’t be open for another fifteen minutes. She took a final glance into the mirror and reached for the door knob. A tall, slender body, dressed in a suit, complete with a scarf tied into a large bow around the neck stood in the doorway. A wide-brimmed hat was pulled low, obscuring her client’s facial features. One gloved hand held a small bouquet of flowers and a bottle of what Loretta recognized as wine. In the other hand, her customer gripped the handle of a large valise.

  “May I come in?” a husky voice asked.

  “Certainly,” Loretta replied, stepping aside to allow the figure to enter.

  “For you,” the client said softly, extending the hand holding the bouquet.

  Loretta brought the flowers to her nose and breathed in the fragrance. “They’re lovely. Thank you.”

  “Would you care for some wine?” he said, setting the valise next to Loretta’s dressing table.

  “I don’t drink when I’m with a customer,” Loretta said.“Tonight can be an exception.” He skillfully removed the cork from the bottle and set it on the dressing table. “Do you have glasses?”

  Flowers still in hand, Loretta retrieved two glasses from a small table next to her bed and waited as her mysterious client poured wine into them, filling them halfway.

  The stranger handed Loretta her drink and raised his own in a salute. “To an enjoyable evening.”

  When Loretta finished her wine, the client set his drink down and took Loretta’s. She could sense the man looking at her and began to feel slightly uncomfortable under the silent, heated gaze. She watched as he slowly brought a hand up and removed his hat. Loretta stepped back when she saw a thick mass of strawberry blonde hair fall to frame obviously feminine features. The woman smiled benignly at Loretta, seemingly not surprised by her shocked expression.

  “Perhaps you should put those flowers in some water,” the woman said. She pulled her gloves off one finger at a time and refilled her wine glass. “Would you care for another?”

  “Damn right,” Loretta said.

  “Do you mind if I get comfortable?” the woman asked.

  “It’s your time.”

  With nothing more than a smile, the woman set her gloves down, then reached up to untie her scarf.

  She pulled it off and folded it neatly, placing it next to her gloves. With a flick of her fingers she unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it off, hanging it on the back of the chair in front of the dressing table. She sipped her wine and pushed lush hair over her head.

  Loretta set a vase, now filled with the flowers, on the night table beside her bed.

  “Come here, please,” the woman said softly.

  Loretta moved resolutely toward the woman and stopped in front of her. She looked up into hazy blue eyes behind round, gold-tinted eyeglasses.

  “Would you do something for me?” the woman asked.

  Loretta closed her eyes for a moment and then said, “You’ve paid for my time. What would you like me to do?”

  “Would you wash the rouge and powder from your face for me? You’re very beautiful and don’t need anything to enhance your natural beauty.”

  “Wash my face?”

  “Please.”

  When Loretta returned from the bathroom the woman was seated comfortably on an upholstered chair next to the door. She stood as Loretta came toward her.

  “Now you’re even more beautiful. Thank you.”

  She reached up and let her fingertips run softly along Loretta’s jaw line before removing the comb holding her hair in place. Loretta heard a quick intake of breath when her hair cascaded over her shoulders.

&n
bsp; “You have lovely hair. You must brush it every evening,” the woman said.

  “What should I call you?” Loretta asked.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been very rude. My name is Josephine, but please feel free to call me Jo,” the woman said. She searched Loretta’s face. “You’ve never been intimate with a woman, have you?”

  “No, I haven’t,” Loretta answered, looking steadily into the woman’s eyes. She recognized the unmistakable look of desire gazing back at her.

  “Does the idea make you uncomfortable?”

  “A little. Perhaps you would rather spend the evening and your money with someone more experienced.”

  “No. I am quite satisfied with our arrangement,”

  Jo answered with a grin. She brought her hands up and touched Loretta’s rib cage. “I’m quite certain this corset cannot be comfortable. Please feel free to remove it.”

  Here it comes, Loretta smirked. She’s no different than my male customers. Ready to get to the goodies.

  “Why don’t you remove it for me?” Loretta replied seductively.

  Jo laughed. “We have all night, my dear, and I am in no hurry, although it is an extremely provocative offer.”

  “Then could you at least unbutton my dress?”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Jo said.

  Loretta turned around and lifted her hair away from the neckline of the dress. She wasn’t accustomed to such a slow and deliberate pace with her customers. Jo was an unusual woman. Not exactly beautiful, but striking looking. Her facial features were angular, almost severe, but strong and attractive nonetheless. Loretta liked the gentleness and softness in the woman’s voice when she spoke. She was obviously accustomed to spending intimate time with other women and that intrigued Loretta. How different could it be? Sex was sex.

  Warm fingers caressed Loretta’s shoulders as the dress was pushed down over them. Loretta reached up and untied the cord holding her corset tightly against her body. She heard the sharp, quick intake of a breath behind her as the corset loosened.

  “Perhaps you should remove the corset privately.

  I’m not quite ready to see you unclothed…yet,” she said as she leaned closer to Loretta’s ear. “You’re an accomplished temptress for one so young.”

  “So I’ve been told,” Loretta said. “But apparently not good enough...yet.”

  “Never underestimate your talents, my dear.”

  THE CLOCK ON Loretta’s bedroom wall chimed ten o’clock. Jo was still lounging comfortably in the upholstered chair and Loretta was curled up on her bed, her feet beneath her as she rested against the headboard.

  Jo looked at the clock and smiled. “I didn’t realize it was getting so late.”

  “It’s still early yet.”

  “Would you like more wine? I can order another bottle.”

  “No. This is more than I usually drink. But it was very good wine.”

  Jo stood and stretched, then plopped back down in her chair. “You might have to assist me with these boots,” she said. “They’re a little snug and always create a problem.”

  Loretta bounced off the bed and turned her back to Jo. “Give me your foot,” she ordered. “Then push against me with the other one.”

  Within a few seconds Jo was contentedly wiggling her toes on the carpet in front of her chair. “God, that feels better than anything I can imagine,” she breathed.

  “Anything?”

  A smirk raised Jo’s lips. “So far.”

  Jo stood again and stared down into Loretta’s eyes. “Thank you,” she said. Before she realized what she was doing, Loretta began slowly pulling the shirt from Jo’s waist, her hands stroking the hot, fevered skin beneath. She watched Jo’s face become more relaxed under her touch and spread her fingers across Jo’s soft back.

  Jo’s hand rose to caress Loretta’s cheek and she leaned closer, allowing her hands to move into the front opening of Loretta’s robe. “You’re incredibly beautiful,” Jo whispered. She pressed her cheek to Loretta’s before bringing her mouth closer to the young woman’s. “May I kiss you?” she asked.

  Loretta couldn’t restrain a laugh. “No one’s ever asked my permission before.”

  “I am.”

  “I’ve never kissed a woman.”

  “A kiss is a kiss,” Jo said with a slight shrug.

  “And if I say no?”

  “Then I would not, much to my regret.”

  While they were speaking their lips remained centimeters apart. Loretta felt the hot breath of her customer. “Then who am I to refuse such a request,”

  Loretta said.

  A brief smile crossed Jo’s lips as they met Loretta’s tentatively. As the kiss deepened slightly, Loretta’s lips parted, inviting her in. She drew Loretta’s tongue into her mouth and traced its edges with her own, her arms lifting the smaller woman closer.

  Loretta had been kissed many times, but never had anyone kissed her so gently and with such controlled desire. She wrapped her arms around Jo’s neck as she was lifted from the floor and pressed her mouth hard against Jo’s.

  When the kiss ended and Jo lowered her to the floor, Loretta was light-headed from the contact.

  “May I touch you?” Jo breathed heavily.

  “Will you please stop asking permission before every movement,” Loretta snapped. “It’s driving me crazy.”

  Jo looked down at her and smiled. “That’s the idea, my dear. To drive you crazy…with want and desire.”

  “You’ve succeeded,” Loretta said as she began unbuttoning Jo’s shirt. Her efforts were hindered by the feel of Jo’s hands lightly caressing her breasts.

  Fingers rolled her nipples between them, the pressure sending jolts of desire through her abdomen and between her thighs.

  “If you don’t stop that, I’ll never get this damn shirt off of you,” Loretta said through clenched teeth as she tried to concentrate on what she was doing rather than what she was feeling.

  “You may be disappointed at what you find,” Jo said, her lips trailing kisses over Loretta’s ear and down her throat, further distracting her.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Loretta said, finally giving up on the buttons and ripping the shirt open.

  She was surprised to find no brassiere beneath, but rather a lovely pair of the smallest breasts she had ever seen. With a smile, Loretta brought her mouth to a breast and sucked it between her lips, running her tongue in circles around the nipple which responded quickly. She felt Jo tremble in her arms.

  “I…I must lie down,” Jo stammered. “It would be most embarrassing to fall to the floor in a heap during this delightfully intoxicating moment.”

  A laugh rumbled from deep in Loretta’s chest and she turned them halfway, gently pushing Jo backward onto the bed. She slipped her robe from her naked body into a pile at her feet before joining her client.

  LORETTA’S EYES FLUTTERED open and she stretched an arm across the jumbled covers on the bed. She felt the coolness of the sheets and sat up. She was preparing to get up when the door to her room opened and a woman with strawberry blonde hair, now covered by a small hat perched toward the front, and wearing a floor-length, deep blue dress with a white lace collar, stepped inside. Round, gold-framed glasses perched on the bridge of Jo’s nose, giving her a studious appearance. Her cheeks flushed when she saw the naked young woman sitting up on the bed, staring at her.

  “I’m sorry, my dear. I didn’t mean to awaken you,” Jo said.

  “You didn’t,” Loretta said. “I rolled over and you were gone.”

  “Yes. My train will be arriving soon and I cannot afford to miss it.”

  “You look like a different person,” Loretta smiled.

  “I am a different person.” Jo moved to the side of the bed and reached out to stroke a finger over Loretta’s cheek. “Thank you for a wonderful night.

  You are an amazing young woman.”

  “Thank you. I hope it was everything you anticipated.”

  “And much more
, my dear,” Jo said with a slight grin.“Will you ever come through here again?”

  “Possibly, but you and I will likely never see one another again. It’s safest for both of us, I believe. I cannot afford to have my personal proclivities known and one day you will find happiness with a good man.”

  Loretta reached out and grabbed Jo by the forearm when she started to turn away. “No one has ever treated me as well as you, Jo. Or loved me as well.”

  “Thank you, Loretta. Some day someone will.

  Someone who doesn’t have to hide their desires in the shadows. You are an exquisite young woman. Don’t let this life scar you.”

  Jo pushed her glasses farther up her nose and picked up her valise. “I wish you well, Loretta. Please take care of yourself.”

  Loretta nodded dumbly, watching Jo leave her room in the pre-dawn hours. She took a deep breath and fell back onto the bed. Truly, she had spent a night like none she could have dreamed of. She hadn’t known such pleasure between two people was possible. For the first time in her life she felt cared for rather than used. Even though money had been involved, she hadn’t been treated as property. Jo hadn’t forced herself upon her, taking her cues from the way Loretta’s body reacted to each touch and kiss Finally, Loretta scooted to the edge of her bed and stood up. Maybe she could get a relaxing bath before the other girls awakened. As she passed her dressing table and reached for her robe, she noticed an envelope leaning against the mirror. She opened it and withdrew several bills. She counted it and was stunned to find one hundred dollars Jo had left for her. The bills were wrapped in a piece of paper containing a note and a business card. “Thank you for an unforgettable evening. The best of my life. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need assistance. Jo.” She flipped the business card over and read the inscription “Josephine Barclay, Esquire. Attorney-at-Law. St. Louis, Missouri.”