Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Bonnie had finally stopped crying. Violet knew how worried she was but felt helpless to do anything about it and Bonnie’s tears made it worse.
She watched Josiah until he was out of sight and turned back to the doctor's office, letting herself back inside. Bonnie was talking quietly with the doctor and neither of them looked up at her when she shut the door behind her.
She found a chair and sat down, leaning her head back against the wall. She listened to their hushed conversation and didn’t remember closing her eyes but opened them when she suddenly felt weightless, the slight rocking of her body enough to drag her from sleep.
There had been many nights when she dreamed of being held in Josiah’s arms and in all those fantasies, she’d snuggled into him while throwing her arms around his neck. Now, she was too afraid to move. Josiah was carrying her through town, the sound of voices a dull roar in her head.
Her eyelids slid shut again, and she inhaled deeply, taking in the scent clinging to his shirt and feigned sleep, scared he’d set her on her feet if he knew she was awake.
Sooner than she would have liked, he laid her down. She blinked her eyes open to find him staring down at her.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She took a deep breath and stretched, the bed comfortable despite the fact so many different people slept in it. “It’s all right. It’s too early to turn in any way.”
The corner room was large with two windows. Besides the bed, there was a small dresser and a table with two chairs underneath the window facing the main thoroughfare through town.
Violet sat up as someone knocked on the door. Josiah answered it, spoke to someone in the hall, then stepped back as several men walked into the room carrying a tub, followed by several women with buckets of water.
Steam rose from the tub when the water was poured into it and when everyone filed out, Josiah shut the door behind them. He smiled when he looked over at her. “It seems as if being a town marshal has its advantages.”
He looked around the room. “This is one of the largest rooms in the hotel and the bath was complimentary, as a thank you for choosing this establishment and not the one on the other end of town.”
“Well, you picked the right one, then.”
He laughed and leaned back against the door. “I didn’t even see the other hotel, so it was pure luck.”
She stood and headed toward the tub, dipping her fingers into the water before glancing at him. “I’m calling dibs on the first bath.”
He grinned at her and pushed off the door. “I figured as much. I’ll go order us something to eat and take something over to Bonnie while you bathe.”
He left without another word, and Violet didn’t waste any time undressing. Along with the tub and hot water, the staff at the hotel left behind a small tray of soaps and perfumed oils.
After piling her hair onto the top of her head and securing it with one of the ribbons that had held her stocking up, she dribbled the oil into the tub, then slid into the water, leaning back against the edge and sighing. “Oh, now this is heaven.”
She soaked for a while, closing her eyes while relaxing. Her thoughts went back to earlier in the day when they’d been shown the small cabin that came with the marshal’s job and as much as she hated to admit it, she wanted that tiny house as much as she wanted her marriage to Josiah to be real.
The talk with her grandfather whispered back through her head.
Of him telling her to fight for her marriage.
To use her feminine wiles to do so, but she wasn’t sure how to go about doing that.
Aside from flat out seducing Josiah, which she wasn’t sure she had the gumption to do, she was at a loss as to how best to do it.
Voices in the hall brought her head up. She grabbed the washcloth and soap and started cleaning herself, all the while wondering how she could go about seducing her husband and not being so obvious about it.
You’re naked in a room he’s coming back to.
She glanced at the door when voices outside drew her attention again. She hadn’t locked it when Josiah left. Anyone could walk in on her.
Standing so she could run and lock it, she reached for one of the towels but froze when the door flew open.
He should have knocked, but was secretly glad he hadn’t.
Violet was standing in the tub, water droplets running down her body and glistening like small diamonds on her porcelain skin. Her nipples were peeked and rosy red from the hot water and the nest of auburn curls at the apex of her thighs drew his gaze before he could stop himself from looking.
It took his brain long seconds to realize the door was still open and anyone walking by could see her. Without turning away, he kicked it closed with his foot. The moment it slammed shut, she jumped and pulled the drying cloth she’d been reaching for to her chest, wrapping it around herself.
The awkward silence lasted until he said, “Sorry,” and finally looked away.
The water splashed as she moved to step out of the tub. “It’s okay. There’s nothing here you haven’t seen before.”
She was right. He had seen her half naked before and, just like last time, the glimpse he got wasn’t nearly enough.
He headed for the small table by the window and set down the plate of food he’d ordered her from the hotel restaurant. He could hear her moving around behind him and the urge to turn around was so strong, he had to force himself to pull one of the chairs from the table and sit down instead.
A small oil lamp sat on the table. He busied himself with lighting it while listening to her dress. When she joined him at the table wearing a clean blouse and skirt, her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink.
Their eyes met for a brief moment and she gave him a shy smile before tucking a stray strand of hair that had fallen from the rest she had piled on top of her head behind her ear. “This looks good,” she said, breaking the silence hanging in the room. “Are you not eating?”
“I ate downstairs. I thought it would give you enough time for your bath.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks reddened further. “I got lost in thought while soaking.”
“It happens.”
He handed her the fork he’d brought up with her meal and turned in his chair to take off his boots. “Bonnie looked to be doing better when I left her. I made sure the doctor would watch her eat before leaving. She was hovering over Archie so much, I wasn’t sure she would.”
Tossing his boots to the foot of the bed, he pulled his socks off and stood up, heading to the tub, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.
“What are you doing?”
What was he doing? He stopped and stared at the tub. What was he doing? Hearing her shift behind him, he wondered if he’d lost his senses. He couldn’t undress in front of her.
Why? You just walked in on her naked.
The situation they found themselves in was odd, at best. Legally they were married, and he had every right to undress in front of her, but as of yet, he hadn’t done so.
He even climbed into bed with her every night fully clothed, as uncomfortable as it was to do.
But he’d seen her naked, twice now, and truth be known, his eagerness to go find that preacher was getting less by the second.
Hearing her shift again behind him, he finally said, “Taking my clothes off,” in response to her question. “Like you, I need a bath.” He stuck his hand into the tub. “And the water is still warm.”
He glanced back at her. She had her fork held so tight, her knuckles were white. He should probably wait, but he hated a cold bath more than anything. Was it indecent of him to get naked in front of her? Probably, but they were legally married, so she’d just have to deal with it.
He finished removing his shirt and reached for his belt. “Turn your back if you don’t want to watch.” He didn’t look to see if she’d averted her gaze and jerked his pants down before kicking them away and stepping into the tub.
When he settled and looked over at her, she was staring out the window, her face so red it nearly matched her hair.
He grinned and grabbed one of the dry washcloths and the bar of soap lying in the dish they’d brought up with everything else. He scrubbed everything he could reach and settled back against the tub rim with a sigh. “Why does the water smell like flowers?”
She finally looked his way, her cheeks still tinted pink. “Bath oil.” She nodded to the tray. A small vial of liquid lay off to one side.
“I guess there are worse things to smell like.” He braced his arms along the rim of the tub. She was still watching him and the devil on his shoulder had him blurting out, “Want to wash my back?” before he could stop the words.
“Wash your back?”
He grinned. “It would be a very wifely thing to do.”
She scoffed, then laughed.
He watched her eat, her tongue darting out to lick her lips every so often and despite not wanting to entertain the idea of a real marriage with her, he wanted her hands on him. Wanted to feel the heat of her skin on his and wanted her blushing as she looked at him.
He grinned and lifted a leg, placing his foot flat on the bottom of the tub so his knee stuck out of the water and leaned his head back against the rim. “What’s wrong, Violet? Are you scared?”
She stilled long moments before straightening in her chair. When she stood without a word, he froze. He hadn’t really thought she’d do it.
Her gaze strayed down his chest as she neared him but didn’t go lower, which was good seeing as the water hid nothing and her nearness was causing his body to react without much thought. She reached out a hand when she was beside the tub and he handed her the washcloth he’d used.
She kneeled at the head of the tub and grabbed the bar of soap. He sat up, curling in on himself a bit so she could reach all of his back, and held his breath the moment she touched him.