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The alcohol soothed them both, and within minutes he felt a bit of the ache within him ease. He let her talk, telling of the towns she'd visited, recounting as much as she could of her past without getting to the heart of it. Before Jack realized it, they'd finished half the bottle of whiskey and he was actually laughing. Fiona unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, revealing only her slender, bare neck, where he saw a glimmer of gold. "You'd think they were trying to strangle people with these things," she joked.
"Why don't you wear your necklace over your shirt?" he asked.
Fiona slowly lifted the golden chain, and Jack found himself reaching forward to take the small pendant in his fingers and examine it by firelight. It was a ruby in a diamond and sapphire setting, definitely worth a fortune. The jewels were warm from where they had rested between Fiona's breasts.
"It was my mother's. Even when I was penniless, I told myself I'd rather starve than give it away." Fiona looked at him, her eyes exposing her pain. "I never told anyone that before." She touched her fingers over the jewels, brushing his skin lightly. Jack felt like he'd been burned, and his insides knotted up. He hadn't felt such an intimate connection with another person in ages, especially not after such a short period of time. And for it to be Fiona, in all her glorious beauty, and with all her insight...
Suddenly Jack couldn't find the right words express how much he appreciated her visit, how she'd made him feel. He leaned forward, his face close to hers. She smelled like ripe fruit, and he felt compelled to bite into her. He reached out and brushed the curve of her face with the pad of his hard, calloused thumb. Fiona watched him intently, her eyes reflecting the dancing flames in the hearth.
Jack cupped her cheek and drew closer to her, his lips pressing against her soft, full ones. He sighed as she responded, their sweet whiskey breaths mingling. His fingers slipped down her throat, feeling her erratic pulse, her soft skin, the silky tendrils of her hair that brushed the nape of her neck. He felt as though he'd been starved, and now he was being offered a feast.
Fiona pressed up against him, both of them side-by-side on the floor by the fireplace. Her small fingers grabbed his collar and tugged him closer as though she needed him, too. His hand slid up her side, feeling the boning of her corset underneath, surprised that she would wear one since it seemed so restrictive. Then he realized she was trying to minimize her full breasts.
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