Page 48 of The Perils of Paulie
“What? They’re leaving?”
“Didn’t you hear? Their car was flattened by a lorry.”
“A what now?”
“‘Semitruck’ is, I believe, the term used here,” Dixon added.
“Oh my god. Are they all right?” I was shocked to my core. For some reason, I didn’t think anything serious would happen to the racers. Flat tires, yes. Chases through fields, sure. But not cars smashed to bits by huge behemoths of the road.
“They’re fine. They were out of the car. They were off taking what Roger calls a nature break and a lorry passing too close smashed the car into the guardrail.”
“Holy crap. What a lucky escape.”
“Yes,” he said, his eyes dipping to where my breasts were mounded high inside my tight-fitting white lace blouse.
Casually, I peeled off the bolero jacket.
Dixon sucked in his breath. Rupert headed to his room, leaving Dixon and me standing in the hallway.
“Erm.” He cleared his throat. “Which room is yours?”
“That way,” I said, pointing past him with my key. “You’re here?”
“Yes.” An awkward, sexually charged silence fell. My whole body seemed to hold its breath.
“Perhaps you would like to come by my room later,” Dixon said at the same time I asked, “Wanna do a sheet tango?”
We stared at each other; then I burst into laughter.
“Your way sounds so much more sophisticated,” I said, twirling the bolero and moving off toward my room. “Think I’ll see if my corset buddy is around. I’m so anxious to get out of it...”
Dixon was in front of me before I even realized he’d moved, snatching the key from my hand and jamming it into the lock on the door. “Allow me,” he said, his eyes a stormy bluish green.
“Don’t tell me—you’re a corset devotee and you can’t wait to see which one I have on today?” I asked, entering my room. My suitcase was sitting on the rack where the crew had placed it, but I didn’t get to it before Dixon was at my back unhooking the blouse.
“I’m more a devotee of what’s inside the corset. Arms up.”
I lifted my arms and allowed him to whip the blouse off over my head. While he was laying it neatly on the dresser, I undid the silk belt and started on the skirt buttons. In no time I was scratching my ribs through my camisole, heaving big sighs of relief as I did so.
“You have no idea how good it is to take that beastly thing off,” I said after I’d had a good scratch. I turned to face Dixon. “What on earth is wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, squinting at my lower half.
I glanced down, suddenly worried that something was amiss. I was still in my knee-length bloomers, but since they had a couple of rows of lace ruffles and were tied with pretty blue ribbons, I didn’t see what there was to frown at. “Then why are you looking at me like you’re suddenly horrified at my pubic zone? Surely you must have seen it the other night. I don’t wax, but I do trim it so that I don’t have a bird’s nest down there.”
“No, it’s not that at all. I highly approve of your... er... pubic zone. It’s that garment. I’m trying to decide if it’s alluring or amusing.”
I struck a pose, wiggling my derriere, which sounded a lot more risqué than it looked, since the bloomers were gathered at the waist and poufed out in the back. “The answer is that my allure is not such that mere mortal mancan resist it. Why don’t you take off some of your clothes? You have too many on.”
“If you wish,” he said in that proper English accent that made me giggle. “It is a warm day, after all, and I wish to be comfortable while I ogle your womanly curves, noncurves, and general allure.”
“And my curves and noncurves want you to be comfortable,” I agreed, and helped him out of his suit jacket, collar, tie, vest, and shirt. I abandoned him to remove my boots, wiggling my toes happily while sitting on the edge of my bed, watching him hop one-footed while he tried to pull off the other shoe. The underwear they’d given the men was evidently an extended version of boxer shorts, these ending just above his knee. The front had buttons on it, while, to my surprise, there was an escape hatch on the rear side. “I am having no judgment qualms on your undies, by the way. You look incredibly sexy in yours.”
“But you like me better out of them?” he asked.
“Oh, hell yes.” I stared with wide eyes when he shucked his underwear. “So very much better this way.”
“It does have its advantages.”
