More talking and flirtation because I just can't get these two to stop flirting with each other.

Disclaimer: I do not own them nor earn anything from them.

Elsie washed and dressed carefully for the day in a state of excitement that she'd not had since she was a very young woman. There was really no good way to describe how she felt. Perhaps the most surprising thing was how desirable she felt. The way Charles looked at her made her pulse race even before he touched her, and the way that he touched her nearly made her blood boil. Her imagination had not remotely approached how wonderful it felt to have his hands on her and when he was inside her it nearly overwhelmed her. With a deep sigh, she pressed her hands to her face. She had to stop this train of thought. She was going to have to face the man again in just a few moments and somehow she had to do that without blushing, or smiling too broadly, or jumping in his lap, or pushing him down on the staff table and having her way with him. For goodness sake! There her mind went again on paths it should not go. She took a deep breath and smoothed her skirts down to gain control of her wayward mind before stepping through her door.

By the time she had made it down the steps to the servants' hall for breakfast, her mind had her wayward body under control. She was even able to think that she'd been a little silly. After all, she was a grown woman, not a woman of the world certainly, but not an addle-pated school girl either. She would be able to face this man with ease during the day and be as professional as possible while enjoying his body thoroughly at night. Unfortunately, all her new self-confidence faded when she walked into the hall to see him seated at the staff table. He rose quickly when she entered as was his custom and turned to look at her. She felt a searing flame of desire run down her spine and then when he murmured his good morning she felt a rush of warmth at her center. It really wasn't fair. No man should have a voice that could do that to a woman. She managed to seat herself without blushing or appearing too nervous. Fortunately, none of the staff was paying a bit of attention to either of them. The men were all looking decidedly the worse for wear and many were clutching no doubt sore heads, and the maids were, of course, thoroughly enjoying teasing them. She would probably have several requests for aspirin after breakfast she thought grimly. Knowing exactly how they had gotten those headaches made her think briefly about refusing the requests. Then she remembered that she had gotten up to very similar things the night before as well and decided that perhaps she should have pity.

It was with these thoughts that she turned back to the man at her side and that was her undoing. He had just wrapped his hand around his glass to lift it to his lips. Her eyes were fascinated by that hand. She couldn't help but remember how it had felt curving around her breast in almost the exact same way it was now holding the glass. Her eyelids fluttered shut briefly, and he quirked an eyebrow at her in question. Shaking her head to let the thought dissipate, she looked down at her porridge and decided the safest course would be concentrating on getting the food from her bowl to her mouth. She had only eaten a few bites when she felt his knee brush rather too casually against hers and then come to rest pressed against hers under the table. She could feel the slightest tremor in his leg. A hint of a smile teased her lips as she realized that she was not the only one affected by their proximity. After a few more bites, she felt composed enough to chance another glance in his direction. That was a colossal mistake. Her eyes met his warmly for a moment before being drawn again to the hand that held his spoon. He did have rather nice hands she thought, strong but not callused, with long fingers. She noticed that one of those long fingers was curved slightly against the spoon and with a rush of heat to her center remembered that that was exactly how he had hooked his finger while stroking her last night. Catching herself just short of moaning out loud, she bent once again to finish her breakfast hurriedly without tasting another bite.

She left the table before anyone else and instructed the maids to come to her parlor directly to receive their instructions. Charles looked at her with a worried frown as she left, but thankfully did not follow her. Walking through the door to her sanctuary, she took a deep breath to calm herself and smoothed her hand over her stomach. Crossing to the small shelf where she kept her medical things, she took down her aspirin and waited for the steady stream of male servants she knew would be coming in. As expected nearly all the male staff made their way sheepishly to her parlor asking for relief for their headaches. Once she'd dispensed with them and given the maids their tasks for the day, she sat down in an attempt to quiet her racing thoughts before continuing her day. She had just started to settle her heart rate down when HE entered. For heaven's sake, could he not just leave her alone? No; that wasn't fair. To be truthful, she wanted him to do anything but leave her alone. That was her problem.

He was his usual unfailingly polite and kind self. "Mrs. Hughes," he began with evident concern, "Are you well? You seemed to be very anxious to leave breakfast."

She answered with a kind smile to show him that she was not upset, "I am just a little tired and found myself distracted. I had rather a busier night than I am accustomed to."

"Well, that's good then," he said obviously relieved, "I mean I'm sorry that you are over-tired, although I can't say that I am truly sorry for the events that led to that, but I was afraid that perhaps you might have come to regret last night, and this morning," he finished smiling fondly at the memory.

"Of course not," she scoffed, "you really must take me at my word that I have carefully counted the cost and believe that you are worth it."

His smile broadened to one of genuine joy, "When you say it that emphatically, I suppose that I must. May I ask what it was that had you so distracted?"

"You may," she stalled.

He drew his eyebrows down in a hint of a scowl at her evasion, "What had you so distracted?"

She blushed faintly but refused to shrink from the answer, "Hands."

"Beg pardon?" he asked genuinely confused and perhaps thinking she was more tired than she had said.

A little exasperated at having to explain, she stepped closer to him and lowered her voice to elaborate, "Charles, you may not realize this, but you have rather nice hands."

"I do?" he asked looking down at the appendages in question with a smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"You do," she sighed, taking his right hand in both of hers, "I've been fascinated by them for a long time."

"That's very, um, intriguing," he said distracted now by the way she was lightly tracing from his wrist down to the tips of each of his fingers.

It was her turn to smile a little smugly at the quickened sound of his breathing. She continued to caress his hand and turned it over so that she could examine the lines there. "I have always enjoyed watching you polish the silver. It amazes me how skillfully you work and watching you stroke," here her voice grew slightly husky and her eyes closed briefly, "each piece has always fascinated me."

His breathing was certainly more ragged as he answered, "I never knew that you found polishing silver so fascinating."

"It's not really the work that you're doing," she said, pausing in her exploration of his hand and wrist, "It's how deftly your hands do it. I could easily imagine how they might feel, well, exploring and stroking my body. I thought that the imagining was distracting, but at least I could confine that to when I was alone. Now, I can remember how your hands feel on me, and those memories disturb my equilibrium like nothing else ever has."

"Ahhh. I see," he said smiling, "Well, it's safe to say you've disturbed my equilibrium like nothing else ever has so I suppose what is good for the gander is good for the goose."

She looked up into his eyes with a smile, "Perhaps I'll get used to it given time, but for today, I believe I need to keep my distance for my own sanity." She dropped his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a hungry kiss filled with promise to soften her words.

He straightened from the kiss after a few moments, and she was pleased to note that his slightly dazed expression matched how she felt. She patted him gently on the chest, "Now, shouldn't you be off 'working on accounts' so that you can be well rested for tonight?"

He released his hold on her hips, and his eyes crinkled in a smile, "I suppose I should at that. Just remember, no interrupting if you hear snoring."

She laughed, "Certainly not! I have a vested interest in you being very well rested before tonight."

He nodded and took a step toward the door but paused and returned to lean down and whisper in her ear, "Elsie, love, I have every intention of you being distracted by watching my lips tomorrow at breakfast, remembering what they have done to you." He nipped lightly at the skin beneath her left ear before lifting his head to smirk at her breathlessness and stepping out the door.

Reviews are welcome as always.