Chapter 3
The voices of the diners seated around them never strayed above a civilized decibel, but there was an undercurrent of energy that carried the words around the room, infusing each staticky syllable with life. It swirled into background noise, along with the periodic clinking of silverware against china, the hollow thud of glass against table. Robert couldn't rightly focus on any of it, not the well worn symphony of a crowded dining room, nor the grandiose and blustering stories of the ship's captain, nor the embarrassingly excessive flattery the women around them bestowed upon the braggart.
None of it could tear his attention away from Cora, who sat across from him. From the moment she had opened her bedroom door, freshly changed and rested for dinner, Robert could think of nothing else. The dress she wore was new, the deep wine color shiny and rich against her paleness. It fit like a second skin, perfectly tailored to her slight frame. The fabric danced around Cora as she walked by his side, so gracefully, so vibrantly that Robert was sure if he touched it he would find the garment had its own pulse. Her ebony tresses piled up on her head were an intricate maze of roadways weaving in and out of the mountains of her curls and Robert longed to run his fingers through it.
The depth of the dress's color pulled her eyes into a deeper shade of blue, an hypnotic hue he'd only ever seen in paintings.
He'd taken her hand then, surprising her surely, but Robert could no more help his instinctive touch then he could help the odd coil in his chest whenever she was near. Everything had seemed too small while he stood there looking at her, but once he felt the fabric of her glove against the damp of his palm, the world expanded again.
And now, seated across from her, Robert couldn't lift his eyes from the pout of Cora's lip, the embrace they made around the fork as she carefully placed each bite of food in her mouth. He stared as she slowly lowered the silverware to rest on her plate and then picked up the crystal goblet beside it. A soft breeze of laughter floated across the table before Cora took a sip of wine and briefly her eyes found his, still staring. The curl of her lashes brushed against the top of her cheek and her smile peaked out at him from behind the rim of the glass.
Oddly, Robert felt no embarrassment at being caught, and instead was quite thrilled to find Cora's eyes searching out his own more frequently during the course of the meal. And even though he had never subscribed to any notion so saccharinely ridiculous before, he grew more certain that unspoken promises were being passed back and forth with each fluttering look.
The meal dragged along, course after course paraded out by waiters with the speed of sloths. Robert's knee began to bounce under the cover of the table and he fidgeted with his lap napkin as empty plates were laboriously cleared and precious minutes stretched out until they were once again eating. Cora did not help his escalating anxiousness, her eyes becoming brighter and brighter with each sip of wine, her laughter growing looser, fuller. The garnets around her slender neck caught the light every time she moved, drawing his attention to its firm muscles and the long dip toward her decolletage. Robert tried to snatch his eyes away from that spot on her body, but they wouldn't be deterred, caressing her flesh the way his hands itched to. The mousse in his mouth turned too sweet and Robert choked it down, taking up his wine and pulling a long drink from it.
Finally the captain stood, addressed the diners and then left the room. The band in the corner, who had been playing lowly and slowly picked up their tempo and a few eager souls rushed the dance floor for the first waltz. Cora clapped her hands as the first few chords were struck.
"Oh, my-"
"Favorite." Robert finished for her and Cora's lips parted as she took in a breath and held it.
"That's right," Cora said happily, her face alight with the brilliance of her grin.
Robert came around to her side of the table and offered his hand. "I am paying attention you know. Even if it doesn't always seem like it."
"Apparently," Cora replied, her brows furrowing with confusion as he led her not onto the dance floor but toward the exit of the dining room.
"Can I promise to beg them to play it tomorrow if we can excuse ourselves tonight?" Robert tried to keep the need out of his voice, but by the way Cora's features changed, the quick raise of her eyes and the sly set of her lips, he knew he had placed himself at her mercy. She slowed her steps as he tugged her along.
"Oh, and what did you have in mind? An evening stroll on the upper deck?" Cora asked innocently.
"Too cold," Robert replied briskly, not turning back but continuing to pull an increasingly resistant Cora along.
"There is an extensive library we haven't explored yet. Perhaps some light reading?" Cora suggested, her shoes dragging along the carpet.
"Cora," Robert growled, the door to her cabin within sight.
Cora chuckled behind him, a sigh capping the sound as her finger lightly stroked the top of his knuckles and Robert spun, pulling her forcefully into his arms and backing her against the wall, his mouth on hers before he could think to stop. She sagged into the cup of his body, her hands already under his jacket and clawing at his shirt and he pressed himself into her. Robert fumbled with the latch of her door, the ping of its release filling his ears and he clumsily guided them into the sanctuary of her room.
Once they were truly alone and tucked away behind the door, any restraint Robert held onto was lost. Hungrily he sucked at the tender flesh of Cora's neck, her head arching back to afford him more access. Her hands deftly undid the buttons of his clothing as his own rubbed harshly over her bodice, her back, the tangles of her hair. Soon Robert realized she had him down to his knickers and stockings while not a thread had been peeled off of her body. Before Robert could devise a plan to rid Cora of her dress, she pushed him back onto the bed. Climbing on top, she blazed a trail of kisses across his chest. Her lips pressed the kinky hair covering his flesh and Robert gripped the sheets, his breathing coming and going in fits. She had never taken such an aggressive lead in their coupling, and that along with the slow build up during dinner had the blood surging to his lower extremities, leaving him feeling faint and virile at the same time.
Robert's knees shook as she lowered herself, the heat of her mouth playing across his abdomen, her fingers brushing his sides. Robert groaned and his hips lifted of their own volition, meeting the weight of Cora's body. He was humming and trembling, and his hands clenched and released the bedding and when that wasn't enough, when his head bobbed back and forth as Cora slinked lower, as her kisses fell just below his navel and the hardness in his groin throbbed and grew wet and ached, an ache that was sweet and terrible, Robert buried his hands in her hair. His fingers weaved themselves in the velvet of her strands and he pushed down. He had no control of what he was doing, in the back of his thoughts he knew he was being too rough, too base, but Cora responded anyway, somehow knowing what to do.
"Ugh!" Robert cried when Cora's moist mouth was on the tip of his groin, the fabric of his underwear chafing and painful but tightening the coil that was about to spring deep inside of him.
Frantically Robert found Cora and lifted her by her arms. He pushed his mouth to hers, biting at the tenderness of her lips, suckling them until she squirmed. His hands mercifully found the buttons of her dress, slipping each pearl through its eyelet until he and she pushed the miles of fabric away. Cora leaned up and reached behind her back, quickly untying the lace of her corset and Robert pulled the offending cage, both of them sighing as she was set free. The rest of her chemise followed and when Robert's hands finally molded around her naked flesh he knew it wouldn't be long. Cora arched into his touch, her own movements becoming more frenzied as she straddled his waist. He lifted and she lowered and then he was deep inside of her. Jerking up, holding Cora's hips in place, Robert bit the inside of his cheek, the air starting to thicken in his chest. He reached up and touched her nipple and Cora cried out as she spasmed around him, yanking him over the edge with her.
Spent, Cora collapsed on top of him and as Robert's heart hammered in his ears, he placed small kisses on the bare freckles of her shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and closed his eyes, the smell of sweat and lavender occupying the air around them.
It was thirst that had woken him but once he had stumbled through the dark and into the washroom in search of water, Robert could not easily go back to sleep. First, it was indecision that kept him awake. He stood by the foot of Cora's bed, naked and cold, watching as the covers rose and fell with her steady breathing. He should have gone back to his room as soon as they'd finished, but he had been so tired, and she had been so warm.
Robert took his eyes away from Cora and glanced at the evidence of their haste, his clothes and hers littered around the room. He thought about gathering his garments and retreating to his room and with the thought came the responding need to act. Stepping carefully and squatting down, Robert grabbed at his discarded trousers. A noise from the bed froze his movement and he stretched up to see that Cora stayed undisturbed. Returning to his task, Robert scooped up the rest of his clothes and stood quickly, ready to flee when the noise happened again. On tip toes, Robert moved closer. It had certainly come from Cora and was something between a whimper and a murmur with a few unintelligible words punctuating the silence. Robert leaned in, searching her face under the cascade of her unplated hair. It was pinched with tension and another whimper puffed through her slack lips.
Cora had a way of curling herself into the smallest ball possible when sleeping, all limbs tucked and folded so that it was almost impossible to see any part of her. It made him want to smooth his hand down her back and coax her to take as much room as she needed, to relax, to convince her there was no economy of space where she was concerned.
Abandoning his tails on the room's small chair, Robert gingerly climbed back into the bed and he gave into his mind's wish. He placed his hand on her and made soothing passes up Cora's back. He wasn't sure what she dreamt of, but he could feel her muscles turn liquid under his touch. Settling back down, Robert arranged the bedding around them and laid his head on the other pillow. In her sleep Cora turned, her arm falling across his middle and Robert took her in his embrace, nestling close.
Now that he had decided to stay, he had expected sleep to come back and claim him once again. But instead, he stared at the ceiling, tuning into the gentle sway of the ship as it swiftly cut through the ocean. He counted the beats of Cora's heart, her pulse nudging against his ribs. Robert tried closing his eyes but instead of the welcome void of slumber, the words of Martha's letter burned into his retinas, causing his eyes to spring open once again.
The lie he sheltered, and it was a lie, sat in his gut like a tumor, painful and large. There had been many times over the last few weeks where Robert was on the verge of blurting out the Levinsons secret, but he couldn't quite force out the words. And the longer he kept silent, the worse the offense of omission seemed.
Cora stirred, the rustling of her nightdress followed by a heavy breath through her parted lips. The heat of it fell against the cool skin of his chest creating a storm of gooseflesh to pimple him and Robert shivered.
"Robert…" Cora murmured, her voice laced with the cobwebs of sleep. Immediately, his throat tightened. She remained still, saying no more, falling back into the clutches of slumber, but Robert knew that tone, that gentle, quiet sweet way she would say his name sometimes. It was full of...love.
And now, more than ever, Robert felt terribly unworthy of such a gift, and his budding fear was that she would finally see that he was, once she knew what he was keeping from her.
