Once Upon a Romance 01 - Before the Midnight Bells (10 page)

Ella’s mind whirled. She knew that the rags he’d worn last night were costly, and she’d pegged him right away as a noble, although he hadn’t mentioned his title when he’d introduced himself. Dressing him could launch her into the realm of the highly sought after couturiers, if she did a good job. She knew her face was probably bright red, but she also knew that embarrassment was no reason to turn down an offer that could be so important for her career. Still, she waffled.

“
Had you considered a particular costume?” Even to her own ears the question sounded very prim. Well, let it. She was a professional, after all. It was proper to be… proper.

“
Hmmm… I really hadn’t. Any ideas?”

“
You could go as an acrobat in the circus. Those tights would probably look quite dashing on you.” As soon as the words left her mouth Ella bit her tongue. That hadn’t been very decorous.

“
Perhaps you’re right. But then, a week seems such a short time in which to learn to tumble.” He gave her a teasing look, and again Ella spoke without thinking.

“
Naughty rogue, I’m sure you’ve already taken many a tumble.” Max let out a bark of laughter at her saucy reply, but Ella’s eyes widened in horror. No, no, no, she was
not
standing here flirting with him. That would not be calm and proper at
all.
Before she could figure out what appropriately calm and cool thing she could say, Max rescued her by returning to the safer topic.

“
Honestly, I’ve always thought I would love to take to the sea. What about something nautical?”

Ella grabbed her dignity with both hands and forced it to stay put.

“
Perhaps a sailor?”

“
No, not grand enough.”

“
A captain, then?”

“
Not exotic enough.”

“
I could dress you as Sinbad.”

“
From the
Thousand and One
Nights
? Rather too exotic, I should think. We don’t want women fainting away at the sight of my bare chest.”

Ella laughed, and relaxed a bit. “How about a Castillian Admiral? Very grand, vaguely exotic, and fully clothed.”

“
Perfect! Does this mean you’ll accept my commission?”

She took a deep breath and met his eyes squarely.

“
I’ll need your measurements.

Max’s eyes followed Ella as she made her way to the door and locked it, hanging a sign in the small window that read
Engaged in a Fitting
. It suddenly occurred to him that in a few moments he would be standing in a small room alone with her, mostly undressed. Aside from her rosy color Ella was betraying no signs of nervousness, and Max was determined not to be a bigger ninny than she was. After all, he had experience being in front of a woman stripped down. Not while said woman was fully clothed, of course, but still… Ella presumably had
no
experience with naked men, and that meant he couldn’t be less self
-
possessed than she was. He gave himself a stern but swift talking to. No blushing. No stammering. And, most importantly, no signs that he knew she was a beautiful woman. That her smile was making his heart beat faster. That he wanted to see her hair tumbling free down her back again. Not one single clue.

If he could help it.

Ella turned to him and gestured, saying “I do my measurements behind that rear curtain.” She went over to the counter and picked up a long tape with regularly spaced marks on it, and he walked behind the curtain, very firmly
not
blushing.

It was a small space, with a
sturdy stool
and a tiny wardrobe to one side. Max stood in the center of the room, at a loss, while Ella moved in behind him and drew the curtain firmly shut.

“
You’ll need to disrobe.” The humor was back in her voice. Clearly she knew he was uncertain and found it amusing. He sat down to take off his shoes and stockings, and thought furiously for a moment. He supposed this was somewhat just
—
after all, it had been his idea in the first plac
e—
but knowing she was laughing at him pricked at his pride. If she was going to pretend to nerves of steel, then he would do the same. Viewing it as a challenge calmed him down immensely, and let him see things in a whole different light. After all, hadn’t he just been telling himself that she had no experience in viewing an undressed man? How fortunate for him that he was going to get to educate her.

He stood, and looking her full in the face, he reached up to remove his cravat. Max could tell that she was working valiantly to hold onto her amused calm, but when the last bit of silk slid from beneath his collar the humor left her eyes and was replaced by… something else. Her eyes flickered everywhere, but Max never looked away as he peeled off his jacket and hung it up by feel in the wardrobe. Her gaze followed his hands as he slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, and then flew back up to his face when he slid his shirt tails out of his waistband. He felt a jolt when her eyes met his, and he suddenly knew that he desperately wished he were disrobing under completely different circumstances. He could imagine her small hands helping to pull his shirt open over his chest, tugging at his belt, pulling down his… but no. He ruthlessly checked that line of thought. Unless he wanted to scare her with rock hard evidence of her effect on him, he should not imagine her small hands helping him with
anything
.

As the shirt fell off his shoulders he heard her stop breathing, and decided to have a little mercy on them both. “Hang this up for me?” Her fingers barely brushed his as she took the crisp collar from him, and then turned to hang it up, hiding her face in the wardrobe. He watched her back as she took a deep breath, and evidently schooled her features, because when she turned back she said, very calmly, “And the pants?” A small smile appeared on his face. He couldn’t help it, the woman was something to be admired. If they were playing a game of chicken, it was entirely possible that she was winning. Quickly, like pulling off a bandage, he removed his pants and handed them to her, watching her face for some hint of what she was thinking.

Ella
didn’t
think, she just hung the pants in the wardrobe and turned to face Max. Best to deal with the fact that she had an almost-naked man in front of her. Then she could go on with measuring and forget about it. At least, that was her intention. Then she was facing him again, with nothing between them, and she found for a moment she couldn’t move, think, or breath. She could only stare.

Max wasn’t a large man. He was taller than her, for certain, but no more than average height compared to most gentlemen. His dark curly hair contrasted with blue, blue eyes, and he paired them both with a wicked grin much of the time. Fully dressed he was certainly handsome, but without his clothes on he was amazing. Lean muscles wrapped his frame. Ella really had no idea what he did in his leisure time when he wasn’t attending balls or visiting seamstresses, but whatever it was, the well developed tone in his body showed that he did it rigorously.

Her eyes drifted from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist, and from his waist down to his… abruptly she pulled her eyes up. He was watching her watch him, and passion blazed in those blue eyes. His grin was nowhere in evidence
;
instead his mouth seemed somehow softer, as though he were thinking of using it to express something far different from humor. His gaze wandered down her, much in the same manner she had just looked at him, and his perusal made her feel that, despite her voluminous skirts, he could see her body as clearly as she could see his. Her stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies, and warmth was spreading up from the base of her throat to set her face aflame.

Ella knew that if she didn’t move soon then she’d never move, and possibly they’d both be stuck there in that awkward and intensely intimate moment forever, so she closed her eyes briefly and took a firm grip on her measuring tape. Then she took a step forward and began.

She started with his waist. She had to practically embrace him to run the measuring tape behind his back, and Max could feel the heat of her face, ghosting just above the bare skin on his chest. He was tempted to inhale deeply, and brush against her cheek, but he took a firm grip on himself. He willed himself to not move, no matter what wayward thoughts went through his head.

It was an odd kind of erotic torture, standing there, pretending not to notice when her fingers brushed the flat planes of his stomach as she brought the ends of the tape together. Heat bloomed in his core, rising to meet each delicate fingertip. From his waist she loosened the tape and drew it over his hips, letting the heel of one hand nestle into the hollow just under his hipbone while she noted the measurements with the other. The warmth raced to follow, settling where ever skin met skin. When she knelt down in front of him, Max closed his eyes and kept track of what she was doing by feeling the path her hands were taking across his body. Whisper light touches—at his waist with one hand, the other skimming along the outside of his leg to the floor—coated his skin with liquid fire.

Ella was grateful when Max closed his eyes. Her face was burning and her hands were shaking, but being unobserved allowed her to calm down and fall into a rhythm; one hand holding the tape, the other letting it slip through her fingers until she found the measurement, then writing it down and beginning again. Waist, hips, waist to floor; the inseam gave her a momentary pause.

“
Could you hold this end of the tape for me?” Her voice was pitched so low it almost sounded like another person. Max looked down at her with burning eyes and Ella hastily offered him the measuring tape. He closed his hand over hers, pulling the tape from her suddenly slack fingers.

“
Where does it go?” He saw her eyes widen in alarm at the question.

“
It, ah, it goes… just put it against your leg, and…” Max almost grinned at her sudden hesitation.

Ella saw the wicked twinkle in his eye, and immediately stopped faltering. “I’m sure you’ve been measured before.”

“
I have, but trust me, this is still a whole new experience.” His voice almost made her blush with the raw heat contained in it, but Ella fought it down. Tease her, would he?

“
Well then, this is the inseam measurement. Please hold the top of the tape. I’m sure you can find where it goes.”

“
Of course. I’m sure I can.” When Ella had no ready reply Max fell silent, satisfied at getting in the last word, and positioned the tape at the apex of his legs. Ella bent to the floor and quickly noted the measurement with shaking hands. She didn’t trust herself to touch his fingers again, so instead she gave a gentle tug on the tape. Max’s mouth curved in a barely perceptible smile, and he let go, closing his eyes once more. Still on her knees, Ella took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. Measurements
—
she had to focus on the measurements.