Chapter 7

"What do you say we get out of these clothes?" Noel asked.

Shelby grinned up at him, wire-framed glasses askew and her shiny hair half tumbled from its coil.

"I never knew you wore glasses," he said as he gently removed them and set them on the bedside table.

"Contacts," she admitted. With trembling fingers, she started to unbutton the jacket of her suit. "Apparently whatever magic brought us here, managed period-appropriate replacements. When I woke up, my contacts were gone. These glasses aren't mine, but the prescription is perfect."

Just like his watch and everything else.

Watching her fumble with her buttons, Noel brushed her fingers aside and took over the task. The snug, fitted jacket buttoned from waist to just above the swell of her breasts, and he couldn't help but notice how much better it suited her than the original version. When he had it fully opened, he helped her take it off. Nice as it looked, it really constricted her arm movement. And he'd thought his high, starched collar was a nuisance.

Now behind her, he undid the row of tiny pearl buttons that ran down the back of her blouse. To his disappointment, he didn't reveal any skin, just more layers. This was going to take a while and Noel's cock wasn't at all pleased. It kept trying to tell him to just bend her over the bed and take her through the bloomers. If this were a cartoon, the little red devil sitting on his shoulder would definitely be shaped like a penis.

Eventually, with a fair bit of giggling on her part and swearing on his, he had her down to the last two layers - a nightgown-looking thing with short sleeves she called a shift and the crotchless long underwear. Shelby stepped away from him at that point and turned around. "Your turn."

Her small hands reached out and began to unbutton his coat. After he shrugged it off his shoulders, he watched her small fingers untying the wide bowtie - or was it a cravat? He had no idea, but he could breathe a little more easily now that it was gone. The shirt studs went next, though it took them a minute to figure out that the cuffs and collar were separate pieces. Not for the first time, Noel blessed the fact he'd been born into his own century.

Finally, he sat down on the bed to remove his boots and socks then quickly shucked off his trousers and flannel long johns. His cock stood straight out ahead of him, as if shouting, "It's about bloody time."

Meanwhile, Shelby shimmied out of her drawers and sat cross-legged on the bed in just her shift, taking the pins out of her long red-gold hair. Her eyelids flickered up at him and her skin flushed to the shade of a ripe apricot. Picking up a hairbrush off the dresser, Noel walked around to the other side of the bed and sat behind her. Once all the pins were gone, he began to brush out her long, straight tresses.

She leaned her head back and gave a little hum of approval. "That feels wonderful."

"I'm glad." After a few more strokes to get rid of any remaining tangles, he set the brush down and trailed his lips from her ear down to her collarbone. The neckline of the shift rode low on her shoulders, giving him plenty of access. Meanwhile, his hands came up to cup her breasts through the thin linen fabric.

"Mmm." The lush globes overflowed his palms and her nipples were tight little berries poking out at his fingers. "Covering these in all those layers is practically criminal. If we're going to be here until Christmas Eve, I vote we don't bother getting dressed again." That was only three days, he reasoned. They could spend that long in bed, easily.

"Well, there are the bathrobes for when we want to go downstairs and eat," she said with a chuckle. "I'd just as soon not get back into all that armor plating if I can help it."

"Smart woman." He sucked lightly at the base of her throat, just enough to bring up a little mark. It would fade in a day or two, but right now he really wanted to mark her - a thought that should have terrified him, but somehow didn't. "Now for the last barrier..." He drew her up onto her knees so he could pull the shift off over her head. He tossed it off the bed, his eyes focused squarely on Shelby's perfectly rounded ass. His cock throbbed and he had to force himself not to bury it inside that tight little rosebud. Not this time. But he didn't stop himself from pushing her forward onto her hands and knees in front of him so he could lick and kiss and nip at those milky-white cheeks. He brought one hand around her belly to find her soaking-wet pussy and he slid his fingers through the wetness while he licked at her slit from behind.

As he straightened and brought his erection up into position, he couldn't resist one quick lick of her pretty pink asshole, delighted when she moaned happily instead of shying away. He rubbed the head of his cock in her cream. Just as he was about to push inside, he remembered.

"Shit. Condom."

"Jeez, nice save," Shelby gasped as she rolled away from him to reach for the nightstand drawer while he scrambled for the one on his side of the bed. "Just for the record, my birth control patch is still on - unlike my contacts. So we should be okay, if the magic hasn't fucked with that."

"Good to know since I don't think Victorian prophylactics were particularly reliable," he muttered. He'd noticed the square adhesive patch on her hip, but hadn't given it any thought. "Maybe it's still there because there isn't a Victorian equivalent. I have a titanium pin in one leg from an old skiing accident. I'm pretty sure I'd know if it was missing."

"Could be." Shelby nodded. "Probably better to err on the side of safety if we can."

"As it turns out, I have a stash right here. Along with some interesting...toys." The drawer held several paper packets, a fluffy ostrich feather and a life-sized dildo made from what looked like real jade. Oh yeah, being stuck here for three days wasn't sounding bad at all.

"Figures," she muttered. "I've got a bottle of almond oil and some silk scarves."