“She asked if I’d like that, and of course, I said yes in between my ragged breaths, and that’s when my knowledge about sexual gratification was taken to the next level.”

“Oh, you cannot stop there.”

“I have no intention of stopping there, Ruby,” Bennett said through a sly smile. “Because we both know where this conversation is going to end, so the sooner I can finish this story, the sooner you and I can—”

“Just finish the damn story, Bennett.”

“Right,” Bennett said, choking back a laugh. “Anyway, Frederika was more than willing to do that, except she said she needed to step out of her clothes. The dresses of that era had yards and yards of fabric, and she explained there was no way she could be comfortable with all that clothing, and while she undressed, Frederika suggested I continue what she had started.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it.”

Ruby tilted her head to the side, and a second later, she straightened it. “Are you saying she wanted you to masturbate in front of her?”

“That’s precisely what I’m saying, and as I also said, by that time, I was putty in her hands. I had never in my wildest dreams believed I’d ever do that in front of anyone, but I did, and as she stripped in front of me, I began doing it even faster.

“Frederika wasn’t exactly a small woman. Her hips were large and round, and by the amount of her cleavage rising above the square-cut neckline of her dress, the mounds underneath followed suit. I thought she’d leave on her chemise and pantaloons, but she stripped them off as well, and that’s when I saw she was shaved. I was absolutely stunned.”

“Why?”

Bennett drew her head back quickly. “Ruby, it wasn’t like there was Schick on an end cap in the local markets. The only razors were straight, and women didn’t shave their legs or under their arms, let alone their pubic area.”

“So you were…”

“Hirsute.”

For a split second, Ruby held onto her composure until she succumbed to the image forming in her mind. Doubling over with hilarity, it took her a minute to pull herself together. “Oh, my God,” she said, sniffling. “I can’t even begin to imagine you like that.”

“Neither can I, but it’s the truth,” Bennett said, crow’s feet appearing. “Anyway, totally nude, she stood across the way watching me for another minute or so before her mouth took the place of my fingers, and when next she paid me a visit at that inn, she brought along a straight razor.”

“No squash?”

Bennett tossed aside the sheets and climbed atop Ruby. She slipped one leg between Ruby’s open legs, and it was instantly coated in the slickness of Ruby’s excitement. Their eyes met, and Bennett’s twinkled. “It was long…smooth…and slender.”

***