I could still feel Lord Alexander’s burning gaze on me while his mother made small talk before sitting in her chair.
I stayed even though I felt a bit out of place when they didn't dismiss me right away. The conversation they were having made me feel uneasy.
“Could you please reason with that man, Mother?” Said Alexander.
The young lord was resting on the edge of his seat. He hunched over with both his elbows lying on his muscular thighs. His demeanour was severe but almost desperate, and I noticed Alexander still kept eyeing in my direction. Maybe he didn’t like that I was forced to stay and listen to their conversation.
I made an “ahum” sound in my throat and hoped that his mother heard me, but she continued her conversation regardless that I was in the room.
“You know I cannot change his mind, my love. He’s a stubborn man, your father, and he only wants you to find someone and settle down. You’re the heir to High Hill; you should have been married a long time ago,” she replied; her face was severe as well, but I thought I detected irritation and exasperation.
This subject must be something that was discussed regularly.
“You know very well, Mother, that I cannot do that. You know what I need.”
Lady Lucia sighed. Her back fell against the back of her chair.
“I know,” she answered. “But as I have told you countless times, your father would not understand,” she pleaded. “I cannot tell him without you suffering for my indiscretion.” She was playing with her fingers. “I proposed he sends invitations throughout the neighbouring cities hoping to help you find that special someone,” she pressed on. “I thought that maybe by seeing multiple ladies, you’d be able to sniff her out.”
A slight pout formed on my lady’s thin pink lips.
Alexander passed his hand on his face, then quickly ran it through his hair. His black hair was getting messy because of his erratic movements.
I felt the urge to go to him, to make him feel better. I wanted to take away all the sadness and desperation I saw in his gaze and turn it into want and passion, and my fingers itched to tangle themselves in his hair and tell him that all would be alright.
His head snapped up, and I flinched, breaking my daydream. Why was I thinking that?
“You. Ida. Could you please leave us?” He growled at me.
At the sudden burst of temper from her son, his mother turned her head toward me. I saw she had forgotten I was in the room and apologetically gestured for me to take my leave.
I quirked my mouth slightly upward in response and disappeared through the nearest door, leaving them to their heated argument.
I resumed my work in the adjacent room. Busy buzzing around any objects that I thought needed my immediate attention.
I needed to distract myself from overthinking what I had heard.
I understood Alexander was talking about all the mingles he had been having on his floor. It didn’t look like it was his idea, after all. His father was trying to find him a match, an unwelcome one at that.
There must have been hundreds of ladies who graced his floor, hoping to snatch him. I didn’t know if “mingles” was the right word to describe those desperate ladies swooning around him. I knew because I had greeted some of them during several meetings while working the main floor.
I felt relieved that he wasn’t some serial dater, but I was also surprised that none of them suited him.
“He must be a difficult man if he can’t select one girl from the hundreds who flocked to woo him,” I mumbled while dusting one of the fireplace mantles. I had carefully removed some objects placed on it.
“He is,” replied a low, gravelly voice behind me.
I jumped out of surprise, letting a small yelp fly from my lips. The small ceramic egg I was holding flew into the air. The young lord quickly caught it and handed it back to me.
I bit the interior of my cheek and peered at Alexander through my lashes. I extended my hand to take it, and when I brushed his fingers with mine, tiny tingles heated my skin that was touching him.
I promptly drew back with the egg and carefully placed it back in its holder on the mantle.
I didn’t understand what had happened. My skin was on fire.
“Thank you for saving the egg,” I simply said. I was too nervous to say anything else. Lord Alexander had heard me complain about his inability to settle on a wife. On top of that, I was puzzled by how my body reacted to him.
“It’s fine. It was my fault for startling you.”
I waited for him to leave, but he simply stood there, watching me. To be frank, it made me uneasy. I rocked myself forward and backward, trying to figure out if I needed to do something for him.
I decided to enquire.
“Do you need anything from me, milord?”
“Enough with the formalities; you may call me Xander.”
I was confused. This was not protocol, and I did not intend to break it. I had my fill of lashes for a couple of months, even maybe a year; I didn’t need extras.
I stayed silent, not wanting to give in to his request, and I waited for him to give me whatever demands he needed from me.
I didn’t have to wait long.
“I’m actually happy to see you again. Following our serendipitous meeting, I asked the head maid multiple times to call for you. Still, she kept insisting you were… indisposed.” He seemed aggravated by this statement and roughly placed his hands in his front pockets.
“I require your services on my floor for an indeterminate amount of time. I find the lack of company very boring, and I should like someone to take care of my quarters for me while I attend various work engagements and events.”
Alexander’s still dark gray eyes stared at me, analyzing my expression. Was he waiting for an answer? He inched closer. He smelled like the forest—a mix of pine, spruce, and earth that made me long for my missing freedom. I was convinced that smelling like this was not natural. However, his scent was intoxicating, and I knew I needed to tread carefully about the reaction my body was giving him. I kept eyeing his lips, imagining what they felt like. They looked so soft. I could see myself wrapping my hands behind his head, curling my fingers in his dark unruly hair while tasting his mouth, teasing him with my tongue, and nipping his full lower lip. My legs clenched at the sudden heat I felt down in my belly, and I became hyperaware that I was not acting like myself. I saw Alexander stiffen. I hoped he didn’t notice what he was doing to me. I was so ashamed by the wetness that overcame me I could hardly look at him when I replied, “I’m sorry, milord, but I’m afraid you will have to
I followed the footboy to the fourth floor. He hadn’t used the servant’s stairs; Instead, the boy had beckoned me to follow him through a new section of the estate I had never seen before and ushered me into a small-looking broom closet. An oil lamp was lit, and I noticed a bare tiled floor and wooden walls instead of brooms and cleaning supplies. He effortlessly slid close the door and pulled down a lever. I had a weird sensation that gravity was pulling me toward the ground. However, I soon realized that it was because we were going up. I didn’t know this estate had elevators—they were relatively new. I waited patiently behind my guide. The boy had soft brown baby hair curling around his ears. He must not have been over ten years old. He was wearing a black vest with a white dress shirt tucked into navy-blue pants with one white line following the outside seam of the leg. I had so many questions I wanted answers to, but when I opened my mouth to ask them, the boy let go of the
My eyes flew open, and my arms grabbed each side of the tub to sit upright. I brought my thighs toward my stomach, hoping to hide my nakedness. Water splashed everywhere, and nothing in my movements was graceful. I glared up at my uninvited guest. How dare he come in without announcing himself? Alexander had his left shoulder pressed on the bathroom door frame, a sly smirk on his godlike face that I momentarily hated. Both his hands were in his front pockets. He looked amused as my cheeks flushed with shame… and maybe want. Faiths, I really wanted him, but I also wanted to punch him! “Oh, don’t stop on my account; I was really enjoying this! Do make it a habit.” He winked. His eyes were still black. I thought I had imagined them ever being gray. Whenever I saw Alexander, I thought I saw their pale gray colour, but they seemed to darken unexplainably when he suddenly noticed me. I hugged my knees to my chest, looking at him, trying to pull the most infuriating, scolding, death st
I woke up early to a soft knock on my door. The sun was not up yet, but I could see the faint tell-tall sign that it would rise soon through the window. I pulled myself out of the blankets and padded toward the door. I was surprised to see Leo. The small boy smiled shyly and held out a tray with breakfast food and hot drinks. “May I come in?” “Of course!” I gestured him in, and he wobbled to the small table in the room. The tray was clearly heavy and way too oversized for his small arms. “I thought you might be hungry, so I went in the kitchen and fixed this up for you,” he scrunched his nose a bit. “I didn’t know if you liked tea or coffee, so I brought both.” That was thoughtful of the little man. He was already dressed and ready for the day. I eyed him silently, taking him in. It occurred to me I didn’t even know what kind of work he did for Alexander. “What exactly do you do here?” I asked while taking the teapot from the tray and pouring some into a cup. I would pour some
It had been days since I last saw Xander. To be honest, I had desperately been avoiding him. Sometimes at night, I would wake up completely drenched in sweat, and I would have this inexplicable desire to open the adjourning door to Xander’s chamber and ravage him. These sudden urges were frightening enough to force me into staying inside my room with both doors bolted, and a chair was always wedged under the handle. I didn’t feel like myself at all. I almost didn’t dare open the door to get the food Leo brought me every morning. I only did it when I was highly famished. “Xander should be the one locking himself up when I go crazy. This is stupid; I could just unlock everything and hunt him down...” I told myself frustratingly. I did feel slightly better whenever Xander left for work in the morning, and I found myself alone on the floor. I felt like I could breathe again and found some remnants of my previous self. Calling Xander by his preferred name still felt foreign in my min
Cressida POV—The day of the uprising It was dreary outside, and the musty old library where my magic professor showed me spells did nothing for my boredom. I had been at it for hours, creating the same round sphere of light between my hands. The reasoning behind the spell was that I could make this ball into anything I wanted: a source of light, warmth, or protection. I had perfected it years back, and I didn’t understand why Otis was so pent up on me working on it today. “Princess, you need to master basic energy spells before trying more advanced techniques. You know this! So, stop pouting and throw that damn ball at me!” Otis taunted. Fine! I’d give him precisely what he wanted if he wanted to practice attack and defence. I extended my hand and brought the other under, swirling the ball faster. I opted for offence, so I created a sizzle of electricity around the sphere. Should it hit Otis, his white hair and beard would puff from the static and shock, hopefully even incapacita
I was woken up by a heat flash, so I threw the sheets away from my body. I felt hot even though I could see goosebumps all over my arms and legs through my copper-coloured lashes.I tried to focus on my breathing and slowing down my heartbeat. At the rate it was pumping, I’d probably go into shock again.I was still too hot, so I clawed at my nightshirt. I needed to take it off quickly before I combusted.I sensed someone swatting away my fumbling hands and placing an arm behind my back and under my knees to lift me up. Then I was weightless, floating toward another dimly lit room.I felt faint from the insane heat pulsing through me, and after a moment, something wrapped me in a cold envelope. I didn’t think I had a fever anymore. It was simply me swimming in the cool darkness. My lungs had slowly returned to a normal breathing rhythm, and my limbs felt slightly numb from the cold. But I didn’t mind the sudden temperature change. I welcomed it.Soft fingers brushed my cheek, pushing
I was done fighting back my desires and welcomed their possession over my body.I dragged my nails over Xander’s chest, scratching his skin and leaving red trails everywhere. I suddenly wanted to leave whatever mark I could to finally show that he was mine.Xander’s arm snaked up the length of my back, and he fisted a bunch of my hair, crashing my lips to his once again.His kisses commanded attention, and I moaned when he bit my lower lip.He returned his arms to the front of my wet nightshirt and ripped it open. Buttons flew on the bed and rolled onto the floor.The sudden breeze against my breasts made them peak, and I felt Xander’s hands explore my mounds hungrily.He had moved his mouth down my jaw, following my neck, and kept kissing and nipping until his tongue latched onto my breast. His other hand made circular motions on the other, taunting me and making me wet.My juices started wetting the inside of my thighs; the heat was building up between my legs. I arched my back, all