She frowned, but nodded. “Okay, my lord,” she said, looking at his face. “Um, I would like some privacy to get dressed, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” Julian said, though the thought of watching her do something as simple as dress was enticing to him. Julian wanted to see her whole body, pale and pink and naked beneath him. He stared at her for a moment before he left her alone, allowing his mind to imagine what that might look like. The night before, he had spent hours vividly imagining what it would be like to taste and touch Elise without any inhibitions. Those thoughts flashed through his mind again as he looked at her, scraping his teeth over his lip.
“You might want to be careful, my lord,” Elise said, and he looked up from her body to meet her eyes. There was a playful look on her face, one that was infinitely tempting to him.
“Careful of what?” he asked.
“Of the way you’re looking at your maid. You look downright lecherous.”
“I promise you, I have nothing but the purest thoughts on my mind,” Julian told her, looking into her eyes. But he was lying, instead imagining that look on her face while he fucked her, that pleased smile that he would bring to her lips over and over. Elise reached out then and put her hand on his, closing her eyes the moment she did so. He watched as a flush crept up her neck, her lips parting before she looked at him again, fire in her expression.
“I don’t believe you,” she said softly, her voice coming out breathy.
“No?”
She shook her head, chewing on her lip. Then she stood up and gave him an expectant look, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I need to get dressed, my lord,” she said with a hint of amusement in her voice. “If you would please—“
“Yes,” Julian said, standing up as well. He left her behind to get dressed as he carried her things down the stairs, finding his horse and curricle and bringing it around for Elise when she was ready. He had to hold his breath when she appeared from inside—she was wearing another fine dress, one that was much as the one she had been wearing the night before. It was pale blue and low-cut, with tiny pearls sewn into the collar. Julian stared at her and her nose wrinkled up in distaste when she saw him.
“I hate it,” she said.
“I don’t,” he told her. She rolled her eyes as he helped her onto the curricle, his hand lingering in hers as he climbed on after her.
“That’s because you’re a lech,” she said. Julian chuckled as they started off, bouncing along the jagged road until they found a smoother path.
“Why did you go with Lord Bishop?” Julian asked her, looking over at her face as they rode. She sighed.
“I needed to get out of the city, away from the estate,” she said. “I—every night I thought about coming back.”
“You should have come back,” Julian said to her. She shook her head, looking into his eyes.
“I shouldn’t even be going back now,” she said. He wanted to comfort her, to touch her in some way, but he didn’t. After what had happened to Nikola, Julian had no right to tell Elise that she shouldn’t be afraid in the house, especially since he hadn’t told her what had happened in the first place. Julian was surprised that Elise hadn’t asked about that night and he wondered what she thought had happened, if she was truly afraid there was some sort of demon in the house who was after everybody who lived there. Elise didn’t seem like the superstitious type to him, but he had no doubt that her fear had been genuine. W; whatever she was afraid of, it had been enough to make her think that she would be better off with someone like Lord Wilder Bishop.
“So he came and offered you a maid position?”
“He came to the brothel and saw me right away. He told me he was looking for a girl to go to his estate with him. I assumed—I thought he meant a maid,” she said, looking away bashfully. “It was stupid.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Julian said. “You don’t belong in that brothel, Elise. You wanted to get away. I understand.”
She sighed, staring at him. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“Did that bother you?”
Elise looked forward but there was a small smile on her lips. “Of course not.”
“So you didn’t miss me at all?”
“Nope,” she said. “Not even a little. You were never very much fun to be around.”
Julian grinned and shook his head, reaching over to poke her in her side, causing her to giggle and squirm away.
“Stop it,” she said.
“Stop lying,” he said, tickling her again. Elise reached out and slapped him lightly on the cheek, a wicked grin on her face, and Julian felt a powerful desire wash over him. His cock stirred, pressing against the fabric of his trousers as they rode. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her and was glad that King knew how to follow the path of the road without much guidance. Elise was holding his eye, staring at him through her lashes.
“I’m not lying,” she said softly. “You’re a hard, unrelenting man, my lord.”
“Only when it’s necessary to keep my unruly maid in line,” he said. “Although nothing that I’ve done so far has seemed to work.”
“Maybe you’re not trying hard enough,” she said.
“No?” he asked. They were leaning close together, the tension thick between them as they gazed at each other, neither one of them able to look away.
“I’m just a little old thing,” Elise said. “Surely a big powerful lord such as yourself can handle a little unruliness.”
Julian kissed her then, so close already, their lips hovering close to each other as they spoke.
“Maybe I need to change my methods,” he said. “Take a firmer hand in your case. I’ve never had this problem with a maid before.”
“You’ve never had a maid like me before,” she said, smiling against his lips. He was about to kiss her again when he heard shouting behind them. He turned to look over his shoulder, the sound of galloping hooves growing louder. Julian cursed then when he saw Lord Bishop only a few yards behind them and gaining fast. The curricle was fast and so was King, but Julian knew there was no way that they could outrun the other lord. Julian took the reins and slowed his horse.
“Stay here,” he said to Elise, whose eyes were wide with fear as she looked back at the big angry man. Julian climbed down from the curricle and stood, waiting for Lord Bishop to arrive. The look on the other lord’s face was one of pure rage and indignation, and Julian tense when his eyes lit upon Elise behind them.
“Lord Bishop,” Julian said as the man pulled up to them, grunting as he dismounted from his horse.
“Don’t pretend to be courteous with me, boy,” the lord spat. “You took my whore.”
“She is not a whore,” Julian said between gritted teeth, holding the man’s eye, refusing to back down. “She is my—she is employed by me. It was a mistake for her to go with you in the first place. I’m deeply sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Is that what you came to my estate for? To steal my property?”
“I’m not your property,” Elise said, and Julian glanced over his shoulder to see her climbing down from the curricle and coming toward them. The look on Lord Bishop’s face was one that Julian was desperate to strangle right off of him; though he was clearly angry, he took a moment to ogle Elise’s body, looking her up and down as if she was a slab of meat.
“Elise, go back to the carriage,” Julian said. He didn’t like the look in Lord Bishop’s eye, like he was ready to pounce. Julian found himself placing his body between them. Lord Bishop glared at him.
“Do you know how much I paid for her?”
“I will give you all of your money back,” Julian said. “How much do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me,” the man spat. He pointed his meaty finger over Julian’s shoulder at Elise. “She owes me. I want her cunt.”
Julian put his hands to Lord Bishop’s chest and shov
ed him backward away from them. The big man stumbled but caught his feet, his chest puffing up as he stared Julian down. Julian took a step toward him and gripped the man’s collar in his fists, twisting it so that the tie around his neck began to restrict. The man struggled, and though he was big, Julian was stronger.
“Apologize,” Julian said through gritted teeth. “Apologize to her for every word you ever said to her.”
The man choked and Julian loosened his grip slightly. Lord Bishop’s eyes were wide as he gaped at Julian.
“Say it,” Julian said.
“I’m s—sorry,” said Lord Bishop. There was genuine fear in his eyes when Julian met them. He looked over his shoulder to see that Elise had a similar stricken look on her face as she watched them.
“Is that good enough?” Julian asked her.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Julian, let him go.”
It was then that he realized he had started squeezing again, that the lord’s face was going slightly blue. Something within Julian could have kept squeezing, could have killed him just for the words he had spoken about Elise. But Julian let go, shoving him backward.
“I’m not paying you a penny,” Julian said, his voice sharp and full of poison. “And I never want to see you again. I will slit your throat if you so much as come near me or Elise. Do you understand, my lord?”
Lord Bishop stared at him, fear in his eyes. Then the man spat on the ground at Julian’s feet and turned around to mount his horse. Elise and Julian watched as he rode away, and when Julian turned back to look at Elise, he saw a look in her eye that hadn’t been there before. She looked wary of him, hesitant, and when he reached for her she took a step back.
“Thank you, my lord,” she said. “Should we go?”
Julian stared at her, wondering what was going through her mind, whether or not he had frightened her. It was true that sometimes he lost his temper, but he needed her to know that he would never hurt her.
“Elise—“
“We should go,” she said, and then turned to climb onto the carriage. He sighed and followed after her, noticing that she sat near the edge so that their legs wouldn’t touch in the middle. He looked over at her as the horses started to move again, but she was looking ahead, and she stayed quiet the rest of the ride to the mansion. It was most of the day, but every time Julian tried to engage her in conversation, she went quiet and looked away. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he didn’t, instead looking forward, grateful when he saw the mansion looming up ahead of them. He was surprised to see that there were lights inside on the second floor in the room that Nikola and Potts shared. They went inside and Elise followed him up the stairs, where he knocked lightly on the door. Potts opened it, his face looking grim.
“What’s wrong?” Julian asked immediately, his heart starting to pound in his chest. “Is she here?”
“Aye, she’s here,” Potts said, opening the door wider so that they could see Nikola over his shoulder. She was laying on the bed, her eyes wide open, staring at nothing. Julian swallowed.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“The doctor doesn’t know. She woke up and she’s been like that ever since,” Potts said. Julian could tell that the normally stoic, jolly man was holding back tears. He gazed at Nikola over Potts’ shoulder, his heart falling when he saw that her eyes were completely blank.
“Can I come in?” Julian asked. Potts nodded and they went into the room. Elise was quiet behind him, and when he glanced at her he could see the horror in her eyes. Julian looked back down at Nikola, crossing the room to her and taking her hand. Her head turned and she looked at him. For a moment, he thought he caught a glimmer of recognition in her eyes, but it passed quickly and they went blank and unfocused.
“Nikola,” Julian said softly. “Can you hear me?”
Nikola’s mouth moved but no noise came out. Julian looked up at Potts.
“Has she been doing this?” he asked.
Potts nodded.
“It’s like she can’t talk,” the other man said, his voice desolate.
It was then that a groan came from Nikola’s lips, soft and almost inaudible. Julian studied her face, saw that her eyes had turned over his shoulder and were on Elise. They were focused as they hadn’t been before, and Nikola’s face twisted into something like fear.
“D—de—de—“ the old woman muttered, her eyes widening even further. Julian glanced at Elise to see surprise and concern on her face.
“What is it, Nikola?” he asked.
“She’s a—a demon—“ Nikola said, her voice coming out like a hiss. She lifted her frail hand and pointed a long, thin finger at Elise. “A monster.”
“Nikola—“ Elise said, but was cut off when Nikola started to shriek, her voice coming out in a loud, high-pitched wail.
“Demon!” she screamed, and started to flail in her bed, trying to scramble as far away from Elise as she could. Elise stayed frozen, gaping at the old woman, and barely had time to take a step back before Nikola changed positions and tried to launch herself forward at Elise. Julian caught her before she could make contact, wrapping his arms around her thin shoulders and pressing her back into the bed as she thrashed. He looked at Elise’s pale face.
“You should go,” he said seriously. “Go.”
She nodded, then turned and fled from the room. A few minutes later, Nikola calmed down, and once she’d stopped crying she was back to her former state, completely blank and seemingly devoid of thought. Julian stood up and Potts took his place beside her, taking her hand in his and looking down at her face.
“I’m going to let her sleep. I’ll come by to see her tomorrow,” Julian said.
“Yes, my lord,” said Potts, never taking his eyes from his love.
“Potts,” Julian,. “Do you know why she was afraid of Elise?”
“No, my lord,” Potts said. “It was Mary who attacked her.”
“Did you see Mary?”
“Not that night,” Potts said. “But I saw her a couple of days later.”
“What did she look like?”
“Scratched up. Blood all over her. She wouldn’t let me near her, though,” Potts said.
Julian nodded. “I’ll go take care of her if I can.”
“She can’t remain in this house, my lord,” Potts said, his voice coming out harsh. “You know she can’t.”
“I have nowhere else to put her,” Julian said. “I can’t send her to a madhouse—“
“Look at Nikola,” Potts said.
Julian did so, saying nothing. He sighed.
“I’ll be by tomorrow. Good night, Potts.”
Chapter 16
There was a knock on the door later that night, and Elise felt her heart began to pound hard in her chest. She froze in bed, staring at the door, half -expecting it to burst open, to see the demon girl on the other side, giving her that evil blank stare.
“Elise,” came a voice on the other end, and Elise felt herself react in a different way. A warmth spread through her body just hearing the smooth, deep voice of Lord Ashton. She got up and crossed the room, opening the door to look at him.
“Is something the matter, my lord?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure you were well,” he said. His eyes were on hers and she felt a flutter in her stomach just seeing the expression on his face, one of want and temptation.
“I’m fine,” she said softly, looking down at his lips. She was extremely aware of his body, the casual way he was dressed, of the way his body naturally moved close to hers. She backed up and he followed her step -after -step into the bedroom, his eyes never leaving hers. He shut the door behind him, taking a deep breath.
“Is there something else you wanted?” Elise asked, her voice shaking slightly.
“There’s so much more that I want,” he told her. His voice was low and gruff as he looked her over, stepping forward again, backing her agains
t the bed. She sat down and he stood there in front of her, looking down at her face.
“Tell me,” she said.
He smiled at her, kneeling in front of her so that their faces were level.
“Do you really want to know?” he asked. “Are you sure, Elise?”
“Yes, my lord,” she said. He leaned in to kiss her then and she got part of her answer. Already he was thinking about being deep inside of her, just grinding his cock against the back of her channel in the most intimate way. Elise lost her breath when she saw his thoughts, and even more so when he pulled the hem of her nightgown up and above her hips, revealing the fact that she hadn’t bothered to wear underclothing to bed. Elise blushed when he noticed that she was bare underneath the gown, and he let out a deep breath and kissed her again, more fiercely than before.
“I want to taste you,” he said softly against her lips as his hands pulled her dress down to reveal her bare breasts, swollen and ready to be touched. He didn’t do so at first, but traced his fingers along the skin between them, touching her gently even as his mouth devoured hers. “I want to fuck you until you lose your senses.”
“Oh,” said Elise softly, trembling as his fingers found her nipples and began to trace around the hard buds, not touching them. He cupped her breasts in his hands then and they seemed to fit perfectly, her body made for him. His thumbs teased her nipples and Elise let out a soft moan, squirming on the bed. She felt herself dripping and swollen between her legs, and couldn’t help but to rub them together to create stimulation where she needed it most. Julian didn’t allow her to do so but spread her legs apart, moving between her thighs. He lowered his face then and captured her nipple between his lips, sucking on it tenderly.
“My lord,” she said.
“Julian,” he corrected her. “Say my name.”
“Julian,” she breathed. “Please—please touch me.”
Elise blushed as she said the words, never having spoken such a thing aloud before. She felt wanton just asking for it, but it was almost torture to have her legs spread apart while he toyed with her breasts, unable to find any relief.
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