Alex stood in the doorway with one hand still resting on the handle, and for a long moment he simply looked.
Elena, lying there with her head tipped back, her chest rose and fell in short breaths. Her lips were parted.
She had no idea he was there.
’Look at you. The calm maid that can use mana but spot me watching her work on herself. ’
He leaned his shoulder against the frame and let a slow smile spread across his face. He was in no hurry.
In fact, he found that he did not want to be. A man had to savor a view like this.
Another soft sound slipped from her lips.
He counted to five.
Then he lifted his knuckles and knocked twice against the open door.
Knock. Knock.
The effect was instant, Elena’s eyes flew open.
She jerked upright so violently that the bed frame creaked, and a strangled little gasp tore out of her throat. For one frozen second, she stared at the doorway, wide-eyed.
Then she moved.
Her hand shot out and snatched the thin blanket from the foot of the bed. She dragged it over herself tugging at the edge with one hand and clutching her half-open collar with the other. She was fast. But there was only so much one blanket could do in two seconds.
It covered the middle of her. It did not cover the rest.
A bare shoulder. A long, pale line of thigh. A curve of skin at the edge of the cloth that rose and fell with her breath.
Alex watched every bit of it.
’Mm. That’s... not working.’
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
She could not take her time. She was a servant, and her young master was standing in her doorway. She scrambled off the bed, dragging the blanket with her, and dropped to her knees on the floor, bowing her head.
"Y-young master Alex."
Her voice was thin and shaky.
"What... what brings you here?"
’She obviously didn’t expect anyone to be here and of all people, Alex.’
Alex stepped inside, closed the door behind him with a soft click.
"I was looking for my brother," he said lightly.
Elena’s head snapped up.
"Y-young master Daniel?" She swallowed. "He is not here."
"Oh?"
"He went out to hunt, young master. For training." A pause. "He left soon after he went to see Lord Edward. He was in... a mood."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
’A mood? Oh, Of course he was. He got sent on an errand by father to do something for me.’
He almost smiled.
"I see." He rubbed his chin, frowning in mock disappointment. "So I can’t meet him."
"No, young master."
"When will he be back?" Alex asked
"Not until evening, at the earliest."
"Hmm." He said, glancing around the room slowly.
"Then it’s only the two of us here."
Elena stiffened.
"Y-yes."
The word came out quick, then tripped.
"Yes, my... yes, young master."
Alex heard it. The hitch. The little catch in her breath.
’Excellent.’
He took a slow step towards her.
"Elena."
"Y-yes?"
"What were you doing just now?"
The silence that followed was very, very long.
She did not raise her head. But he saw the burning red color flood up her neck, from her collarbone to her ears. Her fingers tightened on the blanket until her knuckles went white.
"I... I was..."
"Mm?"
"Resting. I was resting. I..." She stopped. "That is, I was not... It was... I was only..."
Her voice cracked.
"It was warm, and I..."
She gave up and fell silent, her mouth working helplessly around words that refused to arrive. A faint tremor ran through her whole body.
Alex stood there and watched her flounder.
It was a delightful thing to see. And the knowledge that he was the cause of it sent a small shiver down his own spine.
’I’m going to have a lot of fun with you today.’
His smile deepened then closed the last of the distance between them. He lowered himself onto the edge of her narrow bed, directly in front of her, and looked down.
"Relax, Elena."
His voice was low and calm.
"I didn’t come here to scold you."
Her head lifted slightly. Her green eyes, wide and uncertain, met his for the first time.
"Then... why did you come, young master?"
"To ask you something."
"...What is it?"
Alex lifted his left arm and turned it slowly in the light, rolling the wrist.
"My arm."
Her gaze dropped to it.
"You healed it, perfectly. It’s better than it was before." He tilted his head. "And you told me you needed to kiss me to do it."
Elena went still.
"Now, I want you to be honest with me... Was that a lie?"
He saw it.
The flicker. A thin, sharp tremor in her lashes. She had been caught, and she knew it.
"N-no," she said quickly. "It was not a lie."
She swallowed.
"That is... how it works, young master. It is how healing... Truly. It..."
Alex reached out.
He did it slowly, with no sudden movement. His hand slid beneath her jaw and settled lightly against the side of her neck.
She stopped speaking, her pulse jumped against his palm. But she did not so much as lean back, she only looked at him, her lips parted and her eyes huge, and her breath came out soft and ragged against his wrist.
As she held still, the blanket slipped.
It slid down her shoulder, exposing the curve of her massive boobs, and she gasped and snatched at it again with one hand. She caught it just in time to keep it from falling completely, and held it against herself, barely covering anything at all.
Alex did not look away.
He kept his eyes on her face.
And he spoke, very quietly, in a voice so even and so calm that it was somehow worse than shouting.
"Don’t lie to me again."
Elena’s breath caught.
"You can lie to anyone else in this house. You can lie to Daniel. You can lie to my father." His thumb moved gently along her throat. "But... you do not lie to me. Not twice."
His eyes did not leave hers.
"Do you understand?"
For a second, nothing. Then her shoulders sagged.
"I-I am sorry."
Her voice came out as a whisper.
"I am sorry, young master. It was a lie."
She lowered her eyes.
"There is no need to kiss. Healing does not require it. I only..." Her lashes trembled. "I only wanted to kiss you."
Alex looked at her then he let out a slow hum.
"Hmm."
He tilted his head.
"Elena."
"Y-yes?"
"How bold of you." He leaned closer. "Lying to your young master. To his face... Oh, what do I do now?"
She flinched.
"I am sorry! I am truly sorry. I should not have. I will never..." The words tumbled over each other. "Please, young master, forgive me. I did not mean to..."
"Forget it."
She stopped.
"Don’t apologize."
His voice dropped, low and warm.
"I’m going to punish you."
She did not move or pull away. But her breath came shorter, and a violent flush rose in her cheeks, and the pulse beneath his fingers raced faster than before.
His hand closed gently around her neck. It was a controlled hold. Firm, but not cruel. Enough to tell her exactly who was in charge.
He rose from the bed and pulled her up with him, and she came, stumbling slightly, her bare feet scraping across the floor. He turned her, and drew her down onto the mattress, and she fell back against the sheets with a small, helpless gasp.
The blanket slid.
It slipped from her fingers, then fell away entirely and pooled on the floor. Elena lay there, her eyes fixed on his.
Alex leaned over her and smiled.
"Let’s get the punishment started."