4. A Frowned-Upon Wish

“Hello there,” Emily wasn’t surprised to find Mrs. Steams waiting for her at the door of the main quarters. She was late once again.

She inwardly cursed the bus as she peered into the stern face of the housekeeper.

Naturally, she was polite enough to greet back the one who had trusted her enough to hire her despite her inexperience. However, she wasn’t talkative enough to feel the need to justify her tardiness.

She just waited for the berating.

It never came.

“Quick, you’re supposed to clean the second floor today.”

“Okay,” she drawled, nodding at her with a small smile.

“Wipe that smile off you face,” Mrs. Steams instructed her. “You’ve only been assigned the second floor because I believe you can be discreet and try not to meet with the owner. Don’t embarrass me.”

“Yes, Mrs. Steams,” she told her in her most docile tone.

She didn’t mind how cold and haughty the housekeeper was, so long as her words betrayed the trust she put in her. That meant a great deal to the teenage girl.

“Oh, and Ms Nill,” she called her name. “Do not believe for one second I wouldn’t fire you should you be late once again.”

Emily stiffened at once. She couldn’t afford to lose the job.

“Yes, Mrs. Steams,” she told her politely, as she squashed down every urge she had that told her to grimace at the elderly woman.

She made a mental note to wake up early and walk the damned three miles to the estate. She could not and would not lose this job.

Soon enough, she joined Cecilia in the second floor.

She had never been to the second floor and it was just as big as the first. Only with more pricey furniture.

She just hoped she would never break anything in the damned house. She didn’t like the idea of breaking a ten-thousand dollar antique vase. That would surely spell trouble for her and mean she would work for naught for many months.

“You’re late,” her coworker observed calmly as she was busy mopping the floor.

“The bus,” Emily retorted on a sigh.

Cecilia nodded in understanding.

“Well, since I am mopping the floor, why don’t you start with that room?” She pointed at one door made of oak.

Emily nodded and was soon enough dusting the humongous home cinema.

Busy as she was, dusting off the place, she wasn’t aware someone had joined her in the room, until they breathed down her neck, “What’s your name, young lady?” The voice was masculinely deep, slightly husky, and oh so arousing.

Startled - and scared out of her mind really - she dropped the porcelain plate that looked a lot like a painting to the ground. It shattered beyond repair.

Oh, damn! She was too petrified to move an inch. Not only had she dropped some no-doubt priceless plate, she broke the one rule she was told to respect at all times - stay away from the owner.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Theodore hadn’t had a wink of sleep.

He waited patiently in his own room for daybreak. Okay, he spent the night pacing the room. Hardly the patient man!

It wasn’t until a little past 8 am that he smelled that same heavenly scent. It was back. And back with vengeance.

He couldn’t wait to meet its owner.

Was she as divine as her scent? He couldn’t wait to find out.

He rarely stepped out of his room when the staff was around. But this called for an exception.

He left the master bedroom, looking every bit the business man he was.

The thirty-something woman, who was busy mopping the floor, looked at him briefly, before recognizing him as the owner of the estate and looking away, face ablaze.

He didn’t need to ask her where her coworker was. The scent was hitting him strong enough to almost knock him off his feet.

He followed it to the home cinema, not bothering to greet back the woman whose name he didn’t know and he didn’t care for.

He inhaled deeply once in the home cinema, taking in as much of the heavenly scent as he could. His pajama bottoms became tighter on him.

And he tried to rein in his beast. With difficulty he managed not to growl.

He approached the unaware girl, and when he was within touching distance, he asked her for her name.

She was startled beyond comprehension, dropping down one of the family heirlooms.

He was used to frightening other people. But for once, he didn’t like the effect he tended to have on lesser persons. He hadn’t meant to scare her.

She didn’t turn around, and that somehow upset him.

He was eager to look at her face, so much he instructed her to turn around. She didn’t do as she was told.

She was looking at the shattered plate with both sadness and dejection oozing off her in waves.

“Don’t worry about it,” he told her dismissively. “I hated it anyway.”

And he wasn’t lying. His mother gave him the heirloom to remind him of his heritage each time he looked at it, which was precisely why he kept it at the home cinema he rarely used.

“Still, it must cost a fortune,” she said, sounding almost in tears.

He grabbed her arm and sparks flew at the contact. His beast stirred and battled, wanting out. She, on the other hand, gasped.

He let her arm go at once, understanding why she piqued his interest at long last. For a shrewd businessman, he could be slow.

“What was that?” He heard her mutter under her breath.

She finally turned to look at him, and he saw puzzlement and fascination in her eyes.

He had had his fair share of women. He had seen beauty. He had seen sophisticated. He had seen it all, save for the innocence that looked back at him with unveiled awe.

But then, she schooled her features into a calmer facade, and he wished she would keep looking at him the same way she did before.

“I’ll leave at once,” she said, probably thinking he needed the room.

He didn’t stop her, afraid of how he would sound should he talk, afraid he’d scare his mate off.

It was a known fact that Theodore King didn’t wish for a mate. He had everything anyone could ever hope for. Why the need to settle down and have kids, little dragons, of his own? He wasn’t interested… or rather never had been interested. Now, however, he had but one wish - woo, bed and impregnate his maid.

It would be something unheard of in his family and oh so frowned upon - a maid made lover.