The Touch Of The Outcast

by Amalia Altman

  He smiled at her, lifting his face to kiss her mouth as his hands found her thighs and began to stroke them up and down, teasing her until she thought she couldn’t take it. She found herself reaching down, taking his hand and placing it between her legs, pressing his fingers to her swollen folds. He began to rub her up and down just as she wanted, that grin on his lips as she began to bucking against his hand, still holding it against her.

  “You are unruly,” he said, kissing her as his fingertip found her sensitive bud and started began to circle it slowly. “Look at how fucking wet you are.”

  He stopped touching her then, brought his hand up to her face, and stroked her lips with his wet fingers. Elise blushed deeply, feeling filthy as she parted her lips and eagerly sucked his fingers between them. She sucked them clean of her flavor, feminine and rich, then kissed him to share the taste as he started to touched her again. His thoughts were driving her crazy, making her eager to go further with him. He started began to rub her in earnest then, making her pant against his lips, moaning steadily. Elise had never felt anything like it, not even in the rare times she’d explored her own body. She was out of her mind, her eyes closed as she rode against his hand until her body seemed to completely shatter into thousands of pieces, trembling as her climax hit her.

  “There’s my girl,” he said to her, continuing to rub her through it. He pulled his hand away and Elise immediately wrapped her arms around him, pulling him on top of her on the bed. He gave a low growl and pressed himself against her, his hips aimed just right so that he was grinding against her lower lips with the length of his cock, his mouth moving with hers. Elise reached down to unfasten his trousers and he froze, pulling his mouth away from her. His face changed then, from one of desire to doubt.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, touching his cheek, desperate to read him. His mind was filled with images of another woman, dark-haired and beautiful. It then flickered back to Elise, to a disappointed look on her face. She stopped touching him, not wanting to see anymore.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, getting up off of her. “I don’t think—I don’t think this is a good idea.”

  She stared at him, her mouth open as he gave her an unreadable look.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, then left her room. Elise tried to steady her breathing, looking after him, filled with confusion. She wondered who the other woman was and wished that she could hear thoughts as well as seeing them. Sometimes, people’s thoughts came in flashes of images that made sense only to them, and Elise couldn’t puzzle them together no matter how hard she tried.

  Elise avoided everyone for the next few days, going back to her job as if she had never left. Now that she was back to it and away from Julian, she was glad that she had decided to come back as a maid—the work kept her busy, kept her moving from room to room so that she could barely feel the chill that seemed to follow her around in the mansion. She barely saw Julian, and every time she heard his footsteps around the corner she hurried away. Elise didn’t know what to think about the lord, who was at once tender and monstrous. Elise had seen the capacity for cruelty in his eyes more than once, and she had watched herself as he’d nearly killed Lord Bishop right in front of her. Elise knew that he had been trying to protect her, but she also knew from experience that violent men were just that—violent and dangerous, no matter what the situation. Despite her attraction to him, Elise knew that she would do best to stay as far away as she could and hope her feelings for him went away.

  Elise thought about Nikola every time she passed by the room, wishing that she could go in and see her. Though she hadn’t told anybody, Elise had gone to the room once more after the first night she’d been back and Nikola had reacted the same way, by shrieking and calling Elise a demon before she fled again, leaving the old woman behind.

  Elise finished cleaning early one day, having gotten up earlier than usual and been unable to go back to sleep. She slipped into the kitchen, where she had been making dinner for herself and Lord Ashton as of late, while Potts ate and fed Nikola later in the evening, after she had been given her medicine. She froze in the doorway when she saw Julian standing near the big stove, stirring a pot. He was wearing an apron over his front, and when he caught her eye he gave her one of those smiles that were the exact reason she had been ignoring him—the look on his face was too tempting to her. Elise was immediately filled with thoughts of the last time they’d gotten close, how intimately he’d touched her, made her taste her own sex. It made her want to touch him, to kiss him, to read his lush, seductive thoughts as he took her deep and hard. She stood where she was.

  “Lord Ashton,” she said. “What are you—what are you doing?”

  “You’ve been doing all of the cooking lately,” he said. There was no awkwardness in his voice or in his manner, and Elise was glad. She didn’t want things to be tense between them—it would only make her life harder, and if she was honest with herself, she very much enjoyed Lord Ashton’s company. “That’s not what I hired you for. And it’s something that I can do myself, if I need to.”

  Her lips quirked into a smile. “You can cook, my lord?”

  “Potts taught me as a boy,” Julian said. “I came down here to hide in the kitchen from my nanny while he was cooking supper.”

  “You hid from your nanny?” Elise asked, walking closer to him, leaning against the counter as he looked at her.

  “I did,” he said. “I hid from all of them, really. I hated them.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they tried to make me attend to my lessons,” Julian said.

  “And you didn’t want to do that,” she said.

  “No, I didn’t. I’d rather cook,” he said.

  Elise looked at what was in the pot to see that it was a stew of some kind, thick and meaty with plenty of root vegetables. It smelled divine, and she realized then how hungry she was.

  “I’ll let you eat first,” she said, backing away from him. “I’ll clean it up when you’re done.”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “Are you refusing to eat dinner with me, Elise?”

  “Am I allowed?” she asked, though she gave him a playful look.

  “No,” he said. “As your employer, I order you to eat with me.”

  “That’s not fair,” she protested, biting her lip. The idea of spending a meal with him made her feel warm all over. Just being close to him made her feel that way.

  “Did you not agree to come back and work for me?”

  “I did, but—“

  He put his finger to her lips then to cut her off, and Elise closed her eyes as his thoughts washed over her. He was thinking about kissing her, tasting her mouth. Elise’s eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, at the stern but teasing look on his handsome face.

  “You do as I say,” he said. “Now go sit down.”

  The command in his voice made her shiver, and though it was her natural inclination to argue with such a statement, she found that instead of annoying her, it spread a warmth through her hips that had been becoming more and more prominent since the moment she’d first met Lord Ashton. She smiled at him, shaking her head before she went to the dining room to wait. He had already set their places, and there were two tall candlesticks lit between them. Elise sat down, looking around at the beautiful, opulent room. Julian appeared a few moments later and served them both before sitting down across from her.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “You’re trying to woo me,” she said.

  He laughed.

  “Is it working?”

  “It depends on what you want,” she said.

  He paused, holding her eye, and she felt her body react to the heat in his gaze. It affected her all over, made her squirm in her seat.

  “I want to ask a favor of you,” he said.

  “I knew it,” she said. “Otherwise, what purpose would you have in wooing me?”

  He pressed his
lips together but said nothing, and Elise found herself wanting to reach across the table and read his thoughts. Every time she did so, she found it harder and harder to focus on anything other than being near him, touching him.

  “What is it you want, my lord?” she asked.

  “Do you want what to know what I was prepared to ask you or do you want to know the truth in this moment?” he asked.

  Elise swallowed.

  “Why did you invite me to eat with you?”

  “I am going to a ball at the end of next week and I would like you to come with me as my guest.”

  Elise’s mouth opened in surprise. “A ball?”

  “It is a weekend wedding celebration at the palace,” he said.

  Elise stared.

  “You want to bring me to the palace?” she asked. “Me?”

  He stared at her, studying her face. “Yes,” he said simply. “Will you come with me?”

  “My lord, I’m—I’m nothing but a commoner. I have no idea how to act in front of nobility. I would—I’d make a fool out of you.”

  “Nonsense,” he said, looking into her eyes, holding her captivated. “You’ll charm everybody who meets you. Nobody will be able to stop talking about you.”

  Elise blushed at the compliment. “So you want me to come as a trophy?”

  “I want you to come as my partner,” he said.

  “Does that mean you’re going to treat me like a lady?”

  He grinned at her. “I never got the impression that you wanted to be treated like a lady before.”

  “Well, I do,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “A proper one.”

  “Then you shall. Does that mean you’ll go with me?”

  “What if Lord Bishop is there?” Elise asked. “What if he takes me back?”

  Julian’s eyes flashed with a fierce anger, cold and hard. “I told you, Elise. I will kill him.”

  She shivered, believing every word. He was fierce sometimes, wild, and though that part of him was mesmerizing to her, it also made her wary of him. Elise didn’t have the time or patience for dangerous men, not after what she’d already been through with them.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked her after a moment of quiet.

  “I’m just wondering why you want me to come with you,” Elise said, holding his gaze. “Of all the women you must know—“

  “Elise,” Julian said, running his hand through his hair as he looked at her. “There are no other women.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He stared at her, not answering. “Will you come with me?”

  “Yes,” she found herself saying before she could think about it any longer. “What are you going to tell them about me when you introduce me?”

  “That you’re a friend I met in London,” he said, shrugging.

  Elise frowned.

  “That’s boring,” she said.

  “What would you like me to tell them?”

  “Let me introduce myself,” Elise said. He opened his mouth to speak, as if he was going to protest, but she cut him off with a look.

  “As long as you behave yourself,” he said.

  “I always behave myself, Lord Ashton,” said Elise. “You know that.”

  He chewed on his bottom lip. “I know of no such thing.”

  Elise smiled at him, putting her spoon down and standing up.

  “I think I’m going to retire to bed,” she said. The longer she talked to Julian, the more she found herself leaning forward over the table, trying to get close to him, craving the comfort of his body. He stood up as well, putting his hand out to stop her from leaving.

  “I was wondering if you’d take a walk with me,” he said.

  “Outside?” Elise asked. She hadn’t gone for a walk on the grounds since she’d been attacked in the maze, something she hadn’t told Julian about and wasn’t sure why. The man who had choked her had issued a warning about Lord Ashton that stuck in Elise’s mind, emphasized every time she saw the side of him that was capable of cruelty. Something within Elise was hesitant to go outside with him, and she could tell that he noticed when a frown spread over his lips.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Elise,” he said softly.

  She didn’t answer him, but nodded.

  “I’ll go with you,” she said.

  When all was said and done, Elise knew that there was no way that she could say no to spending more time with him while she was looking into his eyes. It was nearly impossible to draw herself away from them, and so it felt natural to follow him out of the house in spite of her apprehension.

  “How have you been?” he asked her as they walked.

  “I’ve been keeping busy,” she said.

  “So I noticed. I’ve barely seen you.”

  “You’ve been in your office,” Elise pointed out.

  “We’re avoiding each other, then,” he said. “Why?”

  “Because we don’t get along,” she said.

  There was a smile on his face as they walked.

  “I think we get along fine, for the most part,” he said,. “When you’re not being impossible. I think there are other reasons.”

  “Like what?”

  He stopped, taking her arm in his hand, turning her to face him.

  “I can barely look at you without wanting—needing—to kiss you, Elise,” he said, lifting his hand to her cheek. She bit her lip and pulled back before he could touch her. She didn’t want to see his thoughts, otherwise the swollen, needy feeling between her thighs would become too much and she wouldn’t be able to hold back anymore.

  “I—I um,” she stammered. “Where are we going?”

  “To the stables,” he said, looking at her for a moment before dropping his hand. They began to walk again, and Elise tried her best not to look around her the whole time, looking for signs of anybody about to attack them. She was relieved when Julian lit a lamp and held it up, pushing open the door to the stables and letting her in. It was hard for her to be in there knowing she wasn’t going to see Lovely—by the time she and Julian had gotten back to the brothel, the horse had been sold, and Elise had the grim thought that she definitely hadn’t been taken for riding.

  “How are the colts?” Elise asked, moving to the corner stall. They were separated now, side -by -side, looking as whole and handsome as ever. Elise reached in to pet one, trying to find comfort in just the touch of the horse. She was surprised when Julian wrapped his arm around her waist and turned her around, shining the lamp in the direction of the last stall. Elise’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “Lovely,” she breathed, her eyes going wide. She crossed the stable to the horse, reaching forward to stroke the mare’s soft, tangled mane. Elise felt tears come to her eyes as she looked the horse over, then turned her eyes to Julian.

  “How?”

  “God,” he said. “I’ve been searching for her for days. Madam Svarosky managed to remember the name of the man she had been sold too, but she didn’t know anything about him. I visited three estates before I managed to track him down.”

  Elise looked up at him in wonder, then stood on her toes and kissed him. His thoughts this time were tender and, loving, the image nothing but a light and heat that burned for her. He wrapped his arms around her body and held her tight, smiling against her lips, his thoughts slipping to something deeper, wondering how wet she was between her legs. She moaned into his mouth as the memory of touching her passed through his mind, bright and vivid enough for her to feel in her body.

  “Are you always like this?” he asked, and moved his lips over hers, brushing them over her cheek, kissing her jawline softly in a way that made her tremble.

  “Like what?” Elise asked, breathless.

  “So responsive,” he said, nuzzling her neck then. “I barely have to touch you to make you want it. Sometimes, I don’t even have to do that.”

  She
pulled back, licking her lip. “That’s quite arrogant, my lord.”

  “It’s nothing but the truth,” he said, his eyes on her mouth. Elise blushed when he said it, wondering if it was true, if it was completely obvious that she couldn’t help but to react when he was around her.

  “How do you know?” she asked.

  “Your eyes don’t hide anything, Elise,” he said in a smooth voice. “I can see the very minute you begin to imagine what it would be like to be wrapped around my cock.”

  “Oh,” was all Elise could say, looking into his penetrating eyes. She did think of it then, and he was watching her face as she flushed deeply, wondering what it would be like. He leaned into her, kissing her again, and Elise could almost feel exactly what he was talking about. His mind was completely focused on imagining the feeling of being inside of her, and Elise had to pull away before it made her lose her breath with how much she wanted that to happen.

  “My lord,” she said, letting go of him and taking a step back. He stared at her, studying her face, a look of desire writ all over his. “You really are a lecherous man.”

  “There’s something about you that makes me crave you,” he said.

  “It’s only because you can’t have me,” Elise said.

  He grinned at her.

  “No?”

  “No, my lord,” Elise said, giving him a playful smile. “I wouldn’t want to ruin our professional relationship. You are my employer, and this is deeply inappropriate. And besides, I’m not interested.”

  He bit his lip. “That’s funny, Elise,” he said. “I seem to remember you begging for it.”

  Elise had trouble catching her breath when she remembered how desperate she’d been for Julian to take her in that moment. She had never felt that way before, out of control, willing to say anything to convince him to fill her up the way she needed him too. She looked away from him, feeling shy and embarrassed when she thought about how wanton she had been with him and how wild she had felt.

  Julian looked away from her then, sniffing the air with his brow furrowed.

  “Do you smell that?” he asked.