by Grace Warren
He snorted.
“Alright, alright,” she said, giggling and looking at him with gleaming eyes. “It’s your turn now. What do you like to do for fun?”
Alton was surprised by her question—by the implications of it, really. She wanted to spend time with him, too.
He grinned. “There is one thing…”
Alton laughed as Mary Anne made strange expression at her cards. They were playing poker on the floor, and though he had explained the rules to her earlier, she still struggled to understand.
She gave him a sheepish smile before placing her cards on the floor. “Is this good?”
He laughed harder. Strange how at ease he felt playing this game—this game that had saved him and destroyed him so many times.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” she said, smirking.
“What are we doing now?” Alton asked as he followed her downstairs.
“I thought we would check up on your brother and sisters,” Mary Anne said. “They have their tutoring around this time.”
Alton groaned. “That sounds like hell.”
“Hush. They really seem to like it.”
“I know. Your strangeness must be contagious.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. The affection in her eyes and the warmth of her smile made heat bloom within his torso. He smiled back.
“I should get fake-married more often,” he said jokingly.
Mary Anne had just stepped off the last step, but at his joke, she quickly turned around and pressed her hand to his mouth. Her body was taut, and the affection in her eyes instantly vanished.
“Don’t every say that,” she whispered. “What if someone heard you?”
Though he was a little peeved by her sharp tone, he gently took her wrist and lowered her hand from his mouth. A shiver traveled down as his body as her fingers graced his lips. He swallowed past the sensation. “Don’t worry so much. We’re home.”
“The tutors are here, remember?”
“Fine, fine. I’ll be more careful. Okay? No one is going to know about our paid arrangement.”
Mary Anne frowned, her gaze flicking up and down his face. Without another word, she turned back around and walked away.
Alton sighed and followed.
Mary Anne
The following week was the best week of Mary Anne’s life. She and Alton did everything together—she got him to read, he got her to dance—she had never laughed so much with someone else before. And now, though a part of her really wished she was inside her safe home, she was walking in town with Alton holding her hand.
“This isn’t so bad, is it?” he asked her, leaning in close to whisper the words. “Being outside, seeing people…”
Mary Anne hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose not.” Her eyes spotted a little library, its large window dark and the area in front of it empty. Excited to see such a beautiful sight, she tugged Alton toward it. “Look, let’s go in there!”
As she and Alton got closer to it, he groaned. “More books? You really know how to take the joy out of things.”
“Oh, quiet.”
The entered the small library, only to discover it was empty of people.
Mary Anne walked forward, glancing around. “Hello? Anyone?”
“Even the librarian doesn’t want to be here,” Alton said, pointing toward the unoccupied desk to the side. “Let’s go.”
“Seriously?” she said, laughing and releasing his hand. She stared at the several shelves of books with awe. As if she was walking through a fairy tale land, she took tentative steps deeper into the library, toward the back shelves. “We might have this place all to ourselves and you want to leave?”
Mary Anne moved deeper and deeper into the library with Alton patiently at her heels. When she reached the very back, hidden by darkness and several tall bookshelves, she ran her fingers over the dusty books.
“Breathtaking,” she said, pulling out a random book and opening it. Its pages were old, it's scent washing over her. She smiled.
“Breathtaking,” Alton repeated.
Startled that Alton would say such a thing about a book, Mary Anne raised her gaze. She blushed when she saw he was staring intently at her.
The heat that flushed her flesh made her head spin. She couldn’t breath—couldn’t think. She stared into Alton’s hooded gaze, getting so lost in it that she didn’t realize she was leaning forward until her lips were on his.
The kiss was soft at first, even a little clumsy as Mary Anne moved and parted her lips to taste Alton. Then the kiss became rougher, Alton pushing himself deeper into her until he was pressing her against the book shelf. She moaned, allowing Alton’s tongue to move between her lips.
When they parted, she gasped his name. She wanted more. She moved to kiss him again, but he was already kissing and sucking his way down her jaw and neck. As he did so, he grinded himself against her, making her belly hot with pleasure and need.
“Alton,” she whispered. “Please…”
He moaned, his lips brushing against her skin as he lowered his face to her cleavage. He kissed her there while pulling at the neckline of her dress.
Desperate, Mary Anne maneuvered her arms around in order to unbutton her dress. She was surprised that she felt relieved, not embarrassed, when she finally managed to get the top half of her dress scrunched down around her waistline. Her torso was covered in nothing but a corset now, and her arms were bare.
She was about to take off her corset when Alton, almost angrily, went about tearing the thing apart.
“Alton!” she gasped. “I was going to put that back on.”
“Don’t need it,” he said, grunting when he ripped the corset from her body. “Never needed it.” Then, with a sudden gentleness, he pulled down the rest of her upper undergarments.
Air flowed easier through Mary Anne’s body. She would have relaxed at the liberating sensation, had her breasts not been completely exposed to Alton’s heated gaze. As he stared at them with a dark look of hunger, Mary Anne quivered with anticipation and nervousness.
His eyes flickered to hers before he lowered himself and captured her left nipple in his mouth.
Mary Anne gasped and bucked. Her nipple stiffened as his tongue swirled around it, his teeth scraping across her breast every so often.
“God, Alton,” she moaned.
His hands dug into her bare waist while her hands dug into his clothed arms. She pulled his sleeves downward. She wanted them off now. She wanted to see and taste his skin the way he was seeing and tasting hers.
Compliant, yet seemingly reluctant, Alton pulled away and took off his jacket. Mary Anne helped him take off his shirt with shaky hands. At the first chance she got, she ran her fingers over his chest, his nipples, his abs—over anything she could feel. As she did so, she felt Alton shiver.
She kissed his neck, her tongue darting out to taste him.
She yelped when Alton scooped her up in his arms and gently laid her on the ground. Then he kissed her right breast, licking his way to her right nipple before nipping it.
Mary Anne was wet and throbbing between her thighs. She moaned loudly, desperately, and without thinking about it, she pulled and shimmied her way out of her dress and the rest of her undergarments—Alton eagerly helping her to do so.
When she was completely naked, she pushed her lower half closer to Alton. She wanted to feel him—needed him deep inside her.
He groaned, placing a light kiss between her breaths while trailing his fingers down her stomach until he reached her womanhood. Then with a great amount of care and slowness, he rubbed his index over her clit.
Mary Anne bucked again, widening her legs. His fingers traveled up and down her core before gently pushing their way in.
She shook and clawed at the ground. “Alton, God, oh, please…” Sweat coated her skin, her mouth going slack.
He inserted his fingers in and out of her, going a little deeper each time he did so. It was a foreign feeling to her, but
it made her hot and wet and she was crying from pure need in a matter of minutes.
“Alton, more,” she gasped, her voice ragged. She looked down at him. “Please, I need more, deeper.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his own voice choked. “God yes.”
He removed his fingers, making her whine and cry harder.
“Be patient, darling,” Alton whispered. He positioned himself over her core and pressed his hardened length against it. He moved it up and down, making her throb.
“Alton,” she moaned.
Slowly, he entered her. He took his time pushing into her, deeper and deeper. Her walls constricted and moistened around his member.
She cried out. It was so good—it was too much—it was painful—it was amazing.
“Faster,” Mary Anne whispered. “Harder.”
Alton obeyed, moving in and out of her at a quicker rate. Occasionally, he slammed into her, making her body jolt with pained pleasure.
“Yes, yes,” she whimpered, her body moving along with his.
They soon developed the perfect rhythm. Mary Anne could think of nothing—could feel nothing—but the hot pleasure that coursed through her. Her senses were overwhelmed, but she wanted more. She needed more.
“Alton, Alton,” she gasped. “So close, I’m, I’m—”
Her orgasm came hard in a burst of white light. She shook and screamed his name, her nails digging into his skin as she pushed herself closer to him.
As the aftershocks of heat pulsated through her, Mary Anne felt Alton orgasm. He, too, cried out, his arms buckling and his face landing on her shoulder.
For the next couple of minutes, the two of them lied there like that, panting and moaning. Then Mary Anne, filled with a different kind of warmth and want, moved a little to kiss Alton’s head. He shuddered in response, which made her smile.
After they had gotten dressed and fixed up again, the two of them exited the library just as the librarian returned to it. They met him right in front of the small building.
“Hello, folks,” the librarian said. He tilted his hat and bowed. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long. I had to attend to some personal matters.”
Mary Anne blushed, her hand ghosting over her stomach. Upon Alton’s lazy suggestion, she had left her corset inside. The knowledge of this burned in her mind.
“That’s alright,” Alton said, pressing himself close to Mary Anne and wrapping an arm around her. “It turns out we need to attend to some personal matters ourselves. Right, honey?”
Mary Anne glanced at the library. A nervousness jittered within her. She really wanted to go back and get that corset—or at least hide it, for God’s sake.
“Oh,” the librarian said, sounding as if he had a sudden epiphany. “You are Mary Anne and Alton Smith, aren’t you? I don’t think I would have recognized you if people hadn’t been talking so much about you.”
Mary Anne blanched. “People have been talking about us? What have they been saying?”
The librarian winced, a guilty glint shining in his eye. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have said anything. I never liked contributing to gossip, but then hear I go, jabbering away.”
“Please,” Mary Anne said, “tell me what you have heard. It will bother me if you don’t.”
“Very well. It isn’t kind though.”
Mary Anne covered her mouth. “Lord.”
“I’m afraid,” the librarian continued, glancing away, “people have been saying that you hired Mr. Smith to marry you. The notion seems ridiculous to me, but some teacher or professor mentioned it to someone, so people think the information is credible. I apologize. But if it’s true, you don’t have to pretend with me. Marriage isn’t all that important, is it?”
Mary Anne went ice cold. The worst thing that could have happened occurred after the best thing that could have happened, and she couldn’t process it.
Stiffly, rudely, she walked out of Alton’s arms and past the librarian. She just wanted to be home.
“It’s not true,” Alton growled at the man. “And if you don’t want to contribute to gossip, then don’t contribute to you.”
Mary Anne hugged herself, listening as Alton ran after her.
“Mary Anne,” Alton said, grabbing her shoulder. When she continues to walk forward, he quickened his pace so that he was in front of her a little. “Hey, stop for a second.”
She slowed, but she didn’t stop as she looked at him. Worry made his eyes shimmer and his brow wrinkle.
She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’ll be alright. We just…we should go home. We can figure things out there.” She nodded her head forward. “Okay?”
Alton’s grip on her shoulder loosen. “Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want. But they’re just rumors. They’re not true. We just have to tell people that.”
Mary Anne closed her eyes. How sweet and naïve he was about the cruel nature of people’s words—of honor and reputation. Instead of saying this though, she just nodded.
When they get home, fear finally penetrated Mary Anne’s numb state. She trembled a little at the thought of dealing with her father. What would he do now? Would he disown her? What would become of Alton and his family?
Quickly, she walked upstairs and into one of the guest bedrooms.
Alton was right behind her. “What are you doing?”
She turned and stopped him before he could fully enter the room. Placing a gentle hand over his heart, she told him that she just needed to be alone for a little while.
“Please,” she said. “Just give me a little time. I’ll be okay. I promise.”
Alton seemed indecisive, but it was just as well. She closed the door on him before he could utter a word.
Alton
Him and his damn mouth. Mary Anne had warned him this might happen, but he was so arrogant and reckless, and now the whole town knew about their…arrangement.
Alton ran his hands through his hair. It had been hours since they returned home, and Mary Anne had yet to exit the guest bedroom. He didn’t know what to do. He was worried that the next action he took might be another disastrous one, yet he couldn’t stand just waiting around and hoping things would work out.
He went into the front room in search of guidance. Sure enough, his mother and his siblings were all sitting there, reading. They liked to read now, apparently.
“Is Mr. Ellison here?”
His mother raised her gaze from her book. “He went to bed some time ago. Why?” She lowered the book. “What’s wrong?”
His siblings lowered their own books.
Alton sighed, then told them everything that had happened.
“How do I fix this?” he asked. He hated how his voice wavered a little—he hated how is eyes were moistening—but he knew that his damn pride didn’t matter at that moment. Mary Anne’s life and happiness did. “Please tell me y’all have an idea on how I can make this right.”
“You…” His mother blinked, looking stunned. “You really care about this woman?”
Incredulous, Alton’s brow lowered and his mouth opened. “What? Of course I do! She’s the best thing to ever happen to me—to us. We can’t…I can’t live without her.”
The realization of this shocked Alton. He lowered his shoulders and glanced over the room. His siblings were giving him a knowing, challenging stare, and something clicked within his brain. He knew what he needed to do.
“Thank you,” he told them before running upstairs. He all but collided with the guest bedroom door, and though he desperately wanted to open it, he resigned himself to knocking on it. “Mary Anne? Mary Anne, we need to talk. It’s important. Please come out.”
He heard her move about in the room before she came up to the door and opened. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was a wreck. Her face was stiff with a tired indifference.
The sight broke Alton’s heart. “Mary Anne—”
“Alton,” she said, smiling. She reached out and touched his arm. “It really is okay. This was bound to happ
en at some point. It’s me, after all. I’ve never been good at being…well, good.”
Alton shook his head. “That’s not true.”
Her eyes watered and she swallowed. “Listen…my father isn’t going to be happy, at all. And I don’t know what he’ll do. He might do nothing, but just in case he does do something drastic, I think it might be a good idea for you and your family to leave.”
Alton’s chest constricted. “What?”
Mary Anne retracted her hand and glanced around, guilt marring her features. “I would give you all a lot of money, of course. It’s just that my family’s name is tainted now, and if any of you get hurt because of me…” She swallowed again, wiping her tears away before they could even touch her cheeks. “Excuse me. I told myself I wasn’t going to cry. I apologize for being so foolish. But I will miss you very much. I…I…” She shook her head.
She was going to say something else, Alton could tell, but he could take it anymore. Her pain, her self-loathing—it was horrid and undeserved.
Gently, he grabbed her face and stepped closer.
Mary Anne jumped, her eyes snapping up to his.
“Mary Anne,” Alton said, his voice weighted with emotion. He blinked past his own tears and forced himself to breathe deeply. “I love you.”
Her eyes widened.
“I love you so much,” Alton continued. He shook his head in awe, grateful for these circumstances—for this chance—for Mary Anne. He smiled. “I don’t give a darn about reputations. I don’t care about your father. Whatever happens will happen, but no matter what, I just want to be with. Always.”
“Alton,” she said. She blinked owlishly at him, her fingers running over his chest as if they were searching for something. “Alton, I…really?”
“Yes. I love you.”
Finally, she smiled at him. Tears poured down her cheeks and she laughed—or sobbed, or both.
She was beautiful.
Alton kissed her hard, needy. And God bless her, she kissed back.
“Love you,” she breathed in between their kisses.
Alton shuddered, pressing his lips against her jaw and then her neck.