be crazy not to take the room and board, random disappearances or no, so she headed back to her apartment to pack up what little she owned. As she expected, her last thought upon closing her eyes was the image of Lionel Socard’s green eyes. They chased her into her dreams and though she didn’t remember much about them she knew that there was heat. Her sheets and pillow were damp with sweat and other things when she got up.
The next day, she drove back to the Socard mansion early in the morning and carried her boxes in through the servant’s entrance. She got dressed in the maid outfit and inspected herself in the mirror. It certainly looked like something practical, but there was still a decadent aura about it. Maybe her neckline was a shade too low, or her skirt showed just slightly more of her legs than would have been completely necessary. She shrugged at her reflection; she knew that she looked good, though she hadn’t had a lot of chances to show it off during her college career. It would be nice to wear something that made her feel a little sexy. She made a mental note to get some nice stockings.
Then it was off to work. It wasn’t difficult or dangerous. It wasn’t even boring thanks to the multitude of beautiful things that Socard owned.
He had entire rooms filled with valuable antiques and it wasn’t until her third hour or so that she saw that each room had a theme. Preston had probably covered that, but she’d been distracted. One room was full of musical instruments, for instance, with beautiful music makers of all kinds, gilded or made of rare wood. The centerpiece was a grand piano that was so black that light seemed to fall into it without escaping. She was tasked with cleaning everything and while nothing was seriously dirty most of it had to be dusted. When she finished with the music room, everything shone. She looked at the clock and was surprised to find that most of the day had gone by as she’d finished the one room. Her work was cut out for her.
Lily headed down toward the kitchen to see about wrangling a late lunch out of the chef. He was a nice, nearsighted old man who enjoyed looking at her legs so she figured that she wouldn’t have too much difficulty. She was wondering what she would ask for when she turned the corner and nearly ran into Lionel. He stared at her with those deadly eyes and she shivered.
“Oh, mister Socard, I…sorry, I didn’t know you were there, and…” She caught herself halfway between a curtsey and a bow and forced herself to stand up, though she kept her eyes down. She realized that she was staring at his crotch and she blushed.
Before she could try to say anything else and embarrass herself further Socard took her chin in his hand and lifted her face. He stared at her, and once again she felt his gaze penetrate to her core. She blushed further, trying not to think about the word “penetrate” when standing in front of his overwhelming maleness. He said, “You’re quite pretty.” He spoke as if making an observation about the weather. He let go of her and said, “Is the work too much?”
“Oh. No. It’s nice, actually, I spent most of the day dusting and cleaning the music room.”
He looked blank for a moment and then nodded. “Ah, yes. It’s been quite some time since I was in there. Perhaps I shall play the piano today.”
“It’s ready for you.” She forced herself to shut up before she started babbling and he smiled slightly. He stood aside without another word, and she carefully didn’t run away from him. She passed very close to him as she went, and she could feel the heat baking off of his body. His scent was smoke and spices, heady and disorienting. When she turned the corner she leaned against the wall and fanned herself. No man had ever made her so hot with his mere presence before. She couldn’t get his eyes out of her mind.
Lily was right; getting a lunch out of Nigel the cook was a simple enough task. She sat at the counter to eat and they passed the time by talking about the rumors of the missing girls.
“Nothing to it, of course,” said Nigel as he scrubbed potatoes. “Just small-town gossip. Fact is, the girls came and worked for a while before finding something else that they preferred. Most of them ended up working for other houses along the coast, but I’m sure you’ll find something a bit more in keeping with your education, won’t you.”
She smiled but didn’t answer. The truth was that she didn’t know what she was going to do but she was too distracted by Socard to think about it right now. That night, in her new quarters, Lily dreamed of Lionel again. When she woke she was certain that she could smell his scent on the air.
The rest of the week went by in much the same way. Lily got used to dressing in the uniform. She spent a lot of time on each of the display rooms, cleaning the dust off. Toward the end of the week she found that she was running out of displays. She really needed to clean the office but Socard never seemed to leave it.
Eventually she found that she didn’t have anything else to do. She went up to the highly polished double doors and knocked quietly, ready to sneak away if anything bad happened. Instead, she heard Lionel’s deep voice say, “Enter.”
She opened the door and peeked inside. “Uh, it’s Lily, mister Socard.”
He looked up and nodded. “What can I do for you, miss Peck?”
“Well, the office needs a cleaning, and I thought that I would ask when would be a good time for…”
He nodded again. “Now is fine.”
She entered with her little bucket of cleaning supplies and looked around. She pulled the dusting cloth from her belt and started working on the books. From time to time she would glance at him, but he never seemed to notice. The sight of him as almost as affecting as his voice, and she felt herself start to slip into a daydream that involved kissing his strong mouth. She kept dusting and polishing, lost in her daydream. She had no idea that he had moved until she turned and found him standing right behind her.
Lily gasped and jumped, dropping her bottle of dusting spray. She pressed herself back against the shelves and stared at him, her fist knotted at her throat. Socard simply stared at her with those piercing eyes for what felt like forever. He smiled. “Nothing to be scared of, Lily.”
He bent down and picked up the can, handing it back to her. “Sor…sorry,” she whispered. Socard reached out toward her suddenly, stroking her cheek. She gasped again, delicious tension filling her and sparking a damp heat between her legs.
“Nothing to be sorry about. Tell me, Lily. Are you curious as to why you were recruited to my service?” He put a slight emphasis on the last word. She swallowed.
“No, why?” she said, hating the way her voice trembled. He did that to her with his alpha-male confidence and the rich scent that overcame the smell of the dusting spray. “I’m not very special, or…”
He touched her lips and she stopped talking, overcome with mingled apprehension and arousal. Socard said, “You’re quite special in this day and age, Lily. Unless I’m quite wrong, you’ve never been with a man, have you.”
It was a statement rather than a question and it made her cheeks turn bright red. “Mister Socard, that’s not…I…” Her confusion was all the confirmation that he needed.
A small, satisfied grin twisted his lips, and for an instant she hated him. “Yes,” he said. “Come with me, Lily.”
He walked out the double door, his stride powerful and confident. He obviously had no doubts that she would be right behind him. She crept behind him, a mouse in the wake of a lion. They passed the music room, and then the tapestry room and the sculpture room. He flung each door open, silently contemplating the multitude of priceless objects inside. Lily had already seen them and cleaned them, so there was nothing to distract her from the way that his shoulders flexed and what his tailored pants did to his behind when he walked. He seemed to grow taller with each roomful of treasures and she felt the delicious tension rising inside her again. She did her best to keep him from seeing it. When he glanced at her and smiled she saw that he was fully aware of her reaction. Judging by the bulge at the front of his pants, it did more than simply amuse him, and she felt the tension jump higher at the sight.
Finally they reached the end of the hall, and he stopped at a small door. “I imagine Preston didn’t show you this room.”
“Um, no, mister Socard. I didn’t know that it was part of my duties.”
He reached under his shirt and pulled out a small key on the end of a chain around his neck. “And so it isn’t.” He unlocked the small door with a flourish and gestured for her to enter. She was more aware of the heat that he radiated than the contents of the room until then she looked around. Her eyes widened.
The room wasn’t nearly as large as the other display rooms. Each of the walls was covered with dozens of small glass display boxes and inside each box was a single gem that sat on a stand made out of gold. The room glittered when Socard turned on the light. Lily gaped for a moment before her gaze was drawn to the display stands
