Page 14 of Fake Maid

Five

Eli

This can’t be happening.

I can’t have found the one woman for me, the one who lights up my soul, and watched her walk out the door on the same day. My heart thumps sickly inside my rib cage, and I stand frozen in the center of my office.

Lost. Confused. Still so turned on from her touch that my teeth ache.

I rub a hand over my jaw. Did I… hurt her? She seemed into it too, moaning and squirming, her cheeks flushed with arousal, but maybe I misread the signs.

God. If I hurt her…

I’ll never forgive myself.

I was rough. I thrust deep into her mouth, until I hit the back of her throat. I acted by instinct the whole time, the two of us slipping into our roles like we were made for them, and I spoke crassly to her. Ground out sweet, filthy words that made her gasp.

But what if that was all in my head? My gut sinks as I replay what we just did—what I did to my maid.

What if she didn’t want any of it? I lurch to the side, sickness roiling in my stomach. I need to find her—need to make sure she’s okay. Need to apologize and do whatever it takes to make this right.

The office door bounces against the wall as I charge out into the corridor. The mansion is quiet, the silence echoing through the halls, slanted rectangles of sunshine spilling over the floorboards. I whip my head back and forth so fast my neck aches, but Coral is gone.

She’s gone.

A man walks past the nearest doorway, dressed in the black tunic of the staff uniform. I charge forward, clenching the door frame in my uninjured hand until the wood creaks. He glances over, then jerks as he recognizes me, straightening and clasping his hands behind his back. He’s young, can’t be more than thirty, with dark hair and a sculpted face, and the thought of this man working near Coral…

Jealousy tears through my chest.

I force it down. Ignore it. I’m a man, not an animal, and I won’t mistreat another member of my staff. But still, I have to spit my question between gritted teeth.

“Coral Walsh. Have you seen her?”

The man blinks at me, eyes darting away and back.

“Um. I’m sorry. Who?”

Forget it. I wrench myself off the door frame, charging down the corridor like a mad man. A roaring sound fills my ears, my eyes fuzzy with fear, and I let instinct guide me through the winding halls of my home. Every step, every aching beat of my heart, is another time I think her name.

Coral. Coral.

Where is she?

My feet lead me down a sunlit corridor, and the scent of chlorine lingers in the air. My footsteps quicken, suddenly sure, and when I push through the entrance into the pool house, there she is.

My mermaid.

Sitting on a lounger, her hands upturned in her lap, staring at the turquoise pool in a daze. She glances up when I burst in, and a frown creases her forehead, but she doesn’t move or say anything. Like she’s in a dream.

“Miss Walsh,” I grit out, and she jerks, eyes widening. Like she’s finally realized I’m real. She looks around desperately for an exit, but I’m already striding across to her. More than anything, I want to scoop her up in my arms, to crush her against my chest and tell her she’s mine.

I won’t overstep again. I stop in front of her lounger, sinking to my knees on the warm tiles.

“I’m sorry,” I rasp. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

She blinks at me, confused.

“Eli? What—”

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