If I was late, so what? I'd explain to the master that I got turned around. If he couldn't accept that, then I didn'twantto work for him.
Probably.
No, dammit. I really did. Ineededthis.
Swallowing down the fear, I pushed open yet another door just as a deep, resonant clock somewhere in the manor chimed the hour.
Shit. Fuck. Dammit.
I was officially late.
And it seemed, to add insult to injury, I'd also stumbled into theoneroom I wasn't allowed access to.
The master's study.
A massive dark wood desk dominated the far corner, tilted diagonally so whoever sat behind it would have the wall at their back. A wicker basket overflowed with satin cushions beside it. Three of the four walls were covered floor-to-ceiling in books. The fourth was a mix of tall windows and large cabinets. Each one very clearly padlocked.
Curiosity burned inside me to see what a man would hide behind padlocks in his own study. A study that was out of bounds for all staff except the housekeeper.
Without a thought, my feet moved forwardintothe room I wasn’t allowed to enter. As if in a trance, I moved closer and closer to the walls of books to see which titles the mysterious master would choose to keep in his inner sanctum when he already had a library big enough to rival the one in the city.
But before I could reach out and touch the first aged spine, a rumbling roar had me jumping around to face the door.
"What on earth do you think you're doing in here!"
The voice was deep, gruff, more beast than man, and the moment I saw him, I understood why.
He wasn't human.
Not even close.
He towered in the doorway, shoulders broad, chest bare, dark fur covering thick muscle. His head was that of a bull. It was massive, horned, with a powerful snout pierced by a gleaming golden ring. Only his eyes were human-looking. Icy blue, furious, and locked on me like a predator to its prey.
I knew monsters existed. Of course I did. Ten years ago they came out of hiding. Some looked human. Some even lived among us. But I'd grown up in a rural town. The most I'd ever seen was the occasional fae or vampire passing through the city.
This? This was a creature out of nightmares and mythology, both.
Before I could appreciate the broad chest tapering into low slung lounge pants, he barked, "Are you deaf? Dumb? I asked you a damn question, woman!"
I squeaked. Actually squeaked. Like a terrified mouse.
Immediately, my gaze lowered to the ground, and I found myself unable to look up and face the glower he directed at me. "I'm sorry, sir! I was lost. Turned around. I was looking for the dining room so I could join you for dinner."
My knees wanted to buckle. Something primal inside me begged me to kneel, to show submission and make myself small and nonthreatening. But something deeper kept me standing.
Instinct? Pride? Probably more like unadulterated terror at the thought of making one wrong move and having him spear me with those horns.
"Did you think that the dining room was hidden behind that book, then?" He growled in response, and I flinched at the censure in his tone.
I shook my head in answer, unable to form any words thanks to the fear running through my system.
Fear coursed through me. Fear... and something else. Something hotter. Lower.
I didn't know what it was, but the way he towered over me, growled at me and the way helooked. Well, it made me wet.
"Now I'll ask again, why are you in my study when I know full well Mrs Kettleworth would have told you it was the one room you were not to access?"
A lone tear fell down my cheek, and I quickly moved to swipe it away. When too long a time passed without a response from me the beast roared again.
