At Your Service, Master

Chapter Eight

Nicholas frowned sipping his tea at lunch time. Each day that passed he would see Mikaela even less often. Her maid lessons were early in the morning then Mildred would accompany Nathaniel on some business occasions, leaving him in the manor with Candice, Bernard and Mikaela.

Whatever the girl was learning, it must've been stealth. The bloody girl's been avoiding him the entire week. Even when he asked Candice to call for her, she would just giggle with a knowing look in her eyes and say that she hasn't seen Mikaela all day.

Nicholas stirred in his seat. He felt like all of them were part of a conspiracy against him. He raised from his chair and wandered through the corridors. If the servants were unwilling to look for her, he would himself.

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Mikaela let out a sigh of content after finishing the floor of the main lobby, she had sweeped and mopped it all morning after her training. Mildred had been teaching her to use guns now, emphasizing that it is very important to learn so.

Mikaela lifted the bucket filled with water and the mop in one hand and held the broom in the other, it was about time Nicholas was done with his meal. She should clean the dining hall now. Mikaela made her way down the hallways and was amazed she could carry fairly heavy objects due to her heavy training with Mildred.

Mikaela entered the dining hall and the thought hit her in the head.

Damn it! I left the dust pan!

She cursed and left the cleaning materials in the dining hall, she ran back to the main lobby and froze when she saw Nicholas there waiting.

He sat on one of the fleeting red carpeted steps with the dust pan next to him. He had a smile on his face like he had won a bet with unlikely chances. "Looking for something...?" he asked with a playful smile on his lips.

Mikaela's gaze was locked on his lips for a moment or two, she wasn't sure. When she saw his soft lips, she remembered the moment they brushed ever so lightly on hers. Absent-mindedly, her hand went to her mouth as if hiding it from him.

His eyes lit up with realization. "Oh....You're still thinking about what happened in the dining hall?" he said standing up, denying that he had in fact been thinking about it all week. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Mikaela withdrew her hand. "I have no idea what you're talking about" she thought was the safest answer. She kept her eyes on the floor, not wanting to experience what hold those golden eyes had on her. He approached her slowly, in no rush at all to close the distance between them.

Each step he took closer, she felt her breaths becoming shorter and shorter as if he was sipping her breath away from her. Well imagine that, Mikaela grumbled in her mind. He wasn't even kissing her yet, and she already felt breathless already.

He looked down at her his body inches from hers, she was just hoping he couldn't feel the heat that was seeping from her skin. "Want me to refresh your memory?" he asked her and she could feel  grin  in his voice, the question escaped his lips like smooth velvet.  His breath on the top of her head sent the familiar shudders through her body.

Mikaela took a step back slowly, it felt like no matter how much she stepped away he was still TOO DAMN CLOSE. She figured out why, each step she took back he took one longer stride forward closing the distance between them almost instantly.

Nicholas smiled when he heard her take a sharp intake of breath when he held her forearms pulling her towards him. Mikaela's heart raced, he was silently demanding her to answer him with his touch. He was sending torturous flames through his gentle yet cruel fingertips as they brushed against her skin.