"Why come to my rescue like that?" I asked Adam as we walked the length of the road to his home and apothecary shop. He hadn't released my hand from his grip since we'd left my cottage.

He relaxed the anger in his face and looked down at me with a soft smile, "I don't take kindly to people screaming at my employees."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I wasn't your employee yet," I argued. "What were you doing at my home? Were you stalking me?"

"Yes," he answered.

I attempted to pull my hand free, but it didn't budge. Panic and heat pulsed through me, "Have you been stalking me this whole time?"

"No," he laughed.

The panic subsided a bit and I scowled, "I don't find this very funny. Why are you so adamant to employee me anyway?"

He shrugged, focusing on the road ahead, "I told you; Matthew has taken a liking to you," he paused mid breath, then added, "and it's been a long time since I've been surprised by anyone."

I snuck a look at him from the corner of my eye. He seemed to be looking further ahead than our destination. His brows furrowed deeply, darkening the steely gray of his eyes. He clenched the muscles in his jaw, glancing down to catch my stare in time for me to quickly give my attention to the road.

The sun had dipped just below the horizon, setting the sky ablaze with oranges and pinks behind gentle wisps of clouds. I let out a deep breath. What am I doing? I barely know this man and now I'm setting off to live and work with him? This is crazy. At least Matthew seemed sweet. I can't get a read on Adam though. The man is, I considered what it was I really thought of him thus far. Looking at our joined hands and then up his muscled arm, his physique was nothing to laugh at. I studied the sharp angular profile of his face. I think I'd been so distracted by our previous encounters that I hadn't noticed the freckles on his face before now. I fought a smile. Fuck. Just walking side by side with him, his scent was making my knees wobble occasionally. He's an ass, I thought, still watching his face as his lips twitched up at the corner. I snapped my attention back to the road.

We managed to make it to the vast stone building that was his home and apothecary shop without another word exchanged. He let go of my hand and led the way down the overgrown path, bouncing with a wide smile as he threw open the door to the shop. The welcoming aroma enveloped me as he motioned for me to follow through the door behind the counter.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting the home of the apothecary to look like, but I probably would have been wrong.

The doorway opened into a large foyer. A crystal chandelier caught the fading light from a far up window and scattered the room with specs of pink and gold so dense it was as if the sun had been brought inside. It illuminated the many paintings on the walls, adding to their vibrancy. Large decorative rugs laid out a path as we made our way further inside, passing by pedestals with curious items displayed and door after door. I had expected the stone building to be cold and dark on the inside, but this was warm and beautiful. And so much bigger than I estimated.

"Matthew," Adam greeted the elderly man as he descended from a staircase near the end of the hall.

"I see you've brought her home," Matthew smiled. "He didn't drag you kicking and screaming, did he?" He asked me, winking.

Would he have? "Uhm, no sir," I smiled sheepishly.

Adam feigned a disbelieving gasp, "I am shocked you would accuse me of such things, Matthew."

The older man gave him a knowing look. "Ignore him," he advised me. "Well, I suppose I should show you to your room then." He waved a hand for me to follow, and I obeyed.

I briefly looked back to see Adam watch me leave, the excitement on his face replaced by something more restrained.

"Your room has its own washroom attached," Matthew explained as he led me back up the stairs he'd just arrived from. "There is a wardrobe with some plain clothes you can use. I see the daft idiot didn't allow you time to pack," he said looking at my empty hands and rolling his eyes. "We can collect your things tomorrow, I suppose," he offered.

"No, that's okay. I didn't really have anything," I admitted. I can't go back there anyway.

He shrugged. "We can always go shopping," he said with a tender smile. We came across the third door down the hall and Matthew opened it and stepped inside. "There are extra blankets in the chest at the foot of the bed and a fireplace if that's not warm enough," he pointed, but my mind was still stuck on the size of the room.

"This is my bedroom?" I blinked.

Matthew tilted his head to the side, "Yes. Is it missing something?"

"Missing something?" I nearly snorted. "What doesn't it have?"

He gently laughed, "I suppose it doesn't have a kitchen."

I blushed, "Oh, right." I had no idea apothecary work paid so well. I must have seemed like such a stupid girl to turn them down. Twice!

"If you find yourself hungry, I could whip something up for you," he offered.

"Thank you, but I already ate." I thought about my meager toast and egg. I could only imagine what sort of lavish meals they would have in a place like this. The idea made me feel feral. I don't belong here. Everything in this place is pristine. I looked at my trousers, repeatedly sewn, and my blouse, my sleeves so shredded that I had just started to roll them up. My clothes had never been white, but they certainly weren't free of stains. My sudden self-awareness had my skin crawling. "You said there was an attached washroom?"

Matthew led me to a door off the side of my room. Once again, I had expected less. This was a whole bathhouse within a room. In the middle of the floor was a sunken tub big enough to stretch out in and then some. In the corner was a vanity with several small bottles and soap bars, neatly arranged on its countertop. The towels, each folded in exactly the same way, filled a small set of shelves along the wall.

"We have piped water from a well," Matthew announced. "Would you like me to show you how to run a bath?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

He bent to the edge of the bathtub, turning a lever that caused water to pour from a spout. Running his hand under the water, he turned another lever until he was satisfied. "This is to call hot water, and this one is for cold," he explained. "You can adjust them to your liking, and you simply turn them back to stop the water. There is a plug at the bottom. Place it to fill the tub and pull the chain when you'd like to empty it."

I cupped my hands together in excitement. "This is absolutely amazing," I squealed.

Matthew chuckled, "I'd be tempted to call it "magical," but I wouldn't want the Church to hear me."

I'd nearly forgotten about Rupert's warning.

"This is where I leave you for the night," Matthew turned for the door. "I'll have breakfast ready when you wake and then we'll put you to work."

I stopped him as he stepped out into the hall, "Matthew, what is it exactly that I'll be doing? Deliveries? Because as I said before, I don't know anything at all about apothecary work."

"Don't you fret. There's plenty to do around here," he waved me off, continuing down the hall. "Goodnight. Enjoy your bath," he called over his shoulder.

I carefully closed the door, leaning against the solid wood to take in the entirety of the room. My bedroom? This is where I live now? The bed was made with neatly tucked blankets and exactly placed pillows. It's simple four-post frame carved with intricate designs. The chest at its foot was just as modest with gentle bronze embellishments. The massive fireplace was free of soot with tidily stacked unburnt pieces of wood in its tiled hearth, as if it had never been used. Everything in the room was both grand and unassuming. My bedroom back home had been just as empty, but this still felt lavish in comparison.

My stomach fluttered excitedly. This is a dream, I giddily squealed, dancing over to the washroom. And my bath! I remembered what Matthew had shown me and eagerly plugged the tub before grabbing some soap from the vanity. I had no plans to ever put back on the clothes I ripped off my back. Yes! I melted into the hot water, suds bubbling up around me. The heat caused goosebumps to ripple across my skin, my nipples perking up at the cusp of the water level. I sucked in a shaky breath and trailed my hand down between my thighs, closing my eyes as I leaned my head back against the edge of the tub.

"Oh, little mouse," the deep timber of Adam's voice rumbled through my mind. Those eyes, I thought with a moan. I recalled the way they nearly glowed with the intensity of his stare and imagined his hard grip on my hand as my fingers circled the sensitive bud at my apex. Those freckles combined with that feline smile made me want his teeth on my skin. I shivered. He'd teased me for being a mouse who needed to scream but could only whimper. In my imagination, I could hear him command me, "Go ahead, scream little mouse," as I sunk two fingers deep within myself.

The moan that escaped me echoed off the walls of the washroom. Water splashed around me as I shuddered with the waves of my orgasm. My body flushed with heat as I came down from the high.

What am I doing? I shook my head. What if someone heard me? Even alone with no audience, I couldn't help but blush. You're letting yourself get so worked up, I chastised myself. The man gives you a job and you pleasure yourself thinking about him? You hardly know him! Plus, he caught you on your knees for Jonathan. Ugh! I'm so desperate, it's pathetic. I sank below the water's surface, holding my breath as it swallowed me up.

"He'll only leave you when you're no longer of any use to him."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

My mother had been right about Jonathan. Would she be right about Adam as well?

Bubbles escaped my nostrils, and I hugged my body as it ached for air.

"When Rumor decides she wants to leave my employment, it will be to go on to better things. When she has no use for me."

I resurfaced, breathing in a heavy gasp.

He hardly knew me, but he'd stood up to my mother on my behalf. I blinked up at the ceiling, letting the water run freely down my face. Why was he really so adamant to hire me? Why offer me all this? I rubbed my face. What is it they say about gift horses and mouths? Don't look? Something about it didn't sit right with me. Just leave the concerns until after you see what work there is to do, I reasoned with myself. It might be all perfectly on the up and up.

I unplugged the tub and got out to dry myself off.

What will I do if it's not, though?

I slapped my hands to my cheeks. No, hush, I ordered, getting dressed in a nightgown I'd found in the wardrobe. Just go to sleep and make decisions tomorrow.

I crawled into bed. Oh my, this is like a cloud! I snuggled into the blankets, swathing myself in their comfort as I closed my eyes.