Authors: Grace Warren
Alton
Alton woke to the sight of Mary Anne getting out of bed and heading for her
dresser. Though he was warm and comfortable under the covers, he still found
himself reaching for her.
“Where you going?” he asked sleepily.
Having already taken out one of her dresses from the dresser, she jumped and
turned to him. She pressed her dress to herself and smiled. “Did I wake you?
I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He retracted his hand and rubbed his eyes. Yawning, he asked if
she was leaving. Without fully thinking about it, he realized he wanted to go
with her—wanted to be with her rather than avoid her like he normally did.
“No, no,” she said, walking behind the folding screen beside her dresser. As
she talked, she changed out of her nightgown and into her dress. “I’m just
getting ready for the day. I thought I would do some painting before
breakfast.”
“Painting?”
She laughed. “Yes. I like to paint.”
As Alton’s awareness grew, he became transfixed by the folding screen she was
behind. He couldn’t see anything provocative—that was the point of the folding
screen—but his curiosity tormented him. What did she look like beneath her
gowns? The thought made his torso though, and he licked his lips.
A few minutes later, she walked out from behind the screen in a new dress. She
put her nightgown in a basket near the folding screen before going over to the
large mirror and table she used to make up her face.
“What do you paint?” Alton asked, mesmerized by her. He wasn’t sure what was so
different about her now, but there was something about her that was enticing
him. He couldn’t look away.
“All kinds of things,” Mary Anne said, taking her hairbrush from a box in front
of the mirror and brushing her hair. “It depends on my mood. I’m not a real
artist, I just like to have fun.”
Alton frowned at that. She always made comments like that, and she said them
with such indifference…like they were a fact that could not be changed. He
never cared about this before, but now, this realization made his heart ache.
“I think that’s why real artists do it,” Alton said.
Mary Anne shrugged. Then she worked on putting her hair up.
“Can I paint with you?” Alton asked, sitting up.
Mary Anne dropped the pins she had been using to put her hair up. She turned to
him with wide eyes. “Really?”
Alton cocked an eyebrow. “Yes. Is that alright with you?”
She beamed. “Of course!” Apparently forgetting about her hair, she hurried over
to the door. “We have like ten easels now. You can pick any one you like. Oh, I
think you’ll have fun. I’ve never had anyone who wanted…” She exited the room
and her voice faded as she walked down the hall.
Alton smiled fondly. She was a strange one, but he found it endearing.
They had both been painting on their canvases in the study, a room Alton hadn’t
fully noticed before. It was nice. Roomy. There were a lot of books and
paintings in it, and Alton assumed they all belonged to Mary Anne.
Alton cringed at
his own attempt at a painting. He had been trying to create a bird, but…
Mary Anne bumped into his shoulder and laughed at the image in front of him.
Alton blushed, but he tried to smile through it.
“Don’t worry,” Mary Anne said good-naturedly, tilting her head at his painting.
“This happens to me all the time. I just say it’s an abstract painting.”
“A what?”
“Abstract. It means it is a painting made up of random shapes and colors. A lot
of artists do that.”
“Oh.” Alton felt relieved, as silly as that sounded. He nodded. “Well then,
that’s what it is. An abstract.”
“It’s lovely.”
He snorted.
“Alright, alright,” she said, giggling and looking at him with gleaming eyes.
“It’s your turn now. What do you like to do for fun?”
Alton was surprised by her question—by the implications of it, really. She
wanted to spend time with him, too.
He grinned. “There is one thing…”
Alton laughed as Mary Anne made strange expression at her cards. They were
playing poker on the floor, and though he had explained the rules to her
earlier, she still struggled to understand.
She gave him a sheepish smile before placing her cards on the floor. “Is this
good?”
He laughed harder. Strange how at ease he felt playing this game—this game that
had saved him and destroyed him so many times.
“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” she said, smirking.
“What are we doing now?” Alton asked as he followed her downstairs.
“I thought we would check up on your brother and sisters,” Mary Anne said.
“They have their tutoring around this time.”
Alton groaned. “That sounds like hell.”
“Hush. They really seem to like it.”
“I know. Your strangeness must be contagious.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. The affection in her eyes and the warmth
of her smile made heat bloom within his torso. He smiled back.
“I should get fake-married more often,” he said jokingly.
Mary Anne had just stepped off the last step, but at his joke, she quickly
turned around and pressed her hand to his mouth. Her body was taut, and the
affection in her eyes instantly vanished.
“Don’t every say that,” she whispered. “What if someone heard you?”
Though he was a little peeved by her sharp tone, he gently took her wrist and
lowered her hand from his mouth. A shiver traveled down as his body as her
fingers graced his lips. He swallowed past the sensation. “Don’t worry so much.
We’re home.”
“The tutors are here, remember?”
“Fine, fine. I’ll be more careful. Okay? No one is going to know about our paid
arrangement.”
Mary Anne frowned, her gaze flicking up and down his face. Without another
word, she turned back around and walked away.
Alton sighed and followed.
Mary Anne
The following week was the best week of Mary Anne’s life. She and Alton did
everything together—she got him to read, he got her to dance—she had never
laughed so much with someone else before. And now, though a part of her really
wished she was inside her safe home, she was walking in town with Alton holding
her hand.
“This isn’t so bad, is it?” he asked her, leaning in close to whisper the
words. “Being outside, seeing people…”
Mary Anne hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose not.” Her eyes spotted a little
library, its large window dark and the area in front of it empty. Excited to
see such a beautiful sight, she tugged Alton toward it. “Look, let’s go in
there!”
As she and Alton got closer to it, he groaned. “More books? You really know how
to take the joy out of things.”
“Oh, quiet.”
The entered the small library, only to discover it was empty of people.
Mary Anne walked forward, glancing around. “Hello? Anyone?”
“Even the librarian doesn’t want to be here,” Alton said, pointing toward the
unoccupied desk to the side. “Let’s go.”
“Seriously?” she said, laughing and releasing his hand. She stared at the
several shelves of books with awe. As if she was walking through a fairy tale
land, she took tentative steps deeper into the library, toward the back
shelves. “We might have this place all to ourselves and you want to leave?”
Mary Anne moved deeper and deeper into the library with Alton patiently at her
heels. When she reached the very back, hidden by darkness and several tall
bookshelves, she ran her fingers over the dusty books.
“Breathtaking,” she said, pulling out a random book and opening it. Its pages
were old, it's scent washing over her. She smiled.
“Breathtaking,” Alton repeated.
Startled that Alton would say such a thing about a book, Mary Anne raised her
gaze. She blushed when she saw he was staring intently at her.
The heat that flushed her flesh made her head spin. She couldn’t
breath—couldn’t think. She stared into Alton’s hooded gaze, getting so lost in
it that she didn’t realize she was leaning forward until her lips were on his.
The kiss was soft at first, even a little clumsy as Mary Anne moved and parted
her lips to taste Alton. Then the kiss became rougher, Alton pushing himself
deeper into her until he was pressing her against the book shelf. She moaned,
allowing Alton’s tongue to move between her lips.
When they parted, she gasped his name. She wanted more. She moved to kiss him
again, but he was already kissing and sucking his way down her jaw and neck. As
he did so, he grinded himself against her, making her belly hot with pleasure
and need.
“Alton,” she whispered. “Please…”
He moaned, his lips brushing against her skin as he lowered his face to her
cleavage. He kissed her there while pulling at the neckline of her dress.
Desperate, Mary Anne maneuvered her arms around in order to unbutton her dress.
She was surprised that she felt relieved, not embarrassed, when she finally managed
to get the top half of her dress scrunched down around her waistline. Her torso
was covered in nothing but a corset now, and her arms were bare.
She was about to take off her corset when Alton, almost angrily, went about
tearing the thing apart.
“Alton!” she gasped. “I was going to put that back on.”
“Don’t need it,” he said, grunting when he ripped the corset from her body.
“Never needed it.” Then, with a sudden gentleness, he pulled down the rest of
her upper undergarments.
Air flowed easier through Mary Anne’s body. She would have relaxed at the
liberating sensation, had her breasts not been completely exposed to Alton’s
heated gaze. As he stared at them with a dark look of hunger, Mary Anne
quivered with anticipation and nervousness.
His eyes flickered to hers before he lowered himself and captured her left
nipple in his mouth.
Mary Anne gasped and bucked. Her nipple stiffened as his tongue swirled around
it, his teeth scraping across her breast every so often.
“God, Alton,” she moaned.
His hands dug into her bare waist while her hands dug into his clothed arms.
She pulled his sleeves downward. She wanted them off now. She wanted to see and
taste his skin the way he was seeing and tasting hers.
Compliant, yet seemingly reluctant, Alton pulled away and took off his jacket.
Mary Anne helped him take off his shirt with shaky hands. At the first chance
she got, she ran her fingers over his chest, his nipples, his abs—over anything
she could feel. As she did so, she felt Alton shiver.
She kissed his neck, her tongue darting out to taste him.
She yelped when Alton scooped her up in his arms and gently laid her on the
ground. Then he kissed her right breast, licking his way to her right nipple
before nipping it.
Mary Anne was wet and throbbing between her thighs. She moaned loudly,
desperately, and without thinking about it, she pulled and shimmied her way out
of her dress and the rest of her undergarments—Alton eagerly helping her to do
so.
When she was completely naked, she pushed her lower half closer to Alton. She
wanted to feel him—needed him deep inside her.
He groaned, placing a light kiss between her breaths while trailing his fingers
down her stomach until he reached her womanhood. Then with a great amount of
care and slowness, he rubbed his index over her clit.
Mary Anne bucked again, widening her legs. His fingers traveled up and down her
core before gently pushing their way in.
She shook and clawed at the ground. “Alton, God, oh, please…” Sweat coated her
skin, her mouth going slack.
He inserted his fingers in and out of her, going a little deeper each time he
did so. It was a foreign feeling to her, but it made her hot and wet and she
was crying from pure need in a matter of minutes.
“Alton, more,” she gasped, her voice ragged. She looked down at him. “Please, I
need more, deeper.”
“Yes,” he agreed, his own voice choked. “God yes.”
He removed his fingers, making her whine and cry harder.
“Be patient, darling,” Alton whispered. He positioned himself over her core and
pressed his hardened length against it. He moved it up and down, making her
throb.
“Alton,” she moaned.
Slowly, he entered her. He took his time pushing into her, deeper and deeper.
Her walls constricted and moistened around his member.
She cried out. It was so good—it was too much—it was painful—it was amazing.
“Faster,” Mary Anne whispered. “Harder.”
Alton obeyed, moving in and out of her at a quicker rate. Occasionally, he
slammed into her, making her body jolt with pained pleasure.
“Yes, yes,” she whimpered, her body moving along with his.
They soon developed the perfect rhythm. Mary Anne could think of nothing—could
feel nothing—but the hot pleasure that coursed through her. Her senses were
overwhelmed, but she wanted more. She needed more.
“Alton, Alton,” she gasped. “So close, I’m, I’m—”
Her orgasm came hard in a burst of white light. She shook and screamed his
name, her nails digging into his skin as she pushed herself closer to him.
As the aftershocks of heat pulsated through her, Mary Anne felt Alton orgasm.
He, too, cried out, his arms buckling and his face landing on her shoulder.
For the next couple of minutes, the two of them lied there like that, panting
and moaning. Then Mary Anne, filled with a different kind of warmth and want,
moved a little to kiss Alton’s head. He shuddered in response, which made her
smile.
After they had gotten dressed and fixed up again, the two of them exited the
library just as the librarian returned to it. They met him right in front of
the small building.
“Hello, folks,” the librarian said. He tilted his hat and bowed. “I hope I
didn’t keep you waiting long. I had to attend to some personal matters.”
Mary Anne blushed, her hand ghosting over her stomach. Upon Alton’s lazy
suggestion, she had left her corset inside. The knowledge of this burned in her
mind.
“That’s alright,” Alton said, pressing himself close to Mary Anne and wrapping
an arm around her. “It turns out we need to attend to some personal matters
ourselves. Right, honey?”
Mary Anne glanced at the library. A nervousness jittered within her. She really
wanted to go back and get that corset—or at least hide it, for God’s sake.
“Oh,” the librarian said, sounding as if he had a sudden epiphany. “You are
Mary Anne and Alton Smith, aren’t you? I don’t think I would have recognized
you if people hadn’t been talking so much about you.”
Mary Anne blanched. “People have been talking about us? What have they been
saying?”
The librarian winced, a guilty glint shining in his eye. “I apologize. I
shouldn’t have said anything. I never liked contributing to gossip, but then
hear I go, jabbering away.”
“Please,” Mary Anne said, “tell me what you have heard. It will bother me if
you don’t.”
“Very well. It isn’t kind though.”
Mary Anne covered her mouth. “Lord.”
“I’m afraid,” the librarian continued, glancing away, “people have been saying
that you hired Mr. Smith to marry you. The notion seems ridiculous to me, but some
teacher or professor mentioned it to someone, so people think the information
is credible. I apologize. But if it’s true, you don’t have to pretend with me.
Marriage isn’t all that important, is it?”
Mary Anne went ice cold. The worst thing that could have happened occurred
after the best thing that could have happened, and she couldn’t process it.
Stiffly, rudely, she walked out of Alton’s arms and past the librarian. She
just wanted to be home.
“It’s not true,” Alton growled at the man. “And if you don’t want to contribute
to gossip, then don’t contribute to you.”
Mary Anne hugged herself, listening as Alton ran after her.
“Mary Anne,” Alton said, grabbing her shoulder. When she continues to walk
forward, he quickened his pace so that he was in front of her a little. “Hey,
stop for a second.”
She slowed, but she didn’t stop as she looked at him. Worry made his eyes
shimmer and his brow wrinkle.
She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’ll be alright. We just…we should go home.
We can figure things out there.” She nodded her head forward. “Okay?”
Alton’s grip on her shoulder loosen. “Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want. But
they’re just rumors. They’re not true. We just have to tell people that.”
Mary Anne closed her eyes. How sweet and naïve he was about the cruel nature of
people’s words—of honor and reputation. Instead of saying this though, she just
nodded.
When they get home, fear finally penetrated Mary Anne’s numb state. She
trembled a little at the thought of dealing with her father. What would he do
now? Would he disown her? What would become of Alton and his family?
Quickly, she walked upstairs and into one of the guest bedrooms.
Alton was right behind her. “What are you doing?”
She turned and stopped him before he could fully enter the room. Placing a
gentle hand over his heart, she told him that she just needed to be alone for a
little while.
“Please,” she said. “Just give me a little time. I’ll be okay. I promise.”
Alton seemed indecisive, but it was just as well. She closed the door on him
before he could utter a word.