She was used to his teasing, his occasional flirtatious jabs, but this... this wasn't that. This was something else.
Something grown.
Kael didn't answer right away.
His hands slid lower, wrapping firmly around her waist and pulling her back into him. Her breath hitched again as her back met his chest, and the unmistakable hardness pressing strongly against her ass.
"Aunty Ellie…" he murmured, the words dripping with heat, with desire.
She froze, her lips parting, but no sound came out. That name—spoken with that voice, hit her harder than it should have.
Not the sweet teasing tone of a boy who once clung to her skirts, but a man's voice. One that didn't see her as a caretaker anymore.
Ellie stiffened in his grip, her heart thundering in her chest as panic and confusion warred inside her.
She didn't know what to say. Her hands hovered near his, unsure whether to push him away or hold them in place. His fingers began to move again, slowly exploring the curves that had been hidden for years under plain, simple dresses.
"This isn't right," she managed to say, but her voice was weak
Kael leaned in closer, his lips grazing her neck. "It's only wrong if we pretend it is."
Ellie's knees weakened, and she had to place a hand on the wooden garden table beside her to keep from falling.
And Kael... he didn't stop.
Kael's hands slid even lower from her waist, inching down toward dangerous territory. Ellie jolted at the contact, taking a sharp, deep breath. Her hands shot down to stop his, gripping his wrists tightly with trembling fingers.
"Young master, no," she hissed in a panicked whisper, her head turning slightly as if expecting someone to be watching. "Your mother—Lyra—she's in the kitchen! She could walk out any second and see us."
"And besides… this isn't appropriate. What has happened to you?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned forward, lips brushing the back of her neck with a lingering kiss. Her skin erupted in goosebumps, and her grip on his wrists weakened for just a moment.
"Nothing's happened to me, Aunty," he said, his voice low and calm. "It's just… your modesty. It awakened something in me I didn't know existed."
Ellie gasped. "M-My modesty?" she repeated, confused and flustered. "How? I'm just a housemaid… old and plain. You've got me wrong."
Kael smiled into her neck, planting another kiss just beneath her ear. "You know I'm not going to buy that. You have known for years exactly what you were doing."
Ellie's breathing quickened.
"You hide behind those plain gowns and polite smiles… but you know exactly what's underneath. I see it. I feel it every time you bend over near me. Every time you pretend not to notice me looking."
Ellie flinched, trying to twist out of his grip, but he held her strong. She never imagined the young boy she once cared for would speak to her like this.
"I never—" she started. "I thought you were innocent. I never knew you were looking at me like that."
Kael's smile was slow and unsettling. "Oh, I sure was, Aunty Ellie. How could I not? You're so... tempting. So irresistible."
Her heart skipped a beat, and a blush bloomed across her cheeks, deepening with each passing second. The more she resisted, the more he pulled her in.
"Kael, please," she begged, her voice desperate. "This isn't you. You've changed. You're not the same boy. This... this isn't right."
Her mind fought against the reality, but the tension in the air, the overwhelming pressure of his touch, it was too much. She wanted to push him away, to make him understand, but there was a part of her that was drawn to the rawness in him.
Kael pulled back slightly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Don't be afraid, Ellie," he whispered, his voice low, dangerous. "You don't have to resist. You know you want it too."
Ellie shook her head, tears threatening to spill. "No, Kael. This isn't you. I... I can't do this."
But Kael wasn't listening. The thrill of his power, the rush of control—it was intoxicating. He was the one in control now. And in that moment, he didn't care if Ellie was afraid or if she was trembling.
He just wanted her to understand that he was no longer the boy who had once looked up to her for guidance.