Tess placed Alfie's breakfast on the table at the same time he walked into the room. Tess froze, her fingers lingering on the rim of the plate as she stared at him. Alfie had overslept and quickly stepped out of the shower, pulled on some trousers and proceeded toward breakfast while still drying his hair with a towel. Tess stared at his chest for the first time since seeing him having sex in the sitting room. She took in his broad shoulders with droplets of water still on them and moved to the light brown hair on his chest and found the line of hair under his belly button that disappeared into his unfastened trousers.

Tess's eyes remained on the patch of hair just peeking out from his trousers. Her mind replayed watching him behind that woman and mixed with the book she had read the night before. Her fantasy took off with her as she pictured sitting on the table in front of him as he pushed away the food and buried his face between her thighs.

"Tess?" Alfie's voice pulled her from her fantasy and she looked up at his face.

Alfie had watched her take in his shirtless body and settle at his trousers. When she reflexively licked her lips, his cock gave a twitch. When he said her name and she slowly moved her eyes up to meet his, he could see how her pupils had dilated as she looked at him.

"Um-" she said hesitantly, searching for the words and struggling to bring her mind from her lustful thoughts.

"You shouldn't look at me like that." Alfie said in a low, gravely voice.

"L-like what?" Tess asked, licking her lips again.

"Like you want me to touch you."

"Touch me how?" Tess's breathing was shallow and needy, which made Alfie's cock hard.

"Oh, lamb." Alfie said as he slowly stalked toward her until she had back up against the wall. "You have no idea the things I would do to you."

"Tell me." She barely managed to breathe out. "Would you do me like the woman on the sofa?"

"Oh, no. I would take my time with you." He said in her ear, feeling the lust radiate off her body as a shiver went down her spine. "I would make you come over and over before I even put my cock inside you."

Tess released a small whine and closed her eyes as she inadvertently pushed out her chest, her nipples hard and seeking friction. Alfie could feel the stiff peak of her nipples on his abdomen and lifted his hand to touch her breast. He brushed his thumb gently over one of her nipples and Tess gasped at the contact.

Alfie gave a low growl, "Oh, how I would make you come."

Without knowing what she was doing, Tess quickly tilted her head up and placed her lips on his, sucking on his bottom lip. At the motion, Alfie pressed her firmly against the wall and deepened the kiss, using his tongue to explore her mouth. Tess moaned and grabbed his trousers, pulling his pelvis as close to hers as she could. When her legs parted slightly, Alfie took that as an invitation and lifted her, allowing her to wrap her legs around him. Tess could feel the ridge of his size between her legs and she released another moan. Alfie removed his mouth from hers and began kissing her jaw, working his way to her neck. All the while, he shifted his hips, rubbing her core with the hard cock still barely in his trousers. Tess tilted her head back and Alfie nipped and sucked at her neck. Her body felt as if it were on fire and the only thing she could think of was the menstrations he was inflicting between her legs. She had never felt anything so delicious and Alfie was ready to rip off her knickers and push himself inside of her when her moans changed and her eyebrows cinched. Knowing he could make her come this way, he continued, not wanting to change anything when she was so close. She had been so poised and proper when he'd met her, he wanted to watch her fall apart, to watch her face as she lost all sense of who and where she was at his touch.

Tess's nails dug into his shoulder and her eyes snapped open and found him as if she had just realized what was about to happen. The pressure building inside her made her feel like she was about to explode and the hunger in Alfie's eyes told her he wanted to watch.

"Alfie," Tess whined, "I- Oh! I-"

Suddenly, they heard the door open and one of Alfie's men called out his name causing Tess to gasp. They could hear footsteps coming and Tess shook her head and patted his shoulder.

"Put me down!" She insisted in a panic, not wanting to be caught by his men in such a precarious position.

Alfie stared at her for a minute, his jaw clenched. Releasing her legs, Tess stood shakily for a minute before rushing toward the kitchen.

"There you are." Ollie said when he walked into the dining room. "Sabini is here. Didn't figure you would want him here longer than- What?"

Alfie stared at Ollie like he wanted to strangle him, which he did. Taking a deep breath and running his hands over his face he shook off his frustration, as much as he was able, and stalked toward his bedroom for a shirt, leaving to attend his meeting.

Tess stood with her back against the sink, her legs still shaking and her core wet and frustrated. Splashing cold water on her face, she decided to put her frustrated energy into stripping and washing Alfie's bedsheets. As she scrubbed at his sheets on the roof, Tess absentmindedly wondered what exactly about the war plagued Alfie to the extent that he would wake up in a dense cold sweat every morning. She had heard stories of the horrible things witnessed during the war and began to both pity and respect Alfie. Clearly he had seen terrible things, yet he emerged every morning as if the present was the only thing on his mind.

Alfie had argued most of the morning with Sabini about the Italian/Jewish border. The only thing that brightened his mood were the thoughts of his morning, and his maid's face when she was about to come. Ollie ruined the picture every time when he walked into his house uninvited. Had Tess not told him to stop he would have kept on until she crumbled, not caring if his men saw or not. He'd done it before. His men had walked in on him having sex and witnessed women on their knees in front of him while he was in his office with the large glass windows. He didn't care. But Tess did. Of course Tess did. He respected it but at the time it had taken everything he had to put her down. His cock throbbed at the thought of it.

When he arrived after work Tess had roasted chicken and vegetables waiting for him. It was the most lavish meal she had cooked thus far and his mouth watered at the smell. Sitting down, he tucked in to his dinner, not without noticing that Tess was nowhere to be seen. When she finally emerged, she kept her eyes down, a clear sign to Alfie that the events that transpired that morning were not to repeat themselves any time soon.

"I wanted to apologize for this morning." Tess said, her voice shaky. "It was unprofessional of me and I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Alfie responded and Tess lifted her eyes a bit, while still keeping her head bowed.

"Oh. Um, look I-" releasing an exhale, Tess finally lifted her head and Alfie could see the worry on her face. "I need this job."

"Yes, I know. You've said." Alfie leaned back in his chair and looked at her, not knowing where the conversation was going.

"You said that I had one last chance. I wouldn't want to upset you by…" She trailed off.

"I'm not going to fire you for being aroused." Alfie's eyebrows cinched.

"I worry… about… Um, expectations."

Alfie scoffed and shook his head. "That's what this is? Listen, lamb," he pushed away his empty plate and stood. "Am I the type of man to have sex with his maid if she is willing? Yes. Am I the type to fire her if she's not? No. There are plenty of willing women in this city. Your job here has nothing to do with sex."

Tess felt a pang of jealousy when he mentioned the willing women of the city, a look Alfie didn't miss passing through her eyes.

Nodding, Tess said. "Thank you. At my- where I was raised, it would have been different. A maid would have been fired very quickly."

Alfie released a chuckle, "Yeah well, fucking toffs." He said with a shrug.

"How was dinner?" Tess asked in an attempt to move on with the conversation.

"Good."

"Do you need anything before I wash the dishes and go?"

"Do you need anything?" Alfie's tone was suggestive and Tess could see the teasing in his eyes.

She smiled and shook her head.

Alfie clicked his tongue in disappointment before offering her a gentle grin and saying, "then no. I don't."

Tess nodded and cleaned the kitchen before excusing herself and walking home. When she arrived at the boarding house, all the women were in the sitting room playing cards, reading, and sewing. They still regarded her warily, afraid if they said the wrong thing she would tell her employer and they would be in trouble. Not wanting to deal with any emotionally draining attempts at conversation, she decided to take her a long warm bath.

After settling herself in the steaming water, Tess finally allowed herself to just relax. She still had her job and Alfie wasn't cross or expecting any further advances. She felt a twitch between her legs as she replayed the morning. She remembered how he looked straight from the shower and the trail of hair that led inside his trousers. She clenched her jaw as her nipples perked up again. Groaning in frustration she tilted her back against the tub.

She thought about the way his strong arms held her as he ground his erection at a delicate spot between her legs. She was driving herself mad now with her thoughts. Glancing at the locked door, she moved her hand to the spot that Alfie had made feel so good. Barely brushing the pad of her middle finger across it, she gave a gasp. Applying a minimum amount of pressure, she began to rub circles on the sensitive bud and quickly covered her mouth before releasing a moan. She wanted that feeling back. The one she had had that morning with Alfie. She wanted that pleasure and whatever came after. She slowly worked herself up, grinding her teeth to remain quiet. She pictured herself back in Alfie's arms, with no distractions this time. When that deep buildup arrived, she kept going, not changing the pace or pressure though her hand started to shake at the pleasure built in her system. When the pressure finally broke, Tess pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle her cries and her eyes rolled back from feeling her core muscles tighten and pulsate.

When she finally came down from her high she released a big exhale and submerged herself in her bathwater. When she exited the washroom, she quickly went to her room and dressed for bed before noticing it was too early to go to sleep..

Her orgasm had given her a strange sense of energy. She wanted to do it again. Deciding it would benefit her more to busy her mind with something else she decided to call Mrs. Schwartz. She walked down the stairs to the phone, excited to tell her pseudo-mother about the dinner she had prepared for Alfie.

Mrs. Schwartz watched the two men leave the day before with a rising unease. She recognized the gold frame in one of their hands and couldn't imagine what a strange man would want with a picture of Tess. A little while after their departure, Philip called for her.

"I have been thinking." Philip started. "I feel terrible about how I treated my dear cousin. I wish to make things right. Do you know where I can find her?"

Mrs. Schwartz looked at him with feigned innocence. "I'm sorry, sir. I don't."

"You don't?" Philip repeated, his mouth growing tense. "The two of you seemed close. I assumed she would keep in touch?"

"No, sir. I'm quite busy with my duties of running this house. I'm afraid if she has called or written, I've not caught her communication."

"Mhm." Philip stared at her and Mrs. Schwartz saw his lip twitch into a small snarl before he quickly corrected it. "Well, if you do happen to catch her communication. Find out where she is, will you?" He provided a small, tight smile.

"Of course, sir."

"Good. That's all. Thank you."

Dismissed, Mrs. Schwartz went to her small office near the kitchen and stared at the telephone. She knew how to contact Tess, but debated whether she should risk it or not. Tess hadn't contacted her in two days, perhaps she wouldn't. When the telephone rang, Mrs. Schwartz let her hand hover over the receiver for a moment before answering.

"Mrs. Schwartz, I-" Tess's voice rang through.

"You can't call here anymore." Mrs. Schwartz interrupted, getting to the point.

"What?"

"Listen to me, you cannot call here or contact me in any way for the time being, I'm very sorry Miss Tess."

"I don't understand." Tess confessed.

"I know you don't. But I need you to trust me." Mrs. Schwartz begged. "Good luck, child." She added in remorse and sorrow at not being able to be there for the one person she cared for like a daughter before hanging up the telephone.

Tess stared at the receiver in her hand before hanging it up and walking to her bedroom in confusion.