“What did Mr. Maclean want?”
“Information.”
Diana sat down and settled her skirts around her. She’d left Malinda at the door to the Sinners and taken the hackney on to the pleasure house to speak to Charlotte. She hadn’t yet reached her friend, having been met in the hallway by a footman with a pleasantly worded, but definite request for her to attend Mr. Delornay before she did anything else.
“About me?”
“No, Charlotte.”
“Oh dear.” Diana sighed. “He’s far quicker and more intelligent than I thought he’d be.”
“And I’m slightly annoyed, Lady Theale.” Christian sat forward, his expression cool. “What exactly are you and Charlotte plotting together, and how does it involve the Demon Club?”
Diana stared at him for a long moment, refusing to drop her gaze. “It’s complicated.”
“It usually is.”
“Charlotte is on a quest to bring Harry Maclean to his knees. She reckons the Demon Club are the only people who can do that for her.”
“I’d agree, but what does that have to do with you and the older Mr. Maclean?”
“Nothing.”
“I don’t think Mr. Maclean would agree with you. He is very protective of his younger brother.”
“So it seems. I . . . have other plans for Alistair Maclean and the Sinners Club.”
“You intend to use his particular sexual proclivities to break him down and use him against his employers?”
“No! I don’t have an issue with his employers.”
“Then, what?”
“I’m trying to trace someone who was associated with the founding of the Sinners.”
“By using Alistair Maclean.” Christian shook his head. “I don’t like it, Diana.”
“Why not? You didn’t seem to mind when I married Lord Theale!”
“Because he married you knowing what you were, and what he wanted from you. It was a business arrangement. This”—he waved a dismissive hand—“seems cruel and unlike you.”
To her amazement, Diana found herself biting back tears. “That’s unfair.”
“I’m just telling you how it appears to me. Can you not just tell Mr. Maclean what it is you are after, and ask for his help?”
“Life’s never that simple, Christian, you know that. If I ask Mr. Maclean for help, he’ll tell his employers. He’s far too honest for his own good.” She gathered herself and thrust the unwanted emotions down. “I didn’t know he liked to submit to a woman until I saw him here.”
“And you couldn’t just leave him be?”
“I
couldn’t
.” She held Christian’s gaze. “He is such a challenge. He still is. I’ve never met anyone like him. He fights me every step of the way, and I want to break him, I want him to kiss my feet and
mean
it.”
“How inconvenient for you.”
She glared at him. “It damn well is!”
His expression sobered. “At some point, you will have to tell him the truth, or he will be forced to choose between you and his loyalty to his employers.”
“I’m hoping to avoid that happening. When I find out the answers to my questions, I will be able to leave the Sinners, and then he can choose whether he wants to have a relationship with me or not.”
“Now who is being delusional?” Christian sighed and sat back. “Let me recap. I don’t care what Charlotte is up to with Harry Maclean. He deserves to be brought down. But I don’t want anyone from the Demon Club on my premises or for us to have any association with that place.”
“I’ll tell Charlotte.”
“You can also tell her that Mr. Alistair Maclean would very much like to speak to her.”
“She won’t agree to that.”
“I didn’t think she would. I didn’t confirm that Charlotte worked here, but he is suspicious. For some reason, he also knows that you are connected to her, which is why I assumed you were both after the same thing.”
“Damn.”
“Your language is appalling for a lady.”
“I’m no lady.” Diana stood and curtsied to Christian. “You of all men know that. Your wife rescued me off the streets.”
“She has a habit of doing that, but I can only applaud her efforts, especially when she brings me beautiful women like you and Charlotte.”
“As if you care about what we look like when you have such an extraordinary wife.”
“I am well aware of that.” He shrugged. “But you make my pleasure house beautiful, don’t forget that, and I am, at heart, a pragmatic French businessman. Please be careful, Diana, and tell Charlotte to be on her guard. Any dealings with the Demon Club can go horribly wrong.”
“I’ll tell her. Now I must speak to Charlotte and then get back to work.”
“And the interesting and untamable Mr. Maclean.”
Diana ignored his provocative comment and headed up the stairs to Charlotte’s room. She would have to tread very carefully with Mr. Maclean if she wasn’t to hurt him. Christian was right, he didn’t deserve that. How was she going to survive her need to own him and yet satisfy her desire to find out the truth? She had to find a way. She
had
to.
8
A
listair knocked on the door of Lady Theale’s office. Despite his unwillingness to see her, he now had a genuine reason to confront her and he’d never been a man to shirk his battles. He had to find out what her connection was to the woman named Charlotte who had threatened him in the hackney cab.
“Come in.”
She wore a dark green dress with a narrow lace border around the bodice and full bell sleeves. Her black hair was arranged in a sleek bun at the back of her neck and fastened with jet pins.
“Mr. Maclean, how delightful. Please take a seat.”
Sunshine streamed through the single window behind her desk, which looked out over the back of the house and the mews beyond.
“Thank you.”
“How may I help you?”
“I spoke to Mr. Delornay yesterday about a woman I believe you are acquainted with from the pleasure house.”
“And who might that be?”
“Charlotte.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Why do you think I know this woman?”
“Because of something Lady Westbrook mentioned to me about how you were hired. Mr. Delornay quite properly refused to discuss any of his employees, so this morning I asked Lady Malinda if she was acquainted with a Charlotte who currently lived at the pleasure house. She said that she was.”
“Oh.”
“Is there anything you would like to tell me about this woman?”
“In what respect?”
“Her relationship to you, and more importantly, her relationship to my brother.”
She folded her hands together on her desk. “I’ve known Charlotte for several years. We were at school together. When our school closed down, we were both cast out on the streets. Elizabeth Delornay found us and offered us a home and employment at the pleasure house.”
“Forgive me, but what kind of school throws its pupils out on the streets?”
She met his gaze without flinching, “The kind where the headmistress dies and the charity pupils have nowhere else to go.”
Alistair digested that unexpected piece of her history. Considering her ladylike stature and accent, it had a certain ring of truth to it.
“That’s where I met Lord Theale.”
“At the pleasure house?” He looked up. She was volunteering information now?
“He asked me to marry him because it was cheaper than paying the fees to see me at the pleasure house.”
“A true romantic, then.”
“Simply a man who knew what he wanted, and was prepared to pay for it.” She shrugged. “The arrangement worked very well.”
“It certainly did for you, but your friend, Charlotte, remained in the pleasure house.”
“I offered her a home with me, Mr. Maclean, but she preferred to live at the pleasure house and ply her trade there.”
“With my brother, presumably.”
“No, I don’t believe she bedded Harry. His tastes run in different directions to hers.”
“He prefers men, but will fuck anything if he feels the need.”
Her mouth curled in distaste. “So I’ve heard.”
“Then what does she want with my brother?”
“You’ll have to talk to her about that.”
“If you will recall, my lady, the last time we met she rammed a pistol in my face, threatened me, and ran away.”
“She had her reasons.”
“So, she set you on me instead.”
“No, she asked me to determine where your sympathies lie.”
“Harry is my brother.”
“I understand that now. I have told her that despite everything, you are loyal to him and that appealing to you for help would be a waste of time.” She lifted her hand in a gesture of dismissal. “I also told her there was nothing else I could help her with except report back on your movements with regard to your brother.”
“How very generous of you.”
“I understand your skepticism, Mr. Maclean, but I am at least trying to be honest with you.”
“And why is that, when you have proved yourself to be untrustworthy in the past?”
She raised her eyebrows. “On the contrary, I’m telling you the truth.”
“Why?”
“Because I wish things to be clear between us.”
“Oh, they are clear.” He glared at her. “I don’t appreciate being used, my lady.”
“We both know that is patently untrue, Mr. Maclean, don’t we?” She held his gaze. “You want to be used more than you care about your own safety.”
“I believe we’ve already discussed this matter, Lady Theale. I see no point in going over it again.”
She had the audacity to tilt her head to one side and smile at him. “I think I know why you don’t like being fucked.”
He went so still it suddenly became difficult to draw in air.
She rose and came around to perch on the front of her desk, her satin skirts brushing his knees. “It’s because of your brother, isn’t it?”
“Go to hell.”
She reached out and cupped his rigid jaw. “You mentioned it earlier. Harry prefers men. You don’t want anyone to think you are like him, so you avoid anyone touching your arse if you possibly can.” He flinched as her other hand cupped his balls. “But I like fucking you, Mr. Maclean. I like filling you with a nice big phallus and watching you come, I like pushing my fingers deep in your arse and making you beg.”
He couldn’t move, he couldn’t damn move as she held him captive, his cock hardening and growing inches away from her fingers with every harried breath he took.
“So, we need to resolve this issue, don’t we?” The heel of her hand grazed his thickening shaft and she pressed down on it.
“No. I’ve already made it quite clear that this ‘relationship’ is over. You have deceived me and—”
He gasped as she squeezed his balls hard. “Please listen carefully, Mr. Maclean. As requested, I have told you about my relationship with Charlotte and Lady Malinda. I have admitted that Charlotte has plans for your brother, of which I know very little. I have realized where I erred the other night when I had you tied up and at my mercy. Isn’t that enough of a concession for you to reconsider our ‘relationship’?”
He held still, his cock growing. “I don’t know what you want from me,” he said hoarsely. “You continue to confuse me.”
“I want to make an agreement with you. I’ll not let men fuck you if you allow me to fuck you instead.”
“There’s no point; we’re no longer playing this game.”
“Aren’t we?” She squeezed even harder and he wanted to whimper. “You are twice my size, Mr. Maclean, and a former soldier. If you wanted to get away, do you think I could really stop you?”
He had nothing to say to that.
“Go and lock the door and come back to me.”
God help him, he did what she asked, checking both the doors just to make sure.
“Face the desk, put your hands on each corner, and lean forward.”
He fitted his hands against the polished oak, and she pressed on the small of his back until he bent over. His trouser-covered cock was jammed against the wooden edge of the desk, and his forehead was against her papers.
“I thought about how you might look stretched out over my desk the other day.” She sighed. “The reality is even better than I imagined.”
He shuddered as she caressed his buttocks and then slowly undid his trousers and buttons and pushed his clothing down to his knees. She lifted his long-tailed shirt away from his arse, making him shiver at the sudden exposure of his skin to the air.
“Does this remind you of your schooldays, Mr. Maclean? You would not believe the number of gentlemen I met in the pleasure house who paid in gold simply to be treated like a naughty schoolboy again.”
She touched his skin with something, and he jumped. “It’s my ruler, Mr. Maclean. I’m going to use it on your arse, but you must not come. Twelve strokes, so that when you return to your office and sit down, you will be thinking about me for the rest of the day.”
He braced himself as the ruler came whistling down on his bare skin with a distinctive crack. She alternated between his buttocks until he no longer felt each individual blow, just the heat rising from his skin and the pain and pleasure of his throbbing wet cock jammed against the hardness of the wood.
She wrapped a hand around his neck. “Get down on your knees, Mr. Maclean.”
He struggled to right himself and then obediently dropped down to the floor. Was he really allowing her to do this to him during daylight and at his place of work? Part of him couldn’t quite believe it.
She resumed her position on the desk in front of him and slowly raised her skirts until he could see the whiteness of her thighs and the tops of her stockings. He swallowed hard as she eased one foot out and placed it on the surface of the desk, opening her sex fully to his view.
“I want you to make me come with your mouth, Mr. Maclean. Keep your hands locked behind your back.”
He groaned as he leaned in and licked her inner thigh. The scent of her arousal made him want to rub his face into her slick wetness until he wouldn’t know anything else.
“Go on,” she whispered.
He plunged his tongue deep, and she moaned as he licked and savaged his way over her swollen lips and the tight bud of her clitoris. Using his mouth and tongue, he brought her to a quick climax, which had her grabbing his hair and holding him tightly against her pulsing flesh until he was drowning in her, fighting to breathe and not even caring.
He set his teeth carefully on her clit and she came again, her fingers tightening painfully in his hair as she ground herself against him. He jabbed his tongue deep inside her and felt the contraction of her muscles, humming to himself as he experienced her pleasure.
“Let me fuck you,” he murmured against her thigh. “Let me inside you.”
She laughed and, placing her slippered foot in the center of his chest, pushed him backward until he almost overbalanced onto his sore arse. As he scrambled to sit up, she moved off the desk and picked up her ruler again.
“Sit on the front of the desk, Mr. Maclean, and use your hands to hold on.”
He obeyed her, wincing as his arse came in contact with the firmness of the wood. His cock was still hard and tangled up in his shirt. She stepped forward and dealt briskly with his clothing, baring his rigid length to her gaze.
His breath hissed out as she brought the ruler close to his shaft and placed one end against his groin.
“Eight inches, Mr. Maclean. Very impressive.”
He managed to smile at her. “Even better when it’s buried inside you.”
“I’m sure.” She withdrew the ruler and tapped it against the palm of her hand as she considered him. “You don’t really think I’d allow you to fuck me on my desk, do you?”
“Why not? You’re doing it to me.”
“I am not fucking you with a ruler. It would hurt you.”
“You are so kind to your slave.”
Her smile disappeared. “You are being sarcastic, or attempting to be. Perhaps you need to be reminded of your place.”
She brought her hand back and delivered a short smack to his cock with the flat of the ruler, which made him snarl a curse at her.
“Did you speak, Mr. Maclean?”
He shook his head and she did it again, but this time he was ready for it, and didn’t react quite so violently.
“I was going to let you go back to your office with your arse burning and your cock hard and unsatisfied, but I think I want more from you.” She pushed him down until he was flat on his back on her desk, his legs spread wide and his cock still at attention.
“You’re very close to coming, aren’t you?”
He wanted to close his eyes, but he refused to give her the satisfaction and shrugged instead. She moved closer between his legs, and he shuddered as she gripped his balls in her hand and rubbed the ruler up and down his hot, rigid length until he was fighting not to buck his hips.
“Handkerchief.” He managed to force out the words.
“For what, Mr. Maclean? For your seed?” She laughed. “I want to see you let go, and come all over your belly and your balls. I want to see your come dripping off your skin.”
Even as she said the words, it was too late to stop himself from obeying her and climaxing in hot-jetted streams all over his stomach. She waited until he finished convulsing and ran her fingers into the pool of liquid and swirled them around.
“Mmm.” She tasted him on her fingertip and his cock jerked again. Bringing her fingertips to his mouth, she coated his lips with his own seed.
“I’ll give you a choice. Suck your come from my fingers until you are clean, or go back to your office just like this.” She slid one wet finger into his mouth and he helplessly sucked it until she fed him more.
After a little while, she took his handkerchief out of his pocket and cleaned him up more efficiently before pulling up his underthings and buttoning his trousers over the half-erect shaft of his cock.
He stumbled to his feet. “You deliberately distracted me.”
She returned to sit behind her desk, not a hair out of place, and regarded him quizzically.
“From what?”
“Asking questions about your friend Charlotte and my brother, Harry. What is her connection to the Demon Club?”
“I don’t know. Once Charlotte knew that I was involved with you, she decided not to share any more details of her plan with me.”
“But—”
She held up one hand. “I promise that I am not involved in Charlotte’s efforts to contact your brother. I will, however, pass any information that you
give
me about your brother to Charlotte because she is my best friend. The cards are in your hand, Mr. Maclean. If you don’t tell me anything, I won’t have anything to tell her.”
Alistair took a deep breath. “And what about when I am stretched out naked on a rack for you, Lady Theale, my body at your mercy, my cock hard and dripping with wanting you. Will you ask me your questions again?”
She didn’t answer him immediately, which gave him hope.