Her maid, however, was a different kettle of fish. “So you’ll beat me? So what?”
Her husband’s gaze rested on Sarah’s face and Elizabeth shivered. As his wife, she’d seen that mild expression on his face a few times. It was dangerous. It was sexy. And it frightened her even as it aroused her.
Suddenly he moved and the next thing Elizabeth knew Sarah’s knees were on the floor of the carriage and her face was thrust into the cushion. Joshua had her arms extended behind her back and his boot in the middle of her spine. “I will tie you up so you can’t move a muscle and let Perry fuck you until you come again and again.”
The words rumbled through Elizabeth. It was a vision that aroused her rather than appalled her. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t the only one, though. Sarah froze, the stillness of her body portraying need rather than fear. Yes, Joshua had seen into the maid’s very soul.
Did Joshua prefer the plumper, feistier maid to his wife? The idea of Joshua fucking another woman brought out a vicious anger in her. She dug her nails into her palms and bit her lip. What say did she have?
“I can hear you thinking, Elizabeth. Stop it,” Joshua ordered.
She opened her mouth to say something sarcastic and ugly, something to distance herself from him. Instead she crossed her arms and turned away from him. She’d forgotten the dress’s neckline was so low and when she attempted to close him off, her crossed arms only served her breasts up on platter for him.
With one of his hands still restraining Sarah, he brushed his free fingers along Elizabeth’s hardened nipple through the material. “I have plans for those breasts. Don’t keep thrusting them at me.”
She twisted away from him, but he wrapped an arm like an iron band around her and yanked her closer to him, his boot still planted on Sarah’s back. Part of her wanted to sink into his heat and drown in his kiss. Part of her wanted to torment him, make him suffer.
The carriage stopped and Joshua stepped out. “Sit still, both of you,” he ordered.
Sarah was still on her knees and Elizabeth froze in the corner. A moment later, Lord Everret appeared at the carriage door with a collar and a long leash. His long, slender fingers worked quickly, snapping the collar onto Sarah before she knew what had happened.
Lord Everret yanked on the leash. “On your feet,” he snapped.
Sarah flinched but climbed to her feet. Her glare could have withered any normal human being, but Lord Everret just smiled coldly and yanked harder. Sarah stumbled out of the carriage, the leash keeping her from ending up facedown in the gravel.
Then Joshua was there, also with a collar, which he fastened around her neck. The leash wasn’t a thick leather one like Sarah’s but a thin chain that rattled when Joshua pulled on it. Elizabeth rose with as much dignity as she could, her head held high.
A few people glanced at them when they came through the front door, but most of the other patrons were busy with their own sexual escapades to notice hers. Elizabeth reached up and fingered the collar. It was butter-soft leather with stones embedded in it.
Joshua stopped briefly to talk to another man and Elizabeth was approached from behind. A male voice in her ear made her jump. Male fingers, blunt and firm, touched her collar. “A beautiful collar, handmade. You must be special.”
Fear coiled inside her belly. Did the collar give this man the right to touch her? She couldn’t seem to speak and Joshua was a leash-length away. The stranger didn’t allow her to see him but stayed behind her, out of her line of sight. His fingers trailed down her neck and lower. She stiffened. This couldn’t be what Joshua would want, could it?
“Sir? I believe the collar speaks of my ownership.” Joshua’s tone had a whip to it that made her head snap up.
The stranger’s hand withdrew immediately. “I apologize.”
Lord Everret appeared, his gray eyes ice cold where Joshua’s were a blazing inferno. “Applegate? You know the rules. Do I need to ask you to leave?”
“No, Everret. Of course not. I will behave myself.” The man withdrew and Elizabeth let go of the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“Sorry about that, Arundale.” Everret’s lips were tightened and white.
“Elizabeth?” Joshua’s tone was soft and a furrow on his brow told her he was worried. “Do you wish to leave?”
Did she? Suddenly, she didn’t. She wanted to stay, to find out what Joshua wanted to show her. “No,” she murmured.
He slid a finger under her chin and tipped her face up to force her to meet his gaze. “Good.”
“This way, my lord,” Everret said, and led the way down a corridor and a staircase. Where was Sarah?
Lord Everret opened a door to a similar room to the one she’d been in earlier that day. On one of the benches, Sarah was naked and tied, just as Elizabeth had been. A strange ball was jammed in her mouth and her eyes darted back and forth. The earlier cockiness was gone and fear emanated from her.
Perry sat in a chair, his arms crossed and his jaw clenched in a stubborn set. What was Joshua going to do? It was clear that this was his show, in his control.
“I adore your new gown, my lady,” Joshua said. “But I would prefer you naked. Please remove it.”
Her fingers shook as she tried to remove the dress. When she stepped out of it, Joshua took it from her and laid it gently over a vacant chair. She took off her undergarments, heat warming her cheeks.
The approving shine of Joshua’s gaze gave her courage and she stood without a stitch on. The room was in shadow, candlelight throwing odd shapes on the walls. Sarah’s bare skin glowed and Perry’s gaze never left the maid’s form. Lord Everret stayed in the corner of the room, observing.
It was Joshua who dominated center stage and commanded attention. Elizabeth couldn’t help it. She glanced at the three men, one after the other, comparing their features, marveling at how she’d missed their similarities. The line of the jaw, the grayish color of the eyes and the straight, autocratic nose were all the same. Only hair color differed, with Joshua’s brown hair giving him a handsome demeanor while Lord Everret’s black hair added mystery.
Each of them had the same hungry expression, even though Perry’s was mixed with anger, Lord Everret’s with curiosity and Joshua’s with determination.
“Marcus, observe my wife,” Joshua said without removing his gaze from her. “She is trying to read us, work out what her next move should be. My sweet flower has done that all her life. She’s had to.” He stepped closer to her and ran his finger along her right shoulder. It took every ounce of her control not to pull away, knowing where he was going with this. “Her father was an unpleasant man.”
Her nostrils flared. He wouldn’t. This wasn’t something for open discussion in front of other people, her maid. She begged him with her eyes, saying nothing.
But Joshua had some end game in mind. He continued. “Once, he pushed his little girl down the cellar stairs, locked her in the room for two days while she cried, unable to move because she’d broken her shoulder.”
Tears clogged Elizabeth’s throat. How could he reveal that? The memory of those horrible days came back to her, the indifference from her mother, the way her father had lied to the doctor, saying she’d stumbled down the stairs.
Whatever he was doing, she wasn’t going to participate. This was some game for him and she didn’t want to play. Perry’s eyes widened and he stared at her. Lord Everret’s gaze had dropped to his shoes. Joshua’s hand lay heavy on her scarred shoulder. She lifted her hand and brushed his fingers away.
Without a word, she picked up her undergarments and began to dress.
“Running away, Elizabeth?” Joshua said mildly.
She met his gaze. “I will not be a tool for your amusement. My life is not a story to be told like a party favor.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is that why you think I told that story? To amuse our company?”
She tightened her lips. “Isn’t that all I’m good for, Lord Arundale?” She held up the dress. “A low neckline to show off my assets? A pitiful story to show off my weakness?” She waved a hand at the other three in the room. “All for show for the Arundale men. I am not a performer, Joshua.”
“You have always acted a part, fitting into society, bowing to those who aren’t worthy to lick your boots.”
She tipped her chin, ignoring the tension in her stomach. “So? It was why you married me, wasn’t it? To care for your family, your estates?”
Joshua moved like lightning and ripped her undergarments down the middle, tearing at them until they were shredded and fell to the floor. She lashed out at him, her fingers bent like claws, the anger she’d suppressed for so long exploding.
She managed to get a swipe across his face, marking his jawline with her nails. But he was strong and determined. He captured her hands and yanked them behind her back, mashing her breasts against his waistcoat.
But she was no “sweet flower”. She kicked him even though it probably hurt her bare toes more than his shin. Her struggles only created a need in her she didn’t even understand.
I will not give in. I will not surrender
.
Joshua dragged her to the wall, where two leather straps were nailed securely into the wall. He shoved her back against the paneling and buckled the straps around her wrists. Her arms were raised above her head and the straps held them there even when she pulled and yanked on them. Her husband’s lips were soft on the shell of her ear and his voice was gentle and soothing. “Watch. I want you to watch.”
“No,” she snarled.
He nodded and strode to one of the wooden boxes. When he appeared with a riding crop, her heart accelerated, a mixture of fear and arousal stirring inside her. He swished the thing in the air. “If you close your eyes, I’ll whip you until you open them.”
She glared at him. “Fine.” Then, defiantly, she closed her eyes tightly and waited for the sting of Joshua’s strike.
What she didn’t expect was the painful sensation when the tip of the crop hit her breast. But even as her skin burned, her nipple tightened and her pussy throbbed. When he struck her again across the hips, she jumped, but not in pain.
She glanced down and noted the reddened marks, wishing she could take them all. The sound, the sensation, the sting, all added to her heat. It was humiliating. Better to keep her eyes open than let her husband see how the slashes of the crop turned her body against her.
Sullenly, she stared at the opposite wall. Nothing. She would give him nothing. He wasn’t going to give her any respite. His fingers stroked her pussy, discovering that she was damp. Heat scrambled over her cheeks, another betrayal.
He slid his hand up from her sensitive nub, across the red stripe on her belly to the pink mark on her breast. He palmed her nipple, then sucked it into his mouth. She gasped when the sensitive area where the crop had hit her was stroked by his tongue. She squirmed, her need overwhelming her.
Damn him.
When he released her, she couldn’t breathe normally and hated herself for it. He gazed at her, forcing her to look at him. “Watch.”
She swallowed and nodded. Anything to stop her body from revealing more secrets to her husband.
Joshua’s demeanor seemed menacing, insistent. Elizabeth stared at her maid, naked and gagged across the bench. Her husband seemed completely uninterested in the pretty woman’s body or her position.
“Perry, this woman knew about us, about our affliction. She knew who we were.” Joshua’s eyes were that familiar luminous blue, matching Perry’s and glowing in the candlelight. “She lied to me and to Lady Arundale. You will punish her.”
Sarah began to yank on the restraints and shout through the gag. Muffled and restrained, she couldn’t express her protests. Elizabeth’s gaze skittered to her husband. Would he force this woman against her will? Her lips tightened. Why not?
Joshua’s gaze rested on Sarah and he stepped in front of her. With one flick, he removed the gag. Sarah coughed and spat. “Let me go. You have no right.”
“Don’t I?” Joshua glared at the trussed-up woman. “Didn’t you discover our secret and plan to exploit it?”
“What secret?” she said, but Elizabeth noted that her gaze shifted away.
Joshua’s jaw clenched. “Two lashes, Perry.”
Perry rose from his chair and Lord Everret handed him a wicked-looking item with a black handle and long strands. Perry snapped the strands, the sound echoing in the room.
Sarah glanced back over her shoulder at Perry and shuddered. Her gaze jerked back to Joshua and she pursed her lips. A low growl rumbled from Perry and he laid the long strands across Sarah’s arse. The maid jumped, her body jerking against the rope. The second strike sounded loud and harsh in the room.
“Try again,” Joshua said.
Sarah lifted her head and glared at Joshua. “I knew.”
“And?” Joshua’s voice was hard and his eyes shone like glass.
“And nothing,” she snapped.
“Three more, Perry,” Joshua said without pity.
Perry’s arm swung and the thud against Sarah’s skin made Elizabeth arch in sympathy. For her, the strikes were arousing, like the slap of Joshua’s hand had been. Apparently, it was the same for Sarah.
“Touch her, Perry. If she’s wet, then we’ll know much, won’t we?”
Perry’s smile resembled an animal’s grin as his fingers stroked Sarah’s exposed pussy. He raised his fingers and Elizabeth could see Sarah’s cum shining in the dim light. Perry licked his fingers and groaned.
Sarah’s breathing quickened and Joshua nodded to Lord Everret. Elizabeth stared at them, focused on the maid. Was she afraid? These men could rip her to shreds. But Elizabeth knew the men intended to dominate her, force her to surrender to them.
“Marcus, I think this woman needs to learn what truth is.” Joshua stared at Sarah. “You are aroused by all this aren’t you, Sarah?”
Sarah’s glance flicked from Joshua to Lord Everret and back. “No,” she lied.
Elizabeth almost sighed out loud. A foolish lie. And considering her position, easily disproved.
Perry growled low and Lord Everret smiled his razor-sharp grin. Joshua nodded. “Perry, four lashes.”
The first two strikes were hard and fast. Then Perry stroked Sarah’s pussy slowly before he struck her again. The last lash was enough to make Sarah’s buttocks an angry red. It should have appalled Elizabeth. Instead she wished she were Sarah, taking that erotic beating.