Which was all well and good as long as the rake chose to reform. Was there any indication Rex would agree to relinquish his hedonist pursuits? What would happen to the Society if he did?
Could love ever enter the equation between them?
Mary grimaced. Unfortunately, it was far too easy for her to imagine it—on her side. She already had feelings for him that went far beyond her interest in any other gentlemen of her acquaintance. The problem was, she did not know if his emotions ran the same way.
Standing beside him in silence as his carriage finally came to a halt before them, Mary inwardly sighed. Maybe riding in private with him would not be so bad. At the very least, she would have an opportunity to question him on his views about marriage, how he pictured them going on. At least, she hoped she would.
Instead, the moment Rex shut the door behind himself, Mary found herself hauled out of her seat and across the carriage, tumbling into a far-too-familiar position over his lap. It didn’t matter that she had only been in this position once before, her body immediately recognized it and reacted accordingly. Her bottom and insides clenched, her legs kicked, and heat surged through her core.
“Wait!” She shrieked as quietly as she could. Even though the carriage was already in motion and she was unlikely to be overheard by departing guests, unless the coachman was deaf,hewould be able to hear her. “What are you doing?”
A humorless chuckle rolled around the dark carriage.
“You know exactly what I am doing, Miss Wilson. What did you expect to happen after that little performance?”
The skirts covering her legs were flipped up, his hand slipping between the slit of her drawers to touch the curve of her bottom and push her drawers open to bare her buttocks to him. A hard shiver shook Mary, her body responding with instant arousal at his touch, despite her ominous positioning… or perhapsbecauseof it.
This was the man who was going to be her husband.
Oh, Mary, what have you done?
Rex
With his intended bride draped across his lap, his cock throbbing against her side, palm resting gently on her upturned arse, Rex was finally back in control. The carriage lurched along, reminding him of the time constraint, but he was already calmer. Rubbing the smooth skin of her bottom centered him even more, back to being the king of his world.
“Now then, Miss Wilson, since I have salvaged your reputation, I would like an explanation of your actions this evening.”
The bottom under his hand wriggled, and her back arched as she tossed her head up, trying to look at him over her shoulder. He could practically feel her accusing glare burning him.
“What do you care? You are getting exactly what you wanted!”
Smack!
Squealing, her head whipped back around before she managed to muffle the noise, throwing her hands over her mouth.
“I thought you wanted a proper courtship,” he mused aloud, rubbing the spot on her bottom he had just slapped. She squirmed for a moment before stilling, silent, trying to think of an explanation for her fickle behavior. The mystery was tantalizing but becoming frustrating. Mostly because he was now bound to marry a woman whose motivations were a complete enigma. He thought he would have more time to puzzle out her secrets. “What changed?”
Rather than answering, Mary squirmed on his lap again. Lifting his hand, Rex gave her bottom another hard slap, enjoying her muffled shriek, amused by her attempt to stifle her cries. John Coachman would probably be able to hear her anyway, but he was well paid to say nothing. Rex decided it was best not to inform her it was a useless endeavor since trying to quiet her shrieks seemed to comfort her.
“Why did you go into the conservatory?”
Silence.
Smack!
Another muffled shriek.
Rex shook his head, bemused. Mary was an intelligent young woman. She knew the direction this was heading. Maybe she was counting on arriving at Hood House before he could truly begin to punish her?
Well, there were other ways to torment a woman. First, he would heat her bottom, though. He was enjoying spanking some of his frustrations out on her tender flesh, knowing from the last time she’d been over his lap, a dollop of pain increased her arousal.
“Were you meeting someone?”
Silence.
Rex sighed.
“Perhaps a little more convincing is in order before I ask another question,” he murmured in warning.