Rallying, she summoned her most impertinent smile—the one she had often used in the past when she knew Elijah did not approve of her behavior, but there was nothing he could do about it. Like the first time he had caught her riding in breeches, and she had informed him she had her father’s permission. At the time, he had said he would turn her over his knee if she was his.
Well, now she was.
And she wanted to know what it would be like to go over his knee.
Elijah
Pupils dilated and eyes glassy, lips slightly parted, breasts heaving with her breath, cheeks flushed pink, it was clear Josie was aroused. Jealousy shot through him, combining with the possessiveness already assaulting him. He had never seen her look like this before. The way she smiled up at him, full of sass and mischief, was pure Josie, though.
“I was invited.” Her tone was silky. Smug. The little minx thought she had outmaneuvered him.
Any thoughts of watching the other members of the Society, to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity, was rapidly falling away in favor of focusing on the woman in front of him. His wife.
Directing her away from the rest of the crowd—many of who were already walking away now that the demonstration of Nathan’s newest machine had reached its conclusion—Elijah reined in both his temper and his lust. Before her arrival, he had not struggled with his passion, watching the scene with the same scientific interest as Nathan.
Now that Josie was here, his interest had sharpened. Focused. Centered on her. How badly he wanted her. He was no callow youth, lacking self-control, yet having Josie here, in this arena, had him struggling with his desire in a way he had not since his days at Oxford.
“You cannot stay here.” He managed to get the words out through gritted teeth.
“Why not?”
Because she was a delicious, impossible distraction. Already, he could not concentrate on anything but her and worse, he did not want to. He wanted to take her to another room and do filthy, terrible things to her. Introduce her to all the perversions and delights, the agony and ecstasy, the Society had to offer.
However, she was a lady—his wife—and had been deflowered only two nights ago. He could not do that to her.
“You do not belong here.” It was hard to focus, to find the right words, and as soon as he uttered the sentence, he knew those had been the wrong ones. Not once in his life had he seen Josie back down from a challenge.
While she might be hot and aroused, distracted in her own way, she reacted as expected—attempting to tug his arm from his grasp, her brow furrowing into a scowl.
“I was invited by Rex. I do not needyourpermission to be here.” The haughty manner she said it made it clear she would kick up a fuss if he even tried to remove her from the premises.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he looked up to meet Rex’s gaze. No longer smirking, Rex raised an eyebrow at Elijah. Josie would not be turned away tonight. Not only would she cause a scene, but Rex would intervene. That was what that look meant.
Frustrated and stymied, Elijah growled under his breath. Bloody hell. He needed to convince Josie to leave on her own.
“You were a virgin two days ago,” he said harshly. “You are not prepared for what the Society does here. What you just witnessed was only the smallest part of the activities.”
Despite the flash of insecurity that went through her eyes, his words deterred her not at all.
“You have no idea what I can handle.”
Stubborn wench. Fine then.
“Then let us find out.” Turning on his heel, he pulled her with him toward the hall. There was a multitude of rooms with various toys and implements. He would find one suited to his tastes and show Josie exactly what she had walked into.
Chapter 17
Josie
Heart pounding so hard in her chest, it was a wonder no one else could hear it, Josie let Elijah direct her down the hallway. They were far from alone. Quite a few of the others seemed intent on finding a place for their own pleasures now that the demonstration of that terrifyingly erotic machine had concluded. She was a bit dazed but arguing with Elijah had shaken some of the haze from her mind.
She did have to question her sanity for challenging him the way she had, although she wanted to know the truth to his desires. She wanted to be the one to share them with him. As his wife, was that not her duty? She did not like the idea of him seeking out someone else to indulge with, which she was sure was what would have happened tonight if she had not appeared. Josie had not missed the looks several of the women cast them.
Pulling her into an empty room—after passing several others otherwise occupied—Elijah dragged her to the daybed at the back of the room. Josie’s eyes widened as she realized the room was decorated with extremely risqué art. She was no stranger to paintings featuring the naked form, but these went far beyond that, showing men with erect members, women with spread legs, and an entire orgy of sexual acts.
More disconcerting were the various depictions of women and men bent over and showing off reddened buttocks or cheeks with red stripes crossing them, while another man or woman stood over them with a birch or whip. Josie’s buttocks clenched as if to ward off such punishment.
As if sensing her disquiet, Elijah halted beside the daybed, looking down at her with brows raised.