“Do you not think we should have discussed it before you brought the man here? It is a man, isn’t it?” Her heart was beating faster and faster as she thought about the man touching her, putting his hands on places where no one but Julian had ever touched.
Although she knew he was in charge in the bedroom, this was something that frightened her to no end. Was it the thought of a different man touching her, or was it the change in her appearance, in such a personal place?
Julian stared down at her, and then, to her surprise, he picked up a blanket from the chest at the end of the bed and tossed it over her body.
Then he went to the door and opened it. She wanted to scream out in protest, to tell him she wouldn’t do it even if he was in charge of the bedroom. Since she was flat on her back she couldn’t really see what was happening.
There was noise, like someone was moving around furniture. She didn’t want to lift her head, because whoever it was, this Jakes person or anyone else, they would probably see that she was tied to the bed, and she didn’t want anyone else to know that.
Although, as she thought about it, she was sure his staff, the maids and whatnot, probably knew what went on in Lord Julian’s bedroom. But they kept it quiet. She wondered how much he paid them to keep their mouth closed.
But then a thought struck her. What if one of his staff members was involved in the blackmail? What if it was a staff member from the household of other staff members, not just Shaw?
They needed to discuss it after this Jakes person was dismissed, for she surely hoped he would be because she didn’t want him touching her quim.
“Thank you all,” Julian said. The door closed and he stepped near the bed. “Are you hungry? I know I am. The staff has brought a wide variety of food, cheeses and cold meats and some bread.”
She lifted her head off the pillow and said, “That wasn’t your friend, Jakes?”
“I’m sure Jakes is at home in his house in Notting Hill.” He pulled the blanket from her body. “I don’t believe he makes house calls.”
“You can be a right git,” she said.
“Guilty as charge,” he responded. “Now, are you hungry, or not?”
“Very,” she said.
He undid her bonds and she got up, moving her shoulders and wiggling her arms and legs. “That can get uncomfortable after a while,” she said.
“Yes, it can,” he said. “If it gets to be too much at some point you need to tell me. Don’t think I would ignore a signal of distress. I don’t want to hurt you permanently. I just want to give you a good hit every now and again to get your blood roiling.”
Alice pulled the wrapper closer around her, even thought it was soft and see through she felt protected with it on.
“You’re upset with me,” he said.
“You just tried to put me on,” she said. “Or are you planning on having your friend shave my quim?”
“It’s a possibility.” He swept his arm toward the table. “Shall we sit and eat and talk?”
Julian held her chair for her and after she’d sat down he took the seat opposite her. There was a bottle of wine on the table and he poured them both a glass.
“Tell me why you’re upset about what just happened,” he said.
She watched as he loaded his plate with a variety of foods. He ate a piece of cold beef and she picked up a few slices of cheese.
“I’m still in training, I guess you could say,” she responded as she ate the cheese, talking around the food in her mouth, something her mother would have smacked her for. “I never know what to expect, and frankly the idea of having my quim shaved by someone I don’t know, well it was a bit much to deal with.”
He drank half his glass of wine and topped it off before he said, “Darling, if there’s one thing you’ll learn about me it’s that you never know what to expect. If we’d been having Club meetings you would know that.”
“Ah yes, The Club,” she said. “What happens if we get married and I find I don’t fit in with this Club?”
“Do you really think that’s going to happen?” he asked. He moved his feet to the side of the table and stretched them out. “I feel like I’m frightening you, and I don’t want that.”
“I’m just not used to these things,” she said.
They stared at each other and then she said, “But, I’m the one who asked for this, and I’m the one who agreed that marriage to you might be interesting. Tell me, does your friend truly shave women’s quims? Wouldn’t that be something you’d like to do on your own?”
“Oh no,” he said. “I would never do it. I would worry too much about nicking your skin and there would be blood. Not something that I would consider erotic.”
“He lives in Notting Hill?”
“He does.” Julian popped a grape in his mouth.
“Do you think he would be home now? Do you think he could do it to me now?” She couldn’t really believe what she was saying.
“Shall I call for the carriage?” he asked. “There is no telling if he’s there, or in Paris, or Amsterdam, or some other place. He travels a lot. I usually send a note to let him know I’m coming.”
Alice grasped the wrapper closer to her body. Just moments ago she’d been angry that he’d had the audacity to bring this Jakes into the house to make changes to her body. Now, she wanted to go find him and let him do it.
“Send the note,” she said.
“It is rather late,” he said. “Shall I tell him to expect us in the morning?”
“I’m afraid I would change my mind,” she said.
“If that is so then we shouldn’t do it,” Julian said. “I will send him a note now and tell him to expect us at eleven tomorrow morning. That will give us time to get things done, and then time for you to make it to the present wrapping party. Is that at the Essex house, or the Ellington house?”
“I don’t remember, and right now, I don’t care.” She toyed with the cheese that was still on her plate.
“Send the note.”
“Why the change of heart?” he asked.
“Because I want to do it,” she said. “I want to trust you. I want to belong to you, and something tells me this will bring us closer together.”
“Then I will send the note,” he said. “And tomorrow might bring about a large change in your life.”
The house in Notting Hill had not been what Alice expected. She hadn’t been sure if it was the area, which she wasn’t very familiar with, or the fear of being naked in front of someone she didn’t know and having him touch her in such an intimate place, but her heart had raced and it made her lightheaded.
Julian had grasped her hand and squeezed it. “I will be with you the whole time.”
“Still nervous,” she said with a laugh. “What if I move, or my body shakes, and he cuts me? Like you said, there would be blood.”
The words rushed back at her now as she alighted the carriage in front of the Ellington house, where they were going to wrap the parcels for the upcoming party. It would just be the three of them, herself, Carin and Charlotte. Amelia was busy making final plans for the wedding on Saturday.
And Alice was entering the house as a different person. She no longer had any hair between her legs. For all the build up, the actual event had been strangely dull and sterile. The room had been silent, the table where she’d lain, with her legs on either side, had been cold. She’d taken off her skirts but kept the rest of her clothing on.
And Julian had stayed with her, holding her hand as she’d worked hard to remain still. When it was over she truthfully hadn’t felt any different.
But now, as she prepared to sit with her two new friends she felt very strange. She wondered what they would think if she told them her quim was shaved. But then a thought occurred to her—what if their quims were also bare?
The other evening they’d kept their underclothing on while they’d been spanked, so there was no way for her to know if they visited Jakes’ house or not.
And she
wondered, as she fought the urge to scratch the space between her legs, how many other people in London visited the tiny house that had things not found for sale in the run-of-the-mill shops.
She wanted to sit outside and take a survey. “Are you visiting Jakes today? What are you purchasing? Are you having any procedures, like shaving, done?” What answers would people provide?
After she was greeted, the ladies sat down in the dining room and started their wrapping.
“How are you settling into Julian’s house?” Charlotte asked.
“Fairly well, I think,” Alice said. “But I have to go by my house every day and check for mail. My housekeeper has stopped talking to me now that she sees me as a fallen woman. I expect to go by one day and find her gone.”
Carin and Charlotte both laughed. “I would be shocked if she wouldn’t stay so that she could, possibly, become a member of the Buxton household,” Charlotte said. “That would be a rather prestigious position for her.”
“She’s a bit of a crack as to how people should act,” Alice said. It was one of the reasons she and Joseph had worked to keep their non-sexual relationship so secret. If the staff had found out then they would have talked.
“Why has Julian not moved you into his home?” Carin asked.
“He doesn’t want to do anything like that until after Amelia and Cannonberry are married,” Alice said as she tied a bow on a box containing a silver spoon. “He doesn’t want to detract from their wedding. He says they need their special day.”
“That sounds like Buxton,” Charlotte said. “He likes to make other people happy.”
“Why has he not married before?” Alice asked. The question came out of the blue. She hadn’t planned on asking it. “He’s been a widower for so long. It just seems strange, what with The Club and all, that he hasn’t found a woman.”
Charlotte laughed. “Don’t think there aren’t ladies who have thrown themselves at him. But Julian is—well, how he is acting about Cannonberry and Amelia is a point of fact. He wants people to be happy, and he will work hard to make sure you are happy.”
“Truthfully,” Charlotte continued, “I had wondered whether he would ever marry. I worked hard to find Ellington a wife and he found one on his own.” She leaned over and kissed Carin on the cheek. “And he found the perfect match, as Buxton has done.”
“I hope I don’t disappoint him,” Alice said as she tied a bow. “I’m afraid I might not be as adventurous as he wants me to be.”
But as the words came out of her mouth she thought about the hair she’d lost that day, about the way she’d done exactly as they’d said, lying on the table and spreading her legs.
She’d put up little fuss about it the night before. Would it be that way with everything that Buxton proposed, or more to the point, ordered her to do? Something told her she would do what he wanted, no matter what.
“How did the two of you react to the news of The Club, at first?” Alice glanced between the two of them, wondering what they would say.
“It was difficult at first, but it is part of Ellington, so I want it to be part of me,” Carin said. “I find that the activities can be entertaining, and it brings me closer to my husband.”
“Very well put,” Charlotte said. “I would express the same emotions, using the same words, so I am glad that Carin said it for me. Alice, if you have any concerns you should voice them to Buxton. Don’t ever hold anything back from him. If you do it will put a wedge between you and that will be very hard on your marriage.”
“Good advice,” Carin said. “Plus, you can always talk to us. As wives of Rakes we know things. We are friends, and we want to be your friend.”
It was on the tip of Alice’s tongue to ask them about the shaving, but she kept it quiet. Maybe another time she would but for now she would stay silent on the matter. Perhaps the next time they had tea together she would work up the courage to put things into questions. Until then she would accept their offer of friendship, and offer hers in return.
Alice knew the moment she opened the front door of her house that something was wrong. It was deathly silent, and it seemed musty, even though she’d been there just yesterday.
“Jane? Mrs. Evely?” She stepped inside wondering where her staff was, since no one answered. A fear built up inside her that somehow Mrs. Howell and her cohorts had taken her workers away from the house. Should she leave and come back with Julian? No, it was best to stay here and see if she could discover what was happening.
“Jane?” she called out, sighing in relief when her maid answered.
“Where are you? Come here at once.”
Her maid appeared on the stairs. It looked as if she had been crying, and Alice rushed toward her.
“What has happened?”
Jane hiccupped and started crying. “Tell me,” Alice said.
“Mrs. Evely left this morning. She said she would not work for a slut.”
“I’m not surprised, but why does that make you cry?” Alice asked.
“Two men came about an hour ago,” Jane said. “They pounded on the door and demanded to come inside. I hid upstairs. I don’t think they came in, but I have been too frightened to come down and see if anything was missing. I am so sorry, Mrs. Hamilton.”
“Alice, go and pack your things, all of them,” Alice said.
“Mrs. Hamilton,” Jane whispered. “Lord Buxton frightens me.”
“You needn’t worry, Jane,” Alice answered. “I would not marry Lord Buxton if he were a person to be frightened of. Now, go and pack your things. Soon, we’ll take out everything else, but right now you are the only thing that matters to me. I won’t leave you here alone to face goons who might break in.”
“What will I do there?” Jane asked. “It’s a large household. What if he doesn’t want to employ me?”
“You will be my maid as you have been all along,” Alice answered. “Don’t be frightened of him. I will handle the situation. Now, do as I say. I think I will pack up more of my clothing to take there, too. We will bring in our cases together, and he will be happy to see them both, because it means I will stay.”
She didn’t tell Jane that she would have stayed anyway. She wanted her maid to be calm, to learn to live in her new household, just as Alice was learning to live in her new home.
Chapter 11
The fire was lit in Julian’s bedroom when Alice arrived. Candles blazed on the mantle, desk and bed tables.
“What do you have planned?” Alice asked as she surveyed the romantic scene.
“I never tell my secrets,” he said.
Alice shivered as his fingers began to work the laces on her dress.
“Shouldn’t we call a maid?” Her bodice was already loose and falling from her shoulders. “Speaking of which, I brought Jane back with me. She’s safely stowed away upstairs. I hope that’s all right with you.”
“Whatever you want to do is fine with me, my pet, but I don’t want anyone’s help. I want to watch the clothing fall from your body, feel it slip through my fingers. Feel your bare skin against my fingertips.”
Julian caressed Alice’s shoulders and neck. She moaned as he stroked her, loving the feel of his skin on hers. “This is a pleasant thing to come home to.”
“I’m glad you approve,” he said. “I want to introduce you to one of my favorite toys. I think you are ready for it.”
His words were low, and Alice trembled.
“Is this going to be painful?”
“As you’re still a novice, my swats will not be as hard as they would usually be,” he said. “But I do want you to change into your bedroom outfit. We will be here for the rest of the evening.”
“Before we start, can we speak about a few things?”
“After,” he said. “Now, change.”
Alice put on what she considered to be her uniform. It was simple to do and, truthfully, she was beginning to enjoy it.
When she was dressed he kissed her gently and then turned her, so her back
was to his front. He put his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “Do you see that piece of furniture in the middle of the room?”
Alice nodded as she stared at the stand. It rose on two wooden legs with a wooden bar stretched between them. She knew immediately that she would be bent over that furniture for a spanking.
“That stand is a ‘thigh-popper.’ It will give me perfect access to your delicious behind, and to the sweet area between your bum and thighs.” Julian’s voice was soft and comforting. “I have a thick leather strap and a slender riding crop to use.”
Alice began to tremble. “Julian.”
“Remember, my sweet, the swats will not be hard. But I want you to taste the popper, to see what you think of it.”
She nodded. “And, to bring you a little pleasure I have something else to use for this experiment.”
He pointed toward the bed. A box set in the center. It was much smaller than the ones he’d used to give her the uniform she now wore.
“Go and open it,” he said.
She did as he asked and was surprised to find a marble phallus. It wasn’t as large as Julian’s cock, and she wondered how different it would feel inside her.
“Jakes sold me this today, right after he shaved your pretty quim,” Julian said. “Tell me, how does it feel?”
“Truthfully, it’s itchy,” she said.
“We will go back once a week to have him keep you managed, so to speak.” Julian kissed her forehead. “I want you on the bed, so I can see your pretty cunny.”
Alice lay down on her back. She spread her legs and sighed when Julian stroked her bare quim.
“So sweet,” he said. Then he picked up the phallus and said, “It will be cold.”
Without giving her a chance to prepare he pushed the marble into her opening.
Alice gasped as the coldness spread through her. Julian didn’t give her a chance to get used to the feeling of it inside her. He pumped it in and out, in and out. Alice rocked to the motion, a feeling of deep satisfaction and desire spreading through her as he fucked her with the inanimate object.
His Little Problem (Rakes of Mayfair Book 3) Page 13
