A Season for Scandal by Golden Angel
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.
“We can stop now, Josie. Just say the word, and I will take you home straightaway.” Where you belong. The unsaid sentiment hung in the air between them, rousing Josie’s spirit.
“Perhaps it is you who cannot handle me,” she jibed. “Should I find someone else who would be willing to demonstrate the Society’s activities?”
Elijah’s eyes flashed, hotter and madder than she had ever seen. She tried to take a step back, but his hand, still on her arm, prevented her movement.
“You will not.” His voice came out in an offended growl.
Josie squeaked as he sat and yanked her over his knee in one swift movement. Breathless, she stared at the pretty blue damask pattern on the daybed, with Elijah’s thighs beneath her stomach. He tilted her forward, flipping her skirts up and leaving her lower body exposed. The slitted drawers she was wearing parted easily, and his hand came crashing down on her bottom.
Josie shrieked, the red-hot pain reverberating through her. Mary said she liked this?
“Ready to stop now?” Elijah sounded smug.
Gritting her teeth, Josie bit back the curses she wanted to yell. The pain from the initial impact was already fading, leaving behind a throbbing warmth that really was so bad. Besides, she could do anything Mary could. She certainly would not admit to Elijah she could not handle him. Josie was certain this was the one and only chance she would have to prove herself to him.
“Hardly.” She tossed her head, looking over her shoulder at him, and it was her turn to feel smug when she realized his eyes were fixed on the upturned curve of her buttocks. This position left her exposed, but she did not mind being exposed to Elijah. She welcomed it. “Is that the worst you can do?”
Elijah
Why did he keep challenging and provoking her? He knew what her response would be, yet he could not stop.
Because you do not want to stop,the insidious little voice in his head whispered. You do not want her to tell you to stop.
No, he did not.
Now, she was over his lap, one creamy cheek had a pink splotch in the center, and his cock was achingly hard, pressing into her side. Her sassy expression when she turned to challenge him had only made him harder. His cock throbbed in excited anticipation, all of his senses focusing on her.
If asked, Elijah would have said he wanted an obedient woman, a submissive woman who would obey his commands, but there was something about Josie’s defiance that aroused him far more than compliance ever had. All their lives, Josie had challenged and riled him, and now, he was finally conquering her.
“Very well, sweetheart,” he drawled. “If you insist.”
Smack! Smack!
Rather than start lightly, as he might have with someone new to the Society, Elijah went right in with hard swats to her upturned rear. This time, Josie was prepared for them. He felt, more than heard, her gasp, but she did not cry out the way she had before.
Clenching his teeth, Elijah brought his hand down harder, venting more of his feelings on her tender skin, spanking her hard enough, the palm of his hand stung. He heard another small gasp, but that was it. The little minx was trying to prove herself by taking the pain… but was she also enjoying it?
Elijah had to know. With Josie’s competitive spirit, he would not put it past her to endure a punishment just to show she could. She certainly deserved one, coming here tonight without telling him, refusing to leave, then threatening to find another partner. Well, if she was not enjoying it, he would end it sooner.
However, when his fingers dipped down to her pussy, he found her hot and dripping wet. She moaned, lifting her hips slightly. Despite the dark pink splotches decorating her bottom—maybe because of them—she was aroused. Fate had given him a little masochist for a wife, but how much of one was she?
The dark desires he had constantly shoved to the back of his mind pushed forward, harder to ignore now that he had evidence of her enjoyment. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Elijah gave her another few hefty whacks on her bottom, leaving her panting, though she still had not cried out again. Little minx.
“No man will touch you except me.” That was the hardest swat of all, yet she still did not cry out, though he felt her shift against his legs, stifling her sound.
“If you let another woman touch you, you will find what is good for the gander is good for the goose!” Josie snapped back. He could not see her face, but there was a satisfying quaver to her voice, as though she was holding back tears. So, her spanking was having some effect.
Elijah ground his teeth together, then lowered his voice, glancing back to the door, which had not been fully closed behind them. Doors at the Society’s events often were left open.
Bowing his head down, he whispered, “I am still investigating connections between the Society and the traitor. I may not have a choice.”
“Then neither will I.” She turned her head to look at him again, her voice low. Blue eyes swimming with tears, cheeks flushed, she was still stunningly beautiful, maybe even more so. She met his gaze defiantly, challenging him with a mere look. “Or you could take me about with you. No one will suspect you are spying when you have your wife with you.”
Elijah blinked. He could not think of a convincing argument against her point. Yes, he wanted to keep her out of danger and did not want the traitor to think that he was too invested in his new wife, but if the traitor was part of the Society or still had connections here, he would know Elijah was not the one who had brought Josie. Since the traitor seemed to know Elijah’s family well enough to have set Josie and Joseph up as a distraction, he would realize Elijah would not allow his wife to freely wander about the Society.
In a way, Josie’s impetuous actions had provided them with the perfect cover for having her here with him. Which meant he also had the perfect excuse to avoid the ladies within the Society.
However, they would have to lay down some ground rules.
Josie
Ha, he had not thought of that, had he? Despite the burning, throbbing ache in her bottom, Josie was elated. Her point had been made. Elijah was going to give in. She could tell.
“Very well.” His voice was clipped but not unhappy, and Josie barely kept from crowing in triumph. Unfortunately, he was not finished. “You will come with me to the Society’s events, but you will not wander away from me at any time.”
Smack!
The spanking started again, just as hard and painful, his hand punctuating each of his orders. The short reprieve should have given her chastised buttocks a rest, but each swat was even more painful now that it was starting anew.
“You will not do any investigating on your own.”
Smack!
“You will not get into any trouble.”
Smack!
“And you absolutely will not go off with any other man while you are here.”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
If his vehemence had not emphasized how important he felt that last order was, the flurry of swats that followed it did. They rained down on already reddened skin, stinging and burning with each additional slap of his hand. Josie squirmed on his lap, biting her lip against crying out before realizing she might be working against herself by staying silent.
While it felt like giving in to cry out, there was also something freeing about it. As soon as she made a noise, the rest of her body followed, squirming and kicking on his lap, as if loosening that bit of self-control had loosened all of it, and tears poured down her cheeks. Elijah’s hand pressed against the small of her back, pinning her in place as he continued to spank her.
“Ow! Elijah, please! I agree!” The only other time she had felt this out of control was during the events that led to her wedding, but unlike with that villain, she did not mind the feeling because she knew with Elijah, she was perfectly safe. It made all the difference. Elijah might spank her, might make her cry from the stinging swats, but he would never truly harm her.
“Oh, you think it is going to be that easy, do you, minx?” There was a bit of humor in his voice as Elijah stopped the assault on her tender nates. Josie sighed with relief, gulping back a sob. Her bottom was red-hot and throbbing, and she did not like the idea of sitting down again.
Fingers touched her wetness again, dipping between the sensitive lips and making her whimper. How did her body perform such complex and illogical alchemy, taking the pain and somehow turning it into pleasure? The sting had not lessened, yet the moment Elijah touched between her legs, hot need flared to life, and the sting did not feel the same.
Then his fingers moved away, exploring higher, and Josie squeaked as she felt the slick digits pressing elsewhere.
“Elijah, stop! No, please!” Her face flamed red, feeling even hotter than her bottom as her most private area was penetrated.
Ignoring her protests, his finger pushed rudely inside her, stretching the tiny opening. It felt wicked and utterly perverse. The sting was nothing compared to the burning of her cheeks, yet she felt it acutely.
“You wanted to know what the Society does,” Elijah reminded her, his finger pushing deeper, stretching her, forcing her tiny hole to open for him. Had Mary or the others spoken of this… this perversion? Josie could not focus on her memories to remember. All she could focus on was the awful, shocking, and thrillingly intimate sensation of his finger moving in her backside. It slid out, then pushed in again, mimicking the marital act but in the wrong location. Josie felt as though she might faint. “I will possess every inch of your body, Josie. Your mouth. Your cunt. And your arse.”
Now she really was going to faint.
