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It took less than a quarter of an hour for Rex to confirm the temptations of the Society no longer appealed. Far from wanting to join in the activities, he was too busy hanging at Mary’s side and enjoying her reactions to the various scenes being played out. Her wide-eyed curiosity and pleasure in watching were more than enough for him. While he still felt responsible for the Society and its members, he did not desire anyone but his wife.
“There you are, Rex,” Lady Greywood said, swanning up with a gracious smile. “I was not sure you would be here this evening. And Lady Hartford, I am so glad you could join us.” The expression on her face was open and welcoming, entirely without surprise, unlike some of those who had clearly been astonished by Mary’s presence and even more amazed when Rex neglected to quit her side.
Dressed in a long, silky, grey robe, their hostess was completelydishabillebut comported herself as if she was in a ball gown, and Mary responded in kind. Despite the activities of the Society, some social niceties were too ingrained to be ignored, and the regular ballroom social patter encompassed them all for a few moments. After the initial greetings, Rex seized his chance.
“Have you seen Devon this evening?” he asked, pretending nonchalance, though his heart sank when Lady Greywood shook her head.
“No, but he has not been around much this year,” she said. A loud cry from a room just across the hall punctuated her response, and all three of them looked that way instinctively before turning back to each other. Lady Greywood’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Ah, Captain Jones is a very enthusiastic addition to the Society. I believe he is enjoying himself very much this evening.”
“Perhaps we should go see what he is up to,” Rex suggested, offering his free arm to Lady Greywood. The three of them decamped, moving to the room where the cry had come from.
Mary
On Rex’s arm, Mary did her best not to cling, not that she was afraid, exactly, but perhaps a trifle overwhelmed. If the little she had seen at the masquerade before Rex had discovered her had been enlightening, tonight was a feast for the senses. With no one trying to hide their identities, they were also not hiding their reactions as they were whipped, flogged, stroked, and pleasured.
Mary felt her knees grow a little weak at the scene that met her eyes upon entering the room. A handsome man, stripped to the waist, stood before a woman tied with her hands over her head to a thick post in the center of the room. Her back was to him, shoulders and bottom striped with bright pink welts, and he was already lifting the whip again. As Rex led her and Lady Greywood around the post, Mary was shocked to see some kind of clips adorning the woman’s nipples, dark red from their confinement, and a chain connecting them that wrapped round the post.
When the whip came crashing down, the woman jerked and screamed as her movement cause the short chain to pull tightly against the post, tugging at her clamped nipples. Mary’s own little buds ached with sympathy and perhaps, a bit of envy. Her inner muscles clenched at the little sobbing noise the woman made, yet the expression of ecstasy on her face was as clear as her agony. Was that how Mary looked when Rex was tormenting her?
“Bloody hell, Rex.” The familiar voice made Mary blink. She had not even realized her cousin was in the room. Wincing, Walter looked at her, then away, color rising in his cheeks. The man beside him, arm wrapped around him, chuckled and winked at her—in a friendly manner, not at all flirtatious. Mary mustered a smile for him, despite her embarrassment.
“Get used to it, Hood,” Rex said, clearly amused. He had released Lady Greywood’s arm, and she was already circulating among the guests, watching this Captain Jones and his willing victim. Rex shifted to stand behind Mary, his arms moving around her. Mary’s blush deepened as she squirmed, and Walter groaned, averting his eyes.
Another little scream from the center of the room only distracted them a little.
“Come, love, if it disturbs you so,” the man beside Walter murmured in his ear. He winked at Mary again, as if to say it was not her fault, before leading Walter out of the room.
Guilt suffused her, though Walter’s lover had not seemed to mind. She twisted slightly in Rex’s arms, so she could look over her shoulder.
“I did not mean to chase them away.”
“It is fine,” Rex reassured her, amused. “I made the decision to come in here and to stay. Walter will become used to your presence, or he will have to move rooms when you are about. As you could see, Roger did not mind. Now, watch. Captain Jones isverygood with the whip.”
Yes, he was, and the tableau was highly arousing. Still, now that she remembered there were others in the audience, Mary could not help but cast her eyes around the room, and her eyes widened when she saw another face she recognized. Hearing her gasp, Rex’s arms tightened around her again, perhaps in concern before he realized where she was looking. Elijah was not looking back at her, though. He was watching the Captain and his woman intently, arms crossed over his chest, more as though he was taking in the Captain’s technique than as if he was enjoying the display for itself.
Jerking her gaze away from him, she returned to watching the Captain whipping the increasingly aroused woman. By the time he dropped the whip and moved behind her, jerking her hips back so he could ride her from behind, causing the chain to stretch her nipples even more harshly, her body was straining, and her mouth dropped into a pleasured ‘o’ when he drove into her.
Mary panted with her, hyperaware of the arm Rex had around her body, his fingers gently caressing her side. When the woman began to keen, her back arching, clearly in the throes of orgasm, Mary could not stop the shudder that went through her body, imagining herself in such a position, with Rex pumping into her from behind.
The Captain surged, fingers gripping the woman’s hips tightly, and she cried out again before slumping forward, panting for breath. Though there was no applause, a general air of appreciation hung about the room.
“Come,” Rex whispered in Mary’s ear, his breath flowing across her sensitive skin and heating her blood. “We should find our own room.”
Rex
Leading his submissively docile but highly aroused wife from the room, Rex headed toward the back of the house, where Lady Greywood would have more private areas set up for those couples who did not wish to be on display the way Captain Jones and Lady Grant had been.
Passing several couples, he ground to a halt when Rupert Collins stepped out in front of him. Rex had so rarely seen the other man without the Earl of Carlisle beside him, it was odd for him to be alone.
“Collins.” He nodded, about to step around the man, but Collins held up his hand in a plea, stopping Rex. Tightening his hold on Mary, Rex inwardly sighed but stayed his progress. Hopefully, this would only take a moment. “Is Carlisle all right?”
“What? Oh yes, he is fine… I… have you seen the Earl of Devon?”
“No.” The question, coming from Collins, surprised Rex so much, he answered without thinking. The two men did not get along, as far as he knew, because Lucas had a tendency to flirt with, well… everyone, and Collins was possessive of Carlisle. “Why?”
Collins’ eyes darted between him and Mary, who was starting to come out of her dreamy haze. Feeling like growling, Rex gestured, indicating Collins should hurry up and say whatever he needed to say.
“I… I thought you should know. I saw him talking to Julian Mitchell yesterday.” The words came out in a rush, then Collins nodded and hurried past Rex, who was now frowning fiercely.
