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  As he had the other day, he yanked her to the edge of the bed and buried his face between her legs. At the same time, his hands snaked up her sides to tease her breasts. It was an awkward position, but it accomplished precisely what it was intended to. Jo’s body flashed alive with pleasure as he licked and squeezed and stroked her. The pleasure was so intense, in fact, that she barely had time to sink into it before he curled his tongue around her clitoris, sending her flying off into a powerful orgasm that made her very bones shudder.

  She was still soaring high in the clouds of pleasure when he stood suddenly, gripping and lifting her hips to plunge into her. His angle was exquisite, and standing meant he could thrust fast and hard. The tables turned, and he was the one mastering her. She was putty in his hands as he tupped her hard. Both of them cried and grunted and made sounds that would have a Seven Dials whore blushing, and it was perfection.

  A second wave of orgasm snuck up on her, and throbbing pleasure crashed over her again. He bent forward, bracing his hands on either side of her, their bodies almost close enough to touch, and then he tensed hard, letting out a cry of completion. She wrapped her legs around him, holding him inside of her and praying his spilled seed would take hold in her womb.

  A moment later, he sagged over her, and the two of them rolled to the side, tangled together on top of the bed as their passion ebbed.

  “We did that all wrong,” Felix panted.

  Jo twisted to stare at him, eyes wide. “I would say that we did it very much right.”

  He laughed, moving slowly to toss the decorative pillows off the bed and to pull down the coverings. Jo moved with him under the covers, snuggling against him as they settled.

  “If you really were my mistress in that way, I would follow your orders only, not fucking you until you demanded I do so,” he went on.

  Jo laughed. “And I suppose if you were my master, I would have submitted to far more than a thorough drubbing.”

  He chuckled along with her. “We have much to learn if we want to continue with that game.”

  “Fortunately, we have time to learn it,” she said, kissing his shoulder. “I, for one, look forward to learning the proper way to order you about.”

  “I’ll teach you everything I know,” he said, the smile he wore far too cheery for what they were discussing. “I’ll show you how to restrain me to the bed and to arouse me while denying me release.”

  “Will you?” She couldn’t help but giggle at the idea, strangely aroused by the power such play might give her.

  “Yes,” he said, rolling her to her back and bending to kiss her shoulder. “But I’ll do the same to you. I know quite a few ways to play that game.”

  “I’m sure you do,” she said, feigning a superior attitude. “You do realize that all of your previous experience was merely training for the way you will be with me.”

  For a moment, he held his breath, his eyes going wide. Then a look of pure joy burned in his expression. “I love you,” he said, bending down to kiss her. He lingered there for a moment before rising and saying, “I love you more than I thought I was capable of. I thought I was thoroughly debauched and destroyed, but you understand me.”

  “I am beginning to understand you,” Jo corrected him, her heart aching as much as her sex. “I’m certain we both have quite a ways to go still before we can say we truly understand one another.”

  “But you accept me as I am,” he insisted, kissing her and stroking his hand down her side, leaving a trail of excitement in his wake. “Dark past and all.”

  “It’s not the past that matters,” she said, resting a hand on the side of his face. “The past formed us, but the present is where we live.”

  “And I want to live with you always,” he insisted, full of ardor. “No matter what that looks like.”

  “Then you’re in luck,” Jo smiled, wriggling under his touch, ready to make love to him all over again. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Epilogue

  “Ladies, we have a challenge in front of us and we must rise to it,” Caro said the next morning as she addressed the remaining pupils of Miss Dobson’s Finishing School.

  Just over a dozen young women sat at the tables in the dining room as the kitchen staff served ham and cheeses, sausage, eggs, sweet bread with jam, and every other treat they had all been denied for so long. Miss Warren and Miss Cade sat at the far end of the table, looking wary and small, but Miss Conyer had disappeared overnight when Miss Dobson’s defection had made its way through the school. Two others had fled as well, but the majority had nowhere else to go.

  Which was why Caro stood at the head table, addressing those who remained.

  “We have a choice before us,” she said. “Stay and attempt to gain a true education under a new regime or abandon the school entirely to return to our families.”

  “My family is in Italy,” Lady Eliza said defiantly.

  “Mine are in India,” Felicity said.

  A flurry of comments and shouts about where the young ladies’ families were and how they had no interest in joining them there filled the room. Caro had to raise her arms to quell the sudden riot of sound.

  “That is what I thought,” she said with a smile. “Do we all agree to stay on and support each other?”

  The young ladies exchanged looks, murmuring among each other.

  “Can we get away with it?” Felicity asked. “Without a patroness?”

  “I shall be the patroness,” Caro said. “At least until I can find someone to sponsor the school.”

  In fact, she had had a missive from Jo just that morning, bright and early, saying that not only were Jo and Lord Lichfield to be married that day, Lord Lichfield had offered to sponsor the school in any way that was needed. Caro’s mind had immediately gone to work conjuring up new courses of study and ways to impart practical skills to the girls that would ensure their futures. And if some of those skills were of a coquettish nature, all the better. There were more ways to win a husband than by playing the piano and singing well.

  “I would love to stay here without Miss Dobson,” Ophelia sighed, looking relaxed for the first time in Caro’s memory. “She was horrid.”

  The rest of the pupils agreed…with the exception of Miss Warren and Miss Cade, who simply kept their mouths shut.

  “I know as well as anyone how this school could be a haven for those of us who may be in less than desirable situations at home,” Caro went on. “Which is why I pledge to do my best to keep the doors open and your parents satisfied that this is where you belong.”

  “Hear, hear,” Eliza shouted, prompting resounding echoes from the other young ladies.

  “I ask but one thing from you in return,” Caro said.

  The room hushed, and every face turned to her in expectation.

  Caro grinned, a delicious feeling of potency spreading through her. “A theft occurred at the residence next door, the house owned by the East India Company, some weeks ago. A precious jewel, the Chandramukhi Diamond, was stolen from its rightful owners. It was intended to be a gift to the king.”

  “I know all about the Chandramukhi Diamond,” Felicity said, sitting straighter. “My father says it’s cursed.”

  Caro’s brow shot up. She hadn’t heard that. Although it would explain things.

  “Rebecca was assisting her Mr. Kent, a Bow Street Runner, in his investigation of the theft,” she went on. “And Jo and I were attempting to continue that investigation. We have strong reason to believe that Miss Dobson was involved in the theft.”

  A ripple of shock spread through the room that turned into a flurry of whispers.

  “If you wish to stay here,” Caro went on, “I ask that you lend your assistance in the further search for the diamond and its thief.”

  “Yes,” Eliza called out without hesitation.

  “Absolutely, yes,” Felicity echoed her. The two exchanged devilish looks.

  “But how can we help search for a diamond and a thief?” Ophelia asked, l
ooking as worried as always.

  “I’m certain ways and means will come to us,” Caro said. “All I ask is that you be willing to pursue any leads we discover.”

  “Yes. We will.” The cry rose up around the room. It was as though the former pupils of Miss Dobson had something to look forward to at last.

  “Good,” Caro said. “For now, enjoy your repast. There will be more to come in the coming days.”

  She stepped down from her spot and took a seat at one of the tables, tucking in to better food than she’d had in ages. And while she believed in the speech she’d made to her compatriots, there was only one person that stuck in her heart and her mind when she thought of the diamond, the investigation, and everything else—Lord Rufus Herrington. For she had a secondary mission, now that the school and the diamond were on their way to being taken care of. She fully intended to find a way to restore Lord Herrington’s fortunes and to make him her own.

  * * *

  I hope you’ve enjoyed Jo and Felix’s story! Are you ready for the final chapter in the theft of the Chandramuki Diamond? Can Caro put all the clues together to figure out who really stole the diamond and what they’ve done with it? Will Rufus be able to help her with the diamond and with her school and her future? And will Caro be able to restore the fortunes of Rufus’s family to win him once and for all? Find out soon in When the Wallflowers were Wicked Book 6, The Clever Strumpet!

  If you enjoyed this book and would like to hear more from me, please sign up for my newsletter! When you sign up, you’ll get a free, full-length novella, A Passionate Deception. Victorian identity theft has never been so exciting in this story of hope, tricks, and starting over. Part of my West Meets East series, A Passionate Deception can be read as a stand-alone. Pick up your free copy today by signing up to receive my newsletter (which I only send out when I have a new release)!

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  About the Author

  I hope you have enjoyed The Cheeky Minx. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cbaVMH And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it! For a complete list of works by Merry Farmer with links, please visit http://wp.me/P5ttjb-14F.

  Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her cats, Torpedo, her grumpy old man, and Justine, her hyperactive new baby. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have reached the Top 100 at Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble, and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.

  Acknowledgments

  I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my awesome beta-readers, Caroline Lee and Jolene Stewart, for their suggestions and advice. And double thanks to Julie Tague, for being a truly excellent editor and assistant! Thanks also to the members of the Historical Harlots Facebook Group, who provide me with all sorts of inspiration!

  Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.