The Cheeky Minx Page 8

  Felix had no idea if she thought she could stop his orgasm by holding him or if she was trying to speed the process, but within moments of her taking him in her hand, a thick stream of cum shot out of him. He let out a cry, thrusting against her a few times more before his body gave up, completely spent. All of the bad, all of the darkness, had spewed out of him, leaving him freer, lighter, purer.

  He collapsed to the side, rolling to his back, panting. Josephine tossed the riding crop aside and sat on the bed beside him, rubbing his arm and studying his face.

  “So?” she asked, an impossibly hopeful look in her eyes.

  His ass was sore and his pride was wounded, but he was certain that both injuries would heal. “Insight,” he managed to puff out as he caught his breath.

  “I see,” she said, arching that cheeky eyebrow of hers.

  Deep affection filled his heart, and he gathered the strength he would need to make a move. “And you?” he asked. “Were you aroused by administering discipline?”

  “Um,” she tilted her head up, sending a look of false innocence up to the ceiling.

  Felix didn’t wait for her to go on. He lifted himself enough to hook an arm around her waist and to pull her down and across him. She yelped at the suddenness of his movements and when he pinned her on her back. He didn’t have it in him to fuck her the way she deserved, but that didn’t stop him from giving her what she needed. He rolled off the bed and onto his knees on the floor, pulling her with him. Her pussy was at the perfect height, and he gripped her knees, holding them slightly wider than he thought would be comfortable for her.

  “Look at that,” he said teasingly. “I haven’t seen a quim so pink and wet in years.”

  “Lord Lichfield,” she pleaded, half laughing.

  “Felix,” he told her. “You’ll call me Felix from now on.”

  “Felix,” she repeated.

  “You wouldn’t be so wet if whipping me hadn’t given you pleasure,” he said, leaning slowly closer to her pussy.

  “It was rather invigorating,” she said. Or at least that’s what he assumed she would have said. He only let her get as far as, “It was rather invig—oh!”

  The moment he brought his mouth to her folds and licked her slit deeply, he knew she wouldn’t be able to hold out any longer than he had. She was already quivering and on the edge. All it would take was a few quick flickers across her clitoris and she would be gone. So, of course, he drew it out as long as he possibly could. He tasted her and kissed her, giving her a glimpse of where he might go next only to nibble at her inner thigh. She was panting and mewling with need in no time, grabbing fistfuls of the coverlet as her hips bucked against him, demanding that he put an end to the torture.

  He couldn’t deny her even that for long. As her breath grew shallow and her sounds pleading, he drew his tongue up to caress her clit. Within seconds, he felt her burst into orgasm. But he didn’t stop there, he licked and sucked and did everything he could think of to draw out the convulsions slamming through her. It was magical, bringing her so much pleasure. Few things had ever made him feel so powerful, so much like a man. And when she was done coming apart, when she lay there, spent and gasping for breath, he crawled back onto the bed with her, cradling her in his arms.

  “I think we will live a long and immensely satisfying life together,” he whispered against her ear. “I think we will give each other everything we need.”

  “Yes,” she agreed with a sigh, sliding her hands along his arms as they embraced her. “Felix.”

  “And do you know what?” he asked, mischief making one last appearance before exhaustion overtook him. “I think we should start that life by catching a diamond thief together.”

  Chapter 8

  The afternoon Jo spent with Felix left her feeling as though she were floating on clouds in the sunshine. He was far more fascinating than she had given him credit for and, for a change, she was happy with the ridiculous decision her mother had made without her to bundle her off in marriage to Felix. Whatever her mother expected the deal to be, Jo was certain her life with Felix would be filled with joy, excitement, and pleasure.

  That excitement was set to begin immediately. They’d spent a good portion of the rest of their afternoon discussing the diamond theft and ways they might catch the thief red-handed. Jo was startled to learn that Felix suspected a man that she and Caro—and perhaps even Rebecca’s Nigel—didn’t even know about—a Mr. Saif Khan, son of the Mr. Khan who managed the house.

  “I’m certain he’s the man we saw—” She gestured to the wall as she and Caro moved the wardrobe early on Friday night.

  “You may very well be right,” Caro said, though without the same enthusiasm Jo felt. “But Saif Khan only recently returned to the house. How could he be involved in the theft?”

  They managed to move the wardrobe enough to open the secret door. Jo skipped across the room, fetching lit candles, then entered the passageway with Caro.

  “Felix believes there to be more than one thief,” she whispered. “At least, he believes whoever stole the diamond on the day it went missing had help from an accomplice on the outside.”

  Caro hummed as if considering the possibility. “That seems like the most logical possibility. And we both know Miss Dobson is involved.”

  Jo winced at the mention of Miss Dobson. The woman had taken a turn in the last few days that could only be explained by madness or guilt. Or both. Jo had snuck back into the school through the kitchens after her day spent with Felix, fully expecting to catch the full force of Miss Dobson’s wrath at her absence. The prospect was far less daunting than it would have been, considering she and Felix had talked about the possibility and he’d vowed to take her in immediately, that night, if Miss Dobson caused trouble. At heart, Jo hoped and prayed Miss Dobson would cause a scene, but when Jo crept up into the dining room in time to slide onto the bench next to Caro as their unappetizing supper of thin stew and pale bread was served, Miss Dobson was nowhere in sight.

  “She will be present this evening, I know it,” Caro went on as they edged their way through the secret passageway toward the room where Felix would be waiting for them. “Something is afoot this evening, and there is no doubt at all in my mind that she will be involved.”

  “Agreed,” Jo whispered.

  Once again, Miss Dobson had behaved with extreme suspicion that evening. She had rushed her few remaining pupils through supper, then sent them all up to their rooms for what she called “Evening Reflection”. But the moment everyone was tucked away in their rooms, she had gone around locking doors. The past few weeks had taught Jo that when Miss Dobson locked her young ladies in, it meant she was going out.

  “Here we are,” Jo said when they reached the door to the appointed room—the one where Rebecca had first seen the diamond thief, or at least his backside. She slid open the peephole to be certain and was rewarded with the sight of Felix pacing the room, dressed to the nines. Her heart flipped happily in her chest, but her elation was cut short at the sight of a second man. “Someone is with him,” she hissed.

  Caro frowned and nudged Jo out of the way. As she looked through the peephole, her puzzled expression melted into a wicked grin. “It’s Lord Herrington,” she told Jo before searching out the latch to the door leading into the room.

  Jo was far less at ease about entering a room from a secret passageway with a man she knew nothing about—indeed, a man who had been a suspect in the diamond theft—than Caro was, but she was so happy to have Felix instantly sweep her into his arms and plant a ravishing kiss full on her mouth that her reticence was soon forgotten.

  “I have half a mind to abandon the investigation in favor of the sort of activity Khan’s parties are renowned for,” he said, then kissed her again.

  “If we do what we’ve come here for quickly, there will be time for all that later,” Lord Herrington said, sending a saucy wink Caro’s way.

  Caro responded with a coquettish blush and a look that said she would
n’t turn away that kind of attention. More than that, she flirted with Lord Herrington as though they’d known each other much longer than a handful of seconds. For the first time, Jo wondered what Caro had done to distract the man when they’d encountered him the night Rebecca was held captive in the wine cellar and she’d run on to fetch Nigel.

  “I’ve brought gowns for you to change into,” Felix said, letting go of Jo at last and assuming a businesslike air. “We can’t have you flitting about a revelry like the one downstairs in mousy school uniforms.”

  “No,” Jo agreed. “What did you bring?”

  Felix crossed to two large boxes resting on the odd-shaped chaise in the center of the room and opened the lid of one. He drew out the most exquisite gown of fine, blue muslin that Jo had ever seen. The material was so fine that it felt like liquid in her hands as she took the dress from him. The whole thing was embroidered with silver leaves and flowers. A matching pair of silver slippers rested in the box.

  “It’s exquisite,” Jo gasped, turning to Felix with an appreciative smile. “How will I ever be able to repay you for something like this.”

  “I can think of a few ways,” Felix said with a rake’s grin. “Nothing is too good for my countess.”

  “This is too much,” Caro said in a voice laced with as much awe as Jo had felt. She’d opened the lid of the other box and now held a gown as exquisite as Jo’s in a luscious shade of vermillion.

  “You’ll draw every eye in the place,” Lord Herrington told her. “Mine especially.”

  “Is that so?” Caro asked, one eyebrow raised.

  Lord Herrington sidled closer to her. “Do you need assistance donning your gown?”

  Before Caro could answer, Felix drawled, “I’ve never known you to offer to help a woman put clothes on.”

  Lord Herrington looked abashed and laughed at himself. “You’re right. But we should hurry. We all need to be in costume and mingling among Khan’s guests as soon as possible if we are to unravel this mystery tonight.”

  “We can return to our room to change,” Jo said, stepping toward the closed door of the secret passageway.

  “There isn’t time,” Felix said. “You can change here. And we can be of assistance.” When Jo looked shocked, he went on with, “It’s nothing I haven’t already seen.”

  “But….” Jo sent a glance Lord Herrington’s way.

  “Now is not the time to be modest,” Caro said, laying her dress across the chaise so that she could reach behind her back to undo the ties of her uniform.

  Jo’s dropped her hesitance, handing her gown to Felix before beginning her own process of disrobing. Removing her clothes in a room with two men, only one of whom was her fiancé, seemed like the least mad thing she’d done of late.

  “The best way to catch the diamond thief is to observe the behavior of those men we suspect and to stay close to them throughout the night,” Felix said as the ladies disrobed.

  “Who do we suspect other than Saif?” Lord Herrington asked. He appeared to be having a battle of conscience that involved serious attempts not to look at Caro as she stepped out of her uniform and petticoat and serious failures to do so.

  “There’s a whole list,” Felix said with a sigh. “Lord Cavanaugh is a known scoundrel who associates with criminals. Monsieur Duval has made known he will stop at nothing to restore the fortunes of his family in the wake of the Revolution. Mr. Newman’s factory is failing, and he’s desperate to infuse it with cash.”

  “How can a factory possibly fail these days,” Jo said dismissively as she tossed her uniform aside.

  “Mismanagement,” Felix answered, his eyes dropping to her mostly exposed bosom. He grinned and licked his lips as though remembering what she tasted like before continuing with, “He paid himself far too much before bothering to pay his employees or maintain his equipment.”

  “Every man’s equipment needs maintenance,” Lord Herrington added. Jo noticed he was staring freely at Caro as she exchanged her drab, woolen stockings for silk ones. “Lubrication, for example, to keep the pistons—”

  His randy comment was cut short as the door to the hall suddenly flung open. The man Jo was reasonably certain was Saif Khan entered the room with a smile as she yelped and ducked behind Felix.

  “I knew I would catch the two of you up to no good,” Saif Khan said with a sly twinkle in his eyes. “And the party has only barely begun.”

  Lord Herrington swept Caro—still mostly undressed—into his arms, but Jo couldn’t tell if he was attempting to shelter her from Saif Khan’s prying gaze or if he simply wanted to take advantage of the situation to hold her salaciously.

  “Do you mind?” Felix asked, pivoting so that he could take Jo into his arms a similar way. He pulled the strap of her chemise down to expose her shoulder and far more of her breast than Jo cared to show to a stranger. “We were just getting started.”

  “Excellent.” Saif Khan clapped his hands together, then began unbuttoning his jacket. “I’ve arrived just in time. Three on two?”

  A knife of genuine fear sliced through Jo’s gut. Felix wouldn’t actually let the man touch her or Caro, would he?

  “This is a private engagement,” Felix said, putting Jo a bit more at ease. “Invitation only.”

  Saif Khan laughed, redoing his buttons. “I was merely jesting with you,” he said. “And besides, there isn’t time for a dalliance, though I truly wish there was.”

  “Not time?” Lord Herrington asked. He had Caro wrapped around him, one of her legs hitched over his hip, and his hand on her backside with only the thin cotton of her chemise between them.

  “There’s never time,” Saif Khan said with a laugh that struck Jo’s ears as suspicious. “Society never sleeps and the wheels of invention are in constant motion.”

  Jo frowned at the answer, if an answer it could be called.

  “Why are you up here, then?” Felix asked.

  “I was looking for a vacant room,” Saif Khan answered. “Obviously, my search continues.”

  “I see,” Felix said in a tight voice.

  “I’ll leave you to your orgy,” Saif Khan continued, backing toward the door. “But if I were you, I’d tup these strumpets and hurry downstairs with all haste. Not only has my father provided a wide array of tasty morsels to feast on, Lord Somerset is here.” He laughed. “A bloody duke!”

  “Somerset?” Lord Herrington asked with a frown.

  “Yes, so hurry along.” Saif Khan made a final, extraordinarily rude gesture before fleeing to the hallway and shutting the door behind him.

  He left Jo and Caro, and likely the gentlemen as well, thoroughly baffled in his wake.

  “There’s only one thing Saif could possibly need a vacant room for,” Felix said, letting Jo out of his arms and helping her to continue dressing with all haste. He held the magnificent gown for her as she stepped in, as competent as the finest lady’s maid.

  “He either plans to discuss the diamond tonight or to sell it outright,” Lord Herrington said.

  “If he is in possession of it,” Caro added. Lord Herrington helped her slide into her gown as Felix helped Jo. Whatever boundaries of propriety existed, they were gone now. “Only a fool would bring the diamond itself back to the location from which it was stolen.”

  “And besides,” Jo said, shimmying so that her gown fell into place, then turning her back to Felix so that he could do it up, “when we heard the thief speaking to Miss Dobson, he said the diamond is safe where it is, in the hands of a friend.”

  “But you also informed me Miss Dobson’s buyer wanted to see what he might purchase,” Felix said. “And days have passed since that conversation. Further arrangements could have been made.”

  “I don’t think we can rule out the possibility that the diamond is here,” Lord Herrington agreed. “Which means we must proceed with caution and sharp attention to everything around us.” His gaze settled on Caro’s chest—which looked close to spilling out the front of her gown once it was fa
stened and in place.

  “Believe me, Lord Herrington, we will not let anything escape our notice,” Caro agreed, her own gaze dropping to the defined bulge in Lord Herrington’s breeches.

  Felix chuckled, then shook his head. “We need to act now, before we change our minds about our purpose for being here and succumb to temptation.”

  Truer words could not have been spoken. Jo took Felix’s hand as he headed toward the door. The moment they stepped into the hallway, it was as though the mantle of purpose had descended on her. She had a job to do, and she would do it well.

  “We should split up,” Felix said as they made their way down the stairs to the ground floor. Already, the sounds of music and laughter were filtering up through the house. “We’ll be able to see more that way.”

  “Agreed,” Lord Herrington said.

  That was the last Jo heard from him as they arrived in the ballroom. Within seconds, Lord Herrington whisked Caro off into the room writhing with people of every description. Jo had witnessed one of Mr. Khan’s grand parties through the secret passageway in the past few weeks, but that sort of concealment was nothing compared to being thrust into the heart of the whirlwind itself. The ballroom was pulsing with life and excitement. It held the same number and concentration of people as she’d experienced during her one and only trip to Almack’s, but the feeling in the air was decidedly different. Rather than the brittle manners of the ton, Mr. Khan’s party was heady with sensuality. The scent of perfume and musk filled the air. Couples stood too close, laughed too loud. More than a few of the ladies exposed far more than would ever have been proper in polite society. It was almost enough to make Jo feel overdressed, even though the neckline of the gown Felix had given her was so low that the tips of her areolas peeked out above the silver embroidery.

  “And Mr. Khan hosts revels like this frequently?” Jo whispered as Felix escorted her around the perimeter of the crowded room. They received more than a few hungry glances from men and women alike as they paraded.

  “All the time,” Felix said, his lazy smile clearly an act to hide the spark of observation in his eyes. “He’s quite famous for it. Anyone in search of casual debauchery pays quite a sum to remain on Khan’s guest list.”