“That is another possibility,” Buxton said.
“Celia Howell perhaps?” Alice said as he sat down next to her.
“A distinct possibility,” Buxton answered before he took a drink from his glass. “But why would she kill her accomplice before they received any degree of success with their plan. She made it perfectly clear this morning that ‘they’ intended to keep trying to extort money from us. It seems to me she would wait until after they'd received the money, then kill him and keep all the money for herself.”
“Which brings us back to Shaw.” Essex's words were low. Alice was sure his tone reflected the unhappy thoughts that accompanied them. They hated to think their friend had turned on them, and she couldn’t blame them for that. It was hard to feel like you’d been stabbed in the back.
“I still don't believe it,” Buxton answered. “Besides, he's still in Paris.”
“Hamil says he won't be home for another week,” Alice said softly.
“Supposedly,” Ellington answered. “I pray that he's not already here and causing trouble for his friends. What if he’s the one who killed Rogers and did it in such a way we’d think a woman would have done it?”
A silence filled the room, and Alice didn’t want to be the one to speak first. Luckily, Essex did it for her.
“Where do you suggest we go from here?” Essex looked pointedly between Buxton and Ellington.
Buxton was the first to answer. “I do believe that we should check on Shaw’s exact whereabouts for the past few weeks. Check very discretely. And we need to look into Rogers. Alice, is that something you can do?”
“I can,” she said. “I will check with friends of mine and see if anyone recognizes his name. Did the Inspector give you his first name? If I’ve heard it, I’ve forgotten.”
“Benjamin,” Buxton said.
“Then I’ll go out first thing in the morning,” she said.
“And I will send out messages to hotels in the morning, seeing if we can locate Shaw,” Julian said. “Either way we should have something for tomorrow evening.”
“I think we need to alert the other Club members,” Essex said.
“I agree,” Ellington said. “Essex and I will take care of that. We’ll make sure they’re aware that something’s taken place and they need to be cautious. They all received messages about the blackmail, of course. But with these latest developments we all need to be on our guard.”
“Quite right,” Buxton said. “I think we should forgo any Club meetings until this is solved.”
Ellington snorted. “Shouldn’t we have a Club meeting to discuss that, which is, of course, just the opposite of what you’ve proposed.”
“Executive decision from the founders,” Buxton said. “If you have a problem with it you can take it up with the other Club members, when this is all over.”
“Enough you two,” Essex said. “No meeting it is. We don’t want to give anyone a chance to gather more information. And I don’t think we need to add that everyone needs to be careful. Very careful.”
Alice wondered if the men argued like this often. The atmosphere was a little tense, but when dinner was announced everyone stood, and the mood seemed to lighten. She wasn’t sure she could eat anything. Even though she hadn’t seen Rogers’s body, the idea that a murder was now involved in their case didn’t sit well with her.
She didn’t want to admit to Julian that she was uneasy. She had to work to keep her feelings to herself. She knew where her first stop would be in the morning, to someone who had her finger on the pulse of London happenings.
Hopefully, Fiona would know something that could help them find Celia Howell’s accomplice, and get to the bottom of things.
The room was quiet as Alice waited for Julian to come upstairs. After they’d eaten and said goodbye to their guests, he'd kissed her softly and told her to wait for him in the bedroom. That was an hour ago. She opened the French doors and looked out over the gardens.
The sweet smell of the flowers filled the room. The clouds were heavy, and she knew that meant there would be rain later. She sat on a chair near the open doors and breathed deeply. Not for the first time she wondered what she was doing here. Surely, he’d not been talking about her when he’d mentioned marriage.
But it brought up something she hadn’t thought about. Did he have a woman in his life? He wasn’t married, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t looking to be, and had some nice, docile debutante sitting in the wings waiting to become Lady Buxton. If that was the case, she needed to let him know as soon as possible that she would not be his on the side lover.
She took another breath and frowned. She didn’t like the position she was in right now, because she had planned on it just being a physical thing, but here she was, ready to share his bed again after he’d taken her virginity.
“Relaxed?” Julian whispered in her ear.
“When did you get here?”
“A few moments ago. I was enjoying watching you take pleasure from the evening air. You look very beautiful sitting in the breeze.”
Alice’s cheeks heated, and she was happy that he was behind her and couldn’t see. “You wrote your messages?”
“Yes, three of them, to the finest hotels in Paris. Shaw would have stayed at one of the three.”
Julian ran his fingers through Alice's hair, loosening the pins. It fell down around her shoulders and she rather enjoyed the fact that he felt close enough to do something so intimate.
“Do you think it’s him, your friend?”
“I hope not,” he said. “I hate to think he would turn on us. But you never know with people.”
He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. “I just can’t imagine why she would kill her partner. It doesn’t make sense.”
“She wanted the money all to herself.” She held up a finger before he could respond. “But you’re right, she probably would have waited until they had the money.” She thought for moment and turned her gaze toward him. “Unless he blamed her for the failure to get the money on their first outing. Maybe he attacked her, and she attacked back.” She paused before she said, “No, that would not be right since the police said there was no struggle.”
“Do you often talk to yourself?” he asked. “Because I feel like you’re working things out in your mind and not discussing possibilities with me.”
“I do sometimes,” she said with a laugh. “It helps me to work out my thoughts by hearing the words out loud.”
They were quiet for a few moments before he said, “I’ve never dealt with a woman as strong-willed as you before. The ladies I’ve taken to my bed are meek and do whatever I want, because they hope I will fall in love with them and give them whatever they want.”
She waited for him to continue because she felt that he, too, was working something out in his mind. When he didn’t, she said, “So I’m not the sort of woman that you’re used to. I’m sorry, but I won’t change.”
“I hope not,” he said. He leaned over and kissed her. “But I do want to install a little discipline in your life.”
“Are we back to the idea that you’re going to spank me?” she asked.
“Not tonight,” he said. “Or maybe I will, or maybe I’ll just leave you waiting, wondering what is coming next. How is your quim? Still sore?”
“Not as much as it was this morning,” she said.
“Do you feel different, now that you’re no longer a virgin?”
“Not really,” she said. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, as a criticism, but it was mostly pain.”
“For the first time, yes,” he said. “After your body becomes accustomed to having me inside you there will be more pleasure for you.”
“Are you willing to back up your words with actions?”
“Not tonight,” he said. He kissed her shoulder. “At least not with intercourse.”
“I thought we could use the f word in the bedroom,” she said with a laugh.
“Naughty woman,�
�� he replied. “There are other things we can do besides having intercourse. If you will allow it and follow my instructions without trying to take the lead, I will give you pleasure.”
“Are you going to tie me to the bed again?”
“Did you like that?”
“I hate it when a person answers a question with a question,” she said. “It seems to me that happens when someone is trying to avoid answering the first question.”
“I would think you could discern that I answered the first question by asking the second one.” He narrowed his eyes, and at first, she thought he was angry with her. But behind the gaze she could see a glint of humor, and realized he was fighting back a smile.
“By your words I would say ‘did you like that,’ means yes.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Perhaps. But I do want to try something else, to see if you are able to contain yourself.”
“Have I been too loose?” She wove her fingers together and placed her hands on her stomach. “Does that mean you think I’m a loose woman, one that you can keep as your mistress? I assure you, I’m not. If you have a woman in your life that is fine, but don’t expect me to be your second lover, so to speak.”
He jerked back as if she’d slapped him. “That’s not what I meant, and I’m not sure where that came from.”
No, he probably didn’t, and she wasn’t prepared to explain it to him. “I’m sorry, it’s been a stressful day. Perhaps I should go home and sleep in my own bed. I can come back tomorrow evening to make my report when everyone is here.”
“Why are you angry?”
“I’m not,” she said. The way she’d spit out the words said otherwise, though.
“Tell me what I’ve done,” he said. “I don’t like to see you this way.”
Alice stood. “I just need some time on my own.”
“You can have that while you’re asleep,” he said. “Do you always run from arguments? It doesn’t seem like something you’d do.”
He was right, of course, but she didn’t want to tell him that.
“I’m going home.”
“You’ve said that, yet you haven’t moved from that spot,” he said. “I want to talk about what’s upset you. Please, tell me.”
She wanted to, but she was afraid he would take her words as trying to push her way into his life. They were business associates who were going places they probably shouldn’t be. But she didn’t want to stop. She wanted to feel him inside her again and if she opened her mouth and told him what she was feeling that probably wouldn’t happen.
“I’m just feeling, well, rattled today,” she said. “My cases don’t generally involve murder.”
“You’re lying to me, but I’ll let it go,” he said. “But I would like you to stay tonight.”
“To fuck?”
“Or to play,” he said. “Let’s play a game, shall we?”
“Chess? Gin? Knock rummy?”
“Strip.”
“Strip what?” she asked.
“We strip each other.”
Alice laughed. “And this a game?”
Before she could ask another question, he stood and grabbed both chairs. He moved them against the wall and then stood in front of the bed. “Come here, stand in front of me so we’re face to face.”
She did as he asked, wondering where this was going next.
“Arms out to your side,” he said. He put his arms out and widened his eyes. She interpreted the look to say she needed to do the same thing, so she did.
“Now, we lock gazes and the first person to look away loses this round. They lose a piece of clothing. In the end, the naked person loses, and the winner gets to decide what happens next.”
“Intriguing,” she said.
“Yes, the winner is in control.” He kept his gaze on hers.
“Are you always in control?” she asked.
“Always.”
“Seems to me I have the upper hand,” she said, playfully. “After all, a woman wears more clothes than a man.”
“Clothes to cover those delicious breasts and that tasty cunny?”
Alice gasped and looked away.
“You lose the first round,” he said.
“You cheated!”
“All is fair.” He took a step toward her. “Now, hold still while I claim a piece of your clothing. I think I’ll start with your dress.”
“It’s two pieces,” she said.
“All the better to drag the game out, then.” He winked at her and stepped up. He stared into her eyes as he undid the buttons, moving slower than the wait for Christmas Eve. She swallowed hard as his fingers trailed over her shift. When he pulled the bodice from her body she felt as if the world spun.
“Round two,” he whispered in her ear.
She lost the second round, and the third, and by the fourth, when she stood there in her petticoat, shift and stockings, she finally won a round. She wished her movements had been as slow as his, but her fingers grabbed at his buttons and two of them popped off and ended up on the floor.
“Do you know how to repair the clothing you’re destroying?” he asked. His tone was seductive, and it only made her want to hurry things along.
“Are we done with this game?” she asked.
“Both of us are still clothed, so the answer would be no,” he said. “But I think I’ll win the remainder of the rounds. The game is having its desired effect. You’re aroused.”
“I am not,” she said, breathily.
“You really are a bad liar.” He put his face right next to hers. “Look into my eyes, tell me what you want to happen when you lose.”
“I won’t lose,” she said. “No matter how much you need to be in control, I’m going to win this game.”
She felt as if she might melt under his smoldering look. She wanted to tell him he could start fires with his gaze, but she kept it to herself.
“Shall I let you in on a secret?” he said as he licked his lips. Alice looked away, even though she knew doing so meant she’d lose the round.
“What secret?” she asked.
“In this game we all win.” He put his hands on the ties for her petticoat and pulled, it dropped to the ground, leaving her in her shift and stockings.
Her nipples were painfully hard, and her quim was wet.
“Why do you think that?” she asked.
“Because in the end we fuck.”
Alice dropped her arms, which had been lifted to her sides at the beginning of each round. She took a step back and tried to catch her breath.
“You are going to make me a crazy woman,” she said.
Julian put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. He kissed her so hard she felt as if he would take her into his body.
“You said… no… fucking.” She was breathing hard, working to try and keep her sanity. He pulled her toward the bed and turned her, so she was facing it.
When he put his hands on the small of her back and pushed her forward she went willingly.
“Such a sexy sight, a bare bottom waiting to receive my pleasure. The stockings you still wear makes you look so delicious.”
He lowered his body over hers, rubbing his breeches against her bare skin. “Too bad you didn’t win and bare my cock.”
“Please, Julian,” she said.
“As you wish, my pet.” His weight left her, and she could hear the rustle of clothing. “But as I fuck you, Alice, I want you to think of what it would be like to have someone watching you as my prick slides in and out.”
Chapter 7
Had he really just said that? He wanted her to think she was being watched while they fucked? The thought shocked her and she almost pulled away from him. But then she remembered what happened last evening, how Charlotte and Carin had been spanked to see how she would react.
“It sounds horribly illicit,” she said.
“It sounds incredibly erotic,” he responded. “Close your eyes and imagine him in the chair, his gaze fixed on y
ou. What would he see?”
“Right now, nervousness,” she said.
Her body tingled as she thought about a man sitting there, taking pleasure in watching her have sex.
“That can be a good thing,” he said. His voice was rough, gravely, full of desire. “Nerves can crank up what you’re feeling. But this man, he’s centered on your face. He’s imaging what you’re feeling. He’s watching as your body rocks with each thrust. He’s wishing he was me.”
Alice gasped as Julian pushed inside her. He stretched her sore muscles but the pain was secondary to the pleasure she felt as he filled her. He didn’t thrust. Instead, he placed his entire weight over her and whispered, “You are mine.”
He fucked her slowly, but when he grasped a handful of hair and jerked her head backward she yelled out in pleasure. It should make her mad but it didn’t.
“Look at the chair near the bed, Alice,” he said. “There is a man sitting there, watching.”
“No, no,” she said, even though her excitement intensified.
“Yes, his cock is in his hand and he’s watching your face as you’re being fucked. In and out, in and out. You’re moaning and squealing with delight just as you’re doing now.” He tugged harder and Alice gasped. His cock was hitting a spot inside her that was producing feelings similar to when he’d played with her quim, and she knew where it was leading.
He tugged harder still on her hair and thrust so hard that Alice screamed, and she exploded.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s watching you, Alice, playing with his prick as you squeeze mine deep inside you.”
The room spun, and all Alice could think as Julian let go of her hair and grasped her hips was that she really wished there was someone there, being a witness to her naughty behavior.
No, not naughty, nasty. Julian cried out as he filled her, and Alice savored his weight as he collapsed on top of her.
He kissed her shoulder, still clad in her shift and she wondered how long it would be before they could do it all again.
Alice stared at Julian’s sleeping form and the thought crossed her mind that the only way she would win a staring contest with him was while he was asleep. She’d been awake for the last hour and he hadn’t moved an inch. He’d just slept and snored.
His Little Problem Page 8