Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“ F elix! Let me go!” she hissed, trying to yank her arm away. “What on earth has gotten into you?”
Felix’s grip was firm as he guided Eloise down the dimly lit corridor, his jaw set and his eyes hooded. Eloise fought fiercely to twist her arm free, but he refused to release her.
“Felix!” she snapped. “What are you doing? You have ruined a perfectly polite exchange!”
He halted abruptly and turned to face her, his expression so fierce that she took a step backwards. “What were you thinking?” he growled, his voice low with barely restrained fury. “Perfectly polite? You cannot mean that, Eloise Manning.”
“Eloise Greystone ,” she said snapped back, but Felix merely glared at her.
“Exactly,” he sneered.
He turned again and resumed pulling her down the corridor, but Eloise would not back down. She stumbled as he pulled, but she continued to yank her arm, indignation and fury also coursing through her veins.
“I was having fun at a social event. Is that not what one is supposed to do at a ball?” Her tone was sharp, and her cheeks were lit with anger and embarrassment. “And I thought we were not meant to care what the other was doing?”
“In private, no, but I will not be made a fool of in public,” he snapped over his shoulder. He narrowed his gaze, incredulous at her imperceptive comments. “Do you really think it is all in good fun to dance with some stranger and allow him put his hands on you?” He spun back around, his presence almost overwhelming. “You are my wife, Eloise. No one else should be touching you, let alone dancing with you.”
Eloise’s heart pounded, but she refused to be intimidated.
She lifted her chin and locked her eyes with his. “Oh, so now you are concerned about who I dance with? You have been avoiding me for weeks, disappearing without a word at every opportunity. Where do you always go, Felix? To your mistresses? Are they batting their lashes at you and making you feel like you are the only man in the world?”
Eloise dramatically batted her eyes and swayed her hips at him in undisguised mockery.
Her accusation hung in the air as a dangerous glint flashed across Felix’s eyes. For a moment, the only sound was the distant murmur of the ball, its music and laughter muted by the thick walls.
“That is it . I have had enough ,” he snapped. “Get inside.”
He pointed to a door further down the corridor, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Eloise hesitated, her breath catching. “What are you?—”
“Inside,” he repeated, more forcefully this time, his eyes boring into hers. “Now.”
The intensity of his gaze made her heart skip a beat, but she found herself moving, her feet carrying her toward the door despite the flood of questions running through her mind.
Her first instinct was to obey him, to please him however he desired.
She pushed the door open, stepping inside to find a large, bright bedroom—most likely a guestroom. Felix followed, closing the door behind them with a quiet but decisive click.
Felix turned the key in the lock, a deliberate and measured motion that made Eloise’s breath hitch. The click echoed loudly in the quiet room, sealing them off from the world beyond, leaving only the two of them and the unaddressed friction crackling between them.
She shivered with fear of what was to come, but beneath that fear lay a trickle of excitement. She enjoyed this side of Felix, even if she couldn’t admit it to herself or to him.
When he turned around he gave her a wicked grin. Eloise’s eyes widened, and she nervously took a step back.
“Felix… what are you doing?” she asked, her voice a mixture of confusion and odd anticipation. “You cannot just lock me in here.”
Felix’s eyes were dark and unyielding. “Oh, but I can .” His voice was rough and menacing, each word deliberate as he took slow and steady steps toward her. “I told you, Eloise, that if you provoked me again there would be consequences.”
As he spoke a shiver ran down her spine, and she swallowed hard, trying to muster her defiance.
“Consequences?” she squeaked breathlessly. “For what? I did not?—”
“You did ,” he interrupted, his tone brooking no argument. “You disobeyed me. You defied me. And now…” He took a step forward, closing the distance between them, his presence overwhelming, his gaze heated. She looked up at him open- mouthed. “Now you are going to learn that your actions come with penalties.”
Before she could respond, he grasped her wrist and guided her toward the plush sofa at the far end of the room. Felix sat down, his expression unreadable, and pulled her firmly onto his lap, positioning her so that she was lying face down across his lap. She tried to squirm as he pulled her skirts up around her waist, but he held her still, one hand steady at the small of her back.
A ball of tension knotted in her stomach. She understood what he meant by this position. What he meant to do.
“Felix, wait…” she began, her voice faltering while she questioned whether she really wanted to stop him.
“No more talking, Eloise,” he demanded quietly. He ran the flat of his hand over her bare thighs and across the curve of her buttocks, stroking the smooth, cool flesh. “You have said enough for one night.”
She gasped, her skin tingling under his touch. The intimacy of the moment shot a thrill of nervous energy through her, but this was not how she’d imagined it at all.
Over his knee, a naughty girl.
She squirmed again although this time it was due to her own body’s betrayal.
“You are my wife,” he murmured, his voice deadly and possessive as he adjusted her on his lap, his hands gripping her firmly. “You are all mine. No one else’s.”
Without warning, Felix raised his hand from her backside before delivering a firm, deliberate smack onto her exposed skin. The sound was sharp, and the sting was immediate.
Eloise’s eyes widened in shock, and a gasp rushed from her lips.
“What are you—?” she stammered, but another swift, controlled spank silenced her, her cheeks flushing both from the sting and the unexpected sensation of heat pooling in her belly.
Felix’s grip was unrelenting, his expression calm yet filled with an intensity that made her breathless.
And, strangely, she wanted more.
“This is what happens when you disobey me,” he said, his voice a low, alarming murmur. “When you defy me. Do you understand?”
Eloise’s breath came in shallow, uneven gasps, her mind spinning as she tried to process the sharp mix of pain and pleasure.
She was caught between the impulse to push him away and the overwhelming pull to stay exactly where she was, to surrender to the new and thrilling power he held over her.
“Yes, Your Grace,” she managed though her voice was barely more than a whisper, her body trembling as she spoke. “I understand.”
Felix’s hand paused, resting on her bare skin, his touch gentle for a moment as though rewarding her compliance.
“That’s it. Good girl,” he said after a growl of satisfaction.
Without warning, he spanked her again, even harder this time, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out, the shock of it reverberating through her and mingling with an intense wave of desire.
“You will not dance with other men,” he continued, each word punctuated by another firm smack. “You will not let them touch you, laugh with you, or look at you the way I do.” His hand paused, his fingers splayed against her hot, reddened skin, holding her steady. “You are mine, Eloise. Do you understand that?”
Her head spun and her heart pounded. She forced herself to breathe slowly, the raw need in her making her clench. “Yes,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “I am yours.”
Felix’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. “Good,” he said softly, his hand finally caressing the heated, enflamed skin of her exposed buttocks, soothing where he had stung. “Because I will not tolerate any more games, Eloise.”
His stroking became more fervent, more probing, and to Eloise’s unremitting shame, he chuckled when he noted the moistness between her legs.
“It seems that this was a pleasure as much as it was a punishment,” he said.
He released his grip, and Eloise slipped off his legs as if she were made jelly, slithering to the floor. She knelt before him, looking up into his amused eyes as she fought to steady her breath and make sense of the heady, confusing mix of sensations swirling through her.
“Well?” he demanded, eyebrows raised. “Was it a pleasure?”
Eloise hesitated for a moment. What was she supposed to say? Could she admit the truth?
But then again, she knew she could never lie to Felix. She was his after all.
“Y-yes, Your Grace,” she uttered, thrilling herself again with her use of his title.
He smirked then leaned in close, his cheek brushing against hers. “Good,” he whispered into her ear. “Remain still.”
As he leaned back, Eloise made sure not to move a muscle. She kept her eyes focused entirely on his face, her body stiff with anticipation. Except for her burning cheeks, her flesh had become chilled in the cool air of the room. He folded his arms and stared at her, examining her, his head tilted to one side.
“Tell me, Eloise,” he said, his ever-present smirk fixed on his face. “Have you pleasured yourself since the last time I touched you?”
Eloise blushed and looked away.
“Look at me,” he said firmly. “Do not take your eyes off me.”
She obeyed him, turning back to look at him. “I don’t know?—”
“Don’t lie, either, or I shall have you over my lap again.”
Eloise pressed her lips together, her eyes firmly on him.
“Yes,” she admitted. “But… but I have not been able to make myself feel as good as you did.”
Felix chuckled. “Stay there,” he demanded and got up from the sofa.
She could hear him moving about the room, her excitement building from the mere fact that she had no idea what he was doing.
Felix dragged a chair over to Eloise. “Sit,” he commanded as he reclaimed his position on the sofa. “Show yourself to me.”
“What?”
“Sit on the chair with your skirt around your waist,” he said slowly and deliberately, “and show yourself to me.”
“Felix, I… No, I cannot. I…”
Felix leaned in, curling a finger beneath her chin and breathing onto her face. “We both know you are not the innocent maiden you pretend to be, wife. Now, do as I say, or I will leave you here, aching and unsatisfied.”
Slowly, without taking her eyes off him, she raised herself onto the chair, hitching up her skirt as she went.
“That is the way,” he said. “Place one foot on either side of the chair, knees bent.”
Eloise swallowed but did as she was told. To be so boldly on display for him both terrified and aroused her. The fact that she could hear the murmurs of the ball going on just beyond the door exhilarated her even more.
“Now show me,” he said, his eyes glimmering with a dark excitement.
She lowered her hands, caressing her own thighs, surprised by just how damp they had become. Her nerves had somehow disappeared, replaced by quiet confidence.
Felix’s eyes were now focused between her legs, his pleasure evident underneath his trousers. He gasped and shifted restlessly in his chair as she opened herself to him.
She watched as his careful, cool, controlled composure began to crumble and his desire slowly overtook him, emboldening her further.
“Is this what you like?” she asked, her breath rasping.
He nodded, sucking air between his teeth in a carnal hiss.
She pushed a finger inside herself as he had done a few days earlier. It was better, more alluring than it had been when she tried it alone. Having him watch her… It sparked something in her, something that drove her forward.
Because pleasuring herself was also pleasuring him.
And yet still, something was still missing.
“I would prefer if you helped,” she said, head tilted to one side, her index finger circling her nub.
With a roar of frustration, Felix launched himself from the sofa and landed on his knees between her open legs. Eloise gasped in surprise, but as he hooked her thighs around his shoulders, she removed her hands, allowing him complete access.
He dipped his head and lapped at her, drinking her in. Eloise threw her head back and groaned deeply, her need satisfied in seconds.
“Yes, Felix… Please… Don’t stop,” she moaned while shivers raked over her skin.
Her thighs tensed, and she trapped him between her legs, refusing to release him until she had reached the pinnacle of her climax. Only as her waves of pleasure ebbed did she let him go free.
She thought that she would be left to bask in the heady afterglow, but Felix did not give her a second to recover. He grabbed her by her upper arms and guided her toward the bed. She stumbled, her legs shaking from the force of her recent pleasure, and landed face down on the bed, her bare backside in the air.
Felix chuckled. “Good girl. That’s how I want you; I did not even have to instruct you.”
Eloise whimpered in response, unable to form words or even thoughts as she heard his trousers fall to the floor.
Somehow, he managed to undo all the lacings of her corset, and within seconds, he’d pulled both her dress and chemise over her head, leaving her completely bare to him.
He parted her roughly with his hand, feeling and spreading her heated, wet folds. He gave her another hard smack, making her yelp, and leaned over, his entire weight now on her.
“You had best get used to that,” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her neck.
But the words did not register in Eloise’s mind. She could feel his rigid member urging, prodding and probing, his own moistness mingling with hers. He straightened, and with no further word or warning, he guided himself into her, rough and fast.
Eloise gasped. “Dear God, Felix!”
“Remember your manners,” he said as he rode her, pushing into her over and over, his hips slamming against her buttocks.
“Y-yes, Your Grace,” she muttered as the formality sent a delicious shiver down her spine.
Her senses were consumed with a kaleidoscope of colors, her entire body overcome with sensations. Felix grunted as he repeatedly thrust into her, his hand occasionally coming down hard on her backside.
Eloise squirmed as her groin contracted and tightened by the second. She clenched herself around his throbbing hardness, arching her back, and lifted her hips, so he could drive himself more deeply into her wet recess.
“Yes, that’s it, darling. Offer yourself to me,” he said under his breath, his words sending even more delicious tingling sensations all over her.
Felix reached forward and grabbed a handful of her hair. She yelped in surprise as he yanked her head back, but it was the frenetic pull she had needed to send her over the edge, into the yawning cavity of ecstasy for which she had been searching.
“Come for me, Eloise. Let go,” he whispered in her ear, and almost hypnotized, she gave in, her whole body pulsing with bliss around his manhood.
Felix drove into her one last time then pulled out, spilling his seed across her bare back with a moan that made her eyes roll back in her head. God, even the sounds he made gave her pleasure.
“Good girl,” he said, giving her a final tap on the backside for good measure.
She heard the swish of his trousers as he pulled them up and buckled them.
“Now get up,” he added, “Sort out your gown and your hair. We ought to rejoin the ball.”