“Menus.”
“Menus?”
“Yes, now that I’m the lady of the house in London, I need to work with the housekeeper and set the menus for the week.”
Edmund brought a hand to her neck and stroked over the front of it with his thumb. Ann held in a purr at the sensation.
“Liar,” he said with a smirk.
“I am not!” she cried.
“If I lifted your skirt right now, I wouldn’t find you wet and soft, suddenly ready to swallow my fingers and cock?”
“It might be hard for me to take you inside if you’re unable to maintain an erection while I’m in the room.”
Edmund placed an enormous hand over her knee and then gathered her skirts. “That problem might resolve—”
And then the carriage slowed and he looked out the window.
“We’ve arrived at the Forest,” he said. “I hope you’re prepared.”
Chapter 5
In a lounge offthe ballroom where the Grand Bucks gathered to share a woman while wearing papier-mâché stag masks, Edmund was pacing long after the other three men had removed their clothes.
“I don’t think she’s ready,” he muttered while halfheartedly puffing on a cheroot.
“How could a woman ever be ready for all of this?” asked Thorncock, gesturing to his colossal piece with a smirk.
Stagshade spun a globe as if lost in a trance, not attending to their conversation.
“Rutlord,” said the High Buckthorn, referring to Edmund’s Buck title, “if she’s not ready, you need to step in and insist that she withdraw from tonight’s claiming.”
Edmund groaned internally, imagining the furor that would erupt if he once again denied his wife her pleasure. And a baby. “There must be another way.”
“Maybe she wants it to hurt,” said Stagshade, finally looking up from the globe. Why did the Bucks have a globe in their private lounge, anyway? Secret societies collected trophies over time, but they should really clean the place up some day they didn’t have a woman’s hard use on their schedule.
Edmund considered the idea that Ann might enjoy some pain. Her pupils had blown wide at his mention of the possibility. But she was so nearly an innocent she did not know how much danger lay in store. He and Crispin had already hurt her emotionally; he didn’t want physical damage from tonight on his hands.
“Most wives prepare over the course of weeks and months before taking us,” said the High Buckthorn. “Have you adequately prepared your wife for us?”
Edmund thought of Ann taking Clarence’s average piece on that bed as he watched. She wasn’t ready. This would hurt. But she’d defenestrate him should he deny her the pleasure she’d requested.
“You haven’t stretched her?” asked Thorncock, his papier-mâché antlers casting a shadow over Edmund.
“Have you trained her arse at least?” asked Stagshade, his cock jerking at the idea of a virgin hole for the taking.
“There’s no way a man of experience like the Rutlord would bringhis wifeto the Forest without making the necessary preparations,” said the High Buckthorn. “You’ve prepared her, haven’t you, chief?”
“No!” exploded Edmund as he realized his error. “She isn’t ready. I…have made some grave mistakes, and I was forced to offer the Bucks.”
“Forced to share your wife with other men?” asked Stagshade, his arched brow audible in his voice, though visually blocked by his mask.
“She wants a baby.”
“Congratulations, man,” said Thorncock. “May you enjoy making one.”
Edmund groaned, realizing he’d need to reveal some personal details for the story to make sense.
