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When he reached the bedroom that they shared every night he didn't set her down until he reached the bed, stripping her with ruthless efficiency as he kissed her breathless, not giving her a chance to protest. Although she didn't seem inclined to do so anyway, which was barely enough to soothe his rampaging emotions.
Lately he'd taken to carrying spare cravats in his pockets, one that was kept soft and unstarched, so that he could bind his wife's wrists at a whim. As soon as he had her undressed he pulled the length of fabric from his pocket and wrapped it around her wrists.
"But you're still clothed," Eleanor protested, although her eyes were sparkling. Passion was making her glow again, it had wiped away her sadness which he was pleased to see...
Although he knew that those sapphire depths weren't going to be sparkling for long.
Not answering her, Edwin scooped her up and tossed her into the center of the bed, crawling up quickly to straddle his legs over her middle and hold her in place as he secured her wrists to the headboard. It was a position that she'd been in more than once. He loved to have her helpless at his hands and mouth, to tease her until she was writhing and begging him for completion. Now it allowed him to relax, to gain some self-control back over himself.
Because Nell wasn't going anywhere.
Pulling another spare cravat from his pocket- Johnson would have a fit if he knew Edwin's intentions for it, he really must find some better alternatives, Edwin pushed it into his wife's mouth and secured it around her head. Shock rendered her immobile only for a moment and then it was a struggle to tie the thing in place.
When he was finished his beautiful was rumpled, her hair sticking out in more than one direction as the gag and struggle had mussed it horribly, and her blue eyes were promising retribution. No doubt those high shrieking sounds were her screaming invective at him, but for the most part the noise was muffled and nothing was discernible. Edwin glared down at her and pinched her nipples sharply.
A short sharp yelp and then she fell silent behind the gag, glaring up at him with flushed cheeks.
"I have some arrangements to make apparently. We'll be leaving for Bath tomorrow with Wesley." Every sentence was said crisply, as if he was biting out the words. "So you will get part of your wish. I sincerely doubt Hugh and Irene will be joining us... he was almost as displeased to hear of her plans as I was to overhear their conversation." Eyeing her, Edwin could see that her anger at being stripped, restrained and gagged had been tempered by confusion and wariness.
Unable to resist, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, ignoring the renewal of her muffled shrieks and yells.
Having her, for all intents and purposes, wrapped up and at his mercy had gone a long way to tempering the tumult of emotions that had been jumping through him. She wasn’t going anywhere without him. Scooping up her clothes, he ignored the sounds coming from his bed as he tossed the clothes into her dressing room and then locked the doors to both rooms so that she couldn't re-dress herself even if she did somehow manage to get loose, and then locked the door behind as he exited.
Down the hall he saw a footman whom he beckoned closer. "Don't let anyone in this room until I return. Ignore anything that you hear."
"Yes my lord," the man said, looking only slightly confused. He glanced at the door and then at Edwin and then looked away.
Satisfied that his wife was going nowhere without him, Edwin headed to his study to write a quick note to Wesley and then to find Mrs. Hester to tell her to begin the process of closing up the London house. After Bath they would head out to the country; the Season was almost over anyway and out in the country he and Eleanor would have a chance to spend more time together. London was not conducive to patching up a relationship, with the constant social demands and hectic pace of the city.
Then he could figure out what had gone wrong and how he could fix it.
******
Fuming, Eleanor jerked uselessly at her bonds for the umpteenth time. She'd managed to work herself up into a sitting position against the headboard so that she didn't feel quite so incredibly helpless. At least when her husband deigned to return she wouldn't be lying out like a pagan sacrifice for him.
Still, she couldn't deny that as angry as she was to be tied up, gagged and left naked on their bed - for hours it seemed like! - there was something incredibly arousing about it all as well. It gave her plenty of time to think. From what her husband had said Irene hadn't knowingly betrayed her plan, which made Eleanor feel better about her sister-in-law. Especially since she'd asked her not to tell Edwin. Of course she would have had to tell her husband eventually but she'd still be trying to decide on the best way... somehow just disappearing didn't seem like the best idea. But she really hadn't known how he was going to react.
Edwin really didn't like the idea of her leaving town without him. He'd also seemed incredibly upset about the idea of her with another man. Both things seemed significant. The first especially so as she could only base her ideas on love off of what she'd seen with other couples - most notably her own parents when her mother was constantly wishing to be by her father's side and her father was constantly sending her away. Since their relationship was the one she'd sworn never to emulate, Edwin's anger over her intent to send herself away was rather heart-warming.
Was it possible to be furious and delighted at the same time?
She wouldn't have thought so, but that was how she felt. In fact, if he hadn't gagged her she would have been a lot less furious and quite a bit more amused. Well, once she'd had time to cool down after her initial rage - and time was something he was giving her plenty of. She scowled. So much time in fact that she was quite sure she'd be able to work her temper back up if he left her alone for much longer.
At least she was going to get her trip to Bath. More than anything she longed for a coze with her mother. Surely her mother would have words of advice for her. Eleanor regretted not having confided in her before, but she hadn't realized how damned confusing it could be trying to decipher a man's actions and determine his feelings.
Looking down at her hands, Eleanor scowled. She could remove her gag if she really wanted to. With time and patience she would even be able to untie her hands. But she kept putting it off because she wasn't sure when Edwin was returning or what state he would return in.
A spanking seemed like a foregone conclusion but she didn't want to make it worse than it had to be and undoing his work seemed like a good way to do just that. On the other hand, part of her wanted to be standing and facing him when he came in. But remaining helpless and in her current state might sway him towards less punishment. Especially if he came back still angry.
She was still considering the quandary when the door banged open and she jumped in surprise. It slammed behind Edwin as he began stalking towards the bed, controlled energy in his every movement. Eleanor decided she was glad she hadn't untied herself. The way he was eyeing her as he shucked off his jacket and cravat, undoing the top buttons of his shirt and rolling up his sleeves, said that he was still on edge.
Sitting curled up by the headboard, naked with her nipples hardening under his eyes, mussed hair and flushed cheeks, gagged and wrists bound, Edwin thought his wife made an extremely enticing picture. Almost amusing, how docile she managed to look when he was intimately aware that she was anything but.
"We'll be traveling with Wesley tomorrow," Edwin said a little, his eyes trained on her, traveling up and down the portions of her that he could see. The way her legs were curled he could only catch the barest glimpses of the gold and pink of her core, the curve of her breast, a peek at a nipple. It was extremely enticing. "And you are not to leave my sight before then."
Eleanor made a noise behind her gag which he ignored as he finished rolling up his sleeves. Going over to her dressing table, he opened the drawer on the left and heard her muffled moan behind him. A small smile curved his lips as he turned to face her, the wooden hairbrush with its large flat back in his hand. The expression on her face had changed to both beseeching and irritated.
Striding over to the bed, Edwin grasped one of her kicking ankles and began to pull her down the bed slowly so that she didn't her arms as she struggled against him.
