“Here, you do not make the decisions; there is no responsibility. You do not have to take care of everyone anymore,” he murmured, his gaze coasting over her pert rounded derrière, tilted up because of the angle of the rope tie. “Here, you can surrender. You shall be taken care of and I’ll be given what I want.”
She was quiet for a moment. “And what you want is my surrender, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he replied hoarsely, perching a knee on the bed.
“And how do I give you what you want?” she asked.
“By giving yourself the release you need,” Edward hiked up the hem of his robe and exposed her bottom. His hand caressed her smooth skin, and another sweet swift inhale made him smile.
“You need to let your emotions out, Alice. We shall proceed gently,” he assured her. “I shall deliver ten blows for the first infraction, and fifteen for the second. If you feel overwhelmed, say my name, if not, you will saySir. Now, we begin.”
CHAPTER 18
Before Alice could ask him what herinfractionswere—he’d seen that spark in the perking of her head—he landed the first slap to her buttocks.
“Ow!” she cried out, startled by the sudden strike.
He spanked her by hand, causing the warmth to grow inside and out and her breath left her with every hard connection. The slap sounded harsher than its delivery, as her backside grew tender and more sensitive with each land from his hand.
“We have five and ten more. How do you fare, Alice?”
“I’m,” she sucked in a breath and squirmed. “Adjusting.”
“Your buttocks are beginning to glow a lovely shade of rose,” Edward’s voice grew rough and husky with a curious hitch. “I’ve never seen a prettier shade before in my life.”
He allowed her to catch her breath and brace herself; was she truly submitting herself to such treatment? He slapped her harder. This time it hurt enough to make her wonder if she could survive twenty more such blows.
Edward caressed her stinging skin. “Alice, this is not mere punishment for you, you need to look inside your heart and release the emotions. Expunge your emotions, Alice.”
Clenching her eyes, she thrashed against his hold as he continued the relentless spanking. Each blow stung more. The heat on her bottom increased until her skin was on fire.
Something was cracking inside her—she just didn’t know what it was.
The moment she lurched forward, Edward slipped the knot on the rope and spun Alice onto his bare chest, and held her as her tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
Her shoulders were back, hands clenched in her lap as she shuddered. Heat settled in that hollow place under Edward’s chest as she wept. Without any logical reason, he wanted to offer her the world, offer her the very thing he said he would never offer any woman.
If she wanted snow from the middle of the eastern desert, he would damned well find it for her.
“There you are, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Let it out.”
Alice tightened her fingers into his side; he didn’t even mind the soft drips down his neck. “You’ve been carrying this load for so long, it is a part of you now.”
“I didn’t think a-anyone would help.” Her words were a shade louder than a breath.
“But I did,” Edward massaged the hairs at the back of her head. “And I will do it again.”
“Th-thank you.” She took it, pressing her face on his shoulder. “Can you tell me what my infractions are?”
“Leaving your house in the middle of the night with no weapon or protector is count one,” his head craned to the window where a jagged fork of lightning carved the skin in two.
“You took an unnamed hackney who you do not know of who could have abducted you, count two. And coming to me in this wicked weather is count three. Those are your infractions.
“You’ll not risk your neck like that again, and if you do something as foolish as this again, there will be more consequences,” he said sternly. “You are far too important.”
“I won’t,” she murmured. “I promise.”
“Tell me, what are you feeling?” He smoothed his hand down her spine. “What are your senses telling you? What do you feel physically first?”
