Birching His Bride (Domestic Discipline 1)

Seven o'clock sharp? A small smile curved Eleanor's lips as she realized that this was the perfect start to defying her husband and ultimately gaining her freedom. Such a small thing, denying him her presence when he'd ordered it, so soon after discipline would both be subtle and send the undeniable message that his punishment hadn't quite had the effect he'd intended.

"I am not feeling at all thing thing, Poppy," she said smoothly. "Help me out of this dress and into my night rail and then have Cook send a tray up to my room. I will dine here tonight."

Chapter 4

Edwin dismissed the maid from his room, frowning as he looked in his mirror. Tonight he’d tried to dress to please Eleanor and yet here she was defying him again. Was she truly ill or was this a fit of pique? Or even another attempt at manipulation? He certainly wouldn’t put it past her, but as a fair minded man he did want to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The past forty eight hours had been full of many shocks after all, and even if part of him suspected that Eleanor was currently far too self-engrossed to really be dented by any of those shocks, that didn’t mean that he was necessarily correct. There were other facets to her personality as well, it was just that being indulged had created some less admirable qualities in her.

Turning to his Johnson, his valet, he tugged off the cravat he’d just had put on, ignoring the man’s sigh of dissatisfaction at his employer’s state of attire. “Go tell Mrs. Hester that I will bring the tray to my wife and to put enough food for two on it.”

If Eleanor was truly unwell then Edwin would sit up with her and do what he could, including keeping her company. If she wasn’t unwell… well they wouldn’t be leaving her bedchamber for some time anyway and having the food there would be fortuitous. Humming softly under his breath, Edwin found himself hoping for the latter.

******

When the door to her bedroom opened, Eleanor waved her hand at the table beside her.

"You can put the tray here," she said not looking up from her book. It was comfortable in front of the fire, curled up in the chair, and warm enough that she'd loosened her robe in the front so that it gaped open slightly.

"You don't look very ill to me," said a deep voice as the tray settled next to her.

With a gasp, Eleanor's head jerked upwards to meet the censuring eyes of her husband. Edwin looked darkly handsome, as always, wearing nothing more than a pair of trousers and a loose shirt that was open at the neck, showing a hint of his muscular chest and a few curly hairs peeking out. Apprehension and excitement curdled through her at the hot and lustful anger in his eyes, so similar to how he'd looked at her this afternoon.

What was wrong with her?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice coming out sharper than she'd intended because of her trepidation over her body's reaction to him.

"Well right now I'm wondering what you're doing in here, instead of down at the dinner table with me."

Eleanor tilted her chin upwards, well aware that the effect was diminished with him standing over her, but she was so used to assuming the haughty posture when she was being defiant that it was automatic.

"I was feeling ill."

"Are you still feeling ill?"

"Yes."

"You don't look ill," he said, repeating his earlier statement as she glared up at him.

"Looking at you is making me feel sick to my stomach," she snapped rudely.

Sighing, Edwin shook his head and turned and walked away. For a moment, a surge of triumph went through her, but inexplicably he stopped and sat on her bed. "What are you doing?"

"Lying to me is unacceptable," Edwin said calmly, watching her from his place on the bed. "So is disrespect. Neither shall be tolerated. Since this is the first time we've talked this though I will go easy on you, although both of those infractions should have been obvious."

A frisson of unease shot through Eleanor. "I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

"Come," Edwin said, patting his lap. "Lay across my lap. You're due for another spanking."

"What?! No!" Although she'd set out to provoke her husband, she hadn't seriously considered that he would spank her again so soon. The whole point had been to show him that his spanking hadn't had a real effect on her. "You've already beaten me enough today, don't you think?"

"I did not beat you," he said firmly, frowning at her with a glint of real anger in his eyes at her accusation. Even angry he looked so handsome that he nearly took her breath away. "You were not harmed in any way, you were disciplined for bad behavior. Since you are still exhibiting such behavior I am going to discipline you again. Now come here, take off your robe and lay across my lap. The longer you take to follow my orders the longer your spanking is going to last."

For a moment Eleanor considered further resistance but her goal was to provoke her husband into not wanting her presence anymore, not into giving her harsher punishments. She would show him; she would take the spanking and then continue her campaign tomorrow as if nothing had happened. Obviously the message hadn't gotten across yet, but after a few more disciplinary sessions with no change in her behavior and he'd realize that spankings didn’t work on her. Then she'd suggest that she go stay with a friend and he'd be happy to see the back of her.

Still, it was harder than she'd expected to stand up and take off her robe, leaving it on the chair behind her. However she couldn't stop the feminine thrill at the heat that surged in Edwin's eyes and the way his pants bulged as she walked towards him in nothing but her thin night rail. Moving stiffly and reluctantly Eleanor came to stand in front him.

"Good girl," he crooned, taking her hand and pulling her down towards him. His hands on her made her shiver. "Now put your head on this side... yes that's it, and legs on this side..." The night rail was lifted so that her bottom was exposed, still slightly pink from the spanking she'd received earlier that afternoon. "Now spread your legs."