He helped her off the bathroom counter and followed her into the bedroom. She turned down the covers and started to crawl inside, but froze when she felt an impossibly strong hand on the back of her neck.
“Don’t move,” Søren ordered.
“What—”
She yelped as his hand made loud and brutal contact with her barely covered bottom.
“That was for drinking too much last night.”
He smacked her bottom again, this time twice as hard.
“And that was for Wyatt.”
Eleanor dug her fingers into the sheets and braced herself. The next smack hurt worse than the previous two combined. She gasped from the pain.
“And that was simply for the fun of it. Now you may get into bed.”
“Ow.” Eleanor finally managed to get a word out. She collapsed onto her side and pulled the covers over her. She looked up at Søren, who seemed to be fighting off a smile. “I can’t believe you spanked me.”
Søren grinned at her. “I can.”
He bent and kissed her, one of his conquering kisses that made her feel like a newly discovered world waiting for him to plant his flag in her.
He slid his hand under the covers, down her body and between her legs. Over top of her pajama bottoms, he teased her clitoris until she panted into his mouth. She raised her hips, hungry for more, and he pushed the fabric aside to slide one finger into her.
“Would you like to come?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
He kissed her again as he rubbed her clitoris with his thumb. She dug her fingers into the sheets as he edged her closer and closer to climax. She shut her eyes as the pressure built and her temperature rose. And then without warning, Søren pulled his hand away from her.
Her eyes flew open and she looked up at him.
“You’re killing me,” she said.
He gave her a smile so wicked she almost came from that alone.
“I asked you if you wanted to come. I didn’t say I would let you.”
“Fucking sadist.”
“I’m glad you’re starting to realize this. Want your bedtime story now?”
“No, I want an orgasm.”
“Good. I’ll find the book. But first …” Søren knelt at the side of the bed, and Eleanor rose up on her elbows.
“What are you doing down there? Praying?”
“Digging. Here we go.” He pulled some kind of briefcase from under the bed and unlatched it.
“What is that?”
“Kingsley keeps his guest rooms well supplied.” He pulled two lengths of rope from the case, shut it and slid it back under the bed. “I have to leave the room for a few minutes, and I’m not sure I trust you with yourself.”
“You think I’ll furiously masturbate the second your back is turned?”
“Yes.”
“You’re probably right about that.”
Søren took her wrists in his hands. They felt so small and delicate in his grip. He wrapped the rope around both her wrists several times, tying them together before looping the rope around the bedpost and securing it. In awe she watched his expert fingers, how easily he knotted the rope.
“Now stay there.”
“Stay here?” she called out as he left the room. “I’m tied to the damn bed. Where would I go?”
Søren didn’t answer.
“I hate you!” she called out even louder. This time he answered.
“One hundred twenty-seven,” he called back.
As soon as Søren left the room she decided she had to get out of these damn ropes. If she had two minutes she could give herself the orgasm he’d denied her. Her whole body still pulsed with need. Maybe if she twisted her hands, turned this way, dislocated her shoulder and twisted her body around …
“Good, you’re still here.” Søren came back into the room carrying a book in his hand.
“I wonder why.” She pulled her knees to her chest and fumed. “You are the most evil man on earth.”
“I am, yes. Would you like to hear your bedtime story now?”
“I would like to punch you in the face.”
“It’s Lewis Carroll. I found this in an antique bookstore in Rome.”
“I hate it. I want to set it on fire.”
“It’s Through the Looking-Glass. I know how partial you are to the Jabberwocky.”
“You are the Jabberwocky, you monster.”
“It’s a long book. Get comfortable. I’ll read.”
“And I’ll murder you in my mind.”
Eleanor entertained a few dozen violent fantasies of retribution on Søren. He’d spanked her, aroused her, denied her an orgasm and then tied her to the bed so she couldn’t touch herself. And now he blithely ignored her fury as he flipped open the pages of the book and began to read.