Page 10 of Hunted

Her mouth dried out, making it hard to speak. “Courtship? What does that mean exactly?”

“It is our intention to claim you as our conduit,” Tandor said. “An official courtship gives us thirty days to convince you to let us. Thirty days without the interference of other males.”

“Thirty days.” She skirted her seat and moved as far away from them as the small ship allowed. “You can’t touch me for thirty days?”

Jobek stepped into the row in front of her and caught her upper arms. He pulled her forward until her lower body was pressed against the seat back. “Oh, we’ll touch you. How can we prove ourselves worthy mates if we do not touch you?” His huge hand slid up her arm and lightly gripped the back of her hair. “There are many things a good mate provides for his female. He protects her and keeps her company. He sees to all of her physical and emotional needs. But it is also our job to make you feel secure. In our star system we have found that the one thing that makes a female feel more secure, especially in stressful situations, is discipline.”

That arched her brows. “Clearly males made that determination. Did you ever ask a female if discipline makes her feel secure?”

“When I am finished, I will ask you.”

Jobek dragged her out into the aisle. He pivoted one of the seats outward and sat, then urged her face down over his lap. Stunned and disbelieving, she punched his muscular legs and twisted violently, trying to throw herself off his lap. He gathered her hands to the small of her back and effortlessly pinned them there with one long-fingered hand.

“Wait!” she yelled. “What are you doing?”

Tandor moved behind her so she started kicking wildly, trying to prevent whatever he had in mind.

He pulled off her boots, then Jobek slid her toward Tandor so he could reach beneath her. Tandor unfastened her jeans, pulling them down as Jobek moved her back into position. Her panties came next and soon her bottom and upper thighs were bare.

Panic stabbed through her composure and tears blurred her vision. Why were they undressing her? “You said you couldn’t claim me unless I allowed it. Ido notallow it! Let me up.”

Tandor pulled her jeans and panties all the way off then moved away from her kicking feet.

“When we are ready to claim you, sweetheart, it will be obvious.” Jobek smacked her squirming bottom hard enough to make her cry out.

For just a millisecond, Ansley was shocked into stillness. She forgot to breathe and her sleep-deprived mind refused to acknowledge what was happening to her.

“Good girl,” Jobek whispered. “Hold still and learn your master’s hand.”

Master? He wasn’t her master, and he would never be her mate! His hand stroked over her bare cheeks, his long fingers easing between her thighs. She sucked in a breath as heat spiraled through her abdomen. Her clit twitched then tingled as if the traitorous nub was trying to draw his attention.

His hand slid back onto her cheeks, lightly squeezing before he delivered a firm smack to each side.

Her stupor finally released and she tugged against his hold. “Stop it. You have no right to… this is ridiculous. I’m not a child.”

Jobek’s next swat was significantly harder than the others.

“That hurt,” she objected angrily.

“You ran from us. Choices have consequences.” He accented the statements with several stinging slaps. “You lied when Tandor gave you every opportunity to tell the truth.”

She didn’t regret trying to protect her mentor. She just hoped to heaven that Mistress Neeva was safe.

His hand fell over and over, covering her entire bottom with punishing spanks. The discomfort was shocking at first, but it was nothing compared to the heat rapidly sinking through her body. Each time he spanked her, other parts of her body reacted in inappropriate ways. Her core ached and she suspected she was getting wet like she did when she touched herself. Why the devil would a spanking make her core slicken? It didn’t make sense.

Humiliated and confused, she cried out again. “Stop!”

“Why?” A hint of challenge rippled through his deep tone. “Are you starting to enjoy it?”

His hand slid over her burning cheeks and his fingers eased between her tightly clenched thighs. Terrified that he would find out exactly how right he was, she kicked and twisted, screaming at the top of her lungs.

“That’s enough,” he cautioned, delivering the hardest flurry of swats yet.

She screamed louder. He spanked her harder.

Tandor said something in their language and Jobek’s next spank never came. Instead, Tandor moved closer and said, “There is no shame in being aroused by this. It is a common reaction.”

She shook her head, but couldn’t force the lie past her lips. It was depraved, maybe even sinful to find pleasure in something so wicked.

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