Erik nodded, then looked over his shoulder at me. I still held the knife. I could still try to lunge and attack any one of them, but I was no match for their strength, especially now that they would see the attack coming.
“Drop the knife. Now,” Erik ordered.
I did as he asked, crawling back a few steps away from the blade to show I meant no harm by it. I glanced quickly at Dabney and Rue, who stared at me with the same horror in their eyes I’d seen when the brothers had attacked.
Were they scared for themselves or for me?
Erik took three large strides toward me, grabbed me by the arm, and yanked me up to where I wobbled on terrified legs. “That was a stupid mistake, Maya. I thought you were much smarter than that.” He pulled me over to one of the logs the men had drawn up to the fire. He was using so much force I barely had my feet on the ground as he dragged me beside him.
“I’m sorry.” Any bravado I’d had a few minutes ago was quickly slipping away. Erik was mad, not that I could blame him. I had tried to kill his brother, however poor a job I had done.
“Oh, you will definitely be sorry by the time I’m done with you.” He stopped and stared at me directly in the eyes. “You give me no choice. You understand that, right?”
No, I didn’t understand at all. “No choice?” My heart beat hard against my chest. I couldn’t read him. How was he going to deal with me since I was his responsibility?
He glanced at Pasco over my shoulder, then back at me. “It’s either a punishment from me, or we let Pasco handle it his way. I’m sure you would much prefer a spanking rather than a beating.”
Was there a difference?
“You’re going to give me a spanking?” My question came out as more of a squeak than anything.
His face seemed to harden to stone; his jaw clenched. “Your defiant nature could have just got you killed right there. I can’t have you putting your life at risk because you foolishly think you are stronger than you are.”
I took a few steps back, despite there being no chance of outrunning him. “Stay away from me!” I put up my hands, preparing to push him away. “Don’t you dare touch me!”
He glanced at Pasco, who had his arms crossed, no doubt fuming that he couldn’t just do to me as he pleased. “You put me in this situation,” he said, as he closed the gap between us.
“You don’t have to do this! You and your brothers need to leave us alone!”
My words fell upon deaf ears. Erik dragged me over to the log and sat down, effortlessly positioning me over his lap. “If you take your spanking like a good little girl, then I won’t use my belt and give you the whipping of a lifetime. The choice is up to you.” Without giving me a second to respond, he yanked down my pants and lowered my cotton panties, baring my ass for all to see.
“No!” I squealed as the air chilled my exposed skin. “Please! Stop!”
His large palm came crashing down upon my naked flesh to accentuate his point.
He was punishing me like an errant child! “How dare you?” I screamed. “Let me go this instant!”
His only response to my demand was another searing swat to my ass.
I cried out and tried to wiggle off his lap. There was little hope. His strength held me firmly in place as the spanking began in earnest. One swat after another peppered my upturned butt. Swat after swat growing to an inferno of little bee stings along my flesh.
“Have you ever been spanked like a naughty girl?” he asked as he continued to slap each cheek in a staccato of pain.
“I’ve been…” I howled as his hand made contact where my thighs connected with my ass.
Another volley of spanks landed. “Answer my question. Has anyone ever spanked your bare behind?”
I had never been bared before anyone. The humiliation of such an act by a man I barely knew was almost too much to handle. Everyone was watching. Everyone! The other men could see me naked from the waist down, and as I resisted and tried to break free, they no doubt saw my sex on full display as my legs were spreading as I tried to fight off each spank.
“Ow! Please!”
He didn’t stop, but rather upped the intensity, one swat after another.
“Answer me, Maya.”
“No! No, I have never been spanked on my bare behind like a naughty little girl!” I said the words as loudly as I could, hoping desperately it was enough to have him end the punishment.
“Do you play with knives?”