Page 16 of Own to Obey

Three days! So maybe she inflicted the scars herself—scratched at her own body in order to try and escape the strain of it. The horror on Shaya's face must have been extreme, because the girl’s shoulder’s lowered. Shaya rubbed her arm and squeezed. “You survived longer than I,” she said, trying to be reassuring. “I was only in there for a few moments and…” Her breath quickened at the thought of it and she shuddered.

The girl nodded. “Yes.” She rose to her feet. “I will treat,” she repeated again gesturing to Shaya’s shoulder before heading over the desk.

Picking up a number of materials and jars, she headed back to the bed and made Shaya remove her tunic. She undid the bandage that the shinno had wrapped. As the bandage loosened, the pain increased in her shoulder, but she gritted her teeth and bore it, recognizing that it was at least better today than it was the day before.

After gingerly rubbing the various creams and oils over her shoulder, just as potent as the ones the shinno used, the girl rewrapped her shoulder tightly and then gave her a glass of cool liquid to drink. It was the same as what the shinno gave her, so it must be for the pain.

Then, the girl returned and sat on the bed next to her and gathered up the parchment she had placed on the bed. She set a piece of parchment between her and Shaya. “Map of the Isles,” she said haltingly. “You must learn if you are joining Nyek.”

Shaya shook her head. “I am not joining Tribe Nyek.”

The girl stilled. “The shinno says I teach you.”

Shaya shook her head, determination filtering through her. “I will not learn. I will not be a part of this culture.” She turned her eyes on the girl. “He is cruel. He is mean and he has hurt me.”

The girl's eyes widened. “He is not mean, he treat you.Himself.”

“I would not have needed treatment if he had not put me in the box-room.” But even as she said it, she recalled the girl’s own injuries. Maybe she thought that was normal, the price of not listening, or learning, or paying attention. But for Shaya it was an unbelievably cruel punishment that no one should have to endure.

“I must teach,” the girl insisted. “You must learn.”

Shaya shook her head firmly. She was not doing anything else the shinno wanted. She had tried her best and it mattered not whether she struggled or whether she found things easy, he found a way to make her suffer anytime he could, whether it was with his cock down her throat, hanging her from the deck like she was some kind of slab of meat to be dried, or torturing her by locking her up in a box that was small even by the standards of an Omega. Anything else he wanted her to do, she would not do it willingly. She would still ensure that she did not break, but she would not be happily running into any situation that she did not want to be in again. It was one thing to offer to come in place of her sister, and try her best to ensure that she did everything he wanted, but it was quite another for him to torture and degrade her the way he had.

Treska looked perplexed and a little lost at Shaya’s refusal. But Shaya’s mind was firm. She got up and walked to the other side of the bed. “Tell him I refused,” she said to the girl as she climbed in. “Tell him I said no.”

When she woke again, the girl was gone but she had left the parchment and scrolls and all the other things she had brought with her on the desk. Shaya used the washroom and then continued strolling in her room, her thoughts solely focused on planning her day as if she were at home. She realized that she didn’t like being in her room for long periods either. It didn’t feel as bad as the box-room, but a certain anxiety came over her at the idea she wouldn’t be leaving it, so she thought of her home.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice that the door had opened and the shinno had entered. She turned, as she hummed her bland tune, then stopped dead as she came across him.

She watched him evenly, wondering if he would be unbuckling his pants or bellowing at her for not accepting the training that he had clearly told her she must take, but he did neither. Striding toward her, he lifted her again into his arms and carried her out of the room.

Shaya curled herself into him wondering why he insisted on carrying her this way. Did he carry every woman or just her? And why? She was completely capable of walking.

The coolness of the ocean breeze caressed her skin, tempering down her annoyance, and her mood lifted at the sight of the ocean before her. The shinno strode across the deck, toward a wide chair that sat on a platform higher than the rest of the deck. When he climbed up and stood before the chair, she recognized the position. It was the position that they had stood in when she first saw the ocean.

And it was still as captivating as it had been the first time. Everything faded away as she stared at it. Today it looked more blue than green, and the sky above had less clouds, allowing wide stretches of beautiful blue to peek through.

Shaya took a deep breath and as she exhaled, she relaxed.

She wasn't sure how long they stood watching the ocean, but when she glanced at the shinno, his eyes were also on the horizon. The expression on his face seemed to match what she felt, an indescribable feeling of watching something so raw and uncontrolled, something beyond anything anyone else could do or be, and in that moment, a warmth flooded her for him. She had always felt a closer kinship with anyone who appreciated the natural marvels of nature, but just as the thought ran through her, his eyes slid down to her, and the feeling transmuted into something else, something hot and wild… something that she did not want to feel.

She tore her eyes from his and return to looking at the ocean, feeling him lower to sit in the chair, but keeping her eyes focused on the chaotic waves.

She wasn't surprised when his hands began to stroke her ass as soon as he sat; she wasn't surprised as he rubbed her legs; she wasn't surprised when he slipped his hands between her legs and sought out that nub that made her lose control in his arms. Because she was already wet, her nipples were already aching for him from the moment he picked her up. She couldn't understand the reaction, but she had come to expect it. He had an ability to control and do things to her that couldn't be explained by any conversation she recalled having with Kyus.

This time, he balanced her body on both of his thick legs and used his other hand to pull up her tunic to her neck, exposing her bare torso to him. Wrapping his arm back around her, he lifted her upper body up to him so he could close his warm mouth over her breast.

It was incredible.

The suction of his wet mouth, the twirling of his tongue on her nipple coupled with his expert strokes between her legs brought the pleasure rushing into her quicker than she could have ever imagined. Her head rolled as her body writhed, and when that familiar rumble came from his throat, she looked up at him. He held her eyes as he released her and said, “Tes ni choya detta mthnoy, kysm eshar,” before returning his mouth to her breast.

The hunger in his eyes was what she had always seen when he looked at her. She had thought it was because his own desires were being met that made him look at her that way, but there was no obvious gratification he was getting, other than having her completely at his mercy to pleasure however he pleased. And as the orgasm ripped through her, tearing a scream from her throat, and jostling her body with such ferocity that her shoulder ached, the thought of that gratifying him satisfied her more deeply than she wanted it to.

***

The next few days seem to repeat themselves over and over.

Shaya woke naturally, without anyone interrupting her sleep, washed and then paced the room thinking of the life that she had left behind. Treska arrived around midday, with her lunch and always tried to encourage her to learn about Southern culture. She started off by asking about words in the Common Tongue to write in her own little book, and then quickly transpired to pointing to items and saying the name in her language, Mayaros, or correcting Shaya when she said thank you toyettsyrm, which meant the same thing in Mayaros. But Shaya continued to firmly reject all attempted teaching.

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