Page 34 of Orc's Possession
“I know. I’m talking to one.”
The corners of his mouth lift, exposing the full lengths of his tusks in what I now know is a grin. At first, I took the expression to be a warning, though with Atox his threats and promises can be hard to distinguish. And the more I watch him, trying to decode his expressions, the more my eyes wander down his body.
Today, he’s only wearing a loin cloth, and a broadsword strapped to his back. The leather straps that crossed his chest and held a score of knives yesterday is gone, along with the full-length leather pants.
With only a loin cloth on, every part of him looks bigger, and I do meaneverypart. He takes no shame in the fact that his loin cloth tents often near me. It’s the reminder I need to watch myself around him. To not encourage him in any way.
Atox strides down from his perch on the hilltop, heading straight toward me as if he intends to… and that’s the part I never can figure out. What he intends to do with me in any given moment. He doesn’t tell me his plans, other than to mate me and get me pregnant. He’s as unpredictable as the terrain on Kovos, and just as demanding.
He places a finger beneath my chin coaxing me to look him squarely in the eyes. “I am the most dangerous being you will ever meet, Paloma. Remember that.”
“Is that another threat?”
“A fact. Now for your punishment.”
I freeze in place. “What are you talking about?”
“Yesterday, you earned a punishment.”
“For what? Not letting you fuck me?”
“For shouting at me, in front of my men. I will not be disrespected, especially where others can witness.”
Between the shock of being treated like a commodity and forced to come to Mount Racha, much of yesterday is a blur. I don’t recall shouting at him, though I suspect I did. I was scared, terrified. I still am, but not as much today.
I swallow hard as I back into the water. My boots are out of reach, not that I could get to them, put them on, and outrun him.
Or have anywhere to run.
Atox follows me into the water. Boots, sword and all. Once he makes up his mind, nothing can stop him.
“Please don’t hurt me.”
He scowls but continues moving toward me. I stop backing away from him. There’s nowhere to go.
Atox lifts me up, throws me over his shoulder, and carries me out of the shoulder-high water. My shoulders, not his.
“Please, Atox, I’ll never do it again.”
“You will. It is in your nature,” he says as he sits on a log, turns me over his knee and lifts the back of my tunic, exposing my ass.
“Your men aren’t even here to see you punish me. We can say you punished me. No one will know.”
“I will know and you will know,” he says as his palm comes down on my ass. Hard.
The slap echoes through the woods, only to be drowned out by my gasp and swearing as the pain spreads across my backside. Then a second and third strike sting my flesh. Despite the sting of his hand, I know he’s holding back. He has enough power to break me. This spanking, though humiliating, is mild in comparison to what he can do. What I saw him to do Sojek.
“We are done,” he announces as he eases the tunic down over my ass.Gently. Now he’s gentle, not a moment before when he could have skipped the spanking.
I jump off his lap, instantly regretting my sudden movement since my flesh burns. I rub my ass and wince. Even the soft leather tunic brushing against my skin smarts as does my pride.
“You promised never to hurt me.”
“I did not hurt you. I taught you a lesson. One you will not forget and may one day save your life.”
“Screw you, Atox,” I bite back as tears leak down my cheek despite trying my best not to cry in front of him.
His face tightens. Regret? Or is he upset I don’t appreciate thislesson?
