Page 5 of Claiming Their Slave
Chapter Two
I will keep you safe. I give you my word.
The Banded man’s promise to keep her safe touched a secret place in Ava’s soul that hadn’t been touched in a long, long time. His words kept repeating in her head, over and over again. Her throat clogged with emotion and her eyes burned with tears, but not from fear this time.
Beyond his promise to keep her safe, his gentleness stunned her. Rather than drag her roughly by the leash and force her to walk barefoot through the woods, he’d picked her up and saved her from hurting her feet. She wondered if he would give her shoes. To keep the one pair of boots she owned in good condition, she only wore them during the cold months. Most slaves did the same and went barefoot all spring and summer. But the few belongings she’d had, including her boots, had been left behind in the village.
She traced the petals on the daisies and inhaled the fresh scent of the flowers. In all the times she’d imagined crossing the meadow, she hadn’t thought it would be after she’d been sold to a Banded man. What was his name? What was his brother’s name?
She searched her memory for stories of Banded men, and a slight shudder ran through her. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and an urgent, hot pulse settled between her thighs. It was said that Banded men were born in pairs, one of the light and one of the night, and they shared one female between them. The brother of the light was awake during the daytime and had silvery blond hair and blue eyes, while the brother of the night was nocturnal and possessed darker hair and eyes. The stories claimed the Goddess created the Banded men in pairs, with opposite sleeping schedules, so the mate they shared, and any children they had, would always remain protected.
What a beautiful arrangement, she thought, compared to the way women were treated in the village. Even free women weren’t exactly free. They usually had to endure a forced or arranged marriage, and wealthy men often had multiple spouses, the arrangements usually coming about for less than noble reasons, such as paying off debts or gaining a political advantage. In stark contrast, it was said that Banded men claimed a female mate not for wealth or power, but simply when they found the woman they believed to be their chosen mate. Were the stories true?
She further pondered the differences between human men and Banded men, or at least the Banded man who now held her in his arms. In the village, errant wives were physically punished by their husbands, often cruelly, and it wasn’t unusual to see a woman with bruises on her face in the market, like Monrock’s poor wives. In comparison, her new master had promised he wouldn’t punish her unless she gave him reason to, and while the bare bottom spanking he’d threatened her with earlier sounded like a humiliating prospect, she took comfort in the fact that he hadn’t threatened her with a brutal beating.
Ava peered around the woods, finding the lush greenery of the trees comforted her in a strange way. It also wasn’t as dark as she’d imagined it would be. There were no houses. No people. She spotted only a few small forest creatures scampering through the underbrush. Birds flitted through the trees too, their happy chirping lifting her spirits and giving her hope that maybe, just maybe, her new master wouldn’t treat her with malice.
Except she would have more than one master, she thought, with her face heating. Two masters—two Banded brothers—she would have to obey. She wondered if they already had a mate.
Taking a deep breath, she peered at the huge man who was carrying her. The stories all claimed the Banded men were barbarians, quick to anger and dangerous to cross in battle. But so far, this man’s actions didn’t entirely confirm all she’d heard in the tales about his kind.
“Master, may I please ask a question?”
“You may,” he said, ducking them under a low branch and momentarily holding her closer to his solid, muscular chest. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt that clung to him like a second skin and revealed his huge biceps.
“What-what is your name?”
“I am called Jaxon, and my twin brother is called Wolfe.”
“Is it true, then? About one Banded twin being nocturnal and the other twin being of the light?”
“Yes, it is true.” He stared down at her, his blue eyes filled with curiosity, as if he longed to know more about her.
She felt small but protected in his arms, and she had to resist the urge to snuggle against him in a familiar manner. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had held her. Another slave, an old man who’d served a master on the same street as hers, had given her a hug when her mother died.
Years. It had been years since someone had given her a tender touch or showed her any amount of regard.
She closed her eyes and pretended Jaxon was her husband, holding her and comforting her as they set off on some journey through the woods, perhaps escaping the harshness of the village together. A soft, dreamy sigh left her lips before she could stop it, and she ducked her head and felt herself blushing profusely.
“What are you thinking about, Ava?”
Her eyes shot open and collided with his inquisitive gaze. He was devastatingly handsome, and her mouth went as dry as it had when she’d first glimpsed him standing in the crowd, calling out a bid. He’d paid an exorbitant amount of money for her, and she couldn’t fathom why. Surely he could’ve found another slave cheaper, if he’d waited another day or two. Slaves were sold in the market quite frequently.
“I’m wondering why you bought me,” she confessed. It was better than admitting she’d been fantasizing he was her husband, or wondering if he and his brother already had a mate.
His gaze hardened, his eyes becoming cold as his jaw clenched.
“I’m sorry, Master. Forgive me.” Obviously, her question had touched a nerve, and she had no wish to anger him.
After a few moments of silence, the tension seemed to drain from him, his muscles relaxing and his expression taking an introspective, but calm, turn. Ava breathed an inward sigh of relief, glad she hadn’t overly upset him.
“We’re almost there.” Jaxon’s warm breath caressed her cheek. There was something absolutely intoxicating about him, and her heart thudded faster at the thought of being all alone with him in the woods during the three-day journey to his home. And after that, being all alone—assuming they didn’t yet have a mate—in a house with Banded twin males, serving them and trying her best to please them, lest they decide to punish her.
Pulses of heat besieged her center. Jaxon’s threat to bare her bottom and give her a sound thrashing rested on the forefront of her mind, making her damp between her thighs. She resisted the urge to clamp her legs tight together and squirm in his arms. She didn’t understand her lustful reaction to his dominance and his nearness. The prospect of punishment had never left her aroused before, and she tried to turn her thoughts off and taper down the delicious heat that was steadily unfurling within her.
He’d bought her. He was her master. She ought to fear him more, and she definitely shouldn’t like him. Not even a little.
He carried her into a clearing where a small tent had been erected, and the remnants of a campfire smoldered faintly. She expected him to place her down on her feet at any moment, but he stood in the clearing and stared at her, his expression growing stern.
