Page 8 of Claiming Their Slave
Chapter Three
Oh, no. This couldn’t be happening.
Tears of frustration burned in Ava’s eyes. She had been so sure Jaxon wouldn’t find her. She’d run until she was breathless and found what she’d thought was the perfect hiding spot. She’d even taken the care to conceal the hollow of the tree with several thick branches she’d found lying on the forest floor.
How had he found her, especially so quickly?
She didn’t want to feel the sting of his sword belt, but she didn’t want to receive a hand spanking from him either. She crawled toward the light that filtered through the branches, blinking rapidly to dispel her tears. No matter what, she didn’t want him to witness her crying.
Sniffling, she pushed at the branches and rose up out of her hiding spot. She lowered her head, feeling sufficiently chastised even though Jaxon had yet to lay a hand on her. Her bottom tingled. Would he really spank her? Again, for a reason she couldn’t fathom, everything between her thighs felt achy. Maddeningly so. Her face heated in mortification. Would he spank her over her dress, or over her drawers, or on her bare bottom?
Her heart thudded in her ears and her mouth went dry. She finally found the courage to glance up and meet his eyes. The resolute look in his eyes made her tummy flip.
He uncrossed his arms and approached her. She drew back, but he picked her up and placed her down on top of a large smooth rock. He lifted each of her feet, inspecting them, and guilt for lying to him and betraying him swept down on her, because she realized he was checking the soles of her feet for cuts. He pulled out a canteen and trickled water over her feet, wiped them dry with a cloth, and then reached in a pouch attached to his sword belt. A gasp left her when he withdrew a pair of shoes.
“I made these for you while I was in the tent. Stitched them together very quickly, so they aren’t the best quality, but they should last you until we reach my homestead. After that, my uncle, who lives nearby, will make you a fine pair of shoes. He’s a skilled cordwainer.”
“Thank you, Master.” Remorse made her choke up, and she swallowed hard. While she’d been running away, he’d been inside the tent making her the finest pair of shoes she’d ever worn. Though he acted as if they weren’t of good quality, she felt proud to wear them, because he’d made them just for her. Oh, what had she done? Maybe escaping wasn’t the answer to her problems, a small voice in her mind whispered. Perhaps she ought to spend more time with Jaxon and his brother, to give them a chance before she ran off again.
“You are lucky a wildcat didn’t jump down out of the trees and come at you. Or a giant spider.” He finished tying the shoes to her feet and urged her to drink from the canteen. She accepted, and relished the coolness of the water assuaging her dry throat.
“I-I a-am so-sorry, Master.” Her voice wavered and tears welled in her eyes. She sniffled again and berated herself for crying when he hadn’t even punished her yet. She should hate him for what he planned to do, but after he’d tended to her feet and put shoes on her, then gave her a much-needed drink, she couldn’t manage to summon an ounce of hatred for Jaxon.
“Why did you run, Ava?” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as he crouched in front of her, and she had to resist the impulse to lean into his touch. A sudden shiver racked her body. His gentle touches and tender care, coupled with his sternness and insistence that she obey him, left her conflicted, yet craving him all the more.
“I have always wanted to be free,” she admitted. The meadow of daisies flashed in her mind. When she had finally crossed the field that was supposed to signify her freedom, she’d been on a leash, pulled by her new master. Finally walking amidst those pretty flowers had been bittersweet.
He tipped her chin up and leaned forward, peering into her gaze. “I bought you, Ava. I am your master now. As is my brother, Wolfe. You will be a good girl and serve us, and in return we will give you a safe place to live and treat you with kindness. You will have a comfortable place to sleep, in a room of your very own, and we will never starve you like your former master did. But when you disobey us, there will be consequences.”
Ava didn’t think she could feel any worse. She couldn’t recall ever having felt so guilty over something she’d done. Jaxon’s promises to keep her safe resonated in her soul. She’d always avoided men, fiercely guarding her virginity, because she never wanted to have children unless she was free. But now as Jaxon stroked her cheek, with his gaze softening by the moment, all the walls she’d erected around her heart came crashing down in a flood of emotion.
“I am sorry I ran away from you, Master. Please, forgive me.”
He pulled back slightly and reached into another pouch on his belt, then withdrew a heel of bread and a hunk of cheese. He placed the food in her hands. “Eat and rest for a moment, and then we’ll set out for my campsite.”
“Thank you, Master.” The instant he took a seat on the rock beside her, she carefully wiped at her fallen tears, hoping he hadn’t seen them trickling down her cheeks as he sat down. After a few deep breaths to calm herself, she nibbled at the bread and cheese, thankful to have something in her stomach. She hadn’t eaten yet today. While it wasn’t entirely true that her former master had starved her, he believed slaves didn’t deserve to eat more than once a day, and she usually took her daily meal in the late afternoon, though if she became famished in between meals she would sneak an apple or a hunk of bread from the kitchen.
“All finished?”
“Yes. Thank you again, Master.” She rose up with his assistance and marveled at his great height. The tallest man she’d seen in the village had been around six feet tall, and she judged Jaxon to be well over seven feet. He towered over her, and she shuddered at the thought of her impending punishment. How badly would it hurt?
“Come, little human. Once we return to the campsite, you will submit to your spanking, and then we will travel a bit before nightfall.”
He clutched her tiny hand in his large one and led her through the forest.
* * *
Jaxon guided Ava into the tent, wanting to get her punishment over with as soon as possible, because he didn’t know how long he would manage to keep himself from staking his claim on the pretty little human. Goddess, he wanted her. So much that he still had her believing she would be kept as his slave. He didn’t want to plant the seed in her mind that she might one day be free of him and his brother.
“Remove your dress, Ava.”
She peered at him in shock. “Master, please.”
He shrugged off his sword belt and placed it on the ground, next to the small trunk he stored the tent in as he traveled. He sat on the trunk and spread his knees, then reached for Ava and positioned her to stand between his legs.
“You disobeyed me, little human, and now you will be punished.”
Fear shone in her eyes, but he believed she needed to be dealt with firmly. She’d lied to him, she’d run off, and, worst of all, she had put her life in danger. He told her as much, and she blushed and fidgeted in place as he delivered the stern scolding.
