Page 8 of Bound

Not waiting to see what they were going to assist with, Cara sprinted for the door. One of the males caught her around the waist and Cara went wild.

CHAPTER2

“How would you like her, Chancellor Laeth?” Winlos asked casually.

“Naked, secured, and fully denuded, if she is not so already.”

Denuded? Cara wasn’t sure what that meant and she had no intention of finding out.

She fought with all her strength, screaming, twisting, and kicking. Fear gave her a burst of strength, but the attendants simply held her and waited for her to tire herself out.

“Let go of me! I didn’t agree to this. Please, call my parents. This can’t be what they had in mind.”

“That is enough,” Winlos snapped. “Your potential mates have every right to examine you. This assessment is the primary reason you are here.”

The attendants soon had her totally naked despite her best efforts to stop them. One of the males held her in place while the other rolled a padded bench to the middle of the room. Her parents had brought her here knowing this would happen. It was so perverse, so wrong, she felt tears gathering behind her lashes. Shame washed over her in churning waves. Her potential mates just stood there staring, even Merrik and Tov. She desperately wanted to cover herself, but the attendant held her firmly. The bench was positioned, the surface raised to waist height, and then the attendants started to lift her onto it.

“Wait,” the chancellor ordered. “I want to assess her before you strap her down.”

Alarmed by the order, Cara tugged against the attendants’ restraining hands. If all they were going to do was look at her, why did she need to be strapped down?

“Of course, sir,” Supervisor Winlos said.

One of the attendants grasped the back of Cara’s neck and bent her over the table. Her arms were stretched out to the side and they moved her legs apart. Her hair was gathered and moved off her back, partially obscuring her vision. She heard feet shuffling and sensed someone, or several people, behind her. Her heart thudded and her breath came in angry pants. They were judging her body, assessing her value, her worth. The realization made her struggle all over again, but the attendants simply tightened their grasp, holding her firmly in place.

“Her skin is so pale.” Skolat’s voice was hushed and husky. “Is she ill?”

Tov chuckled. “Judging from her muscle tone and the lushness of her curves, she is perfectly healthy.” His warm hand ran down her spine and squeezed one ‘lush’ ass cheek. At least she presumed Tov was touching her. He repeated the caress, squeezing the other side. She squirmed, restless and agitated. This wouldn’t be so humiliating if the others weren’t here watching.

“One of the fun things about skin this light is how quickly it pinkens,” Tov told them. “May I demonstrate?”

The question didn’t make sense. May he demonstrate what?

“I will allow it,” Supervisor Winlos decided.

Tov smacked Cara’s ass twice, one stinging swat on each side. She gasped and whipped her head around glaring, but Tov stood just out of her line of vision.

“A harder spanking will result in lovely pink handprints.”

“Continue the demonstration,” Skolat urged. “Redden her entire ass. I want to see if it makes her wet.”

“I will spank her,” Ephrod insisted, shoving Tov aside.

“I gave Commander Nee permission for the demonstration,” Supervisor Winlos reminded. “He will proceed.”

“Why am I being spanked?” Cara objected. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Misbehavior is the most common reason for discipline,” Winlos told her. “But sometimes it is used to reinforce the males’ dominance. You will submit whenever your mates feel discipline is needed. That is part of being a conduit.”

“That’s utter bullshit! None of these jerks are my mates,” she argued. “I shouldn’t have to submit to anything!”

“Proceed, Commander Nee. Clearly, this female needs discipline.”

Tov swatted her bottom several times as if getting her nerves used to the sensations, then the smacks became more intentional. Each slap was a hard, stinging impact that rocked her against the table. Then heat spread over her cheeks and sank into her muscles.

She balled up her fists and clenched her teeth. Anger gave way to humiliation and finally resentment. She was a toy, a plaything they could position and abuse. Only she didn’t really feel abused. Her bottom ached, the impact stung, but a strange sort of longing unfurled within the pain. This felt familiar, as if they were fulfilling a need she hadn’t realized she possessed.

“Look at that.” Skolat brushed his fingertips over one burning cheek, intensifying the sting.

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