Too bad she wasn’t punishing him in the garden.
Mad as she was, Riana couldn’t help but admire his firm ass as he walked up the stairs. The man did have one very fine gluteus maximus.
Riana gave him just enough time to contemplate what he thought was coming then followed him up the stairs.
* * * * *
Darias paced the bedchamber restlessly. Stopping behind a chair, he gripped the padded back and glanced over his shoulder at the peaceful garden behind him. The flowers dipped and bowed under the sapping heat of late afternoon. This damn drought showed no signs of breaking.
One glass door was partially opened, allowing a hint of a hot, fragrance-laced breeze to waft into the room. Darias could hear the sound of distant voices floating up as people went about their business.
Damn, he hated waiting.
Almost as much as he had come to hate the hidden alcove in the garden.
From the position of the sun, he’d have at least two more hours before Riana strapped him down on the Punishment Stone.
Darias closed his eyes and swallowed as a shudder worked its way down his spine.
He wasn’t a coward. As a warrior, he’d faced death and had his share of wounds. As Supreme Chief of Nexar, he’d had to make some hard decisions—which man to send on a suicide mission, whether or not to sentence a man to death and so on.
But nothing he’d faced as either warrior or Supreme Chief garnered such a hard knot of dread in his stomach as contemplating punishment from one offworld woman. Making that walk to the hidden alcove needed more resolve than facing the best-trained Trinearian warriors.
His plan to take back control of Nexar was full of risks, risks that would result in punishments such as this one. He knew and accepted that fact. Still, while willing to bear the punishment in order to succeed, Darias couldn’t prevent a pulse of apprehension.
It left a sour taste in his mouth.
As Supreme Chief, he was required to present a front that allowed no hint of fear or uncertainty to show.
As a warrior, he had trained himself to do what needed to be done in spite of any inner fear he might feel.
But as a slave, all he could do was submit.
The bedchamber door opened and closed softly. His fingers bit into the cushion as he faced the woman who now had control over his entire life. She had come sooner than he expected. Contrary to his earlier musings, Darias found he was not relieved to have punishment start early.
“Punishment does not start until the sun sets.” Darias wanted to swallow his tongue. Never, ever let an enemy see nervousness.
Riana strolled fully into the room. Not looking at him, she removed her leather jacket and placed it on the end of the bed, taking the time to arrange it just as she wished. Finally, she met his gaze from across the room.
“Punishment starts when I say it starts.” Her voice softened. “And ends when I say it ends.”
“Nexarian tradition dictates…” Krel, could he stand it starting hours early? It was bad enough when darkness cradled the alcove, but broad daylight? When he could see the sky above him and know hundreds of people were about in the castle and its grounds?
That hundreds more would hear every cry he uttered?
Darias wasn’t foolish enough to believe he could remain silent. That first night in the garden had proved that.
“Screw Nexarian tradition. I am starting a new tradition.” Her voice hardened abruptly. “Take your breeches down.”
“Excuse me?” Confused, Darias stared at her. “I—I do not understand.” She wanted him to walk naked to the Punishment Stone? In daylight?
Riana crossed to stand in front of him. The light floral scent that was hers alone surrounded him, teasing his senses. Her eyes were deeply green and hard as fire crystals.
“You deliberately sought to derail the ability of the women to take charge of their businesses.” Her voice lowered. “You deliberately undermined my authority in front of not only the men but my women. You’re an intelligent man, Darias. You knew there would be repercussions.”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Yes.”
“You knew that meant punishment.” Her eyes held his, refusing to let him look away. Darias had never seen such seething anger in her. Not even when he’d refused to give her the access codes to the main computer system.
The lingering effect from that episode had lasted for days. Even now, the remembered humiliation of having his discipline publicly known created a dull burn in his cheeks.
What would Riana met out this time?
“Is part of your new tradition making me walk naked through the garden where anyone in the adjoining gardens could see me?” Just the thought brought chill bumps to his flesh.
“You misunderstand. I have no intention of using the Punishment Stone.” Before Darias had chance to recover from that statement, Riana spoke again. “Lower your breeches.”
He started to protest, but the expression on her face stopped him. Slowly, his hands went to the waistband of his trousers. One by one, he undid the tabs. Unable to help himself, he began breathing shallowly. Slipping his hands inside, he pushed the silky material down his hips to his knees where they fell to the floor, pooling around his ankles.
“Now the thong.” Her gaze fell to the garment in question. Her chest, with those beautiful breasts, lifted and fell as she took a deep breath. She took a tiny step forward and the pure heat in her expression about brought him to his knees.
His cock quivered and lengthened. Yes. Finally, she’d come to her senses. Understood women had a place in Nexarian society, and that place was not at its head. It was bound to happen. Once she and the other women realized the breadth and complexity of running a government, it’d become obvious they were in over their heads. Who would have thought such a minor setback as being denied trade contracts would trigger such a revelation. But maybe they’d already been having doubts. The more he considered it, the more it made sense. But Riana’s offworlder pride wouldn’t allow her to just concede defeat. No, she’d want to make him sweat first.
While he sympathized with her need to retain face, she must understand that there’d be a price—both for her rebellion and for trying to dominate him even now.
But he could be magnanimous. Punishment would be private.
He reached for her.
She gave one, sharp shake of her head and those fascinating green eyes lost their slightly glazed look, became focused. “Put your hands back at your sides,” she barked.
His hands fell obediently to his sides before his conscious mind even had the chance to register the command. The moment it did, his jaw went iron-hard.
Or she could have been toying with him. The urge to put an end to this farce was a burning need in his gut, but as much satisfaction it might give him, it’d tear Nexar apart. The men, warrior, merchant, laborer alike, were like a keg of explosives just waiting for the touch of a flame. If they saw him go back on his sworn word and seize power back from Riana, they wouldn’t hesitate, and the women would pay an unimaginable price. Not that they didn’t deserve chastisement, but in their anger, the men would likely give nary a thought to the long-term repercussions and loose their fury and humiliation on the women.
It would set in motion a chain of events that could never be undone. Or erased.
Still, when she pressed the tip of one nail against his breastbone, it took all of his considerable will not to grab her wrist and teach her why it was not wise to taunt him. Fortunately, the Supreme Chief in him overruled the man’s instincts.
“I did not tell you to touch me. You do nothing without my permission. Is that clear?”
He stared down at her, refusing to answer. She might hold the power until he could find a way to take it back without losing his honor, but that didn’t mean she dealt with a tame chelan.
Riana dragged her nail across his chest to the small nipple barely hidden by his tunic. Right in the center, she pressed hard.
The sharp, se
nsual pain spiked arousal through his bloodstream. He didn’t comprehend the effect she had on him, but there was no denying it. Mouth dry with a combination of resentment and lust, he managed, “I understand.”
“Remove the thong.”
He hooked his thumb under the slender straps and slid the minuscule garment down, taking his time. The silky material caught on the tip of his erection. Sensation shot through his penis, and his breath lodged in his throat. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of her and if he’d hoped to see some sign of his arousal mirrored on her face, he was disappointed. The desire he’d seen just moments ago might have been an illusion. Her expression was set in stern, remote lines. Riana was in complete control while he could feel his fracturing as each order, each command made a twisted excitement boil through his veins. Damn, he hated being the only one in this condition, but the resentment he felt didn’t dampen the need threatening to overtake him in the slightest. She had some kind of strange hold on him, and until he learned what it was, how to counter it, all he could do was try to hang on and survive. Without being told, Darias put both hands back by his sides.
Curiosity, he told himself. He just wanted to see where she was going with this.
“Lean over the back of the chair and grip the armrests.”
Ice sleeted over his nerves, and for the space of a breath, he froze. Surely…surely she was joking. The chair had a high back that came just above his waist. If he did as she asked, it’d leave his lower half completely exposed. He searched her face, tried to judge if she were indeed serious, and came to the reluctant conclusion she was.
Again, he thought about defying her, about taking back what belonged to him, and, once again, it was the knowledge that Nexar would suffer that prevented him. He stretched over the top of the chair and, big as he was, the position brought him up on the balls of his feet.
“Good. Now spread your legs.” Back teeth grinding together, he moved until his feet were shoulder-width apart. “Wider,” she commanded.
Fuck. Scorched into his memory was the feel of her fingers playing with his anus during that first punishment. The act was forbidden, whether in punishment or in sex.
That fact hadn’t stopped Riana then. What was to stop her now?
Or from doing more?
A shot of pure fear closed his throat, but it didn’t stop that traitorous organ of his from responding, from filling and lengthening until he was hard and aching.
Krel, what the hell was wrong with him?
From his position, bent over the chair, he couldn’t see what she was doing. The not knowing gnawed at him. To his chagrin, he felt his cock swell and harden. His balls tightened.
He could hear the rustle of her clothes as she moved away from him. What was she doing?
There was a knock at the door.
His heart stilled. If she opened the door, whoever was there would have a clear view of him bent over the chair, the thin tunic the only covering over his ass.
The door opened.
Darias tucked his chin against his chest and strained to hear the conversation but could only make out a vague murmur of voices. He heard the click of the door latch again. The muscles in his back relaxed.
Darias jumped when Riana placed her hand on his lower back. He hadn’t heard her move. Through the sheer silk, the warmth of her hand burned his skin. His heart began beating harder as she smoothed her hand down over the curve of his ass to the bottom edge of the tunic where buttock and thigh met and stopped. He was acutely aware that the tips of her fingers were centimeters from his naked balls.
Millimeter by millimeter, she pulled the tunic up until it rested halfway up his back.
His ass was now totally exposed.
The sharp swat on his ass took him by surprise.
“What the…” Instinctively, he started to straighten. Another blow caught him smartly on the other cheek. The power in her slender hand surprised Darias.
“Don’t move.”
“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. His ass stung. Darias was furious. How dare she treat the Supreme Chief in such a manner?
“Punishing you.”
“Like Krel you are!”
Another, harder, smack landed on his ass. “Shut up. You knew there would be consequences.”
“I thought you’d punish me in the garden. I refuse to be treated like a child!”
Her hand landed on the sensitive area where thigh and buttock met.
Darias gritted his teeth at the burning sting. Enough. He was a warrior. The Supreme Chief. He would not tolerate such disrespect.
“First you objected to being punished like a woman, now you object to being punished like a child. It is time you realize you have no say. I make the rules. Not you. No, don’t say a word. One more syllable out of you unless I ask you a question and I will have you tied over that Stone you’re so intent on using and I will beat your ass until you can’t sit for a fortnight. Is that clear?”
When he didn’t respond, she hit him again, two hard blows in quick succession. “I said, is that clear?”
Darias ground his teeth together. “Yes. I. Understand.” He answered when another stinging slap landed on his ass. He could do this. While humiliating to be spanked by a woman, and though his ass stung and burned with the heat of the blows, she wasn’t really hurting him.
“You will stay in this position until I tell you to stand. If you move before I tell you to, your lesson will begin all over again.”
Smack.
Darias nearly shot upright. At the last minute, he regained control and gripped the arms of the chair until his knuckles turned white.
That definitely wasn’t her hand.
A series of hard, randomly spaced blows forced a grunt out of Darias. He couldn’t anticipate them. Smack.
Smack.
Smack. Smack.
“You will never again attempt to undermine my authority in public.”
Smack.
Smack. Smack. Smack.
Darias tasted blood as he bit his lip at a particularly hard slap. He would not make a sound. He refused to give her that satisfaction.
“Our battle stays between the two of us.”
Darias had trouble catching his breath as she let loose with a flurry of spanks. The sound of wood meeting the tender flesh of his ass and thighs resounded in his ears.
Shit! His ass was on fire.
“If you ever take our private struggles public again, I will strip you bare and spank you raw in the middle of the Great Hall.”
Shevet. The woman had the arm of a warrior. Darias couldn’t believe her strength as she pounded his ass with unflagging fury.
Smack!
A small groan leaked past his control. Sweat popped out on his forehead. Another groan slipped from between his teeth.
At last she stopped. Darias sagged in relief against the chair. He was peripherally aware that the muscles in his arms were trembling as he pried his fingers from the chair.
Still, he didn’t straighten. He would not tempt fate by moving until she gave him permission. He was a strong man, but he didn’t think he could stand another go-round.
A gentle hand brushed damp strands of hair back from his face. He closed his eyes and tilted his head until his cheek was nestled in the palm of her hand.
Riana pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head. “Stand up now.”
Darias’ lips tightened in pain as he complied with her command. And it was a command, for all of its softness.
“Turn around.”
His erection had wilted as the spanking grew more intense with each stroke, but now, as her body brushed his as she leaned down to grasp his thong, it resurrected.
Darias blushed.
And then cursed himself silently. Never, not until he met Riana, had he blushed in his adult life. Krel, he couldn’t even remember blushing as a child.
He flinched as she pulled the material up around his hips, settling the thin strip between the heavy muscles of his butt. Eve
n the lightest touch sent jarring needles of pain radiating out from his abused cheeks. She took her time adjusting his cock and tight sac into the cup of the thong.
Darias couldn’t look her in the eye. Surely it wasn’t normal to get aroused so easily after having his ass blistered.
Was it?
He stifled a moan as she leaned down again, her body sliding along his as she slipped his trousers up his calves, to his thighs and then over his hips. The small quirk to one corner of her mouth told Darias that she was well aware of her effect on him.
He hissed as the sheer silk molded the cheeks of his ass and the back of his thighs.
Riana followed the contour of muscle with her hand, from his waist down to his thighs and back up again.
He didn’t make a sound, but a bead of sweat ran down between his shoulder blades as he tried to summon control.
“Do not make me spank you again.” Her voice was a caress when she spoke, a contrast to her words “I don’t like causing you such pain, but I will not tolerate your outright disobedience.” She stepped back. “Come, it is almost time for the evening meal and I have a great deal to accomplish before then, thanks to you and your friends.”
Another hot breeze ruffled the sweat-dampened strands of hair clinging to his neck as he started to follow Riana. For the first time it sank in that his bare ass had been exposed to the outside the entire time.
* * * * *
Riana sat at her desk in the privacy of her office, her hands clasped before her on the glossy surface. They were shaking, she noted in detached interest.
Oh dear Zethra, what was happening to her?
Truth was she liked spanking Darias. Liked seeing his ass glow brighter with each stroke of her hand and hairbrush. Liked hearing the little intake of air every time a blow landed.
She was still wet.
What was happening to her?
In the past, she’d played with a little light bondage and spanking. Nothing too heavy. It hadn’t particularly aroused her, not even when she’d spanked the handsome lieutenant after he’d spanked her.
So why had spanking Darias aroused a raging need that burned even now, hours later?
Why did she want to turn Darias over her knee and show him the difference between punishment and play?
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