He would have preferred to wait until a private moment to spank her for the first time so he could give her comfort afterward but now it seemed he did not have that luxury. Accepting the collar and rope from Bryn, he took a deep breath and approached the young woman he hoped would forgive him for what he was about to do.
* * *
Caroline had never felt such intense humiliation as she did when Commander Rossingham led her along the corridor by a rope leash attached to a metal ring at the front of the thick leather collar he had wrapped around her throat. It felt a little too tight for comfort but, as she could still breathe easily enough, she did not waste her breath making complaints she was sure would go unheard. As Rossingham threw open the doors and marched her down the steps with his lieutenant taking up the rear, a chilling silence fell. Although she did not look up from the ground, she felt hundreds of eyes watching her and, despite the cold wind that penetrated right into the heart of her weary body, she felt her cheeks burn.
Despite her instinct to rebel, she’d offered no resistance when Rossingham attached the collar and leash to her as though she were some animal he sought to tame. And now, as he climbed the steps to the stage upon which public punishments regularly took place, she obediently followed behind. The commander had asked her to trust that whatever he did, no matter how harsh it might seem, his ultimate aim was to keep her safe. Even though she didn’t know him well, Caroline felt inclined to put her faith in him. Her grandfather had held him in high enough esteem to arrange their betrothal so the commander must be a good man.
As they reached the center of the raised platform, he directed her movements, until she was kneeling, thighs spread wide apart, before the crowd. Paralyzed by fear as she felt the weight of aggression aimed at her by people who actually didn’t know a thing about her, she remained where she was as Rossingham took up position behind her. With a sharp nudge of his foot that took her by surprise, he shoved her forward. Fortunately, he’d left her hands unbound and she managed to prevent herself from falling on her face.
“Prostrate yourself before the citizens of Earth.” Rossingham’s commanding tone boomed into the silence that had fallen.
As the mob roared its approval, Caroline shuddered but, realizing what was required of her, she bowed low, stretching her arms out in front of her and resting her forehead between them so it looked as though she had come to them in supplication. Tears stung her eyes and she trembled, as much with cold as the dread that held her in its vise-like grip as she waited for Rossingham to address the people.
“You came here to see a woman of the highest order being punished for her pathetic attempts to question the supreme authority of the High Council whose will you must all obey.” His voice rang out clearly as he delivered words that seemed to have been carefully chosen and Caroline could only wonder at his calm in the face of such potential danger. Violence hung in the air and she prayed that Rossingham knew what he was doing. “But today what you are going to witness is me claiming this woman as my bride.”
Expressions of shock rippled through the crowd and Caroline imagined that the people were horrified that such an esteemed military leader should choose to marry a woman they thought unfit to even kneel at his feet.
“Lady Caroline was promised to me some years ago by her grandfather, Lord Perceval Chatterton, a man to whom we all owe a great deal and I have come to make her mine.” He paused for a moment and Caroline could picture him scanning the faces before him to gauge their reactions. “I have been remiss in not coming to check her behavior before it got out of hand but, as you know, I have been rather busy these past months.” He waited for the comments acknowledging his many accomplishments to die down before speaking again. “I promise you all that I will punish Lady Caroline severely when she steps out of line. She will be an obedient wife to me and bear me many sons to carry on my name. She will be made to lick my boots as a sign of her submission to my authority.”
His words made Caroline shudder but the sounds coming from the crowd were more approving now and that helped to calm her a little. Although she was sure Rossingham was winning the people over, she still did not dare lift her eyes to see what their faces betrayed about their feelings toward her.
“In two days’ time, I will take Lady Caroline as my bride and so that you might all join me in celebrating this happy occasion, I have issued orders for my men to distribute to every household within the city limits, a one-month supply of beef bred from Taar-Breck’s finest cattle.”
Despite her lingering fears, Caroline allowed herself a little smile, knowing that nobody could see. The commander was living up to his reputation as a skilled negotiator. If there was one thing guaranteed to bring people over to his way of thinking, it was to distract them with the promise of naturally sourced meat. These days, it was such a rarity that few people were able to afford it and those who could were known to actually descend into fist fights with one another to obtain the best cuts of beef. Rossingham’s offer was a generous one and Caroline could only wonder at the extent of his wealth if it allowed him to make such a grand gesture.
Loud applause broke out in the crowd and Caroline heard some cheers but still she kept her head down, waiting for some signal from Rossingham to let her know that it was safe to move.
As the clapping died down, a dissenting voice called out, “That’s all very well, but she’s getting off too easy.”
“You imagine I will let her get away with the wrongs she has committed? You think I will allow her to cause mischief in the future?” Caroline could hear the snarl in Rossingham’s voice as he deliberately underplayed her crimes against the state. “You believe I lack the ability to discipline this slip of a girl?”
An uneasy silence fell and then a different voice shouted out, “Prove it, then.”
Caroline was quite sure it was the same voice that had started the clamor for her virginity to be proved when they were back in the great chamber. “Prove you’ve got what it takes to discipline her.”
The fury radiating from the proud commander of the interplanetary air fleet as some upstart challenged him was so powerful Caroline could actually feel it. Sensing that things were about to go downhill, she felt a sudden surge of resolve and knew what she must do to help placate the mob. Even through the haze of emotions that ran through her, she knew that no matter what her feelings about marrying Rossingham might be, he’d risked a lot in coming to extricate her from the custody of the brutal Council. Now it was her turn to act.
Pushing down her terror of being whipped and the dread of public humiliation, she sat up and turned around so she was kneeling at Rossingham’s feet. She kept her head bowed in what she hoped the crowd would see as suitable contrition and spoke as clearly as she could so that the people might hear her.
“Please, sir, punish me for my transgressions.”
She peeked up from beneath her eyebrows to see a look of surprise on his face, which he quickly smoothed over with what she was already learning was his typical inscrutable expression. He put a hand beneath her elbow and helped her to her feet.
“Caroline.” His voice was soft, his eyes full of concern.
“It’s alright,” she returned quietly. “I trust you.”
Rossingham gave her an intense look of admiration and led her toward the wooden post at the center of the platform. Her eyes darted toward the metal shackles dangling down from it and knew they would chafe the delicate skin on her wrists terribly as she stood there, helplessly bound. Behind her, she could hear those same two hostile voices in the crowd demanding she be whipped but, to her surprise, nobody else watching joined in the call for her to be punished harshly and, eventually, the agitators fell silent.
Caroline closed her eyes tightly and nausea rose up inside her as she waited for Rossingham to lift her arms to chain her. More than anything, the thought of being stretched out like that, unable to find her footing in front of an audience scared her. To her surprise, Rossingham did no
t chain her but positioned her so she was standing a few feet from the y-shaped pole.
“Bend down and hold onto the post. Do not let go or your punishment will be doubled.” He gave the orders loud enough that others could hear before lowering his voice to a whisper. “Do not tense your bottom, sweetheart. This will hurt a great deal as it is and I have no wish to cause you any more pain than is necessary. I think, however, that it will please these animals to hear you scream, so do not hold back.”
Caroline gave a subtle nod of agreement as she took up the required position that thrust her backside out, ready for punishment. Preventing herself from clenching her buttocks would be a challenge but she doubted that screaming in a convincing manner would cause her much difficulty.
“For her insubordination, I will administer ten strokes of the belt,” Rossingham announced as the apparently ever-prepared Bryn unfastened the leather belt that cinched his tunic in at the waist and handed it to him.
“Ten?” one of those antagonistic voices called out. “Is that it?”
Caroline’s heart dropped. Whoever those men were, they were obviously intent on causing trouble for her and she could only hope that Rossingham would not take the bait. When she had been naughty as a child, her grandfather had only ever given her a couple of light swats with a paddle. His heart had never been in it and so the effects had been minimal. Ten strokes of a heavy leather belt from a man of Rossingham’s imposing stature was already a far greater punishment than she had ever experienced and she did not know how she would cope if she was subjected to more.
“It is enough for now,” the commander said with a firmness underscored with irritation that warned the crowd his patience was wearing thin. “As Lady Caroline’s future husband, it is my duty to determine the manner of her correction and nobody else’s. Unless, of course, one of you wishes to challenge me for that privilege.”
Caroline held her breath. What on earth was he doing? There were men in the crowd who sounded as though they might enjoy punishing her themselves and they would be much harsher than Rossingham intended to be. Every part of her body tensing, she closed her eyes and waited with increasing fear for what would happen next.
* * *
A feral grin spread across Andrew’s face as he looked out into the crowd. Just as he expected, not a single man stepped forward to challenge him. It was one thing to be brave enough to mouth off when standing in the relative anonymity of a large group but quite another to step up and take on a warrior of his reputation face to face. Besides, he got the feeling that most of the men out there were satisfied with him claiming his right to take Caroline as his wife and punish her as he saw fit. Of course, his little bribe of a supply of meat, an idea that had come to him at the spur of the moment, hadn’t hurt. He hated to use the people’s deprivation against them but the situation was precarious and he needed to do whatever it took to ensure Caroline’s safety.
“Very well,” he said. “In that case, we shall proceed. Caroline, lift your gown, please.”
He was pleasantly surprised when she did not hesitate but immediately reached behind her to pull the short white prison gown up around her waist before returning her hands to the post to brace herself for the spanking. There were shouts of approval from people in the front row as they realized that she was wearing the snugly fitting chastity belt and that her bottom was plugged. The beautiful peachy skin of those tight little butt cheeks was a sight that warmed Andrew’s blood and he couldn’t help but wonder whether the anal dilator had begun to inflate yet. A part of him hoped not as he wanted to enjoy spanking her while her cute ass was filled when they were somewhere more private.
Weighing Bryn’s belt in his hand, he paused for a moment. Usually before laying leather across a woman’s tender flesh, he would warm her up first with a thorough hand spanking, preferably as she lay across his knee to reinforce a sense of intimacy but, unfortunately, the circumstances did not allow for it. Drawing his arm back, he brought the belt down on her right buttock. Screeching loudly, Caroline danced up on her toes in an adorable fashion that made his cock stand to attention and that made him wish he did not have to share this experience with the general populace. He glanced over at his lieutenant to see that Bryn had chosen to avert his eyes, no doubt thoroughly offended by such a public display of matters Taar-Breckian males preferred to keep within closed circles.
Placing a steadying hand at the small of her back, he quickly brought the belt down three more times, the leather snapping on alternate sides of her bottom. Her skin bloomed with a warm, crimson glow that at any other time he would have taken a moment to admire. Each stroke of the belt made Caroline squeal loudly and wriggle as though she was in the greatest pain, but he knew, despite the show she was putting on that he was not hurting her too badly. After all, he was not actually striking her very hard. She was likely going to endure many harsh spankings as his wife but he had no intention of making her feel the full force of his discipline right now, when she was already on the verge of collapse. He might be a hard taskmaster at times but Andrew was no brute and he knew that what this young woman needed more than a sound thrashing after all the trials she had faced in the past couple of days was a chance to rest and recover.
As he struck for the fifth time, laying the leather across the full width of her gorgeous bottom, her flesh wobbled enticingly and he felt a tightening in his groin that he had to work had to suppress. He breathed deeply and calmed the raging desire coursing through him.
Seeing that Caroline had tensed her bottom, he patted her gently until she unclenched her muscles. Then he drew his arm back and landed the sixth and seventh strokes of the belt on her sit spots. Caroline wailed in earnest now. Although Andrew was holding back, he still needed to make this convincing for their audience. He knew that, even though was going easy on her, she would feel the effects of this punishment for several hours.
Wishing to get it over with quickly, he delivered the final blows in rapid succession. As the tenth stroke fell, Caroline screamed loudly and dropped to the ground, her chest heaving as she sat there on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Andrew’s heart lurched as he looked down at her fragile form, terrified he might have done her real damage. Even though it had been the only option for getting her out of there without clashing with the crowd, he chastised himself for punishing her when she was already weak after her ordeal at the hands of the Council and their foul doctor. He reached out to her and was relieved when she gave him a teary smile that let him know she was alright. Scooping her up into his arms, he turned toward the people.
“I trust you are now satisfied,” he growled.
As he marched down the steps from the platform and strode across the square to where a mechanical carriage waited for them, the crowds parted and watched silently as he slid into the archaic vehicle and arranged Caroline so she was lying across his lap, her head resting on the seat beside him. Removing the collar from around her throat, he petted her hair gently as Bryn slipped into the front seat next to the driver and they moved off, leaving the town hall and the High Council who hid within its walls behind them.
* * *
Resting over Rossingham’s lap on the back seat of the mechanized vehicle gave Caroline a sense of comfort she had not expected. Being close to him like this was reassuring, natural somehow. Despite the punishment he’d just administered, she found she wanted to be near to him, to feel the warmth of him through her thin cotton gown. Each little jolt of the carriage made her breasts rub against his strong thighs and she felt an intriguing sensation, a sort of prickling that seemed to travel all the way down to the tips of her toes as her nipples were abraded.
Just as she was coming to terms with the response her body was having to this close proximity to the commander, she felt a strange pressure building inside her as the anal dilator she had almost forgotten about began to expand. She breathed in sharply as it swelled within her forbidden channel and caused a distinct throb at the very heart of her f
emininity. She could not imagine how on earth the thing was supposed to expand beyond this point. It already felt massive. As she shifted restlessly she heard a knowing chuckle from Rossingham and she blushed furiously.
As Rossingham put a large, callused hand on her leg, Caroline tried to lift herself up but he pushed her back down with a firmness that told her he would not be denied as he pulled her skirt up to study her poor, abused bottom.
“How does it feel to have that pretty little ass filled?” he asked.
When Caroline offered no response, Rossingham gave her butt cheeks a light swat that reignited the burn of the belting she had endured and made her squeal in surprise.
“Answer the question, Caroline.”
Although she didn’t want to talk about something so shameful, Rossingham’s tone of voice told her that participation in this conversation was not going to be optional.
“It feels…” She searched for a word that would adequately describe what she was experiencing. “It feels stimulating.”
“Stimulating?” He sounded amused. “In what way?”
“I… well, I don’t really know.” Caroline’s brow furrowed. “I feel a sort of fullness but it’s not unpleasant.”
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