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 Punishments 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. You never, ever let an enemy know you were nervous.
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 Punishment 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 of Punishment 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.
"Do not make me repeat myself."
"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 Punishment had lasted for days. Even now, the remembered humiliation of having his Punishment publicly known, created a dull burn in his cheeks.
What would Riana meet out this time?
"Is part of your Punishment 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 am not using the Punishment Stone this time.” 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."
His cock quivered and lengthened. She wasn't going to Punish him. Had Riana finally understood her place in Nexarian society? It would be just like her to make him sweat, even as she recognized his authority. Deep satisfaction started to settle inside him. He would be magnanimous.
He would keep Punishment private.
Darias reached for her.
"Put your hands back at your side.” She barked the order, taking a step back.
Darias blinked, his hands falling obediently to his sides before his conscious mind even had chance to register the command.
"I did not tell you to move.” She pressed the tip of one nail against his breastbone. “You do nothing without my permission. Is that clear?"
Darias set his mouth and refused to answer.
Riana dragged her nail across his chest to the small, masculine nipple barely hidden by his tunic. Right in the center of the nipple, she pressed hard.
The sharp, sensual pain took his breath. Darias wet his lips. “I understand."
"Remove the thong."
The minuscule garment landed on top of his pants. Darias immediately put his hands back to his sides and waited.
"Lean over the chair and grip the armrests."
The chair had a high back that came just above his waist. Not wanting to obey without an explanation, but reluctant to push this new Riana too far, Darias did as he was told. The position brought him up on the balls of his feet.
"Good. Now spread your legs.” He moved until his feet were shoulder-width apart. “Wider,” she commanded.
A shot of pure fear closed his throat at the vulnerability of his position. Scorched into his memory was the feel of her fingers playing with his anus during his Punishment in the garden. The act was forbidden, whether in Punishment or in sex.
That fact hadn't stopped Riana then. What was to stop her from doing worse now?
Darias cursed the oath that bound his hands. He could not make a physical move against her.
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. Thru 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 it up until it rested half-way 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.
Krel! 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."
Shevets. 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 around.
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. Even the lightest touch sent jarring needles of pain radiating out from his abused cheeks. She took her time adjusting his cock and tight sacs into the cup of the thong.
Darias couldn't look her into the eye. Surely it wasn't normal to get aroused so easily after having your 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 sunk in that his bare ass had been exposed to the outside the entire punishment.
* * * *
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 Goddess, what was happening to her?
Truth was she liked spanking Darias. Liked see 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?
Riana didn't have the answer, but she knew she ached to spank his ass before fucking his brains out.
Anger had dictated her punishment this afternoon. That, and the need to knock Darias off-balance.
She couldn't just command him to strip and lay down over her lap.
Could she?
* * * *
"Sit, Darias. You need to eat."
He looked uncomfortable. There was a long silence. “I would rather not."
It was the dark color highlighting his cheekbones that clued Riana in to the problem. “Oh."
"I will eat later."
He kept his voice low so that no one else at the table could hear. She did the same. “Sit. Once we return to our chamber, I will put a cool cloth on you."
"I cannot."
Riana could tell the words were torn from him and he hated the fact he had to confess to a weakness. She hardened her heart. He needed to learn he was no longer in control. She was.
"You will."
Shooting her a dark glare, Darias sat. His discomfort was obvious to her. A quick glance around the table made it clear that others were also aware of his problem.
Riana sighed. She should have realized Bryta would have told the women what she planned.
She would have to have a talk with her First. Bryta needed to learn that it was not necessary to spread tales of her every act.
Still, it wasn't a bad lesson for Darias to digest. He started this public tug of war. Let him feel its consequences.
A hint of color stayed under his skin as one of his former guards placed a plate in front of him.
From the man's dark scowl, he, too, was aware of the nature of Darias’ punishment. And was embarrassed by it.
Good. Let the men have second thoughts about following Darias’ lead.
Though Darias didn't shift a muscle throughout the dinner, Riana sensed his continued discomfort as she and the women hashed out what they wanted from a trade contract. Finally, she decided to take mercy on him.
She stood.
"We will continue this conversation in the morning.” She held out her hand. “Come, Darias. It is time we retired.” There were a few knowing titters as Darias rose.
A muscle flexing in his jaw, he managed a polite nod to the women.
Behind his back, Riana grinned. If the man's spine got any straighter, it was going to snap in two. Oh, he hated that others knew of his unconventional punishment.
Perhaps he would think twice before challenging her in public.
Back in their chamber, Darias stood by the bed, his hands clenched into fists.
Riana sighed.
"Undress, Darias, so I can access the damage."
"I am unhurt.” He glared at the wall, refusing to meet her gaze.
"I will check. Your spanking was over hours ago and it still hurts for you to sit."
His gaze slid to hers, then away. “I am fine."
"I want to make sure I didn't injure you."
"I am fine,” he repeated stubbornly.
Riana sighed, loudly. “You will remove your clothes and lay across the bed. Either you do it willingly or I will have you stripped and restrained."
A mask of arrogance fell over his face. He looked directly at her as he stripped. Darias lay, face down, across the huge bed, resistance in every long line of his body.
The man wouldn't give the slightest millimeter.
Riana's gaze dropped to his bottom. She barely restrained a gasp.
His ass was still red and blotchy from the blows of the hairbrush. It was also puffy and swollen. She hurriedly crossed to his side. Distinct blistering as well as faint bruising was clearly visible.
Sitting beside him, she touched one blister with a gentle finger.
"I did not mean to hit you so hard.” Regret formed a nasty knot in her throat. No one had ever roused her rage to the point she lost control. No one except Darias.
"Didn't you?"
She placed her hand over one cheek, unable to believe the heat that still radiated from it.
"No."
"You wanted to Punish me. You did."
Riana tenderly stroked the abused flesh. “Yes, I wanted to punish you. I never intended to injure you."
He shifted beneath her hand. Riana traced the outline of a bruise forming on the tender flesh where thigh joined buttock.
"Stay there. I will be right back.” Riana hurried into the bathing chamber and soaked a cloth in cold water.
She glanced in the mirror, not liking the person she saw there.
Never again would she let rage control her to the point she didn't realize the damage she was doing.
There was little comfort in the promise.
Wringing out the cloth, she returned to Darias. Placing it over his abused rear, she smoothed a wrinkle from the wet material, grateful Darias couldn't see her face. It was hard to look at him while the evidence of her rage was under her hand.
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