by Cerise Noble
It was true that more often now strays were taken out to the village. If no one wanted to claim them, what else could we do with them? She nodded.
"We'll keep your sister—Suzanna, is it? It's not safe for a girl to wander around alone. We won't harm her. She'll have to work for her keep, of course. But she'll be treated as a daughter, a precious child." I touched her face, grimy with travel. Where had she come from? She flinched from me, still bound and blindfolded. "Being sold is an uncertain fate. Roy tries to vet the people he sells to, but nothing is certain in this day and age. It is not impossible to fool him, just very difficult." I caressed her face, seeing the fine bone structure, the determination in her jaw. Yes, she would be a worthy match for Roy, but he didn't want her. Jeffery, then. She flinched again as I found a swollen spot. "Did he hit you?" She nodded. "I saw the bite on his arm." It amused me to find one so sweet seemingly with a core of iron. "I'd say you got off lightly."
Jeffery would certainly make her pay for that. My insides tingled at my memories.
"Please." Her voice was a croak. She tried again. "Please. I'll be good. I'll please Jeffery."
I laughed. "I dare say he'll be pleased enough for the opportunity to teach you not to bite people bigger and stronger than you." I tapped her jaw. "I'll tell Roy you'll be worth keeping."
I found Roy in his room with Jessica. She was sleeping, and I paused in the doorway, the now-familiar ache washing through me.
"This one is fierce. I think she'd be a good match for Jeffery."
He barely glanced up. "Fine."
I lingered, but he didn't say anything else, and reluctantly I left him again.
When I got back down to the dungeon, Jeffery and Devon had already brought in the tub. Jeffery took her towards it, and Devon unbound her. I watched her blink at me, then she smiled. It was rare these days that I got to actually play with a new slave. Most were destined for one of the other buildings, or the posts across the river.
"Strip her."
The boys made short work of her clothes, ripping the rags and letting them fall. The breast binding was intriguing. It caught my desire, watching Devon slide a knife under it and cut it away.
Her breasts bounced free, and I felt my tongue thicken in my mouth. It had been far too long since I'd tasted a woman's breasts. I smirked as I watched Jeffery's lust push the other thoughts out of his mind.
"Jeffery? Wouldn't you prefer her to bathe, first?"
"Yes."
I pointed the chamber pot out to her. "Piss, first."
She did so, red and humiliated.
I felt my own lust rising. I wanted to hurt her exquisitely, to listen to her cries as I drove her wild with my tongue, wanted to squeeze her breasts until she gasped.
"Stephanie."
Jeffery's voice cut into my daydream.
"Yes, sir?"
"Leave."
I gaped at him, angry that he would be so possessive. He hadn't formally claimed her yet, hadn't— He glanced at me sharply, a look I knew well. He might like to play with me, but he could also be cruel in his punishments. I stormed out.
Emotion swirled in me. I wanted Nanette. Wanted her in a way that I hadn't since I wanted Jessica. The feeling frightened me. Did it mean Nanette should belong to Roy? But he didn't want her. What if it meant my love for Jessica was fading? Or was it all just lust?
I found Tobin in his workshop, hammering nails into wood. I loosed a shriek of frustration. He stopped, an eyebrow raised in annoyance.
"What is it, Stephanie?"
"Jeffery found a woman on our property and he won't let me play with her!" Tobin shrugged, turning back to the crate he was building. "Master, she's gorgeous!"
Tobin turned to me. "And? If he claims her, you'll have to ask for permission to play with her, and if he says no, you're out of luck."
"But it's not fair! I always get the new slaves first."
"Exactly. So you are begrudging him this one?"
I thought about it for a moment. "But I want her."
"So? Jeffery has been with us for how long? And he's never found a slave he wants to claim. Until now. You're being a damned brat, Stephanie, and I don't like it."
I stomped, then turned towards the house. He put the crate down, picking up a wooden paddle he'd shaped, just for me. I saw it and began to run, but he caught me by the door, spinning me around to press me against the outside wall. He brought the paddle down a dozen times, reminding me of nothing so much as the very first time he'd spanked me against the wall of Aunt Jolene's hovel.
"You behave yourself, or I'm going to paddle you raw. Do you understand? Do not mess this up for Jeffery."
I whined. "If you saw her you'd understand."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" I nodded. "All right. You get her a dress, and I'll go see."
"What? No!"
He caught my chin in a hand, and I finally realized he was angry with me. "Do not defy me, brat."
"No, sir."
When I got to the dungeon room, Tobin was already there in the hallway.
"Behave."
I ignored him. The blue fabric was the same style as my red, two strips of linen with a knot in the middle held in place by a chain belt. I draped it around her, realizing as I did that she'd just been thoroughly spanked. It pleased me. Her stoicism, on the other hand, did not. I raked my nails across the fabric covering her swollen bottom and laughed when Jeffery grabbed for me.
"Tobin! Your bitch is in need of some discipline."
I hissed at him, angry. "It's my right to teach the new girl her place."
Jeffery's retort was sharp. "She knows her place. She just learned it over my knee. She was offering you no challenge."
I hoped Tobin was too far away to hear, but it turned out he wasn't. The minute I saw his face, I understood I'd overstepped. I dropped to my knees, my stomach sinking with his disappointment. He pointed to the floor at his feet, and I crawled to him, then knelt up, pleading with him. His voice was cold.
"Room. Corner. Now."
I stood and fled. Once in our room, I looked around, uncertain. He'd punished me while I leaned in a corner before, my arms braced on the wall and my feet widespread, but he'd never left me in it. Finally, heart hammering with fear at displeasing him further, I placed myself in the same stance he'd punished me in, hoping it was right.
He came in, shut the door, and sat on the bed. "You frightened her."
I spoke to the wooden walls. "I frighten most of the new slaves."
"Not this much."
"Jeffery could have just let me play with her."
"It's unlikely Jeffery will let you anywhere near her now; he's very angry. You scratched her hard, Stephanie. You could have cut her."
I shrugged. Cuts were virtually meaningless to me. He stood behind me, and I could feel my skin prickle.
"Stay right where you are." I leaned in, sucking a deep breath. The paddle splatted against my buttock with a loud crack, and I flinched, almost jerking away from it. "No you don't. Stay still."
I gritted my teeth. He continued the paddling with a clockwork steadiness, landing each strike in precisely the same place at a constant speed. Soon I was ready to scream, not only from the built up pain, but from the relentless cracks. When I finally did scream through my teeth, he stopped, and I collapsed forward, gasping. My left buttock felt bruised, sharp pain dancing around the spot. He gave me only a moment before his next order.
"Back in place."
I obeyed, reluctantly steeling myself for more. He began the spanking on my right buttock. Again, the paddle cracked over and over on one spot. I was whimpering by the time he let me fall against the wall, sweat trickling down the curve of my spine as the pain crackled on both sides now.
"Back in place," he said again.
I groaned, and his callused hand rubbed over the sore spots on my ass. Wrapping his arm around my hips, he began to paddle me lower, striking the sweet spot between buttock and thigh, over and over and over. He ignored my pr
otestations, my struggles and tears. Instead, the paddle cracked down, relentlessly punishing me for my over-zealousness.
"What if you frightened her so much that she prefers to be sold? Jeffery doesn't own her yet. And if she leaves, he won't have her."
I cried, my face pressed against the wall. "I'm sorry."
"You should be."
He switched to the other side and continued the paddling. When I was well and truly miserable, he switched to my thighs. I howled, biting my knuckles to keep the noise to a minimum. The spots on my thighs did not receive as much attention as the four on my ass did, but the bite was sharper there, so I was relieved.
When he finished, I was worn, my muscles sore from holding my position, my heart sore at the thought of having potentially ruined things for Jeffery. Tobin led me to breakfast, and placed me on a cushion at his feet. I shifted, uncomfortable, disgruntled that I was the only slave there. I missed the days when the table would be full and underneath was a maze of men's legs and giggling slave women.
It had been a long time, but I fell back into the habit of eating with my tongue and lips, just as I sometimes taught the new slaves, if the master was so inclined. Tobin used it only occasionally, as a way to reinforce my place. It did seem to help, just as kneeling put pressure where I'd been paddled. When I finished, Tobin nudged me, and I gathered up the bowls and utensils before taking them to the kitchen. Nanette was there. She took them and went to wash. Again, I was impressed, in spite of myself.
After a bit, Jeffery took her to Roy, pushing her to her knees in front of him, and in short order she'd been claimed by the House of Brackish Bay and handed over to Jeffery.
Supper seemed to be the first time Nanette had been ordered to eat from a bowl on the floor, and I decided it would be amusing to see her attempt it. Then Jeffery gave her a spoon and spoiled my fun. So I ignored her, pleased to converse with Karianne from the far outpost on the west bank of the river.
"How has the season been? We haven't had much in citrus this year. I think there was too much rain."
"We've had a fair amount, but no, not as much as last year." She took another bite of the spicy fish stew and hummed with pleasure. "You know, one of these days I'm going to figure out how to bribe Lauren to spend at least one day a week at each of the outposts."
I snorted. "And leave her with us for only two days out of the week? Forget it. I'll tell Roy to put a chain around her throat."
This time it was Karianne's turn to snort. "As if she'd ever allow that."
We laughed together. No. I could no more imagine Lauren as a slave than I could imagine Roy. Even seated at the table were women who were free citizens, those who belonged to no one but themselves, owed no loyalties but to Roy for leading them. I glanced around. There was Rari, the Hunts Mistress, for one. I made a mental note to ask if she needed any more game bags. It had been some time since I'd had the presence of mind to stay on top of all the village's fabric needs. Where was Sarafina now? Oh, yes. Still in a little house on the south side of the island. I'd need to check with her, also, to see if she was short on any supplies. Gradually, I realized the enormity of small frustrations and calamities I had likely instigated while I was neglecting my duties. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard.
Karianne noticed, and laid a hand on my arm. "How is Jessica?"
I shook my head, not trusting my voice. How could anyone know how she was? She was weaker every day, but she'd been declining for so many years, who could say how long she would linger?
"I don't know." She petted me, sympathy in her eyes. I bit my lip. "And Roy doesn't eat. Not unless he's required to come down here, to be in front of the men for some reason. If he's left in the room with her, he won't eat."
"Could Lauren make him something special?"
I shrugged, helpless. "She's tried. He just doesn't care."
Karianne nodded firmly. "Then we just need to give the men more reasons to ask for his presence, more reasons that he has to be in the dining room at mealtimes. At least he has the presence of mind to eat in front of them. He's not completely lost in grief yet."
"I would understand if he was."
Tiffany looked up from the other side of the table. "Of course you would."
She touched me also, a sweet smile on her face. She was one of the ones I'd bedded, some years ago, and she treasured the times her master brought her to the house for the chance to see me again.
"I'm glad you understand," she said. "You'll be able to help him out of it."
My mouth twisted. "I'm not so sure."
She crawled forward and kissed my knuckles. "I am."
I smiled, resting my cheek against her forehead for a long moment. "Thank you."
Chapter Eleven
Jacqueline told me about Nanette's breakfast altercation with Roy the next day, as we curled up in Jessica's bed with her.
"You should have seen her, Stephanie. She just stood there, and defied him."
My heart flip-flopped. "And he let her do that?"
"Goddess, no. He looked fit to be tied. He was shocked that she dared tell him no to his face, bold as brass."
I looked at Jessica, eyebrows raised. She laughed her breathy laugh. "She did. He told her to take the porridge away, and she said no." She giggled again, muted bells. "It's been a long time since someone said no to him like that." She thought for a long moment, and Jacqueline and I remained quiet, patient. "I think the last time was the time I told him I wouldn't stay in bed and followed him on the trading trip." A frown creased her forehead. "When was that? A year ago?"
It was more than that, but I didn't have the heart to tell her. "Something like that." I kissed her knuckles—bird bones under translucent skin. "So he spanked her?"
Jacqueline took up the story again. "No, that's the best part, just wait. He scolded her and obviously thought that was the end of it. But there she was, all perky, and told him he could punish her after, as long as he ate first."
My eyes widened. "And then he spanked her?"
Jacqueline shook her head. "No, no. He laughed. He just couldn't believe this little slip of nothing was kneeling at his feet and mouthing off to him." I shook my head. "He called her a brat, and she even disputed that. So he relented, and said you were a brat." I scowled. She pushed on. "So she kept pushing and pushing, and finally he picked up the bowl and started to eat his porridge.
I was perplexed. "So he let her mouth off to him and actually did as she bade, without the slightest consequence to her skin?"
Jessica laughed while Jacqueline and I smiled at her.
"She called him a good boy."
I was shocked. "What?"
Jacqueline was laughing so hard she could barely speak. "She nodded and praised him, just like if he was a pet, like he was a slave. Good boy, she said. I could barely keep from dying, I was trying so hard not to laugh. I don't think anyone has ever called Roy good boy. Ever. In the history of the world." I tried to envision it, and started to laugh, too. "So he put the bowl down, grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her over his knees. Asked me for the tawse."
I looked up at the wall, at the vicious leather implement with a long handle and a flat tongue split into three hanging there. "That tawse?"
"Yup."
I swallowed hard, desire and memory colliding in my mind. Roy had used it on me before. The explosion of pain and flame from each stroke was indescribable. I wiggled closer to Jessica, and she petted me, knowing what my squirming meant.
"So I gave it to him, and he spanked her, hard."
"Hard? With that? How much?" I felt bad for the young woman.
"Yes, hard, but only a few. Maybe half a dozen." I relaxed a little. I'd taken over three dozen strokes with it before, but I have a relationship with pain that few do. "And what's even better is, as she's kneeling there, her head on the bed and just dazed with pain, Master picks up his bowl and eats the rest of the porridge."
I blinked for a moment. "That's—that's amazing." Envy that she'd been a
ble to do something I hadn't been able to do collided with gratitude that she'd gotten him to eat.
Jacqueline nodded vigorously. "I think Jeffery was God-nudged to choose her."
I rolled my eyes. Jacqueline still believed in such foolishness.
"I think he just recognized that she has a core of iron, and he needs someone like that."
Jacqueline opened her mouth to say something, but Jessica petted her hair and stopped her. "Behave, my girls." She struggled to sit up higher, and we both reached for her, lifting her and propping the pillows, carefully brushing her pale hair out of the way. "I want to see you two love each other."
I rolled my eyes again. It wasn't that Jacqueline and I had never made love on her command, it was that this was her way of making sure we weren't angry at each other. I kissed Jessica, softly, lingeringly, her lips like wilted rose petals against mine. I clenched my jaw against the tears that threatened.
"We're not mad at each other, lady."
She smiled, one frail hand tracing lines down my cheek. "I know. I still want you to love each other."
Jacqueline glanced up at me shyly. I was always the initiator, while she was more passive. So I rolled my eyes one more time for effect before turning and diving into Jacqueline. She gasped as I shoved her back on the bed, unclipping her chain belt and flipping the red fabric open. Her body was softness and lushness. I leaned over her, sucking her nipples into my mouth one at a time while she wiggled and moaned. Her hands in my hair were a distraction, so I batted them away, slapping her wrists down onto the bed.
"Stay."
It wasn't that I didn't enjoy Jacqueline's body, the mint oil she rubbed into her skin, the sexy sounds she made when I tongued her sensitive spots. It was that I wasn't as in love with her as Jessica was. But Jessica wanted to see Jacqueline ravished, just the way she would do it if she were able. So I did.
Once I had her reduced to a moaning puddle, I became gentle, delicate. I licked the crease under her breasts, teased her nipples to new heights, and sucked her neck until it bore the mark of my mouth. I nibbled down her shoulders, my tongue teasing the inside of her elbow until she squirmed, then I nipped at her breasts. I remembered the first time I'd seen Jessica spank her, and it brought the heat up in my belly. I flicked her nipples with my tongue, as always marveling at their thick darkness. Without warning, I bit, and she cried out, Jessica's breathless giggle curving my lips into a grin. I bit her again, hard, leaving half circles of teeth marks around and around her nipples and areolas.