“You chose this path, Tasha,” he warns. Then, the Captain grins. The conceit is dripping from him. “You chose this – because I suspect some part of you wants this.”
How dare he!
I try to curse at the haughty bastard, but I don’t get the chance. As soon as I open my mouth, the first slap of Vinicus’s huge palm comes crashing down on my bare bottom.
A sound like a gunshot echoes across the mess hall. That curse turns to a yelp of pain on my tongue. A blossom of white, hot agony ripples across my bare ass.
Fuck!
This isn’t a sensual, erotic punishment. This isn’t teasing or playful. This is real – pure dominance and discipline. This is payback for my men hurting one of Aelon’s soldiers.
Vinicus’s voice suddenly growls from above me.
“I’m comrades with the guard your crewmembers tried to gut,” the Aurelian snarls, as he lifts his hand for another spank. “We served together during our hundred years of service. He saved my life twice.”
Vinicus’s words are so low-pitched that they emerge from his mouth as more of a rumble – something that I feel more than hear. The words hurt me, as I realize that the crime of my crewmembers is much more personal to this Aurelian than I’d anticipated.
These marble-skinned bastards are so huge and powerful that it’s easy to think of them as invincible, and impervious to human frailties. I realize now that they’re just men – just more man than Chris, Felix, or any of the other human men I’m used to interacting with.
Vinicus presses me down across his lap again, pinning me with that hand on the small of my back. His skin is achingly hot against mine.
Then, he brings his immense palm down again, hard on my left ass-cheek this time.
Sharp, red-hot pain flares across my tender flesh – but it’s the chorus of laughter and hoots from the Aurelians that I find almost as painful as the physical punishment.
Almost.
I grit my teeth and force my head to the right. My crew is leering at me, just as disrespectfully as those testosterone-fueled Aurelian warriors.
The sight of Chris smiling so wolfishly is what hurts the most. He’s grinning at the sight of the captain he resents so much being punished in front of him – for his wrongdoing! It makes me realize how wasted all my patience and generosity was with that man – he’d never have respected me, no matter what I did for him.
But the laughter of my crew quickly wilts under my stare. As I glare at them, their snickers catch on their lips. Guilt washes over them – and even Chris looks down at his boots, shifting uncomfortably in his seat under my accusing gaze.
The Aurelians have no such qualms, however – and why would they?
Over a hundred pairs of eyes are staring at me hungrily, with rapt attention. I can see the naked hunger burning in their ubiquitous, slate-grey gaze. These warrior-beasts have been pent up in this warship for Gods-know-how-long, without a single woman to sate their legendary sexual appetites…
…and now I’m here, clad in only my black, sensible t-shirt in front of them. To the Aurelians’ eyes, my bare ass probably look as appetizing as the ripest, juiciest fruit would to a man dying of starvation.
The third spank hits me hard. The crack echoes across the mess hall, and I feel the flesh of my backside jiggle as pain blossoms across it.
I drop my head this time, looking down at the floor. I don’t have the strength to hold my head up anymore. Exhaustion has overwhelmed my pride.
Vinicus grunts as the sharp crack of flesh-on-flesh fills the room again. It’s taking all my self-restraint not to whimper and cry out in pain – and we’re only on the third spank.
Towering above us both, Captain Aelon stands stock still. He’s looking down at me as if I’m a delicious, steaming plate of dinner. Yet I know the weight of command weighs heavy on his shoulders – that as enjoyable as this spectacle is, it’s also necessary. He couldn’t have let me off easy – not after what Chris and my men tried to do to his crewmember.
My fate is humiliating, shameful and painful – but this was the only option. Aelon’s punishment was the only way forward that wouldn’t lead to serious harm to me or my men. I think everybody in this room – from Chris and my crew to the nameless, faceless Aurelian soldiers watching me – understand that the pain I’m suffering is more than just physical. I had to surrender my dignity as well. In some ways, this spanking is more brutal than a hundred lashes – precisely because I’ll still be alive at the end of it.
As astonishing as it sounds, I’m actually filled with respect for Captain Aelon at this moment. Suddenly, I don’t regret testing him. It’s my fault – I should have known something like this would happen. He’s not a man to be underestimated.
Captain Aelon wants to humiliate me in front of both my crew, and his. I try to hate him for it – but Iunia spelled Aelon’s reasoning out to me so reasonably that any hatred would be a pretense.
As the fourth sharp spank lands on my ass, I stop thinking rationality. I listen to the crack of flesh-on-flesh echo across the mess hall, and I just let my anger flow.
It’s all directed at Captain Aelon. It’s a foolish emotion, anger – but if I can use it to get me through this punishment without breaking down and sobbing, I’ll cling to it.
My cheeks are burning red from shame. No matter how proud I should be that I stood up for my crew, it still resulted in me getting a humiliating spanking in front of this crowd of men.
It’s shameful, and I try to shift in Vinicus’s lap, but he holds me down so tightly I might as well be a
