Page 47 of Bought to Break
‘There. You see?’ He sneered. ‘She’s acting the freewoman already.’
Her eyes widened at his tone and dropped to the table. He could see what she was thinking. That she’d spoken out of turn, acted wrongly. He clenched his jaw, silently cursing. She’d spent years as a slave. It would take time for her to remember how to be a freewoman and even longer to learn how to be one of them. She wouldn’t be strong if he kept pushing her down and frightening her. In the camp, he might as well paint a target on her back if she couldn’t stand up for herself. There was a fine line and they all needed to find out where it was.
He closed his eyes and drew a hand through his hair before approaching her. She flinched away very slightly. She was still much more afraid of him than of the others. He didn’t blame her.
A part of him wished that it hadn’t had to have been him who’d been first, but Greygor would have accepted nothing else. After the things he’d done, it should have been Sorin. At least he could pretend to be gentle. But Kane didn’t regret it either. He’d loved every second of it, ploughing deeply into her, making her accept all of him and being the only man to have had her as his Brothers had held her for him. Watching her pain and pleasure had been a heady combination, and he’d never felt its like before … and he could never do it again.
‘I’m sorry, Lana,’ he said stiffly. ‘I didn’t intend to mock.’
He didn’t miss her response, though she tried to hide it. She was pleased but wasn’t sure what to make of his gesture. He ignored the incredulous looks of Viktor and Sorin, who’d probably never heard him apologise to anyone. Instead he sat down next to her, racking his brains for something to say to try and build a bridge between them. Their unit was weak if their bonds with each other were weak. His mind failed him completely, but in the end she spoke first.
‘I have questions. I don’t know … I haven’t been free since I was a child. I don’t know what to do – how to be.’ The last was said in a whisper.
He lifted her head with two fingers under her chin. ‘The transition will be challenging – for all of us. But we will not hurt you, Lana; not unless you need it. You are ours, but we are yours as well. That is how the unit works.’
She perked up suddenly and looked up at Kane in consternation. ‘What do you mean, that you won’t hurt meunless I need it?’
Kane looked at the others, not sure how to explain.
Viktor interceded. ‘He means that when one of us requires a lesson, the others will see to it. We will brawl and beat each other senseless – until the message is received, I suppose. But we can’t do that with you; we won’t.’
‘So what will you –?’
Kane gripped her jaw and turned her head towards him. ‘You’ll be thrashed, Lana,’ he said matter-of-factly.
She didn’t hide her shock, her eyes flitting between them; something she did when she was nervous, Kane realised. ‘You’ll beat me? What –?’ Her throat worked as she swallowed hard. ‘What will you use?’
‘Our hands, a switch or a cane, perhaps. But only if we think its necessary.’
Her hands gripped the table. ‘Where?’
Not sure of her meaning, Kane decided to answer everything she might be asking. ‘You’ll be stripped of your clothes, bent over this very table, and held still by two of us while the third lashes your arse and the backs of your thighs.’ He hesitated before continuing. ‘Perhaps between your legs as well; it depends on which of us is doing it and why.’
Her horrified expression stayed frozen on her face for several moments before she collected herself and it turned thoughtful. ‘And what if I think one of you needs to learn a lesson?’
Kane shrugged, surprised yet again.
Sorin gave a short laugh, and even Viktor smiled.
‘Well,’ he said slowly, ‘I suppose it’s usually a group affair, so if you have a grievance, one of us could fight on your behalf.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘That doesn’t seem fair. You all get to hit each other and,’ she swallowed again, ‘flog me, but I’ll never get to do it to any of you myself.’ She shifted in the seat. ‘Not that I want to hurt any of you, of course,’ she hastened to add. ‘I just think if I’m truly one of you …’ She was silent for a bit as she deliberated. ‘What if instead of brawling, two of you hold the third and I lash you just as you would me?’ she asked finally.
Kane opened his mouth and closed it again. That sort of embarrassment was unthinkable for a Dark Brother to go through, and he said as much.
Her brow furrowed. ‘So I can be beaten with a stick but you can’t be, because it’s humiliating to you? Do you not think it would be the same for me – why, because I was a slave before so I should be used to it?’ She looked angry suddenly.
He glanced to the others, but they were silent, their eyes averted. So much for Brotherhood.
‘The pain would be less for you,’ he said finally, ‘so there must be more humiliation.’
Her countenance suggested she didn’t believe him and there would be more discussion about this later, but she moved on. ‘I heard you talking about an invasion.’
Kane stood as one of the others began to explain. He had other business to attend to. Greygor had been avoiding him. He intended to catch the old man early before he could disappear for the day. He grabbed his sword and made for the exit.
‘Kane.’
He turned to Lana’s piercing gaze.
