Page 51 of Bought to Break
‘What do you mean?’ But she was afraid she already knew. The punishment that had been alluded to.
‘The penalty for taking my horse, knife and gold. The lesson must be learned. It has to be done. ‘Sorin, lay her over the table. Twenty should do it.’
In his hand was a crop, and her mouth went dry. She saw Ather, his nasty grin, and broke out in a cold sweat.
‘No! Sorin, please. I’m sorry. Viktor, don’t.’ The pitch of her voice began to rise. ‘Don’t do this. Please, I beg you! I’ll never do it again, I promise!’
‘Quiet her or gag her,’ was Viktor’s only response.
Her heart thudded in her chest and she gasped. Her breathing was shallow and quick. She felt like she was suffocating. She gripped Sorin’s arm, her fingers digging into his flesh, and finally, finally he looked down at her.
His eyes widened. ‘Viktor, wait. Lana? Lana! Breathe.’ He cradled her and sat down, stroking her wet hair while she tried to calm down.
‘What’s wrong with her?’ Viktor asked, concern in his voice.
She didn’t hear Sorin’s reply, but when she lifted her head sometime later, the crop was nowhere to be seen.
‘What happened, Lana?’
She looked away. ‘It’s foolish,’ she muttered.
‘Tell me,’ Sorin insisted.
Her lip trembled. ‘It was the crop. All I could see was Ather. It was as if I was back in that stable, bent over the saddle. I don’t understand. He beat me lots of times and I was scared, but I never felt like this.’
Sorin sighed, hugging her close. ‘It’s not foolish, Lana. If you’re this afraid, Viktor will use his hand, but the punishment will still need to be carried out. I’m sorry, love. If we don’t do it, Greygor will have someone else carry it out publicly, and it will be much worse,’ he whispered.
He stood up and set her on her feet. ‘Come on.’
Tears came to her eyes as Sorin led her across the tent. She didn’t struggle. It just delayed what was going to happen anyway. He bent her yet again, this time over the larger meal table. He easily held her immobile, clasping her wrists with one hand and his other arm across the middle of her back, anchoring her to the table.
‘Kane?’ Viktor asked from behind her, and Lana craned her neck to find out what was happening, but she could see nothing.
‘I couldn’t find him.’
‘No matter. He isn’t needed. Our word should be proof enough.’
She looked beseechingly at Sorin as he nodded at Viktor, ignoring her again now. ‘Begin. She’s not going anywhere.’
She froze as Viktor’s hand caressed her arse, fluttering over the thing Sorin had put inside her. His touch disappeared and was gone for so long she wondered if he was even still there. Then it came: a hard, painful smack of his palm that propelled her forwards, scoring her nipples on the hard grain of the tabletop. Another followed almost immediately, tearing the breath from her lungs. She gasped and bit her lip. Two more followed and another two, alternating sides. The flogging itself was being done quickly, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. The agony was so very severe, she lost count after eight. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, but she didn’t make a sound bar the occasional hard breath out. Strike after strike; her hips dug into the table’s edge as she sobbed mutely, wishing her torment would end.
The final two were by far the hardest blows of all and made her open her mouth in a silent scream before Sorin let her go. As soon as he did, her legs buckled and she slid to the floor, her arse on fire and her nipples sore from being abraded on the rough wood. More tears fell as Viktor picked her up gently and settled her on her front on the bed.
‘There now,’ he cooed. ‘You took your punishment well. Nary a sound. It’s all over now.’
She buried her head into the pillow and sobbed as Viktor smoothed her hair and, a moment later, she felt the cold salve they used. He rubbed it into her skin hard, making her writhe, the pain of it almost as bad as the thrashing itself. She cried anew and he picked her up and cradled her against him.
‘Hush now. It’s done.’
But the tears wouldn’t stop. ‘I’m sorry, Viktor. I’m sorry for stealing from you. I didn’t want to,’ she hiccupped.
He hugged her hard into his chest. ‘Hush. It’s finished now. You’ll feel better soon, I promise.’
To her surprise, she found that she did. She hadn’t realised the guilt she’d been carrying for abusing Sorin and Viktor’s trust; for stealing Viktor’s horse especially. She knew how much Viktor cared about his mount and hated that she’d done it even though she’d seen no other way. Now she felt cleansed of it, renewed, and the shame she hadn’t known she was carrying seemed to have evaporated under the strikes she’d endured. Her tears dried and she shifted, trying to find a position that didn’t make her wince, until Viktor took pity on her and finally deposited her back onto her tummy on the bed.
His hands began to skim over her cheeks reverently. ‘You can’t see it, but take my word for it when I say that your arse is a most beautiful shade of red.’
His hands continued to touch her lightly. It wasn’t painful exactly, but the skin was so sensitive now that she squirmed under even the subtlest stroke. ‘I do love a good flogging,’ he murmured as his hand dipped between her legs. He gave a low whistle. ‘So do you, it seems.’
