Page 23 of Claiming Their Slave
“You still have a dose of the belt coming, Ava,” Wolfe said. “That cannot be helped. But if you answer my brother’s questions, your punishment will be over soon.”
“I’ll tell you, Masters.” She sucked in a few deep breaths and glanced from brother to brother. “It’s so bright in here, with the sunlight shining in the window. I was embarrassed about the plug. Last night, when Wolfe put it in, it felt different somehow. I don’t know, but I didn’t feel as ashamed as I do now.”
“There is no shame in preparing your body to accept your mates.” Jaxon moved to stroke her back.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one with an object shoved up your…ohhh! Ouch!” Wolfe squeezed her tender ass in warning, and she writhed in pain until he finally eased his grip.
“Manners, little slave. You had best mind your manners when you’re speaking to your masters.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, her shame deepening under his scolding tone.
“Now, answer the second question,” Jaxon prompted. “Or I will redden your bottom further before I take my belt to you. Why are you in a hurry for us to claim you?”
Sorrow tightened in her chest. She didn’t want to admit to her fears and her insecurities, but right now, they weren’t giving her much of a choice. After a steadying breath, she tried her best to put her feelings into words.
“The moment you both finally claim me, you’ll be bonded to me forever. I like the sound of that. Forever. But if you wait, and perhaps for some reason, change your mind about claiming me, I worry about what would happen then. Would I continue on here as your slave, only to watch you take a Banded female as your mate and have children with her? Would I be sold to another, or will you drop me off in a human village to fend for myself?”
The truth that she omitted from her little speech was the most painful of all—that in the short time she’d known Jaxon and Wolfe, she had grown fond of them and would feel utterly betrayed if they cast her aside for another.
Men changed their minds sometimes. She knew this better than anyone. Their desires shifted. Their needs altered. When the possibility of riches came along, they dropped everything and chased it. When a prettier girl came along, they chased her. As a human, she was smaller and weaker than most Banded females. What if they suddenly decided she wasn’t fit to be their mate or the mother of their children? Their rejection would devastate her.
In the brief time she’d known them, they had showed her more kindness than she’d known since her mother had been alive and before Monrock turned cold. Oh, why had she been difficult just now? Why couldn’t she have ignored her embarrassment and obeyed their instructions?
“Ava,” Wolfe said gently, “a thousand unmated Banded females could show up on our doorstep tomorrow, and we wouldn’t look at them twice. I’ve been dreaming of you since Jaxon bought you, before I’d even seen you and confirmed your existence with my own eyes. You belong to us. I swear on the Goddess that we’ll never want another female. You are our perfect mate, little slave, and we’re going to show you just how much you mean to us, after your punishment is over, that is.”
