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“My gripe ain’t with you,” he said, “but with your father. You’re comin’ with us as our captive, ransom against what your daddy owes us. We have a long, dangerous journey ahead of us, and there are rules you’ll be expected to follow. You hear me?”
Aida shifted, still glaring, and refused to answer. His eyes rested on the strap. Noting the silent threat, Aida felt fear claw at her chest for a quick minute. She nodded.
His eyes focused on hers for a moment before he continued. “You’ll do as I say.Everyonein our company obeys me, you and the other four men I have with me. There’s no room for disobedience or disrespect. That means you’ll eat what I feed you, come when I call you, and do what I say. Anything short of complete obedience, and I’ll punish you.” He paused as his words sank in. “Soundly.” His eyes darkened. “And I’ll expect you to treat me with respect. Understood?”
She glared at him, hatred a live, pulsing heat between them. Her words were a low hiss. He could whip her, he could tie her up, he could make herobey, but she’d let him kill her before she’d ever give himrespect.
Though her mouth was dry, she used up what she had left as she spat again on the ground with vehemence. “You filthy scoundrel!”
He watched her through eyes so narrow they were no more than slits before he shifted up and drew even closer to her, while she cursed furiously. Though her heart thundered in her chest, she still did not regret refusing to submit. He reached a hand to where her long, wavy blond hair hung loose about her face, grabbed a fistful, and yanked so hard she felt the piercing pain along her scalp and spine. She cried out involuntarily as his mouth came to her ear.
“I gave you a choice, little girl, and I gave you one chance to do this the easy way. I’ll have you know it’ll be my immense pleasure to whip your gorgeous backside raw while you scream for mercy. Darlin’, you just gave me exactly what I came for.”
Chapter Two
Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. ? William Shakespeare
“Up!” shouted Cole, his deep voice ringing through the early morning air. He signaled to Junior standing guard a few yards in front of where the horses were tied, and watched as the other men rose around them. Aida stumbled as he tugged her along with him, and his hands reached to her waist to steady her. It was almost a shame how easy it was to hold her. He held her by the scruff of her neck, the way an angry schoolteacher might haul a naughty child outside to be punished. With his free hand, he snagged the strap and snapped it against his leg, both to frighten her with the sound of it and to also remind him of how badly it stung. He’d used the strap to bring many men to their knees, but he’d never whipped a woman, and he was conscious of her more delicate skin and constitution. Whipping a man’s toughened back wasn’t the same as the lovely backside he planned to punish. Instilling fear before he whipped her would go a long way in aiding his ultimate plan. She needed to fear him. She needed to tremble in awe. She would hate him, but she would obey.
Junior turned to watch them.
“Y’all right back there, Cole?” he asked.
“Someone decided to defy me already,” Cole said, dragging Aida and the strap to a wooded area. “And the sooner we get our rules straight, the better.”
Junior was slight, with blue eyes and tufts of blond hair creeping out beneath the Stetson he was still growing into. His innocent looks belied his true character. The youngest recruit of Cole’s, he could be tough as nails when push came to shove. Cole’d seen him pistol-whip a man twice his size in the last town they’d visited, and threaten to cut the fingers off a man who’d had the nerve to touch a lady of the line in a saloon they’d stopped at the week prior. The man hadn’t asked permission, Junior had explained later, when Cole had to wrestle the knife out of Junior’s hands. Junior was vicious, but his weakness was pretty ladies.
“Already?” Junior asked, frowning. “Can’t you just—”
“You leave off, Junior, and don’t you get in my way, unless you want a taste of the strap yourself.”
Junior’s eyes widened slightly. Cole had taken the strap to him once, when he was still a new recruit, only eighteen years old with much to learn. He’d gone behind Cole’s back and stolen a gold pocket watch from a traveling salesman, simply because he’d liked it. Cole didn’t allow defiance and didn’t abide theft, unless he authorized it. Junior had taken his whipping like a man and made amends. He’d never defied Cole again. But he well knew Cole meant what he said. Holding his hands palm up, Junior backed off in surrender.
The other men didn’t budge from their stations as Cole dragged Aida deeper into the woods. They all knew when Cole pronounced a sentence, it was best not to interfere. The pretty blonde within his grip screamed at him and swore as he hauled her to where a large tree served a perfect whipping post. He chuckled mirthlessly.
“Well, now, ain’t you pretty puttin’ up a fight. Care to repeat that last phrase, pretty girl?”
She kicked her feet and struggled against his grasp, but it was no use. He was far stronger, and enjoying every bit of the struggle.
When they got close enough to the tree, he dropped the strap to the ground. He deftly swung her around and checked her tied hands, ignoring the hatred in her eyes. He didn’t care about the hatred. What he needed to see was compliance.
She’d get there.
When she was good and secured, he leaned her up against the tree, thankful she wore nothing but the thin cotton garment. There’d be no need to remove it. He knew how to swing the strap expertly so that it would fall in just the right way, delivering a satisfying burn. The strap was a softer leather than the horsewhip that lay back at the wagon, and was unlikely to welt her as easily.
“Now, pretty girl, you’ll stand up against that tree and take your punishment, or I’ll have to hold you over my lap. And as much as I’d like to have that lovely body of yours closer to my cock, we can get this over more quickly if you take your whippin’.”
She seemed torn. Her eyes flitted to the side, as if to find an escape route, but there was none and that was exactly the way he liked it. She could either stand against the tree and be whipped, or be taken over his knee. In the end, he would get her obedience. If there was anything he could do expertly, it was extract compliance from those who were weaker.
She tossed up her chin and glared at him. “You can tie me up and whip me,” she said. “But I’ll see you hanged for this.”
Clenching his jaw, he grabbed her about the shoulder and tried to get her into position, but her foot shot out and kicked him in the kneecap. It stung like the dickens, and he swore vehemently as he rubbed at the pain, reaching for her bound wrists, but she was too quick. She spun away and tried to run but he snagged her about the waist. She tried to pull away from him, screaming at the top of her lungs, but it was too late for her now. He ducked her swinging fist, encircled her waist with his arm, and in one swift motion, dropped to the ground, hauling her straight across one bent knee. He lifted the strap and let loose a hard, whistling lash. She screamed when the strap connected with her backside. She kicked and hollered but couldn’t get away. Holding her tightly, he gave her another few measured swats with the strap. Her ferocity in fighting him still didn’t wane, though her voice caught now when she screamed. With nothing to protect her from the bite of the strap but her thin cotton chemise, he plied the strap against her thighs, and heard a whimper escape. Now he was getting somewhere. He spanked her again in the same spot. She yelped, pulling away and moaning, twisting her bottom, but he knew how to overpower her so that she could do little more than kick her feet. He was bigger, stronger, and meaner.
A string of curse words flew out of her mouth. Cole’s mouth set in a grim line, and he spanked her again. “Well, look what we have here,” he said in a low drawl, bringing the strap down with two more vicious lashes against her upper thighs. “A pretty girl who swears like a sailor. Tsk, tsk.”
Whap!The more he spanked, the more she fought. His arm hurt from having to restrain her so firmly, but he knew now wasn’t the time to stop. She needed a strapping that would break her will, leaving him the decided victor. “Seems to me, little lady, that you need more than a lesson in obedience,” he said, punctuating his words with whistling lashes of the strap. “Seems to me you need a lesson in manners your daddy should’ve taught you.”Whap! Whap!“And since I’m the man for the job, we’re not done here until you call me Daddy.”
Her curses echoed through the woods. He cringed. He’d have to spank her harder. With her over his knee, his range of motion was limited, and he couldn’t rear back to swing the way he would if she’d been up against the tree. Bracing himself, he lifted his hand even higher. The strap whistled through the air before landing in the hardest stroke he’d given her yet. Her whole body jerked from the sting of it, but still, she would not submit. He wouldn’t use anything more severe than the strap. He wouldn’t whip her harder. The point was to make her obey him, break through her stubborn resistance, not cause her real harm. He’d simply have to stay the course until she gave in.
