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Darcy screamed and clawed the entire trip back to the house. Nikol wrapped a thick arm about her chest and confined her movements. Her weak efforts continued, forcing him to lift her slightly and remove her ability to hinder his steps. Dain eyed him with something akin to amusement but Nikol hadn’t missed his admiration when Darcy landed a kick to Nikol’s booted ankle.
“Cease, or I will add my own correction to the one you’ve earned from Ryz,” he growled harshly in her ear.
Her breath hitched and she cursed him with Earth words he didn’t understand because the translator found no meaning for them. He palmed her mouth to cut off the flow of vitriol. He didn’t care what she said to him in his kitse but in the halls of Lothar’s home, he couldn’t afford for others to see him as weak when handling a female.
When Nikol reached the door with Darcy and Dain in tow, Ryz smirked, letting them in. His eyes went over Darcy’s body with unconcealed greed as she fought and struggled in the rough hold Nikol had on her. Once more Nikol had to combat his fury at what her careless actions had wrought. He wanted to kill Ryz for striking her but he wanted to lock Darcy away forever.
“I know I have ceded over the right to her correction but if you will do me the pleasure of informing me when you plan to administer it, Nikol, I will be sure to be present.” Ryz’s lips twisted into a facsimile of a smile.
It was too bad Ryz was one of Lothar’s loyal followers Nikol hadn’t managed to get rid of. Usually one of his men worked the door. If Darcy had attacked any one of them, Nikol could have addressed the matter in private.
The thought grated and he tightened his arm until she choked and reached up to dig her tiny nails in his forearm. Easing his grip, he bit out, “Now, if it works for you.”
Again, Ryz’s gaze dropped to Darcy’s breasts. “It will be a pleasure.”
“Dain has agreed to witness.”
Ryz looked at Dain with something akin to hate. “Calix will witness with me. I will comm him now to join us. Where?”
Calix had witnessed Mirim’s punishment years before. Nikol had waited a long time to seek justice against Calix. Red hazed Nikol’s vision, a low growl rumbling from his chest.
“Nikol has decided on the lower level atrium,” Dain said, providing Nikol with a chance to get his emotions back in check.
Breathing through his nose, Nikol reined in his anger. The atrium was perfect with its three way glass walls. It also provided Nikol with the idea of how he would correct Darcy. She watched them with her gaze bouncing back and forth. He didn’t dare free her mouth yet.
He only hoped he didn’t irrevocably damage her emotionally. Earth women were fragile in that regard. If she acquiesced to his command, he could end the discipline early. The longer she forced him to drag out the discipline, the more he’d risk losing all he’d gained with her. He’d grown accustomed to her warm smiles and the way her blue eyes lit when she saw him.
“I will be there,” Ryz leered.
Darcy sagged in his arms and Nikol steeled his heart for what he was about to do.
***
Nikol led Darcy to the beautiful glass enclosed room she’d only been in once when they went for their walks. Circular sofas low to the ground provided seating for any who wanted to take advantage of the sunlight streaming through on three sides. The floors were tiled a bright white that made it feel if you were outside.
It should have felt peaceful. Instead, Darcy considered it the sight of her destruction. She looked up to Nikol, seeking reassurance but he was staring at the others who came in behind them. Dain and Ryz followed and they were joined by a third it took a moment to recognize.
He’d spoken to Brax when she’d first landed on Marenia. His eyes instantly went to Darcy. Not her face but her breasts and his dick jumped in his pants.
Oh, God. She sucked in a deep breath. Why did they all need to be here? What were they planning? The possible answer caused her heart to seize in fear.
Lowering her to her feet, Nikol watched her with that cold expression Darcy was beginning to hate. She took a step back and Nikol’s eyes hardened to chips of brown stone. He spoke to the others but didn’t take his gaze from her. “We are here to witness correction to the Earth woman for her disobedience and disrespect toward Ryz.”
Darcy inhaled sharply and clutched the material of the shellam in her hands.
“Correction has been ceded to me to address with my tutanis. Agreed?” he intoned.
“Agreed.”
“Agreed.”
“Agreed.”
The three chimed in. Darcy glanced around frantically. Her gaze landed on Dain standing a bit behind Ryz and the other Marenian. Dain’s dark eyes held a warning. A laugh bubbled in her throat. She was supposed to go along peacefully with whatever this was? Not likely.
Nikol took a seat on a cream colored circular sofa and spread his thick thighs. “Come here, Earth woman.”
“No.”
There were several indrawn breaths but Nikol merely pursed his lips in disappointment. He was on his feet and had Darcy in his arms before she could run.
”Stop! Stop this!” she screeched.
He handled her easily and tossed her over his lap, face down. One palm planted firmly at the middle of Darcy’s back, immobilizing her. The other went to her face and he turned her head to the side, facing his torso. “You will apologize to Ryz for your actions.”
“What?” She kicked out her legs. “No.”
“Then the correction will begin and not stop until you see the error of your ways.”
Darcy pushed her hands on the floor and thrust her hips up. He must not have expected her move and she fell to the floor, cracking her knees on the tile. Nikol leaned down and picked her up despite her smacking hands.
“She clearly needs more training, but worth it with that body,” Ryz said.
Humiliation churned in her gut. Nikol controlled her attempts to escape and she found herself face down on his lap again. He shifted her shellam aside, baring her bottom and sending a jolt of sheer panic down her spine. “Wait, no! No! Please!”
A deep rich voice full of menace joined in. “She needs a hard hand. I have a lot of practice with that if you require my assistance.”
Nikol’s thighs froze beneath her and Darcy held still. “No, thank you, Calix.”
She’d never heard such coldness in his voice before.
“As you wish.”
Nikol removed the wisps of silk about her hips and ran a hand over her butt. “Do you apologize to Ryz?”
“Are you going to let them rape me if I don’t?” Darcy asked.
He gripped the hair at the back of her head and yanked. Her neck bent at an awkward angle as he got in her face. There was a snarl twisting his lips and his eyes were thin slits. “What did you say?”
Though he was frightening her more with his rage, Darcy spat, “Rape. Is this about to be a gang rape?”
“No one else will touch you in that manner. Only me.”
She arched on his lap and tried to twist about. The ease with which he kept her restrained pissed Darcy off. “Then what is this about?!”
“It is about you not knowing when to shut. the. fuck. up! Now apologize,” he snapped.
Her mouth dropped. All the times he’d been gentle with her. All the nights they’d spent together in bed. It meant nothing. “Let me up!”
“Something tells me you aren’t remorseful yet.” Nikol shoved her face back down and lowered the arm around her waist to tap her butt. “I’m going to discipline you, Darcy. If you give Ryz your apology, this can be over.”
She snorted. “I’m not a child to be spanked.”
He cocked his head to the side and leaned low. “Have you ever been corrected in this manner? Had a bed partner push your pleasure on you after?”
He was massaging the area in reference and Darcy didn’t like the uneasy turn the conversation had taken. She shook her head frantically. Nikol held firm and cupped her jaw in his free hand. “I am going to show you the error of your ways. When I am done, you will be mindful of the risk you took.”
He let her head fall back to his thighs but it didn’t take long to discover what he’d do.
Swat.
He’d actually spanked her! “You beast. You can’t do this!”
Swat. There was a cheer from Ryz.
“I hate you,” she cried, unable to believe he was doing this.
Swat, swat. And then a finger massaging between her thighs directly over her clit. “Apologize!”
“Nooo!” she screamed.
Ryz was laughing and so were the others.
Swat. Swat.
When he went to rub her this time, Darcy tried to clamp her legs closed. Nikol pushed his hand through anyway and pressed his thumb over her clit while stroking the sides of her folds in a slow steady rhythm. Her traitorous body warmed to the contact.
Swat.
“You can’t win in this, Darcy,” he whispered next to her ear.
Shame rolled over her. Never had anyone done this to her. “Why?”
His bent low to drag his lips over her cheek beneath the cover of her hair. “Because you broke the rules.”
Swat.
Darcy bit back a sob. “They aren’t my rules.”
“At what point do you think your level of stubbornness will match my level of determination?”
The bastard. How dare he? “Fuck you!”
Swat. Followed by a determined rub with two fingers. Swat.
A slow burn was building in her core and Darcy couldn’t articulate how much she hated him right now. “Hate you, hate you, hate you!”
“Ahh. This will go well.” Did he sound disappointed? She couldn’t place the tone and didn’t care as she attempted to twist about.
“I will never give in. He was wrong and you’re evil for going along with this. Animals. All of you.”
Swat, swat, swat.
The fast and hard slaps to her bare ass hurt. The heat of the earlier blows had shifted to a concentrated burn pushing her reluctantly toward a potent orgasm and she couldn’t stop crying now. Nikol leaned low and brushed her hair over one shoulder, unintentionally offering a brief respite to the pain and pleasure. Or was it intentional? Darcy didn’t care as she fought to catch her breath.
“The sooner you give in, the sooner this ends astéri,” he whispered.
Darcy wasn’t in the mood for his whispers and fisted her hands on the floor, choking back gasps as her face burned with mortification. “Never.”
“Sadly, I know you want to believe this,” he said. “But you are not built for discipline.”
Darcy was prepared to prove him wrong until he added in a hiss, “Give in. For both of us,”
There was a strange note in his voice but she couldn’t. This wasn’t her life. She didn’t want to be here. “No.”
“Damn you, Darcy,” Nikol growled and she felt a spurt of remorse for her defiance.
Swat
She screamed in rage and pounded his thigh and calf, wherever she could reach. Darcy didn’t care they’d drawn a crowd. She didn’t care about the spectacle they made. “You bastard, I hope you die.”
“Wrong answer.” The spanking began again.
Swat, swat.
And so did the rapid crawl to orgasm. She was going to come. Horrified, Darcy glimpsed the faces of those who’d stopped to watch, male eyes ablaze with perverse desire and female gazes averted. She yelled things she couldn’t remember until her voice grew hoarse and then true to Nikol’s words, she was reduced to pleading. “Please. Please. I’m sorry.”
“Tell him,” he demanded. “You know what to say.”
“I’m sorry to Ryz!” she moaned, her core clenching and releasing. Moisture drenched her mound as her body ached to come. At this point, she was practically humping Nikol’s thighs. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“Louder,” he ordered, not pausing the rhythm of the spanking.
She wanted to call him every curse word in her vocabulary but restrained the urge. He was right in his earlier warning. Pain was a helluva motivator but arousal and humiliation were worse.
“I’m sorry, Ryz. I’m begging. Please!” she yelled it out between sobbing and holding onto her orgasm by a slim thread.
“Is that sufficient, Ryz?” Nikol asked.
The wait for a reply was interminable but Darcy’s world narrowed down to that pinpoint moment. Her butt was on fire and blubbering tears mixed with the snot on her face.
“She has been corrected to my satisfaction.”
“Good.” The spanking stopped. Nikol’s hand smoothed over the rounded curve of her hot cheeks.
Darcy trembled. Fear and exhaustion left her in an odd state, so it took a while for her to pay attention to the direction of his caresses. His fingers toyed with the crease of her ass then continued to play with the folds between her thighs. Tensing, a new worry flooded her mind.
Would he force her to come in front of these strangers? She’d done what he asked, given him her pride on a platter. “D—”
His hand tightened in warning, curling about a round cheek, almost painfully. “I can do what I want, remember?”
Darcy sniffed back more tears and bit her lip. If he made her orgasm in front of all of these people, she’d never forgive him. A few more deceptively gentle caresses and he finally turned her over and sat her up on his lap. He waited for her to speak, to say something.
Locking her lips she remained mute and shot venom with her glare. Around them the crowd slowly dispersed. No one was interested any more now that the entertainment was over. Darcy was ashamed and hated him though she didn’t say it aloud. She wasn’t stupid. She’d learned this lesson well.
***
Nikol carried Darcy back to his kitse in silence. She was shaking too hard to walk. Her rigid posture and stiff back told their own story. He was disappointed that it took her so long to give in. Unfortunately, if he wanted Ryz to accept the discipline as adequate, he had to make the lesson a harsh one.
The intent to make her orgasm hovered at the edges of his conscious. The last step to force her compliance in being more careful but he’d been unable to do it. Nikol only hoped she wouldn’t push again with her brash manner in public. To do so could place her life in jeopardy.
Nikol would never be able to stand over his astéri’s kneeling form and slit her throat. And when he refused, Lothar would do it. But only after taking her cruelly in front of Nikol to prove a point.
He lowered Darcy to his bed and pulled the covers over her trembling form. “I will not apologize for caring about your safety, Darcy.”
“You’re an ass,” she said on a sob, her body hunched down low.
Nikol smoothed a hand over her shoulder. “Yes.”
Cecilia entered his alcove and stood at the arch. “She will need this. It’s from when Stasia bruised her knee falling in the gardens.”
Nikol turned and accepted the small jar of cream. He couldn’t take her to the medics. Others would see it as erasing the reason for the discipline and Ryz could demand Nikol discipline her again. Or worse.
Cecilia glanced at Darcy with something akin to sorrow then bowed on her way out. Sitting on the side of the bed, Nikol twisted the top off the clear gel in the container. It had a floral smell. He eased back the covers and Darcy jerked on a whimper.
Biting back a sigh of regret, Nikol blocked her discomfort and smoothed the medicine on her fiery red cheeks. At first, she flinched and twisted away but once the numbing properties of the gel kicked in, she relaxed against his bed. “Darcy?”
No response.
Nikol continued to caress her blushing curves. He wasn’t overly concerned about lingering pain because he’d delivered numerous erotic spankings before and knew he hadn’t seriously injured her. “Astéri?”
Her silence grated and Nikol began to speak of random things. He talked about loving the mountains and how he found the vast emptiness and quiet soothing. He spoke of his mother and growing up in a kitse surrounded by women. He avoided mention of Lothar and though her eyes were closed, he felt like she was listening.
When he finished, he covered her bare body again, tucking the edges of the covers in close. Her hand was fisted beneath her chin and her cries had dwindled to sniffles. Nikol smoothed her hair back and let his fingers drift to the lone bracelet she wore. He fingered the expensive jewels in the intricate setting. Seri’s gift from Lothar for Nikol’s birth.
“This belonged to my mother. She was a strong woman. Fierce.” He paused when her fingers twitched and curled inward. Away from his touch. “Like someone else I know.”
He bent over and kissed her temple, tasting the tears at the corner of her eyes then he stood and left her alone.
Nikol was distracted as he left his kitse. Dain was waiting outside in the hall. If he noticed the strain on Nikol’s face, he didn’t comment on it. They strode off together, heads together as they whispered.
“What is the news?” Nikol asked.
“Everything is in place and ready when you give the word. Smiki’s contacts need a response right away.”
It was time. Nikol met Dain’s gaze directly. “Do it.”