Murdok smacked her twice more, and this time the cries that broke from Rona’s lips were not cries of pain. Not entirely. Her face burned with shame.
Suddenly, a shadow fell across her vision. A massive figure was standing beside her, blocking out the light coming from the end of the alley. Even though Rona couldn’t see his face, she recognized his silhouette. And she definitely recognized his voice.
“What’s this all about?” Aeron asked.
Murdok stopped spanking and grunted.
“The woman ran away from us, so I’m disciplining her.”
“How did she get away?” Aeron asked, then he lifted his hand. “Nevermind. You can tell me about it later. If she needs to be punished, then we’ll punish her. But we’ll do it in private, where we can take our time with it and make sure the lesson sinks in. Now, get her clothes back on.”
“Aye, boss.”
Murdok knelt and pulled Rona’s jeans back up her legs. Then he fastened her belt. Aeron watched and waited. Once she was dressed again, he reached into his vest and took out a sheaf of small parchments. He pressed them into Rona’s hand.
“These are for you,” he said.
Rona looked at the parchments. They were stock certificates for the Riadne Mining Company.
“You’re gonna want to hang on to those,” Aeron said. “They’re gonna be worth a lot when this is all over.”
CHAPTER 13
Rona gritted her teeth and hissed as she lowered herself into the tub.
Her butt was still tender from the spanking Murdok had given her, and the hot bath water made it sting. But the pain was as fleeting as the tiny bubbles drifting through the air, and once she got more of her body beneath the water, a pleasant warmth suffused her skin and melted deep into her aching muscles. When she was all the way in, Rona sighed with satisfaction and leaned back against the sloping side of the tub, her face framed amid cloud-like piles of suds. The air was fragrant with the scent of neroli and white musk.
Yup. A girl could definitely get used to this.
Her shower last night aboardthe Talionishad felt good, but this, this was downright opulent. The bathroom was bigger than her entire dwelling back in the village, and a thousand times nicer. The walls were paneled in black marble veined with creamy white. The floor was covered in matching tiles. There was a full sized mirror on the wall nearby, and it was equipped with a hidden thermal system that kept it from fogging up, even in the presence of the steaming hot bathwater.
And the best part of all… Rona was all by herself.
The Mercs were in the equally magnificent bedroom, talking. The hotel Aeron had selected for them was the best in town, and their suite was the nicest the hotel had to offer. It was reserved for wealthy businessmen and offworld dignitaries, but the clerk wasn’t about to argue with three hulking mercenaries. Especiallynot when Aeron had flashed his cash. He’d given the clerk a tip so huge the poor man had nearly fainted.
And Rona had nearly puked.
Justgiving awaymoney like that. It was unconscionable. She didn’t make that much money in a year at the mine, working her damn fingers to the bone.
Of course, Rona had received a tip of her own.
She glanced over at the pieces of parchment lying on the counter by the sink. Those were the shares of stock Aeron had given her. She’d had a chance to count them after they’d finished checking in to the hotel. A hundred shares in total. Even at their currently diminished value, they were still worth more money than she’d ever had at one time. After the mission was over and the price went up, she would be rich. Filthy, stinking rich. She would never have to work again. She could leave the village. She could leave the whole damned planet. Go anywhere she wanted.Doanything she wanted.
It made her heart race just thinking about it.
It also made her feel a bit like a whore.
Up to now, she’d had no choice in the matter. She’d practically been kidnapped, taken from her village so the Mercs could breed her against her will. Now that there was money involved, the situation had a different flavor. She still didn’t have any choice about the breeding, but she did have a choice when it came to accepting the money, and it made her feel a bit dirty.
What was she going to do, though? Turn it down? Yeah fucking right. She’d have to be braindead to do something like that.
She would just have to learn to live with the shame.
Maybe, when this is all over, I can hire a gigolo, she thought.I’ll spank the shit out of him, make him grovel and beg, then I’ll use him as a footstool while I sit back and sip my champagne.
Hell, maybe she would hire three.
It was gonna be hard to find three who were as big as the Mercs, though.
