It was a struggle not to stare at it. Though she had no intention of repeating the feelings of that afternoon, the lewd way he was sitting with his legs spread made it difficult to look away. She couldn’t put a finger on why it made her look; perhaps because it was something vulgar that was normally hidden on such prominent display.
Sedrak picked up a goblet of wine and took a sip before returning it to the small table next to him. He leaned to one side and put a thumb on his chin and a finger on his upper lip. “Did you enjoy your day, princess?”
His tone was meant to tease her, to put her on her knees with his words. A flare of anger flashed in her chest. She refused to submit tothis,whatever it was,even if she submitted to his physical domination.
She did not respond.
“I do not hear you,” Sedrak said.
“Yes, Master,” she said almost bitterly.
Sedrak raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. He surprised her when he asked, “What troubles you?”
Leola stared at him, eyes wide with astonishment and also wariness. She pressed her lips together and shook her head, remembering her vow to herself.
“Nothing troubles me, Master.”
This made him move quickly, his physical reaction visible beneath his skin. He rolled onto his feet and stood up swiftly. Crossing the tent in three steps, he leaned over her staring straight into her eyes. “Do not lie to me. Ever.”
She tried so hard to resist the feeling that welled inside her as he reached around and slapped her rear. She hated herself for feeling it. While the pain of his correction stung, beneath it burbled an… anticipation.
A desire. That she might feel his hand on her ass again. That he might correct her and then… that he might be pleased enough to reward her for how she took it. She did not want to think about it, but her mind had been filled with thoughts of his correction as she lay in the cage, struggling not to move and make the implement touch her, arouse her, make her crave Sedrak’s improper, filthy touch…
She pushed the thought of his hand spanking her as far away as she could manage.
“Now. I ask you again,” Sedrak said gruffly. “What troubles you?”
Her eyes darted side to side. Did he want to hear her answer? Or would he prefer she come up with some pleasantry that would appease him? His stare bored through her until her knees felt weak. She found she could not put into words what she wanted to say. “I am…I am… I think of my… future…” she whispered.
Sedrak leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “Only now you consider your future?” He laughed, and it was difficult to tell if he found her words genuinely funny, or if he was being cruel.
“In truth, I think of myself, but also my kingdom,” she said. “If I marry, but I cannot, now, so, I am… not… my uncle shall have no heir…”
She was babbling. Sedrak’s brow was furrowing.
His expression darkened as the last trickles of her incoherent speech tumbled from her mouth.
“Your uncle is lucky to be alive, and your kingdom is fortunate that I have forgiven his actions.” He sauntered back to his pile and slumped into it.
She stayed mute and stared straight ahead, but she knew that some anger rose to the surface of her eyes.
Sedrak seemed intrigued by her indignation. “Your uncle. He spun stories of his exploits, no doubt?”
She pursed her lips and shook her head. “I try… tried to listen to him as little as I could.”
Sedrak leaned forward and steepled his fingers in front of his chest. “Then you wouldn’t know of him pillaging my people and their livestock in the Northern hills?”
Her nostrils flared and she drew in a breath.
“No mention of burning villages and slaughtering my cattle?”
She shook her head. “No, Master.”
“My subjects begged for him to be killed. I was kind, and took payment instead.”
Leola shivered, hearing herself spoken of in such mercenary terms.
“You did offer yourself, Leola Grace. Perhaps you regret your decision, but you think of your future too late to save it.”
