Kept: An Erotic Anthology (46 page)

We meandered through camp until we reached a tent that smelled like cooked meat. Male voices shouted. Something sizzled on a griddle. I looked up a little to see where we were. A food tent, like I’d seen at festivals.

Baen turned to me then placed two fingers under my necklace, er, collar. He tugged me forward and to the side a few steps then said, “Stay.”

I felt like a car he’d just parked. I couldn’t help myself… When he turned to walk away, I imitated the beep a car made when it locked and the alarm went on. He tossed me a dirty look over his shoulder and I giggled. Hopefully nobody heard and it wasn’t cause for punishment.

Just before he turned back around, I thought I saw a fleeting smile. At least the man had a sense of humor. Maybe rules wouldn’t be so bad if the “master” could laugh once in a while.

Baen returned a few minutes later with two plates piled high with food. Shredded meat was the only thing I recognized. I should’ve told him I wasn’t very hungry. He led us to a picnic table.

I stood behind him as he sat down, unsure of what to do from here. Did I sit down next to him or continue to stand? He hadn’t given me etiquette for meals.

“Sit here, girl,” he said, patting the spot next to him.

I exhaled in relief and sat next to him. “Thank you,” I said quietly. At his glare, I quickly added, “Sir.”

He handed me a fork and pointed to the plate in front of me. “Eat.”

I stared at it. What kind of meat did they eat in Scotland? It looked like beef but I couldn’t be sure. It smelled foreign. And there was orange mush next to it. Next to that, brown round things.

Baen must’ve noticed my hesitation. With his fork, he pointed to various things on the plate. “Beef. Boiled potatoes. Turnips.”

I nodded then poked at the shredded beef with my fork. Hesitantly, I took a bite. It wasn’t bad. Chewy but tasted all right. Under Baen’s watchful eye, I took a few more small bites. My stomach churned with nerves though. I didn’t want to fill up. I didn’t even know where the bathroom was.

“That’s a pretty lass you have there, Baen,” a man from across the table said.

Feeling my cheeks heat, it wasn’t hard to keep my head down.

“Aye,” Baen answered. “She’s got a quick wit too.”

“Never thought I’d see you take another woman. No’ after Becca.”

He grew quiet, focused on his food. So the man had a sordid past? Who was Becca? A girl that broke his heart? Was he widowed? Nothing like a mystery to make my ears perk up. Though, I had to admit to a slightest bit of jealousy, which disturbed me. He certainly wasn’t mine.

“You volunteer year after year even though your duty protectin’ the Clypeom is ov’r. You never take a concubine. We all thought you’d gone mad.”

“I can assure you my sanity is well-intact, but thank you for your concern, Dougal.”

The conversation died after that, leaving me with more questions than answers. I got tired of staring at my plate so, while still trying appear slave-like, I raised my eyes and people-watched. To make sure I didn’t accidentally piss anyone off, I only watched the women. Most of them were smiling and laughing, usually in small groups, sometimes one was sitting on a man’s lap. They all wore something around their neck. What looked like metal collars, lockets, chains, it was different on each girl. Some had ones made of leather, like mine. I fingered it idly.

The ones near their owners were well looked after. The men made sure they had enough to eat. They stroked their hair and faces, they watched them with tenderness. The culture wasn’t nearly as brutal as Baen had made it sound.

Something moved at my side. I turned to look. A white dog had wandered over, sniffing the air. I studied its face and build. Long, flat face and snout, short stocky body. A bull terrier for sure. They weren’t known for their beauty, but they were cute in their own way. This one seemed friendly enough. His tongue hung out to the side as he wagged his tail. He didn’t have a collar on so I figured it was probably a stray. Looking to get rid of my food anyway, I snuck the dog a scrap when Baen wasn’t looking.

The dog licked me in appreciation and I smiled, fighting back the urge to pet the thing. Animals were so much easier to understand than people. I missed my cat at home. I hoped Jared remembered to feed her.

I passed the dog one of the potatoes and he ate it greedily. When I looked up, a dark haired man was grinning at me as he chewed on a drumstick. Caught. I ducked my head, hoping he wouldn’t tell on me. The dog whined at my side.

“Shush,” I hissed at it.

“You can feed ‘im, lass,” the man said.

Baen swung his head toward me and glared daggers. I winced.

“I’m takin’ him to Aberdeen to train for fightin’. He could use more meat on ‘im.”

Dog fighting? I lifted my head and shot Baen a panicked look. It shouldn’t have been hard to tell I vehemently protested.

He put a hand on my knee under the table and whispered, “Let me handle it.”

I swallowed back the stream of curse words I wanted to scream at this asshole. My new little buddy in a fighting ring? Over my dead body. I hoped Baen knew what he was doing.

“Angus,” he started, far too patient sounding for my liking. “That’s against our code. Leave the dog be.”

The man chuckled then bit off a chunk of meat. “It’s mae dog. I’ll do wha’ the fook I want.” His accent was thicker than Baen’s, making it even harder to understand him. I was pretty sure he’d dropped the f-bomb but couldn’t be sure.

My anger grew, burning hot in my chest. I looked to Baen, eagerly waiting for his next move.
Do something
, I silently begged.

He only stared.

Ugh!

“T’rell know about this?”

Angus shrugged. “You goin’ tae tell on me like a wee school girl?”

My gaze flipped back and forth between them. I couldn’t sit idly by while this barbarian abused an innocent animal. No way. I waited for Baen to tell the guy to fuck off, but he didn’t say anything. He was giving up? Already?

The dog went to Angus and begged, the same way he had to me earlier. But Angus kicked it away. When the dog yelped, my anger boiled over.

I flew out of my seat. “You leave that dog alone, fuckhead, or you’ll be playing fetch with your fucking balls!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. All conversations froze as mouths hung open, waiting for what would happen next. I could swear I heard crickets chirping.

“Maggie,” Baen gritted through his teeth.

I ignored him. My heart thudded in my ears, my blood ran hot. I clenched my fists at my sides. From his perspective, I probably looked half crazed. Especially, standing here nearly a foot shorter than my enemy.

Angus threw the empty bone onto the table and slammed his hands down. Slowly, he rose to his full height. That was when I realized he was bigger than Baen – wider and taller, and if were possible, thicker. We were fucked.

I was sure my eyes grew wide as he towered over the table and glared down at me. “What are ye playin’ at, Baen?”

“She’s new. No’ yet trained.” He stood too, placing a hand on my shoulder where he squeezed in silent warning.

“Fuck training.” I shook him off. “You can’t let him get away with this.”

“Your woman insults mae in front of my kin,” Angus said then motioned to the other men at the table. “Either you punish ‘er, or I will.”

Oh hell no. I jumped up from my seat, ready to run, but Baen caught me by the arm and pushed me behind him.

“You will no’ touch her,” he growled, glaring at Angus. “You and I will finish this later.” He turned his glare on me next. “You. Tent. Now.”

“But…the dog!”

“Don’t push me, girl.” The warning in his voice caught my attention. Without another word, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back through camp.

Fuck, he was mad. I should probably care, but I couldn’t stop worrying about that dog. Maybe if I played nice, he’d go check on him for me.

At the tent, he pushed me in before him. I spun around and put my hands up, warding him off. “Okay. I know that was against the rules. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Ignoring my apology, he grabbed the skirt off the floor and tossed it at me. “Put it on.”

Deciding it was probably prudent to obey until he calmed down, I slid out of my jeans and put on the skirt.

He pulled a chair into the center of the tent then waved me over. I stared at him a moment, thinking through my options. I was in for a lecture it seemed. In his defense, I did break the rules, no matter how justified. Running was out of the question. I could argue but that would probably just prolong things.

Patiently, he waited. His anger seemed to have deflated, at least. With a resigned sigh, I glided to him. He took my wrist and pulled me close. When I thought he was going to hug me, he pushed me facedown over his lap instead.

“What are you doing?” I struggled to right myself but he stayed me with a hand on my back.

“Spanking your naughty arse.”

“What?” I shrieked then really gave him a fight.

He easily held me down with his giant paw then lifted my skirt.

“Baen! You can’t do this!”

“You broke the rules. You almost caused a fight with me and my kinsman. I warned you. Now you’ll learn what punishment is.”

“But…” Now I was frantic. He couldn’t really do this, could he? I was an American citizen! I didn’t even have a safeword. “This is pretend. Let me go!”

“No. You deserve it.” To my horror, he whipped down my panties. “And this sexy arse was made for it.”

I grabbed said
arse
with both hands as I dangled over his lap. “That’s not a reason!”

Chuckling, he pushed my hands up and held them at the small of my back. Oh god! He was really going to do this. This was really happening.

The first smack sounded harder than it felt. The second wasn’t too bad either. Other than the humiliation, maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I’d thought.

But soon he set a brutal pace, smacking one cheek then the other, over and over, not pausing to let me catch my breath. I squirmed but found myself stuck, and every attempt at getting away only ended in a harder smack.

“Ow!”

Pain flared, making my skin feel on fire. I officially didn’t like punishment.

Smack
. “Fuck. That hurts!”

“It’s supposed to. It’s meant to stop you from repeating the same behavior that got you here.”

Anger gnawed at me. Did he have to act so damn superior about it? “Yes, I know what a fucking spanking is, dickwad.”

Then he really laid into me. I fought like a hellion, kicked and shouted, called him all kinds of names. The pain was overwhelmed everything else, even my embarrassment. He didn’t slow or stop even once while I struggled. I was a grown woman yet he kept me firmly on his lap with ease. I’d never felt so helpless.

He beat my ass until I lost my breath. Until I whimpered pitiful apologies and squeezed back tears. I thought he’d never stop.

Finally, he did. It took me a few seconds to realize he was rubbing my ass instead of smacking it. I was weirdly proud of myself for managing not to cry, even though that was one of the most painful things I’d ever experienced.

I was spitting mad, though. How dare he take away my will? How dare he hurt me? I tried to get off his lap but he still wouldn’t let me go, though he released my hands. I placed them on the floor and waited. What the fuck did he want with me now?

He rubbed his hand in circles over my tender globes as he made soothing noises. Now he tried to comfort me?
Too fucking late, pal!

“Let me up!”

Fingers slid between my legs, making me cry out in surprise. My first instinct was to pull away but he stroked down my slit, softly, teasing, and I groaned and arched into his hand instead. Damn betraying body.

“No,” I said, but it came out more of a question than an order.

“No?” He parted my lower lips and pressed a finger lightly on my swollen clit.

I couldn’t hold back a whimper as I squeezed my thighs around his hand. He chuckled then shoved them open again. His fingers made a circle around my needy bud then moved toward my entrance. A rush of heat to my pussy made it wet, causing his fingers to slip in my arousal.

“Hmm.” His thumb pressed near my back entrance and I squeaked. “From all your fighting, I wouldn’t have guessed you enjoyed your punishment.”

“I didn’t!” Oh I wanted to smack him! Fuck him first then smack him.

“Sometimes pain can be erotic.”

I knew that. I’d gone to public school. “That was too much pain.”

“Next time I’ll show you how small pain can feel good.”

“I don’t want…” I cut off with a moan. His fingers were working magic. His other hand drifted from my lower back to my sore ass. He squeezed, making me jerk against him. “Fuck, Baen.”

“Fuck Baen? I like that idea.”

“Shut up!” Again, I tried to get away but he held me still. It wasn’t a serious attempt anyway, but I felt like I had to. It was the principle of it.

He moved his hand from my ass to my breasts under my shirt. After wiggling his way under my bra, he pinched one of my nipples, hard, until my pussy flooded and I cried out. I tried to clench my thighs together again. Just a little pressure there, on my clit, and I’d orgasm. No way. The thought of doing that with him making me, and watching me, was mortifying. But he wedged his arm between my thighs and held them open.

As he toyed with one nipple then the other, he pushed a finger inside me. Something clicked. Between him holding me helpless, the small pain of my nipples and ass, and the finger inside me…pleasure peaked. It was about to spill over. My breath came out shaky, heavy, like a sex phone operator. Finally, I let go, waiting for the orgasm, uncaring that I was still over the man’s lap, flopping around like a fish out of water. I just wanted to come.

Then he stopped.

His magic fingers disappeared. He lifted me from his lap and set me on my feet. I stood in front of him, my skirt still hiked up on my hips, shocked and so fucking needy. What the hell?

Calmly, as if he hadn’t just beaten then fingered a near stranger, he straightened my skirt then picked my underwear up off the ground and tucked them into his belt. He was done? That was it?