Feeling so angry she could choke, Tabitha was nevertheless forced to hold still for fear he would fulfill his threat. Taking a deep breath, she let herself go limp in his lap and pressed her face into the folds of his purple robe so she couldn’t see the group of people watching her public humiliation. She felt tears of embarrassment seeping from under her lashes and tried to stop them. God, how much longer was this nightmare going to go on? A month in the brig and a trial in front of the board of inquisition were beginning to seem like heaven compared to what she was enduring at the hands of her infuriating captain.
“That’s better,” Keer said when she stopped struggling. She felt him shift slightly and then his large hand was back, this time rubbing something onto the skin of her abused ass.
She whimpered slightly as the salve went to work. Whatever it was, it felt wonderful. The burning in her backside was replaced by a cool tingling and she moaned breathlessly as Captain Keer’s blunt fingertips worked it into her skin. Slowly, her anger began to melt away with the pain and her tears stopped.
God, that felt good and not just the ointment, but his hands on her as well, she admitted to herself in a moment of weakness. Maybe he was right and she’d been trying to get his attention all this time in order to get him to do something like this. Not to whip her in public, of course, but to touch her, to acknowledge her as a woman and not just a junior officer who had nothing to offer him either professionally or personally.
Stop thinking like that. You’re mad at him, remember? she scolded herself. But it was hard to argue with the feeling of contentment she got from his suddenly gentle touch, even if he was touching her in front of what felt like hundreds of watching eyes. Little by little Tabitha felt herself relaxing. She was exhausted from all the fear and tension she’d gone through at the slave market and her subsequent rescue and whipping at the hands of her usually stoic captain.
She wondered vaguely where that emotionless stoicism had gone. She’d seen Captain Keer more worked up in the past hour than she had in the previous five months aboard the Pride of Justice. What was the reason for the change? Was she really so horrible that she actually broke through his wall of emotionless calm? No, she was probably giving herself too much credit.
“Good girl.” The large, warm hand moved up from her bottom to stroke her back and shoulders for a moment and then Keer spoke again. “All right, Tabitha. You’re done.” His deep voice broke what had almost become a sleep-like trance and Tabitha realized he was lifting her off his lap.
She blinked her eyes, dazzled all over again by the hot sunlight pouring down on her. With her face pressed against his robes she’d found a comforting darkness to hide in. She looked up, dreading to see all the curious eyes fixed on her again, only to see that the crowd around them had dissipated. Merchants and buyers were going about their business, completely ignoring the master and slave who sat on the wooden bench. The lack of attention after being stared at all morning and afternoon made Tabitha feel almost invisible. Next to being dressed, it was the best feeling she could imagine.
She looked up to see that Keer was eyeing her speculatively. Bracing herself, she waited for his next sarcastic remark but it didn’t come.
“Ready to go?” he asked, his deep voice quiet and cool.
Tabitha sighed and nodded. She was certain it was going to be a long walk back to the ship, especially wearing nothing but belt marks and salve on her bottom, but they had to go sometime.
“All right then.” He stood but, to her surprise, instead of grabbing the leash attached to her collar, he stooped and swung her up into his arms.
“What…?” She looked at him uncertainly and saw the corner of his full mouth twitch.
“You look too tired to walk the rest of the way,” he murmured. “Just relax and pretend you’ve fainted so no one thinks I’m being too easy on my new slave.”
Tabitha doubted anyone would think that after the way he’d whipped her but she felt a grudging gratitude for his willingness to carry her the last leg of their journey. Letting her head rest on his broad shoulder, just at the curve of his neck, she closed her eyes and pretended to fall into unconsciousness. As it turned out, she didn’t have to pretend for long because the tensions of the day overcame her and she fell asleep in his arms with the warm, spicy scent of his skin filling her senses.