“Use it now.” When he raises his eyebrows, I lift my chin. “Master. Please. I can help.”
A beat goes by, while he looks at me. “All right.” The corners of his mouth turn up. “Do it.” He looks at me, then his jawbone flushes with a deeper purple. “I’ll get the kit.”
When he comes back, I’m surprised to see that there are vials of unknown medicines and lotions, things not available from the inter-galac trade. Akron always got top of the line everything, that’s one thing I can say about him.
“This is specialized?” I hold up a tube of clear gel.
“Created by a human, actually.” He smiles. “On Zandia. It helps Zandian skin heal many times faster than it would naturally.”
“A human slave? They get to do such work?” I take a sterile wipe and the water tube; dab his forehead. He doesn’t wince, but a muscle clenches in his jaw.
“We told you, life on Zandia won’t be bad.” His voice is even as I cleanse.
When I rub the salve onto the wound, I can see the thin, purple line start to recede, like water evaporating. “This is amazing.”
He nods. “Thank you.” His voice is softer, as I clear up the debris.
“It’s nothing. I’ve tended far worse.”
“Are you a medic?”
“No.” I toss the trash into the incinerator bin and close the kit. “Please, I don’t wish to talk about my past. Master.” I sneak a glance at him out of the corner of my eye.
“All right, but eventually you’ll tell us everything,” he says, and I can’t tell if it’s a promise, a threat, or both.
Chapter 6
Gorde
Our rescued Zandian is still unconscious in the pod, the glow of the healing crystal softly illuminating his lined face. His vitals are stable, and I assume he’ll wake by the time we arrive home.
Thank veck we got out of that prison. That I was able to find Danica in time to escape. The thought of leaving her alone there makes me feel ill. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. How could she be so irresponsible and disobedient? Before, I was running high on adrenaline and relief. Now, I’m pissed. I’m practically fuming.
Both Benn and I took some time to wash and dress in new clothing. It was a relief to clean off the fetid blood of the Ocretions, which had mixed with my own blood and sweat into a foul paste. But it was talking to Danica that made me feel most replenished.
Danica. I look at Benn and clear my throat.
He nods. “She can handle it now. It’s time.”
The two of us approach and stand over her. I put my hands on my hips and Benn crosses his arms. She looks up, and her neutral expression turns to one of trepidation. Her hands still on the med kit she was organizing.
“I—” she begins, eyes widening.
“Are about to get your well-deserved punishment,” I finish. “Now that we’re in safe air space and our rescue is stable, we can dedicate the proper amount of time we need.”
Her face goes to the resolute, absent expression she wore when we first saw her on the auction block, and everything in me screams to bring her back to the present, to us. I no longer care about punishing; I want to make her feel. Feel us. Know us. Make a connection. And yes, I’m still aching to flip up that gauzy skirt and turn her soft ass pink. But her punishment won’t be some impersonal beating, or some shock stick or confinement. I don’t know how she’s been punished in the past, but it will be different with us.
It will be an intimate reckoning.
I reach down with my hand and affix her with my gaze. “Come, Danica.”
There. The intelligence returns to her eyes. I’m not forcing her up, I’m asking for her compliance with her punishment. She hesitates, then takes my hand, her small one warm and delicate in mine. I easily pull her to her feet and in a second I’m seated on the hoverdisk with her across my lap.
Benn sits beside me. “Slide her over,” he suggests. “I’ll hold her down while you spank her. I’m sure she’ll try to get away before you even get properly started.”
Danica makes a small sound of dismay, and stiffens.
“Excellent idea.” I adjust her so that she lays across both of our laps. “I imagine we should start on her bare ass.”