“Not now,” he said. “Now is not the time, as you can see. The droids will watch, so we must do this as harshly as is necessary, but carefully. I shall not harm you, neither will Kriss. Do you trust us?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Then remove that flimsy covering, take a deep breath, and listen to our commands. My hand is itching to make itself felt on your ass. But, I can assure you, it will do its job without leaving you broken. Are you afraid?”
She had been when she’d entered the arena. Now, Jago’s calm confidence lifted her spirits. She raised her chin up and straightened her back. “No.”
Afraid, no. Crippled by nerves, a definite yes. Hundreds of eyes bore down on her, and as she lifted the shift over her head and exposed her pale skin, they ogled her. There was nothing sexy about this, unlike her dream where she soaked up the adoration. This real horde of aliens was barbaric and intent on watching her suffer. How had an advanced species of humanoids managed to cling on to such uncivilized ways?
With her nakedness on show, there it was—the collective gasp of hungry men, driven by an almost insatiable sex drive. They weren’t there for justice. Just like the judge, they wanted the opportunity to see a real woman naked. She tried to avoid looking at the crowd, but it was impossible; they surrounded her.
The droid took away her gown. She hugged her breasts and tried to cover her privates with her other hand. A million goosebumps rose across her whole body. She shivered.
The pedestal wasn’t designed for comfort. Jago snatched the gown from the droid’s clutches and laid it across the stone surface.
“Bend over it, Shayla,” he said.
She couldn’t move. Her knees had locked.
Kriss hooked his arm under hers and nearly lifted her off the ground as he shifted her forward. Jago intercepted her. With her arms forced out, she uncovered her breasts. Another leer from the crowd. Another loud gasp.
“Ignore them,” Jago whispered.
Impossible. They weren’t going to stop just because she was embarrassed.
The two men hoisted her up and folded her over the stone bench. The solid structure felt cold, and it was obviously designed for a bigger person than Shayla. Her feet and hands dangled on either side. In any other situation, her pose would be comical.
Nobody was laughing. She closed her eyes and tried hard to let her body flop—tension would make things worse.
Kriss shackled her wrists and ankles, and in doing so, her legs were parted. More exclamations.
She hung her head. Get on with it!
The ull came next. Jago dribbled it over her raised rump, allowing it to slide into her furrow and further. The coldness lasted only a few seconds. The moment he started to rub it into her skin, the thick unction warmed her flesh by triggering tiny tingles. So much for numbing her. She was quite aware of his palm circling her ass cheeks. She wished she was over his lap in the privacy of his house. If she’d had that luxury, then the application of the ull might have created a different feeling in her loins and belly. As it was, she was still too tense; her buttocks had gone rock hard.
Jago ceased massaging her bottom.
The mechanical voice of the droid reminded the crowd of her subterfuge, her crime. One hundred smacks. Fifty from each man. One ass cheek each.
“Where’s the flogger?” a voice shouted from the crowd.
A few others picked up the cry.
“Let’s do this,” Kriss said. “The quicker, the better, I say.”
She had no say and until they started, she’d no idea if the ull had done anything to alleviate her.
Jago, standing to her right, tapped an ass cheek. The fingers prodded, heavy and noticeable. The ull hadn’t worked. She let out a small cry of alarm.
“Yes, remember to cry,” Jago said quietly. “Give them a show.”
Kriss snorted. “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. They can’t stop staring as it is.”
Jago’s hand met her ass once again. This time, he used a measure of force and the flat of his palm. The noise reverberated around the arena. Shayla jolted, shocked by the sound of the smack and the jarring sensation. However, the sting wasn’t there, not like previously, and although she knew it had struck, there was little else to feel.
Before she could decide whether it really hurt or not, Kriss slapped her other cheek. The sound was greeted by a roar of delight. This time, she felt warmth, a rising heat that centered on the raised part of her bottom. The ull had done something; she just wasn’t sure what exactly.
Jago swiftly followed, then Kriss rattled off his. They worked a steady duet of smacks, sweeping them across her ass. The heat consumed her, driving itself deep into her skin and muscle. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, nothing like a soothing massage, but it wasn’t a scorching pain either. Somewhere in the middle.