Claiming Their Maiden (4 page)

She scoffed and lifted her head, wishing her hands were free so she could wipe the

lingering moisture from her face. “I guess it’s true what they say about the Banded Men?”

“What’s that?”

“That what they have in strength of body, they lack tenfold in strength of mind. Brutes

without brains.”

“You’re lucky I’m the one punishing you right now,” he said. “I’m much calmer than

Trent. He’d take a cane to you for saying something like that.”

Her blood ran cold at the mention of a cane. She’d never been caned before, but she’d

witnessed a man caning his wife once. Amelia had been asleep in a small storage building behind

a house when a terrible scream jolted her awake. Curious, she’d crept up to a lighted window to

peer inside. The scene she’d witnessed left a deep impression on her, so deep she’d sworn to

never take a husband, should the chance present itself.

A young woman she recognized as Carla, a new bride, was bent over a desk, her skirts

thrown up, and her drawers parted at the slit. A large man, her husband, wielded a cane against

her bottom, pausing after each stroke to wait for his wife to resume her position, because nearly

every blow caused her to spring up on her toes and howl. Amelia winced as she recalled the

sound of the thin implement slicing through the air to crash against soft flesh. Dark pink weals

were raised on Carla’s bottom, and she was sobbing into her hands, begging her husband to be

lenient. She kept apologizing, over and over again, but try as she might, Amelia couldn’t figure

out what poor Carla had done to incite her husband’s wrath.

She’d left the window before the punishment ended and found another storage building to

sleep in that night, but Carla’s screams had haunted her long after. Amelia had seen the woman

in the village three days later, looking content with her husband by her side, and she wondered

how the two could appear so happy after such an incident. This curiosity had prompted Amelia

to spy on the couple at night a few times as they sat on their front porch. All those times, they’d

appeared happy, deeply in love, and Amelia had come to the conclusion that they were both

crazy. It was the only explanation.

Would Gavin tell Trent about her brutes without brains comment? She peered over her

shoulder and gave her captor a pleading look. “Please don’t tell Trent I said that. I won’t say

anything like that again.”

His eyes softened. “You will need to watch your tongue around my brother. His temper is

much hotter than mine. But don’t worry, sweetling. I won’t tell him. Consider it our little secret.”

“Thank you. And I understand.” She decided to press on, now that she was making some

progress with Gavin. “Is my spanking over, then?” A girl could hope.

He grinned and patted her backside, and the simple contact of his hand on her punished

area caused her to gasp. “Did you think I bared your bottom just to look at you?”

She turned around, too shamed to hold his gaze for a second longer.

His hand cracked down on her unprotected skin, and before the shock of the first blow

faded, his hand came down again. And again and again. She renewed her struggles, but Gavin’s

strength was no match for hers. He had her pinned down and completely at his mercy. Although

the pain was worse than when he spanked over her nightdress, her fear wasn’t as great as when

he’d first started. His promise to keep her insults from Trent made her feel safer. A bond of sorts

had formed between them, small and uncertain because he was a stranger, but a bond

nonetheless.

She was sobbing into the covers by the time Gavin ended her punishment. She expected

to be flung on the floor, or tossed on the bed. She expected coldness and to be left in solitude to

dry her tears alone. She expected anything and everything than what actually happened.

Gavin put her drawers and nightdress back in place, turned her around in his arms, and

cradled her in his strong embrace. With her face pressed to his solid chest, she released the rest

of her sorrows.

Amelia watched Gavin enter the room, marveling at the tray of food he carried. She

shifted in the bed and winced, promising herself she’d be on her best behavior until she managed

to run away. Something odd in her heart shifted when he placed the tray on her lap.

“The servants are asleep, so I prepared this myself. I hope you find it edible.” His dark

eyes twinkled, and this kindness he showed her so soon after the spanking left her confused.

Shaken. She blinked back tears.

“Thank you,” she said. The soup warmed her insides, and she ate while Gavin sat on the

edge of the bed, watching her.

“This isn’t a bad place to live, you know. The castle is strong, and there’s a community of

Banded Men in the surrounding forest. I think you’ll like it more than that village you came

from.”

“You know nothing about the village I came from.”

“I know someone hurt you. I know you ran for your life. I can see it in your eyes,

sweetling.”

“You hurt me.”

“I spanked you.”

“And it
hurt
.”

He grinned. “It was supposed to hurt. Be a good girl and you won’t be spanked again.”

Amelia was still trying to sort out her muddled feelings over the spanking, and she

decided not to say anything else about it for now. She finished her soup, as well as the fresh fruit

and the glass of juice, and gladly watched Gavin carry her tray from the room.

“Get some sleep, sweetling. My brother will be in to see you tomorrow.” He shut the

door on his way out, and Amelia heard a distinct clicking noise a second later.

He’d locked her in.

She curled up on her side and reached around to rub her tender bottom. Her punished

flesh was hot to the touch, and as she tried to douse the sting on her backside, a new sensation

tightened and pulsed between her thighs. Her face heated when she discovered the source of her

tension. Her sex was swollen and wet, and her fingers glided through her slit with ease.

Confusion collided with her arousal, and she tore her hand from her drawers in frustration,

pulling the covers up over her. Maybe Gavin’s tenderness had gotten under her skin a little too

much. The feel of his arms around her lingered, and she felt empty and alone in the bed.

She watched the lanterns burn lower and lower, wishing she could turn her unwanted

feelings off. The only reason she missed his embrace was because she hungered for human

contact, having spent her whole life pushing others away and keeping to herself. A morsel of

kindness, and a morsel of human—or sort of human—contact, had her hungering for more.

He’d spanked her. He’d caused her pain. She vowed not to forget that, and drifted to

sleep as she counted the reasons to hate both the Banded brothers, the one of the light
and
the

one of the night.

* * *

Impatience and annoyance simmered inside Amelia. She repressed the urge to upend

furniture and knock paintings from the walls. She hadn’t been allowed to leave the room, and

Trent had yet to come visit her. Judging from the position of the sun, it was late afternoon. What

was keeping him? It riled her that he thought she was a gift from the Goddess, but hadn’t been to

see her yet. She had a whole speech planned, hoping to convince him to free her.

Two young women who didn’t speak Amelia’s tongue had prepared a bath for her,

dressed her in an ivory silk dress that flowed to the floor, and brought her breakfast and lunch.

Try as she might to communicate with them, Amelia hadn’t understood a word they uttered, nor

was she able to guess their race. Not elves. Not exactly human. Not Banded. Their pale skin was

dotted with large freckles, and elaborate braids twisted into a large bun held their long hair atop

their heads. Amelia found the women, wherever they were from, to be nice and couldn’t fault

them for doing their job.

At first she’d assumed they were preparing her for Trent, but with the hour growing late,

she wasn’t sure of his intentions for her today. So she’d spent hours intermittently walking

around the room and gazing upon the forest. The treetops mesmerized her, and she imagined the

never-ending green was a thick blanket covering the whole earth.

The lock on the door clicked, and Amelia rushed to the center of the room, prepared to

face whoever had come. She doubted it was the servant girls, as it wasn’t quite dinnertime yet.

Gavin had instructed Amelia to apologize to Trent, and while she hadn’t promised to do

so, the command weighed on her mind. Would one of the brothers punish her for failing to

apologize for her disrespect last night? She shuddered and hugged herself as the door opened.

She stifled a gasp, and her mouth went dry.

Trent.

He’d finally come for her.

She tried to hold his gaze without looking down, without blinking, and without cowering.

He locked the door behind him, tucking the key into his pocket. The raw sexual energy she read

in his eyes unnerved her, but she held her ground as he approached. To back away from Trent, or

to break eye contact first, showed weakness.

“Good afternoon, Amelia,” he said, staring down at her. His scent, woodsy and

masculine, reached her nose.

“Good afternoon, Trent.” Her voice rang strong, and she hoped to keep her stuttering at

bay. The village people laughed at her when her nervous habit made an appearance, and for

reasons unbeknownst to her, she dreaded the thought of Trent similarly laughing at her.

He began to circle her then, his footsteps echoing throughout the room. She attempted to

stare straight ahead, but she couldn’t help but sneak a few peeks at the rugged Banded Man. A

fierce aura radiated from him, and she found herself wondering about the war he’d recently

returned from. Had it affected him? Or had he always been so …intimidating?

“Did Gavin punish you?”

“Y-yes.” She flushed from her head to her toes, and her bottom cheeks tingled in

memory.

Trent stopped circling her and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into his deep, blue

depths. Fear chased away what little pride she’d been clinging to, and she suddenly forgot all the

words to her speech.

“I —I’m sorry for s-slapping y-you.” She held her breath, waiting to see if he accepted

her apology. Tears burned in her eyes as embarrassment besieged her. She’d become a stuttering

fool in his presence.

“Are you really sorry, or are you simply afraid of another punishment?” His expression

was unreadable, and she gaped up at him in complete terror.

“I—I guess both.” She tried to pull away, but he grasped her chin between his fingers,

holding her in place for his scrutiny. “I know you saved me in the forest, and I am truly grateful

for your help. I confess I thought I was falling to my death, and then I didn’t quite land. Did you

catch me?”

“Yes, I chased the cat away and I caught you. The spider climbed down the tree, hissed

its displeasure, and climbed right back up without bothering us again.” His gaze softened, and he

released her chin. “I have some questions for you, Amelia, and I expect you to answer them

truthfully.”

Her stomach flipped, but she nodded nonetheless. He guided her to the bed, and they both

sat down beside one another, sparks of tension igniting as their thighs touched. Warm hands

covered hers, and her whole body flushed at the gentle contact from the brother she regarded as

the most unapproachable.

“The moment you fell into my arms, I recognized you from my dreams, from dreams I

believe the Goddess sent me as a sign.”

“That’s crazy.”

He chuckled. “I’m telling you this so you understand you are under my complete

protection—our complete protection. Whatever you tell me about your previous life will not be

held against you. The Goddess meant for me to find you.”

Amelia sighed. There was no reasoning with Trent. The only way she’d be able to leave

the castle would be to escape on her own. Strangely enough, she trusted that even if Trent

believed she had killed Mrs. Embers, he wouldn’t drag her back to the village. She considered

telling the truth for a moment, but quickly decided against it. Escaping would be easier if he

thought she’d been accused of a lesser crime. Or at least she hoped.

“I want the truth about where you are from and what you were running from, Amelia.

Now speak, or I’ll turn you over my knee and add to what Gavin gave you last night.”

“My employer’s house caught fire. I didn’t do it. I swear. But everyone suspected me, so

I ran.”

“Did you leave behind any loved ones? Any friends or family who might miss you?”

Her heart sank to the floor at his question. “No. I left no one behind.” She paused as the

familiar loneliness filled her. “My mother died when I was very young. I don’t remember her,

and I don’t know who my father was. I was a known thief in the village, and I didn’t have any