Sarah felt a brief cool breeze on her bottom and then he was spanking her again. He was not using his full strength, he was simply slapping her hard enough to make a point, but not so hard that he would have to stop any time soon. It was an act of domination more than discipline, which made her all the more determined to resist his authority.
“I will throw everything in this house!”
“Then you will have a very sore bottom and spend a lot of time in your crate,” he said calmly. “Destructive pets go in their crates.”
“You treat me like an animal!”
“Only if you behave like one. If you want to act like a lady, I will treat you as a lady, but a lady does not throw books at lamps, and she does not threaten to escape at every turn, and she welcomes the opportunity to learn.”
“She sounds awful,” Sarah growled into the covers.
“She sounds like someone who can comfortably sit and doesn't spend half her days being spanked for various infractions,” he said, slapping her bottom a little harder.
“She sounds like one of your citizen women. Why do you not capture one of them? Oh, because it would be illegal to do to them what you do to me.”
“A citizen woman would not be of any use in the wilds,” William said. “Remember, I intend to take you there regularly to hunt protein for the city.”
“Because you cannot find prey on your own, because your senses are dull.”
“My senses are not as keen as yours,” he admitted, “nor can I stand to live in the wilds as you could. A good pet makes a hunter better, that much is true. But that doesn't mean you do not stand to gain anything from this. You have already gotten lifesaving medical treatment, one dose of medicine and the fever that could have killed you is gone. You sleep in a warm place and you do not have to keep an eye out for any predators. You're safe here.”
“I am bored here,” she growled. “This life you lead is boring. I would rather be prey for a wild cat than live like this.”
“It is boring because I cannot trust you yet,” he said, slapping her bottom again. “There is a world full of wonders out there, and you cannot experience any of them until you settle down and accept the fact that your life has changed. The more stubborn you are, the more bored you'll be. So you just let me know when you're ready to start learning,” he said, settling in comfortably next to her. The bed dipped, she felt the hard, large presence of his body near hers. He was right. He could keep slapping her bottom all day and all night—and if he wanted, he could use an implement to continue the punishment indefinitely. Her flesh would certainly give out before his did.
“Fine,” she bit out. “I will do as you wish.”
He paused, his hand on her bottom. “You mean that? Or are you trying to play some trick to get out of this?”
“I mean it.” She spoke in dull tones, feeling heavy and annoyed. There was no choice but to comply, but that didn't mean she was okay with it. It was depressing.
His hand tapped her bottom, then slid away. “You can get up.”
She sat up, avoiding his gaze. Her lower lip slid out in an unconscious pout. Deeply unhappy, she drew her knees up to her chest, not even bothering to pull her pants up. She sat bare and hot bottomed, annoyed with him and everything else in the world.
“Here.” He handed her the book. “Take this. I know it won't mean much at the moment, but soon you'll be able to read every page.” His tone conveyed an excitement she could not feel. She was not interested in what he called 'education.’ It was all a distraction from the real business of living, as far as she was concerned.
“It all starts with an alphabet,” he said, beginning the lesson. “The alphabet is made up of letters, which represent the sounds we make when we speak...”
He kept talking, but Sarah wasn't listening. She started at the book, at the weird symbols on the cover. What a waste of time, to sit and look at these dull objects when all around life was happening, life piled on life, and all lost to these city people.
“Sarah.”
She glanced up at him.
“You need to pay attention,” he said, chiding her. “What's the first letter of the alphabet?”
Sarah shrugged. “I don't know.”
“A,” he said. “A is the first letter.”
“What's the second letter? Ass? As in, you're an ass?”
“That's not quite how alphabets work,” William replied patiently. “But at least you're thinking on the subject. Now, the letter a is represented in two different ways, upper case and lower case...”