Now his mind was engaged as well as his groin. Tok said she would be his tonight. At last, perhaps, he’d have a woman who presented a challenge. There was no thrill in mastering one of Tok’s harlots. They did as they were told, feigning ardor in fear of being subjected to a ceremony like the one playing itself out in front of him.
This woman was different. He could feel it from here.
* * *
She’d made Thelo angry with her display of defiance. She could see it in his eyes. Foolish of her, considering what was to come.
He glared at her, muttering something she guessed was a curse. Then he walked behind her, running his hands over her naked body from her shoulders down to her waist, cupping the twin cheeks of her bottom and squeezing before sliding his fingers between her legs. Playing to the crowd. Deliberately lingering, teasing, taking liberties – all to strident cheers and shouts.
He whirled her around. She would have fallen if not for his strong hands on her arms. The cheers grew louder.
“You would be defiant?” he growled. “You are a fool.”
Even with the noise of the crowd, AJ heard him clearly. A part of her mind registered the fact that she could now understand his words, even with the limited exposure she’d had to them.
Thelo whipped off her veil. She saw the crowd clearly for the first time. Saw the mass of leering faces uttering their taunts, their shouted obscenities. Deliberately, she fixed her gaze on a point high above their heads.
General Tok sat in splendor at the top of the stairs to the Citadel. He had a row of men on either side of him. Honored guests given a prime spot to witness her humiliation? A figure to one side of Tok drew her eye. Unlike all the others, he wasn’t shouting or cheering. He sat silent. Observing. Not participating.
AJ blocked out everyone else and concentrated on him.
Enraged by her lack of response, Thelo increased his onslaught. He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her body, grabbing her bare breasts. Wild shouts urged him on. The high priest took her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, pinching and twisting, until they stood out in tight little peaks.
He slid one hand farther down, running his fingers through the tangle of dark hair between her legs, and pantomimed thrusting into her from behind.
Thelo needed no acting skills. His stiff cock bulged out and, had it not been for the tunic, he wore, it would have penetrated her. He yanked on her thick braid, arching her body back. Parting her curls, he exposed the soft folds of her vaginal lips to the nearest bystanders.
The noise from the crowd swelled to a crescendo.
Still holding her braid in one hand, he twisted her around so she faced the bench and yanked her across it, with her head hanging down.
The added height of the sandals made AJ’s bare bottom stick up high above the bench, emphasizing her indecent position. Two soldiers stepped forward, one on each side, and grabbed her ankles, spreading her legs wide as they tied her to hooks on the feet of the bench. Then they came around in front of her and seized her wrists, tying them to the other legs.
Despite her show of bravado, AJ was trembling all over. Having a jeering crowd witness her violation added a thick layer of shame, compounding her punishment. Her legs were spread wide, every inch of her naked body on display. She clenched her fists and swore she wouldn’t embarrass herself further by crying out, no matter what Thelo did to her.
The high priest stepped to the edge of the platform and held up his hand. The crowd fell silent.
“This lowlyfemalehas invaded our city and broken our laws. She disgraced our honored traditions by walking freely among us as only the men of Petra are allowed to do. She sought to deceive you, our citizens, by disguising herself as a male. She has been found guilty and will be punished before all those she dishonored, as is fitting.”
A man bearing a long wooden object mounted the steps to the platform. Although her head was upside down, from between her legs AJ could clearly see what he carried. A thick slab of wood, about ten inches wide and two feet long, narrowing to a handle at one end. He bowed to the high priest and placed it in his hands. Thelo waved it in the air.
“The sentence is…twenty strokes from the Implement of Correction!”
Pandemonium broke out. The crowd roared, clapping and stomping their feet. The drums rolled, then she heard a loudcrack.
AJ gasped as the burst of white-hot pain tore through her. Everything else faded. Dimly, she made out voices counting in unison.
“One.”
Drums rolled again. AJ tensed. Another lick of flame seared her tender bottom. She shuddered as the crowd chanted.
“Two.”
Drums. The sharp slap of wood against flesh. A convulsive jerk, followed a millisecond later by the agonizing bolt of fire…and then came the count.
Three? Dear heaven, how could she endure seventeen more? Fleetingly, AJ regretted that she hadn’t taken Dianna’s advice and brought herself to the edge of pleasure before they dragged her here. She’d have done anything to lessen the searing impact of Thelo’s paddle.
Time ceased to exist. There was only pain. AJ didn’t know which was harder to take – the physical pain or the emotional torment of being humiliated in front of so many people.