The Mentor Read online

  After a heated board meeting last night, a vote had been taken and the men had won. Sky would be punished with twenty-five strokes.

  “Do you understand why you're here?” Archer asked in a clipped manner that only made the girl hunch over even more.

  “Yes,” she whispered, avoiding his piercing blue eyes, which were locked on her.

  “What you did was so outrageous and wrong that we have no choice but to punish you for it.” Archer’s eyes turned a shade darker and from the way his nostrils were flaring I could tell he was mad as hell. “I just came from William, and I can tell you that he's not having a very good time.”

  Sounds of sobbing erupted from Sky and I automatically started stroking her back in a soothing manner.

  “I know physical punishment of children isn’t legal in the Motherlands, but we are in the Northlands now and this is how we do things. In this country it's a common way to discipline children, and I'm pretty sure that you’re going to feel better when you’re as sore as William.”

  I looked at Archer in shock. How could he think that her pain would ease William’s pain? I didn’t see the connection at all. That had to be the most backward thinking he had expressed, and in my short time here he had expressed a lot of nonsense.

  “Hopefully this will teach you to never do something as mean again,” Archer continued.

  Sky’s sobbing intensified and her small shoulders bobbed with her shallow gulps of air.

  I shot him a pleading look, wanting to rock her in my arms and tell her she didn’t have to be frightened, but Archer ignored me, got up, and walked around the table, gesturing for her to stand up.

  “Normally this sort of punishment is done in front of the other children, but Kya argued against it, so we’ll do it in here instead, and you have two choices: I can hit your palms or your behind.”

  Still crying, Sky didn’t say a word.

  “Typically we would never spank a child on their behind after the age of ten, but since you’re new to this, it might be the easier punishment for you. I can tell you from experience that it can be challenging for anyone to keep holding out their palms when it hurts.”

  “Maybe you should choose that option,” I said quietly. “I think I would.”

  Sky nodded once and made her way to the desk, where Archer instructed her to lean forward.

  The frightened sounds she made had me bite my lip hard, as if my own pain could somehow take away some of the pain that was about to hit her.

  “Do you want to do it?” Archer asked me and even though I knew that Sky would probably benefit from my doing it instead of him, I simply couldn't.

  “No,” I shook my head. “I could never hit a child.”

  Archer’s expression was hard when he took his position and swung his hand.

  Smack! The sound of his hard palm colliding with her pants was loud and followed by an even louder scream from Sky.

  I swallowed hard, feeling heat pulse through my body and dizziness threatening to make me faint.

  Smack! The howling from the child continued and when she turned her face and met my eyes, tears were springing like a waterfall, and she pleaded for my help so intensely that I couldn't just stand by and see him abuse her.

  “Stop!” I shouted, but Archer kept going.

  Smack, smack, smack.

  With all my strength, I pulled his arm back and screamed at him to stop.

  “Step back,” he ordered.

  Placing myself between him and Sky, I pleaded with him. “No more, please, no more.”

  Archer pushed me back with a look of annoyance. “We said twenty-five and I only smacked her seven times.”

  “It's enough, don't you see?”

  “Your hysteria is only making it worse; just let her get it over with.” Archer pushed me out of the way and raised his hand again. Sky squeezed her eyes firmly together and screamed at the top of her lungs.

  In a state of panic, I shouted over her loud screaming. “I'll do it!”

  Archer’s head swung to me. “What? I thought you said you couldn't hit a child?”

  My whole body was trembling, and my throat was dry as the desert but I managed to gather enough words to explain myself. “I meant, I'll take her punishment for her.”

  Archer’s eyebrows lowered and his lips pursed, “Are you out of your mind?”

  “No,” I whispered in a trembling voice. “If you must hit someone, you can hit me.”

  “And what exactly do you think Sky is gonna learn from me hitting you?” Deeply frustrated, he paced back and forward in the small room.

  “Sky?” I quickly pulled the girl up from her bent-over position and dried her eyes. “It's okay, sweetie, just go.”

  The miserable girl flung her arms around me and sobbed into my chest. I closed my arms around her and made soothing sounds while pushing her toward the door. “Run to Shelly, okay?”

  She didn't say a word but I felt her head nod into my chest, and with a few more sniffles she hurried out of the room.

  When I tried to go out the door myself Archer’s hand grabbed my wrist and slammed the door shut. “Not so fast,” he muttered. “You said you would take her punishment, and now you're running away?”

  “I'm not running,” I said in a voice much braver than I felt. But the truth was that my instinct was to get as far away from him as possible.

  With a jerk on my arm, Archer pulled me in front of him to look straight into my eyes. “Don't think for one second that I'll hold back. Unlike Sky, you are no child “

  I swallowed hard and blinked a few times before I nodded. “I understand.”

  “No, you don’t understand. You think we’re just savages who want to cause pain in the children, but I’m sick of you undermining me. The whole purpose of physical discipline is to do it in front of the others, but you wouldn’t let me. What you don’t get, Kya, is that it’s not about the pain, it’s about the humiliation. If you really want to take her punishment, you’re going to take the humiliation of doing this in public.”

  I lifted my chin, signaling a bravado I didn’t really feel.

  “No, this will be done in here, right now, just like we agreed upon.”

  There was a silent power struggle between us before he nodded. “All right, if you’re really serious about this then you better get into position,” he said with his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned.

  I had never been as humiliated in my life as when I walked over to the desk and bent over, placing my elbows on the cool surface of the table.

  “What are you doing?” Archer muttered. “Did you really think I was going to go this easy on you? You’re an adult, so you will stand up and hold out your palms. I want to see the pain and humiliation on your face, so I know you’ll never do something as crazy as this again.”

  I blinked in confusion. “Why are you being this mean to me?”

  “Because you piss me off when you constantly sabotage the way I do things here. You shouldn’t have interfered with Sky and I’m gonna make fucking sure that you never do it again.”

  “Sky chose this type of spanking, and I said that I would take the rest of her punishment.” My voice was quivering a little so I took a deep breath to steady myself, and to speak the next part in my most firm schoolteacher voice: “You may punish me, but we will do it this way.”

  Archer snorted behind me. “It wouldn’t be much of a punishment. With that thick fabric covering your behind, you wouldn’t feel a thing.”

  I frowned because the thought had already occurred to me that I was much more protected in my knitted dress than Sky had been in her thin pants. I had just hoped he wouldn’t notice.

  “As I see it, you have two choices,” Archer said matter-of-factly. “Either you go put on something thinner, or you pull up that dress.”

  I turned my head and shot him a dirty look. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “Hey, I’m not the one who insisted on spanking your ass. I would much prefer for you to stand up,
reach out your palms, and look me in the eyes so I can see your tears.”

  Never would I give him that satisfaction! I just wanted it over with and I was afraid that if I left this office, I would lose my nerve and not come back.

  Closing my eyes, and focusing on the memory of Sky’s miserable face, I swallowed the last of my pride and pulled up my long dress, preparing myself for the impact of his palm against my panties.

  I tried to swallow but there wasn’t a single drop of spit in my mouth – maybe because all my body fluids had transformed into cold sweat. I felt vulnerable and exposed with Archer taking a position right behind me.

  “Just do it quickly,” I muttered, still squeezing my eyes tightly shut.

  Except for my own heart drumming loudly in my ears, Archer’s breathing was the only sound in the room and it quickly grew more ragged.

  Anytime now, I counted down in my head, but nothing happened. When I reached twenty seconds, I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him with a questioning look.

  “You almost had me!” he said with a hoarse voice. His hands were fisted down along his thighs, as if he was itching to spank me but was holding back.

  “Had you?” I wasn’t sure what he was saying.

  “I can’t hit you, and you know it. If I spank you and Magni finds out, I could face the death penalty.”

  I raised myself up and turned around to face him. “So, don't spank me.”

  Archer looked speculative, but then he backed up, opened the door, and shouted for Magni.

  I had only just pulled my dress down a second before Magni filled the doorframe, looking from me to Archer and back again.

  “What's wrong now?” Magni asked and crossed his arms.

  “I did as we agreed upon,” Archer said. “But Kya couldn't deal with seeing Sky in pain and so she volunteered to take the rest of the punishment herself.”

  A slow smile spread on Magni’s face, making his eyes sparkle with humor. “Did you now?”

  “Yes, I did,” I confirmed, trying to make my voice sound calm and steady.

  “Do I have your permission to spank Kya in Sky's place?” Archer asked Magni.

  “Kya, are you sure about this?” Magni spoke, slow and clear, while watching me closely. “Your hands are going to be mighty sore.”

  “Actually, I gave Sky the choice of an ass spanking, and Kya insist on taking the easy way out too.”

  “There is nothing easy about this, but I won’t let Archer hurt Sky,” I argued.

  “All right.” A minuscule smile crossed my protector’s face and he nodded his head to Archer. “Yes, you have my permission since it’s what Kya wants.”

  “Thank you,” Archer said dryly.

  “Would you like me to do it for you?” Magni’s voice sounded hopeful, but Archer shook his head.

  “No, I'm more than happy to do it myself.”

  “I understand, but I think it's better if I stay and watch.” Magni closed the door and took up a stance, signaling that he wasn't going to miss this show.

  I pushed my chest out. “It's humiliating enough that I have to do this with one man in the room, I don't want you in here too.”

  With his right eyebrow lifted in an arch, Magni argued: “I'm your protector and if this becomes an issue I want to be able to say that I know exactly what happened between you two.” He shifted his balance and locked eyes with me. “Besides, it’s for your own protection; in my experience women tend to get a little…”

  “A little what?” My voice was high-pitched.

  “A little aroused,” he said and this time his words were followed by a smug smile. “At least Laura did.”

  I walked over and opened the door, with my jaw so tense I had to press out each word. “I can assure you that being spanked will not arouse me. I want you out of this room, now!”

  “Okay, but if Archer's hand starts doing other things than spanking you, just shout for me,” Magni said over his shoulder and left the room with a chuckle.

  With a deep intake of air, I turned around to face my soon-to-be abuser. “Okay, you big brute, let's get this over with.”

  Archer pushed his dark hair back and made a gesture toward the table. “I'm ready whenever you are.”

  Just as I walked past him I stopped and turned my face up to look at him. “I can't believe that I actually liked you when I first met you. With you being so nice and curious about our ways, I honestly thought all the stories I had heard about the Nmen were exaggerated and wrong. Remember when you took me to see the fireflies?”

  “I remember,” he said softly. “I remember everything that happened that night.”

  “Then how can you hit me?”

  “That was your choice, not mine.”

  “But we kissed that night,” I reminded him, hoping that it would somehow soften him and make him forget about this foolish spanking business.

  “I didn't forget that either,” he said and a smile tugged at his lips. “But it doesn't change anything, Kya.”

  “You're not really going to spank me, are you?” By now my voice was shaking nervously.

  He leaned in and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me when his face came so close to mine that his lips were hovering just above mine. “I am, and if Magni is right, you might like it.” While he spoke in a low whisper, his hand was starting to pull up my dress and he jerked me around, walking me to the desk and bending me over.

  I let him, thinking that maybe if I could turn this into something sensual, Archer wouldn't go hard on me.

  That was naïve of me.

  The first thing I felt was his hand pushing me all the way down over the table. Then his hand slid down to tug my dress further up, exposing my brown legs and my white panties. I gasped when his hand slid over my behind as if measuring where he wanted the blow to land.

  “Are you ready?” he asked in a deep voice.

  I tightened my grip on the table, and steadied myself for the first spanking in my life, giving a small nod.

  Smack!

  The pain that shot through me felt like a burn mark on my behind and had me pressing myself into the table as if I could push through it and use it as a shield against the primate behind me. No wonder Sky had been screaming.

  Smack. Smack. Smack.

  Knowing that it would cause Sky double the pain if she heard me scream, I only whimpered. She had already suffered enough.

  Smack. Smack. Smack.

  I counted in my head, seven, eight, nine, ten. For every smack, I hated Archer a little bit more.

  “Sky took seven hits, so you're taking the last eighteen,” he said and counted out loud, “Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen.”

  Tears welled in my eyes, my blood was pumping fast through my veins, and I turned around to let him see my indignation.

  But Archer’s focus was only on my behind as he swung his hand again.

  “Fifteen, sixteen,” he counted and finally lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Only two more to go.”

  Every nerve ending in my body was on fire and a warmth spread from my burning behind and down between my legs, bringing Magni’s words back to me. Was it possible to be both aroused and furious at the same time? The first stroke had been a painful shock to my nervous system, but either Archer wasn’t hitting as hard anymore or my brain was producing chemicals to change the pain into a twisted type of pleasure.

  I had never seen Archer like this: the perspiration on his forehead, the excitement in his eyes, and the expression of pure determination on his face. This was his payback for all our discussions that had infuriated him, and all the times that Magni had given him grief because of me.

  Yes, Archer was definitely enjoying this and a small perverted part of me was too. I had never been dominated by a man in my life, nor had I wanted to be. That's why it was so confusing to me that underneath the pain and the humiliation there was a sexual excitement humming through me.

  I'm sick, I thought to myself. I'm truly sick.

  “Se
venteen,” he counted and then the last smack sounded. “Eighteen,” he breathed.

  For some reason, I didn’t move. My body and brain no longer seemed connected and everything inside of me was in conflict. I wasn’t some docile and weak woman from hundreds of years ago when women routinely surrendered to the domination of men. The very thought disturbed me.

  So why was everything beneath my navel molten, making me afraid that I wouldn’t be able to stand on my own feet if I got up. Why was there a pulsating humming between my legs?

  Instead of removing his hand Archer started stroking my behind. “You'll be sore for a little while.” His voice was raw and strained. “I have a soothing ointment that I was going to offer Sky. Will you let me rub it on you?” His hands slid up and rested on my hips and he took a step closer, now positioned directly behind me.

  I closed my eyes again, leaning my forehead down on the table, wondering what was wrong with me. I should push him away and run from the office, but my legs still weren’t responding and some ancient and primitive part of me wanted the alpha male behind me to stay right where he was and sink his fingers deeper into my hips.

  Archer took my silence as acceptance and picked up a small glass from the table. His hands were gentle when he pushed the white fabric of my underpants to the side and gently rubbed the moist ointment on my skin.

  A knock on the door was followed by Magni’s deep voice. “Is everything all right?” he called.

  That made me snap back to reality. Pushing up from the table, I pulled down my dress, and took a step back.

  “Are you okay?” Archer’s voice was soft, but I couldn't look at him. With what he had just done to me, and how he had made me feel, I couldn’t meet his eyes. My head was spinning with anger at him, and disappointment with myself.

  “I'm fine!” I lied, and with my last shred of dignity, I set my chin and left the room as graceful as possible – only slamming the door a little.

  CHAPTER 11

  Conflict

  Archer

  My palm was red and warm from spanking Kya, and I was sitting on a chair looking at it when the door opened and Magni stepped through.