Kate lay in the bunk exhausted but unable to sleep. The Captain had worked her steadily all morning with various exercises and positions over and over. She had ached so much that she was grateful to just kneel and be fed at lunch. After lunch, he had chained her to the bunk to rest and left her here.
But now something was different. The motor had changed. There was a bump. Kate tried to look out the window. The afternoon sun that had been pouring in shifted as the boat turned slowly. Was that a tree? Were they at land? If there was land, there was the possibility of someone rescuing them. However, she realized that shouting right now would probably just get her gagged again.
The door the room opened and he stood there, gazing at her. She knew she had a guilty look on her face, yet she hadn't been doing anything wrong. Without conscious thought, she inched back on the bunk.
"Don't bother thinking about escape, Girl. It's a private island. The people that work here are loyal to me. Any attempt to escape, or convince someone to help you escape will result in severe punishment to you and to them." He unlocked the chain to her collar. "Present."
She starred blankly at him, her mind still busy with the idea of an island and other people.
He flicked the crop at her and it smacked sharply across her thigh, "I said present."
Present? Oh fuck. He meant one of those damn positions from this morning. She scrambled to her knees, trying to remember which one it was. The crop fell again, harder, marking over the first line on her thigh. She knelt up as tall and straight as she could and parted her thighs widely. Hands. She was supposed to do something with them. The crop fell a third time and she cried out at the pain. She remembered and laced her hands behind her neck and held the position, reviewing it in her mind to see if she forgot anything; keeping her eye on the crop. It landed on her thigh again and she dropped her hands, confused.
"Hands behind your neck, Girl. You were right the first time. That was for watching. You are to keep your eyes straight ahead," he corrected patiently.
She fixed her eyes on a cupboard across the room. It was just playing along, she told herself. She held the position while he packed a few things into a carryall and then attached a leather leash onto her collar. Gently, he brought her hands down behind her back and secured them with leather cuffs.
"All right. Follow me." He gave a little tug on the collar and she had no other real choice but to follow him. She scrambled off the bed, scowling at him and thinking of several curses. She wasn't going to say them and get herself gagged again.
He led her up to the back deck. Heather was there, kneeling on the deck, her eyes down looking small and vulnerable. Doc was standing next to her, his fingers in her hair, caressing her almost as if she were a pet.
The Captain stopped by Doc, "Take her to the training cells and be sure she is ready. Solange should be here tonight to pick her up. She'll probably stay for dinner, get the girl and then be gone in the morning. The boys have the other one for now, and I have this one."
Doc gave Kate a chilling smile, "Let me know if you need me. It's always a pleasure to work with the stubborn ones."
Kate's eyes grew wide in horror at the eagerness in his voice and she stepped back from him, unaware of the low noise of fear she made. Without thinking of about it, she moved closer to the Captain, and pressed herself again him. He laughed and led her off the boat.
The farther they went from the boat, the closer Kate followed the Captain. She had almost grown used to the idea of being naked on the boat, but this was different. There were people here that were looking at her, some were starring openly and commenting . He led her up the path to a large sprawling house. There on a deck overlooking the docks sat a handsome black man reading a newspaper. The plate of his finished meal sat on the table next to him.
"So this is one of the girls you caught," he said in an accent of rounded letters that Kate could not place.
"Yes," The Captain replied in his clipped British tones as he pulled the leash forcing her forward, "This is Kate. Missy is with the other men and is at your disposal. Has Solange called in yet?"
He put down the paper and studied Kate with a practiced eye, "She is already here, resting by the pool. I am surprised you didn't see her ship when you docked, but then with this one, I can see where you were distracted."
"You don't know the half of it, Malachi. She is stubborn as the day is long, but I think she will make an excellent slave when all is said and done."
"Really?" Malachi gave Kate another hard look, "What makes you say that?"
The Captain pulled Kate to the table and pushed her over on it, spreading her legs with his feet. She gasped in surprise, struggling at the leather cuffs in her panic. She was completely unprepared for the fast and hard lashes on the back of her thighs with the leather leash. She screamed and kicked, but he held her down easily. Casually her reached between her legs and stroked his finger between her lower lips and held it out for Malachi to see. It was wet with her arousal.
Malachi smiled, "I see. I doubt she is even aware of that side of herself yet."
"She is completely unaware. She is still learning submission. I plan a lesson in it tonight as long as she is well behaved; otherwise she will be spending time with Doc." He loosened his hold on Kate and let her up.
Kate turned and gave them both a look of pure hatred and disgust. She literally had to bite her lower lip to keep from telling them what she thought of them. How dare they talk about her like she was some prize cow up for sale? Words bubbled to her mind of just what she wanted to say to both of them, but the ache in her jaw reminded her only too well what it was like to spend the day gagged. What did they mean she was unaware? Unaware of what?
The Captain saw the look on her face and smiled at her, "Kneel."
She stood a bit straighter, looked him in the eyes as if to dare him to beat her, and knelt as gracefully as she could in defiance. She held onto her anger, nursing it. It was all she had and the only thing he could not take away from her.
To her surprise, he did not scold her or correct her, but reached down and gently caressed her cheek with thumb and murmured softly, "So beautiful."
She lowered her eyes, not in submission, but in confusion as her anger dissipated in the sudden warmth of his approval. Why did she suddenly feel this way? How could she be so pleased that he found her beautiful? Why did she suddenly want to feel that gentle touch again? What was wrong with her?
She looked up and saw Malachi watching her, and dropped her eyes again. The Captain had said to keep her eyes down. Something about Malachi scared her, and she didn't want to give him some excuse. Suddenly, it was all too much. She had been afraid for too many days, pushed too hard. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her face before she could try to stop them. She began to sob.
The Captain crouched down and lifted her chin with his fingers to look into her eyes, "What is it, Little One?"
"I can't do this! Please! Please just kill me and stop this torture!" Kate sobbed harder.
"I am not a murderer, Little One. You are tired and overwrought. These last few days have been hard for you. It will get easier. Stop fighting it and relax." He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "Go on and cry; it will make you feel better."
He picked up the sobbing girl in his arms. Malachi opened the French doors and the Captain carried Kate inside. He took her down a hall to a large room and laid her on the huge bed. Kate sobbed harder, struggling futilely against the leather cuffs as she became more agitated.
"Malachi, Please go get Doc," the Captain asked quietly.
"NO!" Kate almost screamed, "Please, No! I beg you, No! I'll be good. I'll be obedient! Please, don't!"
Malachi slipped out of the room.
The Captain sat on the edge of the bed, "He's not going to hurt you, Girl."
By the time Malachi came back into the room with Doc, Kate had worked herself into quite a state. One look at Doc and she started to scream in terror, trying to crawl off the bed. It took both the Captain and Malachi to hold her down for Doc to give her an injection. As the drug began to work, the screams stopped and the sobs began to fade as Kate slipped into unconsciousness.
Malachi straightened his clothing, "Well, that was educational."
The Captain looked down at the exhausted girl and felt something different than he normally felt, "She's just making the transition. Better now then before the auction."
Doc finished checking Kate and nodded his satisfaction, "She should be awake by eight or nine tonight. Light food, plenty of liquids, you know the drill."
The Captain removed the leash and fastened on a chain that gave her enough room to sleep, released her wrists, and covered the girl with a sheet. Making sure the ceiling fan was on, he turned the blinds to dim the light and left her sleep.
With Kate asleep, the Captain went in search of Solange. She was by the pool, her sleek black body displayed beautifully in the sun.
"I was beginning to think you were never going to show up," her words were thick with a French accent and familiarity.
"Sorry, Love. You must have been in the neighborhood when you got my message. I didn't expect you so soon." He pulled a patio chair over to her and took a seat, enjoying not needing to captain a ship or watch a new slave for a moment.
