Read Online Her Alien Commander by Ashe Barker - Free Book Online Page B

fingers under her chin and tipped her face up so he could meet her gaze. His eyes were stern, but not unkind. Perhaps he did understand after all.
    “How long did you expect your deception to last, Caria? Did you imagine you might get away with it, even?”
    “No, sir,” she whispered. “I, I didn’t think it through.” That, at least, was true. Her actions had been on the spur of the moment.
    “Didn’t you? I’m not so sure. I wonder if you perhaps thought to make your escape before your little charade was discovered.”
    “No, sir, I—”
    “Caria…” The warning in his tone was beyond misinterpretation. And yet again he had scored a direct hit.
    “I… I believed I might… That you…”
    “Quite. But that’s not going to happen. You’re going nowhere unless I permit it, and the sooner you reconcile yourself to that reality, the better. The thrashing I’ll give you in a few minutes, for lying to me, will be nothing compared to the one you’ll receive for an escape attempt. Do not even contemplate such a foolhardy course, Caria. It really isn’t worth it.” He released her face from his light grip and tilted his head to one side. “Before we proceed, there’s another matter I need to discuss with you.”
    Caria’s heart sank. What else had she done to anger him?
    “You mentioned a partner, a male who died in the crash?”
    “Yes, sir.” Caria was puzzled.Shehad not anticipated this line of enquiry.
    “What was his name?”
    “He was called Petros. He was a cook, sir.”
    “A useful skill, though I tend to rely on the food synthesiser. Did you love him?”
    Caria had no idea how to answer, or what Phahlen was looking for here. In view of his recent warnings, she opted for the truth. “Of course. He was very good to me.” That sounded lukewarm, she supposed, and perhaps it was. Petros was good enough, when he wasn’t flirting with every female he met who had a pulse.
    “You must miss him.”
    Caria pondered that for a moment or two, surprised to realise that actually, she didn’t. Not much.
    “It was… a shock, but with everything else that happened to me I hardly had a chance to think about it.”
    “You may think about it now, Caria, and if you need to mourn for this Petros of yours, I will understand that and make allowances. But you are mine now. Is that quite clear?”
    She raised her gaze to his. “Yes, Commander. Perfectly clear.”
    He gestured with his chin toward the food station. “Now, you will go to the housekeeping portal and request a strap. Leather, I think, perhaps a metre in length to allow for it to be doubled. It will need to be fairly heavy for the lesson I intend to impart.”
    Caria did not move. She remained where she was, stunned. A strap? He intended to take a strap to her over this?
    “No, please, I never—”
    “Do it now, girl.” His voice hardened. His eyes were dark already, almost black, but they glinted his steely intent.
    Caria felt sick. She would never be able to bear this, she just knew it. So much for not showing weakness before him—she was already sobbing, ready to plead with him not to do this.
    Phahlen took her face between his hands and forced her to look at him again. His image blurred before her eyes but she couldn’t look away. “This will soon be over, little human, and you need to learn. Go, now, and fetch me a strap.”
    There was nothing else for it, no mistaking the implacable resolve in his gaze. When he stepped back and released her, Caria turned and made her way to the food station.
    “A leather strap, please. It… it needs to be a metre long.” Her voice wavered but the instruction was clear enough. The object materialised a few moments later, coiled inside the serving hatch. Caria removed it and carried it back to Phahlen. She offered it to him.
    “On your knees, girl.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “Offer it to me on your knees, Caria.”
    With a soft moan, Caria sank to kneel in front of him. She held the strap up,