Free Claimed by the Mountain Man by Amelia Smarts Page A

she tried.
    He pulled her hands forward and tied them to the bed as well. There she lay, spread eagle and naked from the waist down. Her open legs allowed a breeze of cool air to brush her sex, and the muscles there constricted, desperate for something to fill it.
    Before she knew it, she was alone in the cabin. Jack had left her there, and she had no idea where he went or when he would return. Her heart beat heavily in her chest. After what seemed like an eternity, the cabin door opened, and what she saw sent her heart racing even faster. In his hand was a switch the length of her arm and the width of one of her fingers. Her stomach flopped as he approached her. “Please, Trapper Jack. Why are you doing this?” she whispered.
    Instead of answering, he snapped the switch across the low curve of her bottom. It caused a pain like no other, and it intensified in the seconds after the blow. She screamed and twisted, but her binds didn’t allow her to move hardly at all.
    He gave her another lick, this time across her upper thighs. The burn was sharp, searing, unbearable. She screamed again. She didn’t think he’d heard her question until she heard his explanation through the pain.
    “Why am I whipping you? Because you don’t fear being attacked by a grizzly.” A whistle, another lick. “You don’t fear starving to death.” Swish . “You don’t fear freezing to death.” Thwack! “You don’t fear injury.” Three more times he switched her.
    Nettie wailed. She pressed her pelvis into the bed, her body involuntarily and uselessly trying to shrink away from the fierce burn. Tossing the switch aside after the seven licks, he leaned over her and grabbed the back of her neck. She felt his hot breath on her ear. “You should be afraid, woman. Those who don’t fear nature die. Fear is useful. Pride is not.”
    He released her neck and trailed his hand along her back to her throbbing seat. He gave her a sharp swat with his palm. He sat on the bed and spanked her with his hand, over and over, ignoring every wail and plea for mercy. “Since you’re foolish enough to not fear living alone in the woods with limited skills, then you will fear me. I can ensure your survival, but only if you’re afraid enough to obey.”
    The pain grew with each spank, and he didn’t stop for some time. She cried as he punished one side of her bottom and then the other, his palm cracking down on top of the welts he’d left with this switch. When he finally stopped, she could hardly think, such was the pain radiating from her backside.
    He stood and walked away, leaving her trembling on the bed. She watched through blurry, tear-filled eyes as he strode to the table, sat down on the stool, and ate the food she’d prepared for him. He didn’t so much as glance at her throughout his meal. Her breathing slowed and her body slackened, weary from stiffening and trying to twist away in vain throughout the punishment.
    After some time, her shoulders and legs cramped from being tied in the same position. When Jack finished his meal and stood, she addressed him meekly. “Trapper Jack, please… Please, will you release me from these binds? My whole body aches.”
    He regarded her for a moment, then walked to the bed and untied the rope from her wrists and ankles. He sat down next to her as she sat up on her knees and rubbed her wrists while pouting at him. He wasn’t at all moved by her injured expression. He pointed a finger at her face. “I’ll do that again and worse if you don’t mind me. The minute I decide not to permit you to stay in that cave is the minute you’ll be gone from it. And that minute is approaching faster than you think. Got it?”
    She nodded. “Yes, I’ve got it.” She felt compelled to scowl at him, but thought better of it. She lowered her eyes in submission.
    He stood and took a step away. To her great confusion, she didn’t want him to leave. She wanted him to stay with her, so she cleared her throat. “Do I