Free Her Alien Commander by Ashe Barker Page A

now.”
    “I thought… I mean, I never expected—”
    “I know what you thought, and what you expected. Punishment needs to be harsh in order to make the point, but never too much. Vahle is a stern society, but a just one. I expect to have frequent cause to chastise you, and you will be punished again when you deserve it. Even so, I hope you will never have cause to think me unduly cruel.”
    Caria could only stare at him, confused. She hated Phahlen, feared him, resented his high-handed mastery more than she could articulate even to herself. But still, there was some elusive quality to this implacable alien, something she found hard to name. She would think about it later, when she was less sore, less tired, less inclined to dissolve into helpless tears.
    Phahlen stroked the tangled hair away from her face. He stood and looked down at her for a few moments, then he left the room. She heard his low voice requesting something from the hospitality station, then he was back. He carried a small pot in his hand.
    “This anti-inflammatory cream will do nothing to reduce your discomfort right now, you need to experience that in order to gain the full benefit from my attentions, but it will help to ensure the pain is relatively short-lived. By tomorrow you’ll be fine. Roll onto your stomach, please.”
    Caria knew better than to protest. If he wanted to hurt her, he would. It was that simple. But she believed him that he intended to help her so she rolled over as he directed.
    She flinched as he smeared the ointment across her tender, punished skin. It was cool though, and a welcome balm in contrast to the heat radiating from her abused bottom. The thrashing with the strap had been dire, the worst experience of her life, especially coming on top of the spanking. She had been sore already, now she grunted with pain as he touched her.
    He traced each of her six stripes, drawing his gentle fingers along the length of them and working the cream into her marks. It hurt like fuck but was oddly soothing, too. Caria closed her eyes and allowed herself to explore the outer reaches of her consciousness, seeking the word to describe this. It eluded her, danced just beyond her reach, teasing her from a distance, darting in as though inviting her to grasp it, then shimmering away.
    She groaned, tears leaked again. A soft kiss to the nape of her neck and a murmured ‘rest now, little human’ were the only signals that she was not alone. As she drifted off to sleep, Caria knew. She caught it, that slippery, fleeting thing she was trying to capture. Now, she had it.
    She was cared for.
     
    * * *
     
    She woke, refreshed. Caria had no idea how long she’d slept, but it had been a deep and fulfilling period of rest. Had her captor perhaps given her something to make her sleep? She thought not, but could never be certain around him. She was fast learning he would do as he pleased as far as she was concerned.
    A cover lay over her still nude body. She was as near certain as she could be that it had not been there when she fell asleep, so he must have been back to check on her. She could hear no sounds from the outer chamber so she assumed she was alone in his quarters.
    And, she was ravenous.
    Caria sat up, and was amazed to find her bottom was still tender, but no more than that. The fearsome whipping must have left marks though, and she wanted to inspect the damage. She hauled herself to her feet and tottered off in the direction of the cubicle set aside for ablutions. A camera set into the wall provided her with a perfect view of her rear end, and she was astonished to see just a faint stain of pink there, certainly not the vivid, angry welts she’d anticipated.
    Perhaps her alien was not as heavy-handed as she imagined. Or maybe that cream had worked. She pondered this as she stood under the aqueous shower again, water streaming through her hair. The combination of a deep sleep and an invigorating shower served to sharpen her appetite