him. I’m going to fucking maroon him in space.
Finally, a pit in my stomach, I pull out my communicator and make the call.
“Geddion? I need you and Rojan to form a search party, stat. It’s probably nothing, but we should prepare for the worst. Kora is missing.”
Kora
To my surprise, I feel closer to guilty than refreshed as I return to the suite I share with Turan. A milkshake and a movie didn’t feel like the incredible freedom I thought they would. Mostly, I’m just worried that Turan will notice I was gone. I don’t want him to punish me.
When I flash my chip next to the sensor on the door and start to pull it open, my heart sinks. The lights are on, and I definitely left them off.
That means Turan is home. Fuck.
I take a deep breath and step inside, my stomach doing backflips. He’s waiting for me on the couch, fire in his eyes. The moment I enter, he stalks over to me. His expression seems to be a mix of fury and relief.
“Where the fuck were you?” he growls. “For all I knew, Rizban Gordulla had gotten his hands on you. Rojan and Geddion are searching the all over Tajiki Comet for you right now.”
I feel color creep into my cheeks. I didn’t mean for it to become that big a deal. “I just went for a stroll,” I tell him. “Sorry.”
He glares at me for a moment, looking furious, and then grabs me by the upper arm and drags me roughly into our bedroom.
“Punishment position,” he snarls. “Now.”
I feel my lower lip starting to tremble as I bend myself over the bed. I don’t want to be in trouble like this. And Turan seems mad. The moment I’m in position, he yanks down my pants and underwear and gives my ass a hard smack.
“Stay,” he orders me, his voice a low, menacing growl. “I’m going to call Rojan and Geddion and let them know that you’re safe.”
I remain in position as he walks into the other room, and I hear him calling the other two vostrata on their communicators.
“Geddion? Yes, I found her. Yeah, don’t worry, she’s safe. No, no, all is fine. We’re still a go. Thanks for looking.”
Turan hangs up, and I hold my breath as he walks back into the bedroom.
“What am I going to do with you, Kora?” he murmurs. “What am I going to do with a disobedient mate who causes problems like this when I have important work to do?”
I stay silent, my heart racing. I don’t know if I feel more guilty, or more frustrated that I’m in this situation in the first place. It’s not like I did anything objectively terrible. I just wanted to explore a little.
“If you disobey me again while we’re on this space station, I’m going to take a belt to your ass,” he warns me in a dangerous voice. “It seems that simply spanking you by hand isn’t enough to get the message across. If that happens, Kora, I’m going to make you spread your cheeks and you’re going to feel that belt lashing directly across your bottom hole. Consider this your absolute last warning.”
With that, he starts to spank my bottom hard. No warm up. I whimper in response, then yelp, then try to move my butt away and protect myself with my hands as the slaps keep coming. He just pins my arms behind my back and keeps going, showing no signs of letting up.
“I am done tolerating your misbehavior,” he snarls in between spanks. “You’ve made it very clear that you require harsher discipline then you’ve been getting. Congratulations, Kora, now you’re going to get it. Now you’re going to get the firm hand you obviously need.”
I start to cry as I squirm and struggle, and he doesn’t take mercy the way he has in the past. He just keeps pinning me down and punishing my bottom. Finally, it’s too much for me to take, and I turn my beacon red.
Turan stops right away. “I guess we found your limit.” He starts stroking my ass, just a little bit, just enough to soothe me. “Would it feel better if I put you over my knee?”
I take a moment to compose myself before I answer. “No,” I sniffle. “I don’t want you to spank me anymore.”
He pauses, and doesn’t respond for a long time. “That’s okay, Kora,” he says finally. “In the Vostra, nothing is more important than choice. As your