Deep, Dark & Dangerous

by Jaid Black

  She blushed and glanced away. “Thank you.”

  He took her hand in his again and continued walking. “In your world, people really like wee stick-and-mud homes such as these?”

  “Yeah. They pay big money to vacation in them.”

  “Your people are strange to me.”

  Madalyn snorted at that. “Your people aren’t exactly what I’d call normal.”

  “Touché.”

  “Buying and selling women, kidnapping people, living below the ground…this would make for a great horror movie.”

  Otar laughed, an infectious sound that made her smile despite herself. She didn’t want to warm up to the guy, since she still dreamed of escaping, but he made the task of not liking him difficult. “’Twould make an interesting saga. Mayhap more interesting than Song of the Viking.”

  She smiled as they continued walking. More men shouted out their hellos as they passed by, and it dawned on Madalyn that she had yet to see a female in this area. Why?

  “We are here,” Otar told her, pointing to the tiny house in front of them. “’Tis time to meet my family.”

  For some insane reason, Madalyn hoped they liked her. Nervous, she inclined her head. “Let’s go in, then.”

  Chapter

  Fourteen

  Her body tense, Madalyn entered the twig-and-clay home behind Otar. Once inside, he walked over to a nearby door. Rapping on it, he called out to his family in their language. Madalyn couldn’t help but visually inspect the place while they stood there and waited.

  Otar’s home was a paradox of austerity and comfort. While minuscule and lacking decoration, it was well kept and managed to appear homey. On the far right side of the room, white polar bear furs draped the bed. A matching animal skin served as a rug on the floor. A small kitchen sat in the middle of the dirt-floored hut, and a table and four chairs were situated at the far left of it, next to the door Otar had pounded on when announcing their arrival.

  “My mother and twin sister live in an adjoining dwelling,” he explained. “They are expecting us and will make their appearances anon.”

  “All right.” A curious expression in her gaze, she looked up at him. “If the door on the far left leads to your mother and sister’s house, then where does that door lead?” she asked, pointing to a frame of wood opposite where she stood.

  “’Tis a bathing chamber,” he informed her. “We share it with my mother and sister. Leastways, we are fortunate to share with none but them; many in Shanty Row must share with four or five other families.”

  Considering the alternative, Madalyn had to agree that sharing with only three other people was a good thing. Growing up, her family of four had shared one bathroom, so she could adjust for the time being. No matter what surprises lay ahead, she needed to keep things in perspective: she planned to leave, so this didn’t matter.

  The door to the left opened, startling Madalyn. Teeth sinking into her bottom lip, she darted her gaze toward the two women entering the house.

  Otar and his twin sister must have inherited their height and dark good looks from their father, for their mother, while quite beautiful herself, was a diminutive blonde with fair skin. Neither of her children resembled her to a great degree, but their similar bone structures gave away the genetic tie.

  Blinking several times, Madalyn couldn’t believe how they were dressed. Both, regardless of age, brought to mind Playboy bunnies, women who dressed for the pleasure of men.

  They wore long, sleeveless garments that started just above the bosom and draped to the ankles; and their breasts were thrust up and forward by elastic material that created the effect of an empire waist. That by itself would have been tolerable; the fact that the garments were so sheer as to cause Madalyn to blush was not. The mother wore a blue dress, the sister a green one. Their nipples, overly evident, stabbed against the sheer fabric, leaving little to the imagination.

  Hysterically wondering if there was a chance in hell that these Viking people had discovered the wonder that is the piña colada, she hoped with everything she had in her that Otar didn’t expect her to dress like that. She’d feel like an idiot! Not to mention a raging slut.

  She had seen other females similarly clothed when she’d first arrived, but everything had been too new, too surreal, to absorb it at the time. Now the nuances of life below the earth were starting to sink in and take root.

  Her gaze landing on Madalyn, Otar’s mother’s eyes lit up and sparkled a brilliant blue. “She is quite beautiful,” the matriarch said, smiling. She glanced up at her son before looking back to Madalyn. “You have done well, my son. A lovely wife she is indeed.”

  Wife. Madalyn was still shocked to hear someone refer to her as any man’s wife.

  Is this what is happening to Drake? Is she meeting Iiro’s family this very moment and feeling as freaked out as I am?

  A bemused expression stole over Madalyn’s face. If Iiro had married her sister, she would give anything to be a fly on the wall when he took his angry bride home to meet his family. She’d accuse them all of being aliens and government sympathizers within five minutes.

  “’Tis an honor to have you join our family,” Otar’s twin sister pronounced, snagging Madalyn’s attention. Her smile was genuine, kind. “I feared my brother would never take a wife. ’Tis a joy to know our line will continue through you.”

  Uncertain what to say, Madalyn guessed that admitting she planned to escape before a baby was conceived wouldn’t be the ideal response. “Thank you,” she said, smiling politely back. “That’s very kind of you.”

  “Madalyn,” Otar thankfully interrupted, coming to stand next to her. “I would like you to make the acquaintance of my mother, Annikki, and my sister, Agata. Mama, Agata, this is Madalyn.”

  “A beautiful name,” Annikki chimed in. “To match a beautiful face.”

  “Aye,” Agata agreed, “though her clothes are strange to me.”

  Madalyn’s gaze darted down her body, inspecting herself. Well if that wasn’t the pot calling the kettle black! Her khakis were unattractive, but at least they covered her important parts.

  “Come,” Annikki instructed them, “let us sit down to eat. My daughter and I have prepared a delicious meal.”

  Madalyn followed them to the small table and sank down into a chair.

  Over the next hour, she found that she sincerely liked both Annikki and Agata. Cheerful and humorous, they both managed to squeeze laughs out of her, something she’d thought impossible.

  It was easy to see that Otar dearly loved his family. She’d rarely seen him smile since the moment he’d captured her, but he did so easily in their presence. They were closely knit, the essence of what a family was supposed to be. It was a rare phenomenon in Madalyn’s Hollywood world, something she hadn’t experienced since her mom and dad had died.

  Growing up, Madalyn and Drake hadn’t possessed much in the way of material things, but oh how they had been loved. A part of her wondered if both of them had remained single so long because deep down inside they had realized neither one of them would be able to recapture the love and devotion they had known in their childhood.

  She studied Otar’s face. His attention was hitched by a story Agata was telling, and Madalyn could watch him without him knowing it. She found herself thinking what a handsome, strong man he was…and wishing she would have met him under far different circumstances.

  She drew in a breath and slowly, quietly exhaled. There was no point in denying that she was attracted to Otar, whether she wanted to be or not. He possessed a solid, dependable, loyal presence that was hard not to admire. She instinctively understood that he’d never let anyone down here harm her. It was hard not to warm up to qualities such as those.

  Blinking, she frowned, deciding she was suffering from Stockholm syndrome. It simply wasn’t reasonable for a victim to start liking her captor, let alone find him attractive.

  “You look fatigued,” Agata said to Madalyn. She threw a long, silky lock of black
hair over her shoulder. “’Tis been a long day for you, aye?”

  “Yes,” she said quietly. “It has.”

  “Let us go, so you can rest.” Annikki stood up and motioned for her daughter to follow. “We will see you on the morrow, Madalyn. Thank you, again, for joining our family.”

  “Do you need anything whilst Otar is not about, you have but to knock on the door to summon us,” Agata added with a smile. “We are always nearby.”

  “I’ll remember that. Thank you.”

  Standing up, Madalyn accepted their embraces. Stiff at first, her muscles slowly softened as Annikki and then Agata hugged her.

  “On the morrow, son,” Annikki said in the way of good-bye, giving Otar her cheek to kiss.

  “On the morrow, Mama,” he murmured back.

  When they were gone, the door firmly shut behind them, Madalyn found herself wishing them back. Stupid as it sounded, she hadn’t considered the fact that once they left, Otar might want to consummate their marriage.

  Their eyes met and locked. She nervously nibbled on her lower lip as his brooding gaze raked over her.

  “You look as fatigued as Agata insisted you were,” Otar said.

  “I am.”

  “I should like for you to rest, then.”

  Madalyn gave a none-too-subtle sigh of relief. She didn’t know what to make of the amusement in his eyes. “I think I should now.”

  Otar nodded. “I agree. But first there is something you must do for me. Two things, actually.”

  Her gaze warily searched his. “What’s the first one?”

  His expression was hard, unwavering. “You must give me the picture-taker.”

  “Picture-taker? Oh, you mean the camera?” She splayed her hands. “I told you I don’t have it. I’m not lying.”

  “Mayhap you are not, yet is there only one way for me to be certain. This proof is the second thing you must do for me.”

  Something told her she wouldn’t like this. “What?”

  His gaze flicked down to her breasts, then back up to her face. “Take off your clothes,” he ordered her. “All of them.”

  Chapter

  Fifteen

  Madalyn’s heart was beating so fast, she thought she might faint. “What?” she squeaked. “I-I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

  “You heard me properly. Do it, Madalyn, lest I do it for you.”

  Had she begun to think he was at all attractive? That he possessed some admirable qualities? Well, he wasn’t and he didn’t, she thought, angry. She had never been so humiliated in her entire life. With twelve years of acting under her belt, that was saying a lot.

  “You bastard!” she yelled, her face bright with fury. “If you’re going to rape me, just get it over with. You don’t need to play mind games with me!”

  His expression turned impossibly harder. “I will not rape you, Madalyn. I will know that you do not possess the camera, in which case your sister will be searched.”

  Oh…no. She couldn’t stand the thought of her baby sister being dragged through such a humiliating ordeal.

  “She doesn’t have the camera, either! I swear it. It’s back at my cabin.”

  “Your cabin was searched, Madalyn. ’Twas not there.”

  Realizing there were no choices left to her, she closed her eyes briefly and sighed.

  “It’s hidden,” she told him. “The camera is underneath the floorboards where my jewels are also kept.”

  He was quiet for a prolonged moment, and then said, “Take off your clothes, Madalyn. As your husband and master, I command you to do so.”

  Husband and master?

  “I am not, nor will I ever be,” she said harshly, “any man’s slave.”

  “I would expect no less.”

  Confused, she decided that master must mean something else down here.

  “As your husband,” Otar informed her, “I am your master. I make your decisions, I tell you where you may go, who you may go with, and how long you are permitted to be gone. ’Tis the way of it since the beginning of my people’s history.”

  Madalyn frowned. No, the word master did not have a different meaning down here.

  Too emotionally exhausted to argue, Madalyn ran a hand through her mane of hair and sighed.

  “I want to go to sleep,” she whispered, her expression pleading. “I’m begging you to let me.”

  “I will not breach you, Madalyn. Leastways, not this eve. Do as you’ve been bade and I will permit you to slumber.”

  She would get what she wanted, but she would pay his price. Staring at him like this, their gazes fixed in challenge, she realized he would never relent. She could kick and scream, curse and rile against him, but in the end it wouldn’t change a blessed thing.

  If nothing else could be said in the way of virtue about Otar, he was a man of his word. He had said he wouldn’t rape her, and she knew she could believe him.

  Going down on her knees to the dirt floor, Madalyn untied one boot and then the other, fumbling with the laces. “For the record, I have never been treated so horribly in my entire life.”

  “I do not wish to hurt you, Madalyn. ’Tis sorry I am that you hate me so.”

  “I don’t hate you,” she admitted, standing up and kicking her boots over to him for inspection. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I will never be happy here.”

  His gaze flicked over her face. “Time changes many things, little one. You will grow to love me one day. I vow it.”

  Madalyn didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing. Leaning against the kitchen table, she pulled off her socks one at a time, then threw them at his feet.

  “Very good,” he said, studying the boots and socks and finding nothing amiss. His voice lowered, grew thicker. “Now remove the rest of your clothing.”

  She stilled. Glancing down the length of his body, the sight of his erection unnerved her. Otar did nothing to conceal it, nor did he attempt to apologize for it. But then, neither did he make a move to do anything about it.

  “All right.” Madalyn’s fingers reached for the hem of her Army-green T-shirt. Grabbing it with both hands, she pulled it over her head and flung it at him. A crimson bra was the only thing shielding her upper body from his total view.

  He sucked in his breath.

  Madalyn unzipped the khakis next and slithered out of them, revealing panties that matched her bra. His erection grew bigger against his black pants. Nervously throwing the khakis at Otar, she saw how heavy-lidded his gaze was becoming.

  “And the rest,” he said hoarsely, his eyes smoldering with intensity.

  Madalyn reached around and unclasped her bra, then she tugged at the straps and jiggled out of it.

  Straightening her back, she stood before her captor topless. Her large breasts were completely revealed, her pink nipples firm. As she looked into Otar’s eyes, she saw unadulterated lust. All of her senses were alert, her belly in knots.

  “You have beautiful nipples,” he said, his voice thick. “I’ve dreamt of kissing and suckling them for years.”

  For some insane reason, his words made her nipples stiffen up. Embarrassed, she reached for her panties. Securing a string in either hand, Madalyn pushed the panties down, wiggling them to her feet and kicking them away from her.

  Otar’s gaze honed in on her most intimate, private area. Perspiration broke out on his forehead. “You are golden red all over,” he murmured.

  Against her volition, her body began to respond to his arousal. Not only were her nipples as hard as rocks, she could also feel dampness between her legs. She squeezed her thighs together.

  Have you lost what’s left of your mind, Madalyn Mae Simon? You don’t get wet when the man who kidnapped you stares at your naked body!

  Her heart beat faster and faster, her breasts rose up and down in time with her labored breathing.

  “I told you I didn’t have the camera,” she said, wanting to break the tense hush that had ensorcelled the hut. “I didn’t lie.” />
  The silence continued. Madalyn’s gaze flicked up to meet Otar’s face. Her breathing grew worse.

  Never, not once in all of her life, had a man stared at her with the passion Otar was staring at her with now. She’d never seen a man so aroused, so eager and wanting her. During her acting career, Madalyn had been coveted by more than a few groupies, but none of them had looked at her like this. She couldn’t even define what this was…she just knew it was a vastly different experience than what she was accustomed to.

  If it wasn’t too stupid of a notion to entertain, she would have wondered if that was love she saw in his eyes. But that was impossible, she told herself. Nobody can love someone in just a day.

  “Nay,” Otar huskily admitted, blinking to regain control of his mind, “you did not lie. ’Tis an admirable quality for a wife to possess.”

  “May I go to sleep now?” she asked unsteadily. “I’m very tired.”

  Otar’s muscles corded with the effort not to take her right here and now. The desire to pick her up, carry her to their bed, and fuck her until he was nigh unto dead was powerfully consuming. He wanted to mount her more than he wanted to breathe.

  He had given her his word that he would not consummate their marriage this eve, and he intended to keep it. But, he told himself as he slowly reached down and ran his fingers through her downy hair, he had said nothing of touching her.

  Madalyn tensed up and opened her mouth to speak, but he forestalled her.

  “Shhh,” Otar said softly, his middle finger finding her clit and gently rubbing it, “I told you I will not make love to you this eve and I will not.”

  Her eyelids grew heavy as she looked at him through a semiworried, semidrugged gaze. “Then why are you touching me like this?” she gasped.

  His jaw tightened. “I want you to grow accustomed to me. ’Twill make the consummation much easier on you when it occurs.”

  ’Twas true, mayhap, yet it wasn’t the reason he was touching her. He touched her because he couldn’t stand not to. Here she was in his arms, the woman he had spent years coveting. He praised the gods for guiding him to Madalyn.