Was Audrey hearing this man right? He was claiming she was his mate? He was keeping her here to make her his wife, to impregnate her? She was not a vessel. God, was this any better than being with the slavers? The man who’d bought her at the auctions if she’d stayed would have used her. It seemed that was exactly how things would work here, as well.
No, Audrey couldn’t be a vessel for some … beast. He might appear to be human, but Audrey knew he was far from it. He was still so close, and she couldn’t find the strength to actually try to move from him. Audrey stared into his dark eyes. His face had smears of dirt covering it, and his hair, on the longer side, was unkempt and fell to his chin. The front of him was just as impressive as the back, with all the muscles on display. He did have a few tattoos marring his flesh, ones that were mainly made up of lines placed together and in patterns. She didn’t know what they meant, but she could assume they had something to do with where he was from. And then there were the scars that couldn’t be hidden by the ink. The raised skin was along his arms and upper chest, and for a split second she wondered how he’d gotten them.
Probably fighting and defeating some hideous creature.
But Audrey shouldn’t have been thinking about anything but leaving this man and this place. She wasn’t going to be a prisoner, not to the slavers, the man who’d purchased her, or this barbarian. She might not know where she was going to go, or if she’d even survive the foreign wilderness, but she had to try.
With his huge hand on her belly, his palm seeming to take up the entire area, all she felt was this tingling in her gut, this fluttering in her chest. Why did she feel like this? Why didn’t she feel disgust and anger that this savage wanted to keep her as some kind of pet?
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” he asked, his focus on her mouth, his voice so deep she swore she felt it vibrate throughout her entire body. His breath was warm and smelled sweet, like cinnamon and herbs. The tendrils of her hair moved along her cheek every time he exhaled.
“Tell me what you are called, female.” His voice had gone softer, and if this male could have been called gentle, she knew that act would have been the max for it. “I am called Styx, but if you prefer you can call me ‘mate’ or ‘husband.’” He was looking at her lips again, and God, why did that have to be as exciting as it was?
“I’ll call you no such thing,” she managed to say. He lifted his gaze and looked into her eyes. “And I’ll tell you nothing of me.”
Another low growl left him. It excited her as much as it frightened her, and self-anger filled her that she couldn’t control how she felt.
“You’ll tell me everything soon enough, mate.”
“I won’t be a prisoner, a sex slave for you.” She was surprised she’d managed to say that much, but she was glad the words had come out. She wouldn’t be anyone’s toy, not even this male, who was bigger and stronger than any other person she’d ever come in contact with.
He grinned, a flash of straight white teeth amidst his dirt-streaked face. But the smile was not something to soothe her, and instead offered dark promise. She knew that as much as she knew he was right before her.
“You will not be a prisoner, female.” He moved back an inch and took his hand from her belly. She felt her muscles tightening from the act and was confused by the way her body reacted. “You will be my wife, equal in all aspects. But being the male, your husband, I will provide and protect. You will never be frightened or harmed under my watch.”
Her throat was so dry, her tongue feeling swollen. She wanted to curse at him, to say something, but all she could do was watch as he moved away from her and over to the pallet that was on the other side of the fire. But he didn’t sleep, like she’d thought … hoped? No, he grabbed several furs and came back to her. Audrey was pressed to the hard, rough cavern wall, not able to move as he put the furs beside her.
“Lie down and sleep. Come morning you’ll feel better.”
She didn’t know if he meant physically, or that she’d somehow think this situation was any better than what she’d been about to face with the slavers. But she didn’t move, couldn’t.
“Sleep, my female.” He pulled her toward him, and Audrey found herself lying down, face to face with him. She was shocked and frightened, but more so she found curiosity ran high in her. She had to try to escape, though, because even if her future looked bleak, and she didn’t know if she’d even survive out there on her own, she had to try.
Not trying meant death, maybe not in the literal sense, but death all the same.
Chapter
Four
The deep, even sounds of her captor breathing told Audrey he had finally fallen asleep. For what seemed like hours upon hours she’d lain there, still, silent, but she’d felt his eyes upon her, knew he watched her. But Audrey couldn’t have fallen asleep anyway, not with her mind working a mile a minute and her entire body screaming for her to run. But even though she had the instinct to escape, there was a small part of her, a little voice in the back of her head, that said this male wanted her like nothing else in this world. He’d saved her, healed her, and wanted her for himself. He’d told her he’d protect her, care for her, and in return, he wanted her to be only his.
But she couldn’t just roll over to be his in all ways, not when she’d managed to escape the slavers and a life of sexual servitude. Essentially, wouldn’t staying with this male be the same thing?
She opened her eyes and stared into his face. For how dirty he was, she couldn’t help but admire the fact he was handsome, in a very savage, brutal kind of way. The fire was still going strong, and the light from the flames cast shadows throughout the stone surrounding them. She was on her back, and she looked down the length of her body to see his hand on her belly, holding her in place. The heavy weight was a reminder that this man saw her as his.
Audrey shifted slightly and snapped her focus to his face to see if even the slightest move from her would wake him. He still slept, so she moved a little more, rising up and moving to the side until his hand fell onto the furs and away from her. Moving quickly away from him was what she wanted to do, but she needed to take things slowly and be patient if she wanted to escape and go unnoticed by him.
Audrey sat there motionless, not even breathing as she stared at Styx. His breathing hadn’t changed, and it was still even, easy. His body was so big that when she’d been lying down his form had blocked off everything else. Breathing out slowly, Audrey started to stand. Her side was still bandaged, of course, but she felt nothing in terms of pain aside from a slight pulling sensation. Whatever had been in that tea he’d made her drink really did help.
Are you sure this is the best option? Do you think running into the unknown, and up against things that know this land far better than you’ll ever know, is really the best course of action?
No, she couldn’t think that way, couldn’t even let herself be fooled into thinking that staying here, after what he’d told her, was the best option.
She stood there, not moving, just watching him. Ever so slowly, she stepped over him, her body tight, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. She wasn’t breathing again, not wanting to even cause the slightest ripple of air that might wake him. Once she was on the other side of him, she moved slowly toward the left, where she assumed the exit to the cave was. The fire crackled and popped in that instant, startling her and having a little gasp of inhalation come from her. She froze, looking over her shoulder at Styx. He still lay with his back to her, his chest rising and falling easily.