“Vat?” Water. She pointed into the trees and wracked her mind for the word for sea, but she couldn’t think. He didn’t move, didn’t even speak for several seconds, then tilted his chin toward the left, and she headed that way. He was close behind; she could feel him, sense him.
When the trees parted about five minutes after they started walking, she felt her eyes widen at the sight in front of her. Just down a small decline was the shore of a wondrous body of water.
Agata couldn’t see past the large mountains that lined either side and because the water curved toward the right, but she assumed this was a sea. The waves brushed along the rocky beach, and she took a step closer, only to be pulled back by Stian.
“Haksi vonki, konna.”
She understood the dangerous part, because in her time with him, he drilled that word into her. But she couldn’t understand the other section. Maybe there were animals, or even the villagers were dangerous? “I wish I knew what in the hell is going on, what you’re saying, and where I am.” Facing him again, she started to head back to the hut, knowing he’d follow. She just knew he’d always follow.
When they were back at his home, she looked around, really taking in everything, categorizing all the details that were out in the open. So the water was to her left, and presumably the village might be to her right, but she wasn’t sure about that.
This was going to be tricky, and getting away from Stian would be hard, but she had to try.
If she didn’t, she’d never know what the hell happened to her. She needed to leave this place, and surviving this situation was of utmost importance. This wasn’t her home, wasn’t where she was supposed to be, even if her body heated whenever Stian looked at her.
She moved back into the hut and went over to the pallet. They’d be sleeping soon, and although she hated knowing he made her sleep beside him, wrapped in his thickly corded and muscular body, there was also a part, maybe even a sick and deranged one, that liked the feeling of his big body holding her tight.
He wanted her, and that was clear by his actions and the fact that he always seemed to have a hard-on.
She spotted her purse tucked in the corner. She was pleased he grabbed it, and it was the first time she’d seen something familiar in this new world. Feeling this little bubble of elation fill her, she grabbed for it and opened the zipper.
Inside, she had her iPhone, a pair of earbuds, her wallet, and other small things she usually kept with her at all times—deodorant, a few tampons, gum, lotion, tissues, and even a pack of Lifesavers. She looked at where Stian stood, but he was back to cutting the pork and moving it over to the fire.
Agata pulled out her phone, her heart pounding. The thing was still charged, just barely, but it was the fact that it had no bars, no little lines that told her she had service, that cut her deep.
But it didn’t matter, because she knew she could still call 911 if there was no service. She dialed the emergency number, looked at Stian, and for some reason, she hesitated.
When she hit Call button, she put it up to her ear, but there was only dead air. Agata tried again, and once more before finally giving up and tossing the phone back in her purse. She took out a stick of gum and was in the process of putting it in her mouth when she felt Stian’s gaze on her.
He was always watching her, it seemed.
He walked up to her, took her purse before she could react, and grabbed the phone out. Agata didn’t move, didn’t even react, just found this strange amusement as he stared at the iPhone. He turned it around, upside down, and started tapping on the screen.
Music started blasting from the phone, and he promptly dropped it on the ground.
She couldn’t help it. She started laughing at the sight of this He-Man suddenly taken off guard by the music. The more she watched him, the more she realized he was either a very good actor, or he seriously had no idea what in the hell a cell phone or iPod was.
Tears of amusement tracked down her cheeks, and she was surprised she could find any kind of happiness in this situation. But when this dark look crossed his face and he turned to grab a hand ax from the shelf, faced the phone again, and brought the metal down on it, she sobered instantly.
She jumped as pieces of her phone crushed beneath the onslaught, and shrieked when he brought down the ax again and again until there was nothing but remnants of her phone and case on the floor.
Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, and her shock filling her, she watched Stian, saw him toss the ax back on the shelf and cross his big arms over his chest like he was proud of what he’d done. He muttered something under his breath, and it sounded satisfied, like he just made his first kill or something.
“What the fuck?” she asked herself, lowered her gaze to the pieces of her cell, and then looked back to Stian. “You broke my expensive-as-hell phone.”
He huffed out and gestured for her to come forward for her to eat. For the next twenty minutes, she ate, watching him and keeping herself on alert. This man was dangerous, yet he hadn’t harmed her.
He clearly wanted her, yet he hadn’t slept with her, hadn’t forced himself on her. This was a strange, screwed-up situation, but she would be strong. She had to stay strong.
10
Stian crouched in the underbrush, watching as a goat wandered around grazing. It clearly got away from the village, but no one claimed it or searched for it as of yet. He’d take it as his own to feed his woman, make her nice and plump, because he’d be filling her with his children very soon.
There was no use in waiting.
He was getting older, and he always wanted a family, but because of his reputation, because of the brutal nature of his life, he’d never been given the chance to show a woman he could be good to her.
Winter was fast approaching, and he wanted to have as much extra food and supplies stocked up as possible. It was always harsh and cold, but he knew this winter would be a lot warmer and a little less lonely now that Agata was here.
But it would take time for her to realize she was truly his, that he’d always ensure she stayed his. She knew nothing of him, of his world, and whether she was dropped down on this world by the gods themselves made no difference. He found her, would claim her, and he’d make her see this was her home now.
He drew his bow back, aimed it at the goat, and in a fluid motion released the arrow. It landed in the side of the animal, a clean shot that had it dropping instantly.
Stian slowly rose from his position, moved over to the lifeless creature, and just as he was about to lift the animal and put it over his shoulder to carry back home, the sound of a twig snapping far too close to him had him on alert and spinning around.
He now had his ax in hand, his gaze scanning the area, yet he didn’t catch any movement. Another snap, this one from the opposite direction he first heard it from. He spun and looked behind him, swept the perimeter of the forest with his gaze, and knew that although he couldn’t see what was out there, something watched him, waited. It was that tightening in his neck, that rush of adrenaline, and the feeling that eyes were on him.
“At ease, warrior.” The female voice came from behind him, and he turned and saw an elderly woman looking up at him. She was clearly blind, given the milky color of her eyes and the scars that lined them.
He kept his ax ready though, because despite the fact that she was an old woman, there was this power that came from her. Perhaps she was a seer, a person who could see the future of others?