Alerted by the noise, women poked their heads from their homes and called greetings to the men, while the roaming village dogs barked and got underfoot. Children, who should have long since been in bed, took turns running beneath each swinging deer, their laughter and squeals adding to the general cacophony.
Vadim walked slightly behind the main group, snatching a few moments’ peace away from the excitement.
He was responsible for the first kill of the day. It had been an easy shot. The buck had all but walked into him as he hid in the undergrowth. But the men cared little for such details. Instead, they kept proclaiming him their good-luck talisman until he grew weary of their teasing banter. But the other men were not to blame for his sour mood.
A yearning for silence and solitude had stalked him since he had taken Martha back to the Great Hall that morning. Her admission of having two lovers affected him more than it had any right to. The moment the words left her lips, it was as though she had stuck a cold, dull blade into his guts and then twisted it without mercy. The pain within him had subsided now, settling down like the red heat of a post-wound infection. It was bearable. Just.
He did not relish the prospect of facing her again. Whilst out with the hunting party he had managed to forget her. Now the images in his mind had returned, stronger and more vivid than before.
“Vadim.” Seth’s call shattered his reverie. The Chief waved, summoning him to the Great Hall. Vadim returned his wave and reluctantly followed.
Within those walls, Martha was waiting. Somehow he must behave as an affectionate husband and continue the deception they had begun. It would not be easy.
***
“Sylvie? Sylvie!”
The doors to the Great Hall flew open and Seth strode in, grinning broadly. “What luck we have had this day!” he cried, oblivious of the swirl of cold air and snow that followed him inside.
“Welcome home, my dear.” Sylvie set down her darning and hastened to her husband, raising her face for his kiss. “Tell me all. Did you catch a deer?”
Wide-eyed, Martha looked up from the stocking she’d been attempting to mend under Sylvie’s patient tutelage. Vadim would be here soon. Would he still be in a bad mood?
And suddenly, there he was, his tall shadow looming in the doorway. Skirting around Seth and Sylvie’s happy reunion, he headed in her direction.
Stomach clenching, she slowly rose from her seat. How should she greet him? From the opposite side of the fire, Seth’s elderly mother directed a broad, gummy smile Martha’s way. Obviously some kind of wifely display was expected.
Oh Lord!
As though her legs were controlled by another force, she set off to meet him, her darning still clutched in her hand.
As Vadim approached, the flickering light of the rush lamps enhanced the angles of his face, the deep shadows painting him harsh and forbidding. When he finally looked at her, his eyes resembled glittering lumps of coal. The eyes of a demon, eyes no mortal man should possess.
“H…hello.” Her voice cracked in her suddenly dry throat. “D-did you have a nice day?”
Without warning, he grabbed her, crushing her body to his. Not exactly the response she’d been expecting.
“Hello, wife,” he growled, resting his forehead against hers. He smelled of snow and sweet, cold air. “Did you miss me?”
The handle of his sword pressed painfully against her ribs. Before her befuddled mind could formulate a suitable response, his mouth came down hard on hers.
It was a parody of a kiss, rough and grinding, with not even a pretense of tenderness. Shocked, Martha pressed her hands flat against the hardness of his chest and pushed, but it was useless. Her struggles were nothing when matched against such superior strength. She tried to turn her head, but only succeeded in grazing her lips painfully against his stubble.
As a last resort, she relaxed her mouth, feigning surrender. As Vadim made to press his advantage, she sank her teeth into his lower lip. And she wasn’t gentle. With a gasp of pain, Vadim broke the kiss. But he didn’t release her from his arms.
“Witch!” He ran his tongue over his wounded lip. “You have bloodied me.” But he smiled down into her furious eyes and didn’t seem particularly upset about it.
“Bloodied you!” she hissed, her arms still braced against his chest. “I’d do a lot more than that if we didn’t have a fecking audience, you bastard!”
Judging by the amount of laughter, Seth, his wife and his mother were all enjoying the floorshow.
“Indeed?” Vadim rubbed his nose against hers, Eskimo style. “Then, I shall look forward to being alone with you, my love.”
“If you don’t let me go, I swear I’ll…” She couldn’t think of anything bad enough.
But there was no need to think up more threats. The cage about her suddenly relaxed, and she was free again. Breathing hard, her face scarlet with embarrassment, Martha darted him one last venom-laden glare and stormed outside, heading for the privy.
CHAPTER TEN
Vadim picked up Martha’s darning from where it had fallen and, chuckling at the memory of her outraged expression, went to speak to his hosts.
Seth laughed and slapped him manfully on the back, obviously much impressed with the way he had handled his new wife. Sylvie and Ma, however, only shook their heads and returned to the fire, leaving the men to their bluster.
As Vadim’s blood cooled, his conscience awoke, and Seth’s voice gradually blurred into a meaningless noise.
Poor Martha. What must she think of him?
Although the impudent wretch deserved some form of punishment for the way she had spoken to him back at the cottage that morning, the vengeance he had exacted was unequal to her crime.
Her crime? ‘Twas a curious choice of word. What law had she broken? What was Martha actually guilty of? Having lovers was not a crime, not even in this world.
Seth’s mouth was still moving. He paused, apparently seeking some kind of response.
Tilting his head to one side, Vadim made a non-committal sound at the back of his throat. It must have been the correct answer, for Seth smiled and continued conversing with himself.
Vadim ran his tongue over his wounded lip. The sweet taste of her still clung to him. It had an unexpected potency, inflaming him, body and mind. Suddenly he knew the reason for his earlier brutality, and it had nothing to do with her faceless lovers. He was angry because she had promised to bind herself to another man.
Ridiculous. He gave himself a mental shake. He could not keep Martha like a stray dog, and neither did he want to. His life had no room in it for a woman, especially one such as her. No, Martha belonged somewhere else. His duty, albeit self-enforced, was to keep her safe until he could find a way to send her home, wherever that was. Nothing else mattered.
***
Eventually, Martha composed herself enough to return to the hall. Not that she wanted to go back in there, but she had nowhere else to go. Besides, the privy was freezing, and she hadn’t got her cloak to protect her from the cold. Reluctantly, she pushed open the ornately carved door and stepped inside.
“Martha.” Vadim stepped out of the shadows by the entrance, making her jump. “May I speak with you for a moment?”
She pressed a hand to her pounding chest. “You have nothing to say that I want to hear.” The time she’d spent in the stinking privy had done nothing to cool her anger. She tried to march past him but he stepped into her path, blocking her escape. Luckily for him, he didn’t attempt to touch her.
“Please.” He held out her cloak. “Walk with me.”
There was no reason she should obey him. She hated him. But…there was something in the way he looked at her, a look so appealing, she found herself nodding.
“Oh, very well.” She snatched the cloak from his hand and flung it about her shoulders, ignoring the inner voice that accused her of not having a backbone.
“Thank you.” Vadim’s expression relaxed a little. “I will detain you for long. Though,
I doubt we will be missed.”
That was true. In her absence the hall had become full of people. They stood around the long hearth in the center of the room, laughing and talking, good-naturedly arguing the best method of roasting a deer.
“There is to be a feast in honor of our marriage,” Vadim told her. “The whole village will come to celebrate it.”
“I’d rather they didn’t.”
“You would prefer to offend everyone?”
“No.” She glared up at him. “I’d prefer not to continue this charade a moment longer,” she said. “My marriage to you isn’t all I hoped it would be.”
“Come outside.” He held open the door. “We should not discuss it here.”
“Fine.” Martha stalked back out into the cold night. “But don’t you try anything with me.”
They pulled up their hoods and, by mutual accord, set off in the direction of Vadim’s house. When he offered her his arm, she refused it. He wouldn’t fool her again with his fake gentlemanly manner.
Fat white snowflakes fell in a thick blanket about them, the intermittent moans of the wind stirring them into ghostly whirlwinds. Small snowdrifts were already forming against the doorways of the houses.
Once they were clear of the houses, Martha turned on him. “How dare you treat me like that!” She stopped walking and punched him hard on the arm. “This marriage isn’t real, remember? You saved my life, and I’m grateful, but don’t think you can use my body as a means of payment for your services. I am not a whore!”
“I know.” Vadim rubbed his arm where she’d hit him. “Believe me, Martha, I sincerely regret my actions. It will not happen again.”
“Hah. You’ve said that before,” she said, recalling the near-kiss incident, back at the cave. “‘I will be sure not to touch you again. Not without your prior permission, of course.’ That is what you said, isn’t it?”
“I did. And how well you remember my words, my love,” he said with a mocking smile.
“Why wouldn’t I?” she demanded, hands on hips. “It was only a couple days ago, for God’s sake. Or is there something wrong with your memory as well as your manners? Let me make this as clear as I can for you, Vadim. I am not your love, and I never will be. Have you got that?”
He was fool enough to laugh.
Of all the infuriating— Martha’s temper flashed. Balling her hand into a fist, she lashed out, aiming for his arrogant face.
But, this time, Vadim saw it coming and seized her wrist before her fist had a chance to make contact. “Enough, Martha. You earned one swing at me, I admit, but not two.”
“Get off me!” The force of her struggles made her scarf slip.
“Not until you calm yourself.”
As she stared into the fathomless depths of his eyes, her anger vanished like smoke in the wind, and a sapping weariness took its place. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Vadim,” she said quietly. “I really hate lying to these people. Can’t we just tell them the truth?”
“The truth?” He released her wrist. “That you come from another world, a world where women dress as men and live alone? A place where physical intimacy is as commonplace as embroidery, but with none of its value? I think not.” He looked grim. “You would be pronounced a witch and hunted all the days of your life.”
When he put it like that, honesty didn’t seem the best policy, after all. She sighed and huddled deeper in the folds of her cloak. “So, can I ask you something else?”
“Of course.”
“Will you promise to give me a straight answer?”
“If I can.”
“Why did you kiss me like that?”
“I was angry with you.”
“Why?” She frowned. “Because of this morning?”
“Yes. The way you spoke to me, how you judged us.” Reaching out, he brushed the snowflakes from her hair. “I did not care for it.”
“But you judged me too.”
“You have your answer, Martha. I did not say it would be reasonable.”
“So what now?” She stamped her feet in the snow in an attempt to warm them. “I want to go home, Vadim. To my real home, I mean. Is there really a way, do you think?”
“I do not know.” When he took her icy hands, she didn’t pull away. “But if a way exists, I vow to you, I will find it.” His thumbs stroked lazy circles on her hands. “In the meantime, we will continue as we have begun. However, there will be occasions when I shall need to touch you, Martha. But only for the sake of appearances, you understand?”
She nodded. It would look odd if they never touched, she supposed. “But not in the way you kissed me earlier. Promise?”
“You have my word.” He raised her hands to his lips. “May I show you?”
At that moment, she’d have agreed to pretty much anything he suggested. The way he was looking at her sent shivers rippling along her spine. Had Tony ever looked at her with such intensity? Definitely not. No one could forget a look like this.
“Martha?” Vadim was still waiting for the green light.
“Wh…okay.”
With a tiny smile, he lowered his head, pressing his warm lips to each unresisting palm in turn.
Her shivers quadrupled.
Transferring her hands to rest upon his chest, he placed his finger beneath her chin and tilted it so she could see the passion flaring within his dark eyes. Was he still acting? Damn. He was good. Her knees were already wobbling, and he’d barely even touched her yet.
“Relax, Martha,” he breathed against her lips. “This will not hurt at all.”
He lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers. At first, his touch was so gentle she barely felt it. Even so, it was enough to send the blood galloping through her veins. More kisses, each one as light as down, designed to seduce. Then his tongue flicked over her lower lip. He sucked gently at it before kissing her with the same gentle deliberation as before. She closed her eyes and shivered as a million goose bumps rose up all over her body.
Of their own volition, her lips moved beneath his. Her tentative response must have pleased him for he growled from deep within his throat. Slipping his arm beneath her cloak, he hooked her waist and gathered her closer.
The snow and the cold ceased to exist. She was only aware of the heat and the taste of him. His scent intoxicated her: leather with just a hint of tobacco, blended with his own unique male scent. A lethal concoction on her senses. Her hands slid up over his chest, testing the hard strength beneath them. She linked her hands about his neck, feeling the warmth of his skin seeping through the cool dampness of his hair. And then she became fully aware of the intimacy of their bodies. Up close and very personal. She was dissolving, melting into him. She couldn’t fight it. She didn’t want to.
He was holding back. She sensed it. Beneath his slow, chaste kisses, a fiercer need battled for freedom. What if she encouraged him, just a little? Without pausing to consider the consequences, Martha slid her tongue over the fullness of his lower lip in a blatant invitation.
Vadim accepted. He hauled her to him, slipping his tongue between her parted lips in a deep and hungry kiss.
She was with him every step of the way. Tangling her hands in his hair, she wantonly molded her body to his until he groaned from deep within his throat. He cupped one of her buttocks and held her even closer.
That’s not a sword handle!
Her eyes snapped open. The hardness pressed against her belly thrilled her and turned her into a quivering mass of need. God, I want him. More than she remembered ever wanting anything. And that same desire was apparent in his eyes. It was difficult to believe. This gorgeous, sexy man actually desired her too.
“Martha.” Her name was a ragged sigh against her lips.
Dragging his mouth from hers, Vadim cupped her face in his hands, anointing her burning cheeks with tiny kisses. Then he moved lower, his breath hot against her neck as he nuzzled, kissed, and tasted his way to her earlobe. The way his rough stubble brushed over her sens
itive skin was an exquisite form of torture.
Still clinging to him, she tilted her head, silently willing him to take whatever he wanted. She ached for him in places that had been in stasis until today.
What would it be like if he explored all of her in this way?
A dog’s intermittent barking broke the spell.
Although he still held her, she sensed him withdrawing. When she opened her eyes, she found him looking at her again in that familiar brooding way of his. Her own passion evaporated, cooling her blood and restoring her common sense.
“I-is that what you had in m-mind?” Her voice trembled, but it was the best that she could do.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t know about you,” she continued, “but I don’t think we should do that in front of Seth and Sylvie.” She forced a smile, casually twirling a strand of his hair about her finger. “We don’t want to give them a heart attack, do we?”
Humor was the only defense she had.
“Perhaps not,” Vadim agreed with a wry smile. “Our marriage need not be quite so convincing.” He pressed a light kiss to her forehead then released her from the warm circle his arms.
Suddenly, she felt empty. Alone.
Vadim pulled the edges of her cloak together, covering her against the cold, then swept the snow from her hair. “Shall we return to our hosts?”
She nodded, although it was the actually the last thing she wanted to do. “Do I look decent?”
“Far from it,” he answered with a sexy smile. “Here, allow me.”
He helped to fix her hair, smoothing the wild curls back from her face and tucking it beneath her scarf. “This looks a little sore…”
As he spoke, he grazed the pad of his thumb over her swollen lower lip. A shudder of response rippled through her. Vadim’s eyes darkened.
With difficulty, she forced herself to look away. “Come on. Let’s go back inside before we freeze.”
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