Chapter 11 – Serena
The kitchen door swung open as I was placing a glass Pyrex container of soup in the fridge.
Since I was fairly certain I shut it after dropping by Dorothea’s house for the food, I spun around to look.
A shadow loomed in the frame. I yelped, moving for the knife block as my mind registered the outline of black on black.
“Don’t you knock?” I snapped, dropping my hand to my side.
Markos pushed into the kitchen, which was suddenly filled with his dark presence. The candlelight flickered over his features, and shadows danced over his body. The picture they painted was a macabre nightmare.
I gulped, wishing I could just see him in the daylight. Surely, he wasn’t that scary? But the way he kept one half of his face always turned away from the light made me wonder.
“It’s my house,” he observed, setting down the crisp blue bags with pearly white engraving and matching satin ribbon handles.
I snapped the fridge door completely shut, deepening the shadows further. “I don’t care if it’s the pope’s, you should announce yourself, not sneak up on people.”
I could feel his smile, could sense his amused gaze watching me.
It made me angrier.
“How did you enjoy the community meal?” The question was casual enough.
But it poked at several sore spots. I was the outsider, the one who didn’t belong.
When Evangelia told me that the whole village gathered to eat once a month, I thought it would be a good chance to really see the inner workings of this mob.
While they didn’t look at me like a prisoner, there was no doubt that I was an outsider.
Even their friendliness made that metaphorical line in the sand clear.
Granted, no one said anything about their organization, but it didn’t matter.
And then Iosif had to go and spoil the day completely.
“The food was good,” I clipped out.
“It always is.”
“Why weren’t you there?” I demanded.
Markos moved past me to stand at the sink. The water ran hot, but he plunged soapy hands under it as if he didn’t feel the temperature. To grab the towel, he had to move beside me. He took his time. The heat from his body warmed me. I found myself smelling the sea on his skin.
“I was in the city.”
His answer snapped me back to the present. “What for?”
“Aren’t you just brim-full of questions,” he teased, reaching around me to the cupboard over my head.
Caged against his body, surrounded by his scent, I bristled. “Questions? I have one. Why haven’t you let me go? I’ve been here for days with no answers as to when I can leave.”
Markos set the glass on the counter next to me. His warm breath brushed against my skin, making me shiver. “You know too much.”
“I know nothing!” I protested.
Those strong fingers tapped against my chin. Once, twice—three times!
“That’s not quite true, is it, prinkípissa?” It was the salacious chuckle lacing his words that sent me over the edge.
“It is! I just want to go home, and since you insist on preventing me, I can only assume the worst.”
With impossibly quick speed, Markos shot forward. He captured my chin in a firm grip. At the same time, I darted for a knife.
“Now, now, prinkípissa,” he tsked, snatching my wrist. “No need to make things unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant. Unpleasant !” I fumed and tried to angle the blade toward him.
“They whispered about you kidnapping a different girl to be married. The day I was kidnapped, someone said something about a bride with a bruised face. You stole me on purpose! On accident because I was the wrong one, but still! Me being freed was never part of the plan.”
Why was I talking about this? I should be confronting him about Iosif and the insanity of us being married!
Markos’s touch hardened to the point of pain. He leaned forward and hissed against the shell of my ear, “See? You know too much.”
So I did the only logical thing. I cracked my skull against his.
Only, the headbutt didn’t have even the slightest effect on the stony mammoth.
“How did that feel?” he chuckled.
I jerked, thrashing and tugging. “Turn me loose! Turn me loose, you monster.”
“Monster,” he mused. “That’s not very nice.”
“If the shoe...fits!” I pulled back, breathing hard. He was too close, too warm. Too masculine. I couldn’t see him well, but I didn’t need to, because I felt him. His presence overwhelmed me. The instinct to melt into him, to bring him even closer, warred with every rational thought.
“Oh, I didn’t say it wasn’t true, I just said it wasn’t nice.”
The nerve of this man!
“Let me go,” I screeched, not afraid to use volume.
His thumb moved up to stroke my bottom lip. “But I like to hear you beg, prinkípissa.”
A bolt of heat shot straight down my spine, reaching lower and curling into itself.
Oh, I did not just like hearing that . Unbelievable! My body was a traitor with this man.
“I can’t believe I saved you a bowl of soup,” I snarled.
That thumb stilled mid-stroke. “You prepared me food? How did you know I was stopping by?”
I tipped up my chin. “I didn’t. And I didn’t prepare anything. I was just making sure you had something to eat on the off chance you were in town. But you know what?”
“What?” he mused.
“You can fucking starve for all I care.”
The beast groaned. “Theos! You have such a dirty mouth. I bet it tastes as good as it looks.”
An embarrassing flood of wetness dampened my panties. “If you dare, I’ll bite.”
“I don’t doubt it for a second.” With a sigh, he pushed away. “I’m not a man who takes what a woman won’t offer, so I won’t be finding out.”
Through the haze of heat and his dizzying proximity, even though we were no longer touching, it took a second to realize what he’d said. He wasn’t going to kiss me.
I set the knife down on the counter.
I wasn’t going to hurt him. I didn’t want to.
But this was the man who’d sent thugs to kidnap someone. It might have been a mistake, but he’d intended to marry that poor girl. Wasn’t that taking what wasn’t offered? Or had she offered herself, and I was missing a piece of this puzzle?
Neither of those were favorable options.
“Those bags are for you.” Markos jerked his chin to the table. “Let me know if you need anything else, or if these aren’t to your liking.”
“Or if they don’t fit,” I muttered.
“Oh, they’ll fit.” As he spoke, he filled the glass with tap water and strolled into the house.
The nerve of the man! I frowned. He just waltzed in here, stirred up a bunch of funny feelings, and then made himself at home.
This is his home .
Grumbling at the mental reminder, I moved to look at the double shopping bags. I knew the mark of an upscale boutique when I saw it. The bags alone were fancy, of the best quality. But when I began to pluck the items out, holding them up to the candlelight, an unwanted thrill ran through me.
Shorts that were the perfect size, tops that wouldn’t be baggy yet ride up my midriff, and basic shoes were in the first. It was all in my size.
That detail had me shaking my head. The smaller bag held a toothbrush, deodorant, a makeup kit, and wrapped in tissue at the bottom was a lacy, delicate assortment of items.
He bought me intimates.
My freaking kidnapper picked out top quality lingerie for me to wear!
The knowledge sent my heartbeat pattering and my cheeks blazing with heat. The combination was enough to send my anger over the edge.
His voice broke the spell. “Wear the swimsuit from now on, Serena.”
I stifled a yelp. “Quit with the sneaking up on people.”
Markos set the empty glass in the sink. He had a change of clothing fisted in his left hand. “I’m serious. I’ve told the village you are off limits, but don’t tempt fate by continuing your nightly skinny-dipping sessions.”
The warning in his voice only made me want to try again, to see what he would really do.
“It doesn’t matter what you said, Iosif has it in his head that we’re destined to wed,” I spewed bitterly.
It wasn’t the shadows that made his eyes darken and jaw clench tight.
“So you did know about that.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I did.”
“Then why am I still here? Shouldn’t I be at his mother’s house, not having nocturnal trysts with another man?”
Markos stretched his head to the side. Vertebrae popped under the pressure. “There are forces at play that are out of my control, but—” He stepped forward, captured a strand of my hair, and twisted it around his finger. “Where you stay isn’t one of them.”
His body was angled to the side, and only half of his face was visible. I studied the hard lines and sharp curves. It would be all too easy to spring onto the tips of my toes and close the distance. I wanted to. The fire in my veins begged me to.
“Goodnight, Serena. Sleep well.” With a tug on my hair, he let me go.
I gulped air that didn’t fill my lungs. The energy swirling around us was heady and his scent intoxicating. But he was moving, exiting the kitchen.
“Wait!” I sprang to the fridge, plucked out the container of soup. “Take this.”
He chuckled, the sound making my insides do little flips. “I thought I was starving.”
“I hope you do.” I dropped it in his outstretched palm. “But it won’t be because of me.”
“So angry, little one,” he mused. “I pity the man who you set your sights on.”
“It won’t be Iosif.”
“No, it won’t.” With that cryptic response, Markos left. But his presence lingered, haunting me and making it hard to breathe.