Ravish Her Completely(24)

Since seeing him when she’d first woken up she’d felt arousal for the big brute. He was dangerous, had kept her prisoner, still did if she thought on it hard enough and pushed her desire for him away. But the fact remained he’d protected her, saved her. She tucked the satchel under the thick hides, rolled over onto her side, away from Stian, and stared at the fire. She watched those flames dance until her eyes grew heavy and darkness took her away.

****

Agata watched as a flock of birds flew overhead. She was outside, Stian a few feet from her cutting wood, and the thick, fur lined jacket he’d made for her keeping the cold away. There were these little green berries that she was currently picking, and although it was cold as hell, these little berries were growing aplenty and were vibrant in color.

She felt the weight of the herb satchel in her shift pocket. She’d had it for days now, held it many times when Stian wasn’t looking, and thought about just taking it and being done with this In-Between world. She’d gotten over her initial confusion and shock that she was in a different dimension, because even if it sounded crazy as hell, it was the only thing that made sense.

And as much as this whole situation and experience were insane, her reality, her life back home in the States, didn’t make as much a sense as being with Stian. He made her feel wanted, made the loneliness she’d always felt vanish. He held her, whispered to her, and made her feel like there was no other woman for him. The latter might be true, seeing as he lived out in the middle of the woods and had initially taken her against her will, but things felt different with him now.

Since she’d first woken up in this very different world, she’d only listened to Stian’s language, as was common since that was all he spoke. He’d only heard her speak English and Norwegian, even if he didn’t understand either. She was a fast learner in general, and learning Norwegian had been easy for her.

During her time here with him she’d picked up on his language quickly, not anything to allow her to speak fluently with someone, but she understood bits and pieces, could even talk back to him when he asked her something simple. The thing was she felt comfortable in this world, in this life. Not conventional in any sense was an understatement given her situation, but with each passing day, and especially after she’d been with him, she realized that she felt something for this man. The old woman had mentioned something about Stian having a troubled life, but she’d been gone before Agata could ask what that meant.

Going back to her home in America, another dimension, as it seemed was the reality, wasn’t even that appealing after she’d started allowing herself to really be in this life. Here she was, picking berries in this strange world, with a man that saw her as a wife, and she wasn’t even jumping at the option to leave anymore, or at least not as strongly. She’d asked herself over and over again since seeing that old woman why she didn’t want to return home, and why she did. There were more pros to staying than leaving, and that scared the shit out of her. Was her life so dull, so lonely and sad that she’d rather stay here?

Looking at Stian as he cut wood, she could picture the fierceness in his body and expression, in the way he’d taken her like he owned her, like there was no other for her. That was a heady sensation, an intoxicating emotion to someone that had never felt an ounce of real love her entire life. He didn’t chain her up, didn’t make her feel like his prisoner any longer.

She stood, grabbed the small basket that held the berries, and moved over to him. He dropped the ax on the ground, grabbed the pieces of wood he’d chopped, and headed into the hut. She stood there, holding that basket, and felt the weight of that damn satchel. It was her lifeline home, she knew that, but she was hesitant. When he returned he held a net and a spear, and spoke in his language.

“We fish.”

She understood him through his thick accent, and nodded. “Okay.” Setting the basket down, she followed him through the trees, deeper into the woods and away from the hut until the sea came into view. He led her down the steep incline until they were on the sandy, yet very rocky beach. She sat on one of the rocks, and watched as he removed his coat and boots, and stepped into the shallow end of the water.

He was still for several minutes, but she saw his gaze moving back and forth along the water. Then he jabbed his spear into the water so fast she didn’t even have time to blink. He lifted the spear out of the water and held it up, showing the squirming fish on the other end. Tearing off the fish and tossing it to the shore, he went back and did this same action over and over again. The fish were piling up, but he didn’t stop.