Adrienne (3 page)

The chill of her fear started ebbing away. He took that as a good sign. With slow movements, he rose to his feet and pulled his bride to stand next to him.

She snatched her hands from him and rubbed her wrists. The feeling of her confusion intensified. She looked down at her hands, then back up at him.

“What?”

“I am Malik of Ulan, my lady. Your servant,” he said with a bow.

“My… Huh?”

“And your name?”

“Ad…Adrienne. Adrienne Backett.”

Malik told himself to stop staring at her so intently. The feel of her fear had returned and she looked ready to run. He reached for her hand to hold her at his side.

“I should go home now,” she said with a tug of her hand.

“Would you leave in such a state of disarray?”

Adrienne looked down at herself and gave a cry of shock. She snatched her hand away from his and pulled her shredded shirt together over her naked breasts.

Malik swept out his hand. A cloak appeared out of nowhere and he placed it over Adrienne’s shoulders. He brought the ends of it together in front of her. She grabbed the edges of the cloak with a murmured thank you.

He smiled at her bowed head. “Such as this is my pleasure, my lady, as I would do anything to make you happy.” He stepped closer to her, which forced her to look up at him. He asked softly, “Shall we return?”

“Return? Yes, I need to go home. My parents will be worried. If you tell me your address, I’ll mail this cloak back to you.”

“You misunderstand.” His voice remained low and soothing. “I meant
my
home.” He slid his hand around her waist and pulled her close. The action indulged his baser needs. He recognized the lust he felt. What he didn’t understand was his urgency.

Even when he was new to sex he had never felt this anxious to be with a woman. Something about Adrienne made him want to forget all the rules and have her now.

“Let go of me. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Malik bent to place his other hand under her legs and lifted her effortlessly against his chest.

“I’ll scream.”

“You could, as it is your right. I do not see the merit in it and think you would be better served with rest rather than theatrics.”

“I’m not…I…” Her words stumbled to a halt as sleep claimed her.

He smiled at his sweet burden. She would understand once he explained the entire situation to her. He laid a feather-light kiss on her temple before starting back the way he had come.

His fingers brushed over the hilt of his discarded sword when he passed it. The sword faded and disappeared. It would return when Malik needed it.

“Freeze!”

Malik looked back at the man who pointed a light, and what seemed to be a weapon, in his direction. It wasn’t every day someone dared command him to do anything—or threatened him. The sheer novelty of it made him obey.

“Okay, buddy, put the girl down nice and slow and back away.”

“Are you the guardian of this place?”

“Yeah. I’m the ‘guardian’, buddy,” agreed the security guard in a humoring tone. He pointed the flashlight at Adrienne. “I want you to put the girl down.”

“No. I would not leave her to such an incompetent guardian. Your aid has come too late, as I have done your job for you,” Malik said. He moved his gaze to the two bodies the guard had overlooked.

The guard glanced quickly in the direction Malik looked. “Holy Jesus,” he yelled.

“I leave the rest to you, then, guardian. You shall leave the girl to me.” Malik walked back to the portal. The guard yelled for him to come back, but the novelty had worn off so Malik ignored the man.

The guard ran to catch up. He would be too late.

Malik closed the portal after himself.

A soft sigh from Adrienne made Malik pause and look down at her. For the first time in a long time, Malik felt the burden of his rage alleviating. He had his bride. Everything else would fall into place from this moment forth.

Chapter Three

“Ah, you are awake. I shall inform His Majesty immediately,” said a woman from Adrienne’s right.

Adrienne, who had started her usual pre-wake ritual of stretching just to turn over and go back to sleep, opened her eyes to see who had spoken.

Her gaze never made it to the owner of the voice. The unfamiliar ceiling caught her attention. It was painted to resemble the sky on a sunny day. There were wisps of clouds and a flock of birds flying by.

Flying by?

She immediately closed her eyes. This had to be a dream. She would open her eyes and be at home in her own room. The sound of a door as it opened and closed made Adrienne open her eyes again.

The scene hadn’t changed. The sky was still the sky and it remained on the ceiling. The clouds moved and so did the birds, who were almost out of sight. Maybe the ceiling was see-through? That made a little more sense.

This wasn’t her room.

Afraid to move, Adrienne let her gaze track from the ceiling down to the far wall.

The room was big—more like huge. The far wall sported a tapestry with an image she could barely make out. It looked like an intricate knot design.

Her attention strayed from the tapestry to the rest of her surroundings. The bed she occupied seemed to be it.

Like the room, the bed was huge. Her toes made a tent in the covers that marked the halfway point before the edge. She turned her head and saw the foot of the bed wasn’t the only thing far away. This bed was a king times three—maybe four.

Who needed a bed this big? Paul Bunyan?

Adrienne finally worked up the nerve and sat up. She was wrong; other furniture did adorn the room. Several tall vases stood like sentries on either side of each of the large windows. The largest window—it reached from the floor to the ceiling above—had a table situated in front of it. The table looked big enough to seat four but only had two backless chairs.

Where was she?

Looking around hadn’t answered that question. The woman who had spoken earlier had left to retrieve whoever this “majesty” person was, so Adrienne couldn’t ask her. Had royalty picked her up after her attack?

Her attack!

She looked down at her wrists. The evidence of her struggle against the handcuffs was gone—no scratches, no bruises, not even a little soreness. She ran her hands over her wrists anyway, just to be sure. Nothing hurt.

Then she remembered the man. He said his name was Merrick. No, Malik. He had done something to her wrists. But what? She also remembered trying to get away from Malik but falling asleep instead. Had he taken her somewhere while she slept? The obvious answer was yes, he had. But where and for what purpose?

She looked back at the bed, which made her notice her attire.

Someone had taken off her ruined blouse and skirt and replaced them with a sheer nightgown. She could take it off and wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Whoever had put it on her had a sick sense of humor.

A knock at the bedroom door made Adrienne gasp and grab the blanket to her chin. The person on the other side of the door took that to mean come in, since they pushed the door open and entered.

“Good morning, my lady,” said Malik with a smile. “I trust you slept comfortably?”

She nodded dumbly, not sure what to say to the man’s obvious good cheer. A million things were appropriate at this moment. Where am I? How did I get here? How long do you plan to keep me? Can I get some real clothes?

None of her questions would leave her mouth.

Her inability to speak could be traced to the man in front of her. Had Malik looked this good last night? He was Asian; his slanted eyes and black hair made that obvious. But his aquamarine eyes and towering height said more than Asian made up his ancestry. She had only come up to his collarbone when she stood next to him the night before.

Malik wore close-fitting dark pants that showed off his muscled legs, and a loose, white button-up shirt covered by a floor-length black vest.

“Shall I fetch breakfast, Majesty?” the woman behind Malik asked.

The voice belonged to the woman who had spoken earlier. She had slanted, dark eyes and delicate features that reminded Adrienne of the older Asian lady who ran the sushi restaurant near the campus. Her black hair was braided and wrapped around her head like a crown, which gave her a regal air that suited her.

Belatedly, Adrienne wondered if this woman had dressed her. Adrienne may not know Malik very well—or at all—but she would bet he suggested the sheer nightgown. Either way, someone would get a piece of her mind.

“Take your time. My lady and I have many topics to discuss,” Malik said.

The woman curtsied and left the room. She pulled the door firmly closed behind her.

The sound of the door closing made Adrienne jump. She watched Malik, ready to run in case he tried something funny. Even if he had saved her virtue—and she was thankful for that—he might be dangerous. If need be, she could use the blanket’s edge to strangle him in case he had changed his mind about killing her.

Her grip on the blanket tightened as he approached.

“There is no need to be scared of me. I will not hurt you.”

“Then stay over there.” She scooted across the bed, away from him.

“There is no need to be so cautious, my lady. I merely wish to talk.”

“About?”

“Us,” he answered.

“What ‘us’? I only met you last night. Did I live out a lifetime in that moment and not notice?”

He chuckled. “No, you are correct. We did only meet last night.” His look turned serious. “Though I have waited for you for a lifetime.”

“Waited for me to do what exactly?” She shifted so her knees were under her. Whether to jump at him or away from him, she wasn’t sure, but she planned to be ready either way.

“To marry me and rule by my side as the Queen of Ulan,” he answered proudly.

Adrienne’s mouth dropped open. Of all the things she expected him to say, that hadn’t made it to the list.

Then the meaning of what he said registered.

She frowned. “The queen of who?”

“Ulan,” he supplied. “Of Bron’s fourteen kingdoms, it is the second most powerful.”

Ulan? Bron? What the hell was he talking about? The countries didn’t sound familiar. Geography never interested her since countries came and went so quickly nowadays.

Malik elaborated, “All that I tell you and plan to tell you will make more sense if I first clarify that you are no longer on Earth.”

“I’m no longer what?” she squeaked in horror. She jumped off the bed, happy it was between her and Malik. The man was nuts and she wanted him to keep his distance. “What do you mean I’m no longer on Earth? Where the hell am I? I’ve been abducted by aliens! Why did you bring me here?”

All of her questions were sound and justified given the situation, but Malik couldn’t bring himself to focus on any of them at the moment. The sight of her breasts beneath the sheer nightgown had completely caught his attention. Her breasts had been bare the night before, but it was dark then. The joy of finding her at last had made her state of undress secondary in Malik’s mind.

Not so now. Adrienne was safe. Malik could allow himself to think of other things, such as lust.

Imagining cupping her ample breasts made his hands twitch at his sides. He wanted to touch all of her. Her slim waist, her round hips, her long legs—he wasn’t picky so long as he could touch her.

The urgency of the night before returned full force.

Malik didn’t realize he had started around the bed to indulge his longing until Adrienne screamed. The frantic sound and the cold fear that nipped along his senses snapped him back to himself.

Adrienne looked around the room for a way to escape. Malik stood between her and the one door she knew to be an exit. There were a few other doors in the room, but those could be bathrooms and closets and the like. She wanted to get away, not trap herself further.

Her agitation made her feel hot. She fanned herself with one hand, but it didn’t help. The room wasn’t hot, she was. A sensation like warm oil oozing over her skin had her body tingling. She looked back at Malik to accuse him of drugging her, but the words became strangled in her throat. He simply stared at her. The lust in his eyes was almost a tangible thing.

She took a step back when he started towards her. The cloth of her nightgown brushed her ankles. She remembered the sheerness of her clothing and screamed as she tried to cover herself with her hands and reach for the blanket on the bed at the same time.

Trying to do both at once accomplished neither. She finally settled on ducking below the edge of the bed and tugging on the heavy bedcover with both hands.

This was a nightmare. She would wake up any second and have a good laugh at her own expense.

Malik’s voice jarred her out of that fantasy.

“Forgive me, my lady. I did not mean to stare.” His voice sounded strained.

“Then why did you put me in this…this…this thing?” she asked in an accusing tone. Finally, the end of the cover slipped over the edge. Adrienne wrapped herself in it and made sure no part of her body could be seen before she straightened and glared at Malik.

“I did not. Once I brought you back from Earth, I gave you over to the care of your lady’s maids. They are the ones who dressed you.”

“What do you mean I’m not on Earth?”

“We are currently on a parallel Earth known as Bron.”

Adrienne gave him a look to let him know she thought he was nuts. The look turned back to a glare when he laughed at her.

“I assure you, this is a different dimension from the one you are familiar with,” he continued. “Bron’s months and days have different names, the count for our years started much earlier than yours and many other subtle differences but it is the same planet—third from this solar system’s star—merely another version.”

“You brought me here…to…to marry you.”

He nodded.

“You have got to be kidding me. Even if I bought this pile of horseshit with
your
money, why me?” She pointed out the window. “There are probably millions of women on Bron, just like Earth. Why the hell would you go all the way to an alternate dimension to get me?”