My Lady Captive by Shirl Anders Page B

It was so unexpectedly chivalrous of
Alexei, Wyndham thought, with his head bowed and his jaw clenched
into square hardness. He was seething as he walked between the
guards and it was taking every once of his willpower not to grapple
with the guards, in an attempt to gain an opening to fall upon
Alexei with his bare hands. He might never have realized how wholly
possessive he was, he thought, if not for what had been perpetrated
on Orèlan.
    Suddenly, half a dozen sharp explosions
sounded in the distance. Wyndham’s head lifted as he recognized the
sound of gunfire, while his gaze found Alexei’s back, just as
Alexei was opening the door to his suite. Alexei never turned at
the sound of the gunfire, his head cocked to the side, but he
continued into the suite. “Bring him inside!” Alexei ordered.
    “What is happening?” Wyndham asked, as the
guards roughly shoved him into the suite.
    More gunfire sounded, this time closer, as
Alexei ignored his question and ordered, “Guards, leave him here,
and take up your posts outside the doors!”
    Wyndham was surprised to be released alone
into Alexei’s company, as both guards, appearing suddenly nervous
and furtive, fairly bolted to the doors. The doors slammed shut and
the distinct sound of booted feet running away could be heard.
    “It is impossible to bribe truly loyal help
these days,” Alexei snapped, as he continued to walk further into
the suite.
    Wyndham looked at the door hearing more
gunfire, closer still, perhaps only one floor down from where he
stood, then he turned his gaze to Alexei’s retreating back. His
mind was working quickly as he gauged all the possibilities of what
could be happening . . . of whether he should just walk out, away
from Alexei without the guards' presence, when Alexei spoke.
    “Two markers, Khrisinan. You begged me,
Wyndham, remember this? How noble are you?”
    Wyndham’s tightly held anger exploded then,
and all constructive thought about his situation dissolved. “Do you
want me to fuck you in the ass, Tropov, you sick bastard?” he
challenged senselessly.
    “ Yes,” Alexei hissed, turning toward
him. “You owe me two markers and your woman’s life!”
    Alexei appeared nearly wild-eyed as Wyndham
clenched his fists at his side and he spat. “Fuck your markers,
Tropov!” He turned toward the door. “And fuck you!” he finished
crassly.
    “No!” Alexei wailed behind him. “You owe me,
Wyndham! You owe me!”
    Wyndham’s hand closed around the doorknob,
but before he could open it, the door was shoved open forcefully,
toppling him backward. His bad knee could not hold to this and it
collapsed, taking him bodily to the floor onto his side.
    “Alexei Tropov!” a voice heavily accented in
Russian, shouted above Wyndham’s head. “You are under arrest for
treasonous acts! To be beheaded by the Czar’s court! Take him!”
    Beheaded? Wyndham lifted his gaze to
Alexei’s, who was being circled by the Russian soldiers. “Who is
this man?” the leader asked sharply, pointing to Wyndham.
    “He is just my lover!” Alexei exclaimed.
    The leader of the Russian soldiers looked
down on Wyndham with disgust, then abruptly spit on his leg,
pronouncing, “Cunt!” Then he ordered, “Leave this one and bring the
prisoner, Tropov!”

    Chapter Fourteen

    Orèlan cried out as one of Alexei’s burly
guards shoved her out of the carriage. She landed on the brick
street on her hands and knees, because the carriage had not
completely stopped, and was even now racing away from the scene.
Yet, she did not care about the rough treatment. She was more
relieved to have at least a cloak to hide her complete nakedness.
The blood on her palms from scraping the rough bricks was nothing
compared to the last thirty minutes she had spent traveling inside
the carriage, while she wondered if the guards would rape her. The
entire time, she agonized over whether the guards would follow
Alexei’s orders or perhaps ease their burden by just