Part 14 – Commitments
A normal room had never looked so beautiful to her. Irina let herself fall onto the soft mattress of her bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time.
It had been this morning when Jack had visited her and simply told her that she was allowed to return to her room. She had just stared after him until he had disappeared, not really understanding his behavior. She had neither apologized, nor indicated her cooperation in any way - on the contrary. Her behavior from yesterday evening at dinner had been another declaration of war. Had Jack surrendered?
She had expected him to let her out, but not just twelve hours later. Somehow, Irina couldn't believe that he would give up that easily, and so she decided to be very careful.
She sat up when somebody knocked at the door. "Come in."
A young girl looked into the room, her eyes turned shyly to the ground. "The Lord thought Milady might be hungry, so he sent me to tell you that there's cake and tea in the dining room."
Irina stared at the girl and cocked her head slightly. "Why is he being so nice?" It was more spoken to herself than a real question, and the girl looked up in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing." She got up. "I'd be happy to have tea and cake in the dining room."
The girl's face brightened, as if Irina had just told her that she was actually the hidden daughter of the queen. Irina had gotten to know her before the incident with the horse had happened. Her name was Sarah, and she was a sweet girl who loved to chitchat about the happenings. Jack had chosen her to be Irina's maid for the time being, until he had found a more experienced replacement, but Irina enjoyed the company of the eighteen year old.
She followed the girl out the room. "So, Sarah, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
The girl sighed. "Well... the cook had a fight with one of his assistants... I think it was about a goose, however, the kitchen was totally ruined afterwards. It started out as a discussion, but then they started to throw with potatoes and beans... it was quite nasty." The girl mused. "Fortunately I was off from work that day, because afterwards I heard that Mrs. Tribbiani's mood was the worst in centuries. The men had to clean up the whole kitchen that day. It took them the whole evening and almost the whole night."
Irina laughed. She had only met Mrs. Tribbiani, the mistress of the household, once. She knew that Jack had hired the woman to take care of his servants when he was away. In manors as big as this was, a strong hand was always needed. Mrs. Tribbiani seemed to be a dragon. When Irina had met her, she had not been very nice – even more, she hadn't even considered Irina worth acknowledging.
Irina hadn't cared. After all, she was just a temporary resident of this house and hopefully would soon be gone.
Sarah opened the door to the dining room for her, and Irina entered. She found Jack sitting at the table, obviously absorbed in some letters he was reading.
"Milord, the lady is here..." Sarah announced, and only now did Jack look up. He smiled at Irina, then nodded to Sarah.
"Thank you Sarah. That's all for now."
The girl bowed and left the room. Irina approached the table slowly and sat down opposite to Jack – on the chair that offered the largest distance to his place. Jack noted it with amusement, but didn't say anything.
"I hope the experience of the last few days will keep you from leaving this property again," he stated, while he offered a plate that was filled with cake and cookies to Irina. The woman took a cookie and shrugged her shoulders.
"We'll see..." she simply said, and Jack didn't like the hidden tone in her voice.
"Irina, I'm warning you..."
"I know, you will throw me into that cell again..." she replied, almost bored and took the hot water to make a tea.
"No," Jack replied. "I will lock you in my room, chained to my bed."
"And what tells you I would see that as a bad thing?" she asked and met his eyes. Her face reflected amusement, and her eyes gleamed seductively. Jack lowered his eyes back to his letters. He knew what game she was trying to play, but he was better at this. She would wish she had never started this.
"What tells you it is meant as a bad thing?" he countered, and for a moment they looked at each other and smiled softly. "By the way, I'm giving a party in two days. Unfortunately, one of my soldiers told some of his friends at court that we are married, now almost everybody knows. There are some very good friends of mine at court who want to meet you." He held back that he had been the one tasking the young soldier to tell the story in the first place.
"What?" Irina put her cup back to the table. "What about keeping the affair secret?"
"It's not a big deal. They'll soon forget about the whole thing."
"Great... do they know who I am?"
"Yes... but they don't know that you're a terrorist, if that's what you're talking about." Jack said and took a sip of his tea. Irina sighed. This was not how she had planned it. She had thought that nobody would ever know that she and Jack had been married.
Jack scanned her reaction. He had lied to her not only concerning the soldier. Actually he didn't even plan to divorce her anymore. She was smart and beautiful and her hot temper was what he needed in his life. She was equal to him and didn't just try to please him.
He knew it would be difficult to convince her of this marriage, since she still considered them enemies – which they surely were. Jack didn't make the mistake of trusting Irina an inch. Still, he also felt deep respect for her, and it was obvious that they desired each other. Maybe her feelings could someday develop into love as well – even though the path would certainly not be an easy one.
"I have ordered a dress for you for the party from my tailor."
"Thank you..." Irina murmured and made a mental note to pay him the money he had spent for the dress. "Have you heard anything from my sister yet?"
Jack looked at her seriously. "No... not yet." He could read in her eyes that Irina was worried about her sister, and for a moment he wanted to calm her down and tell her that her sister was going to be alright. He had a soldier observing her movements. The young man would report every step Katya Derevko took to him. But Jack kept that little fact to himself – as well as all the other minor details in his plan. He wanted to have some advantages Irina did not know of since – he was sure – she would never surrender to him, and therefore he felt safer if he knew he was prepared.
They passed the rest of the time in silence until Jack apologized and left. He still had some work to do, and he had to write a few letters. Over the past few weeks, he had contacted some friends and men he knew and felt respect for to gain information about Irina's past. So far their efforts seemed unsuccessful, but there was one more contact Jack wanted to ask. He was curious about the secrets she was hiding from him.
Every time he had asked her about her past she had cut him off. That had made him even more curious, and he was determined to solve that mystery.
The alley behind the large city house was dirty, and a visitor who saw the dirty ground would have never thought that the house leading into it belonged to one of the richest men in the kingdom.
The water running through a small drain on the ground was dirty and muddy, carrying garbage with it. Somewhere a cat meowed, and the rumbling sound of falling metal could be heard.
Lady Katya Derevko hugged herself with her arms, and stepped carefully over the small drain at on the ground, taking care to not ruin her expensive clothes. The churchbells in the distance announced that it was almost midnight and Katya scoffed, slightly irritated.
"He might be a successful man, but punctuality is certainly not one of his qualities," she murmured to herself and jumped, when a mouse ran by her feet, followed by the dirty cat she had heard earlier. Katya felt fury rising inside her and could not stop herself from letting it out by kicking the poor animal.
"Good evening, Milady." A voice suddenly said close behind her, and Katya spun around, her eyes wide in shock. She scanned the appearance of the man who was standing right in front of her. He was older than she was, his hair and beard were already gray.
"Good evening. I assume, you're the man I'm supposed to meet?"
"Yes... Lady Derevko. I've heard of you and everything you've done... but I would have never pictured you to be so beautiful." He took her hand and kissed it in the most courteous manner. Katya smiled coldly and pulled her hand out if his.
"Skip the formalities." She said.
"Impatient, are we? So, I'm curious... one of my men told me you wanted to talk to me. Why me?"
"Oh, I did not specifically ask for you. I told him I wanted to talk to one of the highest ranking leaders of the rebel movement. Of course, I didn't expect to meet a counselor of the queen."
"The world is full of surprises. Now..." He offered her his arm. "Do you want to stay out here or join me in a more comfortable place?"
Katya looked around in the dark alley and decided that it was probably more dangerous in the house than out here. Still, she agreed. She couldn't do differently. Her priority was to gain this man's trust – if she had to share his bed to do so, so be it. He was not the most attractive man she had ever met, but in a way there was something about him that appealed to her – money and success. Men were easy to manipulate when they trusted a woman.
"Do you plan to tell me your name anytime soon?" Katya finally asked, and the man chuckled amused. "What are you laughing about? You know my name, so it would only be fair to put us into an even situation."
"I've heard the tragedy about your sister..." The man countered, instead of answering her question. Katya was not surprised by this revelation. This man was a counselor at court and he surely knew Jack Bristow. "Betraying our whole organization by marrying the man she loves. Doesn't that make you angry?"
"My sister is no longer part of my life, so she can do whatever she wants. It doesn't concern me anymore." Katya replied, using the coldest tone she was capable of.
"So, why did you want to talk to me?"
"I need help. My sister is gone, and my youngest sister is too inexperienced to work fully as a terrorist. I want to be a leading officer." She faced him furiously when he started to laugh loudly. Her face became a cold facade of stone, and she folded her arms. "I do not see the reason for your amusement."
"Milady, with all due respect, but you are a woman. You would have no chance against a man. You don't seriously expect me to put you into a leading pos..." He hadn't finished his sentence yet when he found himself lying on the ground, Katya's foot pressed into his back, her hands around his throat.
"So, talking about that 'no-chance-against-a-man' thing again. You were saying?" she hissed furiously.
The man gasped for air when she had let go of his throat and sat up. "Under normal circumstances, I would have to kill you now for the affront of attacking me!"
"You know why I did it." She said and stood up. Not losing is eyes when he rose from the ground, she stepped closer to him. "What do you say?"
"I will think about it!" he growled, his hand touching her shoulder and stroking away the material of her coat to reveal the silky skin of her cleavage. "But there may be a way to bribe me."
His voice was low, and Katya leaned in closer to him. "And what way could that be?" she asked seductively close to his lips. Her hot breath tickled his skin, and he pulled her waist against his in a rough gesture. Scanning her eyes for approval, he held her close to him, breathing in the scent of her. When she didn't do anything to push him away, he claimed her lips in a deep, demanding kiss that made her feel dizzy.
The next day was bright and sunny. Although a soft breeze from the sea required a coat, Irina enjoyed sitting in the huge garden on the wooden bench in front of the flowerbed, a thick book on her lap.
She had not seen Jack since yesterday when he had told her about the party. Although she was still not willing to surrender to what he said, she had decided that starting a superfluous fight was useless and would only supply the maids in the house with new gossip. So she avoided Jack's presence as far as she could.
As much as she wanted to go out or take a ride to get rid of her energies and think about anything else than her situation, she was too proud to ask Jack to accompany her. The least she wanted was to spend time with her 'husband' now.
Irina gave a deep sigh and dropped the book. She lifted her face to the warming beams of the sun and closed her eyes. Actually, if she thought about it, the surroundings were as she had always wished them to be as a child and young girl. She had wanted to marry a rich and well-situated husband with a huge and beautiful house.
Great, she thought bitterly. She had gotten everything she had wished for, except or one little detail. Her husband was her enemy, and they hated each other – at least kind of.
Irina's suspicion woke immediately when all the maids, who had been hanging up laundry twenty meters away from her, stopped their laughter and chitchatting. She opened her eyes, feeling that something was wrong and saw Jack strolling towards her bench.
With a loud sound, Irina closed her book and got up. Jack noticed that she was about to leave and hurried to cross the remaining few meters between them. He reached Irina just when she was about to go away and grabbed her wrist.
"I was looking for you all over the house." He said lowly into her ear, and Irina felt a warm shiver run through her body at his body being so close behind her. "I was already thinking you might have made another attempt to escape."
"'Another' attempt? There was no first attempt." Irina replied, trying to put coldness into her voice. She wriggled out of his grip and turned around. Jack smiled at her and sat down on the bench, gesturing to her to sit down next to him. For a moment Irina seemed to be determined to just go away, but she knew that it wouldn't get her anywhere, except for maybe a prison cell.
This was Jack's house, and she had to admit to herself that he definitely had an advantage here. So she sat down next to him, taking care that there was at least a half meter distance between them. Jack couldn't help but grin amused – yet, he kept silent.
"I just wanted to talk to you about tomorrow evening," Jack started and looked at the beautiful woman next to him. For a moment, he was stunned by the colorful reflection of the sun in her hair. He had never seen a woman with beautiful hair like she had. The color in the sunlight was something between blonde, brown and red. He forced himself to focus on what he had wanted to say. "I expect you to behave absolutely perfectly. You will neither flirt with any of the gentlemen who'll be there, nor will you try to get help from one of them. They have to believe that you are my wife, so you have to behave as if you are."
Irina's eyes sparkled in a challenge. "So do you expect me to tell them how much I love and adore you?"
"If you want to do so," Jack countered. "But I would simply be happy if you just did not cause any kind of trouble. Are we clear on that?"
"I don't see any reason why I should not flirt with a gentleman if I come to like one of them. After all, we won't be married for a long time, so there is no reason why I shouldn't continue watching out for an appropriate groom."
Jack grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes with a dangerously threatening expression. "Who knows."
With an abrupt movement, she pulled her hand out of his grip, her chocolate brown eyes holding his in a silent fight, before she got up and went away in the most arrogant way a woman was capable of. Jack chuckled and jumped up to follow her. It didn't take him more than a few steps to catch up with her. Before she could protest, he grabbed her arm and dragged her behind some rosebushes where they were out of sight of the maids and servants.
Irina gasped in surprise when she felt the stonewall at her back and wanted to leave immediately, but Jack's arms imprisoned her and forced her to stay where she was.
"I hate you," Irina hissed angrily. "Let me go or..."
"Or?" Jack asked amused. "I'm sure you would rather not draw the attention of the maids towards us now in this compromising position."
"It's not compromising if I scream for help. Then your servants will finally see what a bastard you are."
"Aren't you missing an important fact?" Jack asked, and couldn't help tempting her further. He loved to tease her. Somehow, she woke devils inside him that he didn't even know were there. "I am your husband. The servants believe so, even if they know that you're a little stubborn and certainly not the most cooperative wife. They won't interfere no matter what happens. I could make love to you right here, and they would not care." His face lowered to hers slowly. "What do you think? Shall we consummate our marriage out here right now?" His hands brushed the skin of her arms, and she shivered, hating herself for her weakness – that she wasn't able to resist Jack's touch.
"No," she replied, her voice steady and strong, yet her body betrayed that she wished for the opposite. "I think we consummated enough. Why don't you visit your mistresses for a change?"
"Because I don't want any of my mistresses right now. I want you... I want to feel your skin on mine, your hands on my shoulders – not the ones of some other random woman." His words were sweet seductions, tender caresses to every woman's heart, and as much as Irina hated it, she felt bewitched. Still imprisoned in between him and the wall, she relaxed a little and leaned against the cool stone behind her, her eyes darkening and speaking the truth about how much she needed him.
"I'm sorry, but that is not going to happen. I made a mistake when I slept with you and won't repeat it."
"That's a breech of our agreement," Jack simply stated, still absolutely self-secure.
"Excuse me?"
"Well," Jack's fingers started to play with a strand of her silky hair. "Two days ago you told me, if I wanted to sleep with you, I had to let you out of the cell. I did..."
"Yes, but I also said no restrictions!" Irina countered, both of them obviously enjoying their discussion.
"There are no restrictions, just some conditions..." Jack's lips brushed the skin of her jawline in what could barely be called a touch, yet his hot breath tickled her skin, and she felt dizziness overwhelm her. Against her will, she had to grab his shoulders for support. Jack smiled inwardly and pushed himself into her body, pressing his leg between hers, into her center. For a moment, he cursed that she was wearing a long dress. That was the disadvantage about seducing a woman in the garden. There was almost no way to get rid of the dress.
Still, after all, he didn't want to seduce her, just teach her a lesson, so probably her dress was a blessing to remind him of what his plan was. If he didn't have the chance to go further, he would stick to his revenge.
His mouth brushed her full, erotic lips in the slightest breath of a touch, evading her every time she tried to deepen the kiss. He continued this sweet torture, determined to break her control and her will not to surrender to him.
His hands wandered over her body, caressing every spot he could reach. Even though she was wearing a dress, she felt as if his touches burned her alive.
"Do you know what I want to do to you?" Jack finally murmured into her ear, his tongue teasing the sensitive lobe. An aroused moan was the only answer he got. "I want to kiss you all over, everywhere. Do you know how much pleasure I could bring you by just kissing you?"
"Jack-" Her voice was weak and her tone something between begging – whether it was begging to continue or to stop he couldn't quite define - and whimpering.
"My lips will touch you here..." his hand ran down her chest and cupped her breast, his fingers teasing them through the fabric until he felt her nipples harden, then he ran his hands further down to her stomach. "... and here..."
Although it was only his hand touching her, she could feel his kisses in her fantasy. Her whole body seemed to be set on fire. She felt his lips at her cheek and leaned her head into him.
"Then I would slowly move my lips down..." He imitated the words he spoke with his hand, moving his fingers down her stomach and placing them between her legs at her center. Irina gasped for air in shock at the heat that struck her, almost made her fall, and grabbed his arm, determined to pull his hand away. Again her body betrayed her reason when she held him in place.
Jack started to rub her erotically, and she panted against his mouth, her whole body shivering in delight. She clutched his arm with her hand and instead of pulling it away, pressing it closer against her. Jack moaned, the sight of her being almost his undoing.
He had underestimated what only the sight of her could do to him. Lost to his touches, she tried to capture his lips with hers, but again, he evaded her mouth playfully. He wanted to show her that he was the one in control – even more, he wanted her to surrender.
Her breathing grew shallower, and she touched his cheek with her hand.
"Jack..." she whispered against his lips, finally willing to give in. "Please..."
"Please what?" he asked, his voice thick with desire.
"Stop torturing me..."
He looked into her eyes - those beautiful eyes that reflected nothing but desire in this moment - and finally his lips crashed on hers, claiming and exploring, almost ravishing them. Irina clasped his shoulder almost painfully, feeling a wonderful release building up deep inside her. She pressed her body closer against Jack's, concentrating on the movements of his hand and the fantasies he had created in her mind. When she was just about to feel as if a fire of passion would burn her in his arms, he stopped his erotic caresses and broke contact with her body suddenly.
He struggled to regain control over his breathing and his thoughts – his whole body actually.
"What...?" Irina panted and wanted to pull him back against her, but Jack stepped away from her and turned around.
"The things you do to me, Irina, will all come back to you sooner or later." He simply stated, then hurried to go away before she could notice that he wasn't as much under control of himself as he pretended to be.
The woman just stared after him, her conscious mind unable to believe what was happening. She almost screamed out in frustration, the sudden loss of Jack's warm embrace and his touches leaving her cold, shivering and somehow empty. She felt as if she were burning, and there was no one to put out the fire.
A sob escaped her throat when she tried to gather her strength and collected the fallen book from the ground with her trembling hands.
Oh wait, Jack, she cursed silently, you will wish you had never done this to me.
Tears of fury and unfulfilled passion were pooling in her eyes when she hurried back into the house. She was no longer in the mood to go out or be somewhere in the daylight. Her day had been ruined gloriously.