Maria had every intention of going to Merrick, of finding him, of going to his study; but when she dragged her thoughts back to the present, she found herself standing before that dungeon door again. She felt a sting of frustration at herself as she looked back. What was she doing? She should be on the other side of the castle, but she couldn't make her feet move as she looked at the looming door once more.
Finally she reached out, tugged on the door open and stepped into the alcove once more. The last time, she had promised herself that, after this she would never go back. She just had to do this, to get this over with. She reached out, snatched the torch from the wall and headed down into the darkness. Her sandaled feet made very little noise on the stone as she all but threw herself down into the dark of the dungeon she should have long put behind her.
She paused again, this time before the torture chamber door. Her fingers touched the cold stone if only for a minute before she tugged it open and once more stepped inside. She paused there for a minute looking around her before she began to light all of the torches in the room.
Meanwhile, several stories upstairs. . .
Merrick found his love for Maria growing every day, yet he avoided any words that would indicate a desire to take the relationship to the next level - the level where two people make that special commitment to one another. How could he do that? There was much to his past that she didn't know.
There was a reason that he now avoided the slave business and concentrated on weapons instead. She had no inclination of how conflicted he was in his desires. When he had dealt in slaves he had a compulsion to take the most beautiful of the women slaves to his own castle and chain them in the dungeon. He would test their endurance for both pain and pleasure, taking copious notes regarding just how much torture each slave could take until she would collapse, unable to move or even speak.
Those who would purchase his slaves would understand what they had come to call, "The Merrick Rating" on each slave. It was a rating that actually increased the value of a slave if the rating was high. Simply put, the Merrick Rating was a two-number system that was a measure of how much pain and pleasure a woman could take before she was left totally incapacitated. He had done that for years. In fact, even Count Longden had learned most of his torture techniques from Merrick.
He remembered the week that two of his most beautiful slaves had died. Their hearts stopped beating when he was in the midst of pushing them to the limit with each other while in an amusing extension of their torture. After that he swore he'd never give in to those desires again. The only way he could keep that promise to himself was to end his trade in slaves and to not go back down to the dungeon. He was afraid of all those feelings coming back, and Maria's beauty didn't make the internal struggles any easier.
This was the reason he tried to remain aloof in matters of their sexual times together. If he gave in to his feelings, he would not be able to stop himself. This night he came down to the main floor looking for Maria. He heard that she had taken a ride earlier in the day and he was anxious to find out how it went over dinner. He didn't find her, and so he asked the maid, Betsy, if she had seen her. She mentioned that she saw Maria in the parlor not more than thirty minutes earlier, but then caught a glimpse of her heading down the back hallway.
Merrick went after to see where she was. He walked down the back hallway and was surprised to see the door to the dungeon slightly ajar. He sensed her. Had she gone down in the dungeon? Would she dare? He cursed and opened the door and descended the steps for the first time in nearly two years.
Finally she reached out, tugged on the door open and stepped into the alcove once more. The last time, she had promised herself that, after this she would never go back. She just had to do this, to get this over with. She reached out, snatched the torch from the wall and headed down into the darkness. Her sandaled feet made very little noise on the stone as she all but threw herself down into the dark of the dungeon she should have long put behind her.
She paused again, this time before the torture chamber door. Her fingers touched the cold stone if only for a minute before she tugged it open and once more stepped inside. She paused there for a minute looking around her before she began to light all of the torches in the room.
Meanwhile, several stories upstairs. . .
Merrick found his love for Maria growing every day, yet he avoided any words that would indicate a desire to take the relationship to the next level - the level where two people make that special commitment to one another. How could he do that? There was much to his past that she didn't know.
There was a reason that he now avoided the slave business and concentrated on weapons instead. She had no inclination of how conflicted he was in his desires. When he had dealt in slaves he had a compulsion to take the most beautiful of the women slaves to his own castle and chain them in the dungeon. He would test their endurance for both pain and pleasure, taking copious notes regarding just how much torture each slave could take until she would collapse, unable to move or even speak.
Those who would purchase his slaves would understand what they had come to call, "The Merrick Rating" on each slave. It was a rating that actually increased the value of a slave if the rating was high. Simply put, the Merrick Rating was a two-number system that was a measure of how much pain and pleasure a woman could take before she was left totally incapacitated. He had done that for years. In fact, even Count Longden had learned most of his torture techniques from Merrick.
He remembered the week that two of his most beautiful slaves had died. Their hearts stopped beating when he was in the midst of pushing them to the limit with each other while in an amusing extension of their torture. After that he swore he'd never give in to those desires again. The only way he could keep that promise to himself was to end his trade in slaves and to not go back down to the dungeon. He was afraid of all those feelings coming back, and Maria's beauty didn't make the internal struggles any easier.
This was the reason he tried to remain aloof in matters of their sexual times together. If he gave in to his feelings, he would not be able to stop himself. This night he came down to the main floor looking for Maria. He heard that she had taken a ride earlier in the day and he was anxious to find out how it went over dinner. He didn't find her, and so he asked the maid, Betsy, if she had seen her. She mentioned that she saw Maria in the parlor not more than thirty minutes earlier, but then caught a glimpse of her heading down the back hallway.
Merrick went after to see where she was. He walked down the back hallway and was surprised to see the door to the dungeon slightly ajar. He sensed her. Had she gone down in the dungeon? Would she dare? He cursed and opened the door and descended the steps for the first time in nearly two years.