Mary Wine (13 page)

* * * * *

rourke walked away on steady steps. loren was sagged against the hallway. his lips curled back into a smug grin as he felt the thrust of his body against his fly. damn,

he enjoyed the way her little body felt against his.

the primitive urge to spill his seed inside her made him double his pace.

he wasn’t just tight. he was hot for her. the smell, the taste, the way she moved her bottom when

he rode her.

he wanted to chuck that box of condoms back at his brother’s face and forget all about birth control. the idea of binding loren to his life tempted every wise instinct he had.

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but first he had to find out who had killed her husband. the threat of having loren taken away for suspicion of murder burned a hole in his gut. jared’s suggestion was sounding better every time rourke touched loren and felt her body shiver in his embrace.

men were pigs.

* * * * *

loren punched another sentence into her laptop keyboard and frowned when she read the screen. she was typing so sloppily there were extra letters in almost every word. she hissed under her breath. this was so stupid. the tension must be getting to her. loren considered the odds of turning to sex when death was looming over you. there were experts who would agree she was suffering from that.

but that wasn’t the truth and she knew it.

one little fact didn’t fit that scene. rourke had captured her body on that beach. she’d responded completely to a stranger. well, to rourke.

but rourke wasn’t a normal man. she smiled as she considered him. he drifted into her very soul and she liked it. loren shook her head but still laughed a little at herself. she prized her independence. yet, there was something so erotic about the way rourke touched her very thoughts.

her nipples actually beaded, making her push her lips into a pout. just thinking about the man made her body respond. what exactly did psychic mean anyway?

toby knew.

loren cast a look at her son’s computer as she bit her lip. as tempting as it was, she wouldn’t snoop through rourke’s personal information. she was just going to have to muster the courage to ask him outright or live without the answers.

that left her with considering whether or not she really wanted to know. it would certainly be easier to walk away if she refused to learn any more about the man. so far, everything about him made her more interested in holding onto their time together.

even the scene in the bathroom drew her to rourke. it shouldn’t have. the modern woman in her rebelled but that didn’t change how it made her feel.

chris would have stomped off in the face of her childish refusal to unpack.

rourke looked her right in the eye before bending her to his will. loren wasn’t sure why she’d enjoyed the domination of the encounter, but she had.

it had thrilled her to have him capture her in that manner.

she’d been so helpless in his embrace. somehow, loren suspected that had been his intention. her naked, him clothed. the idea that he could have climaxed without granting her the same release. but it was the fact that he’d aroused her first so that she 91

was willing to lift her bottom for him whether or not she gained that ultimate release. she had been so aroused that any contact had been desired.

loren sighed as her body began to softly pulse with her memories. the level of intensity confounded her. it was sex, yet the little three letter word didn’t seem to be large enough to hold the depth of her dealings with rourke.

somehow, she had to find the willpower to stop. this need was growing so deep she was going to drown in it.

* * * * *

loren’s bag wasn’t in the bathroom. rourke looked at the gleaming tile tops, searching for any clue that she’d used them. he leaned into the closet but the bag wasn’t in sight. instead she’d cleaned every last fingerprint away. opening his mind he searched for her. he could feel her so intensely, the link yielded the location instantly. rourke felt his teeth grind together as he considered her actions. she was back in the guestroom.

touching her mind released a wave of awareness throughout his body. heat traveled over his frame as he felt his skin tighten with arousal. the temptation to simply walk down the hall and join her was telling him to toss the sheets aside.

but that wasn’t what he wanted. rourke wanted to smash the barricade she was trying to build. flipping the shower on, he kept their minds linked as he pulled his clothing off.

his staff stiffened and rose to attention as he considered how much he’d enjoyed watching her body as he’d taken her. running a sure hand over his erection, he smiled

as he felt loren jerk out of her slumber.

* * * * *

loren bolted upright in her bed. she didn’t know why. her breath was ragged as she tried to leave her dream behind. instead of dissipating, the images of rourke followed her. heat covered her body as she felt the sheer enjoyment from his mind. pleasure spiked into her brain making her belly clench with need. her nipples protested against the top she’d worn to bed. little points stabbed through the soft tee-shirt as loren gasped as another wave of heat melted into her mind. it was amazing in its intensity. her body responded as though rourke was there with her. instead she felt her hips twitch as pleasure shot into her brain.

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it was male pleasure. loren felt the bite of his arousal as his staff throbbed and demanded attention. she shuddered as she felt that need rage and burn along his erection until it erupted.

a harsh sound came from her as she fell back on the bed. she twisted in frustration

as heavy satisfaction drifted into her thoughts from his. loren kicked the bedding as her body screamed for her to answer his summons.

oh, it was a summoning. psychic…well, the mystery was truly ended now. the man’s mind was deadly in its precision.

well, she wasn’t going to be lured into his bed. loren kicked the bedding again as her skin complained about the rough cotton of the sheets. she hated her clothing but forced herself to roll over and ignore the pulsing need carried in her blood.

psychic pig!

* * * * *

rourke leaned against the shower wall and growled. his staff throbbed even harder. the physical release he’d forced with his hand wasn’t what he wanted. hunger ate at his mind trying to reduce him to a primitive level. transform him into an animal that wouldn’t care if he dragged his female into his arms. just as long as he could bury his face in her skin and thrust his body into hers. ripping a towel off the rack, he ran it over his body. his teeth were clenched as he stepped into a fresh set of fatigues. sleep wasn’t an option. rourke considered the night and then left the house on silent feet.

he needed to prowl, to keep his body moving ‘til his reasoning overrode the flood of need drenching his mind. the pulse of his staff told him it might take all night.

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morning took forever to arrive. loren found herself waiting for it, for the excuse to leave her bed. sleep was filled with images of rourke, and keeping her eyes open only managed to banish the crystal clear image of the man. nothing kept her body from pulsing and yearning.

the second the horizon turned pink, loren gratefully left her bed. the hours of daylight were critical. if anyone else was infected, the disease should show itself today.

chris’ fellow rangers might not like her, but today they would deal with her. loren wasn’t planning on hiding in the house when their survival was at stake. she had to know and the men patrolling the compound would just have to deal with her.

rourke campbell could take his orders and stuff them.

the morning was crisp. loren tipped her head back to look at the forest. all the trees in los angeles were kept nice and trimmed. nature wasn’t allowed to grow freely. instead it was surrounded by concrete and buildings.

it was really rather amazing to witness the way the trees took over the landscape. the trees had been cleared away from the compound to allow for the helicopters, but they grew thickly around the area, silently promising to take the land back if man was lax in his diligence to keep the ground.

the scorch mark in the center landing zone was still black. the remains of the helicopter were gone, but the dirt was still dark and discolored from the fire. it was humbling to see it. life could drag on for endless amounts of time when you were tired of it. just as quickly, it could become the most fleeting of moments when you were watching the sand grains slip through the center of the hourglass.

was that the reason rourke affected her so completely? loren wished she knew. maybe she was being a fool to stubbornly sleep in a lonely bed when he’d blatantly beckoned her to join him in his.

as she looked at the blackened earth again, loren felt her reason crumbling. in a week, she’d be dead or on her way back home. it was harsh to acknowledge that cal’s death had given them an extra week together. the man could have contaminated someone just an hour before his death.

“loren.”

she didn’t jump. instead loren set her shoulders before turning to face rourke. her thoughts had been so full of the man it just felt right for him to choose that moment to confront her escape from his house.

fatigue lined his face telling her she wasn’t the only victim of her stubborn pride. loren lifted her chin as he hooked his hands into his belt.

“i told you to stay in the house.”

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lifting her shoulder, loren very precisely looked at the sleeve of her shirt.

“hmm…i don’t see any stripes. guess that means i’m not your lackey.” he growled and loren smiled in the face of his male temper. she was pushing her luck. rourke campbell was every inch the commander this morning. green and brown fatigues were coving his body and seemed to make him look even larger. power radiated from him.

“i’m not going to be your prisoner, campbell.”

“the last time you came out here, someone died.”

“i didn’t kill him.”

“that would be good to know…” loren jumped around as another voice sailed out

of the early morning light. another huge man stepped firmly toward her as his eyes inspected her. the eyes were emerald green but different from rourke’s. they were a deeper, browner shade of the color yet still as hard to ignore. they cut right into her head. “…for certain.” he stopped in front of her as loren forced her back ramrod straight. the man had

to be related to rourke, she could feel him reaching into her thoughts as those eyes darkened into forest green.

“i’m clay, rourke’s little brother.”

“sure you are.”

he curled his lips back to show her his teeth and offered her his hand.

loren stared

at it like it was a rattlesnake. jared campbell hadn’t offered to touch her and the fact that this brother was, was completely threatening.

“you don’t see the family resemblance?”

“actually, it was the word little i wasn’t buying. you might be younger, but you and little aren’t even in the same ballpark. unless you were sharing some personal information with me.” clay dropped his hand as a small grin crossed his face. the expression was far from pleasant. instead it sent a chill down her spine. this man was ruthless.

“well, i don’t need your help, little brother.” rourke stepped forward to face off with his sibling. both men lifted their heads as jared walked out of the forest. his face was set into harsh lines as he joined clay in his stand against rourke. “it’s time to settle this.”

“i’ll be the judge of that.”

the hard expression on rourke’s face sparked her temper. the man was torn.

half

of him wanted to let one of these men probe into her mind. rourke’s attitude hit her with the force of betrayal.

“it’s fine with me.”

all three men turned surprised looks at her. loren only had eyes for rourke.

“but you will do it, rourke. my mind isn’t open for visitors.” 95

relief crossed his face, making her temper ignite. loren dropped her voice before her emotions spilled into her words.

“just remember something, rourke. trust is a two-way street. i did not kill my husband. you know, i don’t even understand exactly what kind of psychic you are but i know one thing for certain. if my word isn’t good enough for you, then don’t bother offering me yours. trust is a first cousin to faith.”

loren swung on her heel but turned back around. “nice family.”

* * * * *

“you’ve turned into a hard woman, lavender.” sean loren clicked his tongue before he lifted his mouth into a smile for his daughter. “sometimes a man needs to be objective. even with his girlfriend.” loren wasn’t sure if it was the word objective or girlfriend she disliked more. but she kept her mouth shut because this was still her daddy.

“i grew strong, dad. maybe that means i have to be hard sometimes too.” her dad grunted and nodded his head. “you’ve got a point.” loren considered the source of her dilemma. rourke was still standing in the middle of the compound with his brothers. their words drifted up, but were too low to understand. loren propped her feet against the porch railing and very precisely stared at them. jared simply raised an eyebrow at her. clay glared at her. she didn’t care.

loren forced herself to toss their looks right back at them. if rourke wanted to toss in with his brothers and use his psychic abilities on her, he knew where to find her.

“that’s a fine young man you got yourself there.”

“he’s not mine, dad!”

sean loren smiled a crooked grin at her temper. he winked at her before shaking a single finger at her.

“you’ve grown out of your childhood quite nicely, lavender. don’t go stupid on me now. a little less pride from you and that man would be wrapped around your finger.”

she’d cut her finger off first! loren glared at her father but he smiled that sweet paternal grin at her. her teeth ground together as loren felt her temper strain against the leash she had attached it to.

the testosterone fumes were going to kill her for sure!

tossing her arms into the air, loren went back into the house.

rourke and his happy family of predators could just come and find her.

flipping her laptop open, she connected to the county online education program. at least her badge requirements didn’t ooze overgrown aggressiveness.

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keeping an active paramedic’s badge took hundreds of hours of continuing education. at the present moment, loren was grateful the county had moved to computerized training for many of those classes. amidst the medical facts and case studies she could ignore her host’s sex appeal.

at least temporarily, anyway.

“don’t make a liar out of me, sir.”