Nuworld: Claiming Tara (10 page)

Darius took
his time
returning to
the
house.
His
emotions were absolutely contorted beyond recognition.
Tara was no Gothman. He had his Runner. Of that much,
he was certain. The woman stirred something inside him,
though. She’d also appealed to him physically. He would
have her again, and soon. It was more than physical lust
though. She’d just challenged him and she’d done it on
purpose.
No one questioned the laws and traditions of Gothman.
Nor would anyone dream of questioning him. Yet this
female didn’t hesitate to do so. Darius didn’t need to
explain to her why women had the role that they did.
Conversation like that would have been a waste of his time.
And really, it wasn’t the issue itself, but the fact that this
female had enough spunk to speak to him in such a way.
No woman, no person, had done that before.
He thought about the past few winters and how he’d
taken whatever he’d wanted, and how no one, absolutely
no one, had stood in his way. If they’d tried, they’d been
killed. He felt no remorse. He’d not been heir to Gothman,
but had known since he was a child that he was the one
meant to rule. His older brother hadn’t had the backbone.
His papa had known that, but was too preoccupied by
tradition to allow the middle son to rule. So, Darius had
taken matters into his own hands.
Once becoming Lord of Gothman he had continued
taking what he wanted. And that had included practically
every available lass in Bryton. Not that any had objected.
His mama had brought every young Gothman woman she
found into the household. He’d slept with each one of them;
at least he was pretty sure he had. But then, he’d lost
interest. Each one had taken the edge off, fucking him
when he went to them. But beyond that, they bored him.
The Lord of Gothman needed a claim. He would push on
thirty winters before
long,
and he
knew the
town
anticipated he claim one of their available women. More
than once he’d told himself to just claim one of them and
be done with it. But the thought of having any of those
women under his roof for the rest of his winters rubbed
him to the point of irritation.
His
younger
brother,
Mikel,
frowned
upon
his
promiscuity. Mikel was too much like their papa, Lord
Jovis. Darius knew what his papa would have said if he’d
learned Darius just had sex with a Runner—something he
definitely planned on doing again.
In Darius’ tenth or twelfth winter, his papa had engaged
in a heated argument about Runners
with
a Runner.
Darius hadn’t witnessed the event, but he remembered his
papa’s tirade over it afterward. What had stuck in Darius’
mind over the winters was that his papa relented to the
Runner’s wishes. He remembered thinking his papa was
weak not to stand up to the Runner. It had also put a kind
of awe in his young mind as to the type of man who would
argue with the Lord of Gothman and survive to have his
way.
It dawned on him suddenly that the argument had
involved Reena. And it was Reena who’d brought Tara to
them.
Darius knew Reena associated with Runners from time
to time. She allowed a lone Runner to spend the night in
her secluded cabin before continuing on his way. Darius
hadn’t seen reason for concern. The woman lived outside
the town. She didn’t gossip about her occasional visitor,
and his guards never reported that the Runner caused
problems.
But with Tara’s coming, something had changed. She
was the first Runner to enter Gothman and venture further
into the community. Maybe he’d get his answers faster if he
interrogated Reena. Although that definitely wouldn’t be as
much fun as seducing them out of Tara.
As he pulled into the backyard and parked behind his
shed, he already plotted how he would know why Tara was
here, and what she wanted. He already knew what
he
wanted. Tara hopped off the bike and started walking
toward the house without saying anything.
Darius grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Your
second lesson in submitting is to leave my side when I say
it’s okay to do so.”
To his surprise, Tara leaned into him, going up on her
tiptoes. “Does the Lord of Gothman wish to fuck me right
here for all his guards to see?” she whispered.
Before he answered, because honestly, he’d never seen
such boldness out of a woman, Tara ignored his instruction
and once again started toward the house. Darius grabbed
her
and almost knocked
her
off
her
feet
with the
aggressiveness he used to spin her back around.
“I’ll say it again, my lady. You’re different from any
woman I’ve known. I’m curious why you’d like to see
Gothman culture change. Changing to be like whom, I’m
wondering.” He looked at her hard, but Tara remained
silent, staring back with an expression so calm he knew it
had taken winters of training to master it.
Darius studied her tanned complexion, her brown hair
that fell past her shoulders and was soft as silk. Her lips
were full, and he ached with a sudden urgency to kiss
them again. He focused on her eyes, a blue that darkened
with her emotions, as he was discovering. Right now they
were a rich, pure, rare dark sapphire, challenging him.
He moved his attention to her breasts, perky and full,
with nipples hardened to a tempting peak under her dress.
He released her arm and ran a finger over one nipple. She
didn’t flinch, which pleased him for a reason he couldn’t
identify. Darius pulled her close. “We are going to do this
again, soon. Now you may go.”

to see him more, to touch him, and to experience his touch
again. But the leader of Gothman was awake and gone
often before sunrise, and seldom returned before late in the
evening. Many nights after she had retired for the day, Tara
sat in her bedroom with the door open and listened for
when he would climb the stairs.

Tara itched to know what politics distracted him. No
Gothman woman would think of asking the lord about his
business. She wanted to join him in his office, ask about
his day,
and
exchange
stories. She
wanted
to
share
experiences with him and learn more about how the man
ticked. But to do any of that would spread suspicion. She’d
already done enough of that. As much as she ached for
Darius to know her better, that would be a fool’s mission.
So she sat alone in the dark of her bedroom every night,
wondering what Darius thought of her, and if he would
ever act on that knowledge.

Tonight she had fallen asleep before he’d come home.
It
had surprised her how much a permanent home needed
cleaning, and how exhausting that work was. Her eyes
fluttered open at the sound of his boots on the stairs. Slow
and steady, her heart raced with anticipation. With every
breath, her breasts swelled, pressing against the covers
while she listened to him move down the hallway.

A door opened, but didn’
t close. He had gone to his
room.
She ran her hands down her body, imagining Lord
Darius touching her. A fever burned inside her, an ache for
him grew with every moment that she lay in the dark,
straining to hear what he might be doing. Her frustration
peaked when his door finally closed, the house growing
quiet once again. Embers smoldered while a fever she
couldn’t control made her insides throb for a man she
knew she could never truly have.

“Well now, I will have to check with your mama and see
if there are any extra chores she has in mind for me. I have
to earn my keep, you know.” She smiled at his forlorn look.

“Mam
a will have you busy forever,” he complained,
looking disappointed.
“I don’t know about forever, child.” Hilda stood in the
doorway. “I’ll have you clean the first floor today. It won’t
take long, as long as Darius doesn’t take you away again.”
Tara blushed.
Hilda grinned and chuckled as she walked out of the
room.
“Has my brother claimed you yet?” Torgo asked.
Tara was surprised at the question, but the look of
innocence on his face reminded her that this was his
culture. “No, child, he hasn’t.”
“When I get older, I’m going to claim a girl as pretty as
you.”
Torgo followed Tara around the house, talking to her as
she dusted the rooms and cleaned the floors until she’d
finished the first floor. The late morning air was brisk and
a cool south breeze floated down from the hills as the
young boy led Tara to the grassy meadow beyond the
backyard.
“To be a strong warrior like your brother, you must start
your lessons at a young age.” She squatted to collect
several small rocks.
“And what do you know about being a strong warrior?”
Torgo laughed.
Tara squinted
at the
boy who
stood
next
to
her,
silhouetted by the sun. “I grew up with brothers who all
worked to be great warriors.”
Torgo accepted the explanation with a quick nod. Every
Gothman boy dreamed of being a great warrior.
“Darius said he would teach me to ride a motorcycle
when I was a little older.” The boy put his hands on his
hips and stood a little taller.
“Ah, that’s good. I think we should see how your aim is
today. Do you see that tree over that way? Hit it with these
rocks.” She handed him the rocks.
Torgo hesitated. “It’s too far away.”
Tara took the rocks from him and threw them one at a
time, hitting the trunk of the tree each time. She bent down
and gathered more rocks. “Now, you try.”
Amazed, the boy took the rocks and threw them, missing
the tree each time.
Tara agreed they could move closer.
After many attempts, Torgo finally started to hit the tree.
His excitement showed through his young eyes and he
hugged Tara joyfully. “They won’t pick on me at school
anymore.” He attempted a jig as he jumped around in a
circle.
“This is just the beginning of many things a great
warrior will need to know.” They walked slowly back to the
house together.
“Throwing rocks?” Torgo looked confused. “Is this
something you did with your brothers?”
“Did you just learn to throw rocks today?” Tara eyed the
young boy whose face showed his eagerness to learn.
“Yes. All I did
was
throw rocks.” Torgo sounded
confused.
“Ah, I think you learned several things today. Give it
some thought. Meanwhile, practice on different targets.
Maybe tomorrow we can get outside again. It sure is a nice
break from my chores.” To Tara’s surprise, the young boy
jumped at her and gave her a tight hug.
“Why are we sitting out here?” Reena faced her lifelong
friend across the table and pulled her shawl tighter around
her shoulders as she shivered against the morning chill.
Hilda waved her hand to the servant girl to refill both of
their coffees. “I thought it would be more private.”
“Private?” Reena picked up her cup of coffee and held it
in both hands. “Old woman, what are you up to? And why
do you keep glancing at the house?”
“Tara is in there.”
“Are you afraid she’ll blow the place up?”
“No.” Hilda laughed, leaned back in her chair, and
dismissed the servant with a wave of her hand. “You are
my good friend, Reena.”
“Over forty winters.” Reena nodded and sipped her
coffee. “You spiked this with Gothman wine.”
“Just to take the edge off.”
“You thought it would get me blabbing.”
“You have secrets?”
Reena laughed. “At my age? We have plenty of secrets.”
“I guess that’s true. I’m thinking of Tara.”
“Is there a problem? Lord Darius hasn’t sent her
packing.”
Hilda nodded. “She has been here longer than any other
girl I’ve brought to him. But Reena, she’d rather play in the
hills with Torgo than sew, or clean. She can’t cook. And
you won’t believe it, but my son took her riding on his
motorcycle, of all things. That girl was glowing when she
came back.”
Reena went white as a ghost and almost dropped her
cup on the table between them. Hilda was finally getting
through to her friend. Maybe now she’d get some answers.
“When did he take her on his motorcycle?”
“A good half-cycle ago. Ah, yes. It was her first day here.
Reena, no Gothman girl would enjoy such a thing. It’s not
proper,” Hilda stressed. “Tell me why is she like this?”
“A half cycle? Yet she’s inside cleaning. Why are you
complaining?”
“It’s the only thing she does know how to do,” Hilda
muttered.
Reena pushed away from the table. “I’m going to go see
my niece,” she said, and hurried toward the house.
“Reena!” Hilda called after her, but her old friend just
moved faster.
Hilda huffed, more convinced than ever that something
wasn’t quite right.

“Remember you said we
would hike along the creek
today.” Torgo leaned against the doorway, watching Tara
put fresh sheets on his brother’s bed.

“I remember.” Tara grabbed the large comforter fr
om the
floor and threw it on to the bed. She wondered how many
women the lord had brought to this bed. Her stomach
tightened at the thought and she turned her attention to
Torgo. “If I suggest something, promise you’ll keep it a
secret?”

Torgo’s gray eyes–
eyes just like his brothers- grew wide
and he grinned. “Of course I can keep a secret. What is it?”
Tara glanced into the hallway. No one else was upstairs.
“It would be a lot easier to take a hike along the creek if I
had some pants. Your mama is resting, and your brother
isn’t here. If you have a pair I could borrow, it would also
keep my dress from getting dirty.”
Torgo almost leapt for the hallway. He stopped in the
doorway and turned to face Tara. “I’m sure I have pants for
you,” he whispered. “And you’re right about your dress.
Mama would have a fit if you got all messy. We can’t have
that.”
“No, we can’t.” Tara grinned as the boy hurried to his
bedroom.
The pants Torgo offered fit her well enough with a belt.
She observed herself for only a moment in the mirror in her
bedroom before joining Torgo in the hall. Halfway down the
stairs however,
Tara stopped
and
Torgo ran into
her
backside. Darius stood talking to two of his guards in the
living room.
Tara mentally chastised herself for not hearing them
enter the house. She motioned with her hand and the two
of them backed up the stairs. Tara cringed with every noisy
footstep Torgo made. “Let’s try the other staircase,” Tara
whispered and pointed toward the back of the house where
the servant’s staircase led to the kitchen.
They made it to the kitchen, and Tara reached for the
doorknob on the back door, when a sound alerted her
already heightened senses. She pushed Torgo behind her,
as she turned and faced one of Lord Darius’ guards.
“My lord,” the guard called, and at the same time pulled
his oversized Gothman bang stick on Tara.
“What are you doing, man?” Darius frowned as he
pushed past the guard and spotted Tara and Torgo. “Put
that away. Now!”
“But my lord, we have her in pants now. I daresay that
says a lot.”
“It tells me nothing,” Darius’ voice boomed. “Out with
you and your man. I will meet with you in a moment.”
Tara heard the front door open and close, but kept her
gaze pinned on Darius’ large backside. Muscles twitched
under
his shirt,
which stretched
against
his broad
shoulders. Large
and dangerous. Her
heart
fluttered,
missing a beat while she worked to keep her expression
relaxed.
Darius turned and cocked his head as he studied Tara.
“I do believe I like you better in dresses.”
“The pants are mine, Darius.” Torgo stepped around
Tara. “She didn’t want to upset mama by messing up her
dress.”
Tara rested a hand on Torgo’s shoulder and smiled. She
felt him tremble but he stood tall and faced his brother.
Tara was proud of him. “It’s okay, Torgo. We’ve done
nothing wrong.”
“I’m thinking I will be the judge of that,” Darius scolded.
“Where is it that you are going dressed like this?”
“Torgo and I are going hiking along the creek.” Tara
worked to focus her thoughts on something other than the
virile man studying her. She risked suspicion and needed
to put any questions to rest. “I thought it would be nice to
give Hilda some peace and quiet while she rested.”
“I see.” Darius sighed and waved a hand.
Torgo took that as a dismissal and pulled the door open
before his plans were cancelled. Tara turned to follow the
boy who already ran across the backyard.
Darius grabbed her jaw before she turned from him. He
cupped the top of her neck and turned her to face him.
Without a word, his mouth covered hers.
She gasped at the heat from his lips as her mouth
opened to return the kiss. Her fingers eagerly slid under his
leather jacket and traced the strong chest muscles under
his shirt. Pressure mounted between her legs and made her
knees wobbly. She felt herself getting wet. Tara grabbed his
shirt and held on.
“Be back within the hour, or I will be looking for you
myself,” Darius whispered. “And, my lady, no one else will
see you dressed like that. Cross me on this and I’ll see to
your punishment myself.”
Tara wanted to make him hunt for her, but she would be
with Torgo so she pushed that fantasy to the side. As for
anyone seeing her teach Torgo how to be a warrior—well
she was in full agreement they not be spotted. He released
her jaw, and let his hand slide to the nape of her neck. She
let go of his shirt and let out a jagged sigh.
Darius turned her toward the door, let go of her, but
then gave her a quick swat on her rear end. “Be careful
now, my lady.”
“I’m always careful, my lord,” she said, managing to
keep her voice steady. She hurried to catch up with Torgo,
but turned to give Darius a delighted smile. The kiss was
awesome. The slight sting on her ass made her crave him
even more. And she was so much more comfortable in
pants. “You have nothing to worry about. We will be fine.”
Tara scrubbed
windows the
following
morning and
watched Darius secure a leather bag to the side of his bike.
She still ached from waiting for him to seek her out the day
before. But apparently the Lord of Gothman had many
other responsibilities besides hunting her down. He was
gone when she and Torgo returned to the house and hadn’t
returned until the early morning hours.
Finally, she had all the cleaning she could take and
threw her rag to the floor. Tara marched through the house
to the back door. After their kiss the day before, she knew
he was still interested. She saw no problem with saying
hello. Unfortunately, Hilda came down the stairs at that
moment.
“I must say, you do make my old house sparkle.” She
smiled at Tara. “Have you cleaned most of the windows?”
“No, my lady, I’ve gotten as far as the living room and
dining room.” Tara stopped and leaned back to inspect her
work. She hadn’t cleaned many windows in her life, but
this was the second time in almost a cycle that she’d wiped
down these windows. They didn’t look like they needed any
more cleaning to her. “I’m glad my work pleases you.”
“You’re still here and that pleases me more than your
work. But, I’ll be needing you to take a break for now. I
have a list of things I need from the grocery. The windows
can wait ‘til you get back.” Hilda handed the list to Tara
along with the keys to her groundmobile. “I’d go myself but
my head hurts this morning. Be sure and get all the news
from Thelga.”
Tara returned the cleaning supplies to the pantry and
paused to look longingly out the back door at Lord Darius.
Several of his guards joined him and she watched them for
a moment.
They seemed
to
be
in a rather
serious
discussion, and she was curious what they were saying.
Hilda’s groundmobile was parked out front, and Tara had
no reason to leave through the back door in order to hear
their conversation.
Their
voices grew louder,
and the
guard
who
had
attacked Tara was telling the rest of them something.
Whatever he said upset Lord Darius, and he lunged at the
man. The man backed down but continued to grumble.
Tara simply couldn’t make out what they were arguing
about, even when she went to the back door and put her
ear to it. She finally turned and headed out the front door
to the groundmobile.
The argument between Darius and his guards proved a
good distraction, so no one noticed Tara teach herself how
to drive Hilda’s vehicle. It was newer looking than Reena’s.
The exterior was a puffy blue and the interior seats were
overstuffed and covered with smooth, highly polished seats.
It had very large windows and wouldn’t suit at all to ride
into battle. Granted, with it being Hilda’s groundmobile,
that wasn’t likely to ever happen.
Tara had read about groundmobiles on her landlink,
and she knew the mechanics of them, but driving one
proved
a slight
challenge.
The
groundmobile
lunged
forward, and the engine lurched to a stop. Tara killed the
motor several more times before she was able to make the
small contraption move slowly along the road.
Bryton
was lively
with people
going in and out
of
different shops. Children and dogs ran up and down the
sidewalk, and women and older girls gathered here and
there catching up on the latest gossip. Tara parked the
groundmobile in front of the grocery store and smiled
politely at four women standing outside. They smiled back
but
then returned
to
their
conversation with more
excitement than ever. She heard them say her name but
didn’t bother trying to overhear what they said. She was
sure gossip would spread about her living in Lord Darius’
house.
“Ah, good morning to you, girl.” Thelga smiled broadly as
Tara entered the store.
“And a good morning to you.” Tara smiled in return and
picked up a basket from the door.
“It’s quite an honor you have done your old aunt, being
claimed by his lordship, and all.” Thelga clucked. “And you
only being in our town for such a short time.”
Tara grabbed her basket again to keep from dropping it.
She
looked
at the
old lady, stunned. “What are you
saying?” Tara couldn’t do more than whisper. “I have not
been claimed by anyone.”
“Oh, do you say, maybe you haven’t been told. I’m sure
I’m right. It was my claim who told me. He heard from the
lord’s guards.” Thelga leaned on the counter and her eyes
twinkled, knowing she got to be the first to share the news.
“It happened this way to my granddaughter, too. She was
claimed, and the men folk had such a merry party over it
they forgot to tell her.” Thelga laughed at the thought. “I
know for a fact there isn’t a prettier girl in town than you.
I’m not the least bit surprised, to be honest.” Thelga saw
the look of shock on Tara’s face and was trying to be
reassuring. She reached over the counter and squeezed
Tara’s arm with her rough fingers. “There isn’t a life a girl
could ask for as nice as the one you’ll have. Your sons’ll be
lords.”
Tara was so surprised by what she’d just heard that she
turned to walk back out of the store.
“Ah, my lady, your list?”
“Oh, yes…here it is.” Tara handed the list to Thelga,
then just stood there. She wanted to give Thelga the third
degree and find out every bit of information she knew
about this claiming. A guard had told her claim? When had
Thelga heard this? How long had she known? Tara kept her
mouth closed however and stood awkwardly in the middle
of the store while a young errand boy took the list and ran
through the store gathering the items.
Two young women not much older than Tara entered the
store and smiled politely at her. They moved over to the
produce, and Tara heard their conversation easily.
“My mama took a pie to her aunt the other day. The old
lady said it was what they’d planned all along.”
“I daresay she wasn’t in town but a day when the lord
claimed her. Imagine the likes, all of us having our hopes
so high for so long. She comes along so merrily like, and he
claims her right off.”
“Yeah, and I heard she can’t cook. She apparently is
only good at one thing.”
The
two girls laughed, then
noticing Tara overheard them, started whispering.
Tara’s blood boiled. This was too much. Hearing that
Reena had planned her claiming all along put Tara into a
rage. Was it true Darius had claimed her before she’d even
gone to live in the house? The only time he’d seen her prior
to that was in the alley when she’d kept Torgo out of that
fight. Did Reena know at that point and Hilda, too? The
entire town seemed to know this casual bit of information
and somehow had overlooked sharing it with her.
The young errand boy brought the basket to the counter
with the items from the list. Thelga arranged the items in a
brown box with no lid and smiled at Tara.
“Don’t you worry yourself none about the comments of
girls such as those.” Thelga didn’t move her lips when she
whispered. “They’ve all tried for the lord and failed. They’re
jealous of you. You hold your head high. You should be
proud. You are a lady.”
“You’re right and thank you.” Tara left the store and
walked to the groundmobile.
Her eyes burned with angry tears as she drove back to
Lord Darius’ house. Her hands shook and Hilda’s vehicle
died so many times that Tara wanted to pull the circular
handlebar off
the
dash
and hurl it
out the
oversized
window. She remembered Reena calling it a steering wheel
but at that moment she didn’t care.
Darius had asked her about being claimed when they’d
driven into the hills together. Had he already claimed her
by then? Was that why she was sent to his home to live?
Tara remembered
watching
him from her
bedroom
window her first day there. Darius had raced over the hills
to get home. Now she knew why he had hurried home that
morning almost a cycle ago. She had been made to believe
she was hired help. Apparently the joke was on her.
She drove the groundmobile up the hill to the house
with enough force that the tires skidded on the gravel road.
Grabbing the box of groceries, Tara ran into the house. A
piece of fruit fell out of the box and rolled across the floor.
Tara didn’t care. She tried not to sneeze when an array of
fragrances from the spices Hilda had asked for drifted to
her nose. Darius was in the living room with his guards,
and she stormed past them into the kitchen.
“I don’t see why you don’t listen to reason, my lord,” the
large guard who’d attacked her growled loud enough for
her to hear.
“Judo, the reasoning isn’t sound. Not another word.”
Darius’ growl chilled her blood. “And Mikel, my mind is
made up.”
“What’s wrong with you? Why won’t you listen when it
comes to that lass?” Mikel, Lord Darius’ younger brother,
shouted.
“I said I was done discussing this.” Darius used a tone
Tara hadn’t heard before. He spoke softly but there was a
cold edge clipping each word.
“Your brain isn’t doing your thinking for you, my lord.
We found the bike, and you yourself have commented on
her abilities. Her thighs are wrapped around you so tight
you can’t see the truth. She’s your Runner! You’ve let her
into this house, and now she’ll bring down Gothman.”
Mikel sounded
just as
pissed. “Our papa
would
be
disgraced if he knew what you were doing.”