Nuworld: Claiming Tara (12 page)

Tara righted her bike and took off, yelling, “Gothman
have never cared about Runners. Why start now?” She
grinned as she reached the patchy area surrounded by the
pine trees where they’d had sex.
She looked at the rocks Darius suggested they climb and
drove over to them, then parked. Knowing there was no
way she would be able to ride up the jagged rocks to
Darius’ cliff, Tara jumped off her bike and lunged for the
first group of rocks.
She’d rock climbed for sport as a child and from what
she
saw,
the
jutting
wall
offered
little
challenge.
Nonetheless, her heart pounded as she grabbed the first
tier of rocks and pulled herself up. When she anchored her
foot on the next level up, the sting from her scrape raced
up her side, letting her know how bad she’d cut her leg.
More than anything, she wanted to beat Darius. He would
see that she would never submit.
Darius easily matched her skills. Reaching the first ledge
of rocks, Tara turned and looked to see where he was. The
tree-covered hillside, hiding a rocky ground strewn with
protruding roots, hadn’t slowed him down a bit.
Darius had parked his bike next to hers and also
jumped for the rocks. He was impressive on the rocks and
appeared to crawl up the side of the cliff with little effort.
She remembered that he’d told her he’d come up here since
he was a boy.
The second set of rocks was more jagged, and she was
forced to move around them since she had no gloves.
Ahead of her, a good fifteen feet above, she saw what
appeared to be a flat ledge. Ignoring the sharp jabs from
the rough boulders, Tara hurried to reach the top. As she
crested the rise, she looked out across the grass and was
overwhelmed by the view beyond.
No wonder he’d chosen this place as his sanctuary. A
leader would easily be reminded why he was willing to fight
for his land when it was laid out before him in such a
panoramic fashion. Tara pulled herself up on to a large
rock and sucked in her breath as she witnessed the glory
around her.
The countryside was beautiful, providing a view to the
north as far as the eye could see. The rolling hills went on
for miles, and although not visible, Tara knew mountains
lay beyond. She had spent her life travelling the land that
she now looked at from a distance.
It seemed as if the sky was higher, spreading out farther
than usual. It looked bigger to Tara than she knew it
should. Very few clouds prevented the aqua color above
from almost overwhelming the vast shades of green below.
For a moment, its beauty transfixed her.
But she had a man to whom she needed to prove herself.
With a quick glance around her, she reached for the next
ledge and pulled herself up to lean on her elbows. That’s
when she saw the grassy flat area at the top of the rocks. It
was a small secluded section of Nuworld secluded from all
around it. Tara relaxed her sore leg for a moment, before
putting her weight back on it, and took a deep breath so
she could judge the depth of her injuries. As she did, she
noticed Darius pulling himself up from the other side of the
plateau. Hell be doomed! He’d been behind her. How had
he ended up over there?
He pulled his body over the ledge with ease and sat on
the ground, catching his breath for just a brief second.
Then he moved over to her and reached to help her up.
“Get back, you!” she said through clenched teeth and
pulled herself up. Tara didn’t take defeat well. She cursed
the time she’d wasted enjoying the view, knowing the
victory would have been hers otherwise.
The smug grin on his face showed that he would enjoy
gloating. “I won. You have to let me ride your bike now.”
Darius sat back on the ground and smiled broadly.
Tara sat next to him and pounded the ground with her
fist as she scowled.
Darius leaned forward and brushed her hair away from
her face.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and
broke out laughing. She knew herself well. Back at the
house she had been fuming with anger. The ride and the
intensity of the rock climbing had freed her of all hostilities.
Physical activity cleared her head every time. “You’re lord of
all this great land.” Tara swung out her hand, gesturing to
the magnificent view in front of them. “How can an invader
of
your
country possibly stop
you
from riding that
motorcycle?” She pointed to her bike next to his, parked
beneath them against the rock wall.
“You’ve done a good job of stopping me so far.” He
laughed with her.
“So how long have you known I was a Runner?” She
looked at him, serious now.
“Ever since you shot that trash can to prevent my little
brother from getting the tar beat out of him. Although, for
skipping school, he should have had worse than that.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you capture me right
then?”
“You had me curious. We
were
scouting the
town,
looking for a Runner, an enemy in our land. I didn’t find an
enemy. I found a woman acting differently than other
women. I saw a lady, beautiful beyond all measure, who
made my blood race in my veins. You were out of place, but
not a threat.” Darius blew out a breath and stared down at
the grass between them.
Tara sensed he chose his next words carefully and
watched while he thought. Finally, he looked at her.
“Runners don’t enter Gothman. It’s an automatic death
sentence. Why are you here?”
“The need to explore is in a Runner’s blood, my lord. I’ve
heard the stories of Gothman. They fascinated me. I needed
to see how a nation was so powerful when half of its race
had no clue how to fight or defend itself.”
“And what have you concluded?”
“Why do you
care what I think?” she answered
sarcastically. “I didn’t think it was my mind that impressed
you.”
Darius smiled and put his arm around her. He took her
chin and lifted her face to his. “At first, that was true. You
are so beautiful. There is more to you than that, though. I
didn’t know women like you existed. I’ve yet to find a man
that is my match, much less a woman. But you may be
that exception. You stand up to me, and challenge me. I’m
not sure how I feel about that yet.”
Darius looked so focused, yet his expression remained
gentle.
Something released
inside
her,
like
a dam
breaking—something she’d never experienced before. He
had made her so angry yet she also knew a longing to be
right here by his side indefinitely. Patha described love to
her once. He told her that love was when you were content
to be with one person no matter what you were doing. He
had said that when you weren’t with this person they were
somewhere in your thoughts always. He had also told her
that no matter how mad you may get at that person, true
love never allowed you to stay angry for too long. Had it
been the motorcycle race and rock climbing that soothed
her anger, or was it something else?
“Not to mention, my lady, you’ve made it quite clear I
can’t do anything with you unless you say it’s okay.” He
brushed his lips gently across hers. In one quick motion,
he stood and pulled her with him then held her in his
arms. He pointed to the countryside that lay magnificently
in front of them. “Look at it, Tara. We can rule this
together, you and I. You must say that has some appeal to
you.”
“Darius, we’re enemies,” she pointed out, although made
no effort to be released from his arms.
He captured her lips with his and passion ignited that
sizzled through her clear to her toes. This man had abilities
that were off the chart. Instantly he untucked the shirt
from Torgo’s pants, which hung low on her hips. His hand
glided over her flesh, moving up underneath the loose shirt
until he cupped her breast. Darius tweaked her nipple and
the need that had already been stirred to life inside her
suddenly reached dangerous levels.
Tara wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him
closer. Heat from his lips, his flesh, his hands, set her
blood to boil. Tara arched into him, pressing the length of
her body against his. Every inch of him was so hard with
warrior packed muscle and touching him sent rushes of
energized chills throughout her body.
Darius grabbed her rear end with his free hand, pressing
her against him.
When his mouth left hers, she gasped for air. He began a
trail of kisses down her neck. She let her head fall back
giving him full access.
Darius maintained a tight grip, his touch fueling a fever
rising
within
her.
She
began sensing,
through
fogged
thinking, that he interpreted her reaction to his passion as
submission. He wanted to control her. Tara would have to
show him how Runner women expected to be treated. She
pushed to put distance between them. It took more effort
than she thought. The moment she tried freeing herself
from his embrace, all that packed muscle surrounding her
tightened, holding her prisoner.
“You’re not my enemy,” Darius informed her. “You’re my
match in every way. I don’t want the likes of you as an
enemy.”
She smiled at him and then went up on tiptoe to brush
her lips against his again. “So, do you want to ride that
motorcycle?”
“Soon,” he said and pulled her to him. Both hands were
under her clothes now, down into her pants, and clutched
her bare ass. He pressed her against him and set her on
fire.
Tara collapsed to the ground pulling him onto her. She
needed skin against skin, wanted to explore this virile body
that had grown to be more than a distraction. She yanked
at his shirt.
He assisted by putting enough distance between them to
take off the offending material. He reached for his pants.
But she stopped him. “I want to do it.” His grin gave her
a rush, and goose bumps danced over her skin.
Tara pulled free the belt and squatted. She then tugged
off his boots, looking up at him. “Does a powerful woman
threaten you, my lord?” she whispered, taking one boot,
then the other, off.
“Nothing about you threatens me, my lady.” His blond
curls bordered his face as he looked down at her with such
intense gray eyes.
Tara pulled down his pants. She placed kisses around
the thick mass of hair that did nothing to hide his rockhard arousal. It might threaten him once he learned she
was heir to lead all Runner clans. Her title equalled his if
not surpassed it.
She offered his erection no attention, but kissed her way
down his legs as she pulled his pants off of him. “I might
say the same of you,” she murmured, glancing up at him
although her vision blurred as she breathed in his heady
scent.
“Now it’s my turn, my lady.” Darius reached under her
arms and dragged her over his naked and aroused body.
He shocked her wherever he touched her, and the moisture
between her legs soaked through her clothes.
Darius didn’t take as long to undress her. She was
naked within seconds. He held her as he rolled to his side,
then placed her on her back. Darius took her hands and
laid them above her head. Then, slowly, he kissed her. And
slowly, so slowly, he moved down her body, kissing every
inch along the way.
“Submitting to me, trusting me, in no way makes you
less of who you are.” His hands caressed and stroked as he
continued his exploration. And his voice was a sultry
rumble against her flesh when he continued speaking.
“Our ways are new to you, my lady, but I’m a patient man.”
When Tara wondered how much truth there actually
was in that statement, Darius drove his point home. There
was no rush
this time.
She
let
her
head
back
and
surrendered to his perfect torture.
Darius wanted to explore and get to know, very well,
every inch of her. He spread her legs, and she didn’t fight
him. Instead she lifted her hips off the ground, moaning
her eagerness for him to continue. Darius chuckled as he
blew soft air onto the downy hair between her legs. Tara
gasped, and he enjoyed watching the rush over her body.
He saw her glistening moistness surrounding her entrance
and proving how aroused she was. He kissed the moist
area first, then tasted her. Tara yelped and arched her hips
further, grabbing the back of his head as she fought her
release.
It was her way. Apparently this was how Runners raised
their women. Tara wanted to control every aspect of her
life, including her orgasm. This might as well be one of her
first lessons.
Darius smiled,
knowing
she
was exactly
where
he
wanted her to be. He licked his lips as he sat up, enjoying
her taste on him. Tara groaned and reached to pull him
back to her. He searched her fogged-over blue eyes as he
situated himself above her, resting his erection against her
swollen opening.
Tara arched
again,
trying
to
enclose
herself around him.
He was engorged, and he needed to slam into that heat.
But he teased her for a moment, until her blue eyes
widened, and her mouth opened in a silent protest. The
moment he knew her explosion was eminent, he entered
her. He moved with a steady pace, pushing into her heat
until he felt intoxicated, then pulling back until his body
shook with need to return to the center of her heat.
Tara reached for him, her face flushed and beyond
beautiful. Her blue eyes were wild when she succeeded only
in scratching his chest before he grabbed her hands. He
held them over her head with one hand and pressed his
other palm against her hip.
“Still,” he grumbled.
Darius stroked her inner satiny walls with his cock. She
was so hot. So incredibly wet. And when she shook her
head from side to side, refusing his command in spite of
him having her pinned and her apparent inability to speak,
her
hair
streamed
across her
face
and
around
her
shoulders. If he stared at her for the rest of his life it
wouldn’t be enough. No one would have ever made him
believe a woman would get to him like this.