Out of Bounds (17 page)

He smacked her bottom in response, one hard spank that sent her back into the position he’d put her in. Her mind had barely registered the pain before he rubbed it away.

“Your pussy is very tempting—possibly too much.” He slid his hand across her belly, making her clit pulse. “I have my limits, so a little deterrent is in order. We won’t fuck until I take it off.”

That was going to drive her crazy.

“Sit on the edge of the bed.”

She straightened, realizing that her back was getting a little stiff. He’d pulled his desk chair in from the office and sat watching her as if she was performing on a stage. The black leather covering his cock matched the chair. It was a ridiculous little scrap, but it seemed to give him more shielding, more protection from her gaze than she had.

The power shifts were intoxicating.

She sat down and her shoes fell off because it was so high off the floor.

“A little further back.”

She complied and found the seconds swelling up into little moments of eternity.

“Bring your legs up onto the bed. Spread them as wide as you can.”

Being bent over had felt submissive, but she found opening her legs far more vulnerable. He reached down and toyed with the end of the leather sheathing his cock.

“Lie back, Sabra. Lie all the way back and keep your tender parts open for my pleasure.”

Excitement twisted in her belly as she surrendered. Her senses were so heightened she heard his feet flattening against the wood floor. She felt him closing the gap, coming closer, nearer until the heat from his body reached out to touch hers.

“I’m… on the edge… Tarak!”

He stroked her belly, making her clit throb painfully.

“Look at me.”

His voice was solid and full of control. She hissed because it wasn’t fair. But she was helpless, the need to gain release driving her mad. He slid his hand down to the top of her recently bared mons.

“Come.”

It was a short command, hard and demanding. He slid his finger between the folds of her slit and rubbed her clit. She convulsed, her entire body bucking as all the boiling need released in one hard burst of pleasure. She cried out, unable to control anything. She was at the mercy of the moment, his mercy, and in the depths of his glittering eyes, she could see that he knew it.

But she had given him that power.

It was balm for the heat rash covering her in the aftermath of that explosive moment. She felt she now had some sort of deeper understanding of her own effect on him. She’d heard it talked about but there was no understanding until that moment.

She rolled over, curling up to hug herself. Tears eased from her eyes as she found herself stripped down to her core. None of the ideas of who she thought she wanted to be remained, there was only the blunt reality of her personality.

And his.

The bed moved as he joined her, pulling her close as he kissed the tracks the tears left behind. She reached for him, eager to embrace the only man who seemed to understand her.

She caught his hair and used the grip to turn his head so she could kiss him. It was a hungry meeting of mouths, their lips stroking and slipping along one another before their tongues dueled. She reached down and grabbed the leather sheath and sent it flying across the room.

“I want you now,” she demanded and pushed him onto his back. She climbed on top of him, sinking down onto his cock with a soft snarl of victory.

He reached up and cupped her breasts, kneading them as he bucked beneath her. “I might just throw you.”

She braced her hands on his shoulders and clamped him between her thighs to hold tight. “Just try it.”

He rose to her challenge, thrusting up, every time she plunged down. The bed shook and the headboard banged against the wall but she just went faster and harder. She looked down at his nipples and saw them tightening.

“You’re coming with me, Sabra. I swear you are.”

He tossed her onto her back and followed her, threading his fingers through hers and holding her hands against the mattress. She was his prisoner, and he started to hammer her hard. The change in position pressed against her clit harder. The bed rocked back and forth with his strength, the hard pace driving her desire to a fevered pitch. He ground his teeth together, holding back his pleasure until she screamed with another burst of release.

This one was deeper, rolling through her insides and centering around his hard flesh. She heard him growl as his cock jerked inside her. The hot spurt of his come pumped into her as he fucked her through the waves of climax.

He rolled onto the bed beside her and lay panting just as she did. Every muscle was useless, her body just a shattered shell.

“I’ve never enjoyed a power point meeting… quite so much.” He slid an arm under her waist and pulled her against him. He nuzzled against her temple and kissed her forehead. “I think I need to choose my own safe word. Next time.”

She smiled because she was too exhausted to laugh. More importantly, she was too satisfied to think about anything else.

So she didn’t.

“When are you going to see the second doctor, Dad?”

Her father was taking a long time answering. Sabra took a sip of her morning tea.

“I’m not going away, Dad. We had a deal.”

“The secretary said they’d call me back,” her dad replied at last.

“Don’t you dare wait,” Sabra insisted. “Give me the number.”

“I’m a big boy, Sabra. I’ll handle it.”

Her dad had adopted the parental tone of no argument. She tapped her foot against the floor as she battled the urge to do it anyway.

“I love you, Dad.”

“Ouch,” her father remarked. “All right, I’ll give them another call.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Daddy.”

The line went dead and she finished her tea.

“What’s wrong with your father?”

Tarak emerged from the bedroom dressed for the day.

“We’re not sure,” she answered as they went to the entry room for their boots. They had fallen into a pattern, and it was scary how comfortable it felt. Days were passing, and she was settling in deeper and deeper.

Now he was interested in her family. That sent two tears into her eyes.

Pansy.

“So tell me what you think it is,” Tarak insisted.

Sabra knotted her bootlace. “It’s his heart, but Dad is being very secretive about it.”

“And that’s worrying you.”

She stood up and grabbed her coat. “Yeah. My dad always wants to take care of me. If he needs surgery, I’m going to need to fly home. I won’t let him be alone.”

She wasn’t sure what he’d make of that, but she found him nodding as he opened the door for her.

“You have a sincere heart, Sabra.” He followed her down the front steps but caught her wrist and pulled her back before she opened the door of the Terrain Tank Kurt was driving. “It scares me.”

He cupped her jaw, the hold gentle yet so sincere that she shook. His eyes were clouded with indecision, something she wasn’t used to seeing in him.

She reached for him, but he caught her hand and pressed a kiss against her fingertips. He was trying to control their relationship, just the way he managed Nektosha.

“In this case, I hope you don’t succeed in controlling every detail of your life.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Because I’m not looking forward to being alone in this relationship.”

He released her hand and cupped her jaw. “I know you aren’t, but you might have to settle for what I can give, Sabra.” He reached past her and opened the door. “I’m afraid it isn’t going to be as much as you have to offer.”

***

The office was empty again. The test track was in full operation. The poor cook looked bored to tears, so Sabra told him to go down to the test track too. He offered her a bright smile before telling her there was a sandwich in the refrigerator for her lunch.

Sabra sighed with relief.

She didn’t need a witness today. Her emotions were raw and too on display. Falling for Tarak was hard enough; fearing that he wasn’t capable of reciprocating was terrifying.

She dove into her work and tried to keep her personal life locked behind a door of determination.

She jumped when her cell phone chimed with an incoming text message.

Now you’re the one late for supper.

She stared at the message and grinned like an idiot. She suddenly felt all warm and gooey inside. Where there had been no hope that morning, she suddenly saw a forest of possibilities.

On my way
, she texted back.

With a happy little bounce to her step, she grabbed her purse and jacket and headed out. Kurt wasn’t in his office, but the cabin wasn’t that far a walk. Besides, she’d been neglecting her workouts in favor of spending time in bed with Tarak. Not that she was complaining, but she would be if her butt doubled in size.

Besides, she felt drawn to the cabin. Tarak’s last words shook her to her core but his text message gave her a jolt of hope. Waiting around was impossible, so she set off at a brisk pace. The daylight hours were still short. In a few months, they’d have sunlight eighteen hours a day, but they paid for it now with only six hours of light.

The wind had picked up, and she shivered as it blew snow at her back. Sabra pulled her hood up to keep it from getting inside her jacket, but her nose felt as though it were freezing. Ahead she could see the lights of the cabin and headed for them. She rubbed her hands and tried to warm up her face but only succeeded in chilling her fingers. Somewhere she had gloves. She patted her pockets and found a lump. She stopped to push her fingers into them. A shiver shook her and another one as she realized she was kicking snow with every step.

Funny, she recalled most of the snow being gone.

Well, it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was light and powdery. But it started to melt against the top of her boots and her socks wicked the frigid water down to her ankles. Soon her toes were numb.

When she looked up, the lights were gone. Or maybe not. The air looked as though it were full of blowing feathers. It was magical really, and she stared at it for a long moment, just enjoying seeing actual snow fall—even if it was going at a sideways angle.

She shivered with the cold, but it fit the moment. In fact, she enjoyed being part of the snowstorm. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and let the feathers collect in her hands. It was so much softer than she’d imagined anything frozen might be. The wind blew her forward and she let it, loving the sensation of floating. When she stumbled and fell, she laughed as the snow flew up around her like a cloud.

She laughed at it and herself.

The sun suddenly came out, shining brightly against the shower of frozen droplets. She could see each one so clearly as the light increased until it was blinding her.

“Sabra!”

Her name was a jolt. It shattered the mesmerizing grip the storm had on her but left her disoriented. She looked around, trying to decide where she was and why her ears were buzzing.

Someone caught her shoulders. “Sabra? Goddamn it, what are you doing walking?”

Tarak’s face came into view as he got close enough for the snow not to get between them.

“I was… just…” Her teeth chattered violently and she realized she couldn’t move her fingers.

Tarak scooped her up and carried her into the sunlight. But as they passed it, she realized it was the Terrain Tank’s headlights. Someone opened the door, and Tarak tossed her up into the seat.

It really didn’t matter all that much. She was sleepy and let her eyes close.

“Wake up, Sabra,” Tarak insisted as he patted her cheek.

“Why?”

“Because you’re slipping into hypothermia.” He grabbed her hands and stuck them against his belly.

She stiffened, sucking in her breath at the startling contrast between his skin and hers. It was so dramatic it felt like a thousand pinpricks all over her palms.

“People die in this sort of weather.”

“It’s just… a… little… snow,” she argued.

Someone was driving the Terrain Tank, and Tarak reached out to slip a hand behind her back as they bounced along the road.

“Your nose is like ice,” he growled.

“Sorry.” She tried to push herself away from him, but he cupped her head and pulled her close again.

Now her face was on fire. It stung as if she had scraped it up in a fall or something. The skin felt raw.

“I’m the one who’s sorry, Sabra. I should have explained a few survival rules.” He rubbed the back of her head. “I forgot you don’t know a thing about snow.”

She knew it could hurt now. Her entire body was shaking and all the exposed skin was burning, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t clench her jaw tight enough to stop her teeth from chattering.

“I was just walking… to the… cabin.”

“You were heading back to the office when I used the location chip in your phone to find you.”

“Oh… shit.”

“Exactly.”

The Terrain Tank stopped and someone opened the door. Tarak jumped down and reached up to pull her out of the seat.

“We need to get you out of these wet clothes.”

He didn’t stop in the coatroom but carried her all the way across the floor to the master bathroom. She looked over his shoulder at the snow he left behind on the wood floor.

“Tarak… the wood floor…”

“I don’t give a shit about the floor, Sabra.” He sat her on the edge of the Jacuzzi tub and turned the faucet on full blast. Steam started rising from the water and he took a moment to adjust the temperature. “I’m more concerned with your toes, angel.”

She looked down and gasped. Her boots were packed with snow. She couldn’t even see the laces. She reached down, but the moment she moved her fingers, pain raced through her hands.

She pulled them back toward her chest out of reflex. Tarak took a moment to inspect each hand before turning his attention to her boots.

“I think you’ve managed to escape frostbite on your hands. They are going to hurt like hell though.”

He pulled a wicked-looking knife off his belt and used it to slice through the frozen laces. With a hard tug, her boot came free and Tarak tossed it across the bathroom floor.

“I don’t understand… It didn’t look like the weather was that bad.”

“The night can hide a lot of things up here.” He had her other boot off and began peeling her socks off. They were full of ice that crackled. “Some of those things are deadly if you don’t know what you’re doing. I should have trained you.”

“I should have done some research.”

He helped her stand and began to strip her. She tried to help, but her hands refused to work. It just hurt too much. Her lips felt as if they were sunburned, and she licked them.

Her clothing ended up scattered all over the floor. Tarak was like a bear, tearing away at the layers she had on without a care for the things he was ripping. He gave a satisfied grunt when she was bare.

She sat back down. He took a moment to strip before stepping over the side of the tub and into the water.

“This isn’t going to be a bath you enjoy, Sabra.” His voice was rough, but his touch was gentle. He scooped her up and cradled her against his chest before sitting down.

The water felt as if it were boiling her alive. She jerked, kicking water all over the place before she mastered the impulse.

“Sorry…” She gasped and clenched her teeth.

“Cuss all you want.”

He settled her in the tub, holding her beneath the water as she fought back tears. She ended up with her head on his chest, shaking it back and forth.

“I don’t want to cuss… at you. I was so happy when you sent me that text… I just wanted to get here and Kurt wasn’t in his office.”

“He was on the test track.” Tarak smoothed a hand down her back. “I should have given you a truck to drive.”

Someone pounded on the door.

“That will be Dr. Farr.”

She lifted her head and locked stares with him as the sound of the door opening hit her ears.

“I’m naked.”

“He’s a doctor.”

She struggled to get up. “I don’t care.”

Tarak growled at her. “You’ve never acted shy before.”

She slipped as she tried to stand up. “With you, I’m just different.”

He snarled something in Apache that sounded as though it were profane. He stood and helped to steady her. “Hold on, Farr. She wants to put something on.”

“Copy that.”

Sabra felt a blush coming on as the other man responded from just outside the bathroom door. The heat made her skin sting though, and she cussed softly.

But at least her hands were working. They smarted, but she succeeded in grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself. Tarak disappeared inside the closet and returned with a fluffy bathrobe.

The look in his eyes when he knotted the tie around her waist was one she knew was going to haunt her. Self-recrimination was eating him alive. She reached out for him, but he shook his head.

“Doctor first.”

He grabbed the towel and tucked it around his waist.

“Promise me.”

He ignored her.

“Tarak, promise me we’ll discuss this.”

He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, leaving her with the fact that he’d promised her nothing.

***

Tarak poured himself a drink but didn’t touch it until the doctor came out of the bedroom. He was still zipping up his medical backpack.

“She’s used her share of luck for the month,” he offered as he got closer. “I gave her something for the pain. Call me if she develops any sort of cough or changes in skin color.”

“Thank you.”

The doctor gave him a salute before going into the coatroom to put on his outerwear. The storm was howling outside the windows, but the doctor was only going across the testing field to his rooms behind the Nektosha medical facility.

The outer door opened and closed, and Tarak reached for his drink.

***

“Put it down, Tarak.”

He jerked around, fumbling the glass onto the counter.

“You need to be in bed.”

She shook her head. “Not until you and I get one thing straight. This was not your fault.” She made it to one of the chairs and sat down.

“It’s not open for discussion, Sabra.” He reached for the glass and took a large drink. “I made a decision that had consequences for you—serious ones.”

“You bet I took it seriously when you said you cared about me.”

His eyebrows lowered. “That’s not the topic.”

She smiled at him, but it was more of a promise than an expression. “This isn’t an office. I don’t have to stick to the meeting agenda.”

“It’s my home, so my rules.”

Sabra lifted one hand and pointed at him. “It’s only a home if you let someone share it with you, Tarak. Otherwise, it’s the cabin you built to make your ex-fiancée jealous.”

“I can live with that.” He downed the last of his drink. “Because it beats the hell out of living with the fact that I let you walk into a snowstorm that could have killed you.”

He’d stomped over to her, towering over her as he shook his head, rejecting every argument she made. It slashed at her fragile emotions, tearing through the happiness that had sent her walking because she was just so eager to be near him.