Out of Bounds (18 page)

“Well, I can’t.”

She stood up and reached for him. Surprise flickered in his eyes, but she got her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his before he reacted.

Or maybe he was reacting, because he shuddered, his large body quivering beneath her hands. She kissed him, but only for a moment before he caught a handful of her hair and took command.

His mouth took hers with a demand that was searing. Hungry and ravenous, he pressed her for a deeper taste. A soft moan escaped from her. The kiss wasn’t enough. She needed more, more of him.

He’d put some jeans on and she reached for the waistband.

“Sabra…”

“Shut up,” she snarled as she hooked her fingers around his pants and pulled the top two buttons loose. “Why is this the only time you aren’t in a hurry to fuck me? I want you naked, Tarak.
Now
.”

His nostrils flared. The savage little detail captured her attention, mesmerizing her. She yanked the tie on her bathrobe open and shrugged the garment off her shoulders. Her heart was racing, the need to wrap her thighs around him consuming her.

His gaze lowered to her breasts.

“I love your tits, Sabra.” He reached out and cupped them. They felt tight, as if they were swollen. She arched back, bracing her hands on the tabletop as he massaged them and closed his thumb and forefinger around her puckered nipples. “I love the way they bounce when I’m fucking you.”

He pinched her nipples, sending a jolt of need straight down her spine to her clit. She gasped, the hunger gnawing at her insides. It was a raging need, only this time she didn’t worry about the intensity of it; instead she welcomed it.

“Can you smell me, Tarak?” She lifted her butt onto the edge of the table and let her thighs separate.

He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He rolled her nipples and made her wait for what felt like an eternity.

“Yeah, baby, I can smell your musk.” He opened his eyes and let her see the wild need burning in them. “It’s intoxicating.” He backed up a step and tore his fly completely open. His cock sprang into sight, thick and hard and beautiful. “Do you like what you see, Sabra?” He stroked his cock, teasing her.

Tormenting her.

She didn’t care how he took her, only that he did.

“I’ll like it better when you give it to me.”

Something crossed his face that hit her in the heart. It was a need deeper than the one coursing through her flesh.

“
It’s yours
,” he rasped.

The table shuddered when he covered her, moving between her thighs with a lightning-fast motion. She purred softly as he penetrated, pressing deep inside her with one fluid thrust. It was perfection and torment too, his cock stretching her, filling her but falling short of satisfying her. She bucked, lifting her hips and straining toward him. She wrapped her hands around his shoulders, but he pressed her flat onto the table.

“I’m going to watch them bounce, Sabra.”

It was a demand that filled her with excitement. He gripped her hips and held them firmly in place as he began to thrust.

To
fuck.

She didn’t shy away from the word. No, it was what she craved, the hard pounding of his flesh into hers. She arched and struggled to meet each plunge, clawing at the wooden top of the table as each thrust drove her closer and closer to the point of orgasm.

Sinking her teeth into her lips, she held back the sounds of pleasure. He leaned down, covering her with his body and pulled her chin down.

“Let me hear you come.”

His eyes glittered with demand as he continued to thrust into her, and he held her down and captured her wrists too.

It was the final straw, the last bit that she needed to tumble over the edge into climax. She wrapped her legs around his lean hips, a single act of aggression to match against the hold he had on her. She lifted herself up, pressing against him as the pleasure crested and crashed through her.

“Your nipples are hard little spikes against my chest, Sabra.” His tone was dark and almost hypnotic. “And the sounds you make when I’m inside you drive me insane.”

He kissed the side of her neck, sending a soft ripple of delight down her body before straightening up. He renewed his grip on her hips and pulled her toward him as he hammered his way to climax. It was savage and mesmerizing to watch. The lights were still on, giving her a clear view of the raw enjoyment tightening his features. He curled his lips back as he drove his cock faster and harder into her sex.

She felt his penis jerk as he let out a groan. She tightened her legs around him, pulling him tight against her as he rode out the orgasm. He growled and his cock jerked inside her. He ended up leaning on the table, his chest laboring to draw in enough breath. They were both coated in perspiration while the snowstorm ragged outside the windows.

“I love the way you make your points, Sabra.”

He scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. Across from the bed was a huge flat-screen television. Once they were snuggled down beneath the covers, he flipped it on.

“Any requests?”

She rubbed a hand across his chest, idly toying with the crisp hair. “Something with springtime.”

“Like
Bambi
?” he offered mockingly.

She shook her head. “No. Bambi’s mommy gets killed.”

He opened up a menu of movies and started at the top of the alphabet. “
Alien
?”

“Everyone gets killed in that one.” She gently slapped his shoulder. “You need practice at date night.”

“Not according to those moans you let out when you came hard enough to milk my dick.”

“I knew you were arrogant the first time I saw you.”

He settled on a comedy and hit the play button.

“I had no idea how much trouble you were going to be.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “Have I told you how much I like surprises? It takes a lot to show me something more than I was expecting.”

It was a simple word that settled into her heart. Maybe it was the brush with death, but she suddenly needed more than affection. The reason was clear. The man had stolen her heart. It shouldn’t have been so simple, shouldn’t have happened so fast, but there was no denying it. She fell asleep knowing she was completely at his mercy.

“This list is a mile long,” Sabra groused.

Tarak didn’t even blink in response. Sabra felt her frustration boiling when she took a second look at the survival training list he’d put together for her. Her attention settled on one in particular.

“I am not going to ‘clean and gut’ anything, much less a bunny,” she informed him.

He smacked his lips. “Bunny rabbit is good eating.”

“Don’t be a bully.”

He looked into the open backpack sitting on the kitchen counter and surveyed the contents. He zipped it up a moment later and shrugged it over one shoulder.

“I’m being a caring, concerned boyfriend who is going to make sure you can handle anything this frontier land tosses at you.”

“Ha!” she barked on the way to the coatroom to put her boots on. “You’re laughing at me behind that poker face.”

“That’s part of the fun, I hear.” He finished tying his boots and opened the outer door. “I’m a little rusty at the whole courtship thing.”

“Is that why we skipped to the sex?”

He slapped her bottom as she passed by him. “Stop trying to distract the instructor.”

“A moment ago you were my boyfriend,” she complained and propped a hand on her hip. “Now you’re saying I screwed the teacher.”

“Way better than bringing me an apple.”

She choked as she climbed into the Terrain Tank. “I guess I know how to tell you I’m pissed at you—one large apple.”

He spared a sidelong glance at her. “I’ll gag you with it while I spank you.”

Heat teased her cheeks. A crazy little twist of excitement went through her clit too. After that one wild fuck, their sex life had been remarkably tame since her brush with hypothermia. Tarak handled her carefully and tenderly. It left her feeling as if something were getting ready to snap.

When he’d handed her a list, she wasn’t sure if it was a Dear Jane letter or not. Her heart had been pounding so hard, she’d had to wipe sweat off her forehead.

Let him think it was the bunny rabbit that had her sweating. It was better than admitting she was afraid he’d done exactly what he’d wanted to do—fucked her out of his system.

He certainly wasn’t out of hers. If anything, the last week of soft kisses and nighttime cuddles had left her further involved with him. Her emotions were stronger and harder to reason out. Logic wasn’t prevailing anymore.

“Okay, first lesson: rifle loading.”

She got out of the Terrain Tank and gasped at the view. He’d driven up the hillside that enclosed the test facility like a huge cauldron. At the top of the ridge, they could see for miles and miles of untamed wilderness. The snow had melted away again, leaving only a few wet patches under the shade of the trees. The sky was immense and bluer than she could ever recall southern California’s being. The air was crisp and smelled like pine.

“It’s amazing up here.” She drew in a deep breath and let it loose with a happy little sigh. When she opened her eyes, she found Tarak staring at her.

“What?”

He shook his head, denying her his feelings.

“Don’t you think some people actually like the great outdoors?”

He stopped fiddling with the rifle and locked gazes with her. “I haven’t met too many females who do.”

“If Anastasia is an example of the type you go for, I can understand.”

He pulled the firing pin back on the rifle to check its action. “Lately, you’re my type.” He pointed the gun down the hillside. “But if you’re going to be staying into spring, you need to know how to handle a gun. We get moose, caribou, bears—and that includes grizzlies.” He handed her the rifle.

“It’s been a few years, but my dad used to take me camping.”

He gave her a doubting look.

“Loading first.”

He opened a box of ammunition that was sitting on the bumper of the Terrain Tank, and she reached for a bullet. It was larger than anything her dad had ever taught her to fire, but the concept was still the same.

Yeah right. She’d been with guys before, but Tarak was in a whole other category as far as men went.

The concept was so not the same, at least not when it came to Tarak.

She didn’t just want to have fun. The need to impress him was burning inside her. She wanted to be worthy, which sounded a little too submissive, but she couldn’t very well lie to herself. The need was there, just like all the other cravings Tarak unleashed in her. It felt as though she needed to prove herself.

She loaded the gun while he watched. His expression didn’t give much away, but the bullet loaded into the chamber easily. She got the gun into the right position and figured out how to look down the sights. Tarak moved up behind her, using his hands to guide her as he looked down the barrel of the gun with her.

The scent of his skin mixed with the pine. It was more potent than any cologne. Tarak and the rugged landscape were a perfect combination.

“Now squeeze gently,” he whispered next to her ear.

“I know how to handle your weapon, Tarak.”

The gun went off. She purred softly as he steadied her.

“You need to make sure your stance is wide and open,” he whispered against her ear, “or you might get tossed when it goes off.”

“I’ll do my best to hold tight.”

He pressed up against her, the hard outline of his cock teasing her bottom. Her pussy was heating up and all she could do was think about how long the list that he’d given her was.

There was no satisfaction coming her way for a while, but at least it was a game two could play.

“Wide and open…” She wiggled her bottom against his cock. “Got it.”

“Not yet you don’t.” He adjusted the position of the rifle and thrust against her hips. “You want to clench those buns when you go for the shot.”

The gun went off again before he let her lower it.

He pressed a warm kiss against her neck before moving back to the Terrain Tank to retrieve the backpack. “Let’s take a hike.”

They left the vehicle behind and climbed through the forest. He handed her a compass and she laughed.

“This looks like one my dad used to have.”

“High-tech isn’t always the best method out here. That doesn’t have a battery to go dead.” He watched her open it up. “There’s a lake southeast of here.”

“Where’s the topography map?”

His poker face broke and he opened a pocket on his vest. “That’s one gold star.”

He handed her the map. She studied it for a moment, checking the elevation lines before deciding which way to go. Sometimes, a straight path would lead you to a cliff and you spent a lot of time backtracking.

“I like my stars with no wrinkles in them, so make sure you use the center of the sheet of tinfoil.”

“Yeah, I know you like the center.” His voice turned hungry. “Right down the center.”

Her clit throbbed and her nipples tightened. “Sorry, I’m in class and you’re distracting me.”

She took off toward the lake, listening to Tarak chuckling behind her. The ground was soggy in places from the snowmelt. There were also white ribbons of water flowing down the hillsides that surrounded them. The sound of rushing water was like background music.

Tarak reached out and caught her shoulder at one point. He pointed up the slope. A brown bear was walking along the river, peering intently into the water. He jumped into the water but came out empty-handed.

“That’s a brown bear,” Tarak informed her. “Most of the time they’ll leave you alone unless you have food. If you see one with a cub, stay away from it.”

His warning wasn’t really needed. She had no interest in getting too near anything that was so much larger than herself. Somehow, she couldn’t recall her camping trips with her father including wild animals.

She picked up the pace, determined not to turn into a wimp.

The lake wasn’t really very far. She heard the water before she saw it. Once they broke through the trees, she understood why. There was a large flow of water coming down the mountainside to feed into the lake. It was really more of a flooded valley, the water spilling off the far end where the elevation was lower.

Trees grew close to the edge, but there were also several large flat spots of exposed granite rock. The water looked cleaner than any she’d seen in her life. It seemed to make the very air smell good too.

“How are you going to feed me?”

She turned away from the lake and looked back to find Tarak sitting on a bare patch of rock.

“I’ve got two broken arms,” he informed her.

“Is that a fact?”

He nodded, challenging her with his poker face.

“I guess I’d better see what’s in the backpack.” She marched over to where he’d dropped it and unzipped the main compartment.

“I forgot the fishing gear,” he insisted.

“Hmmm, there’s more than one way to catch a fish.” She pulled a large trash bag from the backpack and a Leatherman tool. Pulling the scissors out of the Leatherman, she began to cut the trash bag along one side.

“Sure you want to use something that could be helpful in building a shelter? It rains a lot here.”

“There are three more,” she replied quickly. “And that outcropping of granite will make a good shelter.”

She began to fold the plastic and cut it like a giant snowflake. By the time she was done, she’d made a crude sort of plastic net. The backpack also yielded an ax. She grabbed it, walked over to a pine tree, and hacked off two thin branches. Once she’d skinned the needles off, she used some duct tape to secure the long branches along the side of her net.

“Impressive,” he commented.

“Only if I catch a fish.”

But she was determined to succeed. Adrenaline was pumping through her system, keeping her warm as she took off her boots, rolled up her pants, and waded out into the current. She stuck the net into the water at an angle and waited. The water bubbled passed her ankles and an eagle screeched somewhere above her. It landed on the branch of a tree, watching her.

Eagles meant fish. She recalled a nature documentary she’d seen long ago where they’d showed bald eagles catching wild salmon.

Something pushed against the plastic and she lifted the two sides of her net up to trap it in the center. The fish struggled to escape, and she turned around, giddy with her accomplishment. The rocky bottom of the stream was slippery and her feet went shooting out from under her. She landed in the water, squealing as it soaked her.

But she kept her fish.

She stood up with a huff and trudged toward the shore. Tarak was on his feet, a suspicious pinched look to his lips.

“Don’t laugh at she who catches you dinner.”

She made her way to shore before opening the net to see what she’d caught. It was a fairly large fish, and she smiled with triumph.

“That was pretty good, Sabra.” He pulled a knife from his belt and offered it to her handle first.

She shook her head. “We have to build the shelter and get a fire going before we gut the fish.”

He nodded. “But now that you have it, the bears will be interested.”

She narrowed her eyes. “My teacher seems to like the ‘learning on the job’ approach or he might have mentioned that.”

He stuck the knife back into his waist scabbard and picked up the fish by the tail. “I’ll get the fire going.”

“Those arms healed mighty fast. Kind of a pity.”

He’d already started toward the outcropping and turned to look back at her. She offered him a wicked look. “I could think of a few things to do with you that might be fun if you didn’t have the use of your arms.”

He smiled slowly and very deliberately flipped her the bird.

“Sorry, I have to catch more fish, so that’s not going to happen.”

He laughed at her, the sound following her as she went back to fishing. The sun dried her shirt and the back of her jeans, but she was still damp when she caught the third fish.

Tarak had a fire set up, but it looked as if he was waiting for her to light it. She climbed out of the water and made her way over to him. Once more, he had his poker face on and was waiting to see what she’d do. He’d gathered a pile of wood and she searched among it for tinder. Once she had a handful of soft, dry bark, she put it under the tepee of wood and pulled a flint striking tool out of the survival knife that had been in the backpack.

“Not bad, Sabra, not bad at all.”

She smiled, enjoying the praise. Okay, she was also enjoying the fact that she wasn’t failing at his challenge. That gave her a different sort of feeling, something that was deeper and far more precious. She felt like she could match him. It was confidence, not arrogance, and she realized she’d mistaken it a few times on him. The man had his share of arrogance, that was for sure, but a lot of it he’d earned. Only an idiot would get mad about it.

The world was full of those too, people who critiqued and criticized those who had earned what they themselves wanted. Sure, you could make derogatory remarks about a male model, but the bottom line was, no one could buy a muscular frame. It took discipline and commitment.

Tarak had Nektosha because he’d stuck it out in the wilderness and still drove himself night and day.

“You’re lost in thought, Sabra.”

She looked up. “Guilty.” The wood was popping as it caught fire. “My dad used to tell me that going out into the woods was a way to clear your thoughts, but you needed to close your mouth for it to happen.”

He laid the cleaned fish parts over a few pieces of wood to begin cooking. There was the sound of a zipper opening as he rummaged around in the backpack and came up with some salt and pepper.

“So this is a top-of-the-line roughing-it trip.”

He sprinkled some of the pepper on the fish and then used the salt. “Anything tastes good when you’re hungry, but a little salt can really make it great.”

“I’m enjoying this trip. It’s really fulfilling my need for something more.” He stared at the cooking fish, but she knew he’d heard her. She wasn’t going to be sorry that she’d said it. “If that makes you uncomfortable, too bad.”

He turned to look at her but she wasn’t finished. “I spent two years in a relationship with Kevin, too worried about making him feel chained to say what was on my mind. I’m not going that route again. If that means I’m fast-tracking us to a fiery ending, I guess I am.”