She’d rock climbed for sport as a child and from what she could see, 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 against the next level up, the sting from her scrape raced up her side, letting her know the extent of damage she’d actually incurred. But more than anything, she wanted to beat Darius, to show him they were indeed equal.
When she glanced down, she realized the man was good, real good. Reaching the first ledge of rocks, she had turned and looked below. The tree-covered hillside, hiding a rocky ground strewn with protruding roots, hadn’t slowed him in the least.
Darius had parked his bike next to hers and also jumped for the rocks. His skill at climbing obviously matched hers, as he appeared to crawl up the side of the cliff with little effort. She remembered now that he’d told her this was a place he’d come to 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 could see what appeared to be a flat ledge. Ignoring the sharp jabs from the rough boulders, she hurried to reach the top. As she crested the rise, she looked out over the scene and was immediately overwhelmed by the view.
No wonder he’d chosen this place as his sanctuary. A leader could easily be reminded why he was willing to fight for his land when it was laid out before him in such a panoramic fashion. She pulled herself up to a stand and sucked in her breath as she witnessed the glory before 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 on the horizon Tara could imagine the mountains that she already knew existed there. As a young child, growing up, she had traveled the land she now saw 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, a small area secluded from the rest of the world. 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. He’d been behind her!
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 then broke out laughing. She knew herself well. Not an hour ago, she was 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 parked next to his.
“You’ve done a good job of stopping me so far, you have.” 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, I daresay, for skipping school, he should have had worse than that beaten out of him.”
“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you capture me right then?”
“You had my curiosity going, you did. We were scouting the town, looking for a Runner, an enemy of our land. I didn’t see an enemy. I saw a woman acting differently than other women. I saw a woman, beautiful beyond all measure that made my blood race in my veins. You appeared to be out of place, but not a threat.” Darius blew out a breath and stared down at their bikes.
Tara could tell he was choosing his next words carefully and watched him while he thought.
“Runners don’t enter Gothman, at least not since I was a child. Why are you here?”
“The need to explore is in a Runner’s blood, my lord. I’ve heard the stories of Gothman, and they fascinated me. I wanted to see how a nation could be 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, there is. 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, and not many have the nerve to be that way, no.”
Darius looked so focused, yet his expression remained gentle. Tara felt something release inside, like a dam breaking—something she’d never felt before. He had made her so angry yet she felt such a longing to be right here by his side indefinitely. Patha described love to her once, when she asked. 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 mind always. He had also told her that no matter how mad you may get at that person, true love never allowed you to stay mad for too long.
“And to be certain, 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 closely at his side. He pointed to the countryside that lay magnificently in front of them. “Look at it, Tara. We could rule this together, you and I. You must say that has some appeal to you.”
“Darius, we’re enemies,” she stated, although she made no attempt to be released from his arms.
He turned her towards him and kissed her passionately.
She wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss. Heat from their passion set her blood to boiling. Tara arched into him, pressing the length of her body against his. Every inch of him that touched her felt so hard and sent rushes of energy through her. She grabbed his arms and then let her hands slide up to his shoulders, clasping her fingers behind his neck. Tara felt his hands on her rear end, pulling her closer to him.
He nibbled her bottom lip and she gasped, heat rushing through her fast enough to make her dizzy. Darius tasted her, sending a trail of kisses to her neck as she let her head fall back. Darius maintained a tight grip, his touch fueling the fever within her. She realized through fogged senses that he interpreted her reaction to his passion as submission. He wanted to control her.
With a silent chuckle, Tara knew she would have to show him how Runner women expected to be treated. At that point, she decided to end the kiss on her own, just to show him she could and take the lead.
It took more effort than she figured it would.
“You’re not my enemy,” Darius said, once their lips parted. “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 and kissed him once again. “So, do you want to ride that motorcycle?”
“In a minute,” he said and pulled her to him. His hands reached under her clothes, down into her pants, and clutched her rear end. He shoved her into him and set her on fire.
She fell back, pulling him onto her. She needed to feel 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.” Her voice sounded husky, and he smiled. Tara pulled free the belt and then tugged down his pants. She placed kisses around the thick mass of hair that did nothing to hide his rock-hard arousal. She offered his erection no attention, but kissed her way down his legs as she pushed his pants to the ground.
Darius reached under her arms and pulled her back up along his naked and aroused body. He shocked her wherever he touched her, and the moisture between her legs soaked through all that she wore.
* * * * *
Darius didn’t take as long to remove her clothes. She was naked within seconds, and he held her as he rolled to his side, then placed her on her back. He took her hands and laid them above her head. Then, slowly, he began to kiss her. And slowly, so slowly, he moved down her, kissing every inch along the way. His hands caressed and stroked as he continued his exploration of her body.
There was no rush this time. The newness from the first time was gone. He 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 from the ground, and he let out a low chuckle as he blew soft air onto the downy hair between her legs. Tara gasped, and he enjoyed watching the quiver race through her body. He opened her up and could see the glistening moistness, proving how aroused she was. He kissed the moist area first, then ran his tongue up and down, tasting her.
Tara yelped and arched her hips further, grabbing the back of his head as she fought for release.
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 on her saturated opening.
Tara arched again, as if trying to enclose herself around him.
His hardness felt engorged, and the blood racing through him wanted to slam into that heat. But he teased for a moment, until her blue eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a silent protest.
As she was ready to explode, he entered her. He moved with a steady pace, pushing into her heat until he felt intoxicated, and then pulling back as his body shook with need to return to the center of her heat. When he knew neither of them could handle the pressure built from his motions, he thrust hard, aggressively, and brought them to climax simultaneously.
She stared at him, breathing fast.
He’d controlled her, and he knew it.
* * * * *
Tara dressed in silence, almost disbelieving of the sex she had just experienced. No man had ever done to her body what Darius had just done. She felt numb, more than satisfied, and almost in awe. Her thoughts still floated in a fog of aftermath, and she couldn’t interpret how she felt.
Darius dressed and then pulled her close for a minute as they stared out at the beautiful land. It felt good being in his arms. He was strong, powerful, and still very dangerous. All of it excited her.
“I’ll ride that bike of yours now.” He got up finally and moved to the edge of the ledge they were on and shimmied down to the first set of rocks. He reached his hands up to help her down as well.
She laughed at him. “Didn’t you just say I was your match in every way?” She sat down as well and scooted down the rocks without his assistance.
Within seconds they were back at the motorcycles, and he eagerly climbed onto her bike.
She showed him the order in which to push the buttons on her handlebar to start the bike, and he watched eagerly. She could tell he looked a bit worried as his contented smile turned to a frown when she climbed onto his bike.
“Are you sure it’s not too big for you, my lady?”
“My papa’s bike is at least this big, and I have ridden it a time or two, my lord.” She stressed his title, sarcastically implying his superiority over her.
Side by side, they rode down the rocky road and back out to the meadow.
Tara enjoyed riding the big, noisy, cumbersome motorcycle. There was something raw and untamed about it, although it would be difficult to use in battle, she thought. However, the nature of the Gothman wasn’t to sneak up and attack their opponent but to roar into battle with screams and confidence in their victory; this bike suited their nature just fine. If anything, she felt she understood Lord Darius and his people just a little bit better after riding on the large bike that took each rut in the earth with a vengeance of superiority.
She wondered if Darius was concluding anything about her nature from riding her bike.
After winding past the first group of hills, he slowed her bike to a stop.
She pulled up next to him.
“Park my bike here and climb on behind me. I’ll come get it shortly. It’ll make it a bit easier to justify the story I’m planning to tell if we are seen, it will. When we’re back, you may take Torgo out to the field and give him his lesson. I daresay he’s quite eager, and there’s no reason to disappoint the boy.”