* * * * *
loren lifted her chin to smile at her son. two hours later she was as all right as she could be. her body was also clean enough to eat off. “sure am, buddy. better now that you’re here.”
“cool. so, like, am i leaving or staying?” loren felt her eyebrows draw together. the front door opened to admit clay campbell. his eyes immediately scanned her from head to toe before he aimed them at toby.
“evening, roommate.”
“excuse me? is my son going on safari with you?” clay grinned at her before he sent a whistle through the house. he grinned at her as
he fingered his knife again. “i thought we’d go hunt tigers and chase snakes through the brush. maybe sleep out in the rain in nothing but our shorts. you know, guy stuff.”
rourke appeared with hair that still glistened with water and his feet were bare. the shirt he wore was marked with dark patches from where he shrugged into it without toweling off first.
“don’t worry, mom, i’ll make sure he keeps out of classified files too.” clay winked
at her before smiling at toby.
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toby swallowed roughly in response. clay tossed his head back and laughed. loren met rourke’s eyes and smiled. he was right. now that the mystery of infection was uncovered, and laid completely on rourke’s men, there was every reason to get toby out of any possible threat. her son had had extremely limited contact with rourke’s unit.
but if toby stuck around it was going to be a chore to remember to keep him at arm’s length. the stakes were too high to leave it to chance.
besides, if she did contract tai forest, the last thing loren needed was to have her son witness the ordeal.
“take your grandfather along. it’s been a long time since he took you fishing.”
“fishing, mom?”
loren smiled. if it didn’t have a circuit in it, toby wasn’t interested.
“i just might have another panther at my place.” a grin appeared on toby’s face before he loped into the den and reappeared with
his duffel bag and laptop. he tossed her another smile before eagerly following clay out the door. with the confidence of immortality that youth provided, toby never looked back.
* * * * *
she looked so damn normal. rourke felt his jaw clench tight enough to crack his teeth. right then, tiny microbes could be speeding through her veins intent on destroying her body. they would break down the cell membranes ‘til the very fibers of her flesh failed to hold her own blood. she lifted her head, making rourke snap his mind closed. he reached for her anytime he was thinking about her. it was almost a form of greeting between them. the thing that surprised him the most was the fact that loren didn’t seem concerned about it.
she accepted him for what he was and it hit him with the force of a chest kick. he’d failed to secure her. rourke felt his lapse of judgment hit him even harder. the penalty was much too high.
“will that letter be enough to settle your men?”
“don’t.”
his voice was harsh. loren set her mug aside as she glared at him. she wasn’t in the mood to be bullied. his mind snapped back into contact with hers before rourke stepped forward to close the distance between them.
“don’t you dare begin cleaning up the details, loren.” 121
her temper died silently as loren watched him move even closer.
terror snaked through her thoughts as she recognized the familiar feel of his desire brushing her mind.
“you can’t touch me, rourke.” he kept coming as she scrambled up onto the kitchen counter. “please stop.”
“i’m not even sure death could prevent me from touching you, honey.” his strong hands closed over her cheeks before sliding down her neck. a low moan rose out of her throat as loren fell against his chest. she needed him so much. the smell
of his skin, the sound of his heart beating inside that powerful chest. she just needed to
be pressed to him in the deepest embrace ‘til nothing mattered but each other.
a tiny sob escaped her as she realized rourke refused to let her protect him. his hand cupped her chin and raised it to meet his mouth.
his lips were solid and demanding. he pushed her mouth open as his kiss became deeply intimate.
loren clung to him. nothing stood in her way. she was simply free to indulge in her desire. the warm scent of male surrounded her as she sent her fingers toward the buttons on his shirtfront.
he pulled his head up and looked out the window behind her head. loren didn’t blush. she didn’t care who might catch a glimpse of them.
in fact, she didn’t care if anyone decided to watch. just one short day ago, rourke had threatened her with that, now she didn’t care who knew she was his lover.
rourke grinned as he caught the drift of her thoughts. boyish glee sparkled in his eyes even as she saw the shimmer of something harder cross his face.
he stepped back
as he memorized her face. one hard muscular arm rose toward her. rourke turned his palm up and offered it to her.
“let’s go to bed, honey.”
she laid her hand on top of his. the beast inside him surged with victory.
rourke turned and let his lips curl back to show his teeth as she followed him. nothing he’d ever accomplished had ever pleased him so much.
the house was completely dark. rourke left it that way. tonight he simply wanted
to immerse himself in the feel of her flesh, the feminine scent that radiated from her skin when desire made her blood heat for him. his cock tightened with need as he walked through the doorway of his room.
he ripped her shirt off again. loren giggled as she listened to the buttons hitting the floor. the aggressive approach to baring her body was the deepest of compliments.
the harsh sound of his zipper lowering made her smile. his shape bent in the dark
as the sound of fabric being pushed around hit her ears. rourke straightened before her. she felt the firm invasion of her thoughts as he joined them together before reaching for her.
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her skin rejoiced as they collided. her breasts lifted as the nipples drew into tight peaks against the rough hair of his chest. heat fell like a waterfall into her belly. she could not wait even another second for complete intimacy.
rourke sucked his breath in as her desire burned him. the intensity of that need dissolved every last dictate that society held over him. the rules of modern lovemaking didn’t mean a thing. he wanted to impale her body and nothing mattered but thrusting into the hot passage that he could smell. his hand pulled on the lace edge of her panties and pulled the garment off her body.
his hands caught her bottom as loren sighed with pleasure. rourke was burned so deeply into her mind that her body was envious to join. he turned and lifted her. the wall touched her back as he kept moving forward until her thighs parted for his hips.
“wrap your legs around me.”
loren lifted her thighs high and he moved closer to her center. the folds of her sex parted as she wrapped her legs around him. the hard tip of his cock probed her body
as she tipped her hips toward him.
his thrust was hard. loren clung to his shoulders as his body shook with the effort
of controlling his thrusts. a primitive urge to mate raced across their link to enflame her body even more.
“yes, rourke, exactly like that. take me.” his eyes flashed at her before his fingers curled into the cheeks of her bottom. loren
let her thoughts fall away as he rammed his hard erection into her body. he bucked and thrust with hard driving force as she clung to him. pleasure shot out from the friction as she sent her hips forward for even deeper contact.
climax refused to wait. it cascaded over her in a deluge of sensation as her mate rammed solidly into her spread body. it was harsh and hard and her body gleefully gripped his staff as she felt him erupt inside her passage. her very womb was reaching for his seed as loren felt the muscles of her sex milking his staff.
his huge shoulders shuddered as his hand tried to rub her bottom to relieve the sting of his harsh grip.
“dear god, loren…i didn’t mean to be so hard.” this time she tipped his chin up. loren stretched forward until their lips met. he let her lead the kiss. the tip of her tongue gently traced the firm outline of his mouth before she sent it into his. he turned with her body still wrapped around his and walked toward the bed. loren let her legs relax as the mattress took both their weight.
rourke rolled ‘til he rose up alongside her body. he pressed her onto her back and smiled as the silvery moonlight illuminated her body for him. a hundred different places on her skin begged for close inspection.
rourke was going to spend the rest of the night finding each and every last one of them.
“now, let’s make love.”
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* * * * *
the morning was cold. loren smiled as her checks stung. she wrapped her fingers around her coffee mug and stepped out further onto the porch. half of it was missing. she stared at the edge of planking that had just been cut away from the house. the dirt was lifeless because it hadn’t seen sunlight in years. the rangers had cut the porch away and burned it with their fallen comrade.
she turned to lean over the opposite railing. two sentries walked by with their rifles sitting confidently in their grip. their eyes moved over her as they considered everything that surrounded them. loren was used to it now. the mountain home was very similar to a military base. patrols moved constantly over the grounds. the only privacy available was inside the house itself. the rangers didn’t enter the residence.
“morning, ma’am.”
loren stared at the sentries as she fought the urge to let her jaw drop open. both men inclined their heads as they went. simple courtesy was extended only now.
well, that told her all she needed to know. chris was gone. even his memory was
no longer rattling her chain. the last bit of tension bled away as the sun crept over the forest.
a secret smile lifted her face as she considered rourke. she’d made it out of his bed this time. no small feat. the man appeared to have internal radar. taking her mug with her, loren stepped down the stairs and along the driveway.
the morning was stunning and she needed a little exercise. she wove into the forest
as she marveled at the pure beauty of nature. the trees were thick. they spread their branches out in a canopy that broke the sunlight into golden rays. they rained down on her as she filled her lungs with the fresh scent of pine.
rourke brushed against her mind. she let a rather smug grin spread across her face. there was the faint trace of male pride floating between them. looking up, loren noticed that she’d just about reached the top of the ridge.
she dug her feet into the ground intent on making it to the top. she’d looked up at the peak from the kitchen window for what felt like endless hours. today, she was going to stand on it and look down at the house.
the trees thinned as she made the last few yards. her lungs labored in the thin mountain air as loren lifted her knees to cover the last few feet.
a solid grip yanked her out of her step instead. she landed against the solid wall of muscle and watched arms close around her like steel bands.
“good morning, honey.”
“how did you find me?”
silence met her question. loren shifted but rourke didn’t release her. his chest rose with a deep breath as he severed the link between their minds.
the rejection made her angry as she pushed against his hold.
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“you could just tell me it’s none of my business, campbell.” his arms released her
as loren refused to give up her battle. she turned to look at the iron mask he’d slipped into place. the man pushed into her thoughts anytime he wanted to but refused to share anything about himself with her. her temper rose up as rourke stood inspecting her with suspicious eyes.
“well, maybe you should just stay out of my head then. i told you before, i don’t play stupid for anyone.” loren rubbed her arms as her temper failed to hold off the hurt that invaded her heart. “not even for you.” but it was a lie. loren knew she’d play stupid for rourke. she lifted her chin as his face turned angry. his eyes cut into hers as he very precisely pushed into her thoughts.
“i mean it, rourke! don’t play with me.” she was so damn tempting. rourke was mesmerized by her. loren didn’t just deal with his life, she shouldered it like a professional.
“i’m a psychic tracker, loren. i can find anyone, dead or alive, that i have personal property from. in your case, i can link with our relationship and follow you anywhere.”
her temper completely deserted her. instead loren felt her heart swell with emotion. rourke had never shared anything personal with her. he’d taken her body and soul yet never divulged his private life to her.
his hand cupped her chin as he stepped forward. “empathy is a secondary ability, but emotions can be tricky to understand.”
“is that why i feel your thoughts sometimes?”
“yes. i’m the only member of my family who has joined the army outright. i
command these men but i’m their operative as well.” rourke dropped her chin as he clenched his fists with anger.
he’d never felt so trapped in his entire life. “loren, i don’t exist.
can you understand that? i can’t ask you to be my girlfriend, and god help me, i’m hoping you are pregnant because then i can
trap you here with me.”
rourke watched her face as he spoke. his words were hard and he knew it. the best thing he could do was make her detest him. loren had a life that she’d carved out
of insurmountable odds and he didn’t have the right to put her on a chain that wouldn’t reach back into her world.
“i can’t leave this life, loren. my world will swallow yours without a single hesitation. it may have already cost you your life.”
“i am not going to get sick.” the guilt on his face made her mad. loren felt actual rage rising in her throat. fate had another think coming if any force in the cosmos thought it was coming between them.
love never submitted to bounds!
her emotions zipped right across the air and into rourke before loren even thought to question the word love. it was simply there. there wasn’t another word to use and she flatly didn’t want to find a substitute.
rourke’s eyebrows dipped as he tried
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to understand her feelings but she felt his seeking hers out in the tight bond that they’d always craved from each other.
“i will not get sick, rourke. that’s not the first time i’ve been coated with infected blood.”
“there’s one hell of a difference, loren, and you know it.”
“it hasn’t convinced you to keep me at arm’s length, so it can’t be all that bad.”
he stalked toward her and captured her body against his own. loren laid her hands on his chest as his mouth thoroughly engaged hers in a deep kiss.
“nothing will keep me away from you, honey, not even death.” he growled his words as loren felt her blood begin to surge through her veins. she slipped her hands around his neck as his staff began to harden against her stomach.
“then i guess you have a week to work on that plan.” rourke tightened his hold as she surrendered completely to his body. no hint of struggle remained in her thoughts. instead she gently rubbed against his body as she raised her eyes to look into his with expectation.
“what plan is that?”
“to impregnate me.” her hips rotated and rubbed the bulge of his swollen sex.
“you might want to work on increasing the odds.” he released her, making her frown. loren tried to contain her disappointment but the deep rumble of amusement from rourke made her raise her eyes to look into his face. desire blazed from his eyes as he opened his shirt. her eyes dropped to the chest he revealed to her. he bent to lay the shirt open on the ground.
rising back up, his hands made quick work of her own shirt. that garment was laid down making a larger spot. color heated her face as she considered him wanting to make love right there. she felt terribly exposed. loren twisted her head in both directions as she tried to assure herself that they were alone.
rourke laughed again as he caught her chin with his hand. “i told you, honey, i
don’t care who watches us.”
it was an arrogant statement. primitive in the extreme but it made heat pool in her belly. rourke intended to stake his claim on her.
“unhook that damn bra. i hate that thing.” loren reached for the hooks as she looked at the pants he still wore.
“sorry, honey, i can get caught with my pants down but not off.” the statement was a reminder of the reality of his life. loren freed her breasts as his hands found her waistband and pulled the elastic sweatpants down her legs.
she felt oddly vulnerable completely bare. the sunlight streamed down to display every last inch of her body to him. his hands lifted her off her feet as he adjusted her into position on their spread clothing.
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“god, i love your breasts.” his eyes were focused on the twin globes as he dipped down to suck one nipple into his mouth. loren gasped as pleasure erupted throughout her body in response. her skin flushed as his tongue circled the tip of the nipple even as he continued to suck. a hand gently gripped her other breast and loren felt her passage moisten for him.
the smell of the forest struck her as intensely arousing. the faint scent of water in the ground beneath her touched some deeply rooted need to be part of nature’s cycle.
his lips left her nipple and searched for the opposite one. loren moaned as she felt the folds of her sex swell. she let her legs fall open as she suddenly needed to let those delicate folds open.
“jesus, you smell so hot.”
rourke looked into her eyes as he drew in a deep breath. his nostrils flared slightly
as loren felt fluid sliding down the walls of her passage. his fingers gently rubbed the length of her sex as he sniffed the air again.
he wasn’t an animal. rourke clenched his teeth tightly as her scent made his body rage with need. every time he caught her scent, primitive need roared through his brain until he was reduced to nothing but the desire to mount her.
the thick fluid from her body coated his fingers as she frantically reached for his fly. rourke groaned as she freed his staff and wrapped her fingers around his length.
“ah hell, loren, i can’t seem to slow down.” rolling back, rourke captured her hips and brought her over his body. loren gasped with pleasure as the tip of his staff probed the opening to her passage. she let her thighs settle on either side of his body as his hand lowered her onto his. her body welcomed the hard thrust of male flesh before he lifted her and lowered her body again.
she took the rhythm from him. rourke groaned as she used her thighs to ride him. her body was hot and wet as she rose and fell. he reached for her breasts as the round globes bounced with her movements. her skin turned ruddy as climax crested over her. rourke reached forward to rub her little bud as he bucked into her body.
loren didn’t think she’d survive. her body was drawn too tight.
it snapped in a wave of pleasure so deep it made her womb contract. she actually felt the walls of her passage clench around that hard flesh buried inside her. a stream of hot fluid shot upwards into her body making a second wave of pleasure contract around his cock.
she collapsed onto his chest. rourke smoothed his hand over her skin, trying to absorb every last second of contact with her.
separation was stalking them like a hungry predator. picking off their minutes together one by one. loren had yielded everything. it should have satisfied him. instead rourke stared at reality and cursed.
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