the words were final. loren couldn’t take them back and the absolute truth was, she didn’t want to. she turned her back on chris and never looked back.
it was long overdue. finally letting her marriage go was the last piece of emotional baggage she’d been lugging around. the weight on her shoulders felt incredibly lighter. so, she wouldn’t know where chris was anymore.
that was a flimsy reason anyway. if the man truly wanted to come looking for her, he would find a way.
the truth was, there had still been some small part of her that actually clung to the idea that chris thought about her at all. the harsh truth was, the man didn’t care about her and hadn’t spared her a single thought since he’d walked out on her.
well, now she was letting it go completely.
or was she? loren stopped in her room and walked into the bathroom to look at herself. was it really all behind her? the image of rourke holding her breasts sprang up with crystal clearness and she felt the same panic come with it.
pulling her shirt over her head, loren unhooked her bra and dropped it onto the counter. the air hit her bare flesh and brought a heightened sensitivity with it. she watched her nipples lift and bead. the really strange thing was loren couldn’t remember really looking at her body in the last fourteen years. in fact, she always had her clothes laid out before she ever got into a shower.
she’d been hiding from her own insecurities. rejection left its scar on every abandoned wife and she wasn’t any different. she’d just never faced it.
suddenly, loren was impatient with herself. she didn’t like being afraid.
one thing being on her own taught her was to look every last bit of trouble straight in the face, because then it could be overcome.
unzipping her pants, she tossed them aside and pulled her panties off as well. considering her reflection, loren let her eyes wander over every inch of herself.
she was pretty. every man might have a slightly different view of just what
“beautiful” might be, but she wasn’t unattractive.
“you’re stunning, loren.”
of course rourke had followed her. maybe she’d been expecting him. loren didn’t care. she watched him through the mirror. confidence surged through her because there was more than common lust written on his face.
loren turned to face him because she wanted to see his eyes.
watching passion flash from his emerald eyes, things were completely clear.
this man was going to be her lover. her flesh was demanding it and loren accepted the fact
60
that her common sense would have to yield. rourke was simply watching her as she finally understood.
he didn’t want to just take her. this man wouldn’t accept anything except complete compliance. every little touch had been a clever move of seduction. compliance of the flesh was one thing, seducing the woman took true strategy.
“come here, loren.”
“not yet.” his jaw clenched in response and loren felt his anger zip across toward her. she lifted her chin with firm resolve.
rourke wasn’t accepting that. his hands closed over her wrist with a grasp of solid steel and yanked her into his embrace. her bare skin registered the hard reality of his male body as he very deliberately wrapped his arms around her to trap her against him. loren settled against him without complaint. she watched his eyes flash in triumph before he lowered his head to kiss her.
he took his time, sliding the tip of his tongue over the smooth surface of her lips. loren gasped as sensation curled inside her belly. he caught the sounds as his mouth took possession of hers, tasting the depths of her willingness. her hips thrust forward with need and found satisfaction in the hard presence of his sex.
“wait.”
“why?” his voice was rough and low. his fingers moved over the side of her face
as rourke waited for her reason. the man was a hairsbreadth from losing his control. there wouldn’t be any waiting if he did that. it was amazing to think that they had been throwing water at each other just a few hours ago. rourke had a playful side that only emerged when he felt at ease. it was a compliment that he’d shared that playtime with her. loren raised her own hand and laid her fingers onto his firm lips. they were still moist from her kiss and she shuddered as she forced her passion aside.
“you would never have an unfaithful woman. i don’t want to cheat in your bed.”
“chris might be your husband on paper but he sure as hell isn’t your man, honey. he crawled onto top of you like a raw kid, didn’t he?” his arms tightened. loren shivered as his words reminded her of her rather disappointing wedding night. between the pain of virginity and chris’ rough handling, there was nothing in the memory that inspired passion. sex was simply… blunt.
rourke slid one hand over her bottom to firmly squeeze one of her cheeks. her belly tightened with acute sensation that settled directly in the center of her sex. it was a surge of pleasure that fed on his touch. her flesh was pulsing with need.
“we were both kids. there wasn’t any shotgun at our wedding. i grew up and left my excuses behind a long time ago.” his head dipped in a solid nod. “you belong to me, loren, and i won’t wait much longer. divorce him or i just might kill the man myself.” he left her and loren sank to the floor. she was boneless without him and she curled into a protective ball as her enflamed flesh screamed in protest.
61
maybe she was walking down the wrong road again. she dropped her head to her knees and felt the slide of tears. even if she was making another mistake, loren didn’t think she had the will to stop herself.
and even if she did, rourke would slice through the barrier in seconds.
he’d have her and then he’d leave her.
there was no other possible solution.
* * * * *
he was in a dangerous mood. rourke knew it. but he let the animal inside himself loose today. it was the only thing keeping him from dragging loren off to his room. he let that idea bloom in full vivid color inside his mind. her body bare and writhing against his sheets as he sank into her center.
his staff was rigid as he savored the idea of thrusting into her body and watching her face while he did it.
his teeth clenched and rourke smiled. raw desire was coursing through his veins. there was something inside him that enjoyed the primitive need pulsing through his body. seducing a woman certainly held its rewards, but right now he wanted to capture loren and ride her ‘til she sobbed with rapture.
the soft sound of his printer stopped. rourke eyed the neat pile of crisp sheets in the output tray and curled his lips back. he stood up and grabbed the papers in one fluid motion.
loren was at her normal spot in his kitchen, right next to the coffeemaker.
she was gazing out of the window, her mug of freshly poured coffee forgotten on the counter top. steam rose from it as she continued to contemplate the view. rourke dropped the papers in front of her and caught her shoulder as she jumped.
“you’ll never hear me coming unless i want you to, honey.” loren lifted her eyes to stare into the ruthless ones of her host. rourke campbell’s face was etched with primitive aggression that made her belly curl with excitement. the need to yield to him was becoming painful now. inside of her was a woman raging against the bounds of a dead marriage that she forced herself to hide behind. his green eyes bored into hers as his hand tightened on her shoulder. he stroked her face with a single finger while he let his eyes settle on her mouth.
“sign them.” his words were whisper soft. he was daring her to refuse his demand. moving her eyes away from his face she looked at the kitchen counter. the neat stack of papers was already filled out and ready for her signature. somehow, loren had never thought that dissolving a marriage could be reduced to a thin pile of computer-generated forms.
she spun away from his hold. she couldn’t look at either rourke or the papers. both glared at her, highlighting her shortcomings.
62
“i’m going for a walk.”
loren hated the fact that she waited for rourke to nod his approval before she turned to leave.
“loren.” his voice was still soft. she barely looked over her shoulder because there was far too much promise in his voice. the need to run was climbing up her spine as she felt the walls of the house contract around her. his green eyes almost glowed as she felt him sink straight into her mind. loren wavered slightly as she felt his desire collide with her own inside her thoughts ‘til they mixed into a potent combination of overwhelming need.
“you have exactly one hour.”
she sprinted out of the kitchen door like a rabbit. rourke frowned as he watched her go. there were parts of him that could scare the strongest man half to death. he prided himself on keeping that side of his personality hidden. baring it to loren was a test. he raised his wrist and noted the time.
now all she had to do was find the courage to come back and face him. the psychic and the man, she’d accept them both if he had to run her to ground.
* * * * *
she wasn’t dressed for running. loren stopped before she’d even crossed the driveway. psychic.
the man was really a psychic. she felt the corners of her lips twitch up into a little smile as she considered the idea. it didn’t strike her as odd. in fact, she wanted to ask him at least twenty questions about his abilities. her curiosity was raging as she tried to decide exactly what he’d done to her in the kitchen. she’d felt his mood. it was like they were plugged into the same current of electricity.
her feet carried her as loren let her ideas wander. she let a silvery laugh escape her lips. rourke’s audacity really should have rubbed her wrong. her divorce was her decision but she was still tingling with sensation as she thought about his determination.
her husband moved with the same quick reflexes that rourke did. one second she was along with the forest. the next instant chris was glaring at her as he stood directly
in her path. his face was a mask of granite but his eyes were strangely unfocused, like
he couldn’t quite decide what he was thinking about.
“you should have told me about my son.”
“if you’d been in the delivery room with me, you’d have found out at the same time
i did.” loren took a long look at chris before she noticed the lack of manhood in him.
63
he was just as immature as he’d been the night he’d left. “don’t blame me for your lost chances. you walked away from us.”
“you never used to be such a bitch.”
“yeah. i was a real pushover. i should thank you for the lesson in life.” chris’ eyes locked with pinpoint sharpness on her face. his mouth twisted into a mask of rage as he lowered his rifle toward her chest. “think you’re smooth, don’t ya? but if you’re dead, toby’s mine. don’t matter if we were estranged or not.”
he wasn’t bluffing. loren knew the look in his eyes just as intimately as she knew her own face. his hand flexed as he settled his finger along the trigger of the weapon. anger rose up inside her as she recognized just exactly how vulnerable she was. but she wasn’t going to stand there and take it!
“want to shoot me, chris? fine. but the only target i’ll give you is my back.”
loren spun on her heel to present her back as the only target. “somehow, i don’t think anyone will buy the excuse about self-defense if i’m bleeding out from my back!”
her body twisted into a tight knot of tension as she waited for chris to respond. there was no doubt in her mind that he truly wanted to shoot her.
but he didn’t want to get caught—it was the only defense she had. seconds crawled by as loren firmly forced herself to begin walking back toward the house, with her chin steady and her eyes looking straight in front of her.
two shots pierced the air and loren felt her body jerk with them. time froze as she waited for darkness to enfold her. her ears heard each and every sound of the forest. she could smell the dirt her own footsteps had sent up.
she felt her lungs expand with a breath and time rush forward with the simple motion of life. there was no pain, no blackness. spinning back around she stared at the crumpled form of her husband. bright red blood leaked from his head in a slow stream even as his fingers clutched the trigger of his gun.
death was always silent. loren blinked her eyes and searched his chest for movement. rourke exploded inside her mind a second later. she stumbled as the man brutally thrust his presence into her consciousness.
she felt his body bearing down on her with an intensity that lodged her breath in her throat.
but her eyes were glued to chris as the trickle of blood continued to flow down his face. the horrible reality of that scarlet trail twisted her gut. murder was a terrifying thing to add to the mountain’s quarantine. everyone was locked on the property until the disease was completely stamped out.
“loren?”
rourke caught her arm as he broke through the forest. he swooped down on her like a raptor, his eyes just as keen as a hawk’s. the emeralds searched her face before rising to look behind her. his face fell into a solid stone mask as his finger bit into her arm. the curse that slipped out of his mouth fit the moment extremely well.
64
“what happened?” rourke shook her as he demanded his information. he firmly invaded her mind. it was completely overwhelming. loren frantically shoved against
his body as she felt her senses being ripped into.
“get out of my head!” he seemed to control every thought and feeling inside her brain. loren shivered violently as she struggled to maintain her grip on her own control.
“why?” suspicion laced his voice but he released her mind back into her own control. loren gasped for breath as she rubbed at her temples. she struggled to think beyond her own fear.
“what don’t you want me to feel, loren?” the suspicion coating his voice made her furious. the harsh look on his face made her shove away from him. curses sailed across the forest as more of rourke’s men responded to the sound of weapon fire. their ears were tuned to listen for it far more acutely than her civilian ones.
“loren, what happened?”
“i don’t know.”
rourke snorted. he curled his fingers into tight fists that turned white at the knuckles, betraying his urge to grab her again.
“my back was to him.”
that made too much sense to rourke. his body tightened as he considered the angle of his fallen ranger’s rifle. loren’s green eyes were filled with anger that was just too intense to dismiss. his men’s curses gained heat as they stood over their comrade.
“get back to the house.”
the urge to proclaim her innocence bubbled up inside her chest. loren clamped her teeth tightly together. she had nothing to prove. for heaven’s sake! she was the only person present who didn’t have a gun. she refused to start babbling like an idiot.
turning her back on rourke she kept her chin in the air as she left. tears pricked her eyes as she walked faster and the house came into view. it shouldn’t matter what anyone thought about her. chris’ buddies could curse her ‘til doomsday. that didn’t change the fact that someone else had pulled the trigger.
but rourke campbell’s suspicion stung. it was cutting into her heart. silent tears leaked from her eyes as she hurried into the house and down the hall to hide behind her bedroom door. a relationship wasn’t worth a wooden nickel without trust.
rourke couldn’t possibly trust her if he could suspect her of murder.