All For One [Nuworld 3] (13 page)

time for adventures.

“It’s too risky right now.” Andru spoke quietly after they’d passed a group of older

Runner men exchanging stories outside a trailer. The men stopped talking to

acknowledge the twins and then continued with their stories once Andru and Ana

walked by. “You’ll wait until the dinner tonight.”

“What if I just run down there for ten minutes?” She looked up hopefully. “That

way I could tell him that I’ll see him tonight.”

Andru smiled down at his sister, feeling so much older than she was even though

in reality she was ten minutes his elder. He brushed her cheek and her smile turned

more hopeful.

“You will have feelings like the ones you have now for many men as you grow

older. I’ll give you ten minutes but then you will meet me at the Crator temple. If you’re

gone for more than ten minutes I’ll come after you, and it won’t be pretty.”

“How did you get to be so wise?” She pushed at him playfully when they reached

their gliders. “Hey, Mama has already taken off.”

Torgo stepped out of the trailer just then with Syra behind him. He smiled at the

twins, but Andru noticed he looked grossly preoccupied. Torgo’s thoughts seemed to

be focused on several things at once.

“Where’s Mama?” Ana tried to sound like she didn’t care where her mama was.

“There’s a lot to do before we meet with the Tree People this evening.” Torgo

placed a hand on Syra’s back as they started to walk away, but then he stopped and

turned to the twins who were mounting their gliders. “What are you two up to right

now?”

“We’re on our way to the Crator temple,” Andru answered.

Torgo studied them for a minute. “I’ll tell Tara that you’re there,” he said, then

turned and walked alongside Syra across the field.

* * * * *

Ten minutes. Why did she let her brother boss her around so much? She flew in a

large circle around Bryton, and her house, hoping not to be detected as she headed for

the rocky hills to the south. The hills approached quickly and she slowed, looking for

signs of Roth. Would he be here?

Ana flew in among evergreen trees at the base of the hill she’d pointed out to Roth

earlier that morning, and parked her glider. She hiked up the hill through the trees, and

penetrating green eyes entered her thoughts. It would be so wonderful if he were here.

Even if it was just for a few minutes, she desperately wanted to see him.

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Was Andru right? Would she feel this way toward another man in the future? She

couldn’t imagine feeling this way for anyone else. Roth was special. He excited her,

made her feel things she’d never felt before. He touched her in ways no one had ever

touched her before. She thought of his hands on her as she pushed branches aside to

continue her climb. His touch had made her crave more of his attention and caresses,

and it had stirred a desire within her that still smoldered.

“Are you looking for someone in particular?”

Ana turned and couldn’t hide a big smile when she saw Roth. He leaned against a

large pointed rock that protruded from the ground at an angle. He’d changed clothes

and now wore striped pants, black and gray, that gathered at his ankles. A loose smock

hung from his shoulders and exposed dark red curly chest hair peeking over the low-

cut collar. A brown leather belt gathered his pants at his waist and helped show off his

taut stomach. He returned her smile.

“I wasn’t sure you’d be here.” Ana stopped and stuffed her hands into her black

leather Runner jacket. She suddenly felt very nervous, but one look into his beautiful

eyes, and she felt herself relax. “I can only stay for a minute.”

Roth pushed himself away from the rock and walked slowly toward her, not taking

his eyes from hers. He reached a hand out to her and she looked at him cautiously

before pulling one of her hands out of her pocket and placing it in his. He then guided

her up the hill to a rocky clearing until he found a rock flat enough for the two of them

to sit on.

Before she could react, his hands went to her waist and he lifted her onto the rock,

and then hopped up next to her. She felt her heart race when he wrapped one arm

around her shoulders and drew her near to him.

“I will take whatever time you can give me. Did you get caught going home this

morning?”

“No, although my brother knew I was gone.”

“You can trust your brother?”

“Oh yes. But he’s the one who told me that I only had ten minutes or he would

come looking for me.” She looked up at Roth, but when she realized that put their faces

only inches from each other she looked back at the overgrown area in front of them. “I

can come back tonight.”

“When?”

“Right after it’s dark.”

He pulled her closer and instinctively her free hand went to his chest. She felt his

muscular chest, hard as steel, underneath his shirt. Noticeable warmth started between

her thighs. It was a pleasurable feeling, anticipation and excitement all rolled into one.

“What will you do now, I mean, when you leave me?” he asked.

She chanced a glance at him, and saw his determined profile studying the high

rolling plateaus that spread out for miles in front of them.

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“I have to meet my brother at the Crator temple,” she said.

“What’s Crator?”

“That’s who we call the entity who made all of us and everything on Nuworld. My

brother and I spend a fair amount of time studying the ancient writings that tell how

the people lived tens of thousands of winters ago. It also tells how these people learned

to understand Crator and his laws.”

“We have something similar to that in our culture. I mean, there are ancient

writings some of our searchers have discovered. They’re written in a tongue that

doesn’t exist anymore but our teachers have worked to understand its meaning. We

don’t use the name Crator though. According to our teachers, the writings say his name

is Yawa.”

“I haven’t seen that in our writings. But it sounds like our people may not be all

that different.” Ana was quiet for a minute, knowing she should leave. The last thing

she wanted was for Andru to appear and spoil everything. “Roth, why are you called

Tree People?”

Roth laughed. “I think we got the name from one of the tribes to the south many

fallings ago. We live in the trees. The name seems appropriate.”

“You live in the trees?”

“Our trees don’t look anything like yours. They’re a lot bigger.”

“They must be if you live in them.”

He took his free hand then and guided her face up to his. At such close range his

eyes devoured her. She felt dizzy, as they seemed to pull her right off the rock.

Instinctively, she closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ana. Open your eyes.”

She did and noticed he focused somewhere lower on her face. “I won’t ever hurt

you. Do you believe me?”

Ana nodded, and wished he would kiss her. She bit her lip and instinctively

tightened her grasp on him as the dizziness started again. A small smile crossed his face

and he lowered his mouth to hers. She met him halfway, eager to taste him. A low

growl came from his throat and her insides leaped in response. She felt his large hands

stroke her back underneath her jacket and the heat between her thighs reached a boiling

point when one of his thumbs stroked the side of her breast.

“You should go now before your brother thinks I’ve stolen you away.” Roth’s voice

sounded deep and raspy, and she felt the heat from his breath on her face when he

spoke.

“I know,” she mumbled and tried to reach up to kiss him again.

He chuckled and jumped off the rock then reached up to pull her down in front of

him. “I’ve never met a lady like you, Ana. You feel something and you act on it. Your

feelings don’t bother you?”

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“Sometimes they scare me to death.” She blushed and his hands went to her

cheeks—cool hands that soothed her feverish skin.

“But you act on them anyway. That’s bravery, Ana, and you have a lot of that.

Don’t ever change.”

She stared up at him, his hands cupping her face, his deep green eyes studying

every aspect of her very existence. “I can feel you looking at me,” she whispered.

“Do you like it?”

She nodded, barely moving her head, fearful he’d move his hands. Finally, he did,

and stuffed them back into his pockets.

“Go to your brother. I’ll prepare a meal for us to eat when you return. But go now,

before I can’t let you go.”

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Chapter Eight

“I can’t remember when I last saw you wear the Runner headscarf.” Darius entered

the dining room dressed in full Gothman attire.

“Syra said it makes it harder to see your eyes,” Tara said, and looked up at Darius

as if to make her point.

“I remember the first time I saw you dressed like that, I do.” Darius lowered his

voice and pulled her to him by the waist of her pants. “I believe it was when you

showed me my brother had turned traitor.”

“That was almost seventeen winters ago.” Tara thought back to the day she’d

watched Darius kill his brother, Mikel, in order to prevent Mikel from shooting her. It

was the day she gave birth to the twins.

“You’re still the most beautiful woman among all Gothman and Runners, yes,” he

growled, and then stole a kiss. “Are you ready to entertain our visitors? Where is Syra?”

“She’s still upstairs finishing the traps that she told us about for our transmissions.”

“I daresay I was impressed with the knowledge she brought us today. My younger

brother couldn’t have been humbled by any other woman and taken it as gracefully,

no.” He chuckled as he thought of the four of them, Tara, Torgo, Syra, and himself,

working together in the landlink room under Syra’s direction.