Challenging Saber (8 page)

“Don’t,” she whispered, leaning forward and cupping his face between her hands. “Touch me. Feel only me,” she instructed, running her hands down over his shoulders.

Saber swallowed and nodded. He turned and sat sideways on the edge of the bed. His head turned toward her, seeking her lips. Taylor’s warmth engulfed him as she slowly pressed him back against the pillows. She briefly moved down to gently help him raise his bad leg onto the bed before moving back next to him.

His body arched when he felt her slide one silky leg over his stomach. His hands instinctively rose to steady her as she straddled him. He could feel the heat of her womanhood pressed against him. Another curse escaped him when she slid lower and he felt his cock brush against her ass.

“Taylor!” He growled, gripping her arms tightly. “I’ve wanted you for too long to play… Goddess! Where did you learn that?!” He demanded hoarsely.

Taylor had pulled one hand free and was sliding it down between them. She wrapped her hand around his cock, holding it steady so she could brush the tip through her damp curls to show him he wasn’t the only one who had been waiting.

“I’ve taken my fair share of medical classes,” she reminded him. “It isn’t all that complicated to figure out what feels good and what feels… great!”

Saber jerked when she slowly moved down his body. A loud groan escaped him at the feel of her lips against his skin. His hands fell to the bed and tangled in the covers to prevent him from wrapping them in Taylor’s hair.

Another shudder shook his long frame. Her hair, it was brushing against his skin like a soft feather, making his skin so sensitive, he was afraid he was going to embarrass himself. His legs fell apart as she continued on her determined path to his…

“Holy Goddess above!” Saber choked out when he felt Taylor’s warm lips lock around the head of his cock. “You’ll be the death of me, Taylor!”

Taylor giggled and slid her mouth further down his length, causing his head to fall back as an explosive wave of pleasure crashed over him. His fingers twisted the fabric of the covers as a loud groan escaped him. This was something a Trivator female would never do. Their species was born with sharp teeth, making this something that most males would be very hesitant to even think of trying.

“Taylor,” Saber hissed, trying not to move, but finding it impossible to keep his hips still. “I… This is too much.”

A gasping shudder escaped him when she released him with a loud smacking sound. His eyes opened and he stared at her. In that moment, he knew he was forever lost to the power of his love for her. She was looking at him with liquid eyes filled with triumph and desire. Her hair fell over one bare shoulder and down to shield her beautiful breast.

“Come to me,” he whispered, releasing his grip on the cover to hold his hands out to her.

A brilliant smile curved her swollen lips as she crawled back up his body. He slid his hands down along her side, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin against the roughness of his palms. The moment she straddled him again, he pulled her down to capture her lips with his.

Saber caught Taylor’s soft moan when her lips parted. His tongue swept in, dueling with hers before running along the smooth edges of her teeth. His cock was straining, throbbing as he remembered her lips wrapped around him. Pulling back, he stared up at her flushed face.

“I need you,” he admitted in a harsh voice. “I’ve never felt such a need before. You fire my blood, Taylor.”

Taylor smiled down at him, pushing up onto her knees. He didn’t resist when she pulled his hands to her small, but firm breasts. Her nipples were hard and swollen, begging for him to taste each sweet bud.

“I’ll have to remember that whenever you become thick-headed,” she said, throwing her head back when he pinched her sensitive nipples. “Oh!”

Saber’s eyes darkened at her response. Her hips were moving back and forth in a restless ride. He could feel the heat and dampness against his flesh. She rose up and tilted her hips. He knew what she wanted and he couldn’t have denied either one of them if his life depended on it.

He kept his eyes locked on her face as her head bowed. She stared back at him as she reached down to help guide his cock to her liquid core. Her face flushed when he pushed forward past her soaked curls. The bulbous head of his cock sank slowly into her as she relaxed against his hard length.

“Goddess, Taylor, you are so beautiful,” Saber whispered, watching her face in awe.

It was true. Her face was flushed with passion and desire. He worried that he would hurt her. She felt so tight.

His eyes widened when she leaned toward him and gripped his shoulders. Her hair fell forward, creating a curtain around them. Her lips trembled as she drew in a deep breath, her body tense for a moment before she released the breath she had drawn in.

“I love you, Saber,” she whispered, relaxing her thighs and sinking down on his cock as far as she could go.

Saber opened his mouth when he saw the flash of pain in her eyes and heard her smothered cry. Her hands curled against his skin, but she never looked away. He held his body still until he felt her begin to move. His hands slid around her waist, pulling her down onto his chest so he could roll with her.

A low whimper escaped her when he started to pull out, but he captured it. He wasn’t going to leave her, not yet. His body trembled as he began moving in slow, measured thrusts. He wanted to give her enough time to adjust.

He released her lips when she raised her legs and locked them on his hips, her heels pressing into his buttocks. Rising up slightly onto his elbows so he didn’t crush her, he pressed forward as an intense pleasure swept through him.

“I can feel you,” he murmured, bending to rub his nose against her cheek. “I can feel every delicate, beautiful inch of you as you wrap around me.”

Taylor’s hands rose to cup his cheeks. She raised her lips to press a kiss against his before gazing at him with tears in her eyes. A soft moan escaped her when he thrust deeply into her and paused.

“I can feel you, too,” she whispered. “I want you, Saber. All of you.”

Saber lowered his body over hers and began thrusting harder. His jaw clenched tightly to prevent himself from marking her. He wanted to so badly. She would always be his in his heart. There was no way he could ever have another woman. In his heart, Taylor had been his
Amate
from the first day he had held her in his arms.

Pressing his lips against the curve of her shoulder, he thrust once more before releasing a low groan as she came apart in his arms. His eyes closed when she locked down on him, holding him to her as she pulsed around his thick shaft. The slender thread on his self-control snapped and he shook with the force of his release.

You are my Amate,
he thought desperately, holding her tightly against his body as he pumped his seed deep into her womb.
In my heart, I have claimed you.

“Saber?” Taylor called out groggily the next morning.

She reached out her hand to touch Saber’s side of the bed. Rolling to her side, she ran her hand over his pillow, a smile curving her lips. He had been –incredible. It was the only word that she could think of to describe their night together.

Sitting up, she looked around the room. She grinned at the tenderness that she felt. It was just added proof that last night hadn’t been a dream.

“Or rather, another hopeful one,” she muttered as she slid out of the bed. “It was a wonderful dream come true.”

She walked around the bed and stepped into the bathroom. Taking a quick shower, she wrapped a thick towel around her before stepping out of the room to retrieve the fresh change of clothes that she had brought with her. Spying her backpack, she picked it up and set it on the couch.

She pulled out a dark green pullover, jeans, panties, and the bra that she hadn’t bothered to wear last night. Glancing up, she saw Saber out in the garden. Sweat glistened on his body. He was only wearing a pair of long, jogging pants. He was moving in the familiar pattern she saw him, Hunter, and the other warriors doing during their training.

His arms moved in a beautiful, fluid motion. He had built up his upper muscle strength since his injury. The year he had been confined to a wheelchair was probably the reason. He held a long pole in his left hand and was twirling it above his head. Her hand flew to her mouth to keep the cry from escaping when she saw him turn. His bad leg gave out on him, causing him to stumble. The only thing that kept him from falling was the pole in his hand.

She saw his hand tighten on it until his knuckles shone white with his frustration. After a few moments, he straightened and tried the move again. Each time, his leg gave out on him, causing him to stumble. Her heart skipped with each move.

Tears glistened in her eyes when he tried a different move. He staggered, this time unable to catch himself. He twisted as he fell, landing on the ground where he lay staring up at the early morning sky.

Taylor dropped the clothes in her hand and walked slowly through the opened doors. Padding on bare feet, he didn’t hear her until she was just a few feet away from him. His head turned and their eyes locked. His were filled with anger, frustration and… regret. She knew hers were filled with tears. She hurt for him, with him.

He rolled, grabbing the pole. She watched as he struggled to his feet. Something warned her not to help. Perhaps it was the rigidness in his shoulders or the tension in the air, but either way, it told her that he wasn’t in a good place right now.

She waited patiently for him to straighten. Swallowing, panic began to build inside her when he wouldn’t look at her. Taking a step closer to him, she hesitated when he jerked backwards, stumbling again.

“Don’t,” she whispered, reaching her hand out to him. “Don’t, Saber. Please… Don’t shut me out.”

Saber turned to look at her then. Taylor shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes before spilling down her cheeks. The distant look in his eyes and the silence told her what he was doing. He wasn’t just closing her out… He was letting her go.

“No,” she sobbed, her hand clenching and falling to her side. “You love me. I know you do. I’m your
Amate
. I belong to you. Last night….”

“Stop!” His sharp order ricocheted through her.

Taylor shook her head. “You love me,” she insisted.

“I need you to leave,” he said, looking away from her for a moment before he turned back to gaze down at her with blazing eyes filled with pain. “I want you to leave, and not come back this time, Taylor.”

“NO!” She cried in frustration, stepping toward him. “I belong to you! You are mine! You are my
Amate
. I claimed you last night,” she insisted, stepping up in front of him and dropping the towel. “I gave myself to you, Saber. I gave you more than my body. I gave you my heart,” she whispered, tilting her head to look up at him with desperate eyes.

His hand rose. For a moment, she thought he would admit that he was wrong, but instead, his fingers wrapped around her wrist and he lifted it between them. He shook his head as he stared down at her. Her lips trembled at the harsh coldness that clouded his eyes.

“You do not wear my claim upon your wrist, just as I do not wear yours,” he said, releasing her wrist as if the touch of her skin burned him. “And we never will.”

Taylor watched in disbelief as he awkwardly bent down and picked up the towel that she had dropped. He carefully wrapped it around her, before using the pole to step back. She turned her gaze away from him when he looked back at her with a blank expression.

“Tell me,” she whispered, looking back at him once again. "Tell me that you don’t love me, Saber. Tell me that you don’t love me and that you want me to leave and not come back, but look me in the eye when you say it.”

Taylor braced herself for the wave of pain that she knew was about to hit her. He was going to do it. She could see the resignation in his eyes. He was going to let her go, whether she wanted to go or not.

“I don’t love you, Taylor. I want you to leave and not come back,” Saber said in a quiet voice, never breaking eye contact with her.

The pain was worse than she ever imagined it could be. It felt as if someone was ripping her heart out of her chest. Swallowing, she tilted her head, but didn’t scream.

“You’re a terrible liar, Saber,” Taylor whispered, staring back at him before she lowered her head, letting her hair fall forward to conceal the fresh tears running down her face. “I’ll leave, but there is something you need to know,” she said, looking up again. “I love you. I have from the moment I met you. I’m going to go away for a while. There is an aid mission that I was asked to go on. I wasn’t going to go because….” She paused, clamping her lips together to get control of her composure before continuing. “I’m giving you three months to think over whether you really want me out of your life. When I return, I’ll come by one last time. If you want me, place a yellow ribbon on the tree in the front courtyard. If I don’t see it, you’ll never see me again. I won’t chase you, Saber. I love you for you, not your body. I love the man inside, but I need him to love me, too.”

Turning on her heel, she walked back into the house. Dropping the towel, she pulled on her shirt and pants and slipped on her shoes. Grabbing her bra and panties, she stuffed them back into her backpack. Picking it up, she walked out of the house without a backwards glance. She didn’t want him to see the utter grief that was tearing her apart.

*.*.*

Saber watched as Taylor walked back into the house. From where he was standing, he could see her getting dressed. His fingers gripped the pole in his hands until he felt sure that it would crumble under the pressure of his grasp.

His eyes burned when she turned and walked out of the house without a backwards look. Shaking, he heard the sound of her transport as it started. A moment later, it flew over his house, heading back in the direction of Hunter and Jesse’s house. It was only when she was out of sight that he gave in to the grief. A loud gasp escaped him as he sank back down to the ground. The pole clattered against the tile and he leaned forward, rocking as pain exploded through him.