Mary Wine (9 page)

* * * * *

“Two pretty little heads stuck together has me rather terrified, my friend.”

“She can plan ‘til doomsday, she’s not leaving.”

Contemplating Shane’s kitchen, Jared considered just how long he should leave her with her companion. Cutting Roshelle off from any form of comfort would drive her into his embrace. Jared snorted with disgust. He really shouldn’t be planning how to maneuver his little guest but his brain was clearly centered on the task of getting Roshelle past her fear of him.

But it was more than his sexual desire that made him set on keep her on his mountain.

That fire was either a very calculated move to draw him out or someone wanted her very dead. Maybe both. But he’d taken the bait completely, running to her aid without a single precaution. It would have been pathetically simple to eliminate her under those conditions. That left him with a steady resolution to keep her firmly under his eye.

It would have been much simpler to deal with her as an enemy.

Instead he found himself feeling responsible for her. That emotion raised the hair on the back of his neck. Jared liked his life just the way it was; there was absolutely no room for
her
.

Finding her scent drifting between the walls of his home bordered on invasion. Women had no business on his mountain. The dangers surrounding his life just didn’t allow for it.

The object of his thoughts chose that moment to come into view. Roshelle let the door fall closed behind her as she made her way down the front steps of the house. The afternoon sun lit up her hair bringing the copper out. If he had been close enough to see her eyes, Jared knew that the brown orbs would have turned gold as well. The woman reminded him of a chameleon. Camouflage was a skill she utilized to the extreme.

Roshelle was beginning to get used to
his
stare. At the moment she knew there were several people watching her, and
he
was definitely one of them. As much as she wanted to believe she had vanquished her nightmare, he was still rooted someplace deep inside her mind. But the feeling was evolving into an ache, something that pulsed through her belly demanding her to seek
him
out.

The sound of a truck engine was making its way to her ears as it approached the driveway she stood in front of. The border “boys” were coming in for the night.

Pushing herself forward, Roshelle made her way back to her current home. One run-in with that bunch was enough for her. But returning to the room that had housed her just seemed too much like putting herself back into
his
hands. Stopping on the porch, she hesitated.

Maybe it was time to call
his
bluff.

The truck made its customary stop in front of Shane’s house. Her eyes watched as the occupants filed into the structure. It was very possible that there were no other men on duty. Now that she was taking the time to consider it, it was very possible that these men were doing something other than patrolling a border.

After all, this was Benton County not the Pentagon.

These people had managed to keep her imprisoned in a room using her own fear to keep her there. There was no reason for her to assume that the threat about being shot was anything but smoke.

Fate seemed to be on her side tonight. As she watched the empty truck, two figures came out of the night to circle around it and enter the house. Her dream specter followed on the heels of Shane Jacobs as the two men joined their comrades.

He
turned before entering the house and caught sight of her on his front porch. Their eyes locked in a battle that Roshelle was feeling all too willing to engage in, but she had another priority at the moment.

Breaking the contact, she ducked into the house firmly shutting the door behind her. She made the distance to her room at a dead run. Moving the blinds aside, she was rewarded with the sight of her specter entering the other house. The door closed behind him leaving her very much alone for the moment.

Roshelle spared a thought for Christina but pushed it aside. With the cover of darkness to aid her, there would be no better time to make her escape. There were a number of questions concerning these people but Roshelle was confident that they would not harm her friend. Once she reached the sheriff’s department there wouldn’t be a problem.

But it was a long walk. Moving through the house she sought out the bare essentials for her trip. The hallway closet yielded a number of jackets that would keep the night’s chill away.

Her lips twisted in rage as she caught sight of one jacket that wasn’t black. It was forest green and it belonged to her! Now it was neatly hung next to
his
belongings. Roshelle jerked it off the hanger and put it on. She grabbed another jacket and put it over her own to hide the color.

The kitchen was complete with a back door. Exiting the house from the north would face her in the wrong direction but Roshelle would just double back later. She didn’t want to risk her departure being seen.

Growing up with her grandmother may have kept her isolated but it had given her a skill that was invaluable tonight. As a child Roshelle had learned these mountains. She felt at ease wandering the trees even as darkness enfolded the forest. The sounds that fell on her ears simply confirmed that she was home. The stars would show her the way back to Benton. Her feet picked up their pace as Roshelle anticipated a return to normalcy.

Her face turned up into the first true smile she had felt in days as she imagined the sheriff’s department putting a final end to her nightmares.

* * * * *

“Will you marry me?”

“I want ten kids, I’m terrible in bed and I plan on getting fatter with each baby.”

Christina fired off her retort without blinking an eye. She was so sick of men gawking at her because she had a pretty face. Men just dissolved at her feet without a care for any companionship she might provide beyond sex.

The laughter floating about the room just made her curl her lips with exasperation. Men were such pitiful creatures. She was doomed to die a virgin.

Turning away from the sink, she found herself being assessed by a pair of hazel eyes. Shane Jacobs was not impressed with her tartness. His men were eating it up like a pack of schoolyard boys.

The empty plate sitting in front of the man made her frown. He smiled at her and patted his belly. He’d eaten the disaster of a meal just to prove he could. Jerk.

Jared watched their battle from half-closed eyes. The blonde didn’t interest him. It was far too simple to block her out of his mind.

A slow smile curved up his lips as he stepped out onto the porch. A good three hundred yards separated them but he could feel her. The lightness of her mood drifted over his senses, arousing his curiosity. She had ducked for cover rather than face him.

The lack of logic between her actions and emotions aroused his suspicion. Opening his mind, Jared sought out the reason behind her current joy.

Whatever the reason for their link, Jared was enjoying the ability to tap into her emotions whenever he wanted to.

Pure pleasure poured over his senses. Jared frowned as he considered that. As far as he could see, Roshelle didn’t have any reason to be so pleased with her current situation.

His eyes lit onto the window of her room. It took exactly three seconds for Jared to confirm that she wasn’t within the walls. Finding himself able to feel Roshelle amazed him because empathy wasn’t Jared’s specialty.

Tracking was.

Jared had been running down targets as soon as he learned to walk. Once he formed a solid link with his prey, hunting it down was nothing more than the distance needing to be covered.

His feet were moving even as his mind brought her into focus. Jared melted into the night-covered forest with the ease of a man that was returning to his home. His body took to the hunt with a predatory edge born from years of execution of his talent. His lips turned up in deadly intent.

This time she was all his.

* * * * *

Amazing.

Absolutely amazing. Roshelle shook her head for the tenth time. Caged by her own fear. Kept hostage by a nightmare that was in fact human after all.

Well…
he
was still not normal. No, her night specter was nothing to make light of. The man wielded a mind that was deadly in its precision.

In an odd sort of way, she was going to miss not being forced to face him again. Seeking out the man behind her nightmare was more satisfying than Roshelle cared to admit.

But she would leave him behind. Roshelle had chosen her life’s path and spent too many years earning the right to follow it. She was a doctor. The emotional tempest she had tasted this last week would have to be left behind.

It was strange the way she could feel the man at times. Her feelings had never been so persistent. Sensation was sliding along her skin at the moment as secure as an embrace.

He
was searching—seeking—hunting. Confidence radiated from his mind. Triumph slammed into her head a split second before her back was thrust into the unyielding trunk of a tree. Her feet stumbled as they were literally pushed from their stride. But she didn’t collide with the tree. Instead his hand controlled the momentum of her body with a solid grip in the front of her jacket. He lifted her from her steps and placed her exactly where he wanted.

One hand was all he had used to lock her to that tree. Solid legs pressed forward blocking any escape route. Jerking her head back, Roshelle sought a look that might remind her that she was not facing a dream-spun creature.

Moonlight washed over the hard edges of his jaw, betraying his smile.

Her anger impressed him. Jared could feel the eruption of heat as it surged through her body. Sometime in the last two days, she had conquered her fear of him. Her chest rose in rapid repetition, but terror wasn’t in control of her tonight.

No, she was absolutely furious.

Jared almost laughed in response. Hiding her newfound courage was most effective. Overconfidence was a mistake he would not make with this woman again. But her willingness to engage him in battle was becoming addictive.

Jared had never found a female so very intriguing before. His brain demanded that he investigate the cause.

“I think you’ve gone far enough.”

“Get away from me!”

Despite the fact that she demanded release, Roshelle was surprised to have him grant her demand. Despite her release, her body felt more trapped by his presence than she had by his flesh.

“Didn’t your mother teach you to keep your hands to yourself?”

“My mother taught me to hunt.”

Roshelle believed him, too. Roshelle shifted nervously as she watched the way he dissipated into the shadows. He just seemed to blend with the night more completely than any human being should be able to.

That did not give him the right to hold her against her will.

“Your comrades aren’t going to shoot me.” Roshelle felt her confidence grow as she spoke the words out loud. She had called his bluff and she’d won!

When this woman found her courage she applied it immediately. Jared grinned in response. She wasn’t going anywhere but back to his domain.

“No, honey, my men won’t shoot you. But you seem to be attracting some that would. You might live a lot longer if you turn around and head back up this mountain.”

It wasn’t the confidence in that voice that bothered her as much as the amusement. Roshelle had taken her share of knockdowns in life but nothing like the ones her life was currently throwing at her. Just when was it going to be her turn to pitch?

“I’ll just take my chances with the sheriff’s department.”

Turning her back on him, Roshelle set herself back on the path to her life. She was going home and life would return to normal!

“Roshelle…”

She really tried to ignore him but the deep tone of his voice just demanded she give in to the urge to look at him. Her stride broke for the barest of seconds as she turned back to investigate her company.

He struck with the effectiveness of the hunter her mind labeled him to be. With one hand, he pulled her right off her feet. Gravity aided him as it sent her off-balance body over the wide shoulders that angled towards her. A single upwards thrust from his legs and her body lay across his shoulders just like any downed prey would.

Being hefted over a shoulder would have given her some avenue of retaliation. Her current position across the length of his shoulders immobilized her. His neck pressed into her belly preventing movement while one hand wove between her thighs to secure her legs. The other arm sat wedged between her biceps and lodged behind her neck.

She could try to roll off her perch but the distance to the ground discouraged such a rash action. The grip of his hands reinforced the fact that she would not find breaking free simple.

Frustration rose up in a choking thickness. Not only were her dreams of sanity shattering at his hands again. She was also being hauled up the mountainside like a downed deer.

And she still didn’t know what the man’s name was!

“You know, you are a great deal of trouble.”

She hissed. Jared laughed as he turned and began the climb back to his home. Her scent surrounded him as his breaths deepened with the climb. He hadn’t been so close to the center of her body before. That spicy scent that had teased him was now strong and powerful. His body reacted with ferocious need. The fact that she was mad just made his deepening pull harder to ignore. Her temper had banished all fear from her mind, making it far too tempting to explore his raging need to touch her. Bare her body ‘til he found the source of her scent. Taste her ‘til she moaned again under his touch.

Oh dear God! Roshelle swallowed roughly as each nerve ending she had began erupting with demands. He wasn’t floating inside her mind. Instead they seemed locked together with every emotion shared between them. She could taste the aggression, feel the need pulsing from his body. Her skin screamed for release from her clothing as she felt her belly clench and burn for something far deeper than just a touch.

Roshelle kicked again as she actually felt her passage heating. Everything was too intense. The need to escape the overwhelming pulse of desire went pounding through her brain.

Roshelle almost shrieked as her body fell towards the forest floor. A solid steel band caught her waist and kept her from sprawling at the man’s feet. But it also secured her to his body without a single millimeter between them. Her hands slammed into his chest in an effort to maintain distance. A single finger gently stroked her cheek as he shifted her hips to lay firmly against his body. The hard evidence of his arousal pressed into her belly as she felt her body shake with need.

“If you’d like to stop here, that’s just fine, too, but I’m not letting you walk into a bullet.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

“It wasn’t my idea to volunteer for the job either. That doesn’t change where we are, Roshelle.”

Her name rolled out of his chest in a husky tone. A deep rasp that twisted her stomach into knots. The last time he’d used that tone, he’d also kissed her.

“Don’t!”

Jared thrust the word back between her lips. She jerked away and he followed her. Her lips fell open under the assault. Molding her body to his, Jared enjoyed the pure rush of sensation that came from touching her.

Surrender was her only option. Roshelle moaned softly as she felt her will crumbling. His body moved and molded hers to its every whim. His mouth was fierce, as it demanded access to hers. His fingers slid up her back and tangled into her hair holding her head exactly where he wanted it.

Jared raised his head and swore softly. The sensation was too intense. It was more than the burning need of flesh. Roshelle was merging with his mind as he forced surrender from her body. Her breath escaped in tiny pants as she struggled to thrust him away. But her nipples were twin points stabbing into his chest with invitation. His mouth watered to taste them. Bare her body and run his tongue over each and every inch of her breasts.

His hand traveled down her neck and across her breast. Roshelle whimpered as she felt her body arch towards that hand. Her nipples begged for even the slightest touch. She craved it with a devotion that banished rational thought. Right here, there was only need and instinct. They drove her towards him and the hard body that her fingers could only find traces of through his clothing.

She quivered in his arms. Jared stroked her neck again. Teaching her to accept his touch. Her mind struggled against the intimacy as he clamped his control over his raging need to simply possess her. Here, now, pressing her ‘til her body opened and yielded the deepest touch a female could surrender to a man.

But he didn’t want to take it. Jared lifted her body and settled it against a tree. He pressed his hips towards hers ‘til her thighs parted to allow him between them. He captured her mouth again and thrust his tongue deeply inside to find her own.

There wasn’t any escape. Roshelle couldn’t stop her tongue from reaching for his. His lips were firm as they moved her and instructed her on the motion he craved. Her thighs clenched around his hips as she sighed with pleasure. His body was so hard and that seemed to please her immensely. She wanted to touch that hardness. His hands gripped her bottom as she let him move into complete contact with her body. The hard thrust of his sex settled against the spread folds of her own. Roshelle gasped as sensation burned up her passage in response. Despite the layers of clothing the touch shocked her, making her twist as uncertainty erupted in her brain. He didn’t release her. Instead there was the glitter of his eyes as he firmly pressed his erection against her center again.

Jared watched her nostrils flare. It was a basic and primitive detail that told him exactly how aroused she was. Her hips yielded to his body as she clasped him with her thighs once more. But her thoughts were filled with uncertainty that was rapidly becoming panic. He leaned forward to apply a kiss to her mouth before she let fear override her passion. Her lips clung to his as she relaxed into his embrace again.

Jared swung her back across his shoulders before he gave into his primal urge to push her further. Trust wasn’t something you took. It had to be built. Each time he touched her, she yielded more of herself to his embrace but she wasn’t ready to surrender her body completely.

The woman was a paradox.

Her weight wasn’t enough to slow his stride; in fact her weight was quite comfortable. A smile split his face as he noticed the glare of artificial light. Returning Roshelle to his home was immensely satisfying.

“Now, how come I never found one of those on my duty shift?”

“I think I’ll take a second shift, Sir!”

Several other men joined the celebration of her capture by lending their applause as Roshelle was dumped in the center of the driveway. Her captor simply dropped her feet-first without a single warning. Providing amusement for his men annoyed her, entertaining
him
infuriated her!

Her body was a mass of quivering nerves that she struggle to suppress as the pack of men smirked at her. But the look in his eyes made her knees threaten to give way. Hunger blazed from the depths of those emeralds promising her only a limited reprieve from his hold. Roshelle stepped away from him. He stood between her and the forest making it impossible to leave the compound without challenging him to do it. His eyes promised her he’d delight in any excuse to carry her into the house.

Roshelle raised her chin and glared right back at
him
. His men’s laughter summoned her temper and she embraced the flame of anger to escape the heat his touch bred inside her.

“I was told that Neanderthals were extinct. I see that information was incorrect.”

“Didn’t Neanderthals prefer to drag their mates about by their hair?”

“I am not your mate!”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

Roshelle whipped about to confront the solider that dared to quote Shakespeare in such an uncivilized spot. Any manner of genteel education seemed almost a sacrilege coming from this group of predators.

Still, there was more than one way to knock a man down.

“Not all women have soft hearts for dumb animals.”

Roshelle caught a glimpse of white teeth before the man seized the opportunity her words presented to him.

“Jared doesn’t want a soft heart. Just a soft spot.”

The absolute crudity of his words wrung a blush from her. Circling the group with her eyes, she noted their complete enjoyment of their comrade’s lack of morals. Suddenly, Christina’s disdain for the male of the species wasn’t so difficult to understand.

Jared? Her mind grabbed that bit of information as she struggled to maintain some small amount of dignity. Turning about, she caught him in her stare. Somehow, being able to apply something as normal as a name to this man banished the last of his nightmare image.

He still wasn’t anywhere near normal but he was as human as she was. Lifting her head, she ran another look over his frame.

“When I was a child, one of my favorite stories concerned a battle with a goblin king named Jared. Somehow, I think the name suits you!”