Nuworld: Claiming Tara (11 page)

“That’s enough!” Darius roared.
Tara shook with anger. She wasn’t going to do anything
to Gothman and she sure wasn’t going to be anyone’s
claim.
Tara fought to clear her head. Right now she needed to
think and not worry about a claim that had no bearing on
her anyway. It was foolish being upset by it when she had
bigger problems on her hands. Darius’ men knew her true
identity. And from the sound of it, wanted her taken down.
Yet Darius hesitated. She only pondered for a moment that
he hesitated because of a mutual attraction. Darius ruled a
very powerful nation. His hesitation might be for other
reasons. Tara needed to think straight if she were going to
second guess his thinking.
How many men were in the living room? Three or four?
Her first course of action needed to be how to take them all
on and escape the house to her bike.
The front door slammed, and the house grew quiet.
Had
they all left?
Where
was Hilda and
the
other
servants? Tara needed time to think. In the past, when her
temper threatened to get the best of her she’d take off on
her motorcycle and drive until she calmed down. When
that wasn’t possible, she’d pick a fight with someone in her
clan until she’d released all her anger on her poor victim.
The house was still quiet. Tara wandered out of the
kitchen.
The living room was empty. She headed upstairs. Hilda
must have been asleep in her room, or at least resting.
Tara wasn’t sure how anyone might sleep through the
yelling match that had just occurred in the living room. If
Hilda had overheard, she might now be fearful that she had
a Runner in her home.
There wasn’t time to worry about that right now.
She
stepped
quietly
past the
closed
doors to
her
bedroom. The balcony seemed the only likely spot to sort
through all her thoughts and make a plan of action.
Her smartest move was to leave Gothman and put as
much distance between her and this nation as possible.
Oddly enough, it also sounded wise to stay. “Why would he
hesitate?” she murmured to herself. Maybe the Lord of
Gothman saw that Runners weren’t his enemy. If that were
the case, she might ruin potential communication between
her people and his.
“Tara, you’re back. Will you come down? I’ve waited for
you forever.” Torgo stood in the yard looking up to her. He
smiled and waved. “Hurry, I have a surprise. Put on a pair
of my pants if you want. But hurry.”
“Alright, boy. Calm down. I’ll come down.” Tara went to
Torgo’s room and found a pair of his pants. If she needed to
hurry to her bike for any reason, it would be easier to
escape wearing pants instead of the impractical dresses
she wore every day.
She didn’t care if any of the guards saw her. After
overhearing Darius arguing with his brother and guards,
she wasn’t as angry as she had been hearing about the
claiming. It would serve Darius right. If he had indeed gone
and claimed her after she said she thought any claim
should be mutual, then he could suffer the consequences.
Or, worse, if he had claimed her before and then mentioned
that he
could
claim her just to tease her, he had insulted
her
intelligence.
In the
end,
none
of
it
mattered.
He
couldn’t force her to be his claim. And if he knew she was a
Runner, he must also know announcing a claim on her
would only make him appear the fool if the truth ever came
out.
The blue pullover shirt and dark pants she borrowed
from Torgo fit snugly. Tara guessed she probably showed a
bit more of her figure through the clinging material than
she planned. But she moved easily in the outfit and that
mattered more than her appearance.
“You won’t believe what I got.” The boy danced around
her when she entered the yard. “Look!”
Next to the shed was a motorcycle about the same size
as Tara’s.
Torgo ran to it and patted the seat. “It’s mine.” He
glowed with pride. “Darius gave it to me just this morning.”
Torgo looked around them then whispered, “You can ride. I
know you can. I heard my brother talking with his men.
Will you teach me? My brother isn’t in a very good mood
today. He gave it to me and said we would ride, but then he
got some kind of news and left.”
“What kind of news did he get?” Tara asked.
“I don’t know. What I do know is I want to learn to ride.
Darius learned to ride when he had twelve winters. He told
me so. I have fourteen, and I don’t know how yet. You’ll
teach me, won’t you?” he begged, with gray eyes a softer
version of his older brother’s. “I know some of my brother’s
men think it’s odd that you know how to fight. But I don’t
think it’s strange at all. Your papa was smart to teach you
all he did.”
Tara wondered how the boy was so open-minded when
his older brother seemed so closed to new ideas. “Of course
I will.” Tara ran her hands over the small bike.
It was well designed, painted a clean metallic red, with
the word
Bryton
written in gold. The seat curving up in the
back
was of
the
familiar
Gothman style.
It
was an
impressive motorcycle. Tara was just about to straddle it
but hesitated at the surprised look on Torgo’s face.
She turned her head to see Darius walking around the
shed coming toward them.
Torgo looked as if he just got caught with his hands in
the cookie jar. “I was just letting her look at my new
motorcycle.” Torgo blushed and leaned on one foot then the
other.
Darius stopped next to Tara. He stared down at her.
She noticed the undeniable lust in his eyes. Her insides
quickened in response, but it was the hard edge around
them that had her pay heed. She looked up at him and
pretended not to notice the warring emotions so visible on
his face, then looked back at the boy. “Torgo, a true warrior
never lies.” She looked directly into the youngster’s eyes.
“My papa said that to my brothers again and again.”
Torgo
took
a
slow deep
breath
and squared
his
shoulders. “Tara was going to teach me how to ride
because you’re too busy.”
Tara immediately felt very proud of him.
“Torgo, you’ll make an incredible warrior some day.”
Darius gave away his feelings on the matter when a small,
crooked smile appeared on his face. He was proud of his
younger brother, too. “You’ll have that lesson, but first I
want to speak to Tara. Run on along now, boy.”
Torgo looked at both of them before slowly walking away
from his bike.
Tara faced Darius. His shoulders were broad enough to
block
the
sun.
He
towered
over
her—emphasizing his
domination. And that’s when all the anger inside of Tara
raced through her blood once again. If Darius noticed, he
hid it well.
“Come here.” He walked back toward the shed and
opened it, pointed to the bike inside, then stared back at
Tara. “A true warrior never lies. Those are your words.”
She stared at her motorcycle before looking at Darius.
Then clasping her hands behind her back—the stance of a
warrior—she waited for what he would say.
“Can you start this motorcycle?”
Tara met his gaze. She wouldn’t be caught that easily.
Not to be outdone, she issued a challenge. “And you?” She
would turn this around on him. “I’ve heard people say
you’re a true warrior.”
Darius walked to the other side of her bike. “Ask me
anything. I’ve no reason to lie.” He leaned on her
handlebars, his legs on either side of her front tire, and
stared into her eyes.
“You’ve already lied to me.” She glared back at him,
wanting to pounce on his pompous ass and wipe the smug
look from his face.
Darius raised his eyebrows, looking surprised. Then his
gaze narrowed and grew serious.
Her
words affected
him,
her accusations
a serious
charge. But she was the enemy here, on his land. She
knew, as he did, that there was no way she could beat him
in hand-tohand combat, yet she’d still take him on if need
be. Her anger was genuine. She’d become involved with
this culture and this family. If she were to become a part of
this family, it would be her decision, not his. She would
never take a man who didn’t know her mind and simply
decided he liked her body. They had experienced wonderful
sex together, but sexual compatibility wasn’t enough to
build a relationship.
“You think you know what you need to about me, but
you haven’t asked me anything. You don’t even talk to me.”
She grabbed on to the back of her bike with clenched fists,
growing more outraged at the thought that he would claim
her with so little prior knowledge of who she really was.
“I know that you’re even more beautiful when you’re
mad.” He smiled and reached for her face.
Tara smacked his hand, knocking it away with a good
amount of force. “I’m not unclaimed land to be taken
without asking.”
Darius pulled back his hand slowly and straightened.
When he spoke, it almost sounded like a reprimand. “If
you’re referring to the claiming, I’ve broken no laws. I’ve a
right to any unclaimed lady in Gothman. There’s no
discussion required. That’s been the law of the land since
before my papa was born, or his papa before him. Are you
trying to tell me you think you’re not affected by the laws of
this land?”
Tara watched his muscles twitch. He stepped to the side
of her bike until his face was close to hers. Enough
emotions moved around inside him it was hard to see
which dominated by simply studying him. She didn’t care if
he were amused or mad as hell.“It’s a bad law,” she
whispered. “I’ll not be claimed unless I say I’m claimed.”
Darius slowly moved his gaze from her face down to her
breasts. The tip of his finger stroked the fuel tank on her
bike. “Can you start it?” he whispered.
He challenged and seduced her simultaneously. Tara
took a step backward.
Darius grabbed her. He pulled her against him, holding
her arm and lifting her to her toes and against his virile
body.
His touch sizzled her skin, and the smell of man and
leather consumed her senses. But outrage overpowered
her.
He must have surmised that his touch wouldn’t cause
her to swoon because his expression became serious. “This
is your bike…” He lifted her higher. “…And you are a
Runner. Start this bike, and I’ll never tell a soul. I’ll say I
started it. At this point your only threat here is me. And my
dear lady, right now I’m no threat at all.”
He let go of her arm and placed his knuckle under her
chin, then tilted her head back so his lips brushed over
hers. Touching her mouth with his, he growled, demanding
a response when she did nothing.
Tara pushed away and gasped for air, trying to get her
bearings. She studied his face and hoped she wasn’t
making a mistake.
“A warrior doesn’t lie,” she said.
“True,” Darius agreed. “I won’t lie to you.” Tara broke
away and walked around him. He didn’t stop her. Touching
the bike, she ran her fingers over the handlebars for a
moment, then grabbed it without looking up and rolled it
into the sunlight.
Darius
followed
with all the
eagerness his younger
brother had displayed a short time ago. “I’d love to ride it. It
must possess a speed not known in Gothman.” He watched
her every move as she climbed aboard.
Tara looked around to ensure the yard was empty from
any of Darius’ guards. Immediately she took off with a
jump, causing the bike to literally leave the ground.
“You can ride it if you can catch me,” she yelled over her
shoulder.
“Ah, yet again you believe you can tell me what to do?”
Darius ran to his motorcycle, which was parked along
the side of the shed. He was laughing when he reached it.
Tara made it to the edge of the backyard, then spun
around and stopped. She would make her challenge a fair
one. It would not do to beat him and have him say she had
some kind of edge.
He brought his bike up alongside hers and stopped. His
bike rumbled a lot louder than hers did. “We both know
your bike is designed to be faster than this one.” There was
fire in his eyes.
Darius was indeed a true warrior. He was thrilled by her
challenge and excited to take her on in a physical activity
other than having sex. She saw it in his eyes. Tara smiled
wickedly. “This bike may be faster, but you know the land
like you know the gloves on your hands. It’ll be a fair race.
Just name the destination.”
“We’ll race to the cliff I wanted you to climb. You’re not
in a dress today.” He grinned as his gaze raked down her
pantclad body. “And, my lady, the claim stands.”
Tara didn’t respond but instead took off across the
meadow with all the skills of her Runner heritage. Darius
was right at her side, dodging the rocks and ruts in the
ground that opposed both of them. The two sped fast,
pushing their limits and skills to the edge.
Although Tara didn’t know the terrain, she’d travelled at
high speeds across a lot of countryside she hadn’t known.
She didn’t look next to her to watch her competitor but
instead kept her eyes ahead of her, soaring over the gullies
in the land. She climbed and descended hill after hill, and
when she spotted the crag with the rocky road outlining it,
she added to her speed and easily left Darius behind.
The rock-strewn road was steep, and her bike was not
designed for such travel. Tara decelerated, fearing the bike
would literally slip out from under her. She crept up the
hill aware of Darius approaching from behind. She knew
the
dust from the
gravel
impaired
his vision and
intentionally spun her tires on the road to further slow him
down. A large rock came up on her before she noticed, and
Tara slid off the side of the road, scraping her leg. The sting
from the scrape intensified when she put her weight on it,
but she wouldn’t let an abrasion cause her defeat.
She glanced down at Torgo’s torn trousers and the
scratched skin underneath.
Darius came up behind her and slowed his bike. “Are
you okay?” He looked concerned.