Tara

by Jennifer Bene

  They were gasping when she pulled herself back, pushing herself away from him so her back pressed against the steering wheel. The beep of the horn made her jump and he groaned as she moved in his lap, rubbing against the hard press of his cock. It made her laugh though, and he smiled back.

  “I think we should take this upstairs.” She grinned and he traced his eyes over her lips, which she knew were swollen from his attentions. He ran his thumb across her bottom lip and gently kissed her again. Then his mouth traced her jawline, placing kisses along the way until he stopped below her ear.

  “I agree, I’d rather not meet the Polizia Municipale for making out with a beautiful girl in a car park.” When he called her beautiful it actually made her heart race. She wanted, needed, to hear that from him. She wanted him to say it again. Tara couldn’t stop herself from kissing him once more, but she simultaneously opened the driver’s side door. The cold air flooded in and made it easier to slip off his lap and out of the car.

  “For the sake of your criminal record, we should hurry.” Tara grinned down at him and he laughed. It was such an easy laugh, and hearing it one would guess he laughed all the time, but he never really did. He hadn’t relaxed at all since she’d met him. This had all started with the dancing. His change, his relaxing, this strange feeling of connection.

  Nietzsche hadn’t been right about everything, but he had been right when he said without music, life would be a mistake.

  Yes. Because without music, this wouldn’t be happening.

  Alaric stepped out of the car and immediately turned and pressed Tara back against it, his hands gently pulling her towards him so he could capture mouth lips again. She tasted amazing, better than anything he could have imagined, and he couldn’t resist trailing his tongue down her neck again, nipping her lightly. A soft laugh bubbled up from her and it made him smile against her skin.

  I want to hear that again and again.

  “Upstairs.” He said, his voice humming against her neck, and she nodded. Grabbing her hand he turned and marched towards the hotel, the car beeping as it locked behind them. She was laughing again when he pushed open the doors, the same security guard from the night before smiling at them. He nodded at the man, but he was focused on the elevator doors, pressing the call button over and over as if it would speed up the machine. He just wanted to touch her again without an audience. The ding of the doors opening was like a chime from heaven and he moved her inside quickly.

  Alaric punched the button for their floor and then pressed her against the mirrored wall to kiss her again. She pushed her hands into his hair and he growled and lifted her so she wrapped her legs around his waist. Without the height difference he could easily kiss down her neck and across her collarbone, her breaths coming in little pants as he shamelessly ground his hips against her. He was hard as a rock, and he found himself wishing she’d worn one of those little skirts and not the jeans that were now just an infuriating barrier.

  Not much longer.

  “Security is getting quite the show.” She laughed out.

  “No cameras. That’s why I like this hotel.” He stole a kiss from her, grinning as her smile lit up her entire face. “They hire guards for eyes-on security so there’s no cameras, ensures the privacy of the guests.” He growled and pressed her harder against the wall. “Completely worth the extra cost for a moment like this.”

  “Agreed.” Tara winked before he kissed her again, and she held his face to hers. He heard the elevator ding as they reached their floor and he stepped back to let her plant her heels on the ground, but his arms stayed around her as the doors slid open. He didn’t want to let go of her, but with the list of things he wanted to do with her growing in his head, he knew the elevator was not the appropriate place to start.

  First thing on it? Spread her thighs and taste her for real, hear her call out his name and come apart under his tongue.

  His cock was practically knocking at his zipper as he smiled down at her. “Come on, I want to get you very, very naked.” He took her hand again and tugged her into the hallway, moving left towards the door to the room. Once they were there he was going to make sure she knew that she was his focus, that he wanted her to feel pleasure, to feel sacred. To know, unequivocally, that he wanted her because of who she was, and not just because she was some mythical warrior who got caught up in a battle between gods. No, she was going to know exactly how much he cared about –

  Alaric stopped hard as he turned to face front. The door to their room was ajar. Fuck. His stomach sank as he let go of her hand and took out the knife from the back of his pants. All of the excitement from a moment before left him like someone had snuffed out a candle flame. Not even a trace of light left. Just ash and smoke.

  He was going to kill whomever had come for her.

  Taking two steps forward on silent feet he turned to gesture for her to wait just as the door opened wider and a man stepped out, followed quickly by another. Their eyes came up and the first man stared past him, directly at Tara.

  “Hey! It’s her!” The man spoke in Italian and grabbed the arm of the man behind him and pointed straight at her.

  No mistaking that. They had come for her, and they were about to find out just how stupid that decision had been.

  They stepped forward and he moved to meet them but Tara grabbed the arm without the knife in it, and pulled him back. Switching to Japanese she whispered to him, “Wait. You said you wanted to see me in hand to hand, right?”

  “What? Now?” He stared at her like she was crazy as she took a step past him, and he grabbed onto her arm to stop her. “Tara…”

  She grinned wildly, her cheeks still flushed from their efforts. “Come on. Just trust me. Let me show you.”

  As much as it made him sick, he could see how much she wanted this. Wanted the chance to protect herself for once, and he didn’t want to take it away. Alaric forced himself to nod and release her arm, but he didn’t let go of the knife. He could barely breathe as she moved slightly in front of him, every muscle in his body tensing as she was exposed.

  You have to trust her.

  Turning towards the two men she gave a slight bow, and they stopped short. “I believe you’re here for me?” She chose Italian since they had spoken it, and the sweet, submissive tone in her voice was one he now knew was an act – but they didn’t.

  Smart girl.

  “You’re Tara, right?” The lead man spoke – he was the one in charge. She nodded at them and the man laughed. “We’re here to collect you. Our boss bought you from Signore Formato. Just come with us and we don’t need to cause any trouble.”

  “She’s not going anywhere with you.” Alaric growled out the words from behind her and the men laughed louder.

  The second man spoke this time, “Two against one, and all you have is a knife?” The second man drew a gun, long with a silencer like he had. Exactly like he had.

  They must have broken into the room safe. Dammit.

  However, it was clear they didn’t see her as a threat, which was a mistake.

  “He may have paid Gianni, but he never took possession of me. Gianni was killed before he actually gave me to your boss.” Tara spoke evenly, testing her balance in the heels, and he couldn’t help but appreciate the view from behind. Her ass cupped in the tight jeans, the curve of her hips and waist.

  “Who cares? We’re taking you back to him.” The man in front spoke again and took a step towards her, but she laughed.

  “I don’t think Alexander is going to be okay with that.” Tara tilted her head back towards him, and he smirked at how clever she was to use his false name.

  “Alexander,” the second one made the name sound like a whine, “didn’t buy you.”

  “Just come along like a good whore.” The first one spoke again and took another step towards her. Alaric’s blood boiled hearing the word, but Tara was already moving and it took every ounce of his self-control not to rush them himself.

  Tara smiled over her sho
ulder at him, not even a shred of fear in her face, before turning to face the men again. “Of course,” she said softly, taking a half step forward. He watched the man physically relax as he thought she was obeying, and then she brought the heel of her hand up into his nose. His face snapped back and she lunged forward to shove the gun in the second man’s hand down, moving faster than he would have ever expected. A dull puffing sound went off as the gun discharged into the floor.

  “Shit!” The first man cursed as he cupped his face, and Tara twisted at the waist and brought her elbow back into his ribs. He bent sideways and she turned all the way and dropped her knee into the back of his to send him to the floor. She moved so gracefully it was almost like she was dancing, but there wasn’t a wasted movement. Each strike was delivered for maximum damage, and Alaric found himself staring in awe as the second man began to right himself and she brought her forearm across his throat. He dropped the gun in a futile effort to reduce his choking, clutching at it with grabbing fingers as he sputtered. With his hands at his throat she grabbed his shoulder and brought her knee into his stomach once – twice – three times and then slammed her knee into his face before she let go of him. The spray of blood and his low shout of pain made Alaric cheer internally as the man hit the floor next to his friend and Tara turned to smile at him, beaming and proud.

  Fuck, she’s fast.

  He was gawking at her, he knew it, his mouth open with his hand still holding the knife down at his side. Alaric started to move towards her to help finish them off when the first man stood up and charged her, catching her around her waist and slamming her into the wall. “TARA!” He shouted and ran forward.

  Tara’s breath had kicked out of her chest when she hit the wall, which he knew left her with nothing when the asshole wrapped his hand around her throat and cracked her head back into the wall. As he rushed towards her, prepared to gut the man where he stood, bands of light flickered to life around her wrists, growing steadily brighter.

  The bands. She had warned him of this, the asshole was trying to lay a claim to her.

  No. Fucking. Chance.

  Tara braced her arm and brought it down against the asshole’s arms, trying to break his hold on her throat. The first attempt just shifted his arms, and he gripped her throat harder. The second time her arms came down just as Alaric charged forward and tackled the guy to the ground, driving his shoulder hard into the man’s stomach.

  He growled as he slammed his fist into the guy’s face, again and again, and then he remembered the knife beside him and slid it home between the man’s ribs. “You will never get her,” he spat into the man’s face as he groaned in pain. The asshole tried to shout so he covered his nose and mouth, holding the bloody knife as he watched the man panic.

  Yeah, it sucks not to be able to breathe, doesn’t it, asshole?

  The first man rolled to try and get up but Tara kicked him in the face, the brutal crunch of the impact making Alaric smile. The man turned away, moaning and gripping his face, and if his nose wasn’t broken before, it was now.

  “You’re going to regret that!” He threatened through the blood in his mouth.

  “What am I going to regret? Be specific.” She stood over him, taunting, and he spit blood at her but she didn’t even flinch. She was perfect.

  “Boss already said whoever brings you in gets to do whatever they want. You’re just making it worse for yourself.” He was talking through the weight of his hand as he tried to put pressure on his nose, while his other hand pressed against his side – she’d probably cracked a rib with one of those brilliant moves.

  “Your boss isn’t getting her, asshole. Ever.” Alaric growled through his teeth and punched the guy under him when he jerked his head out of his grip, spewing curses at them both. “Shut up.” He started to frisk the guy with his free hand, removing a gun from his pants so he stored his knife to check the weapon. Gun still had rounds left, but the man didn’t have any cuffs on him. Shit. That meant they needed to get them back into the hotel room so he could tie them up and get information from them.

  Then they could find out who was after Tara and end them first.

  Tara was impressed by the brutal efficiency Alaric had used to take down the first man, and even now he was operating cool and calm. Better yet? He’d let her take the lead. Let her take the men down, and it had been thrilling to fight again. To feel for just a moment like she was Eltera’s warrior again, a real Faeoihn. With a sigh she turned to check on the second man and realized he was already sitting up, his gun raised and pointed towards Alaric.

  “NO!” She lunged and grabbed the gun on instinct and she felt it go off, the metal jerked back out of her hands just as a searing pain hit her stomach.

  He’d shot her.

  Fuck.

  By the gods, this was worse than a blade.

  Everything after that happened very quickly, and very slowly, at the same time.

  Tara watched as Alaric lunged for her, and he caught her around the waist so she didn’t hit the floor, the second man went to his friend to check his wounds as Alaric started dragging her backwards towards their hotel room. She stumbled, but he held her up against him, his arm holding the gun on the two men who scrambled down the hallway towards the stairs as he fired once and then again.

  The soft sounds of the muffled gun kept them at bay.

  Alaric kicked the door to the room open and held her against the wall by her shoulder as he fired once more and then kicked it shut. He picked up some weird metal contraption and pressed it into the crack between the frame and the door, waiting for it to light up green before he let go, then he turned towards her and she could see he was freaking out. No calm composure now.

  “Tara? Tara – Tara are you okay? Where’s the bullet? Did it go through?” He was babbling and running his hand across her stomach, and not in the way he had been in the car.

  What a way to end their evening.

  “Alaric –” She mumbled but he interrupted her again.

  “Did it go through? Tara, are you okay?” His hands were behind her, his fingers pressing into the skin of her back as he sought an exit wound that wasn’t there. She grabbed his wrist hard to stop him.

  “Alaric, stop. I’ll be fine, dawn is coming. You need to get me into the tub before I bleed all over the carpet.” Tara tried to speak clearly but her teeth were chattering slightly, making it difficult.

  She was in shock.

  He listened to her though, pulling her into the bathroom and helping her to lie down in the tub. His hands were bloody when he brought them to his face, and she wanted to tell him to stop but he’d already wiped her blood across his cheek. “Tara, why did you –”

  “I will be fine. Dawn can’t be that far away, and I will survive this. A bullet can’t kill me.” At least I hope not. She’d never actually been shot. Stabbed? Yes. Tortured? Yep. Starved? Drowned? Whipped? Beaten? Quadruple check.

  But, no one since the invention of guns had felt the need to shoot her, and dammit, it hurt.

  She laughed a little through chattering teeth. “We need to break this habit of me bleeding in your bathroom.” She gasped as he pressed a towel against her stomach, the pain shocking through her and making her contemplate throwing up or passing out.

  “Not funny, Tara.” Alaric groaned and stood up in the bathroom, he still looked so handsome even red cheeked and panicking. “What can I do?” He grabbed his face again.

  “You could stop wiping blood on your face to start with.” She said and pointed at his hands just as another round of chills shook her. If Eltera ever wanted to make an early light show, maybe miscalculate the time zone, this would be a great time.

  “Christ.” Alaric turned around and saw himself in the mirror. He turned on the water and started scrubbing his hands, and then his face.

  “Eltera will heal me at dawn, just like she did before.” Tara spoke through vibrating teeth, it was hard to sound confident with the shaking.

  “Can he heal this
?” Alaric was wiping his face with a clean towel and he looked pale. Probably not as pale as she was.

  “She. My goddess is a she, and yes, she has healed much worse.” Tara shifted in the tub, glad that it was one of those large ones with slanted sides, but her stomach screamed at her in response. “If there’s a blanket that we can ruin, I’d like it.”

  “I’m sorry.” He cursed. “Of course, I’ll get one. I’m not thinking straight.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alaric forced himself back into the living room and finally saw it for the first time. Those two had torn it apart, the box of clothes for her were scattered. He grabbed the already ruined robe from the floor, which had been hidden in the box before, and then went to the bedroom closet. They had broken open the room safe like it was a toy, which, really, it was. Alaric could have broken into it as well.

  His laptop was in pieces, clearly stomped into the ground. One of his guns was with those men, the other was in the bathroom. He grabbed the extra blanket from the top of the closet and walked over all the destruction to get back to the bathroom.

  She had moved so fast when she’d taken them down. Each of them had probably been twice her weight, but there hadn’t been a wasted movement. He tried to imagine her on some old battlefield, just dirt and grass, and her moving through opponents like they didn’t phase her.

  She’d smiled at him like she had been proud.

  Then that guy had gone after her and her wrists had started to glow with thick bands of light, the same golden color she lit up with in the mornings. That had been what she’d warned him about, and he’d reacted a little stronger than he’d meant to. He’d only meant to restrain him, but the knife had been in his hand, and it had been easy. The guy was alive though, and Alaric wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Especially since he’d threatened her, called her a whore.

  Maybe the guy would bleed out. That would teach them a lesson that he, they, weren’t easy to come after.

  When he got back to the bathroom he gripped the doorframe. She was pale and sweating – but somehow she still smiled at him. A real one.