by Karen Kelley
They walked for what seemed forever. She could feel the trees getting denser, the breeze not as strong. She began to worry. Really, what did she know about Roan. She only had Joe’s word that he was a good man, an excellent trainer.
For that matter, how well did she really know Joe? He’d come to the artist colony a few times a year. He’d lied about why he was there. He wasn’t artistic. He’d only wanted to observe Aasera. Roan could be a mass murderer for all she knew.
Her heart began to pound. She drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. If it came down to it, she could outrun Roan, and she could always blend in to her surrounding if she had to take cover. But she couldn’t do any of that with this stupid blindfold on. But when she reached up, he caught her hand.
“We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?”
“To where we’re going.”
“Do you really expect me to blindly trust you?”
“Well, you are blindfolded so, yeah, I guess I do.”
“I barely know you.”
“You don’t have to know me that well, or anyone on the team for that matter. You only need to trust us.” He tugged on her hand to stop her forward movement.
“Are we here?” she asked.
“We’re here.”
She reached up to remove the blindfold, but again, he stilled her hand.
“No, not yet.”
“This is ridiculous. I don’t think it’s a part of the training at all.”
“Scared?”
“No.”
“Liar,” he whispered close to her ear. His warm breath tickled her ear.
Oh, God, what if he planned to tie her up and strip away her clothes. Her nipples tightened in anticipation. When had she gotten so pathetic?
“Step up,” he told her.
She took a deep breath and raised her foot, setting it down on what felt like a wooden step. She brought her other foot up. “What is this?”
“Trust me.”
She didn’t want to trust him. He’d probably get her killed.
They climbed up and up. Her hands began to sweat. How high were they?
“This is as far as we go,” he said.
They were on some kind of platform. He turned her in the direction they’d come up. Were they going down now? He kept his hands on her shoulders, nudging her backward.
“Right there. Don’t move anymore. All I want you to do is open your arms wide.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Whatever. She opened her arms wide.
“Now fall backwards.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Was he serious? “I’m not going to fall backwards. That’s crazy!”
“Trust me.”
“No!” She jerked the blindfold off at the same time he pushed. She was falling! She was going to die!
She landed on what felt like a bed of the softest feathers. The blindfold still covered one of her eyes. She tugged it the rest of the way off and looked up at him. He was only two feet above her. But how?
She looked at what she’d just climbed and saw that it had all been an illusion to make her think they were climbing higher than what they had.
“That wasn’t funny.” She glared at him.
“It wasn’t supposed to be. This was a lesson in trust. You failed. Before you can pass my training, you have to learn to trust me.”
She wasn’t sure she could.
He jumped down, landing just to the side of the air bag, then reached out his hand toward her. “Come on, let’s go eat.”
She hesitated, then took his hand and let him help her to her feet before they started the trek back to the Jeep.
He’d cheated with this obstacle. It hadn’t even been a real challenge. Something he’d probably created in his own mind to torture his students. It hadn’t been fair to make her think she was falling to her death.
It wasn’t as though she didn’t get the concept of trusting her team. She did. She just didn’t think it had to be carried to this extreme.
She glanced up the side of the mountain, saw the cable they’d come down on, but nothing else. Good Lord, how far away was the Jeep? Her legs were burning from everything Roan had put her through today. He traipsed up the side of the mountain with little effort, but then, he hadn’t run any of the course. She was the one who’d been working her ass off most of the day.
He looked over his shoulder and she quickly made her expression neutral. She wasn’t about to let him know just how exhausted she really was.
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just making sure you were keeping up. I imagine you’re pretty tired right now.”
“Nope, not a bit.”
“Good. After we eat and let our food settle, we still have more obstacles.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Did you say something?” he asked.
“I said that I felt like a kid again. I’m looking forward to it,” she lied. Oh, God, she was so not looking forward to it. She longed for the days when she could slip into the woods that bordered her mother’s colony and blend in with her surroundings. She even missed the lazy days of meditating. Not that she was very good at it. Her mother had tried to teach her but she could never sit still long enough, could never completely empty her mind.
Especially now that she knew about sex. She really needed to get laid.
She glared at Roan’s back. He certainly wasn’t making things easier. She wouldn’t give Roan the satisfaction of letting him see she was tired, or that her muscles screamed in pain. Not even if it killed her.
Well, maybe she wouldn’t go that far. She’d only hope he stopped before she got to the point of keeling over dead.
They finally made it back to where they’d started. She stopped and looked behind her. It really was fantastic scenery. She inhaled the scent of pine that clung to the air.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
She looked at him. In this, they totally agreed. “I love the woods. The trees, the animals…everything.”
“I have a cabin up in the mountains where I stay when I want to get away from everything. When it snows, and there’s a fire in the hearth, it feels as though I’m the only one on Earth.”
She knew the feeling. That’s how she felt when she walked in the woods. Somehow, that made her feel as though they shared a secret.
That wasn’t good.
Before she could let herself dwell on her thoughts for very long, Roan broke the spell. He turned and walked the short distance to the Jeep, then pulled out a picnic basket.
For some strange reason she had never pictured him as someone who would carry a picnic basket. He was rugged, with hard muscles. He was strong and…and…manly.
“What? Does the picnic basket not fit in with your image of me?” he asked, correctly reading her thoughts.
“I haven’t formed any kind of image of you.” She shrugged.
He stopped next to her, a pained expression on his face. “You mean you haven’t pictured me naked? Or us together, lying in bed naked, my hands caressing your curves, my lips teasing one of your tight nipples? I had hoped for more fantasies from you.” He turned and walked to a picnic table and set the basket on top.
“I picture it now,” she angrily muttered as a burning need turned her belly into knots. “No, I didn’t picture any of that,” she called out in a louder voice.
She stomped over to the basket, jerked out the tablecloth that Frances had packed, and spread it out. Lyraka had a feeling this was going to be a long day if he kept talking about sex.
But damned if she didn’t feel giddy with excitement. She didn’t feel so alone anymore. Yeah, she felt alive. Really alive and it felt damned good.
She sat down on the bench opposite him. He looked up and grinned. She didn’t care what he thought. She wasn’t about to sit next to him.
He reached inside the basket and brought out two sandwiches, then studied them. �
�Looks like they’re both ham.” When he handed one to her, she noticed the ring on his finger. He’d been wearing it every day since she’d first met him. Joe wore one just like it. It was silver with a red lightning rod on the side and a diamond stone in the center. The diamond wasn’t large, but slightly raised.
“What’s with the ring? Some kind of fraternity?” she asked.
He removed the plastic wrap from his sandwich. She noticed his face was a little red.
He shrugged. “It’s kind of like a Super Bowl ring, but for agents. No biggie.”
“But not all the agents have one.”
“You get it if you go above and beyond the call of duty.”
“And you did.” He didn’t look as though he wanted to talk about it, but she was curious.
“Yeah.”
She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed slowly, then swallowed. “What exactly did you do?”
“You’re not going to let this drop, are you?”
She shook her head.
He sighed. “The team was in trouble. We were on a mission.”
“On another planet?”
“Might as well have been. No, it was in L.A. We go anywhere we’re needed. A gang had us pinned down. I unpinned us.”
“Is that how you hurt your leg?”
“Yeah. I lived. So did everyone else.”
“Can I see the ring?”
He slipped it off his finger and handed it to her. The workmanship was beautiful. She ran her finger over the tip of the diamond. “It looks smooth, but the edges on top are rough.”
“If you think that’s rough, you should see the mark it leaves on someone’s face. Not that I go around hitting people. Unless of course they need hitting.”
She looked at him. “You are the best of the best, aren’t you? I mean, that’s why Joe has you training me.”
“I’m good at what I do.” He cleared his throat. “Here, drink some water.”
And quit asking questions, is what he left unsaid. She probably should, too. He was starting to become a hero in her eyes and that wasn’t good. Not one little bit.
Chapter 8
Lyraka had died and gone straight to hell. It was her penance for wanting sex. Someone from above had heard her thoughts and decided to give her something else to think about.
It had worked, too. She no longer thought about jumping Roan’s bones. Nope, that was probably the furthest thing from her mind right now.
Oh, Lord, even her toenails ached. Her eyeballs ached. She closed her eyes and leaned back in the tub of bubbles. Her fingernails ached. The small mole on her right shoulder blade ached. Her knees ached.
She sniffed.
Oh, no, she wasn’t even going there. She was so not going to cry like a little baby. Yes, she hurt, but she’d made it through the day. She had conquered every obstacle that Roan had thrown her way.
Well, except for the trust issue. She hadn’t managed that one. One out of a dozen or more wasn’t bad.
She sank down a little more into the tub. God, she hurt so much. She sniffed again, and a tear slipped from her eye, making a trail down her cheek. She didn’t bother to raise her hand and brush it away. She couldn’t. She hurt too much.
There was a light tapping on the bathroom door. She opened one eye, and peered at the door. “Go away.”
“I brought you a hot, soothing, cup of tea,” Roan said. “I thought it might relax you. At supper, you were moving around like you were sore.”
“I’m not sore. Go away,” she called out. Even her jaw hurt. She closed her eyes again and tried to reach that point of utter relaxation.
The knob jiggled. She tensed. The door opened and Roan walked in.
“I locked the door!”
He grinned and her toes curled. Just cramps, she told herself. Her toes were not curling because he looked devastatingly handsome in a deep blue turtleneck and a pair of jeans. A painter at the colony once told her that only a Texan could look good in a pair of jeans. The painter had never seen Roan because he was looking pretty fine right now.
“I’m good at picking locks,” he said.
“Next time I’ll put a chair in front of it. Now go away.”
“Don’t you want the tea? It’s chai.”
She sniffed. The wonderful smell of spices drifted over to her. “Okay, you can leave the cup of tea.” She glanced down at the water to make sure the bubbles still covered her nakedness. They did, although they were starting to dissipate.
He walked closer and handed her the cup.
The tea invoked memories of winter months when Aasera would brew a pot of tea, and they would sit on the plush sofa in front of a roaring fire. She took a drink, savoring the taste. This was nice.
Except Roan was still standing there as if he didn’t plan on leaving. “Thanks. You can go now,” she told him again.
Instead, he began rolling up his sleeves.
“What are you doing?”
“If you don’t get the stiffness out, you’ll end up in the emergency room with muscle cramps.” He knelt behind her.
The first touch of his hands on her shoulders made her jump.
“Easy now. Just drink the tea. I won’t ever do anything you don’t want me to.”
Yeah, that was what she was afraid of, but the gentle massage of his fingers on her taut shoulders was too much of a temptation to let pass. She began to relax as he massaged away the tightness.
It wouldn’t be hard to get used to a personal masseur. She took another drink of the tea, then closed her eyes, sighing deeply. Maybe it was the long day, or the tea, or even the bubble bath, but after a few minutes, his gentle touch began to stir more inside her. Her nipples hardened and began to ache.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Instructors were not supposed to make out with their students. God, she hoped he didn’t stop.
She held her breath when his hands massaged down a little farther, but not far enough to give satisfaction. No, he was only stoking the fire that was steadily growing hotter deep inside her.
She took another drink of tea, noting the slight tremble in her hand. Had he noticed? Probably, he seemed to notice a lot of things.
He suddenly stopped, and kissed her on top of her head. “I hope that helped,” he said as he stood and started to leave the room.
She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed. What could she say? Or do? She wasn’t ready to ask him to stay.
“Uh…thanks.” How lame was that?
He looked over his shoulder, hand on the doorknob. “By the way, you might want to add more bubbles to your bath.” He opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him.
She looked at the water. He was right. The bubbles were gone. There was zilch left to the imagination and her nipples were hard as pebbles. He knew exactly what he’d made her feel.
Ass.
At least she didn’t need to add more hot water. No, her body temperature had pretty well taken care of that. She set the cup of tea on the tub edge and poured in more bubble bath and stirred it around until she had frothy bubbles. She reached for the cup again. The tea was good. The massage had been better. She slipped lower into the tub as hot water covered her like an electric blanket.
Nice.
How long would she be able to tamp down the Nerakian need for sex that warred within her? It wasn’t as if she even liked Roan. He’d pushed her to the limits all week, especially today.
On top of all that, he’d made sexual advances toward her. For a moment, she closed her eyes and could almost taste his lips on hers. He was a fantastic kisser. But that still didn’t mean she liked him.
She frowned. She was pretty sure liking someone wasn’t a requisite for having sex. If he did burn to a crisp, she wouldn’t feel quite as guilty—especially after the day he’d put her through.
She finished off the last drop of tea and set her cup to the side. Six o’clock would be here before she knew it. If she was smart, she would get out of the tub and crawl into bed.
Roan had picked this lock, would he pick the one to her bedroom as well? Her thighs trembled at the thought. Muscle spasms. Yeah, right. More like coming-in-heat spasms.
She climbed out of the tub and dried off, slipping her arms into a terrycloth robe. She glanced toward his room as she walked down the hall. There was no light beneath the door that she could tell. Maybe he waited in her room.
She cautiously opened the door and flipped on the light switch. Disappointment filled her. Okay, so she wouldn’t mind having sex with him. He was making her horny. She was pretty sure that wasn’t part of her training.
She shut her door and tossed the robe across a chair, then pulled out a silky red gown from the dresser drawer. As the whisper-soft material cascaded over her naked skin, rippling across her sensitive breasts, she closed her eyes and arched her back.
The man was making her utterly crazy!
She grabbed the chair, sending the robe to the floor, then crammed the back under the doorknob to secure it. See if you can get past that! She turned off the light, then went to the bed, and flung the covers back.
There was no way he’d get into her room tonight. He wouldn’t sneak into her bed, and caress her breasts and slide his hand between her legs, and rub her until she felt as if she would explode if he didn’t bury himself deep inside her and put her out of her misery. No way was he getting past the chair.
She lay in bed listening to the quiet, hearing her own breathing.
Life really sucked.
She flung the cover to the side, went to the door, and quietly moved the chair back where it had been before she’d propped it beneath the knob. She was so pathetic. She crawled beneath the covers once again and let the fantasy envelop her.
If he was that good of a kisser, how would he be at making love? Would he be a tender lover? Or demanding? Maybe forcing her to do things she might never have thought to try on her own? A delicious tingle ran down her spine. She rather liked the idea that he would be the dominant partner.
She rolled to her back, snaking her hand beneath the covers, touching her breasts, biting her bottom lip as her fingers grazed across her tender, aching nipples. She squeezed them between her thumb and forefinger, gasping when pleasure shot through her. Would his touch feel like this? If he were lying beside her, she would throw her leg over his hip and press herself closer to him.