Darius

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Darius ISBN # 1-4199-0597-X ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Darius Copyright© 2006 Gail Faulkner Edited by Mary Moran. Cover art by Syneca & Willo. Electronic book Publication: August 2006

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning: The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E–rotic by a minimum of three independent reviewers. Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme). S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination. E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as “fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature. X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles, stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

DARIUS

Gail Faulkner

Acknowledgement Special Thanks to Char and Allen for their long suffering and constant support. Extraordinary thanks to Sarah McCarty for her advice and willingness to share a wealth of knowledge.

Trademarks Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Bambi: Disney Enterprises, Inc. Barbie: Mattel, Inc. Ben-gay: Pfizer Inc. Buffy: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Harry Potter: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Darius

Chapter One The azure sky exploded in the choking cough of a small plane’s dying engine. Usually stoic Mr. Waterbear delivered a vicious blow to the instrument panel while loudly expressing his displeasure in a string of amazingly creative curses. Jesse blinked. Panic burst into a full-blown adrenaline rush as he grabbed the radio mike and handed it to her. “Hold this. I need both hands to keep the Duck up.” She took the mike and awkwardly held it between them as she watched him seize the stick with both hands. “Put it to my mouth and press the side button.” Jesse did exactly as he ordered and another string of curses flowed out of him. “Jerold, you old bastard idiot, you’d better have your radio on!” Midday sunlight was suddenly stark, leaving her no comforting shadows as she watched his long body tense and ripple while he controlled the plane and bellowed into the mike. “Stop yur yellin’. I hear fine,” a gruff voice barked back at him. “Damn it! Where in the hell is that fuel pump I ordered two weeks ago?” “Same as I tol’ yur yesterday, idjut! On its way up here. They don’t spring from me arse ya know!” returned the old bastard Jerold. “I need it now! Not next week. Do you hear what’s coming through loud and clear? My engine is hacking up a hairball. This engine is supposed to purr, damn it.” “I hear, son. Tis good yur a jumper,” Jerold offered. “I am not crashing my plane. I’ll be landing on Lake Aquarius. Get the damn fuel pump up there. Have Mikey drop it in.” “Will do. Have fun wit Duchess,” Jerold answered. 5

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“Duchess?” Jesse glanced at Mr. Waterbear but her eyes were drawn back out the windshield, unable to look away from impending disaster as the world rushed up at them. The once pristine landscape now seemed to yawn below them in silent threat. Mountains were pitiless spikes stabbing into the sky awaiting the opportunity to impale their small plane. The vista had turned sinister at the prospect of crashing into it. “You’re not that young, can’t call you princess,” he pointed out as he worked the controls with thin-lipped determination. “Duchess is what you came up with? You boys label every woman?” Jesse carefully reattached the radio mike back in its place. It was a stupid conversation given the circumstances. She should be letting him concentrate. “Naw. Only pretty ones.” Jesse clutched the armrests as the sputtering engine stopped entirely and the only sound was wind rushing over wings. She sucked in a silent scream. Terror shut down her vocal cords, which was a good thing. Pointless screaming would have been embarrassing. It occurred to her that she didn’t have time to be embarrassed. “There’s a blanket behind you. Sit on it,” he instructed as the plane tilted to fly around a mountainside. They were descending in what felt like a barely controlled freefall. “What? Why?” Jesse reached behind her and found the blanket, quickly unbuckling the seat belt to slide it under her butt. “Blankets wash. Cleaning the seat is difficult,” he growled as Lake Aquarius came into view. “Oh. OH!! You know what, Mr. Waterbear? If we walk away from this, your seat will be dry.” Jesse shoved the blanket to the floor and kicked it away from her feet. “Darius. Call me Darius.”

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Jesse glanced at him in consternation. “I’ll call you Jesus if you want. Tell me you can land it!” He flashed a wicked grin. “I don’t mind being called God but it’s usually for more intimate activities.” Jesse was in no position to react to the grin. It transformed his hawklike features into an intoxicating bad-boy charm. How could he be grinning at a time like this? He was obviously an adrenaline junkie. The type she saw regularly in the emergency room. Her heart sank and she struggled to appear calm. “Fine, Darius. Just tell me it can land!” Her gaze shot from the swiftly rising landscape to his face and back again. “Why are you here early?” He appeared to be concentrating on the controls as he worked them, but the wicked grin had shown her he was allowing his attention to wander in some respects. His avoiding the landing question was not helping. “WHAT does that have to do with landing?” “Nothing, I’m curious.” Jesse’s fear was swiftly becoming paralyzing as she looked out the windshield. Lake Aquarius rushed up toward them. It wasn’t as though they were likely to spend these last conscious minutes talking about things that mattered. Perhaps if she appeased his curiosity, he’d be able to concentrate fully on their survival. “Suspended from the hospital. Auto accident vic, seventeen, parents refused medication. I ignored them and saved him.” “Good work, Doc,” Darius grunted as he did something that made the wind scream over the wings. High and vicious, the sound made her feel as if the air itself were an enraged beast shrieking at them. “Doctor? Now I’m Doctor not Duchess?” They were skimming the rocky valley floor at high speed. She knew it was too fast. Her eyes darted to him to see his lean face set in a teeth-clenching grimace. That wasn’t

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encouraging and she found herself irrationally mad at him for showing stress at last. He was the big, capable pilot. He should at least pretend they were going to live. The amphibious plane’s skis hit the water and bounced. Darius started cursing in both English and Gwich’in, his native tongue. He began with insulting all Jerold’s parts and listing their possible defects as they skidded across the water. Halfway to the other side they were still coming in too fast. “Father in the Water,” Darius hissed as he jerked the rudder and held it manually, causing the plane to buck as it tried to turn. One wing dipped, its tip skimmed the water as the plane swung around in a wide arc. “Now is the time to hold your son. I come with respect to the house of the cursed. Born of your moon and son of the damned…” he trailed off as the plane righted, slowed to coasting and finally came to a bobbing stop. “What the hell were you doing? Praying to the damned?” Jesse asked when she could breathe again. She was struggling to keep her fear reaction from spewing on his windshield as she panted her way down from terror. “No. Talking with a friend.” Darius was flipping switches and shutting down the plane’s equipment as if it’d been a normal landing. “Father in the Water? House of the cursed? Who the hell are your friends?” Jesse sat motionless in a continuing effort to keep the bile down as adrenaline pounded through her veins. She was mad at how casually he stood up. It took a few seconds before she grasped that he was unbuttoning his shirt. Only her eyes moved as she tracked his actions. “What are you doing now?” “Stripping.” His shirt was gone, revealing thickly muscled pecs and an abdomen laddered with the proverbial six-pack. Every one of those muscles stood out and flexed as he worked on his belt. “Why?” Jesse hissed through her teeth like a shrew. The overload of the landing was all she could deal with. If this idiot thought what she suspected he thought, he had

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another think coming. She might look small next to him but as a MD, she knew exactly how to cripple him with two fingers. “We’ve stopped. We’re in middle of the lake and drifting away from the dock. Someone has to swim out, hike around the lake and row the boat back over here.” He unzipped, displaying a V of white underwear that had damn interesting bulges. The man abandoned the job of removing his pants to sit and work on shoes and socks. “Oh.” Jesse tore her eyes away from him to glance out and confirm their location. “Right.” Her mind flashed to the first time she’d seen this amazing man…that reaction had been powerful too. Mr. Waterbear was six feet two, heavily muscled and dark. Blueblack hair and eyes the color of a moonless night were not the features that made him dark, it was his unmistakable air of watchful awareness. He didn’t do anything obvious to create the aura, he simply was it. His visual impact had also been a shock. Walking into the Artic Skies hangar, her view had been of him standing on a short ladder, bent over and doing something to the plane’s engine. The spectacular backside was firm, flexed and required a few seconds of admiration. That wasn’t the shock. Jesse had cleared her throat to alert him she’d arrived, he’d straightened and turned. Looking up into his face, her smile faltered. Red-gold skin was stretched across features stamped with a proud heritage. From his firm jaw and lean cheeks to lips that were sculpted perfection, he was rugged beauty. His hair had been pulled back with a leather thong. It wasn’t overly long. A prominent nose made him look arrogant but it was his eyes that startled her. Those dark eyes pinned her with a piercing intensity. Her instinct had been to scramble back from him as if he’d suddenly lunged at her. That reaction was illogical since the man hadn’t moved. He’d gazed at her for what felt like a minute. Looking down, his eyelids seemed heavy and the sensual stillness of his look said he saw more than her form. His features 9

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hardly moved as he stepped off the ladder to land on his feet in front of her. It wasn’t a long drop but his casual step into space made him appear unusually comfortable with his body, much like a wild animal moves while never taking its eyes off the prey. His silent drop to the floor had released her stunned body and it responded with gushing approval. The shocking rush of hot liquid between her legs almost confused her. Who knew she could go from zero to slut in less than two seconds? It’d never happened before. “Dr. Reese?” Even his voice had a dark quality. It was low with a natural timber to it like the rumble of a large waterfall heard from a distance. Jesse had nodded. “Mr. Waterbear?” she’d asked while he picked up the two bags she’d set down. He was already turned away from her, lifting the bags into the plane. “Yep. Ready?” “Yes, yes, of course.” He’d held out his hand to help her up the ladder into the amphibious plane. No, she’d not been ready for him that first trip into the splendor that was Gates to the Artic National Park. He’d slid on aviator sunglasses and become every woman’s lurid fantasy of what a pilot should look like. Jesse made no effort to impress him. After the shock of coming in contact with pilot perfection wore off, she’d realized there was no need to talk. He certainly made no attempt to. Then her attention had been captured by the landscape below and she’d let it overwhelm her. This was the reason she’d come here. This pristine wilderness in all its beauty and grandeur seduced her soul as it swallowed them in an endless sky. That first year everything had been all new. That week she’d discovered a peace that healed her mind and carried her soul on the wings of soaring eagles. She’d felt the pull of Alaska for some time prior to actually taking the position in Anchorage. Being up here had shown her she couldn’t survive without its majestic stamp on her life.

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Her new vacation spot wasn’t an easy place or even a safe place. Nature does not care or make exceptions for newbies to its domain. The dangers of the Alaskan rough country were the same ones they’d always been. Wildlife was truly wild and survival a daily issue, but it was also the most beautiful peace she’d ever known. Her annual journey to the rustic cabin had become a deeply treasured event that fed her spirit for the rest of the year. Now as she watched the big beast strip, she fought conflicting emotions. Her body had no trouble stating its preference as her mouth went from terror dry to gulping back saliva. Farther south down her torso, the flow of damp appreciation was embarrassingly insistent. It was her head that couldn’t catch up with the sexual sprint he induced from her subconscious. “I figure you’ve seen it all. Shouldn’t be a shock, Duchess,” he chuckled as one boot hit the floor and he carefully tucked his sock into it. “Yes, of course. I mean no, I have,” Jesse stumbled for words as he got up and strode down the cabin toward the back of the plane. Pants unbuckled and unzipped was sexy as hell. His muscled form started rummaging around behind the last row of seats. The three rows of high-backed chairs obscured him from view except for his butt and long legs. Her inner slut’s need to keep watching him enabled her fingers to unfreeze so she could unbuckle. It was a small relief to stand in the cramped cockpit doorway and watch him. “What are you looking for?” “The waterproof bag. I don’t mind swimming in boxers but hiking around to the dock will rip up my feet. Need the boots. Here it is.” He straightened and turned back to the front. Jesse was very busy watching him stroll towards her. He stopped directly in front of her and waited for her eyes to drag up to his before he grinned again. “Hand me the boots, will ya?” He bent to strip out of his jeans. Jesse snatched up the heavy hiking boots and held them out to him as if she’d been waiting there to do just that. Not blocking his path to them because she couldn’t take 11

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her eyes off his navel and how it moved when he walked. But DAMN! White boxers. All he had on were white boxers. Every inch of him became rippling muscle when he moved. Not bulging and veined like a bodybuilder. No, this guy was all hard planes and flexing strength. His cinnamon skin demanded she touch—smooth over masculine hills and valleys. He was sleek and again it felt as if she were looking at a large, exceedingly wild creature. He was the embodiment of that unpredictable beast she couldn’t look away from, sensuous danger. The wicked grin accented his appeal as a truly sinful example of male perfection. Stress shouldn’t have affected her like this. It was the lifeblood of an emergency room doctor, but staring at him boiled her brain down to two functioning cells and one of them was occupied being a turned-on woman. The other cell attempted conversation. “White,” Jesse said dumbly as he took the boots from her. “What?” Darius secured the boots in his waterproof bag and used his belt to sling it over his shoulder. “White. Your boxers are white. They’ll be transparent when you get out of the water. I meant you might want some shorts.” “Yeah, well, when I get out you’ll be way over here and it won’t matter unless you use the binoculars.” He pointed to the binoculars secured to the cabin wall. “Oh!” Jesse glanced at the glasses and back at him. The Neanderthal had managed to make her sound like a drooling idiot—no, a drooling letch. Could a woman be a letch? Jesse cleared her throat. “No. Of course not.” Jesse Reese considered herself a sturdy woman. At thirty-six she was far removed from girlish behavior. The emergency room staff existed on junk food and she had little time for the gym. His smug attitude grated on her self-image and she carefully controlled her features in an effort to show him a blank face. “I’m sure the cool water will make it a useless pastime.” Jesse took a stab at matching his casual attitude.

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“I expect so.” Darius opened the hatch and climbed out onto a ski. He dropped the anchor and glanced up at her a second. “I’d recommend taking a good look when I get in the boat. I’ll be warm by then.” His lithe body arced into the water and was slicing away from the plane before she could respond. He was an annoying man she told herself as she watched his muscled back move in swift, sure strokes. She didn’t budge from the hatch, watching him carefully and telling herself it was for safety in case he got a cramp and started drowning. Jesse thought of herself as average in every way. Her dark hair was cut in a short bob because it was easy to maintain, but it was usually plastered to her head after twelve to fifteen hours in the emergency room. Her height was strictly average at five feet seven and she’d thought she could lose twenty pounds for the last ten years. It might have crept up to twenty-five now. Normally she didn’t worry about it. At the shore, he strode out of the water like a bronze god emerging from its crystal depths. He waved to her and since she was still standing in the hatch, she couldn’t avoid waving back. At this distance, there was no way he could see her expression. Jesse assured herself of that emphatically as her inner letch nearly slobbered over the picture he made. He sat and put on socks and shoes then took off at a jog around the lake. It was like watching a big-game animal in motion. His gate was fluid. Nothing jarred or bounced as he covered the ground with a casual grace that was fascinating. This man was a rare beast in his natural environment. A monarch of an austere land doing exactly what his ancestors had done for countless generations. Survive. He wasn’t complaining, dithering or even looking for sympathy from her. He found humor in the situation instead of its being a monumental pain in the ass. Of course, the afternoon wasn’t done yet. He’d had the swim, the jog and then he’d have to row the small boat back to the plane. He was bound to be exhausted and surly by the time he returned. 13

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Watching him row out to her, she was tempted to get the binoculars and check his expression. Mostly his expression. The tight play of muscle as his body bent to the task of rowing was spectacular even from a distance. When the boat bumped the plane ski, she had her few possessions from the cockpit and his clothes ready to hand to him. He stacked them neatly and asked which bag she needed to take with her to shore. He was busy opening the luggage hatch so he missed her puzzled face. “Ah, the small one I guess. Can’t we take all of them?” As soon as she said it, Jesse was sorry. Of course they couldn’t take both adults and three heavy bags to shore in the small boat. Not in one trip. She expected his justified outburst or at least a pithy comment on females and their need to overpack. He pulled out her bag and set it carefully in the center of the boat. “Not this trip,” was all he said. Darius settled into the oars again and grimaced to cover his grin as he started pulling to get them back to the dock. She sat across from him and did her best to look at anything but him and still look casual. She was behaving exactly as he’d hoped. He wanted her used to seeing him in next to nothing. As a big man, he’d realized early that he could be overwhelming naked and it was better to ease a female into it. Let her get comfortable with him before…well…before anything else. He planned on a lot of “else” with this woman eventually. It’d taken him a long time to come up with this lame plan to get next to her and he intended to make the most of it. She was a capable doctor out in the world, but here in his backyard she was a woman first. He figured she needed to remember that. He couldn’t forget it. From her delicate head with its cap of dark silk to her little feet, she was a bundle of warm, squeezable woman and he’d been yearning to test that squeeze theory for way too long. The first time she’d sashayed into his hangar, he’d been so freaking hard at the sight of her, he’d barely grunted to her. The reason that reaction caught him by surprise 14

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was he’d known she would be there. He’d damn well made sure of it. That initial physical response made him feel like an idiotic green kid and he’d been embarrassed. He wasn’t actually the silent type but suddenly he’d lost the capacity to think of something to say that didn’t sound like a weird line. It would have been his dick talking if he’d said anything at all that day. The flight had been worse as blood continued to rush south with each breath he took. The enclosed space ensured her delicate scent wafted around him. He’d been tempted to breathe though his mouth to see if it tasted of fragile spice but that was way to close to panting like a dog and he’d resisted. He hadn’t managed a word of conversation the entire flight. Whatever was left in his brain had morphed into a shy geek. That trip had set the tone for all their future ones and it’d become a rut he had no idea how to climb out of. Suddenly breaking into a friendly conversation would seem fake. Her unexpected call this week necessitated moving his new plan up a few weeks. It also made it believable that the functioning fuel pump would have been in the plane when she was scheduled to arrive. At least he hoped it did. Being caught in this lie could be humiliating. Didn’t matter how he dressed it up by saying he was simply manipulating circumstances, the emergency landing had been a deception and every action to make her believe she was dependent on him for her life and safety was an untruth. The excuse to strip was just gravy he should have planned on. His jog had simply been showing off and he’d felt her eyes on him the entire time. Maybe that was all in his head, but her reactions now told him it wasn’t. Now he had her luscious butt all to himself for at least a week, longer if he let Jerold know he needed it. She already felt as if she owed him and he’d make sure she continued to feel that way. This was an all-out assault on one Jesse Reese and he’d already lied. No point in being squeamish about the other sins he intended to commit.

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She’d always thought she was alone those weeks spent out at the cabin. Since he’d engineered her renting his cabin, she was his responsibility. It would be criminal to leave a city woman alone in the wilderness as harsh as this one could be. The first time, after dropping her off at the cabin, Darius had flown up to the second lake, parked the plane and hiked back to watch over her. Amazingly she hadn’t done anything stupid the entire week. She had no way of knowing that swimming naked in the lake could have qualified as both stupid and dangerous. He’d warned the Father of the Water that this woman was not the One the Father waited for. She was irritatingly reasonable, careful and all things sane. Not once did she require assistance, rescuing or the heroic behavior he’d waited to display. After all the effort to get her on his property, he’d only managed to make himself the idiot in the bushes. Didn’t matter how skilled he was at survival when all he did was skulk around watching someone. He’d become a stalker. That realization hadn’t thrilled him and besides, he was getting too damn old to sleep on the ground. This time she would know he was there. He had no problem playing the Native card if it got her under him. He’d be her brave hero, warrior, captor or whatever she wanted just to get his hands on her. This second strategy hadn’t even been his plan. Considering the first plan that had only yielded sneaking around bushes while she enjoyed her week’s vacation, he felt that was a good thing. This particular bit of brilliant manipulating had come to him this spring when he was visiting his aunt after a life flight. He’d seen Jesse again on the hospital landing pad but she was so involved with the critical patient she hadn’t even realized he was the pilot. It shouldn’t have surprised him since it was a reoccurring event every time he flew in a life flight. This time it had about driven him around the bend in frustration. Her eyes had flicked over him and there hadn’t even been a glimmer of recognition. Dr. Reese was all business. Darius didn’t intend to remain invisible. Maybe it was pride or arrogance, but changing that situation became imperative. Obviously the plan to get 16

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to know her on the flight to and from her vacation spot had failed three times in a row. If the guys back in the old squad could see him now, they’d laugh their asses off. Navy pilots make an impression. At least all of them had told each other that repeatedly. Disgusted, he’d almost decided to do it the old-fashioned way and ask her out. Fuming over the woman and a little ticked his obsession with her had driven him to such lengths, he had left the hospital to do his family duty. Aunt Minie was a sweet old woman but addicted to romance novels. So having nothing to do while she sat there and read, he’d picked one up and was introduced to a whole new world. It was like finding instruction manuals on the capture and seduction of the modern woman. After reading ten of them, he was sure the rescue angle was the ticket. After the rescue, came the forced close quarters and demonstrating his ability to care for her. The dashing hero was always half dressed so that was a given. And he had to be fit. Luckily the fit part wasn’t a worry. Darius was amazed the rest of the male population hadn’t discovered the manuals. Their loss. Each man for himself when it came to hunting the perfect doe. Or something like that. “You must be tired,” her voice interrupted his thoughts. They were pulled up next to the dock and he secured the boat. “I’ll be fine.” Darius stood to help her out of the boat. Her small hand disappeared in his grip and he resisted the urge to shift his weight to rock the boat and make her fall against him. It would have been childish. He wasn’t exactly opposed to manipulating an outcome, but her wanting him had become too important. Besides, he was getting irritated with himself. He still couldn’t think of a thing to say and knew he sounded like a one-phrase idiot. He quickly piled the suitcase and his clothes on the dock and sat down to return to the plane for the rest of the bags. “No, wait,” Jesse insisted. “Rest before you go back. Why don’t you come inside and let me fix you a coffee or something?”

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The plan was working. Not only was she talking to him, there was some caregiving going on. Perhaps the nearly silent approach wasn’t hurting him as he’d thought. What did hurt was his entire body. Over forty wasn’t the time to start showing off like a twenty year old and the afternoon would take a painful toll. While his inner savage was very busy flexing, Darius wished the genius would recall they were swiftly approaching over-the-hill. No need to freaking run up the rest of the slope. “I’d like that, Duchess, if it’s no trouble.” He stepped out of the boat and picked up the pile of goods. That saucy little pet name was also straight out of the manuals. At first the hero always called the heroine something besides her name. “I can carry something, Mr. Waterbear,” Jesse offered as he motioned for her to lead the way. “I’m not helpless.” “Oh sure. Here ya go.” He handed her his pile of clothes and her purse. “You forget my name already?” he asked as they went up the short path to the cabin. “No, but you can’t seem to recall mine.” Jesse opened the cabin door. “Here are your clothes. Kindly put them on while I make the coffee.” She handed him the neatly folded clothes and took her suitcase out of his hand. Darius grinned briefly at her retreating back as she set her case by the bed and moved into the kitchen area. Duchess was pretending she didn’t enjoy the view. He knew better. First, the manuals spent too much time on it. Second, her eyes were very pretty when they glassed over a bit watching him. The one-room cabin had no dividers. The kitchen was mostly a countertop with a sink boasting an indoor hand pump. A propane burner on the countertop with some storage cabinets above and below completed the kitchen. In the sitting area, the oversized fireplace had an embedded hook for hanging a pot and a broiling rack leaned on the hearth beside it. The sitting area contained a brownish sofa along the front wall of the cabin and a comfortable brown plaid easy chair facing the fire. Behind the sofa was a large window 18

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offering a panoramic view of the lake. In this small a space, that window and the one over the kitchen sink were the only light sources required in daylight. At each end of the sofa resided rough, crate-type end tables. On the floor, several hand-braided rugs of indiscriminate age and questionable color combinations were strewn across the wooden planks. The place couldn’t be called decorated unless “primitive minimalism” was considered a style. He sat in the easy chair and removed his boots to pull on pants. Remaining half clothed meant it had to be pants. Walking around in his shirt and hiking boots would look stupid. The manuals were very clear on the dress issue. It’d surprised him when he noticed the importance woman placed on looking at the male body. That was one of the things they hid in real life. Yet every manual spent a great deal of time describing the damsel in distress sneaking peeks at flexing male flesh. “So what was that about the ‘Cursed People’ you were talking to?” Jesse asked as she put the pot on to boil over the propane burner. “Oh damn. I just remembered the coffee is in one of the bags we didn’t bring.” “There’s some in the cupboard below the sink.” Darius went over to the fireplace. “I know but I hate to use someone else’s things. I don’t suppose the owner will mind this once. How’d you know?” She glanced at him. He was crouched in front of the hearth starting the fire. His broad, golden back rippled as he lifted wood and arranged logs. Jesse almost groaned in sexual frustration. The man needed to get all his clothes on if she was going to have a hope of remaining sane. It was bad enough to have lusted after him like a silly teenager for three years. Ogling him would only make it embarrassingly obvious. Silent lusting seemed juvenile. As if she couldn’t work up the nerve to talk to him. That wasn’t it at all. She was simply a busy woman who didn’t have the time for casual dating. “I’m warm enough. No need to bother with a fire unless you’re cold.” The last thing Jesse needed was more heat in the room. The drop of sweat inching down her spine did not need company. Just looking at him created an internal heat issue. 19

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“Starting the fire for supper. We’ll need some coals by the time I get back with the fish.” Darius lit the kindling and flames appeared. It usually took her repeated attempts and some threatening of the logs to coax a blaze out of them. “What fish?” “There’s a whole lake out your front door, Duchess. I’ll trail a line going and coming from the plane. We’ll eat well tonight.” He stood up and grinned at her as he dusted his hands off. “Oh. Of course,” Jesse turned back to the kitchen counter and concentrated on finding two coffee cups. Darius standing bare-chested before the fire was too potent a visual. Maybe it was being in this rustic setting and knowing she was alone with him. Her primitive woman apparently couldn’t get enough of him. Briefly Jesse wondered if there was an instinctive species memory from a time when the most desirable mate was one who could provide food and warmth. It was all she could come up with for why a normally civilized woman was losing her mind to sexual frustration over a virtual stranger. The water was boiling and Jesse busily measured out the instant coffee. “Do you take sugar or creamer?” She’d seen both on the shelf with the coffee. “One sugar, please.” “Sure. Here it is.” Jesse turned back to him and was relieved he’d sat down in the easy chair. Still shirtless, but at least he wasn’t towering over her. Handing him the cup, she made sure their fingers didn’t touch. It was too obvious and stupid and she felt all of seventeen for even thinking of it. On the heels of the teen jitters came the adult rationalization. Serving him coffee was the polite thing to do. It had nothing to do with traditional male-female roles or her status. “Good,” he grunted as he drank a deep swallow. Jesse sank into the couch and sipped her coffee while staring at the fire. It was safer than looking anywhere else in the room.

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“You were going to tell me about the Father Water or something?” she prompted him in an attempt at safe conversation and to get her mind off stupid implications. She’d bet any money he was calculating how fast he could get out of here while she was struggling to stop mapping each and every muscle on his body. Darius’ dark glance flicked over her in a considering way. She felt his gaze but saw no outward sign of anything but casual friendliness. “It’s the legend of the lakes. I’ll tell it to you while the fish are cooking.” He set down his cup. “I’ll get to that. I’ve worked up an appetite for it.” “Yes, of course you have. Sorry, I don’t have butter or spices to cook it with.” “Let me worry about the cooking. We’ve got everything we need growing outside the door.” He flashed her that damn slow grin again as he opened the cabin door. “You provide the shelter, Duchess, and I’ll make sure supper is tasty.” Jesse narrowed her eyes at the closed door. He’d just invited himself in for the night. He could sleep in the plane, she supposed, but insisting on that would be surly. He’d not made one move to touch her so what was her big concern? Why would he anyway? He was first-class beefcake and probably used to Barbie, Bambi and Buffy sliding all over him. In fact, she’d bet he assumed fighting her off would be the problem tonight. Must be why he’d left the coffee cup half full and rushed off to do his huntergather thing. She and her needy, chubby thighs were getting much too friendly. And apologizing for not having spices? Where the hell did that girly drivel come from? What was she doing? Channeling June Cleaver? She was a reasonable adult in a situation with another fully capable adult. Just because one of them could make the cover of Savage Daily didn’t mean anything had to happen. The time with tall, bronze and sexy out of the cabin would best be spent getting used to the fact he’d be here for a bit. He was obviously very comfortable with his body and who wouldn’t want to be comfortable with that body? Oh shit. This was not the way to keep her damp panties hidden.

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And the next thing she was not going to let bother her was his maddeningly causal attitude about clothing. If he wanted to be a boy-toy pin-up prancing around her vacation barely clothed, it was all right with her. Why shouldn’t she enjoy the visual candy he offered? Men did it all the time, shamelessly. He wasn’t the only one comfortable with his body. When she came up here, she expected the freedom to dress or not as she pleased. That was part of the appeal of being the only living soul in a remote location. On previous trips, the first item of clothing that usually came off was her bra as his tail rudder disappeared behind the mountain. A mature C-cup, her figure required support and the whole “tying down” effect in her everyday life. Here she expected freedom. It was the middle of summer in the high country and quite warm during the afternoon hours. The temperature would dip down as the sun slid behind massive peaks in the early evening and the fire was necessary every night. But right now she was warm. Pulling off the long-sleeve shirt, she threw it on the bed. Next, she removed the bra from beneath her tank top. Ahhh…much better. The tank faithfully outlined her generous proportions but that was of no concern. If anything it’d work as a deterrent on a guy so obviously used to perfection in the female body. Jesse was just coming back from the outhouse as Darius strode up the path with her two suitcases and an overnight bag slung over his shoulder. The sight she made caused the muscle in his cheek to jump as he schooled his features to remain polite. Gone was the stuffy doctor and in her place was the luscious woman he couldn’t get out of his mind. Dressed in jeans and a tank top with her body free of society’s structure, she was all kinds of cuddly. He understood the reason women had to wear bras. It was so men like him didn’t jump them. She smiled at him and he felt like scowling. It wasn’t the helpless kitten smile she’d shown him when he left the cabin. This was a full-grown lynx smile. She followed him into the cabin.

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“Put them over there,” Jesse directed as Darius kicked the door shut after her. Darius dropped the cases and headed back out with the terse explanation, “I left the fish on the dock to clean them. Gotta get to it before a bear considers them a gift.” “Sure. You do that,” she replied breezily as she opened the largest case, not even watching him grab the hunting knife from his bag and leave the cabin. “Humph!” Darius grunted to himself as he returned to the dock and squatted to clean and rinse the three lake trout he’d caught. She’d turned the half dressed thing on him somehow. Could she be working from a manual too? Not only was she relaxed and softly inviting to look at, but her attitude was casual and completely unconcerned. He’d liked the “helpless kitten” look she had after the near crash landing but he couldn’t bring himself to endanger her further just to gain her dependence. That didn’t mean he could escape the dark fantasy of what would happen if her wrists were bound and secured over her head while his knife made the front of her tank top a full-access garment. That stretchy material would spring back from the cut, revealing her curves as fast as he drew the blade down. Would her nipples be tart coral or sweet pink? That was a bit of need-to-know information he intended to know damn soon. Darius winced as he stood to carry the fish fillets in. He’d be lucky if he could move his arms tomorrow. The swim and all the rowing were going to kick his ass if he didn’t get some Ben-gay on his back and shoulders soon. He’d never read anywhere that the hero was sexy while the heroine tended his old-man aches. In the books, they spent a lot of time patching up battle injuries, which the guy miraculously ignored and fought through on the next page, but he never seemed to need meds just to move. Already the short walk to the cabin made him wince. Entering the cabin, he found her bustling about putting the finishing touches on the transformation from derelict space to inviting home. There was a red-and-whitecheckered tablecloth on the eating-space table. A fat candle wafting vanilla around the room sat on it. 23

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The sofa looked different with a soft mauve throw draped over the back. Even the bed was transformed with ruffled covers over the pillows against the headboard and three smaller decorative pillows in front of them. A fluffy round rug resided on the floor beside it with her slippers tucked under the bed. Her clothes were neatly stacked in the open shelves at the foot of the bed. She’d packed decorations. Her own clothes were a minimal part of the three bags. In the kitchen, apples were stacked in a bowl sitting on top of the rustic potato bin that boasted about eight potatoes. The back of the kitchen counter held a tin of instant coffee with matching sugar and creamer tins as well as salt and pepper. The small window over the sink was covered with a lace panel held in place with an expandable spring rod. “Oh those look so good.” Jesse smiled at him as he laid the six fillets on a plate that seemed to be waiting for them. “Be right back to start supper. Ah, the place looks nice,” he acknowledged as he ducked back out the door. Darius leaned against the door and took a deep breath. She’d done it every year after that first time and he’d spent hours looking through the windows. So many times he’d wanted to walk through that front door and be welcomed in a place that felt like this. It wasn’t the items. He could have bought them. It was her. She created a welcoming home that invited warmth in a way that wasn’t fussy. The indefinable glow she gave everything she touched drew him like a magnet. He needed a minute to get his head back in the game. She’d seduced him with her woman’s ways. Being welcome in that place was hitting him with unexpected intensity. Darius firmly reminded himself that he wasn’t some forlorn puppy starving for attention. This woman had fascinated him from his first glimpse of her. Initially he’d thought it was her obvious Native heritage. Capable and strong, she was the focus of chaos when he brought a critical patient down to the hospital. She commanded respect 24

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without being abusive or harsh. His interest only intensified as he learned more about her. The information had been secondhand casual conversation with hospital personnel that he knew. He’d thought getting alone with her would do the trick when he’d heard she was looking for a remote vacation spot. He’d wanted to impress her while getting acquainted. Just asking her out was too common, besides, she’d think he was a stranger if he didn’t find a way to make her see him and realize she could trust him. The first plan had been successful. He just hadn’t counted on being unable to handle her effect on him. Damn it to hell. He needed to stop being a one-phrase jerk and have an actual conversation with her. It was time to get back into the manuals’ parameters. Heroes were tough. He could do tough and being self-sufficient was certainly one of his traits. The manuals’ men knew how to get in the woman’s head. He needed to work on that one. Wanting to know her had become too important to mess up. She was a fascinating combination of alluring and smart who didn’t realize how damn sexy she was. He’d been drawn to her as he imagined many men were, but the sexual attraction seemed to have taken a disquieting jump. Schooling himself to ignore the animal pull she exerted on him, he turned to the task at hand. Tonight the mission was to establish friendly interaction. Get her interested in spending time with him. Prove he was both entertaining and trustworthy. At the very least, establish he was a good companion and possibly an attractive guy. Just get her to relax and enjoy his company. He didn’t expect much more than that.

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Chapter Two Five minutes later Darius reappeared with a paper bag cradled in the crook of his arm. Jesse raised her eyebrows as he unloaded two bottles of red wine, some lovely plump mushrooms, a head of garlic and two onions. “Where did all that come from?” He flashed her that grin over his shoulder and grabbed a knife from the butcher block. “Something I picked up on the way in.” “Seriously? I thought there wasn’t a store within a thousand miles.” Jesse was curled up on the couch. She’d changed out of the jeans into baggy flannel lounge pants all the while reminding herself that this was her time. She wasn’t about to be worried with vanity where this man was concerned. The flannel pants were even plaid. Not exactly complementary to the width of her hips but they didn’t bite when she sat and were exactly what she would have changed into if she were alone. “Closer than a thousand miles, Duchess.” He started slicing the onions with a quick hand. “But this was stored in the root cellar out back.” “There’s a root cellar? Wow, who knew? Are you sure the owners don’t mind your using their food? I mean, it’s not like it’s easy to supply this place,” Jesse worried. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” he assured her while finishing with the onions. Darius opened one of the wine bottles. Both coffee cups were already washed and draining by the sink so he grabbed one and poured. Going over to the fireplace, he held out the cup to her as he dropped down to haunches and scrutinized the coals. Jesse took the cup automatically since his attention wasn’t even on it. “I need half a cup.” He put another log on the fire and arranged things to his satisfaction. “Have some, will ya?”

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Jesse looked down at the full cup in her hand. “You want me to drink it down?” “Yeah,” he grunted, obviously not paying her much attention as he picked up the broiling rack and secured it over the flames on hooks in the andirons that came up on both sides of the wood grate. Jesse took a cautious sip as she watched the play of muscle across the wide back facing her. Her doctor’s eye saw him flinch as he stretched the right arm out. He rolled the shoulder a little and she grinned. The wine was excellent and Mr. Iron Man was not as superhuman as he wanted her to believe. That flinch relaxed her. Another sip of wine and Jesse had to resist a chuckle when he straightened and did a good job of hiding another pain reaction. He returned to the kitchen counter and began slicing the mushrooms. “How are you feeling? That workout today was a bit much, wasn’t it?” she baited him just to see what he’d admit. Darius grunted in a noncommittal fashion as he grabbed the iron skillet and dumped the sliced onions and mushrooms into it. He quickly sliced two garlic cloves into the mixture. Jesse bit her lip briefly to repress the smile and sipped some more. It really was good wine. He was definitely feeling the effects of the afternoon’s workout. The effort to hide it was interesting. Why would he do that? Showing off was the obvious answer but why? Stupid jock personality might have been part of his past. A phase of the growing-up process but it seemed ridiculous to attribute that level of behavior to him now. The man before her was all things jock without even trying. He couldn’t possibly think he had something to prove to her. Jesse let the idea roll around in her head for a few delicious moments. It was like being seventeen again, and this time she was the cheerleader and he was the football team captain. The naughty thrill of that old fantasy snaked down her belly. While watching him move around the cabin half dressed, it was easy to pretend he was doing it for her. The 27

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ideal male strutting for her with his feathers splayed. Wait. No, that was animal biology. Human biology meant he demonstrate he could provide the necessities to sustain life. Ahh, much better. Yes, providing safety as displayed in the safe landing. He’d provided warmth in an all-important fire and food to cook on the aforementioned fire. The next thing he was supposed to provide in this primitive daydream was sperm. He was supposed to be intent on making sure he provided mass quantities of the wriggly fellas so they could populate the earth. Ah well, caveman was always a favorite. Not really someone she wanted to live with, but very attractive in the short term. Darius poured half a cup of wine in the other coffee cup and carried it over to the fireplace with the skillet. Carefully pouring the wine into the pan until it almost covered the vegetables, he then placed the skillet on the grate he’d set up over the low-burning fire. “You’re using the pan? Here I thought I’d be treated to rustic, roast fish.” Jesse couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice. Darius grinned at her as he brought the plate of fillets over to set it close to the fire. “Yeah? Sometimes modern cooking has its advantages. Don’t harass me, woman, I’m cooking your dinner.” “Mmm, and I’m grateful.” Jesse hid her smile in another sip of wine. “You want to hear the legend or not?” He set down his cup and stirred the mixture in the pan, which had started to bubble. “Sure, waiting with bated breath to hear about the Cursed Folk.” Darius slid her a glance. She was totally relaxed and leaning over the overstuffed arm of the couch, which pressed those soft breasts together. Little darling was obviously unaware of the cleavage she was giving him. Her entire being exuded warm comfort as she lounged in the soft flannel pants and clingy tank top. He dropped three fillets into the pan and used the motion to hide his reaction to the view and the fact that part of his anatomy appreciated her relaxed position very much. 28

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Hopefully telling her the legend would distract her from the fact he’d not used her cup of wine for cooking and keep her captivated at the same time. It wasn’t part of the manuals, but Darius figured it was safe to slip in some of his own ideas once in a while, as long as the plan worked as a whole. He moved away from the fire to sit on the floor with his back against the couch right in front of her. He unconsciously rolled his sore shoulder as he started the story. “About five hundred years ago the people around these three lakes were strong warriors and hunters. The land was rich in game and the people were rich in life. Their leader was a proud man but he had no wife. Many wished it but there were no maidens of his tribe who softened his heart.” Darius briefly leaned forward to check the fish then settled back into his seat, rolling the sore shoulder again. Jesse wasn’t really conscious of her hand kneading his warm flesh until he tilted his head to give her better access to the area. He continued without a hitch as her fingers knowingly worked on the tight muscles. “So he sent a message to the most powerful tribe in the south that he needed a wife. They were to send their best maidens and he’d choose one for the honor of being his wife. Since his heart was cold, he’d chosen to make a lasting peace with the tribes in the low countries.” Darius scooted forward and flipped the fish. The aroma was mouth-watering as the mixture began to sizzle. Settling back on the floor in front of Jesse, Darius tilted his head and her hand went back to its job on his shoulder, her thumb pressing deeply into the tightening tissue. The calm timber of his deep voice lent an eerie quality to the storytelling as he continued. “Three southern maidens arrived and evidently the chief couldn’t decide. He informed them that they would belong to him and his two brothers. You know the Natives up here used to share, right?”

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Darius got up to fetch two clean plates then removed the first three fillets and about half the garlic, mushroom and onion sauce, filling the plates with a fillet and a half each. Quickly he put the remaining three raw fillets in the pan. Darius handed Jesse one plate as he sat down on the couch beside her with his own. “Yeah, I’ve heard something like that. Do you guys still do that?” Her fork sliced into flaky fish. “Hell no. Well, at least not anyone I know of.” Darius watched closely as Jesse put the first mouthful in. Her eyes widened and her head whipped around to him. He grinned at her shock. It wasn’t an old family recipe. He’d found it on the Internet but it was a damn good one. The fish melted in her mouth and the blend of the simple tastes was like a medley around it. “Oh my God, Darius. This is heavenly!” Jesse didn’t have time to add more as her fork was moving on its own to shovel more in. “Glad you like it,” he acknowledged, and took several bites. “Gonna tell me what happened with the greedy chief?” she prodded as he got up and turned the remaining fillets in the pan. “Hang on, woman, I’m waiting on you.” He grabbed her cup off the crate beside the couch and brought it to the kitchen, refilling hers and giving himself about half a coffee cup of wine. It was time to take out the remaining fish and he set them on the crate next to her cup. “More if you want it.” “You have more first. That workout today requires it and I’d just be eating because it tastes so good.” “Not a bad idea,” Darius murmured. His idea of eating may not have been what she meant and he was pretty sure she didn’t get that comment. “I’m sure your diet includes a variety of tastes,” she shot back at him.

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Maybe she did get it. Darius hid a smile and enjoyed the sharp little tongue of hers. This was the type of interaction he’d wanted. They needed to talk, play and just get to know each other. “I’m a boring guy. I like to find one taste that delights me and stick with it.” Darius finished the last bit of his original helping and added another fillet to his plate. “Like the one I’m discovering now,” he continued. “Can’t imagine getting enough of it.” Jesse regarded him with a slight smile. “Let’s get back to old Happy Pants and his brothers.” She set down her empty dish and picked up the coffee cup of wine. He couldn’t mean what she thought he did. He had to be referring to the mouthwatering fish. Um, the mouth-watering fish from the skillet. Damn, her mind was firmly entrenched in his pants. No way around it. Both of them barely fit on the sofa and as she curled her legs up, her toes brushed his thigh. Darius reached around her, his forearm brushing her breasts for a moment as he placed his cleaned plate on top of hers and leaned back. The contact was so swift and casual, followed by him going into man-relaxing mode that the moment to react passed and it became a nonevent. Except now the tips of her breast felt burned and she knew her nipples were clearly visible. But he didn’t appear to notice as his hand reached down to capture her sock-covered toes and held them pressed against his thigh. His legs widened in a male sprawl with butt sliding down and head tipped back on the sofa. His fingers gently caressed the top of her foot as he drew a deep breath to continue. “It began on the northernmost lake of these three. The three maidens were sisters, daughters of a southern chief. The eldest was also a medicine woman. It’s said she ran from the brothers’ teepee down to the lake after the three brothers had been with her. She knew they planned the same for her sisters and told the other two girls to flee. That’s when she stood in the freezing waters and conjured up a fate she felt matched the plans they had for the maidens.

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“The English translation of what she said is about this, ‘Maiden fire to frozen blade, this soul her marriage made. An age with me in waters deep, only the Moon of your birth to warm the earth. Seek your spring and know her not, another age the three have wrought. Search again for winters’ mate, my mercy more than was my fate. Blood of your Moon will share your state.’ “With that she backed into the water and disappeared, giving her sisters time to flee south, but the three brothers caught up with them on the banks of the next lake. The second sister repeated the words and deeds of the first and the third made it to this lake. The brothers were furious when she too opted for a watery grave, repeating the same curse her sisters made. “The plan for peace was destroyed so the three warriors went on the offensive and attacked the southern tribe before word of the sisters’ deaths could reach them. It was a bloody slaughter. The three brothers were victorious but their people lost many warriors. That winter, at the close of the brothers’ birth month, all three of them disappeared. “The few remaining of their people were driven far to the north in bitter winter by the many other southern tribes who now saw them as aggressive and dangerous. The tribesmen of the northern people believed the brothers deserved her curse and never searched for them.” Darius stopped talking and a heavy silence settled over the cabin. “Darius?” Jesse watched him sit there with firelight playing across his bronze skin. “Yeah?” “Is it true? Or just a folktale?” “Depends who you talk to…” Darius tried to straighten off the couch and couldn’t hold back a groan of pain as his back contracted in protest. Both hands flew to the small of his back in telltale fashion as he gritted his teeth through the almost dizzying pain. “Oh for God’s sake! You did kill yourself this afternoon. Lie down on the rug in front of the fire and let me put something on it,” Jesse directed as she stood up.

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Jesse found the legend disturbing on several levels. Logically she knew it was just a story designed to entertain. That’s what stories were for. Even old ones. Seeing it as simply that should not be a struggle for a scientist. Considering whom her family was, this legend presented a problem she didn’t want to deal with. Shoving it to the back of her mind for now, Jesse focused on being a doctor. That was the world she wanted to inhabit, not some hazy place in which past and future were messing with present. Darius fell forward and crawled to the rug. “Sure, if you insist,” he gritted out, and collapsed. “Show-off, fool,” Jesse muttered, and hurried over to the bed and dug something out of the ever-present medical bag. “What were you thinking this afternoon, anyway? That was way too much strain for a man your age.” “You didn’t mind not getting your fanny frozen in the damn lake,” he reminded her as she stood over him. Just for that she straddled him and plopped down on his butt. His yelp of pain was very satisfying. It felt right that he suffer a little after making her so uncomfortable sexually and now pricking her interest with that haunting legend. “Damn it, woman! This is how you’re helping me? Where the hell is your bedside manner?” He couldn’t mange to turn his head and glare at her so the words would have to do. “If you were in a bed, my manner would be bedside,” Jesse informed him as she squeezed a large glob of her chosen medication onto her hand and let it warm a second as she perched on his firm ass. Being astride him was probably not strictly necessary. Perhaps it was the two cups of wine talking but this was one sweet ride. She leaned forward to reach his neck and shoulders and found rolling her mound on his unyielding ass made her moan. That was very nice. He moaned too, telling her he liked it or his back was killing him. Either way, she was about to fix it as any good doctor should.

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Her hands settled onto his neck and began smoothing the slippery concoction down and over his shoulders. Her touch was firm and even, creating a rhythm that helped him endure the pain of those first touches. Darius gritted his teeth and didn’t care if she saw the grimace. His entire back felt like it was one huge knot. Her sweet mound rocking on his ass and soft thighs clamped around his hips generated the type of heat below his waist that could fuel jet planes. He clenched his hands and tried to endure them both. “So what do you believe?” Jesse could not resist the story as she worked his shoulders. She wanted him to tell her it was just a fable but knew he wouldn’t. Things were never that simple—she’d learned that lesson well. “Damn.” Darius hissed at the new pain she found a way to inflict. “I told you the legend, didn’t I?” He growled as she started kneading harder to work the circulation back into screaming muscles. “Yeah, and for a legend hundreds of years old it seems quite detailed. How is that possible? Or do your people always fill in that stuff, painting a picture with words? Would I hear a whole different story from someone else?” She was handing him excuses and reasons to say it wasn’t a real event. The least he could do was pick one and agree with her. “Aaaarrrggg, lighten up, Jesse.” Darius gasped as her fingers bit into tight muscles. “You know you need this. Now be a good warrior and take it.” She leaned into the massage and let her tension flow down through her fingers into his back. He wasn’t helping her put the story into a perspective that a scientist’s mind could accept. She desperately wanted things to be black and white. True or untrue. Real or fantasy. She needed them ordered in that way. He probably wouldn’t understand even if she told him. She’d grown up in a family of “gifted” women and was the only daughter without “special” talents. Jesse was not interested in developing anything “special” at this late stage. His legend was raking across her logical mind with uncomfortable “specialness” and she didn’t appreciate it. 34

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“I’m being a good warrior, damn it. Who knew you were the priestess of pain? What the hell happened to all the yelling at people to be gentle when you take a patient off a life flight?” Her little hands pushing into his back almost distracted him from the way she was grinding his growing erection into the hardwood floor. The thin covering of the braided rug did nothing to alleviate that discomfort. “What do you know about that?” Her hands found the long ropes of muscles up his sides and started to pull them. “I’m the guy who flies most of the life flights into Anchorage. I’ve seen you in action since you got there.” He blew hard through the new method of torture she’d initiated. “You do? Why haven’t you spoken to me?” Her hands left his sides and started to karate chop up one side of his spine and down the other. This was interesting. Why would he comment on watching her? That thought created a whole new tension as her hands worked on his back. It was actually healthy to express her frustration this way and helpful to him. Jesse almost smiled at her own defense of the brutal pounding his back was getting. It was good for him though. “Because…” Darius gasped as she did it again. “I can’t find the right moment to distract the doctor from saving the dying person’s life. Jesus! What the hell is that?” He yelped and jumped as her thumbs started doing something to his back that could only be considered medieval. “Pressure-point stimulation. You never wanted to talk to me. I shouldn’t have asked.” Her thumbs felt like stilettos. “Christ!!” he gasped at the intense action of her fingers while trying to defend himself. “I always wanted to talk to you. You never looked at me.” “Humph,” she grunted in disbelief. “You’ve been a mute savant from the day I met you. Don’t blame me. I tried to say hello.” Lord, that sounded defensive and juvenile. Why did this man regress her back to teenage nitwit? It was irritating and Jesse was 35

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tired of it. She was a highly respected doctor and reasonably brilliant. Too bad she couldn’t manage to sound it. “I’ve been a mute hard-on since the day you met me. Get it right.” He squeezed his eyes shut and endured. “What? Yeah, right!” There was an inelegant snort. Her hips were now moving in grinding rhythm as she leaned into him using the heel of her palm on his lower back. Darius groaned with each heavy twist that pushed into his lower back. His level of both pain and pleasure were nearing critical tolerance. “You can fucking believe me on this one, Jesse.” Her gorilla massage had given him enough freedom of movement to let him prove his point. With a quick buck and flip, he was suddenly lying face up. His big hands caught her hips in midair instead of letting her slam down on very sensitive flesh. He lowered her to straddle the long, hard evidence of his claim. Jesse stared into his eyes in shock as her body absorbed the feel of him. His hands gripped her hips and held her down on the thick rod that felt like it burned through the layers of clothing. Or perhaps her flesh burned in response to the primitive demand for surrender. It was hard to tell. “That,” he informed her, “is what happens every time I see you. Being a mostly civilized guy, I don’t do the next thing I want to after seeing you.” Her eyes narrowed. Her hands, which had been resting on his chest, gripped hard and Jesse leaned down close to his face to make her point. “Oh no, you don’t! You can’t convince me that after years of almost no contact, it was all an act because you’re shy. You’re not shy. You’re the silent, surly type but there is no possible way you’re shy.” His hands left her hips and traveled up the sides of her body as she spoke. Long, calloused fingers pressed firmly into yielding flesh as he went. His head lifted off the floor and his lips met hers at the end of her accusation. Her eyes widened into round circles of surprise as they stared at each other over the kiss. Then as both his hands gripped the sides of her head, his fingers sinking into silky hair, he took control of the 36

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kiss and pulled her down so they remained sealed together as he relaxed back on the floor. His tongue licked over the seam of her lips once, asking entrance. Her entire body softened on top of him and her jaw opened a little bit. That was all he needed, his tongue thrust into her mouth as her eyes closed to better absorb his kiss. He pressed his hips up and robbed her of thought for about two seconds. The demanding control of his kiss almost extinguished the pitiful little bit of logic that remained in her normally sensible brain. So much raw male was intoxicating. Her arms were folded between their bodies. Logic finally came gasping to the surface and kicked her sensual slut to the curb. What the hell was she doing straddling this guy and sucking face as if she were starving for it? Why was he allowing it? Wait, he hadn’t allowed it, he’d started it. This was a jock and always had been. He and the burning pipe thrusting up between her legs were damn used to getting anything they wanted. She was sure of it. He was the type who could glance at a woman, wink and look slick. As opposed to regular men who looked stupid doing the same move. Regardless of how desperately her inner slut wanted to lick him like catnip, she was way past the age of stupid hormone mistakes. She stiffened and pushed away. “Wait. I’m not going to be used because I’m the only available body. Two cups of wine is not enough to make me that stupid.” Jesse found the only explanation for this unexpected heat from him insulting. His garbage about wanting her was just a man talking to the one available pussy in a possibly long stay up here. Her response was explainable. He was half dressed and freaking built. His taking advantage of her lust was not going to happen. Darius’ eyes managed to darken in anger and there was a blur of movement again. He ended up on top of her. His hands had grasped her wrists and stretched them over her head as his large body settled over hers. His knees pressed down between her legs, forcefully spreading them and stretching out right where he wanted to be. 37

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Lying beneath him in the most vulnerable position a woman could be in, she stiffened and her expression closed to blank regard. The swift and devastating display of power was frightening. His heavy body pressing into her after he’d thrust her legs apart was meant to be intimidating. Jesse felt his tightly bunched body vibrate with sexual tension above her. Once again he reminded her of a huge predator. This time he was crouched over his prey and trembling with excitement. A woman didn’t need full use of her supposedly brilliant mind to know she was in trouble. The little idiot within who was so in love with the savage side of him knew exactly what was happening. Her stupid body was thrilled and doing everything in its power to accept his behavior. The part of her that had made it through medical school was reviewing each and every rape victim she’d ever treated in an emergency room or read about in a case study. That calmed inner cavewoman down quick. He saw her expression close and knew her reaction for fear. Not what he wanted, but things had flamed to the edge of control and he needed to control them again. Her accusations and now her fear burned him almost as much as the hot-rod cock pressed into the damp apex of her pants. He dragged in a deep breath and speaking slowly so she’d understand, tried to explain. “No. I am not shy. The reason we didn’t speak the first time you showed up at the hangar was that I had an instant hard-on.” He paused to rock what he was talking about into her for emphasis. “That is damn difficult to hide from a doctor. I was embarrassed for reacting like a kid. I didn’t think you’d understand. I’d been all but stalking you when you finally walked into my life. My immediate response was not appropriate.” He forestalled her attempted interruption. “Hush! Let me finish. Then I promise you can say whatever you want. “I didn’t stalk you in the criminal sense. I just paid the orderly to show you the ad for my cabin. I wanted to get to know you but it took so damn long to do it that my

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reaction was more intense than I’d have liked. Then the silence between us became a rut. It would have been fake if I’d suddenly broken out into friendly banter. “No fucking way you’re being used, woman. I want you. I’ve wanted since before you even bothered looking at me but I will not rape you. “Now, I know I’m holding you down and loving the hell out of it in ways that can’t be hidden, but that’s so you’ll listen and not jump to some wild-ass conclusions that insult me and cheapen you. I will not allow it.” Darius took a deep breath and searched her face. It was still blank and closed. Her eyes were steady but not wide with fear. She remained lying perfectly still beneath him. Even her breathing was slow and steady. He wanted to swoop down and kiss the stillness out of her. Make her accept what he was saying and know it for truth. Her soft body under him was making his inner savage crazy. Just fucking her brains out was damn attractive at the moment. He’d never worked this hard to retain focus with a woman. Usually all he wanted from them was exactly what they wanted from him. By the time a female body was under him, it was wet and ready. This one was too but her spirit wasn’t. She was working at not inciting him to irrational behavior. The fact that she thought she had to remain frozen so she’d not encourage him was damn insulting but he deserved it. In what seemed like a single move, Darius lifted off her and was standing across the small cabin. His hands rested on lean hips and his chest heaved as if he’d been running. Jesse remained perfectly still, her hands stretched over her head where he’d held her on the floor. The only part of her that moved were her eyes watching him. Darius waved a hand at her. “Go ahead. Move. I’m not going to jump you.” The deep rumble of his voice was both tired and flat as he glanced at her and fought back the primitive demands his body was clamoring to relieve. This was not how he wanted her acceptance. His inner savage was not used to denial after feeling a wet welcome, but the look on her face was a blow to the back of the idiot’s head. He’d never seen that look on a woman’s face. It was fear held behind a blank mask of endurance. It 39

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cut him like a knife. It was the look of a victim who refused to give her abuser the pleasure of seeing pain on her face. “The one thing I want you to understand is that I’m the last person who’d ever hurt you, damn it. Looking at me like that is your most effective weapon. It hurts me. You have the power to hurt me with a look.” He turned his face away from her as he handed her control. It was damn difficult and the only way he could think of to make her understand and remove that look from her face. Jesse slowly stood up and smoothed the tank top down her body. Her eyes never left him as he faced her again. He was watching her with a calm face but his hands were white-knuckled, gripping his own hips as his butt leaned against the kitchen counter. The air around them almost crackled with tension. Sexual tension was only a part of it. Control was the issue about to combust into a wild fire of abandon. He was handing her control in an incredibly civilized gesture. Yet she could see the ghost of his predator pacing behind the bars of civilization. That beast was aroused and stalking her. Out here in the middle of nowhere, alone and completely cut off, well, if he were lying, there’d be nothing she could do about it. Whatever transpired would either create a hell she couldn’t escape or a fantasy she’d wanted to indulge for three years. All that vibrating sexuality focused on her was stroking her inner slut who apparently loved being stretched out on the floor as the big savage lost control. Jesse wasn’t exactly shocked to realize being the focus of his lust was so gratifying. What woman hasn’t dreamed of being seen as the irresistible sexual prey who drives reason from a man’s mind? The elemental power of that woman was dizzying. It was also simple Biology 101. She wasn’t ready to abandon centuries of evolution to indulge a primitive itch like a hormone-crazed teenager. Fear had evaporated though. She believed him on a basic level that was part of the elemental woman who wanted him more than she wanted dignity. It was becoming difficult to keep that slut in check.

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“You want me to believe you’ve been lusting in silence?” she asked calmly. “Now that we’re finally talking, you’re confessing to some deep longing?” Incredulity dripped off her tone, which was much too sweet. Darius felt like cursing. The atmosphere was filled with disbelief instead of passion and carnal need. He’d fucked up and forgotten a key fact the manuals had taught him. Emotional vulnerability is not allowed in the hero until the last chapter. Here he was confessing to a freaking crush like a desperate schoolboy. He didn’t move. Expressing his frustration would be violent and scare the shit out of her. She’d asked a question and he had to answer, but he hated opening his mouth one more time. Crap that he had no control over seemed to fall out of it. “Look. You’re frightened and it’s my fault. I’ll grab my stuff and get out of here.” He sighed heavily but didn’t move. She held him firmly in place as her hands came up in a defensive hold motion. “Wait. You’re leaving? You open this can of worms and now you want to run out the door and hide from it?” Jesse crossed her arms and frowned at him. “Are you a coward, Darius?” Darius’ jaw clenched. Little warrior woman was baiting him. There was no fear in her softly spoken question, just a giant challenge. He’d read the room all wrong and she’d hit him with a blow he wasn’t prepared for, again! His head tilted to the side and a smile hovered in the laugh lines around his eyes. “I just confessed to a crush on you. Is that the risk of a coward, Jesse? Leaving was so you’d feel safe. I thought you were frightened.” “I’m not a stupid virgin who’s gonna drown herself when faced with a big, sexy guy. Give me a little credit, asshole. What I want to know is what exactly do you mean by the word crush? Is it like an itch? Crush is a childish word. I need to be clear on where we are.”

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Satisfaction purred through Darius. She was a full-grown cat and more than able to handle him. Facing him as she did, she’d handed back his male ego with a woman’s confidence. She’d done it while letting the tension between them build. His voice dropped to match the dark pleasure this banter gave him. “Crush in this case means a man who’s seen a fucking sexy, smart woman and knows just taking her would be a one-time event and involve jail time later. Since he wants her over and over, he has to find a way to convince her she wants him too. “Look, I didn’t suddenly get an itch. I’m not a kid who can’t see around his crotch. I know your time at the hospital is almost over and I want to spend some time with the woman who fascinates me to see if the attraction goes both ways.” Jesse’s head tilted in question. “So you rent your cabin to her and ignore her for three years? You did say this cabin is yours, didn’t you?” “Yep. My cabin. I rent her my cabin and then spend three years camping in the damn woods to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. That second year it rained the entire week. You were never in danger, alone or ignored.” Darius couldn’t believe his ears. What had he just said? Was he an idiot? Now she would think he was some creepy stalker who was also a spineless geek. He didn’t think it was possible to wear a ball gag and look manly. Maybe it was time to give it a go. Couldn’t be worse than the way he’d just removed his balls. “You WHAT!? You were here?” Darius nodded and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at her. This was about to get ugly. Her sharp little mind was churning away in there like a meat grinder. He could almost see himself being fed into it. That comment about the rain sounded like pathetic whining and a plea for sympathy instead of proof that he’d been here. Jesse started pacing in front of the sofa. Her arms were crossed and she was shaking her head. It sounded like she was starting to growl. Stopping abruptly, she faced him again.

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“Here it is, stud,” she spat at him. “You have done a lovely job of forcing me to be as emotionally honest as you’ve been if we’re going to get out of this room and not hate each other. I’m mad because you just told me the guy who wets my panties by grunting at me has been as interested in me as I am in him. Not just a play date either. Then he spends three years being civilized about it. I don’t have time to fuck around with civilized. I’m not that young. I’m a reasonable woman so I’ve gotten involved with a man who actually asked me out instead of mooning over the big idiot. “Now here you are professing some long-standing interest. What the fuck were you waiting for?” Jesse threw up her hands in exasperation at the end of the statement. Darius gazed at her angry face a few minutes, letting the statement sink in. “You’re ticked because I didn’t jump you like a savage?” “What? Do I need to wear a sign? Something flashing across my chest saying ‘YES’? Apparently I do. But it’s too damn late now. I’m seeing someone.” A muscle jumped on Darius’ cheek as he looked at her with a frown. “Are you married?” Jesse frowned back at him. “No.” “Then it’s not too late,” he murmured softly. “Shithead isn’t here, is he? His loss.” “I don’t flit from man to man just because a hard body turns me on. Don’t be an ass.” Jesse turned her back on him and crossed her arms as she stared out the cabin window. “We’ve established that both of us were interested in each other long before you took up with the shithead. Right?” Darius pressed her in that low, intent tone. Jesse glanced over her shoulder at him and raised her brows. “We’ve established something like that, I guess. His name is not shithead, by the way.” Darius ignored her defense of shithead. “So no one could call it flitting. You’re not married, I’m single. No law against two people like that getting to know each other. It’s not like we met in a bar and are headed to the sack. Relax.”

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Jesse turned around slowly to face him again. Her eyes dropped to the taut denim over his crotch. “We’re just going to ignore that?” Her eyes flicked back to his in question. “I’ve managed to ignore it for years,” he assured her. Her eyes dropped back to the bulge between his legs. “I don’t know that it’s possible for me to ignore that,” she mused softly as a wicked little smile played around her lips. “It’s impressive.” Then she licked her lips and chuckled as she looked into his face again. “Not a good idea, woman,” Darius growled. “Teasing is a mistake.” “Have you decided to do the noble thing and leave me to the other guy?” “No, but there’s no hurry.” His eyes narrowed as she moved a step closer to him. “I’m not that patient. If we’re gonna rationalize Robert away, why wait? Or are you having second thoughts?” she wanted to know. “Don’t you want to know a bit more about me? Like what kind of man I am? What kind of lover I might be? We haven’t dated and had those long talks people usually do before getting naked. I could be a twisted bastard,” he suggested with a small smile. “Didn’t you just tell me you’ve spent three weeks of your own time skulking around the bushes because you were afraid I might stub my toe on a rock? One of those weeks you were wet 24/7? You did it because you felt responsible for my being in a potentially dangerous situation that you’d engineered. “Now you’re standing there being honest about your interest instead of wrapping it up in some stupid evasion.” Jesse picked up the two plates from the crate table and grabbed the cups also. She brought them over to the sink beside him. “Yeah. Make your point.” Darius went to the hand pump and started priming it, working the handle hard. “The point is you’ve already invested in my safety. You’ve proved you take responsibility for your actions. You are painfully honest even in an uncomfortable

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situation. You don’t quit being responsible when it gets tough. You’re obviously smart enough to be a pilot and resourceful enough to run a business. You’ve kept me warm and dry through an emergency. Now you’re being freaking honorable and giving me every opportunity to back out of physical involvement. Should I be concerned after knowing all that?” She started washing the dishes in the bucket of water he’d provided. Darius took the clean ones from her hands and rinsed them, stacking them in the small rack. “I’d never allow anything to hurt you, but I was talking about what I want sexually, Jesse. I’m not a tame, missionary-position-type guy. Do you suppose you might want to ask a few questions about that?” “Okay, Darius. Tell me what you think I should ask?” Jesse finished the last of the dishes, dried her hands and headed back to the sofa. This was a little bit irritating. She’d made up her mind, stated the choice and he was balking? Coming to a decision after review of all the available facts was easy. Discussing it to death was not a wise choice. Jesse was used to being confident in her choices. Lives often depended on her confidence. His need to discuss was almost amusing. It was a role reversal. He smiled as he watched her tail twitch all the way over there. He opened the other bottle of wine, grabbed the two clean coffee cups and sauntered across the room after her. Pouring two half cups of wine he left the bottle beside the cups on the crate side table. “First, stand up a minute.” He stood in front of the sofa where she’d curled up again. Jesse frowned slightly but stood. “Now reach over your head.” A bit reluctantly Jesse’s arms rose to stretch straight up. “Good girl,” Darius murmured, and swiftly grasped the hem of her tank top and drew it off over her head in one quick move. “What the hell?” Her arms immediately covered her breasts.

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Darius dropped her shirt, bent slightly to put an arm under her knees and his other at her back. He lifted her off her feet easily while admonishing, “Keep still,” then seated himself on the sofa with her across his lap. Jesse sat there staring at him in surprise but she didn’t scramble off him. “What was that?” “I want my woman available.” He leaned in to brush his lips across her mouth. Her eyes didn’t close and her arms didn’t move from covering her breasts but she didn’t protest either. “You insist you’re ready to trust me, I’m testing that for both of us.” Jesse felt a bit dazed as his mouth nibbled around her face. He wasn’t attempting a deep kiss. He tasted her, investigating her face with his lips. He cradled her head in one big hand while the other one gently massaged her midriff. He wasn’t prying her arms off her chest or trying to reach into the flannel pants. He was nuzzling her face and caressing her tummy with feather touches. The vulnerability of her position was a spicy mix on the edge of fear. It was a rush of excitement and plunged them both into sensuality. He’d taken them there firmly but he was letting her feel it, assimilate it. Nothing about his actions were rushed or overpowering. His touch was possessive and sensual but not forceful. It drove her to seek his lips with hers and he let her capture them after a second. Soft lips pressed against firm ones and opened to lick a little tongue across the masculine mouth. He opened to that request, letting her lead them into a deeper kiss. His not bending to her made her turn her body into his chest. Her hands abandoned the job of covering breasts and grasped his shoulders. That was the moment both his hands slid to her back and pulled her against his bare skin. His tongue glided over hers in his mouth and then took her. The kiss changed dramatically from feminine investigation to male domination. Steel-banded arms tightened, crushing her breasts into his chest. One hand went back to cradling her head and gripped it firmly, tilting her as he wanted her. His other hand pressed into soft skin as it dragged down her back and with no hesitation it slid 46

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into the elastic waist of the flannel pants. He grasped her ass and kneaded it roughly. He noted there were no panties in his path. Jesse moaned into his mouth. She’d wanted more and asked for it with her response. His demands were intoxicating. Her body undulated mysteriously because she knew she’d never moved like this before. He squeezed and caressed her ass firmly and it was driving her wild. His lips left hers and dark eyes glittered down into her face as he watched her. “Lift your leg,” he commanded as his fingers pressed into the seam of her thighs from behind. Had he been kissing her as his hand reached under her ass toward her pussy, she would have shifted without thinking to allow him entrance. He’d stopped kissing her and was staring into her face as he commanded her to yield. Both of them were fully aware. He’d made sure of it. Her breathing hitched and then she knew. He wasn’t necking on the sofa. He was claiming her surrender and making sure she recognized the choices she made as he did it. Her top leg lifted to place her foot flat on the sofa seat. She’d made herself as open as possible in this position. His fingers slid slowly around to the damp opening of her body. Black eyes watched her face as he rimmed it with a light touch, eliciting a moan from her parted lips and her eyelids grew heavy. “No. Look at me,” as she would have closed them. “See the face of the man who touches you. There is no escaping into some fantasy, Jesse. This is you and me.” Hard fingers moved up soft folds, pressing between them to squeeze and release. The touch was no longer light as he mapped her and watched her face flush with excitement as he did it. “Yes, baby girl. You’re wet and wanting. Very good,” he approved as if she’d done that voluntarily. His hand pulled out of her pants and the other released her head. She was free.

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Her eyes studied him as neither of them moved. Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. “Why did you stop?” “It’s time for you to decide what you want.” “I thought we were very busy establishing that?” “Were we?” His tone made it a question. “You enjoyed?” “You know I did. You’ve got the damp fingers to prove it.” Jesse frowned. Darius smiled and nodded as he continued to simply look down into her face. “What? What more do you want from me? Isn’t yes enough?” she demanded in growing frustration. “Yes will never be enough, Duchess.” His hand smoothed hair off her brow and his lips smiled slightly but he made no other move to touch her. Jesse leaned back so she was half sitting on his lap, her back resting on the sofa arm. She’d lost all consciousness about her breasts being bare as she frowned at him. One of his hands lay lightly on her knee while the other was stretched out on the sofa arm. Only his thumb lazily grazed the bare skin of her shoulder blade. “Then explain it to me. Why the buildup and refusal?” “There’s been no refusal. I have simply stopped so you could decide what you want. Look at my jeans. Does it look like I’m refusing you?” Glancing down she saw his point was well made. Rising above the waistband a full inch was a hard, thick cock. The jeans held it up so the head stood in front of his navel. “I want you, Jesse Reese, but you must choose me. Especially in this place. There can be no question of your consent. I need it verbally and physically. Now stand up.” Jesse stood and backed away a pace. Darius leaned down and unlaced his boots, removing them with his socks. Then he stood and unsnapped his jeans, slowly sliding the zipper down his hard length as she watched. He shoved his boxers below his engorged cock, which stood straight out from his body. Unzipped, he made no move to remove his jeans.

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Her eyes went to his face. He was simply standing there with hands resting on hips watching her. “What?” “Consent,” his voice rumbled across the separating space. “Yes.” “More.” “Yes, please?” He shook his head and glanced down then back at her. “Show me what you want. Tell me what’s mine. You were in a hurry to skip the chatting part so here we are. We’re not negotiating, Jesse. With my kind, it’s a man and a woman. I’m not modern or openminded. I get to be the man. You get to be the woman. In everything else we share but this, this is the line where you choose to be my woman or not.” Jesse had to swallow as he finished. It came to her that it might have been a mistake to insist they dive into this. She’d felt pretty confident earlier but right now it seemed he was asking for something bigger than fun in bed. What was the phrase he used? “…choose to be my woman or not.” That sounded almost final and sort of…complete. That was the only word she could think of. Yet, looking at his glistening, hard body with its amazing instrument, well, why not? What exactly was she waiting for? She was still confident he could and would take care of her. There was a question though. “Um…” she started. “No, woman. No questions. Now is the time for an answer from you.” Jesse stared at him and bit her lip. He had said both physically and verbally. Her hands went to her pants and she pushed them down and off. Straightening she took a deep breath and fought through the amazing shudder of excitement as she stood naked before a man who regarded her beneath heavy eyelids. He made no effort to hide the jerk of his cock as he looked at her. That gave her courage to go on. “All right, big boy, this woman is ready to play,” she said softly.

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“Come to me and show me what you surrender to,” he instructed just as quietly. “Darius, you’re pushing it. I’m here. I’m naked and now you want me to surrender something besides my clothes?” “I know. Stripping away excuses cold isn’t easy. You’re the one who wanted to dive in, baby, I’m complying. Tomorrow morning there will be no thought of it being the heat of the moment. You will know that what we do tonight is what we both needed. I want you, Jesse. I don’t hide that from you. I am asking you to do the same.” Jesse stepped forward and put her hands on his firm pecs. He didn’t move. She let her hands trail down his body over smooth muscles that clenched under her touch. He still didn’t move. Jesse closed her eyes to savor the lovely beast under her hands. “No. Eyes open,” Darius growled. “Oh don’t worry. I intend to have a very close view of this.” Jesse slowly sank to her knees. Bad boy wanted to know what she wanted? No reason not to show him. Her eyes blinked and focused on the long shaft in front of her. Then lifting her gaze to his, she opened her mouth and slowly took him in. He hit the back of her throat and she stopped as their gazes locked. She held him there and felt his body tremble but his hands remained on his hips. The fingers bit into his own flesh as if he were holding on. That sight warmed her. He wanted her surrender, did he? Time to see if he knew what he was asking for? Amusement crept around the edge of her brain as she very deliberately took her hands off him and placed them, palms up, at the small of her back. She spread her knees as wide as possible, which brought her ass off her heels. Her thighs flexed while her shoulders drew back. Leaning her body forward so her breasts swung freely, she began pumping on his cock with her mouth. She heard him draw in an involuntary gasp and knew she’d made her point. Firm hands gripped both sides of her head and pulled her off his cock, tilting her face up to him. 50

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His face was a fierce mask and he bit out, “Are you a submissive?” “I have been in the past.” His teeth gritted and he sucked in air again. “You’re trained, aren’t you?” “Yes.” Darius released her and stepped back. Jesse remained where she was as he regarded her with hard eyes. “Is there another for whom you submit? Is shithead your master?” he asked her tightly. “No. We’re not involved like this.” Darius grunted and let out a breath as his body relaxed. “Good. Very good,” he murmured. He stepped back to her and grasped her hair firmly to direct her mouth to his cock again. “Suck.” His hand tightly gripped in her hair, holding her still as he pressed into her mouth. He didn’t stop at the back of her throat. Groaning, he slid all the way in and down her relaxed throat ‘til her nose rested on the black thatch of hair surrounding the root of his cock. “Oh damn, woman,” he breathed at the ease of his entry. “There are several things you’ve failed to tell me.” He started thrusting shallowly so his cock never left her throat. “I’ve never touched a woman without a condom. Even this way. I am free of disease. Nod if you are as well.” Her head bobbed on him and Darius closed his eyes as feeling almost overwhelmed. He kept fucking her mouth as the fire of finding her burned into the blaze lust had already lit. She knew she’d shocked the hell out of him and he gave her that. What she might not realize was how she affected him in ways that went beyond sexual gratification. No damn way this woman was getting away from him. He’d been testing her to see if she was capable of meeting him on some level. He’d wanted to know if she was open

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to his specific desires in a mate. She had once again rocked him to the foundations of his soul. He knew he could be a demanding lover. Well, fucker was more like it. He’d never made love in his life. With her though, it was different. She made it different. Perhaps it was wanting her for so long and actually having to work at getting her. Maybe, but he suspected it was more than that. The moment he realized what she was had been filled with bone-chilling fear. Not of her, of what he was willing to do to keep her. It was safer for everyone if he never knew the name of her trainer. Messed up as it was, he wanted the submissive in her but hated the knowledge that someone else had seen her, trained her. She seemed to peel civilization off him in painful strips, leaving a possessive, sexual savage. He intended to commit every nasty act he could think of with her, but the thought of another having touched her—ever—was almost intolerable. Fire burned up his legs and his balls tightened. Her expert mouth was sucking hard and her throat contracted in a swallowing motion. Every muscle in his body trembled as he fought the explosion. Holding back because he wanted to see this, feel this more. Looking down at this woman and knowing her as his was a surreal moment for him. It didn’t last, it couldn’t. He plunged deep and hard twice, threw his head back in a primitive roar while he shot hot streams of possession down into her belly. His body jerked in helpless release and she took it, took it all while he held her head to him. Darius had to tell his fingers to release one by one when he could finally focus again. She didn’t move, remained suckling him gently as a good slave should. He pulled out of her slowly, letting her tongue swirl around his retreating shaft. “Rest,” he commanded gruffly, and watched her sink her ass back on her heels while she placed her hands on top of her thighs, palms up. The position implied very strict training. Darius ran a hand through his hair, ripping its tie out absently and tried to gather the two wits he had left. That level of training indicated a submissive of intense need. Her appetite more than matched his. Darius backed up a step and collapsed on the couch.

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“I told you I’m not a submissive anymore.” She stood without permission and regarded him with a smug smile. “But I know what it is.” She came over to him and straddled his knees, slowly lowering to his lap and scooting forward so her damp pussy cradled his semihard cock. Her hands smoothed over his shoulders and she looked down at him in satisfaction. “Are you on the Pill?” Her head shook no. Her hips began a slow rotation. “Is your ass virgin?” No again. She sat him with a little smile drifting around her mouth as her hips rocked on him gently. “Is there anyone in Anchorage who knows you as slut or slave?” “No.” That was a relief but he hid it from her. It was bad enough that he continued to need reassurance that she was his to claim. He didn’t really consider the vanilla shithead much more than an irritation. It was the other type of man he’d have been concerned about. One like himself. Darius leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling a moment, letting her feel his inattention. Her cunt was shaved and that should have been a clue when she’d stripped off the pants. He’d been something of a fool and she’d enjoyed it. Darius grunted as his eyes cut back to her and he studied her. His gaze burned over erect nipples standing off pleasingly round, natural breasts. Her torso was not slender but narrowed down to her waist nicely. Hips were rounded and soft, her tummy slightly curved and her mound, now slick with moisture was that little bit plump in the way of a mature woman. Every inch of her demanded he squeeze, fondle, touch. “I intend to have your submission,” he informed her. “Oh yeah? What makes you think that’s what’s being offered?” Jesse challenged as her body caressed him.

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Her breasts shimmied with each movement and his hands could not remain at his sides. Smoothing up the outside of her thighs as muscles flexed, he reached around to cup her ass, filling both his palms with shifting female cheeks. Darius’ head still leaned back as she knelt over him. His grin was wolfish as he let her entice his body to full attention again. “You want to give it to me, Jesse girl. You wouldn’t have shown me that beautiful sexual submissive if you didn’t what me to have her.” “You were being all demanding and uncooperative. It seemed like a good idea to convince you that I know what I want.” Darius’ hands gently kneaded her bottom as she rubbed the knob of his cock over her dripping pussy, sliding up and down so soft folds surrounded his growing erection. Jesse smiled a superior little grin. “So far I’ve done all the work. You don’t expect a girl to submit to that, do you?” Darius chuckled and stood in a swift move that had her gasping and clutching his shoulders as her legs locked around his waist. He strode over to the bed and gently laid her down on it. “You will give it to me now, little one.” He released her and stepped back to shove his jeans and underwear all the way off. “Turn that pretty body down the length of the bed and spread,” he ordered softly, standing over her. Her body shifted and legs moved apart. “When I command spread, honey, I expect more than that. Now draw your legs up so your heels touch your ass and try to lay your knees back down on the mattress. Do it now. You’ve shown me this woman and I will have her.” His hands were busy smoothing a condom down his fully engorged cock as he ordered her submission. Jesse had to agree with him. She’d been full of bravado when she’d demonstrated her submissive side but beyond that, could it be she had wanted this from him? Was she craving his control? The fully exposed position was both humiliating and so

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stimulating. Just hearing him command it brought a dark rush of submissive pleasure that rolled through her body with shuddering heat. His hand smoothed down her spread thighs as he moved onto the bed to kneel below her open body. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of this view as her cunt flushed and dripped for him. She was trembling and her little clit was standing straight up. “Such a lovely, needy pussy you have.” He bent down and inhaled her personal scent. It had been drifting around the room for some time now. He needed to fill his soul with it. Resting a cheek on her thigh, he used the other hand to slowly rim her opening again, coating it with her fluid. Damn, she was sweet and so needy, he couldn’t wait any longer. He leaned in and licked up the outside of plump folds. Jesse gasped and her body jerked in reaction. He chuckled. “Hold still or I’ll take care of that for you.” He threatened with a smile. He loved her responsive body but wanted to see her reaction to the suggestion of restraints. Her little cunt clenched and gushed in excitement for him. His mouth went back to the delightful dish offered. He needed the taste of her too much to bother with binding her now, but it was an interesting thought for future enjoyment. His tongue sought the source of his fascination and boldly flattened over her opening, lapping up the center of her inner folds to her clit, which he circled and then went down to repeat. Jesse’s body jerked and her mind screamed in frustration as the man between her legs investigated every inch of needy pussy. He growled and slurped in obvious enjoyment, sucking, licking and then thrusting his tongue into her with a fucking motion designed to drive her crazy but not allow release. He’d then move up to her clit and suck it into his mouth, holding it there as he pulled away from her body, stretching tender flesh up to let it pop out. The sensation was so intensely pleasurable that it was pain. Her hips tried to grind up at his face but he held her still. That control drove her nuts.

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“Please,” she finally gasped. “Please, now. I need to come now.” Her endurance was done and he’d just kept going. He didn’t acknowledge her and remained buried between her legs sucking and licking, growling occasionally. “Darius, please,” she repeated in desperation. “I can’t hold on much longer.” Her upper body rose off the bed to look down at him. His tongue entered her channel and his eyes met hers as he thrust it into her. His “No” was muffled by her body, and he went back to surveying what he tormented. “Yes! Yes. Now! I need it now!” Jesse screamed as he pushed his talented tongue in and out of her. Darius lifted his head long enough to reach up and bring a hand down on her clit in a hard smack. “No,” he repeated sharply. Sensation exploded up her belly causing Jesse’s body to stiffen and arch up as she screamed. Darius dove down and latched onto her burning clit and sucked hard for a second. Then his body jackknifed up and he plunged the entire length of his cock into her, stretching her over him with shattering sensations that ended with him slamming into the back of her womb. Jesse’s head thrashed on the pillow and tears streamed down her face as he drove her to a new level of pleasure. She was sobbing, her body straining into each rough thrust as he fucked her hard and fast. “Now!” Darius bellowed as his body bowed up and came. She clamped in a mindblowing orgasm that milked his cock as if she were sucking it. Her high-pitched scream mingled with his bass roar and both of them crashed into oblivion. Darius collapsed on her as he tried to suck in air. Her body was still contracting around him in hard pulls, forcing him to give her more when he thought he’d emptied. In reaction his hips bucked into her hard and she howled again. The orgasm rocketed back to white-hot pitch. Darius wasn’t conscious of his instinctive reaction as his mouth opened and closed over her shoulder to hold her still as he pounded into her with ferocious demand again. 56

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The hard, driving fuck was mindless. She raked his back with clawed hands, screaming as he took her brutally. The sensations melded together and he grabbed her arms, stretching them away from her body while never losing his grip on her shoulder. His hips jacked into her with demanding force, rocking the entire bed into slamming against the wall with a loud, satisfying crash each time he hammered her body. His breath blew in and out of his nose ‘til finally fire washed over him again and he exploded. He was sure his head exploded as well as his balls. The edges of reality folded in around him and his world started to go dim. It wasn’t just the late Alaskan evening and he knew it. He was about to pass out. Releasing his grip on her shoulder and shaking his head hard to clear his vision, Darius regained the ability to focus and found himself still holding her down with arms stretched to each side, his body buried to the hilt in her. Directly beneath his nose was her shoulder where he could clearly see the indentations of each tooth in his mouth. Her head was turned away from him and hair plastered to it obscured her expression. Her breathing was shallow and fast. He stared at the marks on her shoulder and his gut twisted in a disgusted knot. Slowly, in an attempt to hurt her as little as possible, he pulled his cock out of her tight pussy. He felt the condom loosening to come off and reached down quickly to hold it on as he dragged himself out of her body. It hurt to touch his cock. He couldn’t imagine how bruised and battered she must feel. She didn’t move. He felt her breath hitch as he left her but that was all. Darius rolled over to the side of the bed and sat up. Removing a full condom was messy but he hardly noticed. Standing, he dropped it in the trash and headed out the door. At the soft click of the door closing behind his bare ass, Jesse turned her head to stare blankly after him.

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Chapter Three Darius walked down to the lake and stood on its bank gazing at shifting black waters. The sun was just setting behind high mountain peaks for the brief night hours. Mist rose off the water to slink around the shore like a sly cat silently creeping over the valley floor. Alaska’s long twilight created a hazy world where reality and fantasy were easily mixed. His thoughts were a mess. Tangled in the mix were awe, joy, pain and shock. It all pressed down on him and he stepped forward, walking in ‘til water was waist-high, he stopped, took a deep breath and dipped his whole body into the icy depths. The cold water bit into the deep abrasion her short nails had left in his back. He welcomed the jolting pain that went above the freezing stab of the water. Gasping, he rose and returned to shore. The icy dip and deep breaths cleared the confusion and he smiled grimly. Clarity didn’t improve his view of what an ass he could be. Grimly he acknowledged there was nothing like digging himself a damn deep hole to climb out of at the start of a relationship. The only thing he was dead certain of was that this was the START of a relationship. He’d been a savage just now and left marks on her. Taken her so hard she had to feel battered, but she’d also been right there with him. Every bit of it had driven her to the same place he’d gone. It had been an amazing sexual experience. No way was he letting that go. NO. This was his woman and he’d make sure she knew it. Darius turned to the cabin and stopped. Glancing back at the water, he felt a distinct chill beyond the water’s bite. Icy fingers of understanding came over him as he connected with something of his ancestors and their plight. Addressing the mysterious blue-black depths, Darius spoke in his native tongue. “They had the fire that burns a man’s soul, didn’t they? You never spoke to them?” 58

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Darius smiled derisively as he added, “Or were you to proud to speak of your heart? I’ll not make your mistakes, Old Father. The lady is mine and she will know it.” The lake moved in its quiet way, water lapping the shore in a gentle roll but Darius felt a difference in the air. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but there seemed to be tension in response to his comment. Stepping back into the cabin, all he could see of her was the top of her head as she curled up under the quilt. Grabbing a towel, he dried off completely. After throwing a few more logs on the fire, he returned to bed. Climbing in, he scooted under the covers and wrapped his body around her. His arm slid around her waist and he filled his hand with her breast. He felt her start at the first contact but then her body stilled. Very softly his lips touched the back of her neck and he whispered, “Sleep, little one. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Jesse stared at the wall in front of her as he pulled her into his body. She didn’t know what she’d expected but this wasn’t it. His huge, warm body was cradling her with his hand cupping her breast. This was gentle but insistently possessive and damn if she didn’t like it. He wasn’t running away from the shattering experience they’d just shared. He told her with his body that he’d be there in every sense of the word. It was a surprisingly evolved thing to do for a guy who’d just channeled Neanderthal man. Thinking about the way they’d connected was almost frightening. Perhaps it was because it’d been so long since she’d felt anything at all close to this. Jesse couldn’t convince herself of that for even a second. Her career was demanding and had consumed her these last ten years, but even back when she’d explored the submissive side of her soul it’d never been like this. Looking for a logical explanation was frustratingly desperate. Her mind needed a tidy answer for the incredible explosion. It wasn’t coming to her. Jesse decided a night’s sleep would clear it up. Things were always rationally clear in the morning.

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Her eyes closed and she listened to his breathing become the even, heavy snores of an exhausted male. It calmed her in a way she hadn’t suspected it was possible for him to do.

Jesse woke to find her cheek resting on a firm shoulder. Her body was sprawled completely on top of his with one leg resting between his and the other hooked over his hip. His shoulder was damp under her cheek with nighttime drool. Oh lovely. She’d drooled on him. That had to be an attractive feeling. He was still snoring so maybe she could slide off him in time to cover the evidence of her nocturnal need to be his. She thought she lifted her head stealthily. A heavy arm suddenly clamped around her waist as he grunted and his head adjusted on the pillow. Jesse froze and he seemed to sink back into deep sleep. Trying again she shifted her weight to slide out from under his arm and off his body. His other hand clamped onto her crooked thigh, pulling it higher on his hip and holding her there as he grunted again. Now she was lying across his chest, her pussy pressing into his hip and getting damp as he held her there. Jesse acknowledged she was a sick puppy. Even in sleep he could turn her on with his control. She gave up and turned her head to nuzzle her nose into his neck. “Better,” Darius grunted. “Hey. You’re awake?” Her head came off his neck to frown down at him. His eyes didn’t open. “No. I’m sleeping. Settle down and let me,” he grumbled as his arm around her waist adjusted her body on him. “I need to get up.” His eyes slit open to look at her face. “Gonna come back to bed?”

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Her eyebrows rose. He was asking not telling. This morning he was a huge bear who obviously wanted to cuddle and he was seducing her with it. Amazing. “Yes.” His arms released her and she slid out of bed. Her slippers were right there and she grabbed her robe off the hook as she headed to the door. “Coat, Duchess, it’s cold,” he growled from the bed. She glanced back at him and found his eyes on her as her hand touched the door handle. He watched her steadily as she hesitated then grabbed her coat off the hook and shrugged into it. A smile touched his lips and she left for the outhouse. At her return, he was still lying on his side facing the door. He lifted the quilt for her to slide back in. Jesse quickly shed her wrappings and dived into the warmth of the bed. July at the foot of the Brooks Mountain Range meant almost no sunsets and temperatures between seventy and forty-six degrees. The morning was brisk and the fire only a few glowing coals. His arms came around her and a warm leg pushed between hers as her back connected with his chest. A low rumble of approval moved through his chest and they settled in. Neither of them said anything for long minutes. “Jesse,” Darius murmured softly. “We need to talk about last night. Can you listen to me a minute before you respond?” Jesse nodded. “We were amazing last night. Coming three times like that is not normal for a guy. How we arrived at that place is what we need to discuss. “I’m a dominant male. You showed me the submissive last night, but we were more than that. I should be sorry, baby. I should hate it that your shoulder could be used as a dental mold for my teeth. I’m not and I don’t. Part of me knows I should be appalled that you’re sore and bruised today, but I’m not that civilized. “What I actually am is in awe of you. Amazed at what we are together. I want it, Jesse. It’s not playtime material and you know it.”

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Darius paused a moment then continued. “Here’s the part where you have to take my word for it because considering how I feel about the other part, this might not make sense. The dominant, possessive man in me needs to treasure you. Show you how deeply I value the gift of your submissive soul. I want you in ways that go beyond our physical connection. “I don’t want to confuse you into thinking that being a Dominant is simply a scene for me. I need to bathe your body, care for you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you in ways that are primitive. Do you understand? I have to do this and remain who I am.” Jesse turned over and he lifted his arm to let her. Facing each other, she looked into his eyes and let him see her weighing his words. “What exactly are you getting at? Do you want me to tell you how I feel about last night?” “Yes, how you feel and what it meant. But before we even go there, I’d like you to understand that I’m here for the long term. I want you to feel safe above all else. Safe to be honest emotionally and physically. Hell, it’s damn fast to be asking you for trust. Yet there is no going back from the place we went last night. There is only forward. “A true Dominant/submissive relationship hinges on trust. There are no shortcuts to that type of relationship and I wouldn’t insult you by trying to convince you there are. I’m asking you to trust me with you while we’re here. I want possession of you. I know you feel shithead is a complication but he’s not unless you tell me you love him. You’ve indicated that you don’t. Is that true?” Jesse nodded and glanced away. That hesitation bothered him a bit, but it wasn’t the pressing issue. “Give us this time. While we’re here it’s just you and me. We both have other pressures and responsibilities, but this time needs to be ours. The way we connected is not casual. It’s rare and deserves both our undivided attention. “I want to hear what you think, what you feel, what you need. I want to know what you fear. Jesse, it doesn’t matter what we talk about as long as we talk. We have time. It’s a sexual relationship but I think it’s much more than that.” 62

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Jesse sighed deeply as he finished. He didn’t ask much, just every damn thing she was. The bastard made it easy by handing her his soul. Not playing fair at all. Didn’t he know he was supposed to hold back and go slow? Where the hell was the silent savant he used to be? If he’d been all gruff and surly this morning, she’d have been able to regain some distance from him. This big, strong, vulnerable man who sacrificed his pride to help her feel safe was wickedly appealing and she feared there’d be no resisting him. However, he was asking more than she could fathom giving. The level of connection he was insisting on felt incredible, big, overwhelming. She still hadn’t come to grips with what had happened last night. She felt battered and a little shocked. Not so much in a bad way. It was the speed of getting to this place. They’d spent three years lusting and suddenly in less than twenty-four hours he was so deeply embedded in her soul that she felt threatened. “I’m sore. It hurts to walk. I feel lethargic and almost drugged, Darius. If it were up to me, I’d remain in bed all day. It’s my vacation and that’s what I want to do. What happens if I agree to what you’re suggesting, what does that make me? Your slave? Your plaything at your beck and call, for your amusement? “Last night two single, unattached adults played hard. We took our play to the limits and pushed beyond. It was amazing but it doesn’t make me want to sign up to be your maid and occasional fuck toy. “It’s not like I don’t know what I’d be getting into. I’ve been trained. Domination and submission is something I’ve explored in the past, but I can’t live that way. I can’t be one thing all the time. Large parts of me are very dominant and those parts can’t be removed. So, I’m sexually turned on by being a cum-slut. It drives me crazy. It’s a part of me that is private. “Those needs are a reaction to the incredible stress of my profession but out of the sexual sphere it’s not something I want. I’m unbelievably repulsed by the idea of pretending to be dumb or having to be told every move to make. 63

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“I’m too old to become someone’s idiot, too old to rush into a relationship in blissful ignorance. We have time as you said. Let’s just see what happens. I don’t want to label us, have some set of relationship rules to suddenly meet. Can we simply enjoy each other?” she finished tiredly. Darius grinned down at her—no, he beamed. Cinnamon skin seemed to glow as he surveyed her serious little face. Dark eyes sparkled with unexpected humor and he chuckled softly. “Absolutely. Now let me do what I need to do and don’t whine about it.” His hand on her shoulder gently pushed her to her back then drifted down to her generous breast, firmly cupping her as his thumb rubbed slowly back and forth over the nipple almost absently. “I already told you I need to take care of you, the only issue I have is your clothes. We’re gonna leave them off today.” “Oh?” Jesse gasped as his fingers now pinched and rolled her nipple, pulling it up. His hand slid down to firmly grip her breast from the underside and held it off her chest to offer it to his lips. His mouth nibbled around her puckered areola, licking dimpled flesh with single-minded intensity. His nose nuzzled her nipple but he didn’t do more than that as he now licked down soft tissue. “So the deal is you’re a Dominant but you want me to submit to your taking care of my every desire?” “Something like that,” he agreed from her breast. “I think I can handle that.” Jesse moaned. Jesse found the sensations highly erotic as he nuzzled and licked at her. His body bent over her was a dark visual that spoke of possession. She arched up to him and he growled. A real warning growl and he stopped licking. Her body relaxed back onto the bed and the man purred and resumed his licking. Jesse smiled. His attention continued until her entire breast was sensitized and tingling then he moved to the other one, never having touched her nipple. Now her chest was humming with sensations and the man released her breasts all together. 64

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“Lake or sponge bath?” “Ah, what?” she mumbled, confused. “Your bath. Lake or sponge bath?” Jesse looked down at her sensitized nipples and back at him with a frown. She wanted him to suck them, damn it. He’d just spent half an hour making sure she couldn’t think of anything else and now he was leaving them? Sneaky bastard. She’d not be able to let anything touch them all day without it giving her a sensual jolt. Well, the lake would take care of that. “Lake.” “Good,” he grunted as he climbed over her to get out of the bed. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.” Her hands rose to rub the sensitive peaks he’d abandoned but he caught her wrists. “Mine, honey,” he explained softly. Jesse lay still and watched him collect towels, soap and shampoo. He placed them all in a bag and grabbed her robe off the hook before he came back to her. “Stand up.” His command was a growling form of endearment. He held out the robe and she slipped into it, grimacing as it settled over sensitive breasts. Maybe the lake was not such a good idea. A sponge bath would have gotten her more stroking and that was looking good at the moment. Darius scooped her up in his arms to Jesse’s surprised squeal and his low laughter surrounded them. “I don’t remember agreeing to be your submissive.” Her face was serious as she looked up at him. “You’re doing that commanding thing a lot.” “Tell your body, sweetheart.” He grinned at her. “It belongs to me and you know it. We’ll take this one step at a time but what we are is already set. So no more fighting it. Relax and be a good little slut.”

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“We’re testing this, right?” The brisk morning made her huddle into his chest. “Seeing how we fit.” “Jesse, you’ve already submitted to me. Stop trying to water it down into some vanilla dating experience. We’re way beyond that and there’s no going back to it.” His voice was firmly decisive and his dark eyes steady on hers. “You are mine, woman. Whether you remain mine is the only real question.” “Stop being an ass and making statements like that. You’ve spent three years being a gentleman, where did all that go?” “I spent three years figuring how to get my hands on you. It might have looked like being a gentleman but I assure you, it’s not the same thing.” “It’s not fair that I like you savage,” she told him as he sauntered to the water. Jesse wasn’t ready to surrender nor did it feel like she had all the facts. She considered their time a test and she’d let him know that. He’d not argued with that point. Content to let it rest for the moment, Jesse looked out at the lake that had always given her a peaceful feeling of acceptance in the past. Crisp morning air rushed through her system as it always did. The fresh scents of a wilderness morning seduced her soul with peace. Something that could not be measured or tested—she’d thought about analyzing what made this air seem invigorating. The scientist wanted to know which components triggered such a pronounced reaction. But it was much like the man carrying her. Its strength such a tangible force that its elements could not be successfully charted. He let her stand long enough to shed the robe and then picked her up again. “Fair has nothing to do with this,” Darius agreed. Still naked himself, he walked them both into the water. Jesse found this process of entering the water in his arms a study in surrender. She knew the water was cold. Knew it’d be a shock to the system, but having no control over accepting that shock was difficult.

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Her urge was to scramble up his body and escape the chilling depths. His hold on her wouldn’t let her. It was maddening and she found she couldn’t watch as he walked them in. He did it quick, dipping them both down and then back to the shore for soap. The rinse took a little longer but soon they were both toweling off and laughing. Back in the robe again, he scooped her up and headed to the cabin. “I’m not permitted to walk?” Jesse was talking to Darius but her eyes were drawn to the lake behind him as he carried her away. Suddenly she felt a peculiar chill twirl around her spine. It had nothing to do with the cool morning or nippy water. The sensation lasted an instant then was gone. Jesse’s eyes narrowed as she almost stiffened in rejection of that shadowy split-second touch. “Nope. Not unless you’ve got to. It’s a day of relaxation for you, young lady.” Darius told her with mock sternness, unaware her shiver was anything other than reaction to the brisk morning. “First day of vacation is serious business and we treat it right up here. The agenda is standard. We start with breakfast in bed followed by lazy entertainment. Then a nap and more entertainment. Lunch on the sofa if you want a change of pace followed by more entertainment and a nap or walk, whichever moves you. You get the picture?” His casual use of the word entertainment was just a term for him spending an hour licking, kissing and otherwise carefully tantalizing her body. He kept the fire going and her clothes off. He never bothered with a stitch of clothing either, which made it difficult to remain embarrassed about her nudity. The day started shortly after they returned from the lake as he lay across the foot of the bed, his hands investigating her feet in minute detail as they talked. It was gentle and insidious. Long fingers slid over her skin, pressing between her toes one at a time. His forefinger moved over the tender skin where her toes met the sole of her foot, passing back and forth in a light caress until goose bumps rose on her calves. Then the backs of his knuckles glided up and down her instep, the pressure just enough not to tickle.

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“Darius is a strange name,” Jesse murmured. “Where did that come from?” “Mom likes history. She thought it sounded commanding,” Darius told her with a smile. “She wanted me to be different and thought that would help. Noble Roman and all that.” Jesse smiled. “You’re a natural at commanding, can’t imagine you need any help remembering that.” His hands were magic instruments at the moment and she forgot why she’d asked about his name. He wasn’t watching his hands though. He was looking at her face. “Tell me why you’re here. Tell me about the boy.” “I’m here to relax and escape that insanity, Darius. I don’t want to relive it.” “You carry it. You’ll not relax until we lift it off your soul. Tell me,” he insisted again. “Why? What possible good could that do? I’m not some bent soul who’s on a crusade to save the world whether they want it or not. This case was very clear and there was no other choice as a doctor.” Jesse sighed, her eyes closing as his thumb pressed firmly into her heel. “So explain it to me. What moved you to make your decision? You knew there would be consequences and I want to understand Jesse the doctor, she’s a huge part of Jesse the woman. We already know I’m interested in her.” He grinned. “There’s no risk, little one. I’ll not change my mind about wanting the woman and you need to relax. Now try to remember we’ve already established I’m in charge and do as I ask.” Jesse opened her eyes to look down her body at him. She was propped up against the headboard, her body snuggled under the quilt. He was lying across the bottom of the bed and had pushed the quilt up so he could reach under it and work on her feet. There was nothing sexual about their positions except he was spectacularly naked and lying in plain view. “It was a car accident. The kid had been drinking. They brought him in around four in the morning. We had all his information from his license so it’s not like he was a John 68

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Doe. I knew he was three days from his eighteenth birthday. Anyway, we were working on him when his parents arrived and suddenly they tell us to stop. Stop everything. They don’t believe in taking drugs of any kind and think if he is meant to live he’ll just be healed. We were allowed to set any broken bones he might have but nothing more. “So I go out to talk to them. Explain that their boy would die if we pulled the team and just left him. They continued to refuse treatment because of their religious beliefs. It was obvious by the fact that Junior had been drinking all night that he didn’t share Mommy and Daddy’s religious convictions.” Her hands came out from under the blanket and she started gesturing as she talked. Energy flowed through her and agitation mounted as she continued. “He wasn’t conscious to ask but how much clearer could his statement be? Whatever his folks believed, he’d already rejected it. I could not allow them to condemn him to death for that. They were angry and upset. They seemed to become fanatically unreasonable with their demand that he be left to live or die on his own. I finally walked away from them when his father started telling me the accident was an act of God and judgment on the boy for his sins.” Jesse stopped talking and relaxed back on the pillows again. Her arms collapsed on the bed. Darius’ fingers were gently pressing the ball of her foot, right under her big toe then moving to directly beneath the next toe. It was heavenly. The sensation seemed to create relaxation even though the subject moved all her negative emotions. “And then?” “Then I went back to work on the kid. Unfortunately security had to remove his father because he was trying to stop me. It was ugly. The kid lived. The father called his lawyer and here I am while the hospital straightens it out.” “What about your attorney? What does he have to say?” Darius’ hands slid to the insides of her ankles to massage the joint.

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“My attorney?” Jesse lost her train of thought for a minute. “Oh yeah. The father will go after me but he’s working on the big money at the hospital right now.” Disgust in her voice told him her view of that attitude. “So the suspension is for show? The hospital agreed with your choice?” “I don’t know. I think they do. Can you imagine letting a kid die because Daddy is pissed that he wrecked the car? Hell, I’d think the culpability from that would be huge. And even if his parents didn’t go after it, someone would. His grandparents, the District Attorney, someone.” “Mmmm,” Darius responded as he felt her relaxing under his hands. He was now caressing her calves. “I mean, the kid turns eighteen today. If I’d left him, they’d be burying him today. Do you think his parents would really rather be doing that?” Darius pushed the quilt up so he could reach the inside of her knee. That soft skin needed licking. His shoulders pressed her legs farther apart as he shifted to investigate how it felt against his lips. He spent several minutes nibbling his way around to the back of her knee before he realized she’d stopped talking. “So what happened next?” He got up to find a condom. Jessie watched him with half-closed eyes. Her body was so relaxed it hummed. His mouth moving over the back side of her knee while his big hands pulled at her calves in long strokes that had been both relaxing and sensual. His smoothing on a condom wasn’t relaxing, considering how her body felt after last night. “Umm. I called your answering service and packed. What are you doing?” “Being prepared.” Darius grinned as he picked up lotion from the shelf behind him and went back to his position between her legs. “Prepared? You know I’m sore.”

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His lips returned to her leg. This time the other knee got his attention. His hand pushed her leg up so he could lick down the underside of her thigh. Soft nibbling made her moan as he lightly dragged his fingertips up and down the back of the other thigh. “Trust me and turn over.” Jesse rolled over. Her legs now on either side of him as he knelt and put a dab of lotion in each hand, he then started working on the back of one thigh. Jesse had no idea where he’d stashed the lotion bottle, but who cared? Strong hands firmly massaged up the outside and around her hip joint and back down the inside. He paid special attention to stretching muscles from groin to knee. He repeated the process, working protesting tendons and ligaments with endless patience. Jesse forgot his view of her as magic fingers worked both her legs ‘til she felt like a satisfied marshmallow. Soon she was moaning in completely un-sexual delight as he moved up to work the muscles of her bottom. When he reached the small of her back, the moans turned into heartfelt groans. His hands never rushed as they rubbed deep into muscles she didn’t even know were tense. The comforter disappeared. Time became meaningless and she floated on a cloud of relaxed delight. Into the misty peace that settled over her consciousness strolled Darius. His wicked smile sent a lazy shiver down her as the image of him became an irresistible force that drew her attention. It was as if every other thought scurried off to settle in dark corners, allowing him to become the focus of her attention. Turning over what she knew of him she realized it was an amazingly short list. He was halfway up her back when she managed to insert words into her next moan. “I know almost nothing about you. Please tell me.” “Tell you what? That’s not a question.” “Tell me everything, anything. Give me some idea who you are besides silent, gruff pilot or Native superman.” “Damn, those sound good. Why would I change those impressions?” he chuckled. 71

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“Because I asked?” Jesse smiled around the words. “Not afraid to bring out the big guns, are ya?” “You’re the one who’s doing Dominant all different and confusing me. I need to understand you.” “What’s all different about it?” Darius wanted to know. Even his voice was a low, soothing rumble and the entire conversation seemed part of her floating experience. “Humph,” she grunted, and sighed before explaining. “I guess all the caring for attention. I mean look at us. I am about ready to expire with pleasure and we’re not doing anything sexual. I’ve never experienced this type of care from a Dominant.” Jesse sighed again as she realized that sounded pathetic and tried to explain again. “What I mean is you cooked, you served. You helped with dishes. Now look what you’re doing. How’s a girl supposed to resist this?” Darius smiled and leaned down to run his lips across the back of her neck. “You’re not supposed to resist.” He nuzzled the peach fuzz of her hairline as he asked her, “Do you doubt I’m a man? Does it feel uncomfortable for me to look after you?” His hands started working down her left arm from the shoulder. “No! Oh Lord, no! It’s good, very, very good,” Jesse assured him firmly to make sure he didn’t stop the magic fingers thing he was doing. “So what’s the problem?” “Not a problem. Why does it have to be a problem? I want to know more about you so I can understand what’s going on. Do you not want to talk about you?” Then she paused as she realized how unusual it was for a man NOT to talk about himself at every opportunity. It was so unusual in her experience that it suddenly became sinister as the possible reasons for that reluctance slithered through her brain. “Is there some secret? Oh my God, you’re not married, are you?” Jesse’s eyes popped open and she twisted around to look at him for that answer.

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“No! I’m not married. I’d be six kinds of a low bastard if I were married and here with you.” “Well, yeah, but why else is it like pulling feathers off a buffalo to get you to talk about yourself?” Jesse relaxed under his hands gratefully. “Saucy wench. Your bottom is in easy reach, ya know.” “Is that an option for you?” Jesse tried to sound casual while asking the naked man on her naked back if he would consider hitting her. She wasn’t comfortable with the implications. The type of relationship he was looking for might include physical discipline. It did not for her. That sort of behavior was playtime material and if he thought it was something else, she had no interest in exploring it. He’d stated he was a dominant male. To her that was a whole different thing from being a Dom. She’d thought it was for him too because she assumed that was common knowledge but he hadn’t actually said those words. Damn, when she went for idiot she did it big. Demanding they clarify terms should have occurred to her earlier. Now it became critically important. She really knew nothing about him. “Jesus, you have some sinister ideas in that head of yours. If I do this—” his hand landed with a light smack on her ass “—it’s never more than that and it’s because I like doing this—” his lips then landed on the red mark making her jump again as he nibbled. “Ohhh.” Jesse squirmed under his mouth. Darius lifted his head. “Time for breakfast, woman. While I’m making it, you get to hear my life story.” He rolled off her and wrapped the quilt around her before lifting her off the bed and depositing her on the couch. He removed the unused condom and washed his hands. “Now sit there like a good girl and listen,” he admonished as he moved around the kitchen area. “What are we having?” Jesse wanted to know.

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“Oatmeal. You were supposed to be quiet so I can get through this.” His tone was indulgent humor. “Oatmeal? Really?” Jesse wrinkled her nose at that. “Yes, really. It’s good for you and your cholesterol. What happened to being quiet?” He shot her a mocking scowl and proceeded with his choice of breakfast nutrition. “Quiet was your idea. There’s nothing wrong with my cholesterol. Do you have a cholesterol problem?” Jesse raised her brows in question, letting the tone and her face imply it was highly likely at his age. Actually she had no idea what his age was outside of guessing a general decade. He got out a small pot and measured the water into it. Not answering her right away so she’d know he was ignoring the whole insulting age taunt. Playing with her like this, both verbally and nonverbally came naturally to both of them. It surprised him as it pleased a dark corner of his soul. He’d flirted with a ton of women but trading insults, even as lightly as they were doing it now, implied a deeper relationship that could take the little barbs and enjoy them. Darius brought the pot to the fire and hung it on the hook. “No. I don’t have a problem with my cholesterol. Now hush so I can tell you about me.” Jesse settled back and smiled as he worked naked in front of the fire. The play of firm flesh and hard muscles was difficult to look away from. His body was naturally almost hairless except for around his groin. He came over to sit on the rug in front of the sofa again as he waited for the water to boil. As he prepared the meal, he told her about growing up the son of an Elder. About expectations at home and how he joined the Navy after college and became a pilot. The Navy gave him exactly what he’d joined up for—freedom. Except his father died and he had come back. The people needed him. The Navy’s unexpected gift had been finding a new way to bring some prosperity to the small Native community. The tribe owned his business and he made a salary from it.

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Then he told her about seeing her. How though he’d been unable to get her attention, he’d become more convinced she was the woman he could connect with. He’d been alone most of his life, never needing or wanting the added responsibility of a wife. He’d always avoided the type of woman who was interested in more than he was willing to offer. It wasn’t like there hadn’t been women but he’d always been careful about making sure everyone knew it was a casual relationship. Disclosing this part of his life was difficult. Honesty and his ego were not a comfortable mix. When they were done with the oatmeal, he did the dishes, not allowing her off the couch to help. He came back and sat down with her across his lap again. Carefully unwrapping the quilt, he looked at her as his hand moved over her skin lightly. Rough fingers sometimes plucking her nipples gently but mostly he just touched like a man pets a precious possession. “Why did it take you so long to approach me?” she wanted to know. “Because it became too important,” Darius confessed honestly. “At first I was simply fascinated with you as a beautiful woman. Then when it became obvious that you never saw me, I was sort of offended. I know, it’s an ego thing. I grew to respect you and your work as I heard more about you, and since my ego had already been engaged, I didn’t want to get to know you like every other male competing for your attention. Your interest in a rustic vacation was the perfect solution.” Darius grinned in that wicked way of his. “Renting you the cabin meant that I brought you from your comfort zone into mine. When you walked into the hangar the first time you came up here, I guess I hadn’t actually thought you’d show up. I was surprised and then I was turned on.” Jesse laughed and leaned back so her head rested on the arm of the sofa. Her body was draped across him and he was caressing her at his whim. It felt good. He made her feel beautiful and sought after. “I thought you were incredibly good-looking,” Jesse murmured.

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His hand skimmed down her tummy to the juncture of her legs. His fingers glided over her mound and down a plump lip, not touching the inner folds. “You didn’t mention that,” he accused softly. “The poor, desperate pilot could have used the encouragement.” “What was I supposed to say? You refused to talk to me. And there was nothing poor or desperate about you. You did big, silent, flyboy sex god exceedingly well.” “I was trying to be non-threatening with my raging hard-on. I was protecting you.” His fingers came back up the outside of her pussy and went down the other side in a caress so light it could have been a feather. “Well, I was protecting you from the horny woman who wanted to jump you. Thought you’d appreciate that. Ohhhh, are you ever going to give me the touch I want?” Her hips shifted up to press his fingers into her but he moved as well, keeping the caress light. “I’ll take care of you, baby. Let it build. I would have given the jump some consideration, you know.” “Now he tells me. I needed more than a grunt to figure it out. Besides, you hid behind those aviator glasses. Might as well paste a sign on your forehead.” Jesse gasped in shooting pleasure as he found each nerve ending and lit them like sensual sparklers. “Geezzzz, Darius, more. I need more of that right now.” Jesse moaned as he finally swirled fingers up the center of her needy pussy, stopping on her clit and circling it slowly. “A grunt was the extent of my ability at the time. Me and the boys aren’t real good at talking to the women we need.” Darius leaned down to nuzzle her breasts, licking around her pretty nipples as his fingers played in the dripping heat between her legs. “What sign did the glasses paste on my forehead?” “Sign would say, Warning—Arrogant Bastard,” Jesse informed him as if he should have known that. It was difficult to hold a thought but he’d said something interesting. “Boys? What boys you talking about?” Jesse gasped. 76

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Darius captured a nipple and sucked her gently, causing her back to arch up as he pulled on the sensitive peak. Between her legs, he sank his middle finger into her clenching vagina with a slow, steady push. His thumb remained on her clit, flicking back and forth. Switching to the other breast he mumbled, “The ones in the lakes.” Nuzzling around the straining pebble cresting her shuddering breast didn’t give him much time to think about the conversation and he’d seriously lost interest in it. Jesse let out a little squeak as his mouth finally latched on to the other nipple and sucked in a steady, pulling motion. He was killing her with tender, slow touches. Burning her body in ways she’d never felt before. Darius pulled his finger out of her and reached around under her thigh. The move lifted her leg and spread her open for the fingers that returned to sensitive flesh. His mouth pulled on her nipple as thick fingers drew up her pussy, pushing folds open in a spreading motion. His face lifted from her breast to look at what he held open. She was so beautiful. Her creamy pussy flushed and wet with female need. His fingers circled her clit as he watched and it swelled for him. It was too much. He needed to taste the tender little nub. He slid out from under her and gently turned her body so he could kneel at the altar of woman’s want. Slowly his mouth lowered to plump folds and he licked up them in leisurely pleasure. His attention consumed, he licked and sucked with slow deliberation as she sighed softly above him. Darius groaned as his lips closed over her clit and he felt her body jerk. Her overwhelming responsiveness excited every base need to fuck fast and hard. Iron control pushed that need to the background as he enjoyed the tastes and textures of her. His hands held her thighs open as his dark head moved over her. He growled when her body bucked up and firmly pulled her back down to where he wanted her. Jesse’s fingers were soon in his hair, clutching him as she tried to remain in control.

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A thick finger pressed into her again as his lips latched on to her clit and sucked. His tongue whisked back and forth over the captured center of sensation and Jesse screamed. He was killing her. The touches shot spikes of tingling need up her legs and pooled them in her belly. “Darius!” she gasped. “Please, now. Fuck me now.” He continued the slow suckling as a second finger joined the first in her body. His only response was a low, rumbling growl as he continued to slurp her private flesh. Jesse moaned and her head rolled on the back of the couch. It felt like her entire body was a trembling receptacle of shooting stars. She couldn’t control her pelvis as it jerked up to press into his face. His fingers didn’t increase the tempo as the slow fucking drove her crazy. Gasping for air, she started begging shamelessly. “Please, please, please, I need more, just a little more. Harder. Darius. Harder. Anything, just give me more.” He released her clit long enough to reassure her. “It’s coming, baby, it’s coming.” Then he went back to exactly what he’d been doing. That’s when Jesse learned he could hold her on the edge of orgasm as long as he wanted. It was torture—it was screaming pleasure. It was control as she’d never known. He finally gave her release with a hard push into her dripping cunt and sharp sucking to her over-sensitized clit. It was intensely shattering as her body bowed and splintered into a million pieces. She screamed then she cried as the pleasure owned her. Quickly Darius moved up onto the couch and gathered her moaning body into his lap. Jesse recovered slowly. The sensual haze lingered as he held her in his arms and seemed to be purring to her. It was a deep rumble in his chest she wasn’t sure he was aware of as the man cradled her. Her face was buried in his neck and one of his hands smoothed through her hair. The other was wrapped around her waist holding her clamped to his chest.

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Eyes still closed, she let reality glide back into the room with her, but not much of it. Who would have guessed this rough guy could do something so achingly tender? He was making her crave it and he’d only done it once. How the hell did that work? The wisps of their conversation trailed through her mind and she smiled. The boys in the lakes were who he identified with. No freaking way. If they had been half as skilled as he was, the three little virgins would have been lining up for a turn instead of going for a final swim. That or big sister went the other way, cuz apparently she was the only one who’d sampled the goods. “Why do you think you’re like the guys in the legend?” Darius kissed her forehead and smiled to himself as he looked down at her closed eyes and relaxed body. “I’ve never wanted to connect with a woman on more than a superficial level. Communication does not come naturally, it’s work. Making that effort is usually a disappointment. It’s not arrogance so much as it’s just easier to project distance and a certain hardness. It comes naturally to the men in my family apparently. I had no idea you saw that whole sign business when I put on the sunglasses. Guys think it’s putting on the game face. I guess it’s a defense. When a guy feels vulnerable, he’s naturally going to the game face.” “Game face? That grim, forbidding expression means you like someone? How the hell is a woman supposed to know that?” Jesse scoffed gently. “To us, it looks like you’re getting ready to behave like an ass.” “Yeah. A threatened guy is usually an uncommunicative ass. But hey, don’t make fun of the game face. It’s a last-ditch effort at self-protection. We need the game face to combat all the pheromones you women pump out. No one wants to be the whipped pansy who follows you around with his tongue hanging out. Manly men wear the game face. I’m guessing my three relatives scared their women to death with it, literally. I sort of feel sorry for them. I bet they had no idea what the problem was.” “Mmm, you think they know now?” “Yeah. I told them.” 79

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“What?” Jesse opened her eyes to lazy slits and regarded his face. “You told them? You think they can hear you?” “I’m not as nuts as that sounds. I don’t know if they can hear me but I have told them they’re not allowed to touch you.” “Me? You told them not to touch me? When did you do that?” “The first time I brought you up here. These lakes don’t see many women. I figured the boys are getting desperate. It’s close to the time when they come out again and here you are. I’d grab you.” Jesse smiled. “You did grab me, three years later. You sure gave them a chance at me first.” “No way. They knew the minute you arrived you were off-limits.” Darius gathered her back to his chest. “How come you’re so sure they’re real?” Darius hesitated before disclosing how close he really was to the three obstinate men. “My grandfather saw them. Spoke with them a hundred years ago next February. He told me about it. We are decedents of their family.” “No shit? Wow. You really think they’ll be back come February?” “Yeah.” “The curse said…Blood of your Moon will share your state. Is your birthday in February? Is that why you think you can’t connect with women?” Jesse put it together in an amazed voice. “Yes, I’m blood of their moon and I’ve shared their cold state. But I’m not sentenced to a watery existence. I made the choice to talk to you. I’ve had some time to think about it and I suspect it’s the lack of communication that was the big problem for those three. Remember, I wanted to talk last night?” “You did keep insisting on talking. I was ticked that it’d taken this long for us to do something about the attraction.”

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“Yeah, I got that. Impatient li’l wench, aren’t you?” It was hard to pick out what he liked best about the woman unfolding in his arms. Discovering her intimately had been one amazing surprise after another and he loved every one of them. Her sensual soul was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever encountered. “I’m very patient,” she huffed. “I waited for you to catch me, didn’t I?” “Catch you? You demanded sex and refused to take it slow. You didn’t wait for a damn thing once you got your teeth into the situation. Then, when I wasn’t moving fast enough, you hit me with something you knew I couldn’t resist. You deserve a spanking for that one,” Darius accused in threatening tones. “Aww, poor savage beast. He’s mad because the woman wanted to be his sex toy. It’s just tough to be you.” “Time for a nap.” He nipped her ear as he said it. “Nap? Don’t you want to do something about this?” Jesse moved her hip to gently rub his shaft. “No. We’ll leave that ‘til later.” He gathered her up and carried her back to bed. They naturally sank into a loose hold as if they’d been sleeping together for years. Jesse would have marveled at it but he’d been right. It was time for a nap and she blinked out abruptly.

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Chapter Four Jesse woke to find herself alone. Frowning slightly she soon discovered there was an urgent need to go to the outhouse as well. Returning from the outhouse, Jesse looked at the lake in a new light. She couldn’t resist passing the cabin and following the path down to the dock. At the end of the dock she sat down, took off her slippers, dangled her legs over the edge and peered into the water. All she saw was her own robe-wrapped reflection looking back at her. Fiercely logical and a scientist to her bones, Jesse had long resisted acknowledging this world of myth and legend. Not out of fear or even disbelief that it existed. Her reasons were more personal than that. Yet this time she couldn’t resist its pull. This legend was too close to home and Darius wasn’t aware of who he’d actually told it to. Gazing into the blue face of the past, she let swirling frustration surface. It was her aggravation at finally being pulled into this murky world. Many things were clear and most of them pissed her off. These three idiots were complicating her life in ways she’d fought to resist. Resentment laced her voice as she addressed them. “What do you think you’re supposed to find when she lets you out of the water? Are you really so dense that you don’t realize it’s not some other woman you’re intended to look for?” The water rippled and she smiled. It could have been the light breeze that moved the water but she liked the thought of ruffling a dark warrior’s feathers. “How many times have you risen in the dead of winter to freeze your asses off and not realized the women to warm you are right here? They’ve always been here. Even when you’re confined to the water they’re with you. I can tell Darius doesn’t get it but you should. Each of them has been imprisoned by your stupidity as long as you have.” Jesse pointed one foot and let her big toe make small circles in the water as she spoke. 82

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“I doubt they speak English,” Darius’ deep voice commented behind her. Jesse jumped and almost fell face first into the water. Darius’ hands caught her shoulders and pulled her back. “Oh no you don’t. All talking to him will be done out of the water.” He chuckled as his strong arms pulled her to her feet. “You spoke to them in English on the plane,” Jesse reminded him once she’d righted herself. “I was also speaking to him in my heart. He knows me.” “Right, well, if there is any possibility that what you said is real, I thought they could use a little help already. Obviously the girls thought they’d figure it out before now.” “Figure what out?” Darius wrapped an arm around her waist and after she slipped into her shoes again, started leading her back to the cabin. “What the curse told them to do to break it. It was a curse spoken by a very distraught woman but still a woman who knew what she wanted. As the oldest I bet she thought she knew exactly what her sisters wanted as well. They wanted to be loved, valued, and not just used. She intended to teach the boys a lesson but I doubt she thought it’d take this long. I’m guessing the oldest didn’t mean for her sisters to share her fate.” They entered the cabin and Darius was being helpful by removing Jesse’s robe. She let him and noticed two steaks on the kitchen counter along with the necessary ingredients for a tasty steak dinner. Three potatoes were washed and sitting there also. “Oh supper?” Jesse eyed the food laid out on the counter with interest. “Yep. Sit down and tell me what you’re talking about,” Darius instructed firmly. Jesse settled on the sofa again and watched as Darius went to build up the fire while she continued. “The words the oldest sister used were meant to tell them what to do. Don’t you see?”

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“Nope. Tell me what you see.” Darius returned to the kitchen and started preparing the food as he listened to her. “‘Maiden fire to frozen blade, this soul her marriage made. An age with me in waters deep, only the Moon of your birth to warm the earth. Seek your spring and know her not, another age the three have wrought. Search again for winters’ mate, my mercy more than was my fate. Blood of your Moon will share your state,’” Jesse quoted the curse. “‘Marriage Made.’ She considered herself married to one of the brothers. She told him he’d be with her in the water. How much clearer could she have been? She expected him to suffer a bit and maybe spend two ages in the water but she never dreamed it’d take longer than that for him to get the picture. “‘Seek your spring and know her not.’ He has to call her out of the water and gain her love. They are in it together. Her fate is tied to his with the marriage so if he calls her up, they have ‘til spring to work it out. Don’t you see?” “Damn,” Darius breathed as he turned around and stared at Jesse in amazement. “I never saw that. No one has seen that.” Jesse waved a hand in dismissal. “Of course someone has. Have you ever asked a woman what she thinks of the curse?” “No, guess not.” Darius went back to wrapping the potatoes in tinfoil. “You said there’s not many women around here, especially in February. Obviously the fellas have never asked a woman either. Idiots. I’d almost not bother mentioning it because clearly they are still idiots but I have to feel sorry for the two younger girls.” “Tell me why you feel sorry for them and not the oldest sister?” “The two younger girls were not running away,” Jesse explained patiently. “They were trying to rescue two of the brothers from their older sister’s wrath. They repeated the medicine woman’s act and her curse. They had to know what they were doing and understand exactly what the older sister had done. “Each of them declared themselves married and took the final step to seal it. Giving her life so the brother she loved would have a chance to escape her sister’s curse. If 84

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they’d simply escaped and left the area, the other two brothers would have no chance of finding them and going on to live a normal life. The medicine women left an out for whichever brother she considered herself married to. The other two men were condemned to the water forever. Her little sisters changed that by joining her in the curse.” Darius went to the fire, placed the foil-wrapped potatoes in the coals before joining her on the couch and scooped her up on his lap again. The two of them adjusted into what had become a natural hold for them wrapped around each other. “I wonder when the two younger girls decided to save the men they loved. How desperate was the flight to make it to another lake and commit suicide?” Jesse shivered. “And they had no way of knowing how their sister’s casting would become amplified by what the men did next. Their actions should have balanced the malice of the original cast. That has to be one of the most tragic stories I’ve ever heard.” “You’re saying the two younger sisters deliberately gave up life for love? Love that obviously had not been returned?” Darius whistled a low, male exclamation. “Casting? Casting of what was amplified?” Jesse was silent a few seconds as she realized how much knowledge she’d just given away. Weighing her words carefully, she tried to explain. “Casting is another way of saying the woman spoke a verse of power or some call it a curse. Since the intent isn’t always evil, casting is sort of a generic term for supposedly manipulating the natural forces of the elements or the earth or whatever you believe holds power. Performing magick in the old ways. “As I understand the concepts involved, what the girls did was the only way they would have known to save the two brothers who were not married to the oldest sister. I doubt anyone would have listened to them—the girls, I mean. It was an amazingly brave act.” Jesse shivered. “That last sister who’d watched the others die, I can’t imagine her courage.”

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“Your explanation makes sense. Why do you think the original cast was amplified or not balanced?” Darius wanted to know. “Ah, well. According to what I’ve read, casting is movement of energy. When the oldest sister spoke the phrases she was filled with negative energy, wouldn’t you say? She spoke in anger and malice. The power of those emotions was further strengthen by releasing her angry soul into the event. Even if she were a weak caster, her death added immense power to it. The two sisters spoke the same cast and added their own souls to the event. However, what they gave the event was filled with positive energy. They were adding love and even forgiveness. They should have balanced or overpowered the original cast.” Jesse paused again and licked her lips. Darius was studying her solemnly and drinking in every word. She couldn’t be sure how he was taking it but explaining the power involved was tricky ground for her. He would surely want to know why a scientist knew this much. But she couldn’t stop now. It wouldn’t make sense without at least some of the rest of the explanation. “The brothers amplified the negative power in the cast when they massacred the southern tribe. The event of the cast was in motion but not completed. Releasing all those souls in violent death more than overpowered the good done by the two younger sisters.” “How did you figure it out?” he asked as he mulled over what she’d said. “Anyone who’s watched Harry Potter could figure it out. The words of a spell are important but not as important as the intent of the spell.” Jesse grasped at an explanation for her knowledge. She needed something culturally acceptable that didn’t require a close examination of her personal life. It was easier that way. She wasn’t exactly lying. “Harry Potter? Who is Harry Potter and what does he have to do with the curse?” Darius wanted to know.

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“You don’t know who Harry Potter is? The wizard?” Jesse gazed at him in amazement. “You know a wizard?” Darius frowned down at her. “No. The movies. Harry Potter is a wizard in the movies. You’ve never heard of him?” Jesse couldn’t get over his cultural ignorance. “Where do you live? Mars?” “I live in Alaska and I work,” Darius told her then continued. “So he’s not real? A make-believe character showed you how to figure out a real curse?” “Not really him. The writer is the one who did the research and figured that out. It makes sense that if you believe in this stuff at all, she’d use real elements in her work. Her books are hugely popular. She’d have to use real practices to make at least some of her work believable.” “Ah.” His face cleared and his hands moved down her spine to cup the twin cheeks of her ass. Closing his fists slowly, his grip pulled the cheeks apart and then flexed open again, closing her. Her reaction to his hands on her ass lit a flame in him that he hadn’t known was so ready to blaze. His experienced eye knew the flush on her cheeks for what it was. He realized she wanted to feel this as much as he wanted to do it. The submissive in her hungered for it. Whatever she thought made her no longer submissive didn’t apply when the need came over her. As amazing as her unraveling of the curse was, it couldn’t hold his attention when the woman in his arms gave him this. “It’s obvious…” Jesse paused as his hands clenched on her bottom again. “I mean anyone can…” She lost the thread of her thought and his hands moved to press fingers down the crease of her bottom. Her face turned up to him and his lips were waiting for her. The kiss was a slow exploration of her mouth as his hands pulled her open again. He reached under her to run his fingers through the silky moisture from her contracting pussy.

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His slick finger returned to the tight pucker of her ass opening and he painted her with her own need. Doing it over and over. Then two fingers dipped into her vagina to trail up to the opening he’d been preparing. Jesse pulled back from his lips to look directly into his eyes as he pushed those fingers into the tight entrance none other had touched for so long. She gasped through the burn as he entered her. His fingers stilled and let her adjust as he watched her face carefully. His smile was as slow and dark as the wicked pleasure he was giving her. “That’s my little slut,” whispered over her lips as he approved of the fire he saw lighting in her eyes. The pleasure was edgy. She wanted it, wanted the burn that felt like no other. “Yes, more,” moaned out of her. “I know, feel it, baby. Now move on your impaler. Show me what the girl needs,” he encouraged her. “You’re this submissive no matter what else you say. This is what you need.” The passion trembling through her flicked on every one of his possessive switches. Her power over him nearly robbed him of breath as he held this amazing woman. “Darius,” Jesse sobbed as her body obeyed him and pushed back on his fingers. The sharp thrill knifed through her as she pulled forward and felt her clinging sphincter glide over him. “I’m right here, little one. Tell me what you need. Say the words.” He pressed as she fucked him slowly in and out of her. He needed to be sure. She was driving him in a direction he’d not expected. Soon it would be too late to turn back and she had to be with him on this. “I need your cock in my ass,” she gasped, and then hid her face in his neck as her body continued to move on him. Her breaths were jerky gasps and he held her there. The slow intrusion was driving her crazy, the pressure was building and she needed more. Lifting her head she asked again, “Please, I need more.”

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“Then go to the bed, slut,” he commanded in controlled tones. “Present your ass as you know you should.” He was not just going to fuck her. He was going to own her. She knew it as she gazed at his face, but she wanted too badly to worry about it. It wasn’t a matter of trusting him enough to go there with him. It was more about the fact that she trusted him enough to know he wouldn’t let her down. His control would see them both to that place she needed to go. She pulled herself off him and walked slowly over to the bed. As she reached its edge, his deep voice stopped her. “Jesse. Do you have any lube?” Jesse nodded. “Then get it out, honey,” he directed. Jesse opened the drawer on the single bed stand and took out the little cloth bag she’d stashed there. It was opaque and she’d hoped he’d assume it was a makeup bag if he looked in the drawer. It was not makeup. Placing the tube of jell on the stand, she crawled onto the bed. Trembling in a mixture of fear and anticipation, she placed herself in the middle of the bed. On her knees with her face on the pillows while her arms reached over her head. She spread her legs wide and opened her eyes to look at him. He hadn’t moved from the sofa and was simply watching her arrange herself. He stood and the full magnitude of what she invited stood out in front of him. He waited for her to present herself in the position commanded before he strode over to her. Picking up the tube of jell, he knelt on the bed behind her and surveyed her offering. “Reach back and hold your ass open, Jesse,” he instructed softly. “You are surrendering and I don’t want you to have any doubt that you do it voluntarily.” Reluctantly she reached back and grasped her cheeks to pull them wide. “Good girl,” he approved. “You love being my slut, don’t you? I can see you trembling. Which is it? The dark thrill of feeling your Dominant preparing you for his use or the shame of

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begging for it with your body? Which one is making your body shake with anticipation?” A lube-coated finger circled her clenching opening. “Answer when asked a question. We are Master and slave when we do this, Jesse. Behave as you’ve been trained.” Breath caught in her throat as his slick fingers stroked into her again. “Yes. Thank you,” she gasped. The fucking motion was no longer slow and gentle. A third finger stretched her and she bucked into it. “It’s both, Sir.” She nearly screamed as he continued stretching her. “I crave this. This submission. I can’t help it,” she confessed tearfully. “Why?” He watched her body accept his hard fingers. “I don’t know. Please, more, I need more.” “You crave having your ass used? How interesting. Did your former Master use it regularly?” “No,” Jesse gasped as a fourth finger entered her. “Never enough.” Tears were streaming down her face as she confessed that. Humiliating and true, he drew it out of her so easily. Then the fingers were gone and she started trembling in earnest. The anticipation of waiting for that long, thick cock to finally enter her had her sobbing again. Then it was there, thick and hard, pressing into her. “Yesssss,” wailed out of her as he pushed into her with what felt like an endlessly long, red-hot pole forcing its way into her bowels. It opened her, making her take it. Sheets of flame washed over her. One after another the white-hot fire of his possession burned through her shame ‘til all that was left was the shuttering excitement. Her body jerked and she knew she was screaming, begging him to fuck her, take her. Thanking him and begging at the same time. This sensation was too intense for rational thought. It sent her straight to subspace with the force of its elemental power. There was nothing she could do to hide it from

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him. Then he started fucking in and out of her with a gentle rhythm. No! She needed more. Her desperation increased and she tried to push back and pound herself harder. Darius held her hips firmly as she writhed on him. She’d hurt herself at this rate but she wouldn’t stop. His hand came down in a sharp spank. “Be still,” he commanded harshly. It was hell holding on to control as she took him. Her ass was so tight. It was like tunneling into molten wax but better. God, there were no words. Her enthusiasm was something he’d never seen before. Damn, this woman could not get any more perfect and then she did. She drew every dark secret from his soul and made it whole and right. She was more than he could have imagined. Her hungers sank into his core and filled the empty spaces with a completeness he couldn’t fathom. “Thank you, Sir,” rang in his ears after the spank. “Please, may I have more? Please?” “No,” he gasped harshly as she begged for another smack. “You will not associate your ass fuck with spanking. That was only to get your attention.” He directed that stark command to her but knew the statement was really for himself. He could be ruthlessly demanding in his sexual appetite but his need was matched by this woman. He couldn’t conceive of striking her in any way that might be demeaning or hurtful. The thought was unbearable. He picked up the pace and her body humped back at him. She was already mindless in the sensations and he realized she could come at any moment on his command. There was no reason to hold back. Her body accepted him fully and she wanted it so desperately. He let himself slip into a pounding rhythm, holding them both on the edge of release for long minutes while he enjoyed this complete submission from the one woman he needed. He knew he needed her. Keeping her would be his mission. Her surrender with such complete abandon enslaved him in ways he’d never realized existed.

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The release when it came was a fireball that started at his toes and roared through him. He barely had time to command her orgasm before he was swept onto his own shuddering abyss of pleasure. The two of them collapsed onto the bed. He remained deep in her ass as their bodies shook in the aftermath. Minutes later he realized they still hadn’t moved and he rolled off her. Jesse gave a soft mew as he pulled out of her. His use had been hard again. He knew it’d been almost brutal there at the end. Damn. What did this woman do to him? He’d never come so hard or used a woman so roughly. The inexplicable savage within also needed to take care of her. Disposing of the condom first, he gently lifted her from the bed. Jesse curled into his chest with no protest as he took them both out into the tepid afternoon and down to the lake. Walking into the water with her in his arms, he couldn’t stop kissing her sweet face and neck. This was the thing that sent men to war over a woman. He’d never understood that before. Did she know she’d done this to him? Did she realize the power of her submission was stronger than any physical bond she could have placed on him? This time the chilly water was a welcome relief to both of them as they let it soothe still tingling bodies. “You’re amazing,” he couldn’t help saying as she floated beside him. He didn’t actually let go of her in the water. His hands held her loosely to him as they enjoyed the dip. “Kind of impressive there yourself.” Jesse looked at him and blushed. Darius chuckled at the modest reaction. “Honey, why are you blushing?” His hands smoothed down her body, between her legs and up her bottom to ensure she was thoroughly cleansed. It was a task he didn’t even think about. She didn’t resist. “I don’t know. I can’t help it.” Jesse glanced away from him. “Well, it’s cute as hell,” he informed her, and scooped her out of the water.

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Standing at the water’s edge, he gazed across the shifting blue surface for a minute. “We should explain it to him.” “The curse?” Darius looked down at the woman in his arms and realized he held a medicine woman. “You’re of Native American decent, aren’t you? It shows in your coloring a little and in your features.” “I have some but not much. Mostly I’m English.” Jesse glanced out at the water. “This is the southernmost lake, right?” “Yes. It’s the last one in the chain. Why do you ask?” “If any of your legend is true, in this lake lays a woman who loved a cold-hearted man. The youngest sister gave her life in a gamble on her love’s intelligence. Hoping he’d figure it out and save them both. She was his only hope and she could have abandoned him but she didn’t. How mad do you suppose she is that he hasn’t turned his attention to her yet? Every time he rises and doesn’t call for her, it denies her. Do you really think they have any hope left?” “There’s always hope. Isn’t that the reason the two younger girls died? They had hope.” Darius looked up at the water again. “You’re a key to this, Jesse. A medicine woman. Not the same type but of the same blood. You understood the words and knew the intent. I don’t think anyone has seen it as you do. I know you think most women could figure it out but I suspect if they had, they’d have bragged about it. We would’ve known this long ago.” Jesse shifted uncomfortably. “If you’re gonna think that way here are a couple strange facts. I am also the oldest sister of three. I know how a protective older sister thinks.” Why had she blurted that out? The pull of this man and this place created a powerful combination that she needed to get a handle on. “Do you know which tribe your Indian heritage comes from?” “I could find out. I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable being naked by this lake. What if they are there?” Jesse swiftly directed him away from her heritage. Lots of 93

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things were pressing down on her and this was one issue she couldn’t deal with at the moment. “Then they have seen both of us many times before.” Darius swung around and headed back up the path. “You skinny-dipped every time you came up here. Even the year it rained.” “You watched, didn’t you?” Jesse raised a brow and tried to look insulted. “Damn straight. I half expected him to grab you. Then I couldn’t look away.” Darius was totally unrepentant in his confession. Back at the cabin they dried off. “Get the quilt and wrap up in it ‘til your hair dries,” Darius instructed. “I’ll be right back with the rest of supper.” He returned with another bag of supplies that were soon unloaded onto the counter. The first thing he did was pour her a cup of wine. Jesse curled on the sofa and watched her big warrior prepare the steak dinner. Sipping her cup of wine, she smiled to herself. They’d been together barely twenty-four hours and they were already slipping into habits. He’d shown her an amazing man who was dominant to the bone and so tender it made her ache. There’d been no letup in his needing to care for her. It’d probably intensified. He was ferocious and savage, thoughtful and selfless. How did he manage it? What were his faults? Yeah, that was a good idea. Listing his faults would help her stop this freefall into an emotional need that she didn’t want to think about. Okay, fault number one? What was it? Ummmmm…he was demanding. A demanding sexual deviant who insisted she die of pleasure before he let her come. Yeah, that was a real fault. There had to be a better one. Oh! He couldn’t communicate with women very well, except her. No, she couldn’t consider that a fault. Being the woman he could communicate with was pretty damn good. So that left her with devious. He’d been devious when he’d gotten her to rent his cabin so he could have his way with her. Jesse frowned. Still not a fault, she loved it when he had his way with her and was still a bit miffed it’d taken him so long to do it. 94

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Darius dropped the thick steaks on the grill rack that’d been placed over the low flames. He glanced over as he tended the coals to catch the dark frown on her face. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Would a rubdown help?” he asked in concern. Jesse blinked and focused on him. Her face remained darkly dissatisfied. “No. I’m perfectly fine. I’m trying to list your faults.” Darius sat back on his heels and grinned at her. “Are you now? So what have you got?” “That’s the problem. I haven’t got any. Everyone has an ugly side. We need to balance all this shiny good stuff with something or you wouldn’t be human. So give me a hand. Let’s hear the list.” “I have shiny good stuff?” Darius laughed. His deep chuckle warmed the room as much as the fire. “Stop focusing on that and tell me what’s wrong with you.” “Why should I?” he asked silkily as he came to her from the fire on all fours. Crawling across the floor to rub her nose with his should have looked submissive. Instead, he looked like the bear he was named for—large, dangerous and utterly irresistible. He was a wild beast who’d decided he was delighted with her. If he changed his mind, he could destroy her. Already her emotions were tangled up in this man and that scared her more than anything. Almost more than anything, she corrected. Her mind refused to think of what was really frightening, concentrating on finding his faults was an escape from the larger issues and she wasn’t ready to admit it yet. His lips grazed hers and he nibbled down her neck. Jesse pulled back and looked him in the eye. “I’m serious. I need to know you’re just like everyone else. We’ve isolated ourselves up here, totally removed from the real world and I think it’s making us seem more than we are.” Darius smiled as he went back to turn the steaks. “You think this environment has made our time unrealistic?” 95

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“It certainly isn’t real life. We can spend every minute together with no concern for anything but ourselves. We’re creating a fantasy relationship so I’m trying to inject reality into it.” “If you say so but I don’t see it that way. I’d think my faults were obvious.” Darius dug the potatoes out of the coals and unwrapped one on each plate he’d brought over to the hearth. “Let’s pretend I can’t see them and you list them for me. Okay?” Jesse pressed. Darius put a steak on each plate and took them to the table. “Come and eat first. I’m starving and I only confess dark secrets on a full stomach.” Jesse scowled at the kitchen table. “I don’t want to sit there, thank you.” Darius glanced at her and took a moment to realize why she didn’t want to sit on the hard wooden chairs. “No problem, baby. I’ll cut it up for you and we’ll eat on the couch.” They ate in silence. The steak melted in her mouth and Jesse didn’t really have the energy to do more than moan over it. After they were done, Darius cleaned up again and Jesse watched him lazily. Finding something wrong with him was becoming a problem. He came back quickly to settle her in his lap with her hip turned so she rested against his chest. His arms holding her as he caressed her back and bottom with gentle hands. “Now, tell me.” Jesse closed her eyes and waited. The sun sank behind the mountains early this far north. Though it didn’t actually set in the summer ‘til after eleven, it did create long evenings in the mountainsurrounded valley. Firelight illuminated the cabin again, draping shadows over the corners and creating a warm glow to the visible surroundings. It was peaceful and intimate.

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“You’re obsessed with this.” Both of them were full and just a little bit tired. The feeling of sexual and physical repletion surrounded them. “Come on, I need you to be human. Fess up.” “Fine. I’m stubborn, though you couldn’t tell by the way I give in to you all the time. Recently I’ve discovered that I’m possessive and jealous. I’m usually sure I’m right and I do whatever it takes to get the job done. Sometimes the means are messy and most people can’t face that. I get irritated with idiots and have an explosive temper if you push me far enough. How’s that for a list?” She smiled. “That’s the best you can do?” “I’m sure my mother has a longer list. She’d probably add something about destructive to furniture and all gourd-type foods.” “What exactly do you mean when you say an explosive temper?” Jesse kept her face sleepy calm as she waited for that explanation. “Well. I guess it means if I get mad enough I fix the problem in a very definite way. A good example would be the gourd food issue. I hate eating squash of any sort. “Back when I was ten the entire neighborhood mysteriously lost every squash-type plant in their gardens. It happened one night just before the first eggplant was ready to pick. Growing season is short up here and it was too late to start over. “No one could ever figure it out. Mom keeps smacking me on back of the head when anyone brings that story up.” Darius reached up and rubbed the back of his head as if stung by one of those smacks. “Eggplant is not a squash. I’m not even sure it can be grown in a garden up here.” Jesse bit the inside of her cheek to remain serious. He was wearing an indignant pout that she’d not have believed if she wasn’t looking at it. Darius shrugged. “It looks like one. At the time I thought it tasted like eating moose chips. And it doesn’t matter how much butter you put on a butternut squash, it looks

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like yellow monkey poop and tastes like it too.” His face twisted in remembered distaste and Jesse knew it was time to move on. “You’d better tell me about the furniture allegations too.” “Ah, well, that one could be my fault,” he confessed. “She ordered this little, spindly table from Boston. I was fifteen at the time. The day after it arrived, I was coming home from school and of course Oz, my buddy who lived a bit farther down the road, threw me the football as I backed in my front door. The table hadn’t been there the day before. How was I to know ya couldn’t fall backward on it?” “Had she put it in the entry the night before?” Jesse asked seriously. “I was doing my homework. Had no idea where the damn thing was.” Darius sucked in a deep breath and frowned. It might have been possible for him to look more like a disgruntled teenager but Jesse didn’t think so. “What happened when you crushed the table?” “Had to pay for it. Took me the entire summer. At sixteen, I was finally old enough to have a real job and wanted to save the money for a car. Who knew a table could cost that much? Why would anyone want a completely useless table? Apparently some designer in the Twenties only made a couple hundred of them.” His scowling face said he thought it was ridiculous and Jesse could tell he and his mother still scrapped over the table issue. Then she glanced around herself and it occurred to her that she could be wrong about that. “You bought her another table. Didn’t you?” Jesse asked softly. Darius’ smile was slow and just a little devious. “’Course I did. Couldn’t manage to replace it until I’d been in the service a few years. Finding one of those stupid little things was even more difficult then. They break, ya know, and the asking price had increased dramatically.” Darius shuddered as if just the memory of the supposed value increases were enough to give a sensible man the shakes.

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“I had to hire a furniture guy to find one. It’s in the entryway and I always use the back door. Everyone happy.” He was chuckling at the remembered satisfaction of that gift and she could see he treasured the memory. He glanced down at her and his smile changed. The tenderness didn’t leave but intimacy entered his expression. “It’s time for bed. You can sleep on it and tell me what a sorry catch I am in the morning,” he declared as he stood and carried her to the bed. Jesse couldn’t argue with him. Her eyes wouldn’t stay open. Her last memory was of him wrapping around her under the quilt. The next thing she heard was a loud droning buzz filling the cabin as she started awake. She was lying on top of him again and Darius was cursing a blue streak. Blinking and glancing around Jesse realized it had to be early morning. “Stay here, right here,” Darius commanded as he slid out of bed and pulled on his jeans. “That’s Mikey buzzing the cabin. I’ll find out what the bastard wants.” Darius jerked the door open and slammed out of the cabin as he went to investigate why he’d been disturbed long before anyone was supposed to arrive. Just as he stepped out the front door, Mikey was headed back down for another buzz. Darius stared up at him and hoped the bastard could see how mad he was as the plane whizzed dangerously close to the roof of the cabin. The climb out of the valley was steep and the fool was cutting it too close. On this pass, a dark object dropped out of the cockpit window and landed about thirty yards away. By the time Darius reached the container, Mikey was disappearing over the mountain. His wings dipped in a cheerful farewell wave as the plane disappeared from view. Darius could think of several things he’d like to do with that wave. Most of them involved acts Mikey would find painful. Darius ripped open the container and read the note inside. Damn, shit, fuck! He read it again and it didn’t change. Turning back to the cabin, he found her standing in the doorway watching him. He’d like to get mad at her for not staying in bed as he told her, to but considering the message, he thought better of it. 99

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“What is it?” she wanted to know as she backed up to let him in. “We have to go.” The words were tersely clipped. “Did they bring the fuel pump?” “No. Pack your clothes. I’ll bring the rest back to you later,” he instructed in brusque tones as he started shoving his things into his bag. “Darius?” Jesse’s voice had changed. She was fast and had obviously come up with the truth. “We don’t need a fuel pump to get out of here?” Her hands were on her hips and her face showed him exactly what she thought of the conclusion she’d jumped to. “Nope. It’s a miracle. But you do need to be in Anchorage by three this afternoon. You’d better get a move on.” Jesse swung around and started dressing. Her back to him, she put on panties, bra and a tank top. Following that, the big overshirt and the jeans. She was stomping her feet into boots when she spoke to him again. It wasn’t that she was following his arrogant commands so much as she was waiting ‘til she could speak to him civilly again. “What did the message say? Why do I need to be in town?” Darius handed her the paper. The message was short. “Duchess’ lawyer called. Says she has to appear at a hearing at three o’clock Monday. It’s life or death for her medical license. No time to play dead Duck.” “You made it up? The fuel pump problem?” Jesse asked as she stuffed her clothes into the smallest bag. “Yep.” He was standing by the door ready to go. Jesse zipped up her bag and turned to him. “I need to run up to the outhouse and then I’m ready.” Darius took the small bag and headed down the path to the dock. She joined him in a moment and he rowed them out to the plane. After Jesse climbed in, he gave the little

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boat a shove in the direction of shore. Not concerned that it would drift the lake since he was the only one who ever came up here. Neither of them spoke as they settled into the cockpit. He could almost see steam rising off her head as she buckled in. The silent treatment sucked. After they’d taken off and cleared the valley, he spoke into the headsets they both had on. “You were never in danger during the landing. I could have switched engines on at any time if we’d been in trouble.” “Good to know,” she answered shortly. “Look. I wanted to spend time with you. What the fuck is your problem with that?” “Nothing. It was fun,” she calmly informed him. “I’d like to have had it honestly though.” “Jesse, getting your attention was the only thing I intended to do.” There was silence again. Jesse’s face was turned away from him, looking out the window. An hour later he couldn’t take it anymore. “Why are you so damn mad?” “You lied to me.” “Shit, I didn’t lie to you. I let you overhear a conversation and draw your own conclusions.” “No, you lied. Remember the intent of the words is more important than the words themselves.” Jesse heaved a sigh and went on. “Look, we were both attracted to each other. It was fun while it lasted, but right now real life is closing in on me and I need all my energy to fight this. My license is the most important thing to me. Can you try and understand that?” She felt cold as ice. He had lied to her but that wasn’t what had her frozen from the inside out. It was the message. Someone was going after her license to practice medicine. That angered more than she’d thought possible. Her conversation with him had a point but it didn’t grab her focus. His growling voice interrupted her thoughts again.

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“The means, baby. The means are sometimes messy but I get the job done. I warned you about that.” Darius slid a glance to her calm face. “What we had at the cabin was real life too. Don’t act like it wasn’t. Just because I used a plan to get us there, do not discount the experience.” “Yes, the means,” she agreed absently. It was her tone that did it for Darius. It was flat and disinterested. That reaction spoke louder than any emotional outburst could have. He had no recourse with it. Disinterested was a trump card and she’d pulled it. He seethed with a ferocious anger that cursed the circumstances. He’d had her but it’d been too short. Their time together could easily be tucked away as an interesting adventure. Two nights and one day was not even long enough to call it a relationship. He could see her separating herself from it and had no idea how to snatch her back. There was silence for another hour and they were nearing Anchorage. “You should have time to change before court,” he told her tersely. “Yes. I’ll be able to make it, no problem.” Jesse couldn’t bring herself to add more to the conversation. Pressing down on her were the long years of medical school, longer because she’d supported herself through a lot of it. Then the grueling years of emergency room internship and now this. Those huge medical school loans that this stretch of service in Alaska was supposed to pay off could suddenly land back in her lap with no way to pay them off on her own. If they took her license, her agreement with Alaska would be void and the responsibility for the loans would be hers again. Almost her entire life had been sacrificed on the altar of a medical education and some fanatical idiot was trying to take it away from her. Darius didn’t have the willpower to argue with the cold, lifeless body she’d wrapped around herself. He’d say something stupid if he responded now. He could feel stupid building in the pit of his stomach and if he weren’t very careful, it’d lift its ugly

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head and tell her something he’d regret. There was time he kept telling himself. This was a fight she couldn’t see past but he could. They landed and Jesse turned to him a brief minute. “Don’t bother with my things. I don’t need them here. Goodbye.” Then she was gone. Darius watched her disappear into the parking lot and swore viciously. Getting that out of his system, he smiled grimly. It wasn’t over by a long shot and little girl was gonna learn that. She needed some time to straighten out the legal mess but soon she’d discover that problem wasn’t really her biggest concern.

***** Several hundred miles to the south and east a tall, elegant woman paused and looked northwest. Her hands trembled on the antique pot she was placing in the museum’s display case. Sucking in a deep breath she released the pot and stumbled back. Her slender body swayed as shadowy, angry passion roared across the miles. The young woman working on the adjacent display rushed to grab her, breaking the woman’s fall as she crumpled in a faint.

***** It was six o’clock when Jesse finally stepped out of the hospital’s back doors. Her head hurt, her back ached and south of that, she refused to think about what ached. Well, she would concede that her feet hurt. The pumps were sensible but not the flat, comfortable shoes she would have worn in the emergency room. Beside her, Dr. Robert Baumneice was yammering on in a constant rehash of the last three hours’ events. Glancing up to gauge the distance to her car, Jesse saw him and stopped. The dark man with his ass planted on the driver’s side window of her car could not be mistaken for anyone else, even if he weren’t wearing the aviator sunglasses. Robert’s gaze had followed the direction of her eyes when she stopped abruptly. “Who the hell is that?” he demanded belligerently.

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Everything about Robert was a little too loud, Jesse noted, and not for the first time. Right now the slight rooster at her side facing the dark wolf leaning against her door was not a confrontation she wanted to witness. “He’s a friend who wants to know how it went.” Jesse strove for a calm, controlled tone. “I see your car is in the other direction so I’ll talk to you later, Robert.” Even as she said it, she knew it couldn’t be this easy. “What sort of friend? He looks dangerous. Who is he?” Robert made no move toward his car. Instead he was glaring at Darius. Jesse watched the lean surgeon direct his most intimidating glare at the one man she was damn sure would not back down. She wanted to say that was the man she’d been having wild, freaky sex with for the last couple of days. Just to see what the rooster did next. But Robert was on the administration board and squarely in her corner on this one. Keeping him appeased was not imperative after today, yet it was still a good idea. Ever consenting to going out with him had been the mistake. Even though the relationship hadn’t progressed beyond a few casual dates, Robert had made it clear he’d like to see them get intimate. Thank goodness it hadn’t gone that far yet. “Robert, I’m tired. I want to go home and have a few minutes’ peace. Thank you so much for your support in there. I think it went well. I’m asking you as a friend not to make a big deal of this. Let me go deal with him and go home. If you go over there it’ll end up in a confrontation because you’re a very alpha man.” Jesse smiled sweetly at Robert and hoped the ego stroking would be enough. Equating the obviously smaller Robert with the beast beside her car was a huge leap, but she’d bet her last dollar that Robert saw them as equals. Why hadn’t she noticed this about him before? He was arrogant and demanding in surgery, but then he was also a magician in there. Surgeons need an ego the size of God to do what they did. Here in the parking lot, his self-view became ugly and apparent. She really didn’t have the energy for these two.

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Robert glanced between her and the man at her car and frowned. She could tell he was about to protest and laid a hand on his arm. “Please,” she said softly. That did the trick. Robert nodded curtly and turned away to stride to his car. Jesse took a deep breath and headed to her own. Darius straightened away from her door as she approached. “How’d it go?” he asked quietly. “Good but long.” Jesse flicked the alarm on her car. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t show up at my place of business,” she informed him stiffly, holding back the anger with obvious effort. “I needed to know you were okay, little one.” Darius stepped back as she jerked her door open. “Now you know. Give it a rest.” Jesse slid into her seat. Darius caught the door before it could slam shut. “I’ll be in contact. We need to talk.” Jesse glared up at him. “Back off, stud. You can’t force this. I told you, I’m not a possession.” “I’m well aware of that. I told you I don’t want a possession. It’s the woman I’m looking at who interests me. Relax. We have time.” Darius let go of her door and she didn’t waste a second slamming it shut. Her car left the parking lot sedately. Two sets of male eyes watched her depart and she didn’t want to give either one a reason to call her later. She just needed to get in her own home and the escape it provided.

Her apartment was small. When she’d rented it, the most attractive feature was its proximity to the hospital. Decorating the challenging space had been a form of relaxation and now it was a gem of tasteful if spare furniture and interesting colors. She’d made an environment that was comforting and sane, an escape from the frantic

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pace of her life in the hospital emergency room. Flicking the dead bolt as she entered was the first step to relaxing.

***** A week later Jesse sat at her cheery kitchen table and frowned at the three lovely faces frowning back at her. “So you three are here because you can’t sleep? And it’s my fault?” “Don’t be a dolt, dear. Of course it’s your fault.” Chloe Reese chided her oldest daughter. “Whatever is affecting your spirit is trying to reach us as well. We’re here to band together and fight it as a family should.” Her tall body shifted and Chloe crossed one long leg over the other. Chloe could only be called statuesque. She was tall for a woman at six foot. Her face was almost as smooth as the day she bore her first daughter at nineteen. Laugh lines around large gray eyes seemed to be the only thing added. Her thick, dark hair was pulled back in an elegant twist. That left her forehead exposed. It never occurred to her that most women her age would cover that portion of their face for fear of showing age lines. Her English heritage was evident by the almost imperceptible accent when she was relaxed like this. Of course, if the situation warranted it, she could sound like the queen as well as look like her. There was something almost indefinable about the conservative wardrobe she chose. The clothes managed to scream “blue-blood style”. It was a private satisfaction considering how many people actually thought she was a nut. “I’m quite sure it has nothing to do with that silly legal squabble.” Chloe dismissed the entire medical review board and judicial system with a wave of tapered fingers. “It’s about the important matter happening in your life. Now quit being uncommunicative. You know we’ll find out. Why is it so difficult to accept that we only want to help?”

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“Mother, that legal squabble is the important thing in my life! If they win, I’m not a doctor anymore—” “Nonsense! Of course you are. No one can take that away from you. Now tell us about the other thing.” Chloe crossed her arms and sat back glaring at the stubborn child. Beside Chloe, the young redheaded woman Natalie suddenly chuckled and sprang out of her chair, grabbing the coffee cups from around the table and whisking them to the sink. “Don’t badger her, Mother. There’s obviously a man. The question is what has she done with him? Why isn’t he here?” Natalie wasn’t as tall as her mother but she shared the willowy figure gene. Jesse had always thought it was unfair. There were several things she was grateful she didn’t share with her siblings and parent, this wasn’t one of them. She’d never been willowy in her life. This sister embodied the wholesome American Girl look as casually as her mother defined style. Jeans and a turtleneck looked elegant on her tall figure. The fourth woman in the kitchen, Nora, rolled her eyes. Masses of startlingly purple hair surrounded a face identical to the redhead’s pixie features. Along with the purple hair she donned the colorful peasant clothing of a gypsy. Bangles tinkled merrily with every move and she seemed to sparkle. Nora’s purple hair looked right on her, as if she should have grown it that way. “That’s no mystery. She’s driven him off. Focused on the “all-important” medical crap, um, degree, as always. She never thinks she has room for two important things. How did you have such a single-minded child, Mother? Whoever he is, he has finally made an impression we can feel. So, this is the one.” “The one?” You can’t decide who’s the one for me. You guys haven’t even met him.” Jesse glared at them belligerently. “Ha! She admitted it. There is a him and she’s protecting him from us.” Jesse’s youngest sister by two minutes, purple-haired Nora, glowed with her pronouncement. “Oh good heavens. Of course I’d protect him from you guys, but come to think of it, he’ll get the bunch of you better than he gets me.” Jesse ran a distracted hand through 107

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her short, black hair. Jesse’s dark hair was about the only thing she had in common with her mother’s looks. That she looked nothing like the twins could be attributed to the fact they had different fathers. But it was more than that. Much more. Jesse was a scientist. She believed in proving things through tests and studies. Known results were only valid if the research backed them up. All her life she’d been “non-gifted” as far as her family was concerned. They possessed “gifts” that could not be explained through logic. Chloe Reese, mother to this trio of daughters, believed the reason her firstborn hadn’t been gifted was because the dreams didn’t start ‘til after she’d given birth to Jesse. Though Chloe had discovered her own gift of Sight Through Objects very early in life, it was the dreams that had dramatically changed the course of her future. Shortly after turning twenty the other reality had initially appeared, turning her sleeping hours into nightly trips back in time. They were of a Native American society and its daily life, not threatening or scary. In fact, they made her feel at home, giving a comfort of familiarity. At first they hadn’t made much of an impression on Chloe. They were simply pleasant nightly journeys into a simpler way of life. It was several years before Chloe discovered there was cause for concern. Not until she overheard her five-year-old twins discussing their dreams of the other home. The twins had displayed their unique gifts early but it was the shared dreams that connected the three women on a journey Jesse could not take with them. That had always been a source of sorrow and guilt for Chloe. It made her try harder to show her eldest how special she was. Not an easy task when the little “non-gifted” child was this smart and fully aware of everything around her. This was the child who now called them for the first time. Jesse didn’t even realize she was reaching for them. Chloe was puzzled by that fact.

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“This man would understand us better than you? Why would you say that?” Chloe leaned forward to hear this interesting assessment. Jesse hesitated. Telling this bunch about the legend would entail hours of discussion and then they’d insist on hearing it from Darius. She wasn’t quite ready for that. It’d been a week since she’d seen him and though he’d left a short message on her answering machine every day, she still didn’t know what to do about him. Everything felt overwhelming. The time they’d spent together was intense. Her life had moved directly on to the unexpected revelation of his “plan” and then the stupid administrative hearing. Now her family insisting she’d called them. “Look, it’s a guy I’ve known casually for several years. We finally spent some time together, but it was very short and now I have to worry about the rest of my life. I don’t have time for a man. Let it go. I’m fine.” Chloe frowned. “Really? You’re fine? Then tell me why the three of us suddenly feel you on the same level we’ve shared all these years? Abruptly you’re there with us.” “He is not from your Lost Tribe, Mother. He’s Native Alaskan but his tribe is right where it’s been for over five hundred years. I don’t know what you’re getting from me. I don’t feel different.” “That’s not true, Jesse,” Natalie accused softly. “You feel different about everything. Your aura is different. I can understand you don’t get what’s out of the ordinary because you’ve never felt it before, but something has shifted. “We have always supposed Mother and the two of us make up a cluster of souls who’ve been moving through time grouped together. Well, now you’ve joined us. We feel it. It’s screaming at us. Before we thought you were a new addition to the group in this lifetime, which I still think is true. Yet now I am beginning to feel you’re the key to the whole cycle we’ve all lived over and over again.” “Damn, Nat, could you be any spookier?” Jesse got up and walked away from the table to gaze out her kitchen window.

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The phrase, “cluster of souls” and “cycle we’ve all lived over and over again” thundered through Jesse’s brain. The three of them had become experts in Native cultures in their efforts to find the people and place that called them so strongly. They spoke a native tongue that didn’t seem to exist anymore. The search had been futile up until last summer. Jesse feared this summer would be explosive for them. “Yeah, I could. I was being gentle for you,” Natalie grumbled. “Relax, Jess. We’re here to help.” Nora smiled as she watched her older sister walk away. “I know you’re afraid to be drawn into our world. You call us the circus and pretend you don’t believe us, but you know we’ve never lied about one thing we see. Our search to prove the Lost Tribe really existed is proving correct. We’ve found two items that belonged to them. Two artifacts no one could identify but we can. “Now suddenly you rush at us when we open our minds to the one item we’re allowed to handle. It’s not a bad thing. We’re excited about it.” “So I rush at you? What does that mean? I’m not attempting to join up.” Jesse turned around and regarded the three women watching her. “Being different than you isn’t exactly a trial. I think I’m the lucky one. You’ve had to endure being unique.” “Yes but we always had each other. You’ve been alone.” Natalie tried again. “Something’s made you not alone anymore so maybe that’s what we feel so clearly.” Jesse shoved her hands in her pockets and shrugged. “Yeah, that could be it.” But privately she knew it probably wasn’t. A Lost Tribe that had vanished without a trace five hundred years ago was sounding a lot like a people who’d been massacred. Jesse resisted the urge to shudder. These three were on a mission to find the artifacts that would prove the society they dreamed had existed. To that end, Nora had pursued an undergraduate degree in archeology. Natalie had one in Native American Indian culture and history. Chloe had just completed her Doctorate of Philosophy in History, Pre- and Post-1865 American Indian cultures. As a team, they were superbly qualified to research the obscure tribe they insisted had vanished from the upper regions of North Dakota, possibly 110

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southwestern Canada. Now they were funded through a grant and had actually been making headway this summer. The three of them presented an amazing visual but it was deceptive. Beautiful women are seldom taken seriously and that didn’t bother them a bit. Their singleminded drive to find the Lost Tribe had led them to use every means available and their looks were not scorned as a tool. Jesse couldn’t be sure they’d received the grant on merit, but she was sure they’d return with viable evidence to prove their theory. The need to prove they were right had little to do with the possibility of the academic world scoffing at them. It was personal. Jesse felt an unfamiliar tingle of fear as she tried to avoid the certainty that the Native American heritage in her mother’s family might have been a descendent of a survivor whose entire culture had been victim to Darius’ family’s rash acts. Chloe had been raised in England by her mother, but her father had been a private in the American Army. He’d perished on the beaches of Normandy. Grandmother Reese didn’t know much about him except he’d been from North Dakota and his name. “Why don’t you just tell us a little about him, dear?” Chloe tried to move the conversation away from the subject having a negative impact on her scientist daughter. “We only spent a little time together. It’s nothing.” Jesse glanced up at the ceiling as she said that and Nora snorted. Chloe shot Nora a quelling glance and continued to Jesse, “What does he do? Is he from around here? At least give us some of the regular information.” “He’s a pilot for Artic Skies Charter.” “Well geezzz, Jess, is he cute? How old is he?” Nora wanted to know. Her purple head bobbing in girly excitement as she remembered she knew nothing of the man himself. “Does he make you swoon when he unzips or is it like a pop-up toy?” “You can’t be asking me what his penis looks like?” Jesse exclaimed.

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“Of course I am asking what size his joystick is. Does he kiss like a slimy ameba or does he drink your soul? How tall is he? Can he pick you up? Hell, can he make you forget what day of the week it is with a glance?” A slow grin crept onto Jesse’s lips. “He drinks my soul as he picks me up and I have no clue where I am, much less care what day it is when my feet touch the ground again.” Both her sisters’ jaws dropped open. They stared at her with big eyes and Jesse chuckled as her tone dropped to a whisper. “And it’s a beast like I’ve never seen before. He’s tall, built and equipped.” “That’s just mean,” Natalie breathed. “Does he have any relatives? I’ve never seen you like this. Your aura changes when you talk about him—like suddenly you become passion in a body.” Jesse shrugged. “I’ve never felt like this. He’s scary sexy. We had an intense two nights and a day. Then the board called an emergency hearing and I had to come back to town. I don’t know what I want next. We hardly know each other and I just don’t have time right now.” “So is he from somewhere else, dear? Is that why you don’t know what to do next? He’s far away?” Chloe asked calmly. “Ah, no. The charter company is on the edge of town,” Jesse replied as she eyed her mother. She didn’t have to be gifted to see Chloe was working up to meddling. The phone rang. Jesse was standing next to it and had a great view of the caller identification panel. It rang again and she didn’t move, her eyes glued in fatalistic resignation to the number displayed. “Aren’t you going to answer it?” Natalie urged. Jesse glanced over at them and reached for the receiver. Better they hear her half of the conversation than his message.

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“Hello, Darius,” Jesse greeted him in a rush. “I know we need to chat but now is not a good time—” “When is a good time, woman? I understand you’re under some pressure but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a life. I—” “NOW IS NOT A GOOD TIME. Please respect that.” Jesse hung up the phone and glanced at the three sets of eyes watching her. “He’s getting mad,” Natalie offered with a smile. “Yeah, that phone should be burning up,” Nora agreed. The phone rang again. Jesse’s hand was still on it so she jerked it to her ear without even looking at the ID display. “I have guests. I can’t talk—” “Who’s over there?” Darius demanded as he cut her off again. “None of your damn business.” “The fuck it isn’t. You are my business and we both—never mind. We need to talk, Jesse. When is a good time? And if it’s a guy over there, I’m gonna be pissed. Now tell me—” “As if you have the right to be pissed at anything. Don’t go trying to dictate what I can and can’t do, stud. We had some fun but that doesn’t—” “Jesus, woman! How do you flip my switch so easily? Stop being a bitch. Now tell me who’s over there and let me relax. Then tell me when we can talk.” “You and your commands can go straight to hell, Darius. I don’t answer to you or anyone.” Jesse slammed the phone down again. “Oh dear.” Nora’s purple curls shook with mirth as she observed her calm, scientific older sister dissolve into an emotional woman. “You know he’s too mad to call back. He’ll be here in less than ten minutes.” Jesse’s eyes narrowed at Nora. “Are you sure?” Nora nodded. “Almost out the door as we speak. He’s cursing, I believe.” 113

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Jesse stabbed the numbers from her caller ID panel. “Nudge him to answer, Nora,” Jesse hissed after the second ring. “Shit! Jesse, you’re asking me to do something?” “Just do it.” “Suddenly it’s okay to nudge?” Nora crowed. “What?” Darius barked into Jesse’s ear. “My mother and two sisters are here. If you really want to walk into that buzz saw, come on over, idiot.” “I’d be honored to meet your family, Jesse. But it’s you I need to see. You sounded stressed and then refused to speak to me. What did you expect me to do? And how did you know I was coming over?” “You were, weren’t you? I know you.” Jesse sighed. “Look, we’ll talk. I promise but not today. If I’m stressed, you’re the one creating it. Back off.” “Relax, sweetie. All you had to do was tell me what’s going on. I’d like to be there for you and you know that. We’ll talk when you’re ready. But don’t wait too long. I’ll not sit still forever.” “I know. Talk later.” Jesse hung up again and faced the three smiling women. “Soooo,” Natalie started. “You’re fine with a nudge suddenly? What’s that about? It’s not cheating anymore?” “Just what I wanted to know,” Nora laughed. “And guess what, I didn’t nudge him. He came back to the phone himself.” “Fine. Get your kicks, girls. And it’s really a big mystery why I don’t want him in the room with you guys?” “Come back over here and tell us about him.” Chloe silenced her younger daughters. “You say you’ve known him for a while but you two just spent time together?”

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Jesse came over and sat down at the table again. The next few minutes she relayed the facts about her trip north without filling in any uncomfortable details. She finished with the realization that he’d invented the fuel pump problem. All three of her relatives sat there and stared at her as if she’d lost her mind for a full minute. “What?” Jesse raised her eyebrows. “Correct me if I am wrong but this guy came up with an amazing plan to spend time with you and then pretty much treated you like spun glass when he wasn’t sending you into orbit. You left that out but every time you left it out your aura spiked. I lost count.” Natalie leaned forward. “He’s currently expressing a sustained interest and you don’t know what to do about him? Did I get any of that wrong?” “No, that’s pretty much it.” Jesse nodded. Nora snorted and pushed away from the table to pace over to the window. Purple hair glinted in the sunlight as she wrapped her arms around herself. Her voice was muffled as she asked while staring out the window, “Do you have any idea how rare he is? Obviously you don’t. Do me a favor and think back on what you know of the three of us and our relationships. We’d each give a limb for what you’re dismissing.” “Come on, Nora, it’s not the—” “No!” Nora swung around. “Don’t placate me. We three are the poster children for Can’t Find A Man. Our relationships are dismal and few. Actually we’re the worst people in the world to give you advice, including Mother. What we can tell you is something you already know. Lonely is a bitch.” Chloe wanted to know one thing. “Jesse, does he make you happy?” “Yes.” Jesse closed her eyes and let her head sink into her hands. Nora was right. The women in her family seemed destined to be alone. They were beautiful and intelligent, but couldn’t seem to attract a man interested in more than fun and games. It was like there was some shield around them preventing commitment. She’d never known any of them to say they were in love. Lust, yes. Love, no. It was weird. 115

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“Then don’t let him go,” Chloe finished softly. “It doesn’t come around all that often. Don’t reject love over something as silly as this temporary little legal problem. It’ll be over eventually but the rest of your life will still be there. What’s more important?” “Are you asking me what I’d do for love?” Nora shook her head. “No. The question any one of us would be asking is what wouldn’t we do for love? That’s a damn short list.” Jesse suspected that was exactly what their question would be. It was one they might have already answered.

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Chapter Five His feet were up on the desk and he held a thick novel in his hands. He was engrossed in the kidnapping plot being played out in steamy detail. Kidnapping was looking better all the time but he needed to do it right. Turning to the manuals again, he was on his fourth one. If it didn’t work out, this plan would not only make her mad, it’d involve some serious jail time. However, if he could keep her chained up and fucked for a couple years, jail might be worth it. The radio at his elbow blared and Darius jumped, almost falling off the chair. Ten minutes later he was airborne headed for Lake Aquarius. Search and Rescue had a fallen climber and they’d be at his cabin since it was the closest shelter to the rescue site. It was the last place he wanted to head. No longer able to call it his place, it’d become hers and flying up there alone was an amazing new form of torture. It was unusual to be called in at the end of a rescue. They’d said there was some glitch with the chopper they’d taken up to the site. Unusual but not unbelievable. He ignored it. It was difficult to think. Every minute without her was difficult, but flying to Aquarius was actually painful. Speaking to her yesterday had helped. Unlike the poor bastards in the water, he’d not let her go without a fight. The capacity to miss her was a new development in his life and he didn’t see it as a good one. This hollow space in his heart was the thing that drove good men to drink. He could see it now. He’d never understood all the blubbering and whining about a woman. Six months out on a carrier drove some men to tears over a photo they clutched to otherwise masculine breasts. Darius had avoided those poor bastards with a curled lip and general distain. Belatedly his opinion of them changed as he realized what it would feel like if he knew he’d not see her for another six months. Well, it wouldn’t be 117

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pretty and it wouldn’t happen. Damn good thing he hadn’t met her before shipping out. In fact, a week and one day was long enough. She’d had time to think and visit with the family. Soon as he got back to base, he was headed over to her place. It’d be night before he was done with this rescue but hell, time had just run out on her ass. She needed to understand that some things were required. Giving him a little of her time was not like asking for her firstborn or anything. No wait. He was going to ask for her firstborn, damn it. The little angel would be his firstborn as well. He’d give her a year or two on that one, he decided. The thought of Jesse pregnant with his child crept into his brain and was enthralling. Right now his hand could span her soft belly from hipbone to hipbone. Would the baby pull that flesh taut? He could see his hand skimming over her firm bulge. That intriguing visual brought up another pressing question. Would the baby make her innie an outtie? Perhaps that little belly button would become more sensitive and licking around it would make her slick with appreciation? Darius shifted in his seat and found there was no way to stretch into a comfortable position while strapped into the cockpit. Thinking about Jesse pregnant was giving him a hard-on but he couldn’t stop the amazing new train of thought. She would likely need help shaving her pretty pussy with a big belly in the way. He’d like to start helping with that task right away. For practice. Would she waddle when she was heavy with his child? Oh Lord, why was imagining that so damn sexy? In his mind’s eye he could see her slowly walk toward him with one hand at the small of her back and the other holding the side of her tummy. It was a walk he’d seen other pregnant woman do but it’d never sent a rush of heat up his balls before. Darius checked the gauges to make sure he was flying as fast as the Duck would allow. Getting up to the lake didn’t actually take as long as his flights with Jesse had but

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he’d been in no hurry on those trips. Having made the decision to stop waiting for her to be ready, he was impatient to get this responsibility over with. At last the lake came into view and he set it down fast and hard. He hadn’t flown the chopper because he knew the landing site was wet and the Duck could take more passengers. He expected an entire search and rescue crew to need a ride. No one rushed out of the cabin to help tie him up. That was bad, very bad. Could be there was more than one injured climber and they were all working to the last second to try and stabilize the patients before having to stop and carry them to the plane. Darius managed to throw a loop over the pylon. He left the engine on idle and waited a few more seconds for them to swarm out of the cabin and dash down to the Duck. Nothing happened. Frowning he revved the motor, sort of a long-distance beep of the horn so they’d get a move on. Finally the cabin door opened and a single figure stood silhouetted against the dark interior. Panic washed over Darius as he leapt from the Duck and hit the dock at a dead run. Jesse was here. Was it her family who’d been climbing? Why was no one behind her? Were they all dead? Was the team sick? He made it to the door and lifted her aside to dash in. Stopping short, he scanned the place. Nothing. “What? Where are they?” He whipped around to stare at Jesse in confusion. “Who?” She remained where he’d put her as he dashed by. “The damn—” Darius sucked in air as realization hit him. “There is no emergency?” he asked softly as he stalked back to the door. Jesse shook her head no and grinned at him. “You got the S&R team to help you set me up?” His voice was a growl as he kept moving into her space. They were in front of the cabin and Jesse wisely backed up at his advance. “Actually Jerold was very helpful and arranged the radio call.”

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She was biting her lip to keep from laughing as he backed her into the cabin wall. “Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I saw you in that doorway?” His hands came up on either side of her head as he glared down into her sparkling eyes. “I believe I have some understanding of unnecessary panic.” Jesse lifted her chin in defiance, her little bow mouth couldn’t hold the smirk though and she burst out laughing as her arms slid around his chest and she leaned into him. Darius didn’t move his arms as he turned his face up to the sky and breathed in deep. She was leaning against him and laughing her little butt off. Not the least intimidated by his threatening march into her space. He had to smile as she snuggled up his front. She made no effort to curb her enjoyment. He finally dropped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet to get her attention. “Enjoying yourself, angel?” He turned them and walked back down to the idling plane. He had to turn the damn thing off as there was no medical emergency. The only pressing issue was the one in his pants now that he realized she’d maneuvered him up here. “Yes I am. Panicked Darius was an unexpected bonus. Why did seeing me set you off like that?” Her arms were around his neck and her ankles hooked behind his back as they stepped out on the dock. “How could you not expect that? I was in rescue mode and there you are. I assumed something horrible had happened like one of your family was the victim or— I don’t know. It was traumatic. Are we even now?” Darius stopped by the plane and she hadn’t loosened her hold on him. “You have to get off me so I can shut down the engines.” “You gonna throw me in the lake if I let go?” Jesse eyed him skeptically as he grinned down at her. “No. Don’t like the feel of it today.” Darius glanced out at the restless waters as he assured her he’d not be dumping her in it. “Could be all the adrenaline in my system but you’re safe from the lake today.” 120

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Darius realized he hadn’t tasted her yet and it was time. His head swooped down and claimed soft lips as she allowed herself to slide down his body ‘til her toes touched the dock. Her little moan into his mouth went straight to his balls like a jolt of lightning and Darius pulled back. Lifting his lips from hers before he laid her down on the dock and took what was his. “Don’t move.” Darius let her go and hopped in the plane to shut it down. She was right where he left her when he emerged but she was staring out at the water with a frown. “What?” he asked softly as he gathered her back in his arms and arranged her legs around his hips again. It was a very pleasant way to get them back in the cabin. “What did you mean about the water?” Jesse asked as his lips brushed hers again and he strode off the dock up to the cabin. “I don’t know. Something’s different. Do you feel it?” “Yeah, just wanted to know what it feels like to you?” Glancing back at the lake as he reached the cabin, Darius shrugged. “I don’t know. Restless, I guess.” Darius kicked the door shut behind him and turned to lean her back on it so he could start on the buttons of her blouse. “Wait.” Jesse grabbed his hands and stopped him. “What’re you doing?” “Undressing you. I don’t know how we got from yelling at me yesterday to a sneaky plan to get me alone today but I’m not fighting it. We’re in the cabin. Clothes come off.” Darius was kissing down her neck as his words trailed off. “Okay if you insist but I’m not going to be comfortable when the others get back and the chopper pilot walks in.” “What?” Darius jerked back to frown at her. “Who others? Where are they?”

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“My mother and two sisters insisted on coming too. They want to meet you. Right now they’re up at the other lakes but they should be back in a bit. I thought we needed to talk.” Jesse smiled as he abruptly put her down. “They have a chopper and are sightseeing? They’ll be back here? Damn, isn’t that kind of expensive?” Darius was now dragging her over to the sofa and sitting down with her on his lap. “We’re not destitute. I paid for all of medical school on my own because I wanted to. Not because my family couldn’t assist me. However, this trip is part of a research grant Mother and the girls are working on. How come you’re still undressing me?” Jesse mused as he resumed removing her blouse. “We’ll hear the chopper long before it gets here.” “What about talking? We were gonna do that, remember? I don’t have to be back in town ‘til tomorrow. After they leave we can…ah…” He wasn’t allowing her the time to concentrate as his hands continued dispensing with her clothes, sort of. “Sure, we’ll get right to it.” Darius deftly unsnapped her bra and shoved it up. His head dove down to latch on to an exposed nipple, dragging it into his mouth with a powerful suck. Her entire body arched and Jesse’s head fell back on the sofa arm. She knew she’d missed him but she hadn’t realized she couldn’t resist him. Their short time together had left her with an addiction to the way he touched her, took her. He plunged her into need just that quickly. Darius’ nimble fingers unfastened her jeans and shoved them down her legs as his mouth worked her breasts like a starving man looking for milk. His hand came up the inside of her thigh and found damp panties covering what he was seeking. He lifted his head to frown down at the obstruction. The panties were a delicate lace butterfly held over her mound by tiny little strings that disappeared around her hips. “Rip them off and I’ll kill you,” she mumbled, her eyes closed and head still flung back.

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“What? They’re in the way.” Both of them were already breathing hard and the words came out a gruff snarl. “They’re seductive and my favorites.” “Okay, but the job is done. I’m seduced. Let’s get rid of them.” Darius grinned into her heavy-lidded eyes as she attempted to glare at him. Big, rough fingers tried to be gentle as he peeled the delicate confection down her hips, but one of the little strings popped and Jesse hissed. “You have no idea what it means to be accorded her best panties, do you?” He glanced up at her blankly as he finally managed to shove the things down over her knees with her jeans. “Ah, it’s an honor?” he guessed, realizing the frown on her face indicated this was an important point he’d apparently missed. “It’s the highest honor and invitation in the dating world,” she informed him huffily. “I see. I’m honored and I want to redeem my invitation right now.” “Well, you can’t when you disrespect the panties and rip them.” “Oh yeah?” He looked down at the woman across his lap, blouse hanging off her shoulders, bra pushed above heavy breasts, jeans and tattered panties around her ankles. Half a smile ticked up his lip as he noticed her knees were spread as well as breasts tipped with deeply flushed hard little peaks. He ran the back of his knuckles up the inside of her calf, past her knee, on to the tender flesh of her inner thigh. Then as he drew them lightly up over the slick, pink lips at the center of her, he whispered a question. “How does one redeem himself after ignorantly disrespecting the panties?” “Well…ah…usually it means she—” Jesse gasped as his knuckles kept strumming her “—she dresses and you have to start…um…over. Take her to an expensive dinner…damn, Darius!”

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“I’m listening. Take her to an expensive dinner. Then what?” His fingers straightened and pushed between swollen folds, rimming her opening and dragging the moisture up to slide it around her clit. “Yeah. Then he takes her to an upscale store and…ah…and—” one of his fingers slipped in her tight opening and Jesse’s hips jerked up “—lets her buy whatever she wants to…to…to replace them.” “Got it. Replace them. Then he’s forgiven?” “No. Then he’s…well…usually dumped.” Jesse dragged in a gasping breath as his thumb sank into her pussy and middle finger breached her ass with a hard shove. Her dripping body had lubricated her there and he met almost no resistance to the double impalement. “Dumped? What the hell is that? He never gets to see the replacement?” Darius frowned down at her flushed face. “Who made up these stupid rules?” His hand moved to pull the fingers out of her and fuck them back in with short, sharp thrusts. Her body writhed as she clamped down on him with both ass and cunt. Jesse’s head was rolling back and forth on the sofa arm while her breasts jerked with every thrust into her straining body. One hand was clutching his shoulder. The other gripped the cushion below her. She was pinning one of his arms under her while the other was busy fucking her and he wanted a nipple in his mouth. “Hold your breast up to my mouth and then tell me where the stupid rules came from,” he ordered gruffly. She immediately grasped her breast and presented it for his lips. He leaned down and licked around the nipple, never losing a beat on his sharp intrusions into her body. “I don’t know. Everyone knows the panty rules.” Jesse gasped as he sucked her nipple in at last. Sensations were shuddering waves of pleasure that swept through her with every double thrust. His complete dominance of her in this way was intensely erotic. She knew he was doing it to show her who was in charge while she explained a bit of 124

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arbitrary female control tactics. That deliberate humiliation added to her excitement in ways only a submissive could know. He wanted her to know he could take her here in an instant and his demonstration had been very effective. “It’s a naughty trick little girls shouldn’t be allowed to get away with,” he murmured over her breast. “I suppose the person to see the replacement is the next man who is accorded her best underwear? That bastard gets to see his atonement garment?” “Yesssss,” Jesse moaned. “Please, just a little harder.” “Have you ever done this?” His fingers slowed in her instead of pushing harder while his tone dropped to a whispered growl. Jesse opened her eyes to look at him as she panted in near release. He was taking it away from her and she needed it now. What was her answer? What would get her the release she needed? Time felt suspended. There was more involved than the playful banter that had started this line of questioning. The man looking at her from under dark bows was dangerous. “These are not someone’s replacement panties. Nora, my sister made me wear them. They’re hers.” Jesse would have smiled at the heat in his eyes as his fingers slammed into her but she was to busy howling in pleasure. He released her breast and chuckled as her body flooded his palm and Jesse plunged into a shuddering orgasm amid deep chuckles and gasping humor. The tense moment showed him again how this woman played him. Yet she knew when to draw back. It’d come close to a perilous encounter with his possessive savage. Her prancing around in someone’s intimate gift would have sent him over the edge. Now they were laughing and one of them was glowing with contentment. No, both of them were. His pleasure in her was just as deep a release as coming. Simply on a different level. “Darius?” Jesse stretched and wiggled on his lap as he grinned down at the mess he was holding. “Yeah?” 125

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“I didn’t mean to do that.” “What do you think you did?” His arm under her shoulders lifted her to bring their chests together in a hug. She relaxed her weight onto him and buried her nose in his neck. “I didn’t mean to push you. We were playing and it got out of hand.” “Jesse, whatever we’re doing I doubt it’s playing. Every word we speak this time is either bringing us together or driving us apart. I love it that you got us both back here to talk but its still a serious talk.” Darius kissed the top of her head. “So, baby, why did you bring us here?” Jesse looked up at him seriously. “I was wrong about several things. I was hoping we could find a way to get to know each other.” Darius smiled. “I’m with you there. Is that all?” “No. Would you like me to dictate how we do this or are you going to offer some input? You do this, don’t you? Demand I walk off the limb first.” “Hell, woman, I was making sure you’d had a chance to say what was on your mind. I have a lot to add to this. And since you’re in a hurry to hear it, it’s my turn now. Let’s get your clothes on first. I don’t want to stop in the middle of this if we hear the chopper.” “Oh fine.” Jesse stood up and quickly started pulling everything back in place. Glancing at him she made a face. “Again, who is doing all the work?” Darius chuckled and went over to the kitchen to wash his hands. Sitting himself back down, he beckoned. “Who is the only one who came? Stop whining and get back over here.” His arm was up and she settled onto his lap. “Ready for it to be my turn?” Darius raised a brow and Jesse nodded. Darius looked down at her seriously. “Jesse Reese, I intend to date you exclusively. That means a committed relationship with a permanent arrangement in mind. I know

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your free time is limited as a doctor and there’s a lot of stress over this idiot and his charges, but I want to be part of your life. “We’re already in an intimate relationship. I’m not going to waste time backpedaling over that. We have all the time in the world to get to know each other but I intend to have you in my bed while we do it.” She met his gaze squarely and laid her biggest concern on the table. “You know my commitment to Alaska is done next spring. I’ve spent my entire adult life earning the freedom to make the choice of practicing wherever I choose. Assuming I still have a license.” “Our relationship won’t take that away from you. If we can make this work, then when the time comes, I’d like to be invited to join you wherever you choose to go. I can be a pilot anywhere. No pressure, baby. We take it one day at a time and see where it goes. That’s it.” “One day at a time and see where it goes? Is it really that simple, Darius? Why does it seem so much bigger than that? You can’t leave Alaska. Your responsibilities are here.” “It is just that simple and it’s also much bigger than that. It’s the rest of our lives. As far as my responsibly goes, we’ll find a way to deal with that. We have to get to the future before we worry about that problem. Right now is what we’re concerned about and fortunately we can’t get to the future without making it though the present.” Jesse saw it in his eyes. Felt the complete certainty of his commitment in the flexing steel arms holding her. Her eyes began to glow with humor as they both heard the distant whap of the helicopter returning. “Darius? Do you love me?” she whispered into his serious face. His arms tightened around her as he realized he’d failed to tell her that. It wasn’t part of his vocabulary and even though every single manual indicated it was a required phrase, he’d forgotten it. Saying it on demand would devalue the statement. He was sure of it. 127

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One of his hands came up to cradle the back of her head and hold her face directly before him. “Honey, I’d tell you I love you if that were the limit of what we can have together. Where we go is so much more. Give us the time to find our place in each other. Find what those words really mean to us. They’re not casual for me. I’ll use them now if you need it, but I’d like to use them when we’re both sure of what they mean to us. I’d like those words to be the ones that bind you to me forever as they bind me to you.” The chopper was getting closer and the whooshes of air around its blades seem to be the heartbeat of a beast coming to steal their time together. Jesse smiled tenderly at the serious man searching her eyes. She reached up and lightly touched his worried face with gentle fingers. “That is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. But I asked you so you’d have something to hold on to.” The chopper noise was a loud roar as it set down beside the cabin. “You’ll need it when that door opens. Try to remember it. Our reality is this. We are here and now. No matter what happens we have now,” she told him as the engines outside shut down, leaving only the wailing scream of slowing blades. Darius glanced at the door and back down to the woman in his arms. Her words were humorous and yet serious. “Oh? I need a warning? What do you expect to walk through that door?” he wanted to know. “My family, but it’s what they bring with them.” Jesse leaned forward and touched her lips to his in a tender caress as she whispered, “It’s about to get interesting, lover.”

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About the Author Hello everyone. If you’re reading this, I hope it means you’ve enjoyed reading one of my books. If you have some other opinion of them, feel free to lie to me anyway. I hereby absolve you from all possible guilt and consequences for flagrant, adjective, saturated lying to the author. I’m a chronic fantasizer. Every good romance novel ended too soon. After a while, I started making up stories when I had a few minutes to while away. So now, instead of sitting around with a blank look on my face, I’ve taken to writing them down. Because of my father’s job, we moved every three years in my early life. My first memories are of Bermuda, and then we were in several African countries. It was a wonderful childhood. I gained a rich cultural background in the world community, but never learned to spell. As an adult, I avoided writing at all costs, embarrassed over my limitations. But the writer will not stay silent forever. She broke out, and insisted on learning the mystical world of grammar and spelling. Haven’t mastered all of it yet, but they let me write for you anyway. Bless every editor on the planet. They give dreamers a place to send fantasies and save us the embarrassment of owning our shortcomings.

Gail welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Also by Gail Faulkner Full Ride Jamie’s Cherub Romeo Slip Knot

Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

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