Nuworld: Claiming Tara (7 page)

The two women continued to chatter endlessly, talking
about whatever came to their minds and laughing at each
comment
that
was
made.
Tara
blocked
out
their
conversation and dwelt on her own predicament. For the
time being, she was stranded. She hadn’t given any
thought to leaving in the near future, but now she couldn’t
if she wanted to, unless she stole a Gothman motorcycle or
pulled off the near impossible and rescued her bike.
Tara didn’t want to leave, she wanted to stay and learn
about these people. But having the option of departing
taken from her was annoying. An image of Darius appeared
in her mind. She imagined how smug he must have felt to
have found her bike. Tara knew at that moment she would
get it back. She would not let Lord Darius best her.
Tara stood, too restless to sit, and worked her way back
to the windows. The men sounded like they were arguing
outside, but try as she might she couldn’t hear what they
were saying over the women’s voices, or through
the
blasted thick Gothman glass. She finally gave up and
turned her attention back to the women.
“So, you’ll be staying for lunch then.” Hilda smiled and
got up. “I’ve some cold ham for sandwiches, boiled new
potatoes and cheese rolls. That pie will go along famously.”
Reena and Hilda walked through the dining room and
back toward the kitchen. Tara followed, but none of the
windows in the kitchen offered a better view of the men, or
her bike.
“I had a girl to help with the house for a time. But Lord
Darius didn’t take a liking to her and sent her back to her
parents. I will say this big house is too much for an old
lady to manage.” Hilda winked at Reena.
“I know what you’re saying, I do at that,” Reena
sympathized. “My hands wear out long before the
housework does these days. I’ve a liniment you might try. It
does take the sting out.”
“Tara, be a dear and go cut some of those flowers out
back in the garden, will you?” Hilda opened a drawer and
pulled out gloves and clippers. “Take these…ah…there you
are. Use caution, girl. The thorns can bring blood faster
than you may think.”
Hilda watched Tara leave out the back door then close it
so it didn’t make a sound. Never had she seen anyone
move as Reena’s niece did. It was as if the girl were one
with the ground she walked across. Quite captivating, and
it was more than outer beauty. There was something in the
girl’s eyes. Hilda wasn’t able to quite place it, but the girl
seemed to put everything she saw and heard to memory.
And Tara didn’t look like one to forget.
Hilda looked at Reena, who was still looking at the back
door. Tara was already out of sight.
“Your niece, you say?” she asked.
“Isn’t she beautiful?”
“That she is.” Hilda didn’t think Reena had a brother.
To call her friend out on a lie would be a serious offense
if she didn’t have proof. Hilda held her tongue, which was
really hard to do.
“Do you think Darius will claim her?”
Hilda didn’t try speculating what her son might do.” “Is
that what you want?” she asked instead of answering.
Reena hesitated, and for a moment seemed to look sad.
When she looked at Hilda, her expression was serious.
“I want her to be happy,” Reena said and sounded too
serious.
This time it was easier for Hilda to hold her tongue. She
wasn’t sure any young lady would be happy as the lord’s
claim. He was way too driven. She supposed that was good
for Gothman but she doubted he’d ever be happy with any
one woman.
Gloves and clippers in hand, Tara entered the backyard.
There was no sign of the men, so she turned her attention
to the different rose varieties growing bountifully along the
side yard. As she knelt at the flowerbeds, she inhaled their
strong fragrance. There were yellow and white roses and
she began to clip a few of them. She jerked at the sound of
footsteps and spun around as she stood.
“Ah, lass, no reason to be so jumpy. I won’t hurt you.” A
tall man with thick curly blond hair stood before her. He
smiled
but
focused
on her
body,
not
her
face. “I’m
wondering why a lass as pretty as you hasn’t been claimed.
You’re too pretty to be keeping to yourself.” He reached for
her breasts.
Tara pointed the
clippers
at him. “Stay back,” she
warned him.
“Now that ain’t fair. I just said I wasn’t going to hurt
you, and here you are ready to hurt me. I daresay you’re a
wild one.” The man laughed and started to grab the
clippers from Tara.
Submissive be damned. She wasn’t about to let this
brute maul her. That wasn’t how she planned to experience
Gothman. “I said stay back,” she repeated and pulled the
clippers back, then punched the man hard in the stomach
with her other hand.
The man was packed with muscle. He doubled over for
just a second but then stood again, the grin still on his
face.
“Ah, nothing like a frisky one.” The man lunged forward,
sending Tara to the ground.
He was heavy and the ground was hard beneath her.
Tara moved faster than he anticipated, managing to
avoid his full bulk on top of her. When he pushed to his
knees, she brought her knee up hard in his groin and he
howled loudly.
Tara rushed to put distance between them when he
grabbed her foot and pulled hard enough for her to fall flat.
The garden gloves protected her hands as they slapped the
ground, but she groaned, knowing her rear end would be
bruised later.
He crawled toward her and she turned around, nailing
her fist against his jaw. The stunned man didn’t move as
she jumped up.
“You leave me alone,” she growled through clenched
teeth.
The man sat staring at her as she walked away. Tara
was satisfied with his dumbfounded expression, although
she hoped no one saw her act out of character. If she was
lucky,
the
man had
been
so
humiliated he wouldn’t
comment on her ability to fight.
Tara headed toward to the house, then paused. She
turned and grabbed the cut flowers lying on the ground
where she’d dropped them. The women would question if
she returned without the roses. And if they hadn’t seen her
escapade, she didn’t want to have to tell them about it.
As she walked back to the house, she noticed Lord
Darius staring through an opened upstairs window on the
second floor. Adrenaline already pumped through her, but
sudden panic made her heart race painfully. Her mouth
went dry. The lord wasn’t stupid, like she’d originally
thought. She didn’t regret putting the jerk in his place, but
if she didn’t watch herself around Lord Darius, it would
cost her life.
He
was definitely watching
her,
and Tara wouldn’t
pretend not to notice his appraisal of her. She stopped and
studied him in return, wondering what he thought. Tara
was sure she saw him grin when she finally looked away to
return to the women.
Lord Darius turned from his bedroom window. A sudden
thought hit him like a punch to the gut, but he had to be
wrong. His walkntalk chirped and he turned to grab it.
“Your Runner bike is secure, my lord,” one of his guards
said.
Darius growled his response and tossed the black box
on his bed. It chirped again. He ignored it. Someone tapped
on his door. Darius stalked across the room to open it.
“Darius, would you like your guests to join you for lunch
today?”
His mama stood in the doorway, and he forced a blank
expression so as not to unnerve her. “You need to hire
more help.” He tried to sound calm. It wouldn’t do to upset
his mama. The last thing he needed right now was one of
her fits. “You don’t need to be climbing those stairs to find
out how many people you’ll serve.”
His mama beamed. “Funny you should mention that. We
were just talking about some more help.”
Darius waited for the woman to continue.
“Reena has brought her niece today for a visit.”
“You want Reena’s niece to help you around the house?”
“We had talked about it.”
“Have her start tomorrow.” Darius thought about the
scene he had just witnessed in the yard. Reena’s niece,
Tara, needed some
serious training. And damn if the
thought of doing it himself didn’t have its strong appeal.
“And it’ll be just the guards and me that will be eating.”
His mama looked very pleased with herself as she left
the doorway and shuffled toward the steps. The woman
was obviously plotting. It’s what women did and their
actions didn’t much matter to him.
Their
submission
mattered to him. The way a lady honored her claim by
obeying him and presenting herself properly in public
mattered to him. What would it be like to have a woman
who obeyed him in all areas, yet held on to enough of her
wild nature to satisfy him in bed?
Darius turned back to the window. He would have that
woman under his roof. In fact, he would have that woman.
What better way to learn how she had learned to fight like
a man. He had his strong suspicions as to where she’d
learn to fight. The why was a strong mystery. Darius
scowled at the shed where his men had put the Runner
bike.
His scowl deepened.
Once
he
understood
this
formidable race, he’d have answers to many questions.
He’d also better understand that sensuous little brownhaired woman who dared play as if she were a Gothman
female. But if she liked games, Darius had no problem
showing her the rules.

Tara was quiet when they drove through town and back
up the hill to Reena’s home. She entered the small house
and started a fire while Reena sat and wiggled her feet.

Tara brought the bag, then helped peel and slice the
potatoes.
“Well, child, what do you think of Gothman now that
you’ve had good exposure to us?”
Tara stared at the flames while the peeler dangled from
her hand.
“I saw Lord Darius and two other men with my
motorcycle. They put it in a shed behind the Bryton home.”
“No! That’s not good.”
“I’m stranded for the time being.” Tara turned and
looked at Reena. Once again she felt the sensation of
claustrophobia, and the feeling didn’t settle well at all. “Not
that I was planning on leaving any time soon, but now I
can’t. It’ll be rather difficult to get it back without being
noticed.”
“Well, I don’t know now.” Reena was quiet for a moment.
“Hilda mentioned something very interesting before we left.
She’d like you to come live at her house, to help out with
things.”
Tara pondered at the thought of living under the same
roof with Lord Darius. She imagined sparring with the virile
lord, and wondered if she would be able to fight with his
hands on her. She looked up at Reena in time to see the
older woman smile.
“What are you scheming? I’m not interested in marriage,
Reena.
Not
to
mention Lord Darius is not the
most
talkative man, and the men who work for him have no
manners.”
“I’ve no doubt you’ll put them in their place. Did one of
the guards get a bit fresh with you, child?”
“I had to fight one off when I went to cut the flowers for
Hilda,” Tara said.
Reena glared at Tara and made a chuckling sound. “It’s
not like a lady to fight off a man.”
“I’m not just going to lay there and play dumb so some
brute can do what he will with me.” Tara stressed, trying to
make Reena understand. “No one should have to do that.”
“You know you remind me a lot of myself when I was
your age.” Reena smiled. “Granted, I was no trained
warrior. But, I was loyal to one man. When he left, I’d have
no other. So today, I am alone.”
Tara studied Reena, wondering what she would have
been like as a young lady. She imagined her to have been
quite beautiful. Tara wondered where that man was today
who had captured the older woman’s heart.
For some reason, Tara couldn’t see Reena falling hard
for any man unless he proved himself better than the rest.
Reena had a quiet dignity about her. Not for the first time,
Tara saw why Patha had included the older woman in his
stories.
“And you, you will be loyal to one man too, someday. It’s
in your nature.” She chuckled and reached for her knitting.
“So, you’ll live in the Bryton home?” She paused and then
added, “You’ll be close to your motorcycle.”
“I’ll give it some thought.”
Later that evening, Darius stood in his bedroom. Maps
lay strewn on the bed next to him, and additional charts
were scattered across the long wooden table to his side. It
had been a long day. Hell be doomed! It had been a long
night.
His men weren’t pleased when he ordered that the
Runner not be brought down. But they were loyal and
obeyed his command. He had warred with his own decision
but was sure he’d made the right one. His papa had never
made any qualms over Runners. If seen, they were killed.
No questions asked.
The Runners were skilled warriors. They would kill a
man on sight. No one had ever questioned that knowledge
about
them. Runners didn’t
associate
with Gothman
people. They weren’t allowed in Bryton at all. Only once in
Darius’ lifetime had he ever known an exception to that
rule.
That was with Reena. His papa had never shared the
details. Darius knew from time to time a Runner visited
Reena. His men kept him informed. Reena had been the
one to bring her
niece
into Bryton to introduce to his
people. He’d just happen to be in the right place, at the
right time, to watch Tara use a weapon he’d never seen
before to shoot a trash can and scare a bunch of young
boys who were bullying Darius’ younger brother. He’d
inched back to the edge of the building and continued
watching when she consoled Torgo. This same woman,
armed with an incredibly dangerous weapon, had then
attempted to appear docile and willing when he’d spoken to
her. The way her pretty blue eyes had glowed with emotion
when he’d purposely handled her got his dick so hard he’d
barely been able to think of anything since.
Darius paced to his open bedroom door, filling the
doorway as he stared down the wide, dark and quiet
hallway. Her behavior in his garden remained imprinted in
his thoughts as well, even more of a distraction. No. He
would be honest. The woman more than distracted him. It
took all he had not to send for her right now. No Gothman
lady, unclaimed or claimed, behaved like Tara.
It was as if she believed she had a right to refuse him. If
he didn’t know better, Darius might think the woman had
been raised believing she would choose her claim.
For
some reason that turned him on. This was proof that he
needed to sleep.
Not only did the lass not act like other Gothman woman,
she didn’t move like any woman he’d ever met. There was a
confidence about her. She seemed trained. Not once did
she panic, or hesitate, when she’d stood from clipping roses
and attacked Judo, one of his well-trained warriors, in
Darius’ back yard. She’d known what she was doing.
Returning to where his maps were sprawled, Darius
rested his fists at the edge of his table and stared down at
them. He’d planned to spend his evening going over the
revised borders of Gothman. Over the past quarter-cycle
he’d travelled along those borders, confirming for himself
the extent of land he ruled. It had been just over a handful
of nights that he’d slept on the hard ground with his men
while surveying Gothman. Tonight he was to validate the
new maps drawn up to show all of Gothman. Once he gave
his approval, Darius planned to have more maps made and
sold in Bryton. His people knew they were strong. They
knew he protected them. It wouldn’t hurt to show Gothman
all the land that was theirs and hopefully encourage some
to move on to undeveloped land.
These maps in front of him had consumed his thoughts
until a blue eyed, brown haired woman had strolled into
his life.
“She hardly strolled,” he grumbled to himself.
His vision blurred. “Get some sleep,” he ordered himself.
The beautiful young woman who had come to call on his
mama had been trained to fight. Like she was a warrior—
like she was his Runner. But it would be seriously frowned
on if the Lord of Gothman took a Runner to his bed.
He turned and moved back to the open window, running
his fingers absently through tangled curls. The signs were
there, damn it. His men were in an outrage, and Darius
was confused. Not that he would admit his confusion to a
soul. The Lord of Gothman offered no weaknesses. But hell
be doomed! He would understand Tara.
His papa, Lord Jovis, had never enlightened Darius on
any of
the
thinking behind
his decision making.
The
reasons for not doing that weren’t a secret. Darius had not
been the intended heir. That didn’t bother him. He didn’t
need his papa’s knowledge to rule Gothman. Darius knew
he possessed a strength his papa never had, nor his older
brother. Dwelling on either of the two was wasted thought.
The only thing Darius wanted to know right now was why
were Runners such a deadly enemy?
“Maybe those Runners are wondering the same thing.”
Darius
immediately
dismissed
that
possibility.
They
wouldn’t send one young lady into Gothman, where he
most definitely had the most deadly warriors in all of
Nuworld, if they wanted answers about his people.
Darius knew next to nothing about their race. And he
didn’t like not having all the facts. He pushed away from
the table and maps. It was now his top priority to learn
about these people.
He would learn how to operate that strange bike he had
housed in his shed as well. He would learn what Runners
had
done
to
Gothman
to
earn
such
harsh
laws
implemented
against
them.
And
above
all his other
questions, he would learn why one incredibly beautiful
Runner had entered Gothman without an escort…
…and what that Runner was doing in his house.