"you can ask him when he gets here. i'm going out to make sure we weren't followed. stay in the cabin." he unclipped the cell phone at his side. "taber's number is the first one keyed in. if something happens, you call him. you hear?"

she glanced down as he laid the phone on the table, feeling her mouth dry out with fear. "what could happen?"

she met his gaze as she raised her head, her heart racing in warning. he watched her, his expression somber.

"like i said, others would have seen that broadcast. and some of them are a hell of a lot closer than taber was. i just want to be cautious."

she swallowed tightly. "mercenaries?" she had heard the reports of the constant battles taber and his family had fought through the years with the men sent to either recapture or kill them. a glimmer of sympathy lit his eyes. "yeah," he finally muttered. "but we should be secure. only a few people know about this place, and by the time anyone figures out where we are, taber should have you safe and sound wherever he thinks is best. you'll be fine."

he turned before she could comment and left the shelter. only then did she notice the gun he carried in his other hand. it was black, lethal, and he sure as hell carried it like he knew what he was doing with it. great. she collapsed into one of the dusty kitchen chairs and stared around the one-room cabin with a sense of despair. mercenaries were after her. just what she needed on top of everything else. she lifted her hand, rubbing the mark on her neck that had caused so many problems. it ached more than normal. not a painful ache, rather one with the remnants of pleasure, reminding her of the incredibly sensuous feel of taber's mouth there. his teeth scraping her skin, his tongue laving it heatedly. she shivered uncontrollably at the memory.

jerking her hand back down, roni stared at the cell phone for a long second before she rose to her feet and paced to the small, dusty window beside the door. she could call him. she should let him know just how much she appreciated the mess she was in right now. dammit, he wanted her out of his life, had made that plain. how was she was supposed to feel good about any help he would give her now?

she stared out the window, knowing that for now, there was nothing she could do. that sense of helplessness ate at her. she hated being dependent on anyone, especially for her life. as she stared into the forest, she could see john canvassing the thickly forested area. his body weaved in and out of the trees, relaxed, yet on guard. he reminded her of some of those military types she had seen profiles on during the few times she found time to watch television. time was passing too damned quickly. there was no chance to think, to become accustomed to the sudden changes sweeping around her. no time to prepare herself to face taber again. it seemed mere minutes before john re-entered the cabin and picked up the cell phone. he glanced at her as he coded in the call.

"i hear a 'copter. that you?" he asked quietly, his pale blue eyes cold and confident. "good. we're safe and sound so far. i'll have her waiting in the clearing." he disconnected then looked over at her. "ready to go?"

"no." she pushed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. wake up now, she thought desperately. come on, roni, time to wake up.

"too bad." he grinned as though he was more than aware of the fact that she was desperate to deny any of this was taking place. "time to move."

chapter five

it was surreal. roni stood at the edge of the small clearing, watching as the helicopter swooped in and executed a perfect landing. motioning her to stay back, john ducked and ran to the small aircraft while roni tried to still the racing of her heart.

she wanted to turn and run; to escape back to the life she had led before the fateful trip in to town no more than an hour ago. but instinctively, she knew there was no escape. she wondered a bit distantly if she even wanted to escape. hadn't she dreamed of him nightly, ached for him every minute of the day since he had walked out of her life?

when taber jumped from the helicopter, every cell in her body sprang to life. between her thighs, an urgent pulse of desire began to beat, moisture pooling, gathering, preparing her for him. her breath caught in her chest and not for the first time, she was caught completely off guard by the rough sexuality that seemed to shimmer around him.

he wore jeans. they rode low on his lean hips, lovingly conformed to his muscular thighs and long legs. the wide, dark belt accentuated the white shirt and the flat contours of his abdomen. his shoulders were wide. his devil's black hair was tied back at his nape, giving him a savage, earthy appearance that speared straight to her pussy. she felt her juices spill from her hot vagina, her body beginning to ache, to throb for him.

she backed up as his gaze stayed locked on hers, his long legs covering the distance between her and the helicopter. she could see the fierce purpose on his darkly tanned face, his intention to claim her. she shuddered in sudden fear. this wasn't the man she had known before. the man who had been gentle, considerate, his kiss a whisper of passion, his touch restrained. she felt the sobbing breath that escaped her throat as she continued to back up, her legs weak, her mind consumed with the vision stalking toward her. he was acting on instinct. he was no longer controlled, as she had always known him to be. he was harder, savage. and he terrified her.

"taber." she stopped suddenly as her back met the rough bark of the tree behind her. he stopped inches from her, his eyes a brilliant jade-green, intense, overpowering. in that moment, fifteen months of pain and anger overwhelmed her. here he stood, staring at her as though he could devour her in a single bite, after destroying every dream she ever held in her heart. her fist clenched, and before she knew what she was thinking she struck with all her strength into the hard, tight muscles of his stomach. she had a feeling she hurt her fist more than she hurt him.

"dammit," she yelled as he barely flinched, his body tightening, his eyes narrowing in anger. "look what you've done to my life. thanks for nothing, taber."

"mine," he snarled. the sound echoed through her body, her soul, as she felt her breath falter, her eyes widening at the sheer animalistic sound.

before she could react, he caught her hands in his, pushing them back against the tree, ignoring her frantic struggles, her strangled curses.

he leaned closer, his expression stark, primal. his gaze held hers captive as his large body pinned her smaller one to the rough bark. roni fought to breathe, to draw precious air into her body, to clear away the dazed arousal spreading through her mind.

she could smell him: dark hunger, intense male and heated lust. the scent of him wrapped around her senses, drowning her in the bleak knowledge that had come to her only because his animal instincts demanded it, not because the man within desired her.

"let me go!" she screamed, trying to kick out at him, to break the hold that was both fierce and yet gentle. she was trembling, shuddering with her own anxiety and surging emotions, and her need to hurt him as much as she was hurting now.

he leaned closer, his hard chest pressing against her breasts, sensitizing her nipples even through her bra

and torn shirt. her head was pressed back against the tree, her lips parting as she fought to breathe, to ignore the call of lightning-hot desire ripping through her body that mixed with the blistering rage. and then he growled. his lip lifted at one side, revealing the longer, dangerous canines at the side of his mouth. the sound-a rumbled warning of danger and excitement-came a second before his head lowered and his heated, demanding lips covered her own.

she would have fallen if he hadn't caught her. strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer as his head angled, slanting his lips across hers, his tongue pressing forcibly into her mouth. drugging, exhilarating, the touch was lightning and heat, a morass of conflicting sensations that swept through her body like a tidal wave of impressions, swamping her beneath their force. her fingers curled, her hands straining against his grip on them. her nails bit into her palms as she whimpered against the demanding thrust of his tongue. god, the taste of him. dark honey, sweet and tempting, lured her with the promise of passion even as it pulled her into a lust that threatened to destroy her.

her tongue swept over his. feeling the small, swollen glands just under the sides, she moaned in pleasure at the taste that was released from her caress of them. she needed more. she needed to fill herself with it, to discover the full, heady promise of the intriguing flavor. his tongue pressed more demandingly against hers then. a growl lingered in the air around them, completely feline, male, a demand that speared through her womb. roni allowed her own tongue to caress, to taste, and yet still he wanted more. when her lips closed on him, her mouth drawing at the sweet elixir of his taste, his groan rocked her. this was what he wanted of her. his lips ground against hers, his tongue thrusting into the tight grip of her mouth as her senses were overwhelmed with the flavor releasing into her mouth.

she was on her tiptoes reaching for him. he released her hands then, though she had no fight left in her. they gripped his biceps, her nails biting into the cloth of his shirt, feeling the muscles underneath clench and bunch as he lifted her closer. taber pressed her against the tree, his thigh insinuating itself between hers, rocking against her woman's core. sweet heaven. her head swam with the pleasure, the exquisite heat suddenly building deep within her womb.

she pressed closer to his thigh, moaning at the pressure against her swelling clit, needing more, so much more than what he was giving her now. the helicopter's motor was a distant sound; the wind sweeping over them, caused by the rotation of the blades, was just another caress to her rapidly sensitizing body.

"taber, goddammit, now!" john's voice was an intrusion she fought to deny. not now-nothing could separate them now. not until she could fill herself with the taste of him, had enough to ease the painful hunger beginning to claw in the depths of her vagina.

"no," she whispered desperately as his head raised, his gaze narrow, staring down at her, blistering with the heat of lust and a glimmer of fury.

"mine," he growled again as though intent on forcing her to admit this. roni shook her head, shuddering, needing more of his kiss, more of the drugging sensations that weighed her body with heavy sensuality.

"no time," john yelled again, his body a hazy blur at the edge of her vision. "dammit, get her to the

'copter before you get caught on the ground. you want to lose her forever?"

taber didn't speak. he spared a second to shoot the other man a furious look before his arm tightened around roni's waist, forcing her forward, moving quickly for the helicopter awaiting them in the clearing. roni fought to move her feet, to keep up with him, to voice her protest, her anger, but nothing seemed to work. her senses were cloudy, so dazed that she feared she was beginning to lose her own grip on reality.

"'bout damned time," a strange male voice called out as taber practically forced roni into the helicopter.

no sooner had he jumped in beside her and slammed the door closed than the craft was lifting into the air. the surging power echoed through roni's body, the vibration of the motors nearly painful to her sensitive nerves.

she glanced up at taber, confused, frightened. he watched her, his eyes narrowed, lust gleaming in the rich green depths, determination marking his proud features. this wasn't the gentle man who had protected her for years. it wasn't the tender lover who had left her at the garage months ago, promising to return. this was a side of taber she had never seen. it was both arousing and terrifying, leaving her lost amid the conflicting feelings sweeping over her.

"what have you done to me?" she whispered the words as her body began to ache, to plead for his touch, his kiss. just once more, something inside her screamed out in agony. a touch, a taste...

"i made you mine." he mouthed the words back to her. slowly, clearly. "mine, roni. forever."