her eyes widened. panic and lust churned in her body, throbbing through her veins, setting fires in her breasts, her womb, her vagina. she was burning, aching for his touch. roni shook her head, fighting her confusion and the sudden fear of exactly what he had done to her. she swallowed a moan as her womb rippled; her cunt spasming as a shudder worked up her spine, along her scalp as the heat began to build.

she fought to breathe as she watched taber's nostrils flare, his eyes darkening further as though some stimulus had caught his senses. his cheekbones appeared flushed beneath the dark tan, his lips fuller, more sensual. his eyes glittered with sexual intent.

roni licked her dry lips nervously, wanting, needing to touch him, but terrified of the intense arousal beginning to build inside her body just under her skin, like an internal fire burning through her nerve endings. her fists clenched as she fought the spiraling sensations, determined to control them, just as she had months before.

but it hadn't been this bad then, a part of her whispered. the hungry need that had eaten at her had been irritating, uncomfortable, but nothing like this. this was intense, slowly building, overtaking her as it flowed through her system.

she forced her gaze from his, turning her head and staring desperately out the bubbled window of the helicopter. taber was pressed close against her, his side molded to hers, one arm stretched behind her,

his fingers playing almost absently with the strands of hair that fell down the back of her shirt. she closed her eyes as she breathed in raggedly. she could resist the temptation eating her alive. surely she could. she had before.

she bit her lip as she felt his fingers move her hair, pushing it back from her shoulder, revealing the small mark just below her neck. she would have turned her head, would have blocked his gaze if he hadn't moved to hold her in place.

roni whimpered. she couldn't help it. when his tongue stroked over the small wound, and then his mouth closed over it, suckling the flesh softly, tenderly, her womb spasmed. her pussy throbbed, pulsed, sending her into a near-orgasmic delight as she felt his teeth scratch along the surface of the mark he had made.

her hands clenched at his forearm as it stretched across her chest, his hand holding her other shoulder, keeping her still as he tortured her, tormented her.

"please." she knew he couldn't hear her, and she didn't have the breath to scream as pleasure seared her body, washing from the point where his mouth held her captive to her tight, sensitive nipples, down to her throbbing clit and soaked cunt. it was destroying her.

he lifted his mouth slowly as he eased back into his seat. but there was no relief for roni. she gritted her teeth, cursing him, cursing herself, and vowing to die in agony before she begged him to take her, begged him to ease the need that seemed to only grow rather than lessen with the distance he had taken. this wasn't good. not good at all.

chapter six

life couldn't be much sweeter as far as taber was concerned. the ride from the hills of eastern kentucky back to the mansion in virginia was made quickly, efficiently, in the powerful little 'copter the military had graciously granted them. a few perks came from outraging society against a government whose leaders had been up to their ears in the corrupt little experiments that had created them. his body was humming with desire, perfectly attuned to the arousal climbing in roni's. he could smell her heat and it was about to drive him insane. his cock ached like a raw wound, pulsing and throbbing beneath the restriction of his jeans.

he watched the terrain outside the helicopter's windows, tracking each landmark, counting the minutes until he could get her to a bed, spread her thighs and surge into the heated depths of her wet little cunt. he had waited fifteen months. fifteen long, miserable months. a black aching void had taken root inside his soul during that time. there had been a desire, torturous and unending, for one woman and one woman alone. he had been unable to touch another, unable to tolerate the scent of any other female's lust when roni's remained so deeply a part of him.

it was one of the reasons he had never understood why she had left the short, curt note on his desk so long ago. no other woman had affected him as she did. and he had known for a fact that she had wanted him as well. so why had she pulled back? he still had the note. he still felt the fury and clenching

betrayal those words had brought him.

he had denied himself for nearly all these months where roni was concerned. fought his desire and his hunger because he hadn't wanted to subject her to who and what he was against her wishes. he knew at the time that her decision had been the best one. he didn't blame her, had no desire to make her pay for the hell his body had put him through. but he would be damned if he would let her go now. his kiss was insurance that roni would never walk away from him in the same manner ever again. the hormone released into her body would prepare her and heighten her arousal to a point that she would be unable to deny his touch. she would be lucky if she could even walk when he finished slaking his hunger for her. he had a lot of time to make up for.

"we're heading in," cabal yelled back to him as the mansion came in to sight. it was three stories of gracious, stately elegance. balconies wrapped around each story, tall pillars rising up to support them and lending the white monstrosity an air of genteel comfort. the centuries-old plantation house had been kept in excellent condition. previous owners had done all they could to keep the historical air of the house intact, while inside, renovations had assured the owners' every comfort. his arm tightened around roni's back as he felt her stiffen. the dark scent of fear mixed with her earthy, sweet desire. but rather than easing her need, the fear seemed to only intensify the addicting smell. the adrenaline racing through her body carried the hormone that much faster through her system. the helicopter landed with smooth efficiency, settling onto the landing pad and slowly powering down as taber unclipped his and roni's safety belts. he glanced into her eyes, his body tightening as he saw the dilation of her pupils, the flush on her cheeks. her blue eyes glittered with hunger. her body trembled from it.

"what did you do to me, taber?" her voice was husky, confused, as tanner and cabal exited the helicopter.

"come on, we'll get up to the house and i'll explain everything." he jumped from the helicopter before reaching in, his hands gripping her waist as he helped her from her seat. she gasped as he drew her against his chest before allowing her feet to settle to the ground. the sensual drag of her body against his had him growling with arousal. thank god they didn't have much farther to go.

taber gripped her hand and pulled her to the jeep tanner had running at the side of the landing pad. her fingers trembled beneath his, but not more than her body. he could feel the fine shudders that worked through her as he helped her into the jeep, glimpsed the desperate edge of control in her gaze. his kiss had done exactly as callan had outlined to all of them months before. the sexual hormone contained in the glands of his tongue had almost immediately swept through her system as he kissed her. her level of heat had risen, the need for his touch, his taste, sweeping over her. but it was no greater than his need for her.

he had been helpless this time; caught in the grip of a hunger he could not contain and had no desire to hide. the animal within had been denied once before. it wouldn't be again.

"the house we now live in once belonged to the genetics council," he told her, fighting for calm as

tanner raced along the paved road that led to the mansion. "it's now our home base. we're safe here, protected by the sheer numbers of our kind, which grow daily. you'll be safe here as well, roni."

"will i?" her tone assured him that she wasn't so certain. too bad. he wasn't about to let her go. she held herself as far from him as he would allow, which wasn't much. she was heated and warm, her scent sweet and potent. he had been separated from her for too long, fighting to be noble, to protect her from the truth and the price of being in his arms.

taber held back a wince as she shot him a hateful look. evidently, most of the confusion caused by the events of the day was wearing off. she was getting mad. he ignored the fierce surge of excitement that rocked through his veins at the thought. her eyes were glittering with fury and lust. the scent of her was hot and wild, making his chest ache with the need to roar in triumph.

"i would have been safe where i was," she snapped, "if it hadn't been for you."

her voice was thick with the emotions, the sensations, washing through her body. she was fighting it, unaware that in doing so, she would only make the symptoms worse. taber suppressed his smile. her fury would only cause her blood to beat faster, the hormone to surge through her body, to build and grow in its extremity.

"it takes two, roni," he told her darkly as the jeep shuddered to a stop at the front entrance. large oaks, ages old, towered above the circular driveway, growing so close to the house that they had once considered cutting several of them down. but the majesty and grace of the hardwoods had been impossible to deny. they had been there for far too long, had protected the home for too many years, to destroy.

as he helped her from the jeep the large, double front doors opened as callan and merinus stepped out onto the cemented landing. the other man's gaze was hard, fierce, as he inhaled slowly, making taber more than aware that any breed who came near would know roni's state of arousal. taber led her up the wide, circular steps to meet the couple, feeling the shudders that swept over her body. she was tense, holding herself rigidly erect as they approached callan and merinus. he met callan's gaze, seeing the worry in the depths of his leader's amber eyes.

"roni, it's good to see you again," callan said gently as they reached the other couple. he didn't touch her, didn't offer to shake her hand, as roni stood stiffly before him. "allow me to introduce my wife, merinus. merinus, roni andrews was a good friend to us all during our time in sandy hook."

"hello, roni." merinus' smile was gentle as her gaze flickered between them. "i'm sorry we had to meet under such circumstances."

"it's nice to meet you." roni's voice was soft, husky with tension as she smoothed her hands over her arms. "i'm sorry, too..."

"please, don't be." merinus shook her head, a small smile tilting her lips. "these men tend to shake up a woman's life more than should be allowable. but in the end..." she glanced at her husband's faux-mocking expression. "they can be worth it."

"i think i'll wait to comment on that one." roni breathed in harshly. "if you don't mind."

merinus' concerned gaze was filled with knowledge as she glanced at taber. she, more than anyone else, was well aware of the need pulsing through roni and the stress she was under.

"i understand completely, roni. if you need anything, be sure to let any of us know. we want you to feel at home here."

roni nodded, murmuring her thanks, but taber could see the fine film of sweat on her brow, the flush in her cheeks.

"please, come in. taber can show you up to your room and you can rest before dinner. we can talk later." merinus frowned at taber, a dark, disapproving look that he met head on. they entered the marbled foyer as taber gripped roni's upper arm and led her to the wide, circular staircase at the right of the large entrance. his suite of rooms was on the second floor, but all that concerned him was getting roni to the large, well-built bed that occupied them. there he would do more than mark her. there he would claim all that had been his, all she had sought to deny them both over the last lonely, hunger-filled months. there she would pay.

chapter seven

what was wrong with her? roni felt feverish, uncertain, almost dazed with the sexual needs that threatened to bring her to her knees with their intensity. as taber led her up the stairs she fought the nearly debilitating weakness that made her grateful for the steadying hand that gripped her arm. his body was large, so hard and warm beside her that she could feel the heat radiating from him. his hand steadied her, but all she could think of was having it run over her body, stroking her, soothing the fires burning in the very depths of her womb. she had never been so crazed with arousal. no, this wasn't arousal. it went even beyond lust. it was a compulsion, a hunger that tore through her, making its demands nearly irresistible.