Dream - Dream Specter Part 8

She really tried to ignore him but the deep tone of his voice just demanded she give in to the urge to look at him. Her stride broke for the barest of seconds as she turned back to investigate her company.

He struck with the effectiveness of the hunter her mind labeled him to be. With one hand, he pulled her right off her feet. Gravity aided him as it sent her off-balance body over the wide shoulders that angled towards her. A single upwards thrust from his legs and her body lay across his shoulders just like any downed prey would.

Being hefted over a shoulder would have given her some avenue of retaliation. Her current position across the length of his shoulders immobilized her. His neck pressed into her belly preventing movement while one hand wove between her thighs to secure her legs. The other arm sat wedged between her biceps and lodged behind her neck.

She could try to roll off her perch but the distance to the ground discouraged such a rash action. The grip of his hands reinforced the fact that she would not find breaking free simple.

Frustration rose up in a choking thickness. Not only were her dreams of sanity shattering at his hands again. She was also being hauled up the mountainside like a downed deer.

And she still didn't know what the man's name was!

"You know, you are a great deal of trouble."

She hissed. Jared laughed as he turned and began the climb back to his home. Her scent surrounded him as his breaths deepened with the climb. He hadn't been so close to the center of her body before. That spicy scent that had teased him was now strong and powerful. His body reacted with ferocious need. The fact that she was mad just made his deepening pull harder to ignore. Her temper had banished all fear from her mind, making it far too tempting to explore his raging need to touch her. Bare her body 'til he found the source of her scent. Taste her 'til she moaned again under his touch.

Oh dear G.o.d! Rosh.e.l.le swallowed roughly as each nerve ending she had began erupting with demands. He wasn't floating inside her mind. Instead they seemed locked together with every emotion shared between them. She could taste the aggression, feel the need pulsing from his body. Her skin screamed for release from her clothing as she felt her belly clench and burn for something far deeper than just a touch.

Rosh.e.l.le kicked again as she actually felt her pa.s.sage heating. Everything was too intense. The need to escape the overwhelming pulse of desire went pounding through her brain.

Rosh.e.l.le almost shrieked as her body fell towards the forest floor. A solid steel band caught her waist and kept her from sprawling at the man's feet. But it also secured her to his body without a single millimeter between them. Her hands slammed into his chest in an effort to maintain distance. A single finger gently stroked her cheek as he s.h.i.+fted her hips to lay firmly against his body. The hard evidence of his arousal pressed into her belly as she felt her body shake with need.

"If you'd like to stop here, that's just fine, too, but I'm not letting you walk into a bullet."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"It wasn't my idea to volunteer for the job either. That doesn't change where we are, Rosh.e.l.le."

Her name rolled out of his chest in a husky tone. A deep rasp that twisted her stomach into knots. The last time he'd used that tone, he'd also kissed her.

"Don't!"

Jared thrust the word back between her lips. She jerked away and he followed her. Her lips fell open under the a.s.sault. Molding her body to his, Jared enjoyed the pure rush of sensation that came from touching her.

Surrender was her only option. Rosh.e.l.le moaned softly as she felt her will crumbling. His body moved and molded hers to its every whim. His mouth was fierce, as it demanded access to hers. His fingers slid up her back and tangled into her hair holding her head exactly where he wanted it.

Jared raised his head and swore softly. The sensation was too intense. It was more than the burning need of flesh. Rosh.e.l.le was merging with his mind as he forced surrender from her body. Her breath escaped in tiny pants as she struggled to thrust him away. But her nipples were twin points stabbing into his chest with invitation. His mouth watered to taste them. Bare her body and run his tongue over each and every inch of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

His hand traveled down her neck and across her breast. Rosh.e.l.le whimpered as she felt her body arch towards that hand. Her nipples begged for even the slightest touch. She craved it with a devotion that banished rational thought. Right here, there was only need and instinct. They drove her towards him and the hard body that her fingers could only find traces of through his clothing.

She quivered in his arms. Jared stroked her neck again. Teaching her to accept his touch. Her mind struggled against the intimacy as he clamped his control over his raging need to simply possess her. Here, now, pressing her 'til her body opened and yielded the deepest touch a female could surrender to a man.

But he didn't want to take it. Jared lifted her body and settled it against a tree. He pressed his hips towards hers 'til her thighs parted to allow him between them. He captured her mouth again and thrust his tongue deeply inside to find her own.

There wasn't any escape. Rosh.e.l.le couldn't stop her tongue from reaching for his. His lips were firm as they moved her and instructed her on the motion he craved. Her thighs clenched around his hips as she sighed with pleasure. His body was so hard and that seemed to please her immensely. She wanted to touch that hardness. His hands gripped her bottom as she let him move into complete contact with her body. The hard thrust of his s.e.x settled against the spread folds of her own. Rosh.e.l.le gasped as sensation burned up her pa.s.sage in response. Despite the layers of clothing the touch shocked her, making her twist as uncertainty erupted in her brain. He didn't release her. Instead there was the glitter of his eyes as he firmly pressed his erection against her center again.

Jared watched her nostrils flare. It was a basic and primitive detail that told him exactly how aroused she was. Her hips yielded to his body as she clasped him with her thighs once more. But her thoughts were filled with uncertainty that was rapidly becoming panic. He leaned forward to apply a kiss to her mouth before she let fear override her pa.s.sion. Her lips clung to his as she relaxed into his embrace again.

Jared swung her back across his shoulders before he gave into his primal urge to push her further. Trust wasn't something you took. It had to be built. Each time he touched her, she yielded more of herself to his embrace but she wasn't ready to surrender her body completely.

The woman was a paradox.

Her weight wasn't enough to slow his stride; in fact her weight was quite comfortable. A smile split his face as he noticed the glare of artificial light. Returning Rosh.e.l.le to his home was immensely satisfying.

"Now, how come I never found one of those on my duty s.h.i.+ft?"

"I think I'll take a second s.h.i.+ft, Sir!"

Several other men joined the celebration of her capture by lending their applause as Rosh.e.l.le was dumped in the center of the driveway. Her captor simply dropped her feet-first without a single warning. Providing amus.e.m.e.nt for his men annoyed her, entertaining him infuriated her!

Her body was a ma.s.s of quivering nerves that she struggle to suppress as the pack of men smirked at her. But the look in his eyes made her knees threaten to give way. Hunger blazed from the depths of those emeralds promising her only a limited reprieve from his hold. Rosh.e.l.le stepped away from him. He stood between her and the forest making it impossible to leave the compound without challenging him to do it. His eyes promised her he'd delight in any excuse to carry her into the house.

Rosh.e.l.le raised her chin and glared right back at him. His men's laughter summoned her temper and she embraced the flame of anger to escape the heat his touch bred inside her.

"I was told that Neanderthals were extinct. I see that information was incorrect."

"Didn't Neanderthals prefer to drag their mates about by their hair?"

"I am not your mate!"

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

Rosh.e.l.le whipped about to confront the solider that dared to quote Shakespeare in such an uncivilized spot. Any manner of genteel education seemed almost a sacrilege coming from this group of predators.

Still, there was more than one way to knock a man down.

"Not all women have soft hearts for dumb animals."

Rosh.e.l.le caught a glimpse of white teeth before the man seized the opportunity her words presented to him.

"Jared doesn't want a soft heart. Just a soft spot."

The absolute crudity of his words wrung a blush from her. Circling the group with her eyes, she noted their complete enjoyment of their comrade's lack of morals. Suddenly, Christina's disdain for the male of the species wasn't so difficult to understand.

Jared? Her mind grabbed that bit of information as she struggled to maintain some small amount of dignity. Turning about, she caught him in her stare. Somehow, being able to apply something as normal as a name to this man banished the last of his nightmare image.

He still wasn't anywhere near normal but he was as human as she was. Lifting her head, she ran another look over his frame.

"When I was a child, one of my favorite stories concerned a battle with a goblin king named Jared. Somehow, I think the name suits you!"

Jared just couldn't stop the laughter that rumbled out of his chest. Rosh.e.l.le lifted her chin into the night air before striding off back to his house after she delivered her final insult.

What a little package of feminine disgruntlement. Outmaneuvering her was becoming his favorite pastime. Despite the obvious fact of his physical superiority, she stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

Females always feared him, especially the ones that knew about his psychic abilities. The fear crept up into their eyes before they ran for cover. The few he ran down never challenged him, preferring instead to submit to his will.

Not Rosh.e.l.le. No, she stuck her chin out, propped her hands onto her hips before informing him just how beneath her she considered him. But her body clung to his when he touched her. Her little body fit into his with amazing perfection.

His body pulsed as he watched the sway of her hips. She was going to welcome him between those thighs. Spread herself open for his body until they sunk into each other in complete intimacy. * * * * * "Time to abandon the operation?" "No, I believe we might just need to adjust our parameters." A pair of cold eyes considered the information neatly displayed across his desk. It was still possible to obtain their goal. The profitability of this project dropped significantly with the loss of equipment. The men were irrelevant. There were plenty more to buy. Their lack of skill had cost them their lives; the only true concern was the equipment that Jared Campbell's unit had destroyed.

Besides the sheets of computer-generated reports, several photographs were also a.s.sessed. A slow hand removed one of them from the desktop for closer inspection. The little doctor was surprisingly interesting. Civilian females rarely put up any true fight. They were pitiful examples of a society that was swimming in its own excesses. Her education level made her a much better candidate than they currently had for this project.

Intelligence was a key ingredient. He could have wished for a slightly larger female but there were ways to overcome that deficiency.

Yes... She might just fulfill their needs.

Chapter Seven.

"Christina, I'm getting worried about you now." With a spatula in hand, Christina half-turned from the rangetop to survey her accuser. "He ate it! Jerk." A silvery laugh escaped from the girl before she turned back to her latest creation. Rosh.e.l.le slid into a chair as she considered her lack of options for the day. She just didn't deal with inactivity well. "I think I should warn you that I'm considering trying to muscle you out. My prison block's kitchen seems to be equipped with nothing but a can opener and coffeemaker." "The Neanderthal basics." Rosh.e.l.le turned her lips into a pout. In the three days since Jared had hauled her back to this compound, every time she crossed paths with a soldier it was cause for him to begin walking like a gorilla while sending her the appropriate grunting noises.

"I should have gone to a.s.sa.s.sin training university instead of medical school."

"Well, at least you aren't barefoot."

It took a moment for her friend's comment to sink in. Rosh.e.l.le stared in confusion as Christina lifted one of her feet from the floor to wiggle her bare toes in the air.

"Someone took your shoes?"

The compound that separated the two homes was very basic. Both driveways were nothing more than forest floor. Other than the tire tracks and the houses themselves they were surrounded by the forest. Crossing the needle- and rock-covered ground was extremely unwise without footwear.

"In response to your successful escape, it was decided that an obstacle to leaving this house might be advisable."

"I was far from successful. Opposite side of the ring, if you ask me."

"Well, it certainly got a lot of attention."

"What it almost got you was a death certificate."

Jared locked eyes with Rosh.e.l.le as she glared at him. Surprise pa.s.sed briefly over those brown eyes before she masked the emotion. Abandoning his post outside the kitchen door, he moved inside to see if her newfound courage held up to closer inspection. It was time to press her enough to shake loose some information. The current stalemate was making him nervous.

Whoever was out there, it wasn't an amateur.

"Hum... Let's see... It's been three whole days since you last threatened me. I guess you're overdue."

Seeing the man in the light of day drove home his size. There was just something about the way he blended in with the darkness that made her forget just exactly how big he was. The walls of the kitchen, despite their large size, just closed in on her as he walked into it. Her chest tightened in response. Feeling off balance, Rosh.e.l.le pushed to her feet and left the kitchen. She didn't like the way his green stare made her feel so...exposed.

She had faced her nightmare. Discovering him to be human after all. Beyond that she refused to find fear out there. She was not a part of this cloak and dagger world.

Currently that man represented every obstacle that stood between her and the life she was desperate to return to.

Stopping short of the steps that led to Jared's house, Rosh.e.l.le turned back to the forest that surrounded her. The afternoon light was filtering down through the trees as the breeze carried the chill of autumn. Once the sun set, the temperature would decrease dramatically. Just as her friend had endured some form of restraint so had she.

The jacket that had protected her during her escape attempt was nowhere to be found. The hall closet was emptied right down to the hangers.

Boredom had driven her out to see her friend. Returning to her room before the temperature drove her indoors seemed rather short-sighted.

She would find herself staring at the ceiling soon enough.

Besides, he was still watching her. She could feel the weight of his eyes on her. That wasn't all she could feel. Her body began its pleading once again. Three days of yearning had driven her almost mad. The physical wave of s.e.xual desire would crest and wane but always return.

So, she'd avoided Jared as she applied every last ounce of strength she had into blocking his mind. Her body fed off the desire that came through their mind link. When his needs poured into her, it set off a frantic reaction that her will seemed powerless to stop.

The rough terrain of her mountaintop prison did have a certain advantage. Being able to walk out her frustrations was very satisfying.

Jared kept pace with his prey. Her pace was neither frantic nor lazy. But the woman was wearing her boots out in an attempt to outfox him. Sometimes the most important part of battle was knowing the right time to engage your enemy.

Rosh.e.l.le had a tight little backside that he enjoyed watching as she moved. As she changed direction, Jared was treated to the sight of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s moving beneath the s.h.i.+rt she wore.

This was his forest. He and Shane had made the move from the central compound just the season before. The north side of the mountain held the home his mother had raised her family in.

Even in mid-life, Grace Campbell was a force to be reckoned with. Jared wasn't looking forward to explaining the addition of two civilians to her. Colonel Jacobs was going to be less than pleased with the security breach.

Jared tightened his face a notch. At the moment, there was no question of a breach. Rosh.e.l.le wasn't going anywhere. Not 'til he discovered why they'd found her in the midst of a very well-armed group of mercenaries.

Rosh.e.l.le was far too innocent in the darker side of the world. It didn't occur to her that there were enemies out there that the sheriff's department wasn't equipped to handle. Jared would tie her to a tree before letting her walk back into the line of fire.

Pressing his lips together in annoyance, Jared investigated his own emotions concerning his current dilemma. Rosh.e.l.le was becoming a larger problem each day she remained on his property. His growing concern for her welfare drove it home to him.

Strong ties with his men were one thing. Forming any manner of attachment to a woman was another. Especially a civilian female that didn't have a clue as to what he was. Jared very much doubted that Rosh.e.l.le had any notion that operatives such as him even existed.

But he was forgetting this woman's ability to mask her true self. Rosh.e.l.le already knew far more about him than half his men. She could feel it.

The only thing that changed was to present the very real possibility that the Army might decide Rosh.e.l.le could be useful as an operative. True psychics were just too rare. If Rosh.e.l.le proved to be as strong as he suspected she was, the Army would never allow her to return to the civilian population.

Turning her over to a testing unit hit him right in the gut with its ugliness. Rosh.e.l.le would view that life as nothing better than slavery. d.a.m.ned if Jared couldn't see the correlation.

Good grief! Rosh.e.l.le had somehow been under the a.s.sumption that she was in good condition. Watching the last light fade from the trees, she turned her wrist up to note the hour. She had only been hiking for three hours, yet her legs were screaming in protest.

Bracing her hands on her thighs, she pushed each foot back behind her in an attempt at stretching out her angry muscles. She just might have found something to do with herself. Considering the abrupt turn from reality that her life was taking recently, building up some true endurance might be in her best interests.

At least hiking wasn't any more boring than sitting in her room. She had searched the house from top to bottom. There wasn't even a Playboy magazine in the place. What kind of solider didn't even have a nude girlie magazine around? Wasn't that a requirement in the code of disgusting male conduct?

Well, she did draw the line at entering Jared's room. A delicate shudder ran over her shoulders as she considered that. She'd let boredom send her snooping through the man's cupboards. Rosh.e.l.le could hear Abba now. Her grandmother would be devastated to discover her granddaughter behaving in such a base manner.

Rosh.e.l.le would bet there were plenty of things in the master bedroom. She had stood at the doorway in uncertain frustration. The problem was she just didn't see what lay behind those doors as a simple bedroom. Her mind was offering up the vision of a lair complete with a flesh-eating carnivore. There were just some animals that were best left alone if possible.

The chill in the air made her straighten and turn back towards the house. Wearing nothing but a short-sleeve top, there was no question of remaining out now that the sun had set. Rubbing her hands over the exposed skin, she felt tiny goose b.u.mps rise up.