Free The Saga Begins [Nuworld 1] by Lorie O'Clare Page A

from her toes upward, and an unaccustomed warmth climbed through her entire body. With the sudden onslaught of awakening desires, an electric current seemed to suddenly charge the very air around her. She licked her parched lips then blinked so she could focus on his wonderful face
    “Reena just brought Tara to me, Milord.” Hilda shut the pantry door, and gave her son her attention. “And where have ya been? Traipsing around the countryside alone again, I’d say.”
    “The hills called out to me. Besides, I needed to rest my brain, I did.” He glanced from his mama back to Tara. “Have you ever been on a motorcycle, Tara, niece of Reena?”
    The directness of his question took Tara aback for a second, and she had to bite her tongue to keep the defensive answer from betraying her fears. Think she demanded of herself, think . Don’t give yourself away. True, she’d been on a motorcycle for as long as she could remember, probably longer if she knew Patha. But to admit that would surely risk her being found out.
    So, how did she answer, and even more important, why would he ask such a question? Reena had explained to Tara that she and Hilda had thought of the idea of Tara staying in the Bryton home, but had Darius somehow put the thought in his mama’s head? Tara glanced at Hilda and had to acknowledge that the woman would do whatever her son suggested. Hilda stood straight and tall, her focus centered on Darius. This was a woman proud of her son.
    The only conclusion she could come to was that he suspected her true identity. That would explain his desire to bring her under his roof: he wanted to keep an eye on her. And he certainly was keeping an eye on her at the moment.
    “For heaven’s sake, Darius. Of course she hasn’t been on a motorcycle before. Look at her, she couldn’t possibly even get it to a standing position,” Hilda said pointing to Tara’s thin body.

* * * * *
    Lord Darius didn’t have to look. He’d already memorized her face, her figure, even though her curves were hidden tantalizingly beneath her thin shift, and he suddenly realized she drove him to feelings he hadn’t experienced before. This Tara was unlike any woman he’d ever seen. He was a trained warrior, the leader of all Gothman, skilled at controlling his feelings, his emotions. But what he saw before him was a challenge. A challenge he meant to overcome. This had to be the Runner who had escaped them in the forest—he could feel it in his gut—and he would prove it…in time.
    He covered his lapse in conversation by clearing his throat, then he answered his mama, “I’m looking at her, I am.” Darius smiled, and decided it was time to start proving his theory as to who this woman really was. “Come with me, woman. I’ll take you for a ride on a motorcycle.”
    “Darius!” Hilda protested. “I would think…we were just starting—”
    “Ah, your housework can wait woman, it can.” Darius put his hands on Tara’s shoulders and quickly escorted her to the back door.

* * * * *
    Tara almost turned on him when he grabbed her shoulder. Winters of training had her ready to defend against such a touch. Her body tightened before she could think, and she had to consciously make the effort to relax. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face the lord. Big mistake. Powerful gray eyes were devouring her, and she couldn’t look away.
    Up until that moment, Tara had worried she had given herself away by almost reacting in a hostile manner to the lord’s touch. As she met his gaze, however, she realized that discovering her identity wasn’t what was going through the lord’s thoughts at all. Instead, Tara saw unbridled passion. She turned back around and stepped through the door. Fresh air helped clear Tara’s thoughts, which enabled her to focus on the matter at hand.
    As they walked through the yard, Lord Darius took his hand from her shoulder, and she stepped to the side a bit, giving herself a broader view of the man and his