Untamed (2 page)

Yep, she understood. Tara’s
heart expanded and her shoulders eased for the first time in what seemed like forever. She missed having her friends around. “He told me I need to have sex to release some tension, even offered his services, for the greater good, of course.”

Gracie’s eyes popped open.
“And?”

“And what?
” She held out her palms to Gracie. The deep nail marks in her creamy white flesh was all the evidence she had to show. Gracie would understand without having to be told. “Do you see what he made me do?”

Tara’s self-preservation fight or flight instinct was a bit skewed. She didn’t run when in danger; nope, she just vanished into thin air. Tara threw her arms up in the air. “I almost teleported
, and then where would we be?”

Gracie chuckled. “
Don’t you mean, where would
you
be? I thought you would have figured out how to deal with him by now.”

Tara closed her eyes. “As if…Brody has a one
-track mind, and I haven’t been able to derail him. I’m sure he has plenty of notches on his bedpost.” Tara tilted her head. “Although he’s probably right. I could use another one on mine. It’s been awhile.”

More like almost two years ago
since she’d caught Peter screwing the waitress at their rehearsal dinner. She hadn’t even entertained the idea of sex since that night. That was until she’d met Brody and her libido, trying to make up for lost time, had switched into overdrive like a dog in heat. All bets were off, but she wasn’t about to spill the secret, not even to her best friend.

“Still hung up
on Peter?” Gracie asked.

Tara shook her head. “Nope, haven’t thought
about him, not once since I arrived.”

Gracie snickered and tried to push
and heft herself out of the chair. “You mean since you met Brody.” She said it more as a statement than a question. “Don’t you think it’s time to hop back in the saddle and dig in your spurs? I’m sure Brody wouldn’t mind if you wanted to play cowgirl. Besides, not all men are cheaters like Peter.”

The p
roblem wasn’t so much moving past Peter’s betrayal, but getting settled. She was still holding out hope that the notorious Mr. Black would strike tomorrow so she could blow this joint. His pending threat was the whole reason she was being detained, unable to go back to the life she’d worked hard to acquire.

Mr. Black was delusional
in thinking he could fight for control of the Phantoms and ultimately strong arm the most powerful of men. His goal, they’d figured out recently, was that of a dictator; to rule the world and everyone in it.

Tara
rubbed her temples. The headache forming threatened to be a doozy. Her allergies and thoughts of the maniac added to the pounding pressure. She rested her head back on the cushion. “This waiting in limbo for Black to attack is screwing up my life. I need to get back to my bar and restaurant in Iverson. I’m surprised the place is still standing without me there to run things. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stick around. And you, of all people, know I don’t do temporary… in anything, much less relationships.”

“I’ll ask Lydia if she’s had any glimpses of a time frame in her visions.”
Gracie moved to the front door and pulled it open. She stopped and turned. “Until then, suck it up and wear your black dress tonight.”

Tara
chewed her bottom lip. “It barely covers my ass.”

“I know.”
Gracie grinned and walked out.

Just the thought had Tara’s stomach churning. Maybe she could use the little bit of cloth that barely covered her body to her advantage. Maybe she could talk the other
Phantoms into going after Black instead of waiting in this limbo.

Maybe.

Chapter 2

Veronica
Black stomped down the hall, her blood boiling beneath the surface of her skin as she quickened her pace. Her father demanding that she, of all people, take over the other territory was ludicrous. The notorious Mr. Black, as others referred to him, was nothing more than her father on a power trip.

She
threw open the door to his study and hid the wince as it slammed into the wall. She placed a hand on her hip.
I’m not afraid of you.
“I won’t do it.”

Her father leaned back in his leather chair and raised his brow. No one ever questioned his authority, well
, no one who wasn’t related. His smile was strained, his silence deafening, his gaze calculating.
You won’t win.
She narrowed her eyes. She could outlast his game of silence. There was no need to explain her refusal.  She quirked a brow, testing him, waiting for him to blow like a volcano, a certain button she liked to push every opportunity she got. She could stand there all day like a pro and handle whatever he dished out. After all, it was half his blood coursing through her veins, veins that threatened to pop the longer she waited.

“
You don’t have a choice.” Her father’s words grated on her nerves like nails running down a chalkboard. His voice was as calm as the expression on his face.

Biting her tongue against her retort, she
narrowed her eyes. His gaze was challenging, almost as if he was waiting for the verbal sparring match.

He let out a lengthy
sigh. “Was there something else you needed?” His strained voice held an implicit dismissal, like she’d come to expect.

“You are not sending me to that godforsaken town.” She rounded the
chair opposite the desk and plopped down. “Send a flunky instead.”

His face remained unreadable. His
black eyes were as dead as his heart, and she had first-hand knowledge what he was capable of. He flicked his wrist to slam the door behind her closed. His telekinesis had a way of messing with her head; it always had, even as a young girl. He’d use it when she least expected it.
I mean, seriously, how hard is it to get up and shut the damn door yourself
? Bigger men had died trying to impose their own will on daddy dearest. He’d kill in a heartbeat if it suited his mood, blood or not.

H
e planted his elbows on the desk. “You know why I need you there. It’s going to take your special talents to get the job done.”

And the truth was she did. She understood without him having to admit that he wanted someone stationed there that he could trust
. Someone strong enough to end this fight once and for all, especially after the last two screw-ups had turned up dead. What he didn’t know was that it put a wrinkle in her own plans she’d set into motion. Plans she’d now have to adjust. “How long?”

“Until
every last one of them is dead.”

He turned his chair
so he could stare out of the window behind his desk, dismissing her and her protests.

She
stomped out of his office without another word; it wouldn’t have helped anyway. When the asshole had his mind set on something, either you did it or you died. And she wasn’t dying today. An icy haze settled over her as she walked back to her suite. She knew just how to cure that too.

Stopping at the door to her suite, she ran her
red-painted fingernail over the contours of sculpted muscles on her guard’s chest. Come to momma. She licked her lips and blew him a kiss. 

His
hungry, lust-filled eyes darkened, and he was putty in her hands, just like all of the rest. He followed behind her, his breath hot on her neck. Yes, he’d be conquered tonight too, just another sap to add to her plan. 

****

Tara pulled up at Gracie and Rid
ge’s cabin and parked. She rested her head against the seat; her gaze scanned the house and yard. Did she want to do this? Did she even have a choice? Was there a purpose in getting to know the others better? It’s not like she had plans to ever come back when this was done, not to see the Phantoms anyway. Now Gracie and the babies were a different story. 

The party was in full swing, even extending
into the backyard. Lights strategically placed on the trees twinkled, illuminating the yard. Soft music drifted in through her lowered window, breaking her solitude.

S
ilhouettes, of the people moving around inside the house, filled the windows. Everyone would be here tonight; everyone that Gracie considered family, which was pretty much the whole base and all of the Phantom Protectors. The concentrated powers and gifts roaming within those walls made the hair on her arms prickle and stand at attention. The tension in Tara’s shoulders eased the longer she stayed outside, observing from a distance. Just the way she liked it. Her life was a mess, and she didn’t know how much longer she could hide it from Gracie and Cathy. Tara didn’t want to disappoint them. She’d figure out what to do on her own; she always did.  

The
passenger door opened, lighting the interior of the cab as Brody slipped inside. “Debating on a quick escape?”

Tara shook her head. “
No. Why, are you?”

She
kept her gaze on the house, ignoring the sex-on-a-stick who’d interrupted her solitude. She wouldn’t look at him. She didn’t have to, to know his wavy brown hair would be styled to perfection, his green eyes would be assessing her, and he’d be giving her one of those sexy smiles that showed off at least one of his dimples. He was the leading man in her dreams. She knew the planes of his face like the back of her hand.

“
Wanna make out?”

Tara closed her eyes and
tightened her hold around the clutch in her hand, anything to keep her grounded in place. “What are you, like sixteen?

He chuckled. “Come on
, be adventurous. When was the last time you threw caution to the wind and just got lost in the pleasure?” His cocky grin grew bigger. “Pleasure you know I can deliver.”

Tara squeezed her legs together and bit her bottom lip to stop herself from lick
ing her red-painted lips which would encourage more of his advances. She couldn’t recall a time when she’d ever thrown caution to the wind. Even back in college, she’d been the mother hen, not the party girl.

“If you have to think that hard about it, then you need to get laid more than I thought.” Brody pushed his door open
, rounded the SUV, and opened hers. He held out his hand. She didn’t move an inch. He leaned in and grabbed her arm and pulled her out, shutting the door behind her. He trapped her with his muscular arms, caging her as he leaned farther into her body. His words came out a whisper against her ear. “That dress would look better on my floor.” He licked his lips.

“I’ve heard better lines from the other guys on base.”

“I don’t bite, baby.”

He placed a tender trail of kiss
es on her skin, starting at the base of her neck and traveling up the column. Tara closed her eyes and clenched her jaw.

“Unless you want me to
.”  She felt the play of his lips on her heated flesh. “Is that what you want, baby? Do you want me to bite?”

Tara
slumped against the car. Damn if she didn’t want him to do just that.  His kiss moved toward her ear, and he nibbled the tender flesh. Her nipples pebbled, pressed against the solid plane of muscles pinning her in place.

He
worked his way around to torture the other side of her neck. His lips were poised in front of hers, just a breath away. “Just say yes, and we’ll leave.”

She
rested her palm on his chest over his heart.
Bad move, Clarkston
. She ran her flattened palm slowly over the strained muscles hidden beneath the black shirt, only stopping when she reached his neck. The warmth of his hot and heated skin conflicted with the brisk chill of the night air.

She ran her hand through his spiked hair. “
I might be
your
type, Romeo, but what makes you think you’re mine?”

She slid
out from under his arm and started walking toward the front door. She glanced back. His hands were balled and clutched to his chest as if she’d struck him with a knife.

“Besides…
I’ve already had other offers that are starting to sound a lot more appealing. You and I, we’re just a mistake waiting to happen.” She teased and winked. “A mistake I can live without.”

Ta
ra disappeared inside the house. She didn’t know these people well enough to strike up conversations; hell, she barely knew them at all. She was here for Gracie and Cathy, no one else. She spotted Cathy in the middle of a conversation and slid up next to her, entwining their arms together. Glancing across the room, she spotted Brody. Tara grinned and winked one more time, just to drive home his irritation. For the first time ever, she’d flipped the tables on him and left him flustered like he was always doing to her. It felt good. It felt damn good, maybe a bit empowering. She grinned. For once in his presence, her skin didn’t prickle; there was no need to vanish. She lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders. She hadn’t felt this good since the stellar review she’d received on the restaurant. She’d left him speechless for the first time since meeting him. She glanced across the room once more. His gaze held hers, only this time his eyes twinkled as he flashed her not one but both dimples.

H
er eyes widened. Well, hell. Son of a bitch.

You will not win at seducing me.
No sex, no making out, none of whatever he was conjuring in his mind.

She rolled her eyes.

Cathy’s familiar giggle drew Tara’s gaze back to the conversation her friend was having with the mysterious Ethan Jacobs.

Another
sexy man, mysterious and drool-worthy, and Cathy had no idea what to do with him. Ethan had shown up at the same time Cathy and Tara had, with the same purpose—keeping Gracie out of trouble. Ethan was a bodyguard for Tactical Maneuvers in a nearby town and had been sent by Gracie’s brother-in-law, Mike Bennett, to watch her back. Gracie had a habit of leaping in headfirst and asking questions later, and everyone who really knew her well knew it. Tara was the complete opposite.

“Isn’t that right, Tara?”
she heard Cathy ask.

T
ara shook her head. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

“I was telling Ethan about how wonderful
your food at the restaurant is and that he should try it if he’s ever in town.” Cathy smiled. “I also told him to check out your bar if he wants a good stiff drink.”

“Spicy foods are my specialty
,” Tara replied as her thoughts turned to her restaurant, making her a bit homesick. Her stomach fluttered forming knots of tension. She missed the place and her staff probably as much as they were missing her help in the kitchen.

“It sounds great
,” Ethan replied while holding Cathy’s gaze. “Maybe, Cathy will let me take her to dinner.”

Cathy’s arm tensed under Tara’s before she replied. “Sure, all three of us can go.” Cathy glanced at Tara. “Wouldn’t that be nice, Tara?”

Tara was speechless and momentarily stunned by Cathy’s panic. Cathy’s eyes widened and her jaw tensed. The shock of Ethan’s intentions had hit Cathy full force. If her friend wasn’t acting so surprised it would have been comical. Had she been clueless this whole time? Ethan hadn’t been shy about how he felt about Cathy. Well, maybe not as outspoken as a certain twin across the room, but anyone within fifty feet of the pair would be able to feel the sexual tension in the room. Why was Cathy just picking up on the signs? What the hell was going on?

Tara gave Cathy one more sideways look before returning her attention
to Ethan. “That sounds great. Maybe you can get Black to speed up his attack, and then we can all leave.”

Ethan chuckled. “I don’t think Black care
s that he’s screwing up our plans. Do you?”

Unable to hide the disappointment that his words
garnered, Tara placed a fake smile on her face. “Unfortunately, I don’t think he does.”

She released Cathy’s arm. “
If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I just need to grab a drink.”

And that was the understatement of the year. Her phone
beeped in her purse just like it had every day since she’d arrive. Another message; another crisis she’d have to handle over the phone regarding the bar or her restaurant. Another reminder that she needed to get out of this town and situated back into her life away from the Phantoms, away from Brody, and away from Black’s threats.

General Lister’s reasoning for demanding she stay, even though sound…was getting harder and harder to accept. The hair on her arms rose. Without looking she knew who was staring at her. She could feel
Brody’s eyes on her back. She went toward the kitchen, hoping for a little privacy, but she didn’t find it there. Several of the guys from the base were standing in the large kitchen, and when she walked in, they couldn’t seem to take their eyes off her legs. Hell, even Jonah, the resident IT guru, was devouring her as his gaze started on her high heels, went up her bare legs, and then over the tight, form-fitting black dress that Gracie suggested Tara wear.