Challenging Saber (7 page)

Or I change the color of the house on him when he isn’t looking,
she thought with a mischievous grin.

“Okay,” Taylor breathed out the breath she was holding. “I hope tonight goes well. The big oaf better not start cheering when I tell him my news, otherwise he might need to be in traction again.”

She guided the transport over the trees and gently touched down in the front courtyard. She shut down the engine and unclipped the straps. Opening the door, she grabbed her backpack before sliding out. She shut the door and walked around the transport just as the front door opened.

Her heart skipped and she felt the familiar warmth spread through her. The desire for him had grown hotter and stronger the older she got, and right about now, she was ready to rip Saber’s clothes off and have her wicked way with him. She just needed to figure out a way to do it since he was a good head and a half taller than her.

“Hey,” she said with an easy smile.

“It’s late,” Saber replied bluntly. “I thought you’d finally taken the hint and decided not to come.”

Taylor walked up the steps to the house and patted Saber on the chest as she walked by him. “Ha-ha. You have the coolest sense of humor,” she remarked with a mischievous grin. “Did I ever mention that I find that incredibly sexy?”

Saber’s moody expression flashed to one of pure panic before he covered it with the mask he thought hid his true feelings. What he didn’t realize was that Taylor could see the little nerve in his jaw pulsing. Once she had him under her, or over, whichever way he wanted to start, she might tell him about it.

“You know I don’t like you returning to Hunter and Jesse’s house after dark,” he grumbled, following her into the house and shutting the door behind him.

Taylor nodded and flashed him another smile. She walked down the wide hallway into the living area. She loved this room now that it was finished. It was huge with curved walls that rose up to reveal a series of clear panels that on command could go from clear to shade to complete darkness. The back wall was actually a series of doors that opened all the way and disappeared into the walls on each side so the room became part of the outer garden. In some ways it was similar to Hunter and Jesse’s house, but this one was brighter, more open and gave her a sense of peace.

“I really love this room,” she said with a sigh, turning to face him.

“I know,” Saber replied, moving to relieve the pressure on his bad leg.

Taylor’s eyes immediately noticed the move. “Have you been doing your exercises?” She asked, dropping her backpack next to the couch and kicking off her shoes.

Saber scowled at her. “Yes,” he bit out in a rough tone. “It’s just a little stiff today.”

“Let me take a look,” she ordered, waving to the couch.

The scowl on Saber’s face turned even darker. Taylor could tell he was going to argue, he always did. It had become a routine for them. What he didn’t know was tonight was going to be different if she had any say in the matter – which she always did.

“I said I was alright,” Saber growled even as he walked toward the couch.

“Lie down and let me take a look at it,” she said, noticing that his short hair was still a little damp from his shower. “Did you take a hot shower or a cold one?”

“A cold one,” Saber grumbled, sitting down on the edge of the couch and turning to lie down on it. “I knew you were coming.”

Taylor chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that because I make you all hot and bothered, old man?” She asked as she knelt on the floor next to him.

She carefully removed the thigh to calf brace he wore and set it on the floor next to her. She studied the long scars that zigzagged down his leg. Most wounds could be healed with minimum scarring; only the worst ones could not. Saber’s leg reflected the devastation of damage done to the bone, muscle, and nerves. Two newly healed incisions caught her attention. They hadn’t been there this morning.

“I’m not that old,” Saber defended with a reluctant curve of his lips. “Yes, you make me hot. I want to wring your neck for not listening to me.”

Taylor ran her hands tenderly over the scarred skin of his right leg. She could feel the knots in the muscles. Using a combination of her weight and pressure, she worked on each one. A low hiss escaped Saber when a particularly tight one released. Almost immediately, she could feel his body melt back into the couch. Her magic touch, as he liked to call it, was working.

“Leila has another tooth,” Taylor said, knowing that talking often took Saber’s mind off of what she was doing.

“She already had a mouthful,” Saber said in a tight voice.

“Jesse said it is her two-year-old molars, I think,” she said, rubbing his hot skin. “Lyon is learning to climb. Jesse and Hunter have to watch him like a hawk.”

Saber frowned and glanced down at Taylor. “A hawk?” He asked in a husky voice.

“Yes,” she murmured, getting lost in the feelings she got whenever she touched him. “It’s a type of bird of prey back home. They have incredible eyesight.”

Taylor glanced at Saber when she felt him stiffen. “You still think of Earth as your home?” He asked with a frown.

Taylor looked down at where her hands were working the muscle of his calf and shook her head. She would always think of Earth as her home, but it wasn’t where she wanted to live any more. No, her place was here, in this house, beside Saber. That is where home was now.

“No. It will always be ‘home’ as in the place I came from, but it isn’t my home anymore,” she reflected, pausing to look up at him. “This is my home now.”

Her eyes locked with his as she tried to convey that she wasn’t talking about Hunter and Jesse’s house or the planet in general, but this house. She knew he understood when he broke the contact between them and laid his head back and closed his eyes, shutting her out. She returned her attention to his leg, moving up to his upper thigh.

Her hands moved over the thick rope of muscles and smooth skin. He was wearing his shorts. Whatever he said, the evidence pointed to his hope that she would come because he normally wore a pair of low hanging jogging pants he had picked up on Earth when he was working on the house.

“How did the painting go after I left this morning?” She asked in a soothing voice, pausing and pressing her weight down on a hard knot. “Did you get it finished?”

“Yes,” Saber replied in a clipped voice.

“What are you working on next?” She said, slipping her hands higher until they disappeared under the edge of his shorts before moving them back down along his thigh.

“The lighting,” he muttered in a slightly hoarse voice. “I finished the wiring as well. I just need to install the rest of the fixtures.”

Taylor rose to her feet. Not pausing, she quickly pulled her shirt off and tossed it to the floor. She had left her bra off after her shower.

She crawled between his parted legs with slightly trembling limbs. This was a routine he was familiar with from past sessions. In order for her to work on his upper thigh, she needed to use more of her weight. She leaned forward and began working on his thigh again before he could realize that this time it was going to be different.

A wicked sense of pleasure flooded her at the feel of the cool air on her breasts. She had purposely worn loose fitting pants and no panties. Her eyes moved to the evidence that he tried to hide, but couldn’t. The material did little to cover his arousal.

“What will you do after that?” She asked in a husky voice.

“The gardens. I… I thought I would work in the gardens,” he whispered. “I want to add some water features. I like what Hunter and Jesse did in their garden. I have some ideas that I’ll show you later.”

“I’d like that,” Taylor whispered, leaning down and pushing her hands further up his leg and under his shorts all the way to his hip. “You can tell me about it – later.”

A light groan escaped Saber before he could smother it. He just nodded his head once. Taylor knew he was highly aroused by the feel of her hands on the sensitive flesh of his hip. Pulling her left hand out, she ran it up his right leg. This time, she didn’t stop.

A shudder ran through him when he felt her hands sliding up both of his thighs to his hips. She could feel the moment he was aware that this session was different. The fact that her lips were making a trail up the inside of his right thigh along the scar from his surgery might have been his first hint.

His breath hiccupped and his eyes flew open. He raised his head just far enough to lock eyes with her. She figured seeing that she wasn’t wearing a shirt was his second clue that she was doing more than a therapy session.

“I love touching you,” she whispered just before she wrapped her right hand around his swollen cock. “Damn, but you are one hell of a handful.”

Saber laid on the couch, soaking in every precious caress of Taylor’s hands. Every time he closed his eyes, he would think of them as they worked his damaged muscles. The thing was, in his mind, he wasn't damaged anymore. He was whole, a fierce warrior that could take her, claim her, as his
Amate
.

For a few exquisite moments every morning and evening, he could pretend that he was worthy of loving someone as beautiful as Taylor Sampson. He could forget about the constant pain and stiffness that plagued him. Sometimes, by the end of the day, the simple task of cleaning up after a day’s work became an almost overwhelming task. That was one reason that he refused to allow Taylor to stay late. He didn’t want her to see that his leg often gave out, or his need for the cane that kept him from falling on his face.

His throat tightened when she ran her hands higher. He had to fight to keep the groan from escaping him. Her fingers were long and strong. He could just imagine them wrapped around him.

Sweat broke out on his brow when he felt her hands slide up under the edge of his shorts. It was taking every ounce of his self-control to focus on the questions she was asking him about the house.

“The garden,” he muttered hoarsely, trying to keep his thoughts on what he was saying.

“You can tell me about it – later,” Taylor whispered.

He heard her, but the words didn’t register. Her hands had moved up his thighs to his hips and his brain was short-circuiting. He hoped to hell she didn’t ask him anything else because he honestly didn’t think he could answer her.

His eyes snapped open when her left hand moved up his good leg all the way to his hip once more. Only this time instead of moving down again, her left hand gripped his hip while her right hand… a choked gasp escaped him in surprise.

His head snapped up and his blazing yellow-gold eyes locked with Taylor’s dark brown ones. She stared back at him with a combination of desire and defiance. His eyes widened when he saw her bare shoulders.

“Goddess, Taylor,” he breathed.

The sexy smile on her lips sent his senses spiraling out of control. His eyes fastened on her lips as her tongue peeked out to run along her bottom lip. A choked moan escaped when she squeezed him before sliding her hand up to the tip of him and back down.

“Tonight, I’m not leaving,” she informed him. Her eyes pools of melted chocolate.

“Taylor,” he groaned, trying to shake his head in denial even as his arms reached for her.

A low snarl escaped him when she pulled back and slid off the couch. His eyes narrowed when she raised her arms to her hair. She pulled the clip holding it back free, and tossed it on the low table before running her hands down her side to the top of her dark blue pants.

“I want you, Saber,” she said as she pushed her pants down and kicked them to the side. “I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.”

“You hit me with a piece of concrete,” he said, slowly sitting up. “You threw food all over me.”

A mischievous smile curled her lips. “You caught me,” she said, holding her hands out to him. “Catch me now, Saber. I need you.”

Saber swallowed as he reached for her hands and stiffly rose to his feet. He blocked all the voices in his head that were demanding that he stop and think of the consequences. He pushed all the logical reasons he should resist to the darkest recess of his mind.

“Taylor, are you sure?” He demanded in a rough voice. “Once I touch you….” He shook his head and reached a slightly trembling hand to touch her cheek. “I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

Taylor’s laughter warmed the air, surrounding him. He closed his eyes when he felt her release his hand and step back. They popped open again in shock when her hand grazed the front of his shorts.

“I don’t plan on letting you, big guy,” she whispered huskily, turning and walking through the living room and down the hallway.

Saber’s eyes darkened to a blazing gold as he watched the seductive sway of her hips as she walked toward his bedroom. Her long hair flowed around her shoulders, making him want to reach out and tangle his hands in it. A piercing shaft of hot need, so powerful he swore he felt like he would be lucky to pleasure her before he spilt his seed washed through him.

“
Goddess,
I love that female, but she drives me crazy,”
Saber muttered under his breath as he followed Taylor down the hall.

He would try one more time, while he still could, to convince her that this was a very bad idea. His hands curled into two tight fists as he tried to talk himself into remembering all the reasons that he had sworn he couldn’t be with Taylor. In fact, he had decided earlier today that he would tell her tonight not to come back.

Drawing in a deep breath as he felt a small measure of reason return to his mind, he turned the corner into his bedroom. A low grumble of pleasure escaped him at the view of her kneeling on his bed, staring at him with a soft expression. He paused briefly, before taking a slow step forward. His hands reached for the bottom of his shirt. Ripping it over his head, he tossed it to the side. His hands went instinctively for his shorts. He pushed them down, pausing only long enough to step out of them before he walked slowly toward the bed.

He started to raise his bad leg, stopping with a grimace when he felt the muscles protest. Regret flashed through him. Even the joy of making love was dampened by his limitations.