Dare To Be Loved

by Stacy Lee

  “Stroli and Vampires. Five minutes away.” He falls to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Fin drops to check him out and administer help. Luckily he would heal, we only died from beheading or a vampires bite, he just needed time. We jump into action shoving maps and papers into bags, strapping on weapons, and getting ready for a fight. A hand latches onto my arm stilling my momentum out the door.

  “Not this time, brother. Get your mate out of here. Jack, Wren and Morgan are waiting not far away with the chopper to come for us when we are ready. Send out the call, get to somewhere they can pick you up then send them back for us after she’s safe. She is what’s important now.” Archer’s steady gaze pins me down and forces me to obey.

  Being the oldest he had been given the ability to force his will on the five of us if he felt it necessary. Just as Cash can control fire and I can move the earth his abilities were over the mental aspect of things. It wasn’t just us he could use them with, nonetheless that was normally the case. Very rarely does he have to use the ability because he was usually right, just as he was this time. Obviously he expected me to fight him on it but even without his control over me I would have done as he said.

  “I agree.” I state flatly, a little peeved he felt he needed to use force.

  “Oh, sorry then. I didn’t expect you to leave us here alone without a fight.” He grins, slaps my back and leaves the tent. Well, when he put it that way, maybe he was right. I might not have. I sprint to the cot and lift my mate in my arms. Fin slits the back of the tent with his dagger, giving me an escape. I nod my head in thanks as I run out the back and into the woods away from the sounds of fighting.

  ****

  I am traveling fast, too fast. Strong arms cradle me to a wide chest covered in a dark shirt, an alluring scent of tree bark and man deriving from him. Lifting my head I take in Dare’s rugged features above me, his gaze staring forward deep in concentration of where he’s going. The world is flying past us at an alarming rate, everything is blurred beyond recognition. How the hell was he moving so fast?

  “Dare?” I rasp out, the name sounding strange on my tongue. It was the first time I had said it aloud. I only hope the dream had been right and his name really was Dare.

  “Now that you know my name, can I have yours?” He asks without taking his eyes off the trees around us, or at least I think those were trees. I hesitate, I didn’t want him to call me Naveen. I hated the name but did I give him it anyway? The last time I gave someone my full name he used it even after I asked him not to. Something told me this man already knew my name and lying would be a big mistake. “Is there a problem? You have a name, don’t you?” He asks with a smirk. I huff out a sigh.

  “Yes, I have a name but I hate it. Naveen, but please call me Marnie. That’s my middle name and I like it much better.” I can only pray he doesn’t ask why.

  “Marnie. I like it, but Naveen is also a nice name. Any reason why you hate it?” Of course he would ask.

  “Yes, but I would rather not get into it while traveling at the speed of light with you. Why exactly are we running hell bent through Yellowstone?” He barks out a laugh causing my belly to flutter and not out of fear.

  “Because our camp was attacked and it is my responsibility to get you to safety. Also because we have two Stroli on our asses and they’re catching up fast.” His brow furrows and he cocks his head like he’s listening to something.

  “Stroli?” I ask not knowing the word.

  “The beasts that were attacking me in the woods.” My whole body shutters at the reminder of those creatures. He finally looks down at me. “Nothing to worry about. Can you climb?” My eyes widen. In the area we were traveling through the only thing he could possibly mean were trees. Surely not!

  “Trees?” He nods. I gulp. “Um, no. I have never been good at pulling myself up. Weak arms. Too short. Not a good jumper. Too high.” I babble trying to forget the fact we were being hunted while running at superspeed through a forest and he wanted me to climb a tree! Not to mention I was wrapped in very large male arms. Unlike most females, this wasn’t a dream of mine. If we weren’t moving so damn fast I would put up a fight. As it was, I was afraid he would drop me.

  “This will be a good time to learn.” He comes to an abrupt halt at the bottom of a very large pine. The first branch had to be at least eight feet up. Dropping my feet from his hold he grabs around my waist and lifts me easily above his head. I am still a few inches from touching the limb. His hands begin to slide down my legs lifting me higher and higher as he goes. Right as my fingertips touch the branch his grip slips on my skirt and I slide down his body to land roughly on the ground. I grit my teeth with the jarring pain to my sore muscles and battered feet.

  “Sorry. Please excuse my next action.” Before I can ask what that action is, he lifts my skirt and plants his hands firmly on my bare hips. Oh God, I didn’t have underwear on. I left them in the clearing with Dirk in my hurry to flee. His eyebrow quirks questionably before he lifts me in the air. Slowly he works his hands down my bare legs once more. Everywhere his skin touches mine electrical sparks shoot from his touch straight to my core. By the time I reach the limb I’m biting my lip to keep in a whimper, whether it was of fear or need, I wasn’t sure.

  My mind was telling me to run far away from this man, and my body was craving him like chocolate during that time of the month. I have never had such feelings for any man before. At twenty I was still a virgin. Not that Dirk didn’t try to change that a few days ago but luckily I had taken self-defense classes as soon as Uncle died, never wanting to be in a situation where I was helpless again. It had paid off with Dirk. I don’t think the same moves would work with Dare. Unlike the scrawny computer nerd, Dare struck me as the type that could handle any resistance with ease. Then again what woman would resist such a man?

  I reach out and grab the limb above my head, hooking my arm around the thick bark. His hands release me. “Now what?” I squeal as I dangle eight feet from the ground. A clawing sound draws my attention to Dare climbing swiftly up the trunk like it was a ladder. Before I know it he is above me pulling me up to stand on the limb.

  “Now we climb.” He says confidently. I turn to the tree and look up and up and up to the top.

  “How far are we climbing?” I squeak out through my fear. I hate heights.

  “Till I say stop. Come on, let’s go. They’re coming.” He motions for me to start, provoking a sigh. Placing my foot on the next available branch then finding hand holds I pull myself up tripping on my skirt in the process. I lay my head against the tree and try to figure out something other than what I knew I had to do.

  “Can you go above me, please?” I ask in what sounds like a small voice even to me.

  “If I go above you I won’t be here to catch you if you fall.” He states matter of factly. Or stop me from going back down, I think to myself. A roaring not far away changes that thought very quickly. It was follow him or face those ugly creatures. I’d take my chance with the man, but it was a close call.

  “If you don’t go above me I will have to leave my skirt how it is and I’m guaranteed to fall. With you above me I can tie it up shorter. Please Dare, go up first.” He huffs out a laugh while his passionate gaze pulses dark green. There was nothing sad in that gaze now.

  “Very well, but I wouldn’t mind staying here.” As he passes me he gives me a heated look I can only call blatant desire. Once he is above me I roll the elastic waistband of my skirt several times to efficiently make my floor length skirt thigh high. I shudder with the thought of anyone seeing me like this. I was not a mini skirt, short shirt, skin showing girl. Once that problem is fixed I begin to climb one frightening branch at a time.

  Not far up I choose the wrong limb to stand on. It snaps under my weight plunging me into nothingness. A strong hand clamps over my wrist, my body slams into the tree and it takes everything I have not to scream as the broken limb tears open my right thigh. The first lesson in self-defense, never show fear,
never let them know where you are weakest. Pain was something I knew and knew well. Without a word he lifts me to his branch, steadies me then keeps climbing.

  About twenty feet up from the first branch my foot slips and in my scramble to balance myself I look down. I freeze. My hands wrap around the tree, my feet refuse to move and my brain shuts off. My whimper draws Dare’s unwanted attention.

  “What’s wrong?” He shouts down at me from about three feet above.

  “Too high, way too high.” I shout back in a hysterically high voice. In an instant he is beside me.

  “Scared of heights?” He asks in the softest tone I have heard him use. His finger loops under my chin forcing my gaze off the height we have climbed.

  “Very. I’d ask if we can get down now but I don’t think I will be able to do that either. Just leave me here. My bones can be food for the tree.” I ramble, trying not to think of the situation but only making it worse. His lips tug up.

  “I don’t think the tree would like you as food. You might be too sweet for it.” I huff out a laugh despite myself.

  “Are you calling me sweet, Dare? I didn’t know you could give a compliment. Actually, I didn’t think you talked much at all.” The five hour run in silence had taught me that Dare didn’t like to talk.

  “Sorry about that. Both the silence and the running. I didn’t think about your feet when I made you follow me and I had my reasons for the silence.” He looks up abruptly then cocks his head like earlier. With a quick movement he swings behind me on the branch I’m standing on, his body presses mine tightly into the tree.

  “Dare?” I ask on a breathy moan. Oh God, my body loves this, my mind is screaming for me to push him away, the fear of both him and the height have me holding onto the tree for dear life. Pain radiates down my legs from all the scratches and cuts I received while climbing up. One in particular on my right thigh is screaming in agony.

  However none of that matters with his body touching mine from head to toe. His hard muscular frame promised both, pain and pleasure, depending on what signals I gave him. I’m sure he could satisfy me umpteen times with nothing more than a gentle caress of those large hands but he could also break me in half if I disappointed him in any way. My history with men was yelling at me that this man was large enough to hurt me with only a tap, he didn’t even have to hit me to inflict pain with those enormous hands. Having him pin me like this wasn’t helping my fear of him.

  Then the woman side of me that has never been explored is cooing, begging and whimpering for him to do more than stand here. She didn’t care that we were teetering on a tree limb at least twenty eight feet from the ground and one wrong move could break the limb and plunge us towards our death. Nope, she didn’t care at all. She just wanted him to take her, now. The woman side of me was a slut.

  The ‘whomp-whomp-whomp’ of helicopter blades reaches my ears and Dare presses us tighter to the tree against the wind they cause.

  “Yes, Marnie?” His voice comes from right next to my ear, his hot breath caressing the lobe. I can’t remember why I said his name to begin with so I go with the more obvious question.

  “Why is there a helicopter floating above us?” The chopper has stopped above the trees, hovering.

  “That’s our ride. You know what, Marnie? I am so glad you chose me.” He places a light kiss on my neck as he presses his very impressive erection into my backside. His words take a minute to sink in but when they do the fog of desire lifts.

  “How do you know about my dream?” I ask skeptically. I watch when something long and skinny falls from the chopper. He didn’t think I was going to be able to climb a rope into that chopper, did he?

  “It wasn’t a dream. It’s called The Choosing. It gives all six of the brothers an equal chance.” He reaches out and grabs the rope from the sky after it drops. He deftly ties a loop in the end of it. “Put your foot in here then hold on tight.” My eyes snap around to meet his. Was he insane?

  “You want me to hold on to the rope? Then what? We fly through the air with me dangling hundreds of feet above my death? Hell, no!” I shout at him. Whether I’m afraid of him or not, I wasn’t just going to let him send me to my death without a fight.

  “Of course not. Jack is in the chopper, he will pull you up. Once you are secure he will send the rope back down for me.” He squats on the limb, his fingers lightly encircle my ankle. Stunned by his gentle touch I only watch as he places the rope around my bandaged foot. Next he stands letting his fingertips scan the length of my bare legs, over my waist, barely grazes the edges of my breasts, out to my wrists where he pries one hand then the other off the tree and wraps them around the rope. Resigned to this fate I meet him squarely in the eye.

  “Will you at least tell me what I chose you for before I die?” I challenge. My body doesn’t want him to stop touching, my mind wants to push him out of the tree and be done with him but my instincts tell me I need to trust this man. My instincts are often wrong.

  “Your mate.” He lets go of the rope sending me swinging in the air on a scream. My mate? Like a husband?

  “Your mate? Oh, hell no! You’re fucking crazy!” I scream to his smirking face while the rope starts to pull me upward. I cling to the thin piece of twine praying it held me till I reached safety. Fear has me frozen, my hands clenched to the point my knuckles are white, the bandage on my injured foot nowhere near enough padding to stop the pain all my weight puts across the strip of rope. The helicopter dips then rises above me fighting the slight breeze that has picked up in the last few minutes. I scream, terrified when the ropes jerks with its motion.

  And all the while my fear scrambled brain is trying to wrap around his words. His mate? I had to have heard him wrong. I wasn’t his mate! I didn’t want nor did I need a man. Especially not one I didn’t know anything about. He said barely twenty words to me in the five hours we spent together yesterday and that includes the few minutes he explained why he was in the woods to begin with. How the man could possibly think I would be anything to him was preposterous.

  But how did he know about the dream? That I had chosen him. Even if it was unintentional, I had, in fact, chosen him. It was once again daylight and I remember nothing after I’d fallen asleep outside the tent till waking up in his arms. Nothing but that dream.

  Finally, I reach the top. Two hands reach down and grab me below the arms to pull me on board. A man eyes me with amusement, his gaze stopping on my rolled up skirt. I quickly pull at it covering parts that shouldn’t be seen.

  “You’re not Dare. No wonder the rope was so light.” He grins and tosses it back overboard. I scramble back away from the opening, pressing my back against a compartment under the bottom of a seat, moving as far away as I can get from him.

  With the man’s attention on pulling up Dare I rapidly unroll my skirt to cover my bleeding and bruised legs. The hand prints Dirk left there a reminder of how I got in this situation to begin with. I press the material to the deep gash on my thigh to try and stop the bleeding as a hand grabs the opening and Dare lifts himself into the chopper effortlessly. He climbs to his feet to stand in the gap, the morning sun glaring behind him shadows his body in darkness. His hands are clenched by his sides, his posture rigid and imposing as he stares at me with hard eyes. Those glowing emeralds the only thing I can make out on his shadowed face.

  “What did you say to me?” His voice is low and menacing. Stalking forward he towers over my small frame on the floor.

  I’d been scared of him in the forest as I followed him blindly. I feared him when he pinned me to the tree with a body that would be unrelenting if I tried to fight back. He’d done nothing to provoke the fear I felt, it was mainly in my imagination because of my history with men. Right this minute I had a reason to be terrified.

  He was an imposing figure towering above me like he could knock me out of this helicopter without a second thought. Hell, maybe he could. I didn’t know this man or his temperament and even though I felt I had nothing to be
afraid of, fear is an irrational presence that consistently preys on my brain and right now I was as irrational as I could be.

  “Where to, Dare?” The pilot shouts out behind him. He raises his hand presumably to point out the direction but in my fear addled brain it is to strike out at me. I see Uncle standing there over my small body and I flinch and cringe away from him, rolling into a small protective ball, covering my head with my arms to leaving a small gap to watch him from. His eyes widen as he takes in my reaction then he slowly drops his hand.

  “Five miles east, we should find my brothers somewhere out that way. That’s where I left them anyway.” The entire time he speaks he doesn’t take his eyes off mine. Very slowly as if approaching a wild animal he squats down in front of me. “Marnie, I hope you know I would never raise my hand to you. I don’t work that way.”

  Very gently he lays his hand on my leg. I yank it away from him and scramble back into a sitting position as far away from him as possible, which isn’t far enough in the small confines of the chopper. It wasn’t so much I thought he was going to hit me, it was the look in his hard eyes, the tightening of his jaw, the clench of his fist and the tilt of his head. He was angry. An angry man was a dangerous man. And Dare was dangerous when he wasn’t angry. Dare would be dangerous stoned out of his mind on happy juice and dancing naked in the snow.

  I reach up to brush the hair out of my eyes smearing blood from my thigh across my face. The sticky warm liquid on my lips and the metallic smell in my nose is the last straw for me. Three days of insaneness, first Dirk kidnaps me, then he tries to force himself on me with every intention of killing me afterwards, getting lost in the forest, some creature following me, barking, snarling and chasing me right into Dare and his two buddies, those terrifying beasts with beady eyes! And a little blood sends me over the edge.