Dream: Dream Surrender Read online

  DREAM SURRENDER

  An Ellora’s Cave Publication, March 2005

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

  1337 Commerce Drive, #13

  Stow, OH 44224

  ISBN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-4199-0176-1

  Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):

  Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) & HTML

  DREAM SURRENDER Copyright © 2005 MARY WINE

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower..

  Cover art by Syneca.

  Warning:

  The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. Dream Surrender has been rated S-ensuous by a minimum of three independent reviewers.

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (E-rotic), and X (X-treme).

  S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

  E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as “fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature.

  X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles, stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

  Dream Surrender

  Mary Wine

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Hummer: Hummer: AM General Corporation

  Jell-O: Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.

  Chapter One

  It just wasn’t fair.

  Not a bit. Everyone else had sighed over the bride, delighted in the scent of fresh flowers and felt deep, moving emotion as the minister issued the words that joined the couple in wedlock.

  Contemplating the shoreline, Loren tried to remind herself that she always felt depressed at weddings. So why did she let herself get roped into attending this one?

  Why didn’t particularly matter at the moment. Stepping off the porch she moved onto the beach. Her shoes sank into the sand, and reaching down, she pulled them off her feet. Tucking the shoes under the railing, Loren set off again, smiling as her bare toes sank into the tiny grains beneath her.

  The night wasn’t a total loss—Amanda sure did know how to pick a spot. The reception was being held with a half-mile stretch of private beach for a backdrop. Music spilled out the open doors of the banquet hall, but as she put more distance between herself and the party, the sounds of the surf took dominance.

  It was nothing but a self-centered indulgence, but Loren was in the mood to answer temptation’s call. The night was perfect, the breeze lazy, and no one else was in sight!

  Perfection.

  But time was not on her side tonight. Turning around, Loren set herself back toward her social responsibilities. Another round of small talk and she could escape before the guests’ blood alcohol levels rose too high.

  She made it just two steps before she saw him. Maybe it really shouldn’t have surprised her to find another person on the beach. There was just something surreal about her companion. Nothing but moonlight spilled over him but her eyes picked out his features.

  He stood surveying the surf, his body seemingly at ease. Sensation crept up her spine as she noted the sheer size of him. His arms, like his chest, were coated with thick muscle. Even the denim of his jeans betrayed the fact that his legs held the same level of fitness.

  It wasn’t just his size that captured her attention. There was something not quite tame about him. The way he stood looking out to sea didn’t betray that fact—it was an increasing urge she felt to seek shelter. Loren shook her head to dispel her foolishness. If half a glass of champagne was going to her head this much, it was past her bedtime.

  Maybe tapping into her emotions was unethical, but at the moment Rourke really didn’t care. He was sick of the protocol. Everyone seemed to have an idea on just when and how his psychic sense should be used. What they all missed was the fact that it was a part of him. Sometimes a man’s discipline just couldn’t hold back his nature.

  It was her fault anyway. The way she moved was far too erotic. It wasn’t so much the dress she wore, but the way her body moved beneath the fabric. There was a twist and sway to her hips that begged for closer inspection.

  Reaching out further, Rourke tapped into her emotions. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. She was watching him, running her eyes over his body as she considered the desire that was rising up inside her own.

  Turning his head, he caught her eyes. Hers widened slightly in surprise, but she brought her emotions under control before he caught the physical signs that her body could give him. But he felt them anyway. Caution was coursing along her nerves as she noticed his interest. The battle she was waging for control, Rourke intended her to lose. Once she discarded the mantle of respectability that her morals were demanding, they could share what promised to be a searing passion.

  Loren was never touching another glass of champagne as long as she lived!

  She was practically drooling over the man. With her luck tonight, he probably could see it written across her face. Grinding her teeth together, Loren tried to pull herself together enough to walk back to the reception.

  The way he stood there watching her made the idea of crossing his path disturbing. Moving her eyes over his form, she marveled at the strength of the man. It floated on the air. It wasn’t just his body, it seemed to be deeply rooted inside his being. Her skin was sensitive to the magnetic pull. Her entire body was pulsing with a need that Loren had spent years banishing.

  Fascination replaced her misgivings as Loren watched the way he moved. Silently. His body moved across the shoreline with a confidence that confirmed his strength. Loren found herself watching his approach with a intensity that refused to allow her practical instincts any chance to be heard.

  With fluid grace, he came closer. Tilting her head back, Loren caught a glimpse of the most startling emerald eyes just seconds before he pulled her body into his with a single movement and his mouth settled onto hers in firm ownership.

  Her senses rioted as the sheer volume of impulses overwhelmed them. Too many points of contact sent their signals racing along her nerves into a brain that was struggling to sort them into logical order.

  His body moved hers as it pleased, turning and surrounding her flesh as his lips engaged in an assault that demanded complete compliance. The intimate invasion forcing her to yield as his tongue sought her own. Twisting and thrusting, he took her mouth in the way that his body promised to follow. His hips thrust against her, showing her the proof of his intentions.

  “Wait… We can’t do this!”

  “I think we can.”

  His voice held as much iron as his body did, the deep, determined tone settling over her ears. Her own inability to deny the truth of her mutual interest caused true fear to rise up inside her.

  Loren sighed as her fingertips became ultrasensitive. Her hands traveled across the shirt-covered expanse of his chest. She ran he
r hands back and forth over his chest as her fingertips delighted with the hard muscle they found. Longing sprang up as she tried to force her brain to function.

  “I can’t do this.”

  Pulling his head up, Rourke considered the female in his arms. He could smell the passion on her body, feel it seeping into the pores of his skin. At the moment the sand beneath them would serve just fine. The panic in her voice was the only thing causing him to question his purpose.

  Searching her thoughts, he considered what he found. If she had a boyfriend at that reception, her feelings didn’t run very deep. No, her concern stemmed from the strength of her own arousal.

  Lowering his mouth again, Rourke took possession of her lips. He captured the moan that escaped from her as she lost her battle to ignore their mutual attraction. Her body leapt as passion ignited inside it. Her hips twisted into his as her hands moved over him in blatant invitation.

  Thoughts simply refused to form. Loren couldn’t stop her hands and she didn’t try. He just smelled so very male. It was intoxicating in its intensity. His body was so hard. She was craving it. Her fingers clawed at his shirt searching for the skin she could smell.

  “Come with me.”

  He pulled her by their joined hands a full thirty feet before her mind cleared enough to offer protest. Digging her feet into the sand, she pulled him to a halt.

  “Right here is fine with me.”

  “No!” This time the sounds from the wedding reception intruded on her reckless behavior with stinging awareness. Loren thrust her passion aside, grabbing at the control she’d somehow lost.

  “I can not do this.” Forcing each word out, Loren used their truth to steady her resolve.

  “Whoever he is, I’d say it’s time to break it off.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “The truth is always simple. It’s when you start to deceive yourself that things get complicated.”

  Their hands were still joined. Loren stared at his flesh as it imprisoned hers and lamented the facts that would limit her to this last taste of him. What her body demanded just could never be.

  “I agree, but some things are just not meant to happen.”

  The longing in her eyes caused Rourke to hesitate before replying. Maybe she was afraid of breaking up with the guy.

  “I won’t let him hurt you.”

  One quick step and a simple twist broke the hold on her hand. Moving further away she turned to survey her companion. Forcing her eyes to take in the aggression in his, she coupled it with the harsh lesson that life had taught her long ago. Men always manipulated women to suit their needs. This one was no different. He’d protect her ‘til he became bored, then she’d be on her own.

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “No, honey, what you need only I can take care of.”

  An angry flush burned her face as Loren had to fight off the warmth spreading through her body in response to his words. Sex, even hot sex, wouldn’t solve anything. It would just complicate her life.

  Taking a closer look at him, her eyes noted the precise neatness to his dress. Simple jeans and a flannel shirt but the shirt was pressed to perfection while his black hair was clipped to razor shortness. The stance of his body betrayed a level of alertness rarely found in the civilian male.

  Coupled with his strength, Loren identified exactly what manner of predator she’d attracted tonight. A SEAL, a Ranger or maybe even a Marine Special Operations. His eyes still glittered with the conquest he fully expected to make of her.

  Well, there was always one way to deter this kind of man.

  “I’m married.”

  * * * * *

  She never remembered saying good night to her hosts. Loren had crawled out of her car and made it up the stairs to her bedroom before she felt the grip of her encounter releasing her.

  Sinking onto her bed she stared at the reflection in her mirror. It had been a really long time since she’d been so incredibly stupid.

  That was the last time she’d listened to her body when it came to a man. Lying back, she sent her fist into the pillow. Frustration was gnawing away at her flesh as she tried to remind herself just what listening to it would get her.

  Still…she was doing better tonight than when she was sixteen. Tonight she was taking frustration to bed instead of a husband. The security of that idea let Loren slip into sleep. Yes, sexual frustration was far better than the unpredictable nature of a man.

  Chapter Two

  His hands were shaking so badly that Dr. Frank Rinehart couldn’t make out the lab report anymore. He didn’t need the computer-generated words to reinforce his rising panic. Despite the regular county-required drills, they just weren’t ready to cope with a medical disaster of this magnitude. The possible number of infected victims was spinning his brain out of control.

  “Doctor?”

  Frank forced his eyes up to the men waiting. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat to still the increased tremor his current company inspired. Several of them were restlessly pacing the confines of the conference room. Their leader stood deathly still as he waited for his information.

  “Yes…well, we cannot be certain ‘til we grow a culture but… Maybe it might be best if you sat down.”

  Black brows slanted over a piercing green glare in response.

  “No, I suppose that won’t be necessary. We must begin quarantine immediately. If this is Ebola Tai Forest, the possibility for contamination is immense.”

  “How complete a quarantine do you suggest?”

  “Anyone on your team and anyone you gentlemen might have engaged in relations with.”

  Rourke flashed his eyes over his men. They had been back on American soil less than twenty-four hours. Most of that time they’d spent in the air. The negative looks he received told him none of his men had found time to engage in anything as of yet. That left just him.

  Damn! Why had he been so hot to get into her pants anyway? He’d been tighter before, that didn’t explain why a simple walk on a beach turned into an encounter that was still wedged in the back of his mind.

  “Why” didn’t matter at the moment.

  “Define ‘relations’, Doctor.”

  “Intercourse definitely, but any manner of exchange of bodily fluids could account for contamination.”

  Rourke cast his eyes over his men again. They shook their heads before they began to move restlessly about the room again. His own body was screaming with tension but control was something he’d learned to pull deeper than most. If his unit was contaminated he’d move them out immediately before the symptoms began to surface.

  It was damn poor luck that Cal Worth didn’t collapse until he’d made it off the base. Now Rourke faced the problem of getting his man out of a civilian hospital before any word leaked out to the public.

  “Get Worth onto the bird and stand by.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “That man needs to stay right here. You can’t remove him, it’s against the law!”

  Rourke’s men didn’t bat an eye as they carried out their orders. The door swung shut behind them as the doctor sputtered out his protests.

  “This is now a classified matter, Dr. Rinehart. We have procedures to deal with this. I’m sure you can agree that it would be best to remove a possible threat of this nature from such a major metropolitan area.”

  “Yes. But can you be certain of a complete containment?”

  The doctor posed a good question. Not knowing her name was going to prove a bit tricky. Rourke could still feel her. His mind held the link necessary for him to track her down, but if the local law enforcement decided to challenge him on removing her, then Rourke would rather not be distracted by the amount of his attention he’d need to utilize his tracking abilities.

  “There is one exposed civilian.”

  “I can have the police pick them up immediately. With a disease this deadly I do not suggest any delay.”

  The doctor was already
reaching for the wall-mounted telephone. Rourke frowned as he considered the complications of tracking someone through the Los Angeles area. There was just too big a population. Risking possible exposure of his psychic abilities, much less the fact that he operated with a team of Rangers, was just not advisable. The civilian population would not receive that sort of information very well.

  It might be wise to try a more conventional route first. The local detectives might be able to track her down in a reasonable amount of time. The doctor’s hands shook as Rourke gave him a description, and the physical reaction only reminded him of why he didn’t want to deal with civilians during this quarantine. There was no point in getting nervous until they had positive proof that there was a direct threat to their lives.

  “Wait a minute, I was at that wedding last night. It was one of our residents here who got married. But I don’t recall just whom you are describing. There weren’t many single women at the wedding.”

  “She claimed to be married.”

  The doctor flashed him a scathing look. Rourke really didn’t care. The passion hiding inside that woman was hot enough for him to feel twenty feet away. Her husband was clearly a fool.

  “Well, still there are only two women that fit this description. One of them is pregnant and the other I don’t believe is married.”

  “How pregnant?”

  “Advanced.”

  “It’s not her.”

  Rourke smiled. So the little vixen lied to throw him off the track? Well, that could make a quarantine together rather interesting. After all, he had already contaminated her. Any repeats wouldn’t change a thing.

  “Maybe I should call for a guest list. This just isn’t Loren’s style.”

  “It would be quicker to have the woman brought in for identification.”