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“Nothing.”
“Did I make a pass at you?”
“You tried, but you passed out.”
He drew a pained breath through his teeth. “I’m sure that was impressive to see. Did I tell you that I love you again?”
He met her eyes and didn’t need to hear her answer to know that he had. “Well…”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure that was the last thing in the world you wanted to hear.”
She bit her lip. “Not the very last thing,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to hear that this cheese is made from goat’s milk, for example. I’ve seen what that comes out of.”
He tried to smile at her joke, but failed. He’d give anything to hear her say she loved him.
Lara touched his face and he looked at her. Her expression was serious when she said, “Hearing those words from you wasn’t horrible.”
He leaned closer. She didn’t draw away. Instead, she closed her eyes. He closed his eyes, too, just before his lips brushed hers. Her kiss tasted of heaven and smoked venison. He concentrated on not taking the upper hand. He allowed her to kiss him, his hands clenching into fists rather than doing what they wanted to do—draw her closer, stroke her skin. She pulled away after a moment and leaned back to look at him.
“What I wouldn’t give for a toothbrush right about now,” she said.
Reece lifted his hand and huffed a breath into his palm, before giving it a hesitant sniff. “Do I offend?”
“I didn’t say that. You know, the things I miss most are all found in a bathroom.”
“I think they use teeth scraper things to clean their teeth. I’ll find you one after we eat.”
“How long will we be on the run?” She asked, looking weary.
“I don’t know. Until we come up with a better plan. If we could get the other half of the amulet, Carl couldn’t follow us anymore. We might also have control over our leaping. If you can decipher the hieroglyphics on the other half, that is.”
“I have some knowledge of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but I’d need access to my reference books to translate something complex.”
“You were the one who deciphered the symbols on this half,” he told her and lifted the amulet to look at the tiny symbols. The amulet was the reason Lara had been killed. He wished now that he’d never unearthed it. Wished he’d never involved Lara. But you can’t change the past. He was hoping it was possible to change her future, by living in the past.
Lara touched the flat stone, tracing the markings with her fingers. “Some of them are rather faded. I’m surprised I translated them correctly.”
“You’re brilliant,” he said, his eyes shifting to her face. She took his breath away. Always had, and undoubtedly always would. “And beautiful.”
“Thank you. You’ve got a pretty-boy, tough-guy thing going on. How do you pull that off?”
“Lots of practice.”
“I see. And least you forget, I’m starving. Cut some more cheese.”
“Trust me, sweetheart. You don’t want me to cut the cheese.”
She groaned. “When will you get better jokes?”
“What do you mean? That was a good one.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Juvenile and corny,” she assured him.
“I suppose you could do better.”
“Not on an empty stomach.”
He cut the cheese into several bite-sized chunks, then carved up the sausage as well. He tore the bread in half and then sat lotus style on the bed with the plate between them. They ate in silence for several moments.
“So we just need to get the other half of the amulet and we can stop running? We can go home?”
“I don’t think we can ever go back to our own time,” he told her. “Despite what the newspaper says, your death wasn’t a random murder. Someone is after you.”
“Do you know who it is?”
“Sort of,” he admitted. He didn’t want to say too much. “The wrong people found out about the power of the amulet.”
“Like who?”
He probably shouldn’t lie to her, but the truth was too terrifying to share. “Some religious fanatics. They want the amulet to shift the flow of power in the world. We vowed to keep it away from them. Imagine the amount of damage those kind of people could do with this artifact.”
“So why did they kill me?”
He shrugged. “I wish I knew. Probably to get to me. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. I just wanted to go back in time, find you, and make you safe. Carl wanted to find me and keep me from changing your future. He’s convinced it will lead to the end of the world.”
“Is Carl one of the fanatics?”
Reece shook his head. “They don’t even know about Carl, or the other half of the amulet. Carl is my partner. He and I discovered the amulet together. We each took a half and you deciphered the hieroglyphics on my half. You said something about the other half being a control element.”
“How did I know that?”
“I’m not sure. You read something about the amulet in an ancient script, I think. You warned me not to use it, even though we knew how. You said the Egyptians were afraid of it. Said it was cursed.”
“Egyptians thought a lot of things were cursed. And why did you use it, when I told you not to?”
“To find you.”
“Did I ask you to?”
Reece stared at her, his heart lodged in his throat. She simply didn’t get it. He wondered if she would ever love him like she once did. Circumstances were different this time. Maybe she wouldn’t fall in love with him at all. He didn’t know what had caused her to start looking at him differently in their previous relationship. She’d thought of him as an amusing guy, never to be taken seriously, then one day it was as if she’d seen him in a totally different light and she’d allowed him to get close. It had been the greatest gift he’d ever received. She loved fiercely, deeply, unconditionally. But getting her to initially open up to him had been next to impossible. I have to be patient. She’ll fall in love with me again. Just keep it together, Reece.
“No, you didn’t ask, but I had to save you, Lara. It’s the only thing I could think to do in that situation.”
“Maybe I didn’t want to be saved.”
“Maybe I didn’t care what you wanted,” he countered. “Maybe I really saved you for me.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Maybe I should thank you for saving me,” she snapped.
“Maybe you should. I risked a lot to save you, you know,” his voice raised in anger. “I gave up my entire life for you.”
She touched his cheek and his temper was instantly placated. “Thank you,” she said. “I owe you one.”
“You would have done the same for me,” he said. “I know you would have.”
She smiled. “I must have thought you were something pretty special, then.”
She leaned towards him and kissed him. She pulled away and gazed up at him shyly. For an instant, Reece saw her as Eirick saw her. As Helga. Reece felt
what Eirick felt. Unbridled lust. He toppled her onto the bed, pushed her skirt up and pulled her underdrawers from her body with a vicious yank. Eirick struggled with the fly of his pants, holding Helga to the bed with his weight while he unleashed his cock.
“No,” Helga cried. Reece couldn’t sense Lara anymore at all. This had happened before. When a situation got particularly tense, he lost his battle with his vessel’s consciousness and was taken along for the ride. Reece couldn’t stomach the thought of being witness to a rape, however. He struggled to regain the upper hand over Eirick’s lust and actions.
Helga’s image faded and Lara was suddenly gazing up at him with a horrified expression. “She’s a virgin, Reece, and she’s terrified. Don’t let him hurt her like this.”
“I’m trying, Lara. But this event is important. It has to happen. There are things we cannot change.”
“What do you mean?”
“If something has to happen in the past, it has to happen. We can’t stop it. There is something necessary about this moment. A reason they have to consummate this relationship.”
“They have to have sex or he has to rape her?”
“How should I know? All I know is that when events shape the future, I can’t change them. I’ve never been able to. I’ve tried more than once. I thought I could stop Lincoln’s assassination, but no, I just had to sit there and watch.”
“I feel it too, Reece. That this is important. Maybe she gets pregnant or something and the child can only be conceived on this morning. Just don’t let him rape her. Please.”
“I don’t know how to stop this.”
“We won’t stop it. Just make it easier. Reece, make love to me.”
As soon as she said it, Eirick’s pull over Reece’s actions lessened. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Reece regained total control. So they just needed to have sex. He didn’t have to rape her. Thank God.
And then it hit him. He was going to make love to Lara. This was his chance to show her how well they fit together. How they were made for each other. How great their sex life was. Or had been.
