“No reason whatsoever to be concerned, Tracy,” Garrett said calmly. “He won’t return this night, and I shall have that door guarded.”
“So what should we do now?” Jessica asked.
With a sharp glance, Garrett moved toward her and slowly pried the grenade from the vampire huntress’ tightened fingers. “First of all, I’ll take care of that explosive if you don’t mind. Then we ought to devise a strategy to retrieve the bracelet as I believe our opponent still has it in his possession.”
Without warning, Jake strode away from them to go to the broken front door. Tracy could still sense his wrath and intense feeling of failure although he had his back to her. His foe had slipped from his grasp, and he’d been unable to put an end to his enemy. The frustration must be killing him.
He turned around, eyes blazing, both hands straying to his holster like any true gunslinger’s might. “Ladies, I swear to you I’ll find him. In the meantime, it would be safer if you went home with your father, Tracy.”
Tracy shook her head. She wasn’t fooled. It was a request as much as a suggestion and she had no claim fighting it.
Using her safety as an excuse, everyone wanted her out of the way, and in spite of their concern, she felt like the whole world turned against her. She nodded, crestfallen but condemned to go along with everybody’s wish.
Then the gunslinger looked at Jessica. “As for you, my dearest, it would be better if you also went back to your father for a while. Garrett, Weedon, and I can take care of that Iago swine.”
“No way, Jake. I’ve almost lost you, I’m not leaving you now. Besides, do you believe I’d be safer chasing Count Dracula?”
Tracy watched as Jake hesitated. She knew that even if Jessica hadn’t made a valid point, she’d have stayed with him anyway. The girl was fierce, stubborn, and she didn’t easily take no for an answer. Would such a woman have heeded Jake’s request if her position had been akin to hers regarding Garrett? Probably not.
The proud vampire huntress obviously didn’t care about dangerous consequences. As things stood, it was her call because she possessed something to be envied most of all: a rightful claim on her man.
A chill ran up her spine when a shriek pierced the night.
Drawn outside by the gruesome scream, they all stared at the empty street, small circles of light pooling under the lampposts.
Tracy shivered as Weedon grabbed at White Fur’s coat and held on to his spooked companion. “What was that?” he asked.
That was Raphael breaking his promise.
Or, at the very least, overstepping, trampling, and squashing its bounds. Gooseflesh rising on her arms, she figured Iago might miss the following dawn.
They waited, but nothing moved in the dark. The street was as deserted as it had been a minute ago and Weedon broke the silence after a few moments. “I don’t know about you, my friends, but I’ve had enough action for a single day and I’m off to bed. We can always devise a strategy tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I wish you all a good night.”
His farewell sounded like a final sentence, a reminder of her impending departure. Her time in this incredible universe was at an end, and she had to go. She had to leave behind the man she loved.
Living up to his words, Weedon headed toward the staircase, the wolfdog on his heels.
Jake slid an arm around Jessica’s waist and tugged her gently in the same direction. “Goodnight to you all.”
Tracy found her lips wouldn’t move, not even to answer his polite farewell. She pivoted toward Garrett but he avoided her gaze and strode away. Shit, did she cease to exist because he had a talk with her dad?
Left alone, she went upstairs to check on her father with a heavy heart and a lump in her throat. He’d slept through the threat, oblivious of his surroundings. There was no need to disturb him after that point, so she tucked the cover under his chin before going back to her bedroom.
While waiting for the maid to bring her cleaned jeans and sweater, she soaked in the tub, enjoying the hot water encasing her body, letting her thoughts drift away to a happy, happy land where duties and obligations were nothing but words.
And wasn’t that a fantastic land?
She was just getting out of the bath when the maid knocked on her door. Her clothes were back from the laundry room. Bye-bye nineteenth century wonderful dress, hello modern pants and top.
This dimension wasn’t all that bad after all. Even though fear and danger seemed to lurk at every turn, she’d miss the beautiful gowns, the surprising means of transportation and the awesome feeling to simply watch, listen and breathe in a place no human being should be. Except that Daddy was a genius.
Tracy wrapped a towel about herself. Making servants wait didn’t sit well with her. After stepping out of the bathroom, or wash-down closet, or whatever they called it here, she hurried to the bedroom door.
In her haste to open it, she almost stumbled into the arms of someone who clearly wasn’t the maid. “Garrett? What are you doing here?”
“I believe these are yours.”
“Oh, right.”
He put her folded clothes on the seat of an armchair, careful to avoid looking at her virtually naked body.
Tracy licked her lips, happy to see him in her room, flustered to see him in her room. “Don’t you have a maid?”
Garrett seemed a bit put off by her comment, as much as by her appearance, and she refrained from grinning.
Garrett cleared his throat. “I talked to William before dinner. He said he would use the Everett program to secure the telepods and the labs, so there’s no need to worry about Iago carrying the bracelet.”
“Dad could have told me about that tomorrow.”
Although severe, Garrett’s strange expression made her wonder why he looked embarrassed all of a sudden.
“I know,” he said softly. “I also wished to say a word of farewell.”
“I see.” Obviously, she wasn’t going to happy, happy land. She should have known from the beginning not to fall for a man like him. On the other hand, how could she have guessed things would turn out this way? Regarding his family, Garrett was the archetypal yes-man.
So he’d forget she ever existed and return to his reality of 1899 London, his mouth bursting with of course, Daddy and as you wish, Mummy. Unless he called them Father and Mother. Yes, that sounded more like it.
Her daydream might have been funny in different circumstances. Right now, it didn’t lift her spirits but instead weighed down her limbs. “All right, Garrett. I’m listening.”
He glanced around the room, appearing to hesitate.
Well, if he didn’t want to be here in the first place, why did he bother coming?
His gaze passed over the bed one more time to finally settle on her. “There are no words to express how much I will miss your bravery, your honesty, and your agreeable companionship—”
“Is that what you call it? Agreeable companionship?”
“I mean to say . . .” He faltered, inhaled, and dropped his gaze to the floor.
She began pacing the room, struck by his insensitivity, indignation bubbling up. Her grip on the towel tightened. “Was it agreeable to you when we were making love like lust bunnies? Was it pleasant enough when you rammed your cock into me?”
He winced at her crude words, his gaze shooting to the ceiling.
Did she shock his sensibilities? Gosh, Lord Burnes’ life was so full of drama.
“I have no desire to hurt you, Tracy. Trust me, I never had. However, my birthright doesn’t allow me to give you what you deserve. If I have caused you any suffering, I beseech your forgiveness.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to do me a whole load of good. Well, I’m sorry, but you won’t have it. And you know what? I don’t care if you think I’m being cheap or s
piteful, but I won’t let you off that easily.”
“Spiteful? Lord in heavens, no. You are undoubtedly the worthiest and most admirable woman I’ve ever known. Would you please accept this humble token as a tribute to your greatness? And if you did spare me a thought on occasion, I would deem my sorrow a minor inconvenience.”
“I bet.” Yet she saw plain sincerity on his handsome face.
Palm up, he offered her the pearl necklace she wore on her first night in this strange world. “It belonged to my great-grandmother, given to her by King George. This particular piece has been in my family for over a century.”
Although he told a touching story, she was past listening to fairytales, way past accepting presents as tokens of friendship. She couldn’t take any more talk about honor, integrity, and duty. It was all blah, blah-bitty, blah at this stage. Suddenly suspicious, she looked at the priceless jewel, then at the man wearing nothing but his bathrobe.
“Tell me, Lord Burnes. Did you come here for a goodbye fuck?” As softly as she spoke, his whole body tensed and his gaze glinted at her use of his rightful title.
She thought his eyes would pop out of their sockets.
Face pale, he looked at her as if she’d just spat on someone’s grave. “Your manner of speech is utterly indecent. Of course, I did not come for . . . that. I merely wished to offer you a present.”
Yet she acknowledged the uneven rhythm of his respiration, the quicker rise and fall of his chest, the newfound bulge below his bathrobe belt. She’d shocked and aroused him at the same time.
“You liar,” she cried, “you did come for sex. Damn, I don’t believe this. Don’t give me that crap about presents unless . . .”
Another thought suddenly occurred to her while he remained silent and maintained an offended composure.
She cocked her head. “Do you want me to accept this present?”
“I honestly do.”
Good. She purposefully straightened her shoulders and folded her arms over the towel, her breasts almost bursting out. “Okay, in that case . . . Convince me.”
“How do you suggest this is to be achieved?”
“You’re a big boy. Think outside the box.” She needed to test the truthfulness of his feelings. She was flirting all right, and praying he wouldn’t fall for her bare charms.
Like an open book now, his face switched between plain misery and uplifted elation. “I should not say what I am about to say. Lord, forgive me.”
Tracy knew he was battling with himself, torn between morality and temptation.
Eyes wide, his deliberate slowness inducing her to listen to his each and every word, he stared at her. “You are an extraordinary person, Tracy. I’m not at liberty to pledge myself to you, nonetheless I wish my motives were free from confusion. I can be silent no longer.”
“Speak up then.” Her belly writhed, her lungs expanded.
She stayed motionless as he took a deep breath, his dark, intense gaze boring into hers. “I long for your embrace, your warmth, and your gentleness. I crave your touch. Your body, your mind, your words move me. I fear I’m not capable of expressing the depth of my emotion, for I have never known such a feeling and never will again. As much as I’ve striven to remain detached, my heart and my soul belong to you, now and forever.”
His confession touched her beyond anything she’d ever known, his words burning her soul, consuming her heart. She let go of her strict hold on her emotions and let tears roll down her cheeks. “I love you, Garrett.”
“Don’t cry, my lady.”
He produced a white hanky from his pocket and held it out in a wobbling hand, like a shield on a front-line soldier.
She accepted it. “Thank you.”
“I deeply desire to embrace and comfort you. Sadly, I can step no nearer, else I shall forget myself.”
She knew what he meant. But, by God and all his saints, if Heaven was set on depriving her of this man, then she would go to Hell with him. Her throat working, she closed the distance between them. “Tonight you’re not a lord, and I belong to you. Shall we forget ourselves?”
He removed his robe.
Chapter 20
Garrett came up to her.
Tracy thought he’d kiss her but instead he unrolled the towel and let it drop. He looked at her body, streaks flashing in his dark gaze.
An acute sensation heated the inside of her thighs as he reached out to stroke her breasts lightly with his palms. When her lids fluttered, he rubbed her nipples, twisting them between his fingers, twiddling the pink sensitive flesh until she sighed from desire.
Bending, he caught them with his lips, his tongue circling her tips, darting up and down, nibbling, licking, arousing her to the point where she started swaying on her feet like a willow in spring.
“This is torture, Garrett.” She exhaled with difficulty, unable to catch her breath.
He straightened up to show his blatant erection. “The torture is mine, darling. A touch of you, and my needs best me.”
“Take me. Please, take me.” She rejoiced at the now-familiar flicker in his gaze, at her power to excite him beyond reason with just her touch.
He blinked and sighed. “Let me love you, my sweet. Let me love you till we burst with joy.”
He placed his hands on her waist when she nodded and he turned her around.
She climbed onto the bed without any hesitation, her heart beating quicker at the thought of what was to come. She kneeled, attuned to the slight pressure of his palms on her hips, trembling with want. On all fours, she offered him the most intimate part of her, and swallowed at the sound of his croaking voice.
“Heavens. You’ll be the death of me.” He put a finger on her back, skimming her spine, passing between her buttocks, sliding into her tender folds, parting them.
She gasped, moist to the brim, her body begging him, her hands tightening on the bedspread.
He retrieved his finger to settle one of his hands on the small of her back, his erection coming to rest on her sultry breach. “Can you feel me, darling?”
His deliberate question ignited new tendrils of lust in her belly. Her frenzied pulse prevented her from answering. She clenched her butt cheeks while he loitered before crossing her boundaries, stimulating their respective cravings.
She needed this man so much that two separate universes and centuries wouldn’t be enough to keep her away from him. She uttered a needy sound, pushing back toward him, restrained by his hand on her back and the impact of his whispered, “Would you allow me to enter you at present?”
God, but he would tantalize her to the threshold of endurance. Legs trembling, toes curling, she drew in erratic breaths. “Yes, yes, yes. Garrett, yes!”
Tiny shudders made her skin pucker as the ensuing silence increased her craving.
Then his voice inflamed her even more. “Shall you receive me willingly?” He played on the slight reluctance she had shown the previous night.
She moved back against him to show her consent, causing him to slide inside her a little, causing them both to hiss under the sudden exquisite pressure.
“Oh, God.” She wheezed from the staggering penetration.
He took the front of her thighs into his hands before gliding into her and running her buttocks into his belly. Caged inside her, he held them still for a few seconds, then he grasped her tighter to him, letting go of her legs to circle her waist with his hands.
He pressed his strong body against hers before he began to move in and out with slow, short motions, never withdrawing fully, allowing them both to revel in the sensation of being united.
His hard shaft shifted again and again, filling her completely and shattering her respiration. Gooseflesh broke out all over her. She welcomed his strong strikes, excited by the thudding sounds, flesh hitting fl
esh.
Bent over her back, he cupped her swinging breasts to fondle her nipples.
She drowned in the power of his love, suddenly blind and deaf to anything that wasn’t his burning touch or the sharp movements of his hips.
Behind her, his uneven breath matched his unsmooth pace. “My lady, your wish is my command.”
His raspy tone sent her desire flying. She bent forward, pressing her face into the bedspread, raising her buttocks. “Harder.”
He drew back with a strangled noise.
Did she shock him again?
But he stroked her uplifted bottom again and took hold of her waist. Uttering a grunt of pleasure, he drove himself home in a single thrust. His forceful move buried her head in the bed, muffling her long, delighted moan.
She felt devoid of existence when he withdrew then cried out as life burst forth when he impaled her. Time and time again, he propelled himself inside her until their flesh screamed for release.
A long, keen wail grazed her throat. Yet the sound barely registered in her mind as a violent explosion shook her entire being while his raucous grunts pierced through her world of happiness.
Their bodies still quivering from the force of their orgasms, she sank onto the bedcover.
Submitted to the force of gravity, he collapsed against her back. “Garrett?”
“Shhhh, let me feel you.” He enfolded her hands within his, their fingers merging.
Drained of energy, she closed her eyes but didn’t remember falling asleep. Yet she must have done so because she was dreaming, dreaming of his sensual mouth kissing her breasts, licking the taut flesh, suckling her erect nipples, of his tongue drawing a fiery line between her mounds and on her stomach down. Sweet dreaming of his lips faltering, changing course and nibbling her breasts again, lightly kissing her mouth, dreaming of his weight heavy on her.