“Where are you going?” she asked, fear gripping her again. She didn’t want to be left alone. Well, Eleanor didn’t want to be left alone and her fear was enough to unsettle Lara, too.
“To take care of the horse.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek. “I’ll hurry.”
She nodded, feeling ridiculous for being so afraid. She was safe here. Reginald would protect her from Abbot. He wouldn’t let him hurt her again. “I’ll have something for you to eat when you get back. I won’t promise that it will be good.”
He dropped a kiss on her cheek before turning to leave the cabin. “I could really go for one of your Denver omelets right about now.”
How did he know that was her specialty? Oh yeah. She kept forgetting that he knew her. “I’ll do my best,” she promised.
He winked at her and left her rummaging around in the pantry.
By the time he’d returned, she’d warmed some slices of ham on a skillet over the cook stove and was frying some runty potatoes she’d sliced in a bit of lard. Eggs, unfortunately, were not part of their provisions.
“Smells good,” he said. He removed his armor pads to reveal a loose linen shirt and black trousers beneath. He left his boots by the door and sat down at the small table. “I think the horse was happy to have all that metal taken off him. Poor thing. I know I was glad to get out of it.”
“I think the real trick will be getting all that stuff back on later.”
“Shouldn’t I have a squire to help me with that sort of thing?”
“Unless he’s hiding under the bed, I think you’re out of luck.”
They both glanced at the single bed along one wall. Blushing, Lara set a plate of food in front of him.
He smiled at her warmly. “Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate you cooking.”
“No problem. You get to do the dishes.”
“That’s only fair.” He took a bite. “This is good. Much better than that Viking stuff.”
“That isn’t saying much,” she said, sitting down across from him with her own plate.
He smiled, watching her as he took another bite. His direct stare was starting to unnerve her again.
“What are you looking at?” she asked finally. “Do I have grease dripping off my chin or something?”
“Nope.”
“Then what?”
“I’m looking at you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why?”
“Because you’re here, and I can.” He was grinning at her like an idiot.
“Are you always this happy?” she asked, trying to be annoyed, but failing.
“Just when I’m with you.”
Her heart twanged. She focused her attention on her half eaten food. “You’re a sap, do you know that?”
“I have been accused of sappiness many times in the past.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Every single time by you,” he added, pointing at her with his fork.
She grinned, glancing up at him again. “And you never figured out that it wasn’t a compliment?”
He stole a potato off her plate. “You see, I choose to take it as a compliment. It means my feelings for you are apparent. I don’t even have to say them. Makes things a whole lot easier, in case I forget to tell you regularly.”
“And future me was okay with this?” she asked, shielding her plate from further thievery.
“She was. Are there any more of those potatoes?” he asked, fork poised as he waited for her to let her guard down.
“On the stove.”
He stood up with his plate and she relaxed her guard. He stole another of her potatoes with his fingers and put it in his mouth before he went to the stove for seconds.
“Keep your hands out of my food, Jericho,” she warned.
“Why? You’ll never finish it all anyway. You never do.”
It was true, but she wasn’t going to admit it to him. “You could at least ask me.”
“I could,” he agreed, sitting across from her again with a huge heap of fried potatoes on his plate. He stole another one of hers and munched it with a teasing grin. “But what’s the fun in that?”
She wondered if he’d always treated her like this. Wondered why she liked it, but pretended to be annoyed.
“What do you say, after dinner we play a game of spin the bottle?” he said and winked at her.
“There are only two of us here.”
“Exactly.”
“And we don’t have a bottle.”
“We’ll improvise.”
She chuckled. “Do you have to resort to middle school games to get me to kiss you?”
“Well, I don’t think I can wait a whole two weeks for Thursday after next.”
“You are looking pretty cute right now.” She stood up from the table to take her plate to a wash basin. He grabbed her around the waist and tumbled her onto his lap before she could move away. She laughed, struggling to return to her feet, plate in one hand, fork in the other.
“Cute enough to kiss?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t know about that.”
He lowered his head, his mouth covering hers, tongue gently teasing her upper lip. She started when a crash alerted her to the tin plate she’d dropped. He drew away, chuckling until their eyes met. Something sizzled between them and awareness smoldered in his intense stare. Her fingers found their way to his silky, brown hair as she strained to meet his lips for another kiss. She opened her mouth to him, anxiously stroking his lips with hers. When she tentatively touched her tongue to his, he tore away from her, gasping slightly.
He grinned. “I must be looking pretty damn cute at the moment.”
“Must be those lovebirds Eleanor and Reg having an influence over us,” she said, knowing full well she had wanted to kiss Reece and it had nothing to do with Eleanor or Reg.
“Remind me to send them a Christmas card.” He kissed her again, drawing her closer as he feasted on her mouth without restraint. An ache built at the juncture of her thighs. She pulled away, her body a swirling cacophony of desire and emotion. She’d come to terms with the desire. It was the emotions she was struggling to understand.
“You’re not that cute,” she said breathlessly.
She struggled as she tried to get to her feet and he tipped her upright.
“Sweetheart?” he murmured.
She bent to pick up the plate she’d dropped and looked around for the fork. She spotted it under his chair. Once she retrieved it, she headed to the wash basin.
“What?”
He stood and moved to stand behind her. “The way I’m carrying on, you probably think all we had together was passion and amazing sex.”
“Is that bad?”
He laid a gentle hand on her upper arms and leaned against her. “I really do love you.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about you, Reece. I need to slow down a little and sort through these feelings I have.”
He was suddenly hugging her from behind. “You have feelings?”
“I’m not even sure what they mean. Might be friendship. Might be lust. Something in between. A combination of the two. I don’t know. I need some time to think.”
“I understand,” he whispered. “I don’t want you to feel guilty for putting up boundaries. I’ll try to respect your wishes and slow down.” He made a wounded sound.
She grinned and shook her head. “You have no intention of slowing down, do you?”
“I said I’ll try. I will. I just...” He squeezed her.
She tossed her dishes in the sink and turned around in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him close. A wonderful feeling of being protected and cherished filled her as he held her. This feeling was not at all confusing. She wouldn’t mind holding on to it forever.
The longer Reece held her, the more Lara slipped away from herself. Eleanor’s thoughts began to swarm through Lara’s mind. When she glanced up, it was Reg she saw, not Reece. Eleanor’s belly fluttered with nerves. She loved Reg
with every fiber of her being. They’d been planning to run away together for a while and she knew now that they were alone together, he expected her to submit to his passions willingly. She wasn’t sure she had it in her. For one thing, sex was painful and terrifying and humiliating. For another, she wasn’t pure for the man she loved. Abbot had stolen her innocence weeks ago and knowing she couldn’t give her virginity to Reg ate her up inside.
“Reg, I love you.”
“I know, sweet. And I you.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want to wed me. I shall still stay with you.”
He cupped her face in both hands, his blue eyes softening. “Why would I not want to wed you? You are everything to me.”
“I have something to tell you,” she said, her heart a hard lump in her throat.
“What is it?”
“I am not...” She squeezed her eyes shut and hot tears traced paths down her face. “That is, I have been...”
“Don’t cry, love,” he whispered, kissing tears from her cheeks. “Whatever it is—”
“I am not a maiden,” she blurted.
He stiffened and his comforting arms dropped. “You’ve been with a man?”
She nodded. “It was against my—”
“Who was it?”
She swallowed to try to keep bile from burning up her throat. She couldn’t tell him. He hated Christopher Abbot. Reg would never want her if he knew that vile man had successfully ruined her.
“It was...”
Lara slapped Reg across the face, grateful that he suddenly looked like Reece again. Reece flinched. “What did you do that for?”
“She about to lie to him, which is the stupidest thing she could possibly do, but she’s afraid he won’t love her if he knows the truth.”
“So you slap me?”
“We have to fix this, Reece. She loves him so much. Does Reg love her?”
“He’d kill for her. He’s jealous of whoever claimed her maidenhead—did I really just call it that?—em, popped her cherry.”
“Reece! Don’t be crude.”
“He’s hurt, but he’ll get over it. Did she get carried away with some stable boy or something?”
Lara shook her head. “She was raped by Abbot.”
“God! Why didn’t you let me kill that fucking bastard?”
“I’m going to make her tell Reg the truth if I can. You need to make sure he’s supportive instead of jealous, got it?”
“Yeah, I’ll try. He’s not going to be jealous. He’s going to be murderous, I guarantee you that.”
“And then we have to help her get over her fear of sex. She thinks it’s disgusting, humiliating, and painful. We’re going to show her that it’s none of those things.”
“How?”
“Same way we made things nice for Helga and Eirick.”
Reece made a fist of victory. “Now that’s a plan I can get behind.”
Lara grinned at him. It was no wonder she’d fallen for Reece. He held nothing back. “Take it easy, okay? Don’t jump my bones at the first sign of surrender.”
“Me?” He attempted a look of innocence that made Lara laugh.
“Stop,” she said. “This is serious.”
“So why do you keep volunteering to help these women with their sexual problems?” Reece asked.
“Maybe that’s why we’ve been sent here. To help.”
“Or maybe you just want an excuse to get into my pants.”
“In your dreams, Jericho.”
“And they be very wet dreams.”
Lara shook her head at him. She wasn’t used to talking to men who blurted any naughty thought that occurred to them. Maybe that’s why she’d been so freaking bored with her life. “Hold me again,” Lara requested. “Last time, when I started feeling safe and comfortable, Eleanor’s thoughts came through.”
“You were feeling safe and comfortable?” he asked hopefully.
She emitted a long sigh. “Have I ever told you that you’re impossible?”
He grinned nostalgically. “All the time.”
She gripped his linen shirt in both hands and tugged him closer. “Will you just hold me?”
“If you insist.”
His arms surrounded her and she felt anything but safe and comfortable. Knowing that she’d just indirectly asked Reece to make love to her again had her feeling more hot and bothered than anything.
“Lara?” he said after several minutes.
She still wasn’t relaxed and Eleanor was still outside of her perception, but she was willing to let Reece hold her for as long as it took. Not because she was enjoying the feel of his hard body against her or anything. She really wanted to help Eleanor find happiness with Reg. “Hmm?”
“I’m not sure this is the best idea.”
Her heart twisted. “You don’t want to make love to me?” she asked breathlessly.
“Of course I want to make love to you, but if Eleanor’s been raped, wouldn’t it be better to give her time to heal emotionally before we have her jumping in the sack with Reg?”
“I don’t know. She wants to be with Reg. You’re so good in bed, I know you’ll make it special for her.”
“You think I’m good in bed?”
She didn’t have to look up at him to know he was grinning. “I mean, you’re not fantastic or anything, but I’ll be relaxed, so she’ll enjoy it instead of being afraid.”
Reece chuckled. “You know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think you’re using her as an excuse to get me into bed.”
Lara shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d think I’m doing this for selfish reasons. I just want to help her.”
“Uh-huh,” he agreed in a most sarcastic tone.
She slapped his chest with the flat of her hand. “Don’t make fun. I think we’re supposed to help these couples.”
“By having sex with each other?”
“I guess that does sound pretty stupid.” She sighed. “Maybe I am just being selfish and trying to make this all work out in my favor.” It didn’t feel that way though. She really wanted Eleanor and Reg to be together. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. She legitimately thought she and Reece could help them find their happily ever after a little faster.
“We’re traveling through time, fixing one fucked up relationship after another,” Reece said.
She laughed and moved her arms around his back to draw him closer. Her hands slid over his shirt up the solid muscles of his back, craving the texture of his naked skin. “Exactly.”
“We’ll try your approach and if Eleanor starts to experience emotional trauma, we’ll stop.”
Lara tilted her head back to gaze up into Reece’s eyes. He was genuinely concerned about Eleanor’s feelings. Was it because he was sharing space with Reg? She didn’t think that was why at all. Lara cupped Reece’s face in both hands. She could practically see his heart melt as he gazed down at her. “This must’ve been why I fell in love with you.”
He grinned crookedly. “You just thought I was sexy.”
“That’s just an added bonus.” She rose up on tiptoes and claimed his lips in a searing kiss.
If he’d had reservations about making love to her before, they were gone now. Fingers tangled in her curls, he tugged her head back and feasted on her mouth. She yanked his loose, linen shirt free of his trousers and impatiently pushed it up his body. He released her lips long enough to pull the shirt off over his head, but claimed her mouth again immediately, caressing her upper lip with his tongue, nibbling on the lower. Her hands roved the planes of his back and shoulders as she pressed against his hard chest. She just wanted to touch him. Everywhere. When she reached for the fastening of his pants, he groaned against her lips before tugging away.
“Lara, you’re going to get me all worked up and I’m supposed to be taking it easy.”
Lara’s hand cupped his erection through his pants. “I want to touch you.”
Reece fumbled wit
h his waistband and she found her hand full of thick, hot, and oh so hard, cock. She stroked his length gently, her free hand moving down his back to ease his pants down so she could explore the flesh of that hot little ass of his. She pressed her lips to his collar bone and trailed kisses down his hard chest to his nipple. She gave it a playful nip and then soothed it with the flat of her tongue.
“Someone is feeling naughty,” he murmured.
“It’s your fault,” she said, kissing her way down his belly. Her hand continued lower, pushing his pants down until they settled around his ankles. He kicked them aside. He stood before her naked, and gorgeous, and hard.
“I could really get used to this,” she said, sinking lower as she sucked kisses around his navel and then along a sexy path of hair that pointed her toward her ultimate destination.
“Me, too,” he breathed.
She hesitated, her lips inches from his swollen cock, her heart suddenly racing with fear. It sure was a bad time for Eleanor to let her feelings known.
“El, if you want to stop...” Reg’s voice said from above.
“No,” Eleanor whispered, her heart still hammering, “I just need to get used to your body.” Abbot had used his tool to cause her untold pain and humiliation. Eleanor just had to remind herself that this was Reginald. She promised herself that she would endure his lust. She wanted to give Reg pleasure even if every minute of the interaction caused her agony. She loved Reg mind, heart, and soul. Now she just had to learn to love his body. She loved most of it already, it was just this strange protruding part of him that caused her anxiety.
Reg touched her hair gently and she looked up at him. When he smiled, her racing heart slowed slightly. She lowered her head and kissed the swollen end of his cock gently. It twitched in her hand. Her heart skipped a beat. It moves?
“Take as long as you need, love,” Reg said.
She trailed her fingers down the length of him. The skin was loosely attached so that when she pressed against it, it slid slightly over the hard, thick rod beneath. She traced the veins just beneath the surface of his satiny skin and then ran her thumb up the thick ridge on its underside. Reg’s breath came in sharp, shaky gasps and when she glanced up at him, he had his head tilted back and his jaw clenched.
“Reg?” Eleanor whispered, her heart thudding for a different reason now. Was she touching him wrong? Hurting him? “Are you okay?”
Loving on Borrowed Time - Lovers Leap 1 Page 8
