“My people would not accept you if you were not my life-mate, so aye, I am really and truly asking you to marry me. For a time,” he added.
For a time. The words echoed inside her mind, destroying her elation bit by bit.
“I must warn you,” he said, almost as an afterthought, “that I am unsure of the time difference between our worlds.”
“What do you mean?”
“I suspect time passes more quickly here,” he explained, “but how much more quickly, I know not.”
“So I could visit Imperia for five days, but when I return, five hundred years could have passed here?”
His jaw tensed, and she knew he didn’t want to answer, but he did anyway. “That is correct. Only one sorcerer has the power to manipulate time. My brother, Percen, the Druinn high priest. Yet he would never do anything to help me.”
Probabilities and possibilities drifted beneath her thoughts. If she chose to go with him, she could definitely return to Earth, but the Earth she knew might be very different from the Earth she left behind. She might never see Nick’s mischievous grin. Never feel the warmth of Erik and Denver’s hugs. Never again know the comforting haze of Gray’s presence. Or hear Brian’s husky laugh over the phone. All to stay with Jorlan for a time.
“I’m sorry,” she told him, casting her gaze to his chest. She didn’t want to see his eyes, didn’t want to see whether they darkened with disappointment or froze with indifference as she declined. “I can’t marry you, and I can’t go with you. My family is here.”
He nodded briskly, as if he understood what motivated her, but didn’t like it. “I will give you time to think on it.”
Now her gaze snapped to his. “I don’t need time. I just gave you my answer.”
“That answer is not accepted. You need more time, and I am willing to give it to you.”
Part of her wanted to chuckle; part of her wanted to cry. Lord, this was hard, so very hard. Why did saying no have to be this difficult? She knew beyond a doubt that she was staying here, where she belonged. She knew, too, that he would go on without her and feel no remorse. Perhaps that was what hurt the most.
Damn it! Why couldn’t he have been the domineering chauvinist she’d first thought him? But nooo. He turned out to be so much more than a dictatorial tyrant. He turned out to be a Prince Charming. Beneath his “women are subservient” views beat the heart of a mighty yet gentle man whose touch melted her reservations and whose determination was heartening. No, she might not trust him, but she still desired him.
She had to change the subject before she succumbed to tears. “Look, I’m going on my jog—that’s a type of exercise where you run a far length,” she explained at his confused expression. She needed to jog. “While I’m gone, you can change into your new clothes. Yesterday I bought you a pair of pants, some shirts, shoes, and, uh, some underwear. When I get back, we’ll visit the locations on my list.”
“I must insist I jog with you.”
At first, she wanted to refuse him. Then she realized that getting oxygen to his brain might actually do him some good. She found his new jogging shoes and handed them to him. “Sure you can keep up? I run every morning, and you’re battling a mighty hangover.”
“I will do more than keep up, katya, I will leave you far behind.”
He would, would he? His confidence helped her forget her sadness. Too, her competitive nature sprang to life. “Why don’t you prove it, then?”
“Always you demand proof. Well, this proof I will derive much pleasure in giving, for I long to see the expression on your face when the jog ends and you realize I have passed you. Twice.” With that, he pulled on his shoes and led her out the door.
The race was on.
Twenty minutes ticked by, and she held her own. They didn’t speak, so absorbed were they in their competition. They ran down a zigzag path a mile from her house. The path circled Earlywine Park and was designated specifically for runners. All around them the trees were radiant with shades of brown and green, and here and there pink-tipped flowers bloomed prettily. Twigs snapped beneath their pounding shoes. Dew kissed the air.
Another five minutes passed under the strenuous pace. Never slowing, Jorlan removed his shirt and draped it over his shoulders. She opened her mouth to complain, but the words froze in her throat. His deeply tanned, muscled chest was glazed with a sheen of sweat, and beads of the liquid were dripping along the ridges of his abdomen. The sight distracted her. She stumbled. Chuckling, he increased his speed and moved ahead of her. Katie glared at his back. He’d done that on purpose, the cheater.
By now, her muscles were burning with every step, but she too quickened her steps until she caught up with him. Another ten minutes passed. She was tiring, but didn’t slow. Jorlan showed no signs of slowing, either, damn him.
“Are we going to run forever?” she snapped, huffing and hating herself for it.
“I can,” was his casual reply.
“Well, so can I,” she growled and called forth every ounce of stamina she possessed. This man was not going to beat her!
But damn it all, there had to be a way to end this.
An idea immediately formed, and she wasn’t surprised by the speed with which her mind was working. With all the oxygen pumping through her, she could have calculated the atomic mass of an elephant while devising a plan to end world hunger.
“Race you to the house. Last one there has toilet duty.” With that, she took off full speed ahead.
He tried to pass her left side, but she veered in front of him, blocking his way. He moved to the right, but she had been anticipating the action and swerved to cut him off once again. Katie beat him to the door by half a second and nearly tripped over the newspaper lying on her porch. She managed to catch herself in time. “Ha! I won.” The words left her throat on short, choppy gasps of air. She would have laughed in his face, but her chest felt like a volcano churning with lava.
“You did not play fair, katya.” He sounded winded.
“Of course I didn’t play fair, Jorlan. Where’s the fun in that?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but a car eased up her driveway, diverting his attention. Her alien immediately mutated into I-will-save-you superhero mode. Only when the car parked behind her truck and Gray emerged from the driver’s seat did Jorlan relax. Her brother, however, looked stony and hard. A little hungover, but ready for battle all the same.
Katie’s smile of welcome evaporated. “Gray? Is everything all right?”
He ignored her. Another man exited the car, and Gray spoke to him in hushed, angry tones. The man was an inch or two shorter than Gray, which put him only a bit taller than Katie. He had dark-brown hair and big puppy-dog eyes. Women probably went crazy for him. Had Katie met him a day ago, she might have gone crazy for him, too—at least for the first date. Now her thoughts were consumed with the warrior beside her.
Gray moved to the porch. He didn’t make any introductions. He got straight to the point. “I want to talk to you about last night, about some things Jorlan said to me and the boys.”
Though her brother was speaking to her, he was watching Jorlan. Katie gazed first at one man, then the other. Jorlan had his arms crossed over his chest; his eyes were narrowed to tiny slits; and his nostrils were flared. They were in some sort of high noon showdown.
“He’s leaving you in two weeks,” Gray continued.
“I know.” Her shoulders sagged with relief. For a minute, she’d thought Gray meant to tell her Jorlan had confessed he was from another planet. “Now that that’s settled, you have exactly five seconds to apologize for your behavior,” she said, her tone sugary sweet, “or I’m going to snap your neck like a twig.”
The handsome stranger at Gray’s side laughed. It was the first sound he had made during the entire exchange. “You said she was spunky, Gray,” the man said, still laughing. “You didn’t say she was homicidal.”
Gray decided then to make the proper introductions. “Katie, Jorlan, this is
Steve Harris. Steve, this is my sister Katie and her friend, Jorlan. He’s a romance cover model.” His disgust over that fact lingered long after his words.
This was Steve? Katie thought, surprised.
This was Steve? Jorlan thought darkly. The man Katie’s brothers wanted her to wed?
“Nice to meet you,” Steve told them.
“You, too.” Katie hadn’t quite managed to close her mouth yet.
Seething, Jorlan remained silent, though the if-you-touch-her-you-will-die glare he wore said plenty. Just in case Steve did not get the hint, he draped a possessive hand around Katie’s waist.
Steve didn’t even try to shake her hand in greeting.
“I can’t believe you’re so calm about this.” Gray raked a hand through his hair. “Do you never follow advice, Katie? What am I always telling you?”
“Don’t talk to strangers.”
“Not that.”
“Buckle up or die.”
“Not that, either.”
“Carry Mace—”
“That you should never spend time with a man who won’t stick around.”
Katie placed her hands on his shoulders, leaned up, and kissed her brother on the cheek. “I love you, too, Gray. Now get out of here. I’ve got things to do.”
“We’re not finished with this conversation.” He gazed over her shoulder and pinned Jorlan with an expectant stare. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Her alien nodded stiffly.
“No, you will not talk to him later,” she called.
But Gray didn’t hear her. He and Steve had already piled into their car and were racing away. Jorlan’s palms curled around her forearm, tight and menacing. He swung her around. “You will not see that man again.”
“My brother?”
“Nay, the other.”
What was this? A moment of jealousy? She studied him, watching, gauging. Oh, yes. This gorgeous barbarian was indeed jealous. He fairly seethed with it. Katie entertained a flicker of delight and had to hide her smile. He deserved this after what he had put her through with the redhead. “And what are you going to do to me if I do see him?”
The corner of his eye twitched. “Do you truly wish to know the answer to that?”
“Absolutely.” Some of her smile peeked through.
Slowly, desire eclipsed his anger. He gave her that cocky look of his that said he knew exactly how to make a woman’s punishment pleasurable. “I will—” He paused, as if searching for just the right method of correction.
“Spank me?” she offered helpfully.
He gave a stiff shake of his head.
She tried again. “Douse my naked body with honey?”
His eyes ignited with blue fire. “Nay. I’ll prove your desire for me wherever we happen to be, whoever happens to be around us.”
“If you’re so tough, why don’t you just try it?” The words slipped out before she had time to think about them. She had just issued a sexually charged challenge to a fierce competitor, a man who did not like to lose.
“Do you provoke me?” he said softly. “I shall. I shall indeed.”
TWELVE
THREE DAYS AND twelve psychics later, Katie and Jorlan had developed a routine.
Morning: jog, visit psychics.
Afternoon: work at the Victorian.
Evening: talk, watch television.
Twilight: sleep apart and fantasize.
Though his body and mind screamed that he at last tup her, that his time was quickly running out, Jorlan hadn’t kissed Katie, hadn’t touched her, or whispered erotic words to her. Nay, he was subtly, through pleasantries and courtesies, trying to win her love and convince her to wed him. So far, he had failed. In fact, his solicitous manner had had the opposite effect on Katie, and it seemed as if she retreated a bit more from him each day. The continued failure, both with Katie and with the psychics, was causing his desperation to grow.
Only ten days remained. Ten short days until the curse claimed him once more.
Could he afford to lose another day to her stubbornness? More and more he felt the coldness of stone running through his blood, trying to freeze him where he stood. He had to make Katie love him. Had to force her to fall by whatever means necessary. He couldn’t tolerate failure much longer. Soon. He had to win her soon.
But what could he try that he had not already tried?
He’d pursued her sexually, had made her jealous, had shared his past with her, had given her time, and when all of that failed, had pursued her friendship, trying to prove to her that he truly did care for her and desired her happiness. Yet, his efforts had gotten him nothing but lost time.
Curse her. Did she not understand the great honor he was paying her by offering to make her his temporary life-mate? Nay, she did not! With her “No, I will not wed you” and her “You must obey my rules,” the woman was quickly eradicating his legendary control. She should know him well enough by now to know that he would convince her to come with him, that she would give him her heart, and that she would belong to him for however long he wanted to keep her.
He would accept nothing less than absolute compliance from her.
If only this day did not seem destined for failure, as well.
After a minor accident involving Katie’s transportation and a stationary pole, six jaunts into nonmagical establishments and a bout of stomach sickness caused, Jorlan was sure, by a slab of greasy food Katie referred to as pizza, he was not in a good mood. Plus, the new clothing he wore—the item Katie called underwear—was nigh smashing his man parts.
“Well, that’s all of them,” Katie said, brushing her hands together once, twice.
They stood outside The Knowing Palm, a small building that supposedly housed one of the greatest male psychics ever to live. Ever to live in a delusional world of his own creation, mayhap. Birds soared high above him, circling and searching for food. The hot sun beat down. A soft wind danced about, carrying a gentle scent, like flowers and rain that reminded him of Katie.
“We’ve wasted our morning in one shop or another.” Katie shielded her eyes with her hand. “We’ve got work to do, so let’s head over to the Victorian. I’ll put together another list tonight. The Internet is sure to have more names, and we can visit one or two over the weekend. If they’re not too far,” she added.
He paid her speech no heed. “We have been to six places, katya, yet there were seven left on your list.”
Her gaze flicked away guiltily. “We’re not going to the seventh.”
“Why not?”
“It’ll take us four hours to get there and four hours to get back.”
“So?”
“So, that’s hell on the butt, and I’m not doing it.”
“I shall massage away any discomfort you acquire.”
She crossed her hands over her chest. “I have to work in order to live, Jorlan, because when I work, I make money and that money pays for my food and shelter. I’ve gotten behind since you entered my life. I’m not making that drive.”
He simply stared at her.
She bared her teeth in a scowl. “Contrary to what you might think, I do not speak to hear my own voice. I said we could visit more places over the weekend, and we will.”
“I do not wish to wait. I will take your transportation and drive myself.”
“No. No. No!” Katie fisted her hands on her hips and stood her ground. She wasn’t giving in on this and that was final. No way in hell did she want to take an eight-hour road trip. They’d been in and out of the car all morning, and besides that, she really did have to work.
But that isn’t why you don’t want to go. The truth danced within her mind, and Katie stiffened. She hadn’t wanted to visit any psychics today. And she more specifically didn’t want to visit this next one, not because of work or a sore butt, but because she feared success. If they found someone who could take Jorlan home, he’d leave her sooner rather than later.
Didn’t he realize that she wanted him to stay here with
her a while longer?
No, he didn’t realize, because he was moving toward her with intent shining in his eyes. She backed up. He continued to advance. Then he was on her. Surprisingly, he didn’t haul her into the truck, and demand she drive him to Lubbock. He simply reached inside her beige short pockets—an innocent touch that caused fireworks to explode between her legs because it was the first touch he’d given her in three days, the jerk—and pulled out the truck ignition key.
Her body screamed find more keys! But she could tell by the irritated look etching Jorlan’s face that assaulting her person, pleasurably or otherwise, was not his intent. He turned away. “I will visit this location, and then I will return to you.”
In a flash she pictured him stranded on some isolated road, or worse, a populated town demanding everyone obey his every command. Someone would take offense, there would be a fight, Jorlan would win (he had a spatula, after all) and the other person would die. Then Jorlan would be hauled away to jail, where he would await trial. The government would find out that he was from another planet and all hell would break loose.
She couldn’t let that happen.
Katie raced behind him, swiped out her foot and tripped him. He crashed onto the hard ground, falling like a condemned home. She moved quickly, rushing to his hands and snatching the key. When she tried to dart out of reach, he latched on to her ankle. The next thing she knew, she was lying flat on her stomach and trying to suck in air.
Jorlan flipped her over, pried the key from her Kung Fu grip and smiled.
Smiled!
She used her hands to push herself upright and watched him practically skip to the truck.
“Wait!” She jolted after him, spitting gravel along the way. She latched on to his arm. “Let’s compromise about this.”
“I have been a warrior my entire life. I know nothing of compromise.”
With those ominous words ringing in her ears, he shook off her hold and strode to the driver’s side door of her truck. She hopped in front of the vehicle, arms splayed wide. “You compromised about the weapons, didn’t you? You compromised about sleeping on my floor instead of my bed.” She expected him to pick her up and carry her to the side of the road, effectively moving her out of his way.
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