by Sherry Ewing
With trembling fingers, she touched his skin and heard the hiss that escaped his parted lips, as though she had burned him. Perhaps that wasn’t too far from the truth, for her skin certainly was warm and surely had risen by several degrees from the scorching heat of his touch. He tore her shirt from her chest, and her body shivered even while she continued to gaze upon the feast before her. His chest was like a molded piece of exquisite art with sculptured muscles rippling down to his stomach. The man exuded pure strength, and every single place she touched was like the finest marble, chiseled especially for her pleasure.
Jenna leaned forward and her lips lightly brushed against his chest, sending rivers of raised goose bumps racing all over his skin. Her tongue peaked out to taste him, but all she could taste was the chlorine pool.
“We need a shower,” she managed to squeak out like a frightened little mouse as her sweatpants puddled at her feet, and his kisses marked a delicious trail down her stomach. “We taste like pool water.”
“Later,” he murmured, kneeling down in front of her. “I cannot wait that long, for you have tempted me these far too many days, my love.”
Jenna gasped as she gently cupped his cheeks and raised his head so she could see his expression. “My love?”
“Aye. How could you doubt I would not come to love you, Jenna? We have both crossed time for the other. I would follow you to the ends of the earth if I must just to be with you. Surely, I have already proven my devotion to you, since I am here with you now.”
She was about to reply, but her thoughts became scrambled as he took the string riding low on her hips and pulled it with his teeth, of all things. Anything profound or sentimental she would have said was lost as he duplicated his slow efforts with a sly grin plastered on his handsome face. The small amount of material that had been covering her fell away and was followed seconds later by her bikini top. His swim trunks followed the path into the pile of discarded clothing on the floor as he stood before her in all of his masculine glory.
This was probably the most erotic experience in all of her life. He was simply magnificent and about as perfectly formed as any man of her wildest imagination could be. Then it happened, as she knew it someday would, when love finally found her and would be worth keeping, no matter the cost. Her knees grew weak as her heart somersaulted end over end in happiness while she fell back onto the bed, and he followed her descent.
Whatever the connection they had been experiencing between them before was miniscule compared to now when they were skin to skin. All their barriers had been brought down with nothing left between them except the love they were about to share.
Jenna almost expected Fletcher to more or less ravage her, for she was past the point of trying to cage the desire she had been consumed with for this man. Yet, he did the exact opposite. Slowly, he savored each and every touch, each and every kiss. Taking her gently, he cradled her in his arms as though she was his most cherished possession in the world.
Suddenly, everything changed when Fletcher began making his way down her body, trailing hot kisses down her neck, breasts, and then back and forth along her slim waist and stomach. A moan escaped her when he went even lower, and his mouth captured the very essence of her. Nothing had ever felt so right, as it did with Fletcher loving her with his mouth and tongue. She lost all control, and any inhibitions she may have had were gone while he continued the delightful torture that was bringing her to the brink of something that could only be termed life altering. Her back arched as wave after wave of pleasure pulsed through her body when he caused her to shatter.
While Jenna began to sense she was able to breathe again, she saw Fletcher rise from the bed. “Where are you going?” she asked in alarm. She heard him fussing in the other room wondering if he was leaving, but relaxed once more when he returned carrying their champagne.
He held out her glass for her to take even while he drank his own before refilling it. “You think I would leave you when we have only just begun, ma petitie?”
His voice, that low seductive timbre, sent her pulse to racing again. She took a sip of her wine and handed him the glass that he set down on the nightstand. Somehow, she couldn’t seem to form any words as she watched his every move.
He took another drink, set his own glass down, and then came to her, settling himself between her legs. His head leaned down and she opened her mouth to receive his kiss only to enjoy the sensation of sharing the wine he had held in his mouth.
“Where did you learn to do that?” she whispered, swallowing hard.
He chuckled. “I was not born yester eve, my lady.”
She choked back a laugh when she remembered their earlier banter while she had been in his time. “Technically, you practically were.”
Fletcher gave no verbal response, but his eyes spoke to her in a thousand ways before he leaned down. Their breaths mingled for a split second in time until he ended her torture by moving his lips over hers. With deep sweeping strokes of his tongue, he quickly took possession of her mouth. Her fingertips traced the bulging muscles of his back before traveling lower to grab his firm bottom, a move which caused him to break off their kiss with a raised brow.
“You tempt me sorely to take you now, Jenna, instead of taking our time this eve.”
“You’ve made me wait long enough, Fletcher. Please,” she begged. “I want you inside me, now.”
“I have waited a lifetime for you, my Jenna,” he uttered softly.
She widened her thighs to receive his thrusting heat. Her entire body tensed with expectation. Nothing could have prepared her for the sensation of him filling her so completely, mind, body, and soul. When he began to move, her entire body quivered with a desire she had never experienced before. Joy burst within her heart, for she knew she had found what she, too, had been waiting for.
And when they reached the pinnacle of their incredible flight that sent them soaring into the heavens above together, he continued to hold her until they touched back down to earth once more. He had given her the perfect first kiss, and now he had made love to her by showering her with an affection that was so pure and, more importantly, freely given she would never be the same again. The bond between them wrapped itself around her once broken heart and healed the past to make way for their future together.
Jenna knew she would never again let him go, for Fletcher had shown her the miracle of true love.
Chapter 31
Fletcher sat upon the bed gazing in earnest upon the beautiful woman across from him. “I must admit that I do so enjoy showering with you, my lady,” Fletcher declared as he bit into a strawberry, catching the juice with his tongue when it began to drip down his chin.
Jenna laughed and, rising up on her knees, leaned across the bed and kissed his lips. “Delicious,” she whispered with a shy blush on her cheeks. “It’s a good thing we’re still here at the hotel. Between actually attempting to shower with you and having you make love to me in there, we’d have run out of hot water if we were at home. Besides, we need to be careful with our water. There’s a drought.”
His brow furrowed thinking of the numbers of people in this time and the amount of water it would take to grow enough food, care for livestock, or quench their thirsts. He shook his head from his musing whilst observing her as she continued to break her fast. “You are most hungry this morn.”
“We worked up an appetite. Besides, we really didn’t do that dinner any justice, now did we? But missing a meal was worth it after a night like that. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.”
“’Twas an evening I, too, shall never forget, ma cherie.”
They continued breaking their fast ’til most of the sustenance was gone. Fletcher watched her every move as she picked up the trays whilst he mused on her telling him earlier that they were going to enjoy breakfast in bed. He must admit dining like this was much to his liking.
Taking some of the pillows that had managed to find their way to the floor, he propped himself up and leane
d on one elbow. He held the sheet for her to join him. “Come back to bed, Jenna.” His invitation put a spark into those incredible green eyes, and yet, he was more in the mood to talk of things of import that had been on his mind of late.
She snuggled into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his chest. The distracting little minx began rubbing her fingertips lightly across his chest causing the hairs to stand on end. His entire being tingled with her nearness. That physical reaction alone was a sure sign they were meant to be with one another. He would someday need to thank Rolf for the part he played in bringing them together. That is, of course, if the opportunity ever presented itself.
His body began to react to her playfulness. He must needs remind himself of his purpose as he grabbed at her hand, bringing it to his lips. “We must have speech between us, Jenna.”
Her body flinched at his words, and Fletcher reacted by holding her closer. He kissed her wrist whilst she, in turn, freed her appendage then put it firmly around his waist. “I don’t like the sound of that. You’re not going to give me some line now about how we can only just be friends, are you?”
“Nay, nothing of the sort even crossed my mind. But I must needs hear for myself, however, why you left Berwyck when I asked you to wait for me.” His voice sounded gruff, although ’twas not his intention.
“I didn’t want to, Fletcher. Honestly, I had little to no choice.” Her voice shook from the emotions that were apparently rushing through her like the fiercest of storms.
He brought her closer and kissed the top of her head. “Then tell me why you took such a risk that I would lose you across time if I had not come when I did.”
“It was my mom.”
“What does your mother have to do with us?”
“Nothing, and yet, everything, all the same. I could hear her crying across eight hundred years, Fletcher. I know this doesn’t make any sense. I mean…time travel…who knew? But how could I go and be happy with living my life in the twelfth century if I would hear her sorrow across time itself for the rest of my days? I just knew it wouldn’t be possible, so I was sacrificing my own happiness for her sake. She doesn’t have anyone else in her life besides me, and she’s already given up so much of her own dreams just so I could pursue mine. I couldn’t leave her not knowing what had become of me. How could I live with myself if she thought I was dead, either by someone killing me or that I had committed suicide? ”
“I understand,” Fletcher acknowledged, although such an admission caused him to reflect on what had cost him his own family, in a past to where he had no notion of how he would return.
Jenna raised her tearful eyes to his. “You do?”
“Aye, my lady, I do.” He reached out to smooth teardrops from her face afore she settled back down onto his chest and gave him a hug that nearly cracked his ribs.
“I was so afraid to lose you,” she told him with such open honesty that it tore at his own heart.
“As you can see, you did not.” His hand traveled down the length of her hair, feeling the softness of her tresses cascading down her back. “I meant what I said when I told you I would follow you to the ends of this earth, if need be, so we could be together.” Fletcher felt her take a deep breath.
“But you’re out of place here, as much as I was when I traveled back to find you.”
With a casual shrug, he tried to justify the duties he had left behind in order to stay with the woman he loved. “’Tis a dilemma of enormous consequences, I am unsure how to rectify,” he admitted with his own sense of loss.
Jenna moved to look up at him. “You’re not happy here?” she asked. He knew her well enough to know she already had the answer to her question.
“I am most pleased that we are together, Jenna.”
“I am, as well, but that hardly answers the question, Fletcher. Don’t you like the future?” She did not wait for his reply, but instead, got up to put on a silken robe that had been lying on a chair. He swore he could have heard the sash snap as she hurried to tie it about her waist. He was unsure if she was truly frustrated by their situation or in truth angered by it.
“Come back to bed, Jenna,” he urged.
She shook her head at him and began tying her hair up to keep it out of her face. “We need to check out anyway, and our conversation won’t get resolved if I climb back into that bed.”
“Jenna, I─”
She turned away from him and clenched the edges of the chest, or dresser as she would call it. “Please Fletcher…just answer me. Are you happy here in the future?”
He would not lie to her. Rising from the bed, he quickly pulled on his trousers and took her trembling body into his arms. “Do not cry, my dearest heart, for it tears at my soul to see you in such anguish.”
“I…can’t…help…it,” she stammered, trying to catch her breath.
Fletcher led her back to the bed where they sat next to one another. He reached out and clasped her hand. It looked so small in his own, and he ran his thumb across its back as if that would cease her trembling fear that he knew was consuming her. “I did not tell you a falsehood when I said I was happy we were together, my lady. ’Tis only that I am not comfortable in a world where everything that is familiar to me is long since gone. My friends, my family, my duty, and my way of life are no more.”
“The situation was the same with me when I went back to your time, and that’s why everything was so confusing.”
He lifted her hand to his lips again. “Hear me out, Jenna. I truly understand your plight and concern for your mother’s wellbeing. But I have no worth here in this time and place. There is no danger here I must guard against.”
“There’s plenty of danger in the city but not the kind a person goes looking for,” she grumbled.
“Aye, and therein lies the difference. A sword that I have trained my entire life with is like an extension of my own arm. I know its use and the method in which to wield it when necessary to protect those for whom I care. But in your world, these guns I have seen on your televisions are the weapon of choice, not only for those who uphold the law but for your knaves, as well.” He stood up and began pacing in front of her, trying to voice his own lack of worth without appearing an imbecile.
“You don’t need to learn how to use a gun, Fletcher. Most men don’t go around carrying or waving those things about,” she exclaimed with teary eyes that watched his every move. Her eyes never left him, as if she searched his soul to make things aright in how their future would now proceed.
He stopped his pacing and saw the worry etched upon her lovely features. “How do I protect you then with only the use of my hands? How do I support you?” he growled, opening up to her about the true depth of his frustration. “All these concerns are because I have no purpose here, and I cannot have a woman support me whilst I do nothing to earn my keep.”
“I don’t mind,” Jenna declared, and he could see for himself that she was in earnest. “I’ve done it before. You’re certainly worth more than Dylan ever was, and I’d work my fingers to the bone for you.”
“By damned, woman, you will not,” he yelled whilst jealousy tore at him, knowing she had been with that worthless cur about whom she had told him. “Do not compare me to a man who valued you so little, he tossed you aside for another.”
Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks. She made no attempt to wipe them away. “I won’t mention him, ever again. I promise.”
Jenna began collecting their belongings, shoving them into their bags without any sense of order. The silence was unbearable, and Fletcher knew ’twas his doing. Breaching the rift between them in order to make her acknowledge he was in the room, Fletcher reached out to pull her to him and wrapped his arms around her tense body. She stood still as stone. He loosened his steely grip upon her and smoothed her hair, which caused her to let out a deep breath. Fletcher felt her relax, afore she, too, wrapped her arms around his waist. Then, she rested her head upon his chest as though content.
“I am sor
ry for shouting, Jenna. ’Twas not my intent to hurt you, nor show my anger. I know you mean well.”
“We’ll think of something. I don’t know what, but I’m sure, it’ll come to us.”
She resumed her packing whilst he went to finish dressing. A somber mood descended upon them as they struggled to find something to talk about whilst they drove from the city to Jenna’s apartment. They were not prepared for the shouting coming from within as Jenna raised her key to open the door.
Chapter 32
Jenna threw open the door. “What the hell is going on in here?”
Amy came running out of the back rooms. “I can’t get that bastard to leave. He’s in your room, Jenna.”
“Who’s in my room?” She fumed, setting down her bag. Fletcher didn’t wait for Amy’s reply but, skirting around Jenna, barged into the apartment. He grabbed his sword that he had left leaning against the wall near the sofa.
“It’s Dylan, that jerk,” Amy replied with a grimace.
“At last,” he growled, and Jenna saw a sly smile of satisfaction set on his face, “I can be of some use.”
Jenna cringed, hearing Fletcher’s sword escaping the scabbard that then fell to the floor. He wasted no time crossing the small living room area. “Fletcher, please, be careful.”
He turned back in her direction. His whole demeanor had changed, now he was about to face the challenge in her room. It was as though he was a whole brand new person, and a small light bulb went off inside Jenna’s head. He’d never be happy here in this time period. She knew this for a fact just as surely as she took her next breath. As he had said, daily life here would be considered boring to a man who lived his life on the edge of danger on a regular basis.
Did he actually give her a salute before going into the bedroom? She listened with interest at the raised voices until a scuffle broke out. Furniture crashed, someone ended up slammed against the door as the picture on the living room wall shook. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who had landed there. Fletcher’s rumble of laughter was muffled. Good God, he is actually enjoying himself.
