"Good. Get back in bed—which is where I had hoped to find you—and I'll serve."
Minutes later he had set up a buffet across the bottom of the bed and set a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a cup of coffee on the nightstand next to her. At his insistence she put a little of everything on her plate.
"Did you have any strange dreams last night?" Noah asked in between bites.
"I don't think so. Why? Did you?"
"I'm not sure. But I woke up with a jolt, like my heart was given a jump-start. It was racing like I'd been having a terrifying nightmare only I don't remember any of it."
"You have nightmares?" Maggie made a face at him. "I read the beginning of one your books last night. If I hadn't been so distracted afterward I probably would have had some scary dreams for sure."
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "You're welcome."
She tapped him on the nose. "I was referring to the girl in the bathroom mirror. Your contribution was... something else."
"Hmmm. Something else. I don't think I've ever had such a rave review."
She tore off a bit of the cinnamon toast she was eating and threw it at him. He picked it off his shirt, swallowed it and gave her another kiss.
As expected, everything was delicious, but the shrimp Mornay omelet demanded a second helping.
As soon as Maggie had the last forkful in her mouth, Noah began clearing away the bed picnic. For a while she had forgotten she was supposed to be working. "Oh my," she said. "I didn't realize I was taking so long. I'll be dressed and ready to get to work in a minute." She started to rise but he pressed a hand to her shoulder.
"Wait. There's something I need to say." With a very serious expression, he sat down beside her. "I owe you an apology. Well, actually I owe you two apologies."
She squinted at him. "For what?"
He shifted to face her directly. "Last night... well, there's no excuse... I mean, I swear, it wasn't intentional, but no matter how much I wanted that to happen, I hadn't actually believed it would, well, at least not like that..."
"What are you babbling about?" Maggie truly had no idea what he could possibly be apologizing for.
"I was irresponsible."
He looked so ashamed, she didn't want to make it worse, but she had to ask. "In what way?"
He blinked at her. "I didn't have a condom. Didn't even think about it. But I swear, I never have unprotected sex. And I've never been a fan of getting naked with strangers. When I'm not in a relationship, I'm not having sex, and I haven't been in many relationships in recent years. What I'm trying to say is, I'm free of any sort of disease but we should have discussed that before. And what if I got you pregnant? Like I said, irresponsible."
She stroked his cheek. "That is very sweet, Noah. But I was just as irresponsible as you were. Yes, we should have had the conversation beforehand. And I would have told you that I'm perfectly healthy as well. But I should have also told you that I can't get pregnant... at least not right now. I get injections to help with painful periods, and the side benefit is birth control. And since we're being honest, it's been a long time since I took advantage of that particular benefit, mainly because I've never been a fan of getting naked with anybody, stranger or not. I thought it was just my fate to never know what great sex was like." She gently kissed his lips. "Thank you for showing me." She kissed him again. "And thank you for thinking you needed to apologize."
"I wasn't finished," he said sheepishly. "And you can't take any responsibility for the rest of it, so just accept my apology and my promise that I'll do much better next time."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Exactly what are you going to do much better?"
He exhaled heavily. "For our first time, I wanted to make love to you for hours, not jump your bones for two minutes then nod off. I never gave a thought to whether you were... ready... or satisfied. And I don't have a good excuse for why I didn't. To put it bluntly, I lost control like I was some horny teenager."
"Hmmm. I'm pretty sure we both lost control, just like we both took a little nap, and I reject your apology on all counts. I may not have a lot of experience, but I think our first time was exactly as it should have been—like a mouth-watering appetizer, which you followed up with a scrumptious feast. And as to your last concern, I think I've been ready for you since our first kiss, even if I didn't know it myself."
His mouth curved into a crooked grin. "So, does that all mean it was okay for you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Are you fishing for another compliment? I already said I thought it was great. However, like I said, I haven't had a lot of experience, so it might not have been as great as—" His lips pressed to hers before she could finish that thought.
Without breaking the kiss, he leaned her backward and untied the cord holding her robe closed. When he raised his head, she was captivated by the raw desire in his eyes as he eased the plush fabric away from her body.
"I'm wondering if there's anything I might do to get you to use a better description than 'great' or 'something else.' So tell me, Maggie, what would you call this?" He angled his mouth over hers and made love to her with his lips and tongue as his fingers lightly grazed her hip. Then he kissed his way across her cheek and nipped her earlobe and neck and licked the hollow of her shoulder blade.
When more than a second passed without further attention, she opened her eyes to see him looking at her with a questioning expression.
"Descriptive word please," he said with mischief in his eyes.
"Oh, I, uh, I'd call it... intoxicating."
"Excellent choice. But my ego still needs a bit more massaging." He continued his trail of kisses down to her breasts and when he took one peak into his mouth, Maggie gasped.
He withdrew his mouth. "And that?"
She made a soft sound of pleasure and whispered, "Bewitching."
He chuckled. "I think that's fair since I'm certain you cast a spell over me a long time ago."
"Hmmm. In that case, maybe I should say abracadabra and see what happens when I do this." Her hand slid from his cheek, down his chest to between his thighs and without any further effort, magic happened.
His intention had been to make this time all about her, to build her arousal slowly, show her more of what she'd been missing and not take anything for himself. But the only thing he accomplished was to make it last three minutes instead of two.
If he could, he would stay inside her for hours.
Somehow that thought didn't surprise him at all. Not with her. With his Maggie he always knew it would be like this. He had assumed his attraction to her would have dwindled over the years. But in case it hadn't and he still found himself captivated by her, he had run through dozens of scenarios aimed at their becoming lovers over several weeks. Fortunately for him, none of them had been necessary. It had all happened very naturally. Well, maybe not naturally, but it happened exactly as all magical things should.
The nagging voice of reason in his head reminded him of her need for adventure and avoidance of stability and he silenced it by assuring the nag that he wasn't imagining anything long-term with Maggie. He was simply enjoying the moment.
In his mind, he heard Reason laughing.
Despite his inability to go through with his noble intentions, the totally sated look in her eyes made him feel like a hero. Though thoroughly sated himself, that look was enough to get blood flowing to his lower regions all over again. Instead of giving into the temptation to remain in bed with her all day, he rose, helped her to her feet and swiftly wrapped her in the robe, making sure she was snugly covered from chin to ankles, then redressed himself. "Believe me when I say it is taking all my exceptional work ethic to do this. But I need to get to work."
"Oh, of course," she replied as she stepped away. "I'll be ready to head out in a minute."
He had mixed feelings about how quickly her expression switched to work mode. "Wait." She stopped at the bedroom door and he closed the distance between them in three strides. He
pulled her close and gave her a slow, seductive kiss as his hands ran down her back. "Okay, now I'm ready." She smiled and turned toward her room but he tugged her back again. "Maybe just one more." They were both smiling too much for their mouths to properly come together. "Hey, I don't call you Sugarlips for nothing."
She poked his chest with her index finger. "You promised not to call me that at all."
"Really? I don't remember making that promise."
She gave him a playful shove and scooted into her bedroom.
Maggie's body continued to tingle with pleasure as she dressed, brushed her hair and applied the speed version of makeup. Knowing they would be outside in the heat, she chose a lightweight white sundress and flat sandals. Not certain what all she would need on their walk-around, she removed the hotel property map from the informational notebook. She packed that, her pad, several pens and a few other items in a shoulder bag rather than carry a purse. When she returned to the main room, Noah was on the couch, skimming a glitzy travel magazine. Her breath caught as though it were the first time she'd ever seen such a devastatingly sexy creature.
He stood as soon as she approached. His gaze slid over her and his smile broadened. "You are temptation personified. I think I need to add something to your job description. From this moment until I order you otherwise, it is your responsibility to keep my mind on work and my hands off you. Okay?"
Relieved to have him set such a sensible rule, she fixed a stern expression on her face and saluted him. "Yes sir. Until you give me a counter-order, you and I are strictly author and assistant." She patted her shoulder bag. "I think I have everything I need except for the recorder you mentioned."
He reached into the chest pocket of his t-shirt and extracted a flat, palm-sized, black device. "It's voice-activated so there's really nothing for you to do as far as recording. But maybe you could glance at my pocket once in a while to make sure a light comes on when I'm talking. The built-in battery is supposed to be good for years but just in case..."
"I'll have my pad and pen ready to leap to the rescue."
He nodded. "I knew I was bringing you along for something besides your sweet—"
She quickly hushed him with her fingers on his mouth. "Work-related only."
He pretended to pout before going on. "When we get back here you just need to connect the recorder to my laptop and the computer will convert everything to text. The program isn't perfect though so I will need you to skim it, make corrections if needed, then print it out for me."
"Got it."
They checked the map on the way to the lobby and confirmed they had toured every foot of the ground floor of the main building the evening before. Noah said he needed to repeat that walk and check out the three towers of rooms but decided to cover the outdoors before the temperature and humidity hit the daily high.
Even at midmorning it felt as though they walked out of the hotel directly into a steam room. But as Maggie took in the clear blue sky, gentle salt-air breeze and white-capped ocean waves breaking on the sand, the heat was easy to ignore. They meandered along the beach and paused at the outdoor swimming pool with the island bar in its center. Noah got virgin piña coladas from one of several freestanding tiki huts and they sipped them while strolling along the golf-cart path that led to the ten individual bungalows.
The exteriors were all painted differently and made to look like beach huts with thatched roofs. She knew from the informational notebook that these units were fully-equipped, one-bedroom cabins leased out on a seasonal basis and always had a considerable waiting list.
Noah stopped in front of one with bright green shutters and two yellow rocking chairs on its narrow wooden porch. "Something about this reminds me of those fairy-tale tents that seem small on the outside but are huge and elaborate inside. Might be something I can do with that."
It was the first story-related comment he'd made and Maggie glanced at his pocket as he spoke to make sure the recorder had lit up.
A little beyond the last bungalow was a sign indicating the beginnings of three nature trails. The entrances were barely visible between the thick foliage. She glanced to her right and realized that was the paved pathway she'd been brought in on. "The driver who met me at the dock mentioned a nature trail and a good picnic spot. I think it has a waterfall too. But it sounded like there was only one, not three."
Noah picked the one on the left and she followed closely behind. He was being totally polite and didn't seem to be having any problem keeping his mind focused on work. Considering how sensual their morning had been, she was glad it wasn't up to her to be the strict one.
He stopped so abruptly she bumped into him. He held up a finger to signal her to wait. She stepped back and watched him cautiously slide the device out of his pocket and hold it in front of him. Realizing he was taking a picture, she followed his line of sight and had a silent moment of panic. Directly in their path was a huge, incredibly intricate spider web and its builder was about to snack on a fly it had caught. The spider's hourglass body was black with blue stripes and at least two inches long. Its eight stick legs increased its size by several inches more.
Noah nudged her around and whispered, "The big guy had no problem with my taking pictures but he isn't going to let us pass without a fight. It'll make one hell of a cover."
"What does a giant spider have to do with Hotel Hellgate?" she asked as they returned to the trail entrance.
"Nothing. But you've heard the expression a picture is worth a thousand words. That one is worth at least fifty thousand. I'll write a story to fit it."
"Wow. I could never do something like that."
Noah lifted her chin with his bent index finger and frowned as she met his gaze. "Why do you do that?"
She tried to circumvent his question with a tease. "Do I need to remind you about the new no-hands-on-Maggie rule?"
"I hereby order a temporary pause of that rule." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Most people don't see a monster spider and think about writing a story around it. But most of those people can do a lot of things I can't. You may not think you have any special talent but I know you're wrong. We just haven't identified it yet. So I don't want to hear anything like that come out of your mouth again." He gave her a quick kiss. "Mind you that doesn't mean you can't compliment my brilliance anytime you recognize it."
She couldn't help but smile and rose on her toes for a longer kiss, but he held his hand up between them.
"Sorry, time's up. Back to work."
She rolled her eyes but followed him obediently onto the middle trail. They walked for quite a while in silence without any primitive beasties blocking their way. Then, quite unexpectedly, the hair on Maggie's arms stood straight up then the hair on her head lifted as well and she stopped in her tracks. "Noah?"
He turned and gaped at the sight of her electrified hair. "What is it?" he asked as he retraced his steps to her.
"I'm not sure. Something... weird."
"More words please."
Maggie took several steps back and the hair relaxed. She came forward again, stopping exactly where she had before and the hair raised again. Taking another step backward, she explained, "It almost feels as though there's a solid wall in front of me." She put up her palms and found where it seemed to start. With conscious effort she had no difficulty passing through but her whole body felt as though it were tingling.
Noah narrated what he was watching for the sake of the recording. "I am now walking back beyond the point where Maggie is standing and testing the field myself." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before stretching out his arms and walking forward again. This time he stopped right beside her. "It's an energy field. Like the one you felt coming off the amethyst geode in the bar. Only this one is a whole lot more powerful. Even still, I didn't notice it until I focused on it." He scanned the area. "I don't see any rocks or geodes that could be creating the field, just plants and trees. Are you willing to see how far it goes?"
"I feel it now too," Noah said. "Only it came from your hand to mine and, oh my gawd, this is one of the coolest creepy things ever."
She laughed as she saw how his hair was sticking out. "It reminds me of static electricity only it's continuous. There's no specific spark or discomfort."
"It sort of tickles." He chuckled then laughed out loud as though the current had just reached an especially ticklish spot.
Maggie realized the feeling was not so different from how she felt when he kissed her. If she stood there much longer, she wasn't sure what the weird energy might make her—
Is someone there? Ple-e-ease. It's so dark. I don't know where I am.
"Maggie? What's wrong?" Noah searched her widened eyes for a clue to why she was squeezing his hand so tight.
"Did you hear that?" she whispered.
"I didn't hear anything."
Maggie pulled him forward until she felt the energy dissipate. "It was her. The Weeping Woman. I'm sure of it. And this time I'm positive it was not the Irish maid. I heard her clearly, as though she was standing right next to me. This woman was scared and lost... someplace dark... like she was trapped underground below us... and she may have heard us talking... like what happened with the maid." She told him the exact words she heard.
Noah looked back along the trail. "Did you notice how the trail was winding before the point where you sensed the field begin, then went perfectly straight for about forty feet before curving again from here? And it looks like that spot we were standing on, where you heard the voice, was halfway, like an epicenter."
Some Time Away (Lovers in Time Series, Book 3): Time Travel Romance Page 7
