Catch Me: Time After Time

by Reese Rivers

  The rumble of his chest against my back and his low biting tone wakes me but I keep my eyes closed to see if I can learn anything.

  “Bloody hell, you need to take her, man! My cock can’t take much more. I’ve been as hard as a rock since I settled behind her.” A snort of half amusement half disgust comes from one of the other men.

  “I swear, you and your cousin are more dog than wolf! You need to learn to control yourselves.” Sebastian bites out causing Finn to scoff behind me.

  “Ha! I’d wager you’d not fare much better even with your famous bloody control, Bas. The lass smells like the most fragrant perfumed meadow with a loaded dessert table in the middle of it. That and her tight arse cupping my cock for the last hour has done me in.”

  I’m laughing inside at his description of how I smell. It’s just gardenia scented shampoo and vanilla body lotion when reality hits me. I can’t suppress the groan as my eyes pop wide open at the thought of NO INDOOR PLUMBING! Fuck no, just NO.

  “Look now, you’ve woken the lass with your bellyaching.” Cade laughs.

  Sebastian must not find the delay funny as he nudges his horse next to ours and with one powerful hand, wraps around my waist and drags me across to sit sideways in front of him on his horse. Clamping this other arm around me, he kicks his horse into a fast gallop that has me clutching onto him. Sitting sideways gives me next to no control of my balance and I’m afraid I’ll fly off at any moment.

  Being sideways makes it easy for me to turn my head and study his face once I realize he’s not going to let me fall. I’m met with a hard glare that I ignore as I take in his chiseled jawline, cinnamon-colored eyes flecked with gold and stupidly long lashes. When my eyes drop to his mouth I find myself wiggling slightly. Even if he is mister frostbite, those lips are…well, let’s just say any sane woman would want them on her, full stop.

  “Sit still, witch. I’m not a young pup you can sway with your charms.” He growls at me through gritted teeth. I roll my eyes and face forward again but have to suppress the laugh that bubbles up when I hear him take a deep sniff of my hair. I should be terrified at the situation I’m in but something tells me these men won’t hurt me. It’s irrational not to be afraid after all I’ve been through in the past but that’s what my gut says and I’m tired of being afraid all the time so I’m going with my gut on this one.

  Wide awake now, I try and sort through how I ended up in the here and now. I was in the turret getting ready to pack Adera’s junk when I found the cleared area. That’s when I saw…the mirror! As soon as I stepped in front of it, I was locked in place. I remember the wind and then the white light and roar, then tumbling before hitting the ground and puking my guts out. The pieces start clicking into place. The hidden area, the rack of period costumes, and the fucking drop-dead gorgeous crystal…no, jewel-framed mirror? Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, bitches. I got my ass magik’d! It’s the only explanation that makes any kind of sense.

  So now I’m figuring that all those long absences when Adera was ‘traveling’ the world were actually her traveling time. Fuck me, that blows my mind. OK, that’s how I got here but how the hell do I get back and how do I survive this time period until I do? Seriously, I’m wearing a bathrobe! I have no money or jewelry to hock. All I have is, I pat discreetly at the deep pockets of my robe to make sure, my iPhone 20Pro is in it, and yeah, it the latest and greatest model but I’m pretty sure Siri, Alexa, and Cortana combined isn’t going to be able to get me out of this mess. I still my fingers as they itch to reach for the final item I’ve brought through with me. Although I will have yummy kissable lips, I don’t think my cherry lip balm is going to be my salvation either.

  After what seems like forever, the snow-man turns the horse to gallop down a wide lane that has a double row of over groomed hedges leading to what would be called a mansion in my time frame and you can tack on Estate with capital letters judging by the manicured grounds and too many fountains for me to count. I side-eye the guy behind me and check the boxes. Leadership role, check. Square jaw and all the hot fixins’ to go with it, check. Arrogant and up on a high horse, check, check. There’s no doubt in my mind. I’m riding with the Lord of the fucking manor.

  Sebastian

  Servants spill from the house as I slide from the back of the horse and I toss the reins to the nearest one before reaching up and grasping the witch around her small waist to lift her down. I keep my expression completely blank as I use my strength to keep a foot of space between us when I would very much like to feel her chest crushed against mine. I would eat broken glass before I let her or Finn know that she affected me in a similar way to what Finn had complained about. This witch must have strong powers to affect me like this when no other has. No matter the spell she casts, I won’t be distracted by my cock. I mastered it long ago.

  I leave the witch and the others to follow behind as I stride through the door tossing my cloak and gloves to a servant to deal with and head to the library expecting the others to follow along. I pour myself a crystal glass of brandy, both for the enjoyment of the liquor and to help shake off the effects of the witch’s spell. By the time I’ve downed the glass, I can hear the others enter the room behind me. I turn slowly and spear the woman with a piercing glare that has broken many a man before her. I try to not react when she rolls her eyes and turns away from me. I watch with narrowed eyes as she scans the room and see her eyes trail up the bookshelves that rise to the high ceiling. My sharp hearing catches her whispered words, “I’m dead. This has to be heaven.” Her tiny squeal of excitement has my eyebrows raising in surprise as she rushes across the room and latches onto a wooden ladder on rollers and rails that is used to access the higher shelves.

  What the devil is wrong with this witch? I send a look to my companions and am not surprised to see the wolves grinning at the witch’s antics but it’s Luca that has me confounded. There is the smallest of smiles gracing his pouty lips that has not been there in the last two hundred years since his almost death and me siring him. Furious that his reaction could only be the result of her witchcraft, I stomp across the room and haul the menace back to the center of the room dropping her arm like I’ve been burned.

  “Time for some answers, witch! Who sent you?”

  Instead of cowering at my thundering tone as most would, she squares up to me with a face filled with anger. A hand comes up and one pretty finger jabs in my direction. “Listen, Iceman, you might be Lord of the manor or whatever but that doesn’t mean you can act like an asshole! Stop calling me a witch! No one sent me. Seriously, it’s a case of wrong place, wrong time.”

  In my one thousand, four hundred and twenty-six years in this mortal realm, I have never been left speechless but this, this demon witch with her jabbing finger and words…did she actually just call me an…asshole?…has finally stunned me speechless. Finn and Cade are howling with laughter at my flabbergasted expression no doubt and Luca is leaning against a bookshelf with an avid expression of interest that I’ve never seen on his face before. He is clearly hexed by the witch.

  Fury fills me at her defiant expression so I can’t help myself when I rush the few feet between us and drag her against my chest in a crushing hold. I’m about to show her exactly who she’s dealing with and anticipate the terror I will see in her pretty, wide green eyes when I feel something hard and rigid against my thigh. I push her away from me enough to be able to run my hands down her body. Her curves are enticing enough without being covered by the most sinfully soft material that her cloak is made of. Smooth like silk and satin but thick like the softest fur, it’s the type of material that only the wealthiest would own.

  My hands complete the slow journey down the witch’s body sending a slight shiver through her until they reach the two hard objects I had felt. I see the widening of her eyes in panic when I slip my hands into the pockets sewn into the cloak and grasp a hard rectangle and small cylinder from each. I smirk in triumph when her hands come up and latch onto both my wrists. A tiny shake of h
er head and the one whispered word of, “Don’t,” tell me I’ve found her secrets. The witch is strong, surprisingly so for a woman but not strong enough to stop me from pulling the items out and exposing them to the room.

  We both look down at what I’m holding, her with a small sigh and me in confusion. I have no idea what either of the items are. The cylinder is red with white writing on it and made from no material that I have ever seen before. I turn my eyes to the rectangle and lift it higher to examine it more closely. The front surface is black and shiny smooth. It looks like obsidian but if it is, the craftsmanship to make a slab of it so perfectly smooth like this is beyond anything I’ve seen in my long lifetime. The black stone is edged along the sides and back with a material that sparkles in all the colors of opal or pearl, changing when it is looked at from different angles. Whatever the object is, it’s priceless in value. How this woman came to be in possession of it is another secret I vow to solve. The lightness of weight surprises me as a piece of obsidian this large should be heavier. I can’t help but rub my thumb over its smoothness and the action has the object flaring with light causing me to jerk it away from my face. That’s all the witch needs to snatch it from my hand and hide it behind her back. The light from the object is all the evidence I need to prove her a user of the dark arts.

  “Not a witch you say and yet here is the proof of your lies!” I accuse in a cold tone.

  I expect her to deny my words, beg or plead but once again this woman does what I least expect.

  She groans out a frustrated screech, tilts her head back and looks to the ceiling before calling out, “Seriously? Tried for witchcraft and burnt at the stake for a fucking iPhone? Seriously?”

  The other three men in the room have moved closer and loosely encircle her. It’s Cade that asks, “Are you calling to the one you worship, lass? Or the one you serve?”

  She shakes her head and whispers, “Jesus,” under her breath but then says it again louder. “Jesus! That is who I worship and serve, in my own way if I have to pick one. I…am…not…a…witch!” She spits out before whipping the magical object out and holding it up for all of us to see. “THIS is not magic. It’s…it’s technology. Where I’m from, almost everyone, rich or poor, owns some version of one and none of them are witches!” She sighs and lowers it down and uses her thumb to brighten it again before holding it out, offering it to any of us to take. When none of us do, her shoulders slump. “It won’t hurt you. It’s not dangerous…unless you have an Amazon Prime membership and an addiction to online shopping.” As we all take a step back, she laughs. “Joke, I was making a sarcastic joke! Honestly, it’s just a device that is common where I come from.”

  Luca steps closer to her and leans his upper body to get a better look at what is displayed on the front of the object. He frowns and asks, “Where are you from, then? It must be a wealthy land if all people have such a marvel.”

  She snorts out a laugh and uses her free hand to swipe away a thick hank of her red curls and push them behind her back.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  When he just lifts his eyebrows in dispute, sadness crosses her face and she gives a tiny shake of her head. “No one could believe me. I hardly believe it myself.”

  Luca lifts a hand and cups the witch’s face causing me and the wolves to rear back in shock. Luca refuses to touch others unless it’s during a fight or by accident. Should anyone touch him, he will flinch from it or lash out. Seeing this out-of-character behavior from him is just one more instance that proves to me that the woman has cast a spell on him.

  “You would be surprised at what we would believe. Try us.” He tells her in a soothing tone.

  I see her face softening and the longing and loneliness I can read in her expression have me doubting my belief for a moment. She chews on her bottom lip in indecision and something about that sends a bolt of heat down to my cock. Such attraction for a woman this quickly doesn’t happen to me and my mind is again swayed back to her being a witch that has spelled us. We don’t even know the hellion’s name, for Hell’s sake.

  Her eyes dart around the room to look at each one of us before she takes a deep breath and then blows it out, causing my eyes to dip down to her breasts. I force them away and focus on her face to see the lie that I know is coming.

  “My name is Eden Kelly and I’m from the future. The year I come from is 2028. If math is hard for you all, that’s three hundred and sixty-one years in the future, to be exact.”

  The room is dead silent for a moment after her ridiculous lie of a statement until I let out a roar of anger, done with this foolishness. She swings her face my way, still filled with defiance so I show her a truth that will force her to reveal every secret she has. I let the change come over me and feel my canines lengthening to fangs as my eyes blaze the red of the depths of hell. I step towards her with a snarl so my teeth are on full display and wait for the screaming to begin. The witch’s eyes widen but not with the terror I expect, instead, they almost seem to be filled with wonder. Her mouth drops open in surprise but quickly snaps into a grin of…delight? Nothing in her reaction is how it is supposed to be so I find that I’m the one who is shocked instead of her when she takes a few steps towards me instead of fleeing for her life. She lifts a hand as if she’s going to touch my face but quickly shakes her head and drops it to her side, still with that infuriating grin.

  “Holy shit! You’re a vampire! Boy, did Twilight ever get it wrong. Not a single sparkle to be seen!”

  And then the witch laughs…She laughs!

  Eden

  Holy cracker jackers! A vampire? A real live…er…dead vampire is standing in front of me right now. As if time travel wasn’t enough to scramble my fragile brain the universe is going to throw this at me too? Not that it isn’t freaking amazing but now I’m wondering what other crazy is headed my way. I’m grinning like an idiot at vampire guy and try not to giggle when he loses the fangs and red glowy eyes, leaving a small pout on his sexy lips. I guess he was expecting a different reaction from me but as a huge fan of Buffy, True Blood, and The Originals not to mention the hundreds of kindle vampire ebooks I’ve read, well, I could be scared but I’m more intrigued than anything else. I can’t help the sassy wink I toss at him before I spin away to take a closer look at the other three shocked men in the room. My eyes lock onto Luca and I slowly start to nod my head while lifting my hand to point at him.

  “Vampire.” It’s more of a statement than a question and my heart does a little flutter when he nods back just as slowly that I’m right. I grace him with another big smile and switch my focus to the blonds, Finn and Cade. Here I pause while squinting my eyes in consideration but then shake my head.

  “Not vampire but…”

  Both of them lean forward like they’re eager to hear what I’m going to guess. They just don’t give off the vamp vibe that fits the other two men now that they’ve revealed themselves. I track back to all the things I’ve heard since I landed in this time and focus on the words dog, pup, and…wolf! My eyes go wide and I practically choke out, “Wolves! Oh my god, are you guys wolf shifters?”

  The huge grins that plaster across both of their faces tells me that I’ve nailed my guess and I just stand there in total shock.

  “How did you know that, lass? Are there many shifters where…uh…when you come from?” Cade asks in excitement.

  I let out a shocked laugh. “In real life, no clue. But in books, TV shows, and movies, yes. So many.”

  Cade elbows Finn in the side. “Do you hear that, cousin? We’re famous in the future! There are many books written about us and the other two things she said that I don’t understand. Many, she said!”

  Cade opens his mouth to ask me something but a thought crosses my mind like a lightning bolt so I cut him off and spin to look at the others and blurt out, “Time travel, vampires and wolf shifters, for all that’s holy, please, please say there are dragons too?”

  Luca barks out a laugh ca
using the other three men to stare at him like he has two heads but only for a second before Sebastian finally loses his patience and roars,

  “Enough! Enough of your incessant chatter and lies! I’m done dealing with this nonsense.” He points to Finn and Cade. “Take her to one of the guest rooms and lock her in. I will get the truth from her tomorrow.” He turns his glare on Luca. “And you! I don’t know what spell the witch has cast over you but I don’t like it. You will come with me to the palace to inform the King of what transpired today.” When Luca frowns, Sebastian throws up a hand. “No arguments. The further away from her the more the spell will weaken.”

  With that proclamation, he steps up to me and pries the iPhone from my hand and stomps past me, leaving the room.

  I glare at the empty door he’s disappeared through for a moment before switching my gaze to Luca. The expression on my face changes to a look of hope as I ask a one-word question.

  “Dragons?”

  He smiles softly at me but shakes his head before leaving the room as well. As the two wolves escort me to a guest bedroom I mutter under my breath.

  “Dammit, why couldn’t there be dragons too?”

  They leave me in a pretty room with a four-poster bed that is so high there’s a small wooden staircase placed beside it to climb up onto it. They promise me food will be brought later and then shut the door.