by Tl Reeve
She made an impatient sound. “Stop.”
He continued to work his nimble fingers up her leg. Each muscle tensed, then relaxed under his touch. “I’m not here to harm you.”
“No? Then what are you here for, Julian? Ever since you’ve stepped foot onto this time period, you’ve done nothing but second-guess my decisions. Then backtracked. I don’t know if I’m coming or going with you!” Piper yelled.
He began to see cracks in the reinforced wall she relied on so heavily. Gently, he removed the stocking from her injured leg and revealed a gash an inch long that wasn’t too deep. What looked worse was the purple and blue bruise already forming on the abused flesh. A group of pedestrians gave them a wide birth. Women, in high-quality dressings, covered their mouths with kerchiefs while others frowned at them.
He didn’t care. Let them stare.
“Look at what you’ve done,” he murmured, pressing his lips above the cut.
“I didn’t do it on purpose.” The starch in her voice returned as she tried to move away.
“I didn’t say you did.” He kissed her again, this time higher. With each ticking second, the anxiety washed away, and she began to squirm in his grasp. The subtle scent of her arousal made his head spin.
“Much better.” Inching up her body, he leveled his face with hers. “Let’s get you stood up, shall we?” He nuzzled her nose with his, then placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
“This is so embarrassing,” she huffed.
“It’s not so bad. Can you stand?”
She frowned. “I think so.” She took his hand and pushed off the ground, only to yelp when she got half way up. “Ow, okay this sucks.”
“Come here.” He lifted her with ease. “I’ll carry you back to the house; then we’ll get you cleaned up.” He started down the cobbled lane, uncaring of the stares they got.
“Why are you still being nice to me?”
If he hadn’t been paying attention, he might not have heard her. “Because I believe one of us should get our heads out of our ass. Theo always seems to stick his foot in his mouth, and you always seem to be walking away.”
She buried her face in his neck. “I don’t mean to. It’s hard to explain this, whatever, I don’t understand it.”
No, he suspected not. “It’s new, and we’re all trying to put it into a box of understanding when there is none.”
“You might be on to something.”
Julian chuckled. “For now, let’s not think about what we are. What we’re going to be or how this is all crazy out of control. We’re here to solve a murder. Let’s allow the other stuff to come if and when it does.”
“I’d like that.”
So would he. He sat down on the front stoop of their home, then carefully placed her on his lap. She stiffened against him, then slowly began to relax. Soon she would learn she could trust him, and it didn’t matter, to him at least, how long it took. “I want you to know you can always talk to me and I will always be there for you.”
“You’re saying it like you have some magic wand to fix everything in my past and make me perfect again.” Her gaze searched his, as though she were trying to put together a puzzle only to find it has missing pieces.
“I don’t want you perfect.” He brushed his nose across hers again. “I want Piper. I want your imperfections. Your worries. Your fears. I want your heartache.”
“You can’t mean it, Julian.” She shook her head and tried to push out of his arms. “No one wants me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ll prove it too.” He threaded his finger into her hair and turned her to face him. His mouth covered hers in an instant, and he swore his shaft would burst through his trousers. Sugary sweet, and so damn soft, her bottom lip trembled under his with each swipe of his tongue. Each stroke coaxed her until she opened, and he took advantage.
Their tongues tangled in a hedonistic battle, one he never wished to win, only participate in. She whimpered, and he swallowed the sound, desperate for more of her. He sipped from her, taking his time to savor this mating of their mouths. Finally, her body relaxed and pressed to his, trying to get closer to him without breaking the kiss. Yes, this was the woman he dreamed of. The desire to mark her in some primal way set his blood to boil, and if he didn’t pull back soon, he’d take her right here.
Their first time would be on a bed of silks in a room filled with lavender, under a canopy of gauze. Poetic, sure. But, he wanted it perfect for her. He yearned to show her physically how special she was to him.
Julian groaned as he palmed her ass, and he continued to feast on her. He rubbed his groin against her hip, eliciting a whimper from her. He swallowed down the sounds she made as he kissed her. The temptation to rip the yards of material covering her aside and finger her to her release rushed through him, and he had to hold himself steady. Not yet. Not now.
Piper broke away from him first, then kissed a path along his jaw and down his neck while she went to work on the buttons of his shirt, popping them open one by one.
He should have stopped her. Yet, for the first time, he got a heightened emotional response from her, and he wanted to drink it down. Explore it with her, until she had her fill. When she finally gazed up at him, her lust-filled blue eyes destroyed him. She looked disheveled in a good, sexy, vixen way. His dick twitched at the sight of her swollen lips and pink tinged cheeks. Whatever spell they wove around each other, he didn’t want it to end.
“Go ahead.” He encouraged her, placing her hands flat against his chest. “Explore me. Touch me.”
She took her bottom lip between her teeth, and he moaned. Did she know what she did to him? No, she had no clue she set him on fire. Julian reached forward and, using his thumb, released her lip from her teeth. Her tongue darted out, skimming the appendage before she went back to opening his shirt. He didn’t move. Instead, he sat contently as she took her fill of him. Pride filled him.
Her fingers brushed against his sides, then traced the ridges and bumps of his muscles. His breath hitched as she leaned in and placed a kiss to his chest, then licked him. She made an appreciative sound, and he swore he came a little in his pants. He fisted his hand in her hair as he took several steadying breaths. “Easy. I am but a man, desperate to take what is mine.”
She nodded, placing her hand on his chest. “Sorry. I got carried away.”
He traced the line of her cheek with his fingertips and smiled. “Don’t ever be sorry for your desires. They are special. When the time is right, you can explore all of me. Taste me. Tease me.” He wiggled his brows. “Ride me all night if you choose. I certainly won’t stop you.”
She giggled, then snorted. “You’re smooth, Julian. I’ll give you that much.”
“It is only when I am around you that I feel so free.” He kissed her again, this time allowing her to take control.
“You might want to go inside.” Theo’s flat tone broke the moment for them. They were back in Victorian London. Out in the open.
“He’s right; we should go inside.” Piper slid off his lap slowly and tested her leg. “Well your mouth is magic, I think I’m going to be okay.”
He grinned. Well, at least one of them would be.
Chapter 4
What the fuck is wrong with me? I’m standing here watching the woman I love, grinding against Julian while kissing him, outside.
Problem was, it didn’t feel wrong at all. Instead, it felt right to Theo. Images of Piper, Julian, and himself began to play through his mind. Their naked, sweat-covered bodies tangled together in bliss. He adjusted himself, the thrum of lust coursing through him launched his erotic daydreams to new heights, making his pants uncomfortably tight.
He was screwed. Theo spent all his time pushing her away, When all he wanted to do, was wrap her in his arms and never let go. However, she found solace in Julian’s embrace. The jealousy he feared would rear its ugly green head never materialized, so, he was left standing in the street, watching his friend and his sparrow. What a f
ucked up world we live in. Another fucking man! He should be disgusted, pissed off at what was in front of him. Instead, he was more turned on then he’d ever been in his entire damn life.
As Julian had come to her aid, making a spectacle of her falling, he willed himself to leave. No sense in sticking around. As it stood, people were leaving tips with the Metropolitan every day about the Ripper, and he didn’t want to go down in history as a suspect. Even a cursory one. He took the side roads, cutting through alleys and dangerous passageways to get back to the house first.
Unfortunately, it had taken longer than he expected. Sitting on the stoop of the house, a few feet from the front door of their nondescript home, were Julian and Piper. They’d tuned the rest of the world out, focusing more on themselves than those around them. Thankfully, no one ventured about in their neighborhood. Even the prostitutes had some propriety. He groaned at the thought, then mentally slapped himself for even thinking that. Those women had nothing on his sparrow.
Piper was his ray of hope. From the beginning, she always found a way to bring him out of his moods. He couldn’t let her go. He’d be dead. A shell of a man. But, with Julian in the picture, and maybe Heath, it might not be up to him anymore. He would be sharing her with two other men. Men he trusted. Stubborn, cock-sure men. It rankled his nerves a little and could light his fuse. Still, even knowing all the drawbacks and the raw emotional roller coaster he was on, he couldn’t say no. He couldn’t walk away, which would have been best for all of them.
Theo followed behind Piper and Julian. Instead of heading for the lab, he went to the anterior room where the amulet waited for them. The small green jewel glimmered in the light. How it worked, he didn’t know. They didn’t question the science of the technology, and even if they had, it was above their security clearance. Hypothetically, he figured it worked like a Stargate and one of Jules Verne’s time machines. DHS somehow configured the amulet to allow only those with clearance to step onto the platform and go wherever their hearts desired.
His father had this job before him. In fact, it’d been why they came for him. In the seventies, the government thought they could change the future. John F. Kennedy had been the beginning of something much bigger, but his death brought about a darkness to the land. Theo’s father and a group, just like his own, went back in time to three hours before the Kennedy assassination.
They scouted the area. The grassy knoll. The Depository. They couldn’t find anyone. So, instead, each member went to a position. His father stood on the knoll. His father’s best friend waited on the sixth floor of the Depository. They fully believed they could change history.
They found out the hard way; history wasn’t meant to be changed. His father and his team were seconds slower than the killer, and in turn, they became a laughing stalk of the government. The Travelers Program had been shut down. Only a year ago, the U.S. Government opened it back up. This time, their jobs were to solve cases, not change their outcomes.
When he agreed to this little project, he made sure none of them would be exposed to the same scrutiny his father had faced. No one would know about their travel. The public, unless it was huge, would never know about them or the cases they re-opened.
He programmed his destination on the readout screen, then stepped up onto the small pad and waited. Within seconds, he stood in the underground lab at DHS headquarters. Heath sat in his normal spot when he exited the chamber. Four different history books sat on the table in front of him. His fingers flew over the keyboard of his laptop as he stared at it with deep concentration.
Theo cleared his throat
“Morning, doc,” Heath replied. “How’s it going on the case?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s the same. Not much evidence. Not much patience.”
“Want to talk about it?” Heath gestured to the seat across from him. “Take a load off. You look like warmed over shit.”
Theo sat. Talk about what happened? He didn’t know where to begin, or if he should, considering who he’d be recalling his fuck-ups to, or what he’d seen in front of the house. Either way, they didn’t include him nor had they asked him to join. No, idiot. They weren’t doing it for your benefit to join in. They were doing it for their own. “I’m not too sure about what to say, to be honest.”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning. Maybe I can help form the timeline with you, and we can figure out what you’re missing.”
Not sure how to respond, Theo hedged a little. “We went back to Mary Kelly’s tenement.”
“And?” Heath replied.
“Piper told us about the night before the murder and how everything went down. I guess I got upset.” He shrugged.
“You guess you got upset?” Heath cocked a brow as he pushed away from the table.
“Okay, I did get upset. I brought up Berlin,” Theo grumbled. “It slipped out before I could stop myself.”
“Dick move.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Theo scrubbed his face. “Here I am telling you when you’re in the same fucking boat.”
“What?” Heath gave him a curious look.
“Don’t play stupid. We’ve seen the way you look at Piper. The puppy eyes you make. The way you stare at her when she enters the room.” He grinned. “Don’t worry; we’re the same way with her. Lost.”
Heath put his hands up. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.”
Theo stared at him for a minute. The guy couldn’t hold his gaze. He looked everywhere but at Heath. “Don’t worry. We’ll be there for you.” Which brought him to his last point. “Piper was making out with Julian on the stoop in front of the house.”
“Whoa.”
“Tell me about it. I waited for the anger and the jealousy. The only thing that came was yearning and then fear. We don’t need people in the past saying anything about us. We’re supposed to be inconspicuous at all times.” DHS had made it mandatory, if they found the truth, they were to turn it in discreetly and then walk away. Practically vanish into thin air.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“What do you think I did? I made an ass of myself.”
“You have regrets and a lot of guilt.”
“I do. I tried to apologize to her, but she didn’t want to hear it.”
“You ever wonder why? Every time something happens that you don’t like, you bring up a past case. Surely you didn’t expect her to be happy to hear your lamenting, did you?” Heath’s questioning gaze burrowed into him, making him feel a bit uncomfortable.
“It wasn’t like I was trying to be an asshole. I got scared.”
Heath nodded. “I see.”
“What do you see?” If Heath saw everything, how the hell did he sit back and not do anything?
“She took on the Ripper case to prove she is worthy to the team, after the last couple of cases nosedived into the shallow end of the pool. You can’t expect her to defer to you right out the gate after everything that’s happened. She’s determined to prove your team—our team—is exactly what DHS expects.”
Heath’s words smarted. He had a point. “In the past, when Piper would get angry at me, she’d forgive me, and everything would go back to normal.”
“Piper never expected to be put in the situation she was. Her back is against the wall, and instead of giving her room to come off it, you’re pinning her there.” He leaned forward. “You should back off and see what happens.”
Back off? Allow her the chance to come to him? Dread knotted his gut. What if he did step away and she wanted nothing to do with him, or worse, nothing to do with them? Then what? Theo scrubbed his chin with the pads of his fingers. The scruffy ends were rough, irritating him. Damn, I need to shave. His own fears and doubts about having a relationship with her had caused him to act foolishly.
“Are you shitting me? Back off? Are you telling me that’s why you’ve backed off? So she could figure it out on her own?”
“More or less, yes.”
Stunned, Theo sat there for a minute, trying to digest what Heath had said. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t you want her?”
“Yes,” he snapped. “More than you can imagine, but I am not going to turn into an asshole and dick her around either. I’m also not going to vie for her hand when you and Julian piss her off at every turn. When the time is right, I will step up. Until then, I have a case to work on and a book to write. None of which I can do while you’re here.”
“Well, fuck.” Theo stood then began to pace. “I thought you’d have an idea of how to fix this shit.”
“Fix it?” Heath laughed. “You have a better chance of being an asshole than fixing it if you don’t get your temper under control.”
He braced his hands on his hips. “I know. I have to say sorry and not just with words. Have any suggestions?”
“You could take her to a bath house.” He grabbed a book off the table and tossed it to Theo. “They have ones for society people, so wipe the look off your face.”
Had he been making one? “Baths don’t sound fun.”
“Think of it as a spa. There is a county one, specially made for people of your stature.”
Stature, what stature? “We’re not like them. The people there would be the aristocrats of society. They’d spot us coming a mile away.”
“No, they wouldn’t. We can get you the finest clothes, enough money to wine and dine Piper for years. They’d never know the difference. With your bank account, you are the socialites of the Victorian Era. At this point, you need to figure out how to work together and keep your egos out of it. You can’t do your jobs if you’re always at each other’s throats. Do this for her, and I promise it will get better.” Heath tapped a few keys on his laptop and pulled up a Victorian picture of where he wanted them to go. “The picture doesn’t do it justice. But, it does boast private rooms, with single, luxurious baths. Staff to cater to your every whim and other activities.”
Other activities? Theo could get behind those, especially if it meant seeing Piper naked in his bed. “I can do that,” he announced as he stood up. “Anything else?”
