TIME TO REMEMBER: A NEW ADULT TIME TRAVELING ROMANCE (RAVENHURST SERIES)

by Lorraine Beaumont

  Reed flinched and pumped harder. He was not enjoying this pleasure-pain thing Suzette was doing. She was making him lose his rigidity fast. “Turn over love,” he instructed.

  Suzette flipped around and crawled up on all fours. Reed positioned himself behind her, thrusting inside in one swift movement, holding onto her hips, making her moan in pleasure.

  “Yes Reed, that’s it…give it to me.”

  And give it to her he did. With her sweet ass up in the air he closed his eyes once more, as lyrics to Pitbulls song, “Give Me Everything Tonight,” cut in, blocking out her demands.

  “Yes!” Suzette screamed in pleasure, reaching around, grabbing him closer and pushing back against him to go faster. Her nails dug into the backs of his thighs, scratching his legs, her shrill voice grating. He grabbed hold of her and flipped her onto her back, then he pushed her legs higher in the air, burying himself fully. Sweat dripped down the front of him as he picked up the tempo, driving in and out of her, his heart pounding. He kept envisioning what it would be like with the other girl, Raven, how good she would feel while he lifted her legs higher in the air. Suzette wrapped her long legs around his waist, meeting him, thrust for thrust. Reaching down, he squeezed her breasts, toying with her nipples, tweaking them.

  “Oh Reeeeeed…” she cried out, jerking against him wildly, finally finding her release.

  With her body clenched around him, he pumped his hips faster, thrusting deeply. The girl Raven found her way back into his mind, her full lips… her sweet ass. The last image was finally his undoing. He threw his head back, groaning in satisfaction as he too finally found his own release.

  Treachery has many Faces

  AGE OF CHIVALRY * RAVENHURST

  YOUNG Milford crawled across the filthy rushes. He was reminded of vermin looking for food, and his stomach twisted, but that did not stop him. He needed to find the relic or else Morrigan would have his head. He stilled in mid-crawl, hearing moans escaping his master’s chamber. Oh, he hoped he was not too late. In earnest, he began to search again. He needed to find the ancient relic Morrigan gave him. She said it would help reveal the true identity of the girl his master brought into the keep.

  The girl with her pale face and small form certainly looked harmless, but Milford knew better. The most dangerous of creatures masked their guiles to hide their true identity. Of course, Morrigan spun many of the stories that plagued him. And not surprisingly, she was also the one who warned him the girl was a witch when she bent his ear earlier.­

  EARLIER IN THE DAY

  “You see how your master only has eyes for this girl?” Morrigan whispered hotly into his ear shortly after Darias brought the girl into the keep. “Where did she come from? Did you see her hair? It is the same shade as the darkest part of the night,” she warned him. “You know what type of girl has that shade of hair, don’t you? I wonder if she is a…” Morrigan left the sentence open.

  “A wi…tch?” Milford stammered out, just above a whisper.

  “Yes!” Morrigan nearly yelled. “I bet she is a witch. Mayhap she was sent by his enemies to kill him in the dead of night while he sleeps!”

  “Oh no, do you think she has come to harm him?” he asked, his eyes widening in horror.

  Morrigan only shrugged her shoulders in a non-committal way.

  “Nay, that cannot be so,” he said, shaking his head from side to side. “Our master can see though such tactics easily. You do not give him enough credit Morrigan,” Milford defended in earnest.

  Morrigan gritted her teeth. “What if she has bewitched him? Hmm? Do you think there could be any other reason for him not coming to search you out when he came back from battle? And what took him so long, if not for a dark force at play?”

  Milford saw the reasoning behind her words. He remembered the aberration he himself saw on the ridge in the distance the day of the battle and shook slightly from within. “What can I do?”

  Morrigan smiled, pressing an object into his hand. “Take this. It will expose her true identity when the time is right. But you must stay close to her; never let her out of your sight, else she will take the opportunity to do in our beloved master. And Milford, it will be your fault entirely,” she warned ominously.

  ***

  Milford heard his name, bringing it back to the present. He ignored it and kept on searching.

  “Milford?” Jayce rolled his eyes and stepped over his thin body, leaving one foot hovering in front of his face.

  Milford stopped crawling and looked at the filthy boot blocking his path. He raised his head and saw Jayce staring down at him with a frown. Quickly, he sat back on his haunches. “Oh, there you are…” he said, acting surprised. “ I was just looking for you,” he lied, shifting his eyes away, staring at the floor.

  “You were looking for me?” Jayce asked, lifting a brow, his disbelief apparent.

  “Why yes, I, um, thought that, um…” Milford stammered.

  “Yes…?” Jayce asked again.

  “Oh, right. I meant I was looking for your dagger. I heard you misplaced it,” he lied baldly.

  Jayce bent down and pulled his dagger out of his boot. “You mean this dagger?”

  “Would you look at that…” Milford widened his eyes, acting shocked. “I see you have found it.” Lifting his hand, he smoothed it over his tunic. “What a relief. I thought it was gone for good.” Milford twisted his hands nervously; he was not a good liar.

  Jayce re-sheathed his dagger. “Milford, are you going to tell me what you were really doing?”

  “I said I was looking for your dagger; I had no idea you already found it. I swear,” he squeaked.

  Jayce shook his head. He was thirsty and had no time for Milford’s foolishness. “Well, thank you for looking for me.” He looked at him curiously. “I really do appreciate your efforts but in the future, before you start crawling through the filthy rushes, you may want to ask me first,” he said pointedly and then turned on his heel, walking away.

  Milford expelled a pent up breath and got back down on his knees to look for the relic.

  Halfway down the hall Jayce stopped and looked over his shoulder one last time. Milford was yet again on the filthy ground. He shook his head. For all the foolishness that accompanied Milford with his numerous religious blessings and his undying belief in superstition, he was on whole, a loyal, steadfast lad that would move the sun and Earth for Darias if he were able. Jayce knew there were few men with loyalty of his kind. He almost envied Milford for his unwavering regard and allegiance to those he served.

  So instead of saying anything more to the lad, he stood there and watched him for a moment longer, waiting for Milford to either find what he was searching for or give up. But after a few minutes, Jayce received neither of these things and his thirst won out over curiosity. He left Milford alone to search and left to quench his thirst.

  When opportunity knocks

  AGE OF CHIVALRY * RAVENHURST

  THE smell of sex hung heavily in the air. Jayce pulled his long, golden hair back into a strip of leather, tethering it at the nape of his neck and then bent over to pull on his pants. Well-defined muscles bunched across his bare shoulders as he picked up his boots off the floor, tugging them on.

  “Are you sure you have to leave?”

  He glanced over at the naked girl sprawled across his bed and raised a questioning brow. Her tangled mass of flaxen hair spilled down across one heavily rounded breast as she ran the tips of her fingers down to her taut nipple in a silent invitation to join her once more.

  Jayce groaned. “Surely you temp me wench.” He had training with Gaitland but his body had other ideas as she turned over, exposing her beautiful body completely in the early morning light.

  He looked down at the front of his pants, his rigid erection apparent.

  To hell with Gaitland! Training could wait.

  Bending over, he yanked off his boots and then unfastened his pants. Once he pulled them off, he kicked them to the side. Wholehearte
dly he climbed back into bed.

  Watch where you are going

  THE AGE OF CHIVALRY * RAVENHURST

  THE flickering torchlight sent shadows dancing across the corridor. The early morning sun had yet to make an appearance.

  Milford crept forward, stopping just outside his master’s bedchamber, trying to hear what misdeeds were being done inside. Once he made sure no one was about he lowered back to the floor and tried to look under the door but he couldn’t see. The floor was cold and smelled of filth. Fear of being caught made his heart beat erratically. Jayce had already spotted him again, standing outside of the door last night and warned him to stay clear. But Milford was not going to give up so easily. So he ignored Jayce’s warnings and stayed close, like Morrigan instructed.

  It was better this way, just in case he was needed. He was not one to run in the face of danger. Apparently his master’s good judgment had fled, probably due to some spell cast upon him by the witch he had brought home. Widening his eye, he leaned closer, peeking underneath the door. He heard a moan coming from inside. Pressing his ear closer to the door he was on the verge of taking action. If need be he would bring the donjon down, to save his master from the witch that had him under her spell…

  Something kicked his leg. He went rigid but recovered quickly and scrambled up to his feet.

  “Milford, what are you doing?” Gaitland sighed.

  Milford exhaled loudly, his hand going to his chest. “Tis only you, my lord…” He cast his eyes to the floor. “I know this may seem a bit strange,” he said, gesturing to the floor he just rose from. “Ah, let me assure you I was in no way spying on my master. I thought I heard a cry from inside. I was concerned about his well-being, you understand of course,” he finished, wrinkling up his face awkwardly as he rubbed his clammy hands down the front of his tunic.

  Gaitland lifted his brow at him. “Of course, I understand, Milford.” Actually, Gaitland didn’t understand at all, and by the way Milford was darting his eyes back and forth he bet he was hiding something. He knew Darias brought a girl back to the keep and was probably having a better morning than he was. Still, he couldn’t help taking pity on Milford. “Well, it is good to see there is nothing amiss here,” he said, inclining his head toward the door.

  “Right, of course,” Milford said doubtfully. “But I did hear a noise just a moment ago, a moan…”

  Gaitland rolled his eyes. Now he knew for sure Darias was having a better morning than he was. He watched Milford a moment as he kept shifting his weight back and forth and wringing his hands. He probably thought Darias was dying, poor, stupid lad. He let out a breathy sigh, thinking Darias could owe him one. “Well, Milford, since everything seems to be in order here, would you care to train with me for a bit? I need a sparring partner.”

  “What about Jayce?”

  “It seems he decided to spend his morning elsewhere. Besides, I feel you are just as worthy an opponent. What say you? Think we should have a go?”

  Milford pushed his thin shoulders back, standing as tall as he could. He ran his hand through his hair, smoothing it back into place, his face beaming brightly. “It would be a pleasure and a privilege to train with you, my lord,” he said, leaning down, flourishing his arm in a sweeping gesture as he bowed.

  “Oh no, it is I, young squire, who have the pleasure and the privilege to train with someone as skilled as you,” he said in return, bowing, and extending his arm. He rose and smiled at Milford; he couldn’t help it. He was always so eager to please. “Shall we be on our way then?”

  “Oh yes,” Milford said, smiling broadly.

  Gaitland returned his smile and casually threw his arm over the lad’s thin shoulder as they made their way down the stairs to the training field.

  Milford cast a worried glance back towards the door to his master’s chamber, hoping all would indeed be well until he could get back.

  There’s no time like the Present

  THE AGE OF CHIVALRY * RAVENHURST

  DARIAS yawned lazily. Leaning up on his elbow, his long hair fell forward. “LEAVING so soon?” A sated smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  Jumping reflexively Marguerite hit her head against the door she was just trying to get out of.

  “Oh take it!” She lifted her hand and rubbed the sore spot on her head. Turning slowly in his direction her breath caught in her throat when her eyes met his dark gaze. A breathy sigh escaped her lips. He looked even better now than he did the night before. How was that even possible? She tugged on her gown—it suddenly felt too hot.

  “Ah, you are a saucy little wench, aren’t you?” Darias threw back his head and laughed.

  Widening her eyes, she watched him sit up further making the furs fall away. She shivered and cast her gaze to the floor completely embarrassed and aroused at the same time.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, his deep voice thick with sleep still.

  So many things swirled through her mind at once. Should she stay silent, block him from her mind? Her eyes drifted up off the floor back to his handsome face. Yeah, like that was going to work. The man of her dreams was smiling lazily at her and that simple gesture was her undoing.

  “Come, let me warm you,” he said, lifting the furs up.

  Marguerite was prepared to hold back, maybe even tell him all the reasons she shouldn’t climb back into that very bed with him. But then the strangest thing happened. Every carefully placed wall she put up to safeguard her heart against him came tumbling down. Her mind said simply…Life was short…so why not have another go? Why not indeed! She smiled brightly at him…

  “Come,” he said, smiling back at her warmly.

  Well, she certainly didn’t need to be begged. She ran across the room and jumped right into his awaiting arms.

  Beware of the green-eyed monster

  THE AGE OF CHIVARLY * RAVENHURST

  “WELL, did you do it?” Morrigan asked quietly, pulling Milford along with her down the hall.

  “What?” Milford said, trying to pull away.

  “Get rid of her after she showed her true identity to Darias?” she hissed out, just above a whisper, all too aware of how many ears were around them.

  “No,” Milford replied, using his fingers to pry her iron grasp from his arm.

  Morrigan dug her fingers in tighter, squeezing his arm hard and pulled him further into the shadows.

  Milford dug in his heels. He knew she was angry and even worse, he knew she would start screaming at him at as soon as she got him alone. He leaned backward and tried to pull his arm away again. It was no use, she wasn’t going to let go without a fight. “I lost the relic you gave me,” he said meekly.

  “You did what?” Morrigan hissed, her amber eyes igniting with frustration and annoyance as she stopped and faced Milford fully.

  Milford looked down at Morrigan, noting the anger in her eyes, the flush creeping up her neck, and spreading over her face. Her wild, red hair engulfed her small, upturned face, now twisted with rage. He shuddered slightly; he couldn’t help it. She was scary when she was angry. He wasn’t sure why she took such an interest in the girl his master brought to the keep.

  Morrigan pulled at her hair with both hands in frustration, making it even wilder than it was moments before. She tried to calm her fury, knowing she would never get the fool to do her bidding if she scared him too badly. She wanted to turn him into the weasel he was, but she couldn’t. Who else would she find fool enough to do her bidding? And she wanted that bitch gone.

  Darias had not even looked in her direction since he brought her to the keep. She took deep breaths to calm down, remembering the last time she had been with Darias.

  THE DAY BEFORE THE BATTLE

  “Morrigan, in my chamber now,” Darias said as he passed her in the hallway.

  “Of course,” she said, following in his wake, smiling all the while.

  Once in the chamber he shoved the door shut and dropped the bolt in place.

  “Would you like me on the
bed,” she asked, looking over at the furs piled on the top.

  “No,” he said. “You may lay one in front of the heart if you wish.

  Morrigan did as he instructed, grabbing one of the furs and laid it down in front of the hearth.

  Darias walked over and unhooked his sword, and pulled his dagger out of his boot. He didn’t bother washing up he would do that after. Sitting on the chair he removed his boots and then stood once more.

  “What are you waiting for, undress yourself woman,” he commanded as he tore off his own clothing revealing his magnificent body.

  Morrigan did as she was bid and quickly undressed, and lay down on her back on the fur. The fire crackled and hissed behind her, the heat warming her naked flesh. She lifted her arms for him to come to her.

  Darias knelt down in front of her. “Turn over,” he instructed, making her crawl up on all fours. There were no kisses or acts of tenderness.

  Morrigan had thought his need for her was so great; he couldn’t wait to get inside of her.

  He mounted her from behind and thrust into her hard.

  She cried out, throwing her head back in pain and pleasure.

  Darias grunted in satisfaction, thrusting into her repeatedly, until his body was gleaming with a slick sheen of perspiration. His long hair fell forward as he grabbed her hips and pulled her even closer.

  Morrigan bucked wildly as he roughly he drove in and out of her, pulling her hair, making her neck bend backward.