by Mia Downing
And the headstone… That team had to have something to do with the Rai necklace, too. It made sense that they’d want that piece as well given the worth. Lofton Burke’s treasures had been in a special vault at the end of the point in a spot only accessible during the extreme low of a super tide. That had made no sense to me then, but it did now. A normal person wouldn’t want to hide something where they could only access it once every hundred years…but a time traveler would. And since there were few teams who could travel this far back, L.L. Winters had probably done the hiding.
But how? To create an elaborate hiding spot would take time, and given the location and the laws surrounding time travel… I had no clue how they’d done it. The only logical assumption was they’d stopped time somehow, and that was not a government-issued ability. I’d tried doing it myself on numerous occasions but had failed to hit the right combination on my watch if there was one. I had to go back to figure that out as well.
We pulled into the parking lot of the park at the point. I stopped in front of a split rail fence covered with signs warning of the dangers of the rock cliff at the far end of the tree-covered point. A path led off in that direction. The jagged rocks, deep water, and strong currents below the sheer drop made rescue near impossible.
The path to the right led down to a sandy beach in a cove protected by a jetty. It hadn’t existed when I stole a necklace during one of those rare low tides. Another path at the end of the beach led to my land as it bordered the park. I could walk here in a few minutes that way, which had worked well for our plans for stealing the necklace. The roads to the park took the long away around, skirting old farm borders and crossing a small brook in a less rocky area.
I turned to Skye as she stared out the window at two seagulls fighting over trash in the parking lot. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not. None of this was what I had expected.” She turned to me, her hand raising in supplication. “How can I process that you’re a time traveler, you’re my husband in a different time, and you dumped me here after I fractured into a…toddler…because of whatever time-traveling laws.” Her hand slapped down on her thigh in emphasis. “I can’t even.”
I winced. “What had you expected?”
Shrugging, she stared out the window at the little beach again. “I don’t know. The worst case was I had been abandoned by a cult of religious freaks, and I’d get a little satisfaction in knowing I’d escaped.”
I wasn’t quite sure what a cult was, but I’d look that up. “And the best?”
“Does it matter? You’re better than a cult.”
“It matters to me.”
Sighing, she shook her head. “I wanted somewhere besides Grace’s to go for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I wanted someone who knew my real birth date instead of using January first as a place holder because I didn’t have a birth certificate.”
“I know your birth date.”
She shot me a glare laced with ice. “It’s not my birth date. Not really.”
No, it was the other Skye’s. I blew out a frustrated breath and ran a hand through my hair, unsure how to help her. Hell, maybe I couldn’t. “What can I do to make this better?”
“Maybe just…come out with everything you’re hiding. And I mean all of it. Just…get it out there.” She flung a hand in front of me, shoving away imaginary baggage. “Because I know you didn’t tell me the whole truth at the graveyard back there.”
My foot tapped anxiously on the floor mat of the car as I closed my eyes. I could never lie well to her. The bond didn’t allow it. However, her shield allowed me to skirt the truth just enough to spare her more grief. I bit my lip, wishing I could absorb her pain, past and present. I cleared my throat a couple of times. “Will you unshield for me as I tell you?”
She shook her head, her chin jutting out in stubborn pride. “I can handle it. Just say it, Marek. You were upset about a baby at the gravesite. Why?”
I sucked in a breath, let it out, and decided to just come clean.
“Time travelers are sterile after they make their first jump.” I swallowed, unable to look at her as regret churned in my stomach. “And that was a jump stone. The epitaphs were right. The energy in the stone felt correct but dull. The odd dates were to tell us something went wrong in 1876. But there shouldn’t have been an infant stone in 1880.”
“So…if that team couldn’t have kids…that means you’re sterile, too.”
I closed my eyes and numbed the pain. “Yes.”
“And so if I believe you…I’m sterile.”
It took every inch of bravery in me to not cringe. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Don’t be.” But she didn’t sound mad or terrified. She sounded relieved.
I opened my eyes, jerking my head. “Skye—”
She raised a hand to stop me. “Marek, this is the first thing you’ve said that makes sense to me. I’ve always had issues with having my period. It just…didn’t happen. I went through a bunch of testing when I was twenty. They said not to expect to get pregnant.” Her hand slid to her left hip. “I have scarring over one ovary, and they thought I’d had an accident of some sort that could have contributed to that.”
Numb, I thumped back against the seat in awe and surprise. I didn’t want to answer questions about the scarring, though. God, this was bad enough. “And how do you feel about not having kids?”
She picked at an imaginary something on her thigh. “I’ve had a few years to get over it. I was sad at first. I’d always wanted a family. But I just…figured I’d adopt if I found someone.”
“Okay.” I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat the size of a clipper ship. I’d expected this to be a battle, and she’d already known. I hadn’t planned for that, either. “So that wasn’t so bad I guess.”
“No.” Her sky-blue eyes drank me in as she curled a lock of hair in her fingers. “But how do you feel about not having kids? You would have had cute kids.”
No one had ever asked me that, and my heart ached just a little in a mix of gratitude and longing.
“I’m fine with the knowledge.” I laughed hoarsely, unable to tell her I’d dreamed of those children, with her dark, curly hair and mischievous smile. I’d wanted that more than anything at one point, but this was my life now. “I’ve had years to accept it, too.”
“Good.” Her free hand brushed my thigh as she nodded, her expression sympathetic. “I know it’s hard. I used to lay in bed in someone else’s home and dream of having my own family that I could love and not…feel like unwanted baggage. But that changed when things went bad, and I discovered the—” Confusion creased her brows until her eyes widened. “You.”
“Me?”
“Did you—” She bit her lip, shaking her head.
My heart skipped a beat, horror growing at whatever I’d done.
She finally managed, “The money?”
It took a moment, and then it dawned on me. I heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh. Yes. I set up the trust fund for you when I came back to check on you and discovered the adoption hadn’t gone through as planned. I was worried you’d need money for…whatever.” But as her mouth gaped, a chill ran up my spine to my nape that I tried to rub away with my palm. “Was that okay? Did I give you enough?”
“You left me all that money? Why?”
I blinked, unsure if she was angry or sad or…what. I’d hurt her so much. I loved her enough to save her life by leaving her behind. Money couldn’t have bought what I wanted the most, but it was what I had to give.
My throat burned as I struggled to find the words. “I couldn’t take you with me, and I couldn’t reach out to you until you were mature enough for the bond to handle it. I didn’t know we had a partial bond because of your shielding techniques.” For the second time this week, my eyes burned with tears that threatened to fall. I cleared my throat to ward them away. “In this time, money is power. I gave you what I could. I’m sorry if it wasn’t enough.”
Tears welled in her eyes, her lips parting
as if she didn’t know what to say.
I sucked a breath into my aching chest. “I’m so sorry.”
Grabbing my shirt, she tugged me forward to meet her in the center of the car. Her slender arms wrapped around me, and she clutched me like a lifeline in a storm. The worry and fear released, and I sagged with relief as I hugged her back, sinking my face into her coppery hair to inhale her lavender scent. I couldn’t bear it if she hated me.
“Thank you,” she whispered against my now-damp shirt. “You saved me. You don’t know how much that meant, to have someone leave me enough money to be independent and…free. It changed my life.”
“I’m glad.” I held her tighter, rubbing her back, her shoulders. Unfortunately, my dick liked the press of her breasts against my chest. Her nipples tightened from the friction, and I groaned into her hair. “Let’s go walk before this turns to something else.”
“Yeah.” Sniffling, she pulled away and used her cuff to wipe her eyes. “Thank you.”
I didn’t want to let her go, though. My fingertips traced the curve of her jawline and brushed her lips. “So…am I still better than a cult? Because I have no clue what one is. It’s not a word I’ve encountered.”
She laughed. “Yes, much better.”
I dropped a quick kiss to her lips. “Then let’s go explore this point.”
Chapter thirteen
Skye
As Marek and I got out of the car into the autumn sunshine and salty air of the point, I felt lighter than I had in a long time.
Okay, maybe finding out Marek was more than I’d bargained for wasn’t the worst thing ever, if I could get over the time travel aspect.
The fact that he’d left me a huge trust fund wrenched my heart and made me look at him differently. Even if I didn’t understand the whole time travel aspect, he’d made a plan for me—not her, but me—someone he didn’t know, because his first plan had failed. No one had ever done that for me.
Maybe that alone meant I owed him patience. Patience wasn’t my forte, but I could find out more about this side of him before I just shoved him out of my life. If I were patient and remained levelheaded, I could gain some insight. I mean, he had some crazy idea to take a necklace back in time to satisfy a curse he obviously believed. The man had more layers than an onion, and I couldn’t just shove him aside because my eyes stung now and then.
I stared out at the cove, the water the deep blue of Marek’s irises. I rolled my eyes. What a sap. Grace would have a field day with that.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he pocketed his keys.
“Just thinking.”
“That’s never a good thing.”
I smacked him on the arm as if I’d done it a zillion times before, without thinking, without weighing the consequences of touching him as I did most people.
He grabbed my hand in playful warning, his thumb stroking my wrist. “Hitting counts as being bitchy.”
“Really.” I tugged him closer and rose to my toes to kiss his firm lips as they widened into a smile. “It doesn’t count if I kiss you first.”
“Fine.” But he switched his grip to lace his fingers in mine as he led me down the path to the water. “Do you come here often?”
“I haven’t been here in years,” I said as I inhaled the briny air, the crisp wind whipping my hair back. “I came here once to take some photographs of the cove for a spread we did on Lofton Burke’s pirating days. He supposedly moored his ships out there.” I pointed to the deepest spot in the cove, excited to share my knowledge. Until it sank in that he probably knew more about this than I did. I turned to him with suspicion. “But you knew that.”
He heaved a sigh as he tugged me along. “Yes.”
The rumors had always said Burke’s treasures were secreted away somewhere on this point. Countless people had died while trying to find his stash. But Marek had the necklace, safe and sound in his library desk.
I pulled him to a stop and waved my free hand to the cliffs at the end of the point. “Let me guess. This is where that necklace came from.”
“Yes.”
I heaved a frustrated sigh as I stared at his emotionless face. “I thought we were getting everything in the open.”
“Well, I didn’t think being open included the necklace.”
“Is that what you do…skirt the truth?”
“If you were unshielded, I wouldn’t be able to lie to you.” He shrugged. “And I didn’t want to toss that out there to piss you off when you were starting to calm down and like me again.”
So that was why he’d wanted me to unblock him at the other cemetery…so he’d know if I was lying or not. Well, two could play at that game. I dropped the shield, exposing myself to his sun-yellow energy on a hunt for his lies.
His brows rose as he cast me a side-eye. “Pretty bitchy energy.”
“It’s justified, because you’re not telling me what I need to know.” Every ounce of patience and good will flew out the proverbial window as I glared at him. “I promised myself that I would cut you some slack and be patient about the whole time travel gig and your ‘return the necklace’ crusade. It was the least I could do since you left me a buttload of money.”
The moment the words came out of my mouth, I cringed inwardly. I had no clue how to back out of that or why I was so angry. He’d been kind to me, and I had just tossed it back in his face.
I wanted to say I was sorry but bit my lip instead, holding it in. I didn’t trust him. How could I?
He sucked in a breath and let it out as a whistle. “Wow. That’s a whole new level of bitchy.”
I waited for his mouth to land on mine, punishing me for my insolence, but he ignored me.
I licked my dry lips, unable to contain my curiosity. “How bitchy?”
“Like, ‘fuck the snot out of you right here’ bitchy.” But he kissed the back of my hand as he stared out at the sea.
I wanted to bristle, and instead, I melted, the turbulence inside me calming under his steady energy, the force of it as soothing as his hand holding mine.
I drew in a ragged breath and brushed the hair from my eyes with my free hand. “It’s a little cold for that.”
He stopped short on the path, and I gasped as he wrapped his arms around me in a hard hug that left me breathless on so many levels. When I was prickly, as Grace loved to call it, most people bristled back. Or they left my life, not wanting to take the time to understand what made me tick. Half the time, I didn’t even know. But he’d threatened me with sex and…a hug.
His energy churned with lust that reverberated through me with a sweet ache. But that hungry energy was laced with something sweet yet sad that I couldn’t name. Dipping to my neck, his lips pressed a soft kiss just below my ear on that sweet spot. “So, I fuck the snot out of you when we get home. Consider yourself warned.”
He released me and strode off without looking back, nimbly jumping over a patch of seaweed to another dry rock.
I trembled at the burst of lust along the bond, something heady that wanted the primal level of intimacy that he offered. But underneath all that, a part of me quaked at the power he possessed. He’d said he knew me…and I feared he did.
Unsure what to think or do, I caught up to him as he stood on a higher point with a better view of the sheer rock cliff at the very tip of the point. “So what’s the plan?”
“I wanted to…look.”
“Why? Are you going to put it back now?”
“No. I can’t. It has to be done during a super tide when the water drops. The currents at the end are too strong for divers, and the way they built the niche for the treasures is astounding. They used the pressure of the water to help hold it secure. It only opens with a super low tide when it’s exposed.”
The nerdy research side of me wanted to ask more—how he’d discovered all that. But that was time travel stuff.
I tried to yank my hand from his, but he held tighter as he led me along a natural path that edged along the shoreline. Or maybe i
t wasn’t natural. I squinted, looking ahead to where the path meandered until it disappeared into the depths of the waterline. “Is that manmade?”
“Yes, it appears to be.”
“How?”
His shoulders rose and fell as he kicked at the rock ledge under our feet. “I don’t know. I have no clue if it existed then, but it must have. This beach area was created in the last fifty or so years. That path wasn’t something we were looking for at the time.”
“So then how did you get down to the necklace?”
He pointed to the cliffs. “See how there’s a little ravine there by the big pine? That used to be a little switchback trail down to that large boulder. It looks like it has since caved in, though.”
I shielded my eyes from the sun, squinting at the spot where the rocks had given way. “How did you learn all this stuff?”
Ah, his energy wavered as he thought of lying I bet. Finally, he sighed, and the turbulence calmed. “It was in a journal.”
“Whose journal?”
He sighed and kissed the back of my hand. “This is one of those areas where you might not want to ask so much unless you’re willing to have an open mind.”
An open mind, indeed. “So you stole it.”
“Borrowed,” he corrected. “We returned it.”
As if that counted. I didn’t like thoughts of his wife, but at this point, I wondered about her. How did she allow him to just zoom around time and take stuff? “Whose journal was it?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Lofton Burke’s.”
“No.” I tugged him to a stop next to a boulder and gnarled pine on the rocky shore, gaping at him. “Let me get this straight. You went back in time and stole Lofton Burke’s journal from…who?”
“Well, supposedly she was a family member, though I’m not sure of the authenticity of her relationship with him or the journal at this point. However, it helped us get the necklace.”
