He looked at her. “What do you want to know first?”
She eyed her hand in his, the sensations electrifying. It distracted her from the angst she was feeling only moments before. “Why does it feel so good to be near you and to be touching you?”
Jonty shrugged. “I don’t know.” He started to retract his hand, but she held fast to him.
Her gaze darted over his face. “Please don’t. It’s comforting. It feels…”
“Right,” he finished for her.
She nodded. “So right.”
She locked her eyes on his, searching for answers to this connection. And why this man, aside from his irresistible physical qualities, drew her to him on a level that was deeper.
And then he snapped his hand away and stood, his body rigid. “I… I’ll be back soon. I need to get us some food and water supplies. Don’t leave this room!”
Sammy released a long hiss of air from between her teeth as he marched out the door and slammed it behind him. She flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He could feel these emotions and sensations too. She could see it in his eyes when they touched, the tenderness, the curiosity. But why does he resist me so much?
With Jonty gone, his protective presence no longer sheltering her, fear found her again. It gnawed on her toes, crept up her body, a thick, black, suffocating mist that settled on her skin and slithered down her throat. Her chest ached, like it was being squeezed tight.
She rolled off the bed and headed to the minibar. In the small cupboard were little bottles of bourbon and, in the fridge, cans of coke. She mixed a stiff drink in a glass and gulped at the fizzy, burning brew. She winced as heat slid down her throat and then gulped again until the glass was empty. It helped a little to steady the nerves. She made another mixer and devoured it.
By the time Jonty returned she was so drunk she was swaying as she sat on the bed, scrolling through the TV channels with a remote.
“What’s going on here?” Jonty said as he placed white shopping bags full of supplies onto the floor near the door.
She lifted her eyes to his, her face streaked with tears. “I want to go home, Jonty. I can’t handle this. I can’t…”
He sat beside her and cradled her in his arms. She was trembling.
“Oh, Sammy.” Each syllable was saturated in sympathy. “I’m sorry you had to get caught up in all this.”
“I just don’t understand. And I’m scared. I’m so damn scared. You shouldn’t just leave like that. You shouldn’t…”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What… What if more like Adam came for me and I was here on my own and…” She stopped as a sob broke through her sentence.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken off like that.”
She nestled against him. Her shoulders shook as she cried until no more tears could possibly be shed.
Jonty slowly untangled himself from her arms and grabbed a bottle of water from one of the bags, as well as a sandwich. “Here,” he said, handing them to her. “Please, have something to eat and drink.”
Sammy took the bottle of water and swallowed deeply. But she pushed the sandwich away. “I couldn’t possibly eat after… I just need to go to bed,” she said, words slurred, eyelids drooping.
He nodded. “Fine.”
Sammy eyed the king-sized bed. “Will you sleep next to me?”
Again he nodded. “Whatever you need.”
“Thank you.”
* * * *
Jonty lay down beside Sammy. She was sound asleep. Good, she needed the rest. What a mess she’d been when he’d arrived back at the room, trembling like a scared child. For Jonty, dealing with death and dangerous situations had become second-nature, as easy as breathing. He forgot that Sammy, who would never have had to deal with anything like the circumstances of tonight, would find it horrifying. He sighed.
I shouldn’t have left her alone. But what would I have done with her if I didn’t walk away?
He hopped under the covers and pulled them up high over the both of them. She was truly beautiful when she slept, an alluring vulnerability and peacefulness. His gaze wandered over her face, long fanned lashes, plump parted lips, and cascades of black hair falling over her shoulder. His cock twitched under his jeans. He pressed on it, but that only made it worse. Fuck.
Jonty groaned and flicked off the bedside lamp. The light from the room dissolved under heavy shadows. He gruffly rolled onto his back, hands behind his head, and squeezed his eyes shut.
Get a hold of yourself, soldier.
But his stomach wrenched, as though he was being pushed and pulled in all directions—toward the gorgeous young woman only arm’s reach from him, this century, and, concurrently, toward his duties, his heritage, and his integrity. This had never happened to him before. He had been on countless missions and would never have even allowed himself to think, let alone feel this way about a woman from this time period.
He had learned to hate the defectives for their blatant abuse of their abilities. He hated their love for twenty-first century life and twenty-first century women. He hated the twenty-first century in its entirety because what happened here echoed in and pervaded the future, his home. The stinging in his heart and the nebulous silhouette of his brother that followed him relentlessly reminded him of this every day.
His throat grew tight and his chest was heavy, hollow. Just thinking of his brother stirred his emotions like sand in a windstorm. At just eighteen years old, his brother, Marcus, had traveled to this very city on his first mission. But Marcus succumbed to the temptations of this hedonistic time period—all the things Jonty despised—and fell in love with a young woman. Marcus and his lover paid for that decision with their lives. Jonty blamed the defectives as much as the time period for his brother’s death.
He turned to Sammy, her porcelain skin blanketed in darkness, her slumbering breaths a steady rhythm in his ears. This woman was testing his whole belief system with her courage, beauty, and pure spirit. She wasn’t a temptress or immoral, nor was she any less human simply because she was born in this time period. In fact, she seemed more human. Her qualities shone even brighter against this harsh, yet endlessly seductive backdrop. Hell, she selflessly risked her own life to help him fight Adam. She spent her days caring for orphaned children.
Jonty’s balls tightened, hardening his already semi-hard cock. He turned away and took a deep breath. He couldn’t allow himself to succumb to these feelings. He couldn’t make the same mistake his brother did. It would break his family’s heart and would spell the end to his career. Interfering with the past for one’s own gluttonous purposes was not tolerated, because its consequences could breach the very fabric the universe was made upon: time. But even if he did open his heart and body to Sammy, it could never be anything more than a brief fling anyway. His position guaranteed that. So was it even worth taking that risk for something that wouldn’t last?
He unzipped his jeans, reached down under his underwear, and released his cock from its stranglehold. It sprung to life, engorged, bursting for relief. He rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Hopefully he could relieve some of this tension. Eyeing Sammy one last time before he closed the door behind him, he whispered, “I’m a dead man.”
Chapter 7
Sunlight slithered through the cracks of the worn curtains and streamed into Sammy’s eyes. She stretched her body like a cat, arms high over her head, and peeled her eyes open. The hotel. Her stomach churned, out of fear and from the alcohol she drank last night.
Sammy sat up. Her head was reeling. Two steady breaths in then out made her feel a little better. She rubbed at her eyes with her fists. “Jonty,” she croaked.
The bathroom door opened, and plumes of steam followed Jonty as he strolled out. He was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that hugged his powerful chest and biceps. Long, damp curls hung around his face and neck. A coil of pleasure unfurled in her belly and stung her straight between her legs.
&nbs
p; “How are you feeling?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I’ve felt better.”
He grinned sympathetically. “How about you go have a shower and I’ll fix us some breakfast. You’ll be better with food in your belly.”
A shower did sound appealing. Sammy went to the bathroom and undressed. She set the water to hot and stepped inside. The steaming spurts of water as they beat upon her shoulders and streamed down her back seemed to possess healing properties. Each tightly wound muscle loosened, relaxing her. Sammy stayed under the water for a long while, sucking in the soapy scented steam, cleaning her lungs.
Images of last night swirled across the movie screen of her mind, vividly colorful. She shook her head. I can’t allow myself to be haunted by memories. She tried to focus on something else, anything else—the big brown eyes of the Cambodian orphans she spent three months with, their sweet smiles despite the horrible circumstances they faced. She thought of her mum, dad and little sister. And then Jonty’s face came to mind. That sexy mouth, so kissable. That hot, hard body. Sensation fanned across her flesh, reaching her in the hardened peaks of her breasts. She squeezed her thighs together. What is it with this guy? Sammy turned off the taps and reached for a towel. She haphazardly dried herself and dressed.
Jonty was at the small table in the corner of the room with an assortment of food laid out—croissants, bananas, and orange juice.
She sat on a chair next to him and took a bite of a croissant. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “No worries. How’d you sleep?”
“Really well actually. Considering.”
“That’s good.” He squirmed in his chair and sighed. “I want to apologize again for walking out and leaving you alone. That was really stupid and insensitive.”
She lifted her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I was wound up real tight last night. I kinda lost it emotionally. The alcohol didn’t help matters. But I do feel a little better today.”
He swallowed a mouthful of orange juice and nodded. “Good to hear.”
They ate their breakfast and chatted. Mindless chatter to distract them both from the tangible lust and erotic magnetism that was pulsing around the room and settling on their skin like a sultry summer breeze. Sammy couldn’t take it anymore. Being in such close proximity to him and not being able to lean over and take that sumptuous bottom lip of his between hers and suck his tongue until he moaned into her mouth was torture. She released a loud breath of air, stood, and straightened her skirt and t-shirt. She had to get away from him or she’d burst.
Sammy sat on the bed and reached for the remote. Jonty slid his chair back from under him and followed. Her heart thumped, harder, faster, but she remained focused on the television. He sat beside her. She could feel his stare. Eventually, she turned to face him and looked into those incredible blue eyes.
He took a deep breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. “So much is at stake, Sammy. I can’t pursue—” He pointed from his chest to hers. “—this, us.”
Air escaped from her throat, leaving her breathless. “Why? Why can’t you?”
His features twisted, almost with pain, and his mouth drooped into a deep frown. She pressed her hand to her heart, an attempt to stop the aching she felt for his struggle. She could see his turmoil. She resented it, because in her own mind nothing at all was complicated about how she felt about this man. Regardless of what she had been through, of anything else that could possibly exist in their lives, what she felt was simple. It was only his continual rejection that was stopping them from happening.
She stroked the length of his cheek with her finger. His eyelids drifted shut. When he opened them again, she slowly leant closer and pressed her lips to his. All his angst, all his desire, was communicated in a single sigh of acceptance. He opened her lips with his, found her tongue. She loved his warmth, his taste, the rough prickle of his chin. She had ached for this ever since that first kiss. Her entire body buzzed with a delicious energy, a want, a need. His strong hands gripped her hips, then slid up her spine to her neck where he pulled gently on the hair at her nape.
She looked into his eyes. “How can what is happening between us be wrong? It feels so pure.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Does it have to be complicated?”
He shrugged. “I can’t see any other way.”
Sammy ran her thumb along his full bottom lip. His eyes languidly closed. She couldn’t resist leaning in, taking that very lip between her own, and kissing him again, exactly as she imagined.
“Tasting you is easy enough,” she said.
He smiled. “Easy, and it feels so incredibly good.”
Sammy stood before him and lowered onto his lap. She circled her arms loosely around his neck and kissed him again. “How about we do whatever feels incredibly good then?”
He rested his forehead against hers. His lips lightly grazed her as he spoke. “But once I start with you, I—I won’t be able to stop. I will cross the line.”
She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and whispered, “I won’t want you to stop.”
She felt his cock tighten against his jeans and push into her thigh. She rocked against it, relishing the way it made him release a shuddering sigh and close his eyes. Slowly, she reached for her shirt and lifted it over her head. Her breasts bounced, her nipples instantly tightening as she released them from her bra.
The cool air against her sensitive tips, and his lascivious gaze, sent shivers up her spine. Using her knees, she lifted her body so her breasts were at the perfect height for his lips. She edged closer and dipped her breast toward his mouth. He eagerly parted his lips, received her nipple in his warm mouth, and sucked. Gently at first. She gasped as he swirled his tongue over its surface, sending surges of pleasure down to her yearning sex. He grabbed her other breast in his hand and hungrily devoured it with his mouth.
Sammy’s breaths grew deeper as her mind succumbed to the fog of intense arousal. All she wanted, needed, demanded, was his bulging cock inside her.
“Denying this attraction between us won’t stop it,” she managed to say, breathless. “Whether you wanted to or not, you’ve already crossed the line. The line is far behind us, left it in the dust of this lust. You and me, meeting, being here now, is beyond our control. It’s bigger than you and I. Bigger than our physical shells. It’s deeper. It’s unstoppable. Tell me you feel it too.”
Jonty nodded. “I feel it in my heart.” He pressed his hand to his chest. “This yearning for you makes me ache, right here.”
Sammy found the button on his jeans, undid it, and slid the zipper slowly down. She pulled his underwear lower, reached in, and released his steely erection. Grasping its thick base, she slid her hand along the immense length of him, up then down. He blew a long hiss of air from between his lips as he watched her hand gripping him.
She brushed her lips against his ear. “How about we simply try? No promises.” She slid her hand from root to tip again. His chest was heaving, his face slack with pleasure.
Jonty growled, abruptly stood, and lifted Sammy into his arms. He kissed her with an urgency she was barely capable of matching. He kissed her mouth, nipped at her jaw, her throat. She rolled her head back as he slid his lips down to her breasts.
“You are utterly irresistible,” he said as he lay her gently against the mattress.
He ripped his shirt over his head, revealing his hard, tanned torso, strong shoulders and chest. In a flurry he had his jeans off and was standing before her, his generous cock so rigid it brushed his stomach as he moved. God, he was incredible.
He smiled. “You’ll be the death of me, Sammy.”
She grinned. “Only if you don’t hurry up and get over here.”
Jonty lowered his body onto the bed and lay beside her. He peeled every remaining piece of clothing from her body as though she was a precious present requiring the greatest of attention and care. When each part of her body was revealed to him, her stomach, thighs, her fleshy mound
, he touched, kissed, tasted, and explored her body like it was an unchartered frontier.
“I love the taste of you,” he said as he ran his lips along the length of her inner thigh.
It felt exquisite, the expectancy, knowing he was only centimeters from her sex, so close his warm breath was luscious against her ripening slit.
“Let me taste all of you,” he said, spreading her legs wide. He gently pulled her silken folds apart with his fingers. His tongue found her opening.
She sighed as he licked up the length of her, over her clitoris. So good.
“Irresistible,” he whispered, lapping again, twirling his tongue around her tight clit.
She tilted her pelvis to meet his next lick. He took advantage, grasped her ass and lifted her higher to his mouth. She dragged her teeth along her bottom lip, wanting so much to release all the pent-up pleasure via a long, sensual moan. Again he tasted her, over and over, long laps, short, sensual flickers. Each time his warm tongue found her, the heat intensified. She gripped his hair, not wanting him to stop as the throbbing between her thighs transformed into a gratifying ache.
“Oh God, I’m going to come,” she breathed.
“Whenever you need.”
It took all her self-control to say, “Not yet.”
He met her eyes, one eyebrow arched.
“I want to come with you inside me,” she whispered.
He grinned cheekily. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 8
Jonty crawled up Sammy’s body. The sweet taste of her tantalized his mouth. God, he was hard. He couldn’t recall ever wanting a woman so much it hurt. Straddling her, he rested the tip of his cock at her opening. That alone felt incredible. He could scarcely imagine what it would be like to plunge inside of her.
She cantered against him, urging him to enter. For the time being he resisted. He needed some level of restraint or this was going to be over too quickly. He could burst right now just feeling her slick sex against the throbbing tip of his cock. But Jonty wanted to savor this moment, lengthen the intensity of sensation that was produced being in contact with this incredible woman. Frankly, he didn’t want it to end, ever. But God, how good would it feel to pump his seed into that tight crevice.
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