“No. I’m pretty tired myself. Sleeping on your chest sounds like heaven right now.”
My eyes opened slowly, blinking in awareness that he watched me. Cullen stood beside the bed, his body hard and aroused, he’d pulled back the blanket and was staring at my naked body.
“Cullen?” I questioned, taking in the moonlit room. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s late, Aeval. I’m sorry to wake ye,” he whispered. My breath halted in my throat. He kneeled naked on the bed beside me, his erection long and hard, one hand working it with slow, even strokes. Breathing harshly, he lowered himself onto me.
“I couldn’t take not claiming you anymore,” he whispered, his voice low and rough, his head lowering to caress the corner of my lips with a soft, heated touch.
“Thank God,” I whimpered.
I arched against him as his tongue slid inside my mouth, trying to get closer as if I could crawl inside his skin.
“I tried not to wake you,” he growled between searing kisses, his hand kneading my breast, “but I have to have you now.”
“You’ll get no complaints here,” I moaned, reaching down to stroke him. My entire body ached for possession.
“No.” He pushed my hand away. “I’m going to tease you first, Aeval,” his voice, dark and rough turned me on even more. “I’m going to drive you mad with desire.” His head lowered, and I cried out thinking he was much too late.
My hips arched to him, my thighs quivering with tension, the need to climax, to sate the hunger rising in my body, overwhelming my senses. His fingers moved and tugged gently, his greedy tongue lapping at me, driving me to the brink of insanity.
“I can’t stand it,” I whispered, my hands tangling in his hair. “Please, Cullen, just take me already.”
***
Morning came much too quickly. When I woke, still in Cullen’s arms, I found him wide awake, looking down at me with a happy smile that warmed me all over. I pressed even closer to[RS6] him, a whimper escaping from deep in my throat.
“Tell me you’ve processed everything and moved on,” I said.
He nodded and squeezed me in close with the arm he had wrapped around me.
“Aye, I have. I had a lot of time to think of it since yer sleep talkin’ kept me awake.”
I sat up defensively, and mock-punched his arm.
“I did not.” Although, in truth, I had no way to really know.
“Ye did too, Aeval.” He laughed and, now that he was no longer pinned to the bed by my body, he stood and stretched.
“That’s a terrible thing to tell a lady.”
“Ach, don’t worry yerself over it. Ye’ve always talked in yer sleep and it’s no bothered me before. It’s only there was so much on my mind that kept me awake. Besides, if it eases yer mind, Leslie snores much louder than ye jibber jabber.”
He made his way over to the door, and I stood to follow him.
“Well, that’s true enough. She does snore like a Mack truck.”
He bent to kiss me as I reached for my robe.
“Shall we make our way to breakfast so we can go into town and meet the seer.”
“Saraswati, you mean?”
“Aye. We’re to meet her this afternoon, aren’t we? That’s what ye said.”
“Yes. But I’d like to take a shower first. “
Cullen’s face twisted in annoyance. I could tell right away that he was hungry.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be quick or you can feel free to go ahead without me. I can catch up.”
“Oh, I think I’ll keep ye in my sight today, there, Aeval. Best ye don’t go slippin’ off to some other century.”
“Like you’d know,” I said with a wink and shut the door.
We stopped by Leslie’s room on our way to the main dining hall but she was already gone. Luckily, we ran into her there. She’d met up with Sam. We sat visiting over food and laughter and for once Leslie was able to eat and keep it all down. With Sam there, I couldn’t tell her anything about my time travel but there’d be plenty of time later.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today? An excursion, or are we all exhausted from yesterday?” Sam raised his brow teasingly.
I nodded my head. “A little of both,” I said. “I could use a beach and sugary drink but Cullen and I have plans to visit a friend today in town.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “Really? I was thinkin’ of headin’ into town myself. Take some photos of the locals and perhaps do a little shoppin’. What part of town?”
I swallowed. “I’m not sure. The address is in my room.” I bit the corner of my lip and then reached for another piece of fruit to nibble.
“Perhaps we can share a taxi,” he said, not taking a hint.
Not that I cared if Sam went into town but I’d promised Saraswati I’d come alone. I was already breaking the rules by bringing Cullen.
Leslie, bless her heart, seemed to pick up on my discomfort. “Oh Sam, I was hoping to curl up on the porch with a book this afternoon but maybe you could take me to a local beach or something instead, since you seem to know the area so well.”
He nodded at her and I relaxed.
“Wait here,” I said, placing my hand firmly on Cullen’s chest as he turned to follow. “Go grab a drink at the café over there. The woman was timid and I don’t want to scare her.”
“Fine but if you’re not back in five minutes, I’m coming in.”
“Just don’t be early.”
I squared my shoulders and tried not to look anxious as I walked in the direction of the woman’s house, if you could call this run-down shack built into the side of the alley a house. The ability to move my legs freely after being trapped under heavy layers of fabric was so refreshing that I almost wanted to run and jump as I moved down the alley. I balled my hand into a fist and knocked.
At first there was no answer and then a woman in her twenties with a beaky nose and smooth black hair opened the door.
“Namaste,” she said, and bowed her head.
“Namaste,” I replied placing my hands together and reciprocating her movement. “Umm…I’m looking for Saraswati. Is she home?”
The woman looked at me blankly. I tried to think of how to say the word home but my mind failed me. “Mera naam Sophia.”
The woman blinked but still said nothing.
I bit my lip, wishing I’d had more time to learn the language.
“I’m sorry. Do you speak English?” I asked.
The young woman’s sharp nod didn’t bode well. I held out the piece of paper with the woman’s name and address written on it.
“Is she here? Does she live here?”
“You’re wasting your time,” a man said from behind me, just as the girl shut the door practically in my face. Well, I guess he was right. He was squatting in the alley half covered by a box. I’d thought he was garbage when I walked by.
“The old woman’s gone and her niece isn’t right in the head.”
Huh. She’d seemed right enough to me, perhaps just a little unfriendly. “Do you know where she went or when she’ll be back?” I asked.
The old man stared at me for a long moment, his lips clamped together. I had to find out what he knew, I thought, quickly searching for coins in my purse.
I handed him five rupees and he motioned for more.
“Tell me first.”
The greedy old man clasped the coins in his hands and was now jiggling them around.
“I’m sorry to take up your time, but if you could help me out, I’d really appreciate it.”
Still no change in his facial expression. I was seriously beginning to wonder if he knew where she was at all.
“She left twenty minutes ago, but I can’t remember where she said she was going.”
I glared and handed him one last rupee.
“That’s all I have and if you don’t tell me where she went I’m going to bring my husband over here to claw that money back out of your hand.”
As if on cue, my big burly
fiancé appeared at the end of the alley. He leaned against the wall and his arms were crossed. The effect was perfect. He was probably ticked that my five minutes were up and I hadn’t returned.
I leaned forward. “I’d get to talking if I were you, he hates when people try to strong arm me,” I whispered.
Cullen was still leaning against the wall when I reached the opening of the alley. I quickly paced over to him and threaded my arm through his. “She’s gone to our resort,” I said, my voice excited. “We must have just missed her.”
He flagged down an auto rickshaw and we hopped in.
“Why come to our resort when she told us to come to her house?” He shook his head.
“I don’t know but I guess we’ll find out.”
Twenty minutes later, he unlocked the door to our bungalow and stepped back. I entered, glanced around the main room and then moved into the bedroom. Part of me expected to see her waiting for us. The room had dark, exposed beams on the ceiling, a carved armoire, and a canopy bed, all beautifully kept and perfectly clean. There wasn’t even a tissue in the trashcan in the white-tiled bath.
“She’s not here,” I said as I moved to the balcony. I unlocked the sliding glass door only to realize it was already unlocked. Had we left it this way? I stepped away from the door and walked over to my suitcase. “Did you check the sliding glass doors before we left?”
“I usually do,” he said.
“My suitcase has been rifled through.”
“Mine too,” Cullen agreed.
It was only as the closet doors in the front hall banged open that we realized we weren’t alone.
The figure glided out and in his hand was a large serrated knife.
“Cullen!” I gasped, backing up.
The intruder wore some sort of nylon material over his face but the outline of eye sockets, cheekbones, and a mouth came into focus. The face was vaguely familiar.
“What do you want?” Cullen stepped in front of me.
The intruder didn’t reply. Not a good sign.
Cullen threw his wallet at the guy. “Take it and go and I willn’a chase ye.”
The figure didn’t move for a moment. He seemed nervous.
“What are ye waitin’ for, man? Go. The door is behind ye.”
Cullen stomped his foot forward as if he was going to go at him. That was all the encouragement the man needed. He opened the door and bolted. Then we heard a thump and someone yelled.
“That sounded like Sam,” I said.
Cullen and I both took off out the door just in time to see Sam wrestling the man to the ground. Sam punched the intruder in the face and pulled the covering off but the man slipped from his grasp and ran for the trees.
Just as I’d suspected—it was our tour guide, Mani. Sam was up on his feet and already after him.
“Sam, stop, man. It’s not worth it. We know who he is,” Cullen called after him. “Aeval, Go check on Leslie. I’m headed for security.”
It wasn't like Mani would have hurt her just because he’d broken into our place, but what if he’d tried her place first? I climbed the steps to her front door and listened.
No sound.
I knocked.
“Leslie? Is everything all right in there?”
No answer.
I leaned in closer, listening harder.
Still no sound.
I rested my hand on the door handle. It turned and I yanked the door open in time to hear Leslie scream.
My breath caught in my throat and I backed away, bumping into the rail behind me.
Leslie was dripping wet and naked. She bent and scooped her towel up, wrapping it around her body.
“What are you doing?” she screamed. “You gave me a heart attack. I was in the shower and I think I hear knocking so I come out and see my door opening.”
“I’m so sorry, Les. I was worried.”
“That I might have a nice relaxing shower before dinner?”
“Our place was broken into and we surprised the intruder—it was that shady tour guide.”
Leslie cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me that he got the dagger and ring?”
I shook my head no. “Just my sense of security.”
“So you left it at the temple, that’s good. I guess we can go home now, huh.”
“Not exactly. I had the stuff on me. Cullen threw his wallet at him and he fled but Sam jumped him outside. He took off after him and Cullen went for security.”
“Oh my God. You are just addicted to adrenalin, aren’t you?”
“Wait til you hear what else happened to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I went back in time again.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
L eslie sat propped up in bed surrounded by piles of yellowing parchment and dust while I told her about my trip to Dunlace Castle.
“You are so lucky. Why doesn’t this stuff ever happen to me?”
I blew a rogue strand of hair out of my face that had slipped free from its binding. “Lucky, yes, that’s just what I thought when I was being dragged to the altar.”
“So you recognized Liam and ran and then he found you and roughed you up?”
“No, that’s the confusing part. I don’t think my groom was Liam at all.”
“What do you mean? You said he was violent and scary and attacked you.”
“Yes, and I assumed when I saw him at the altar that he was a past life version of Liam. After all, the servant woman said I was marrying Conal’s cousin and from a distance it looked enough like him because of the dark hair, but I think when he accosted me in the room, it was because I’d jilted him. Not to mention he was drunk—who gets drunk before a wedding?
“Well, you could be right. I mean your killer hasn’t been in the same role in every life but I thought you said you saw him. “
“I did. I think he was the one who pulled Sorely off of me and then locked me in the basement.”
“But you said that was your Da.”
“I know. Strange. I can’t imagine having Liam for a father.”
“Hopefully you didn’t screw up the past by not marrying that Sorely dude.”
I bit my lip. “Yeah, hopefully. Although he did turn into a big jerk so maybe it was better that she or I didn’t marry him.”
“Who knows? Maybe the castle will be standing in perfect condition when we get home.”
We both laughed.
“What are you gonna do with the jewels?”
“You know I’ve been rethinking everything. Saraswati kept insisting that there was no temple and considering that Mani was a thief and a fraud, I think the jewels are safest with me. I mean, I need to make sure I don’t touch them because I never know what’s gonna trigger the damn things, but I kind of feel like maybe I’m meant to have them.”
Leslie smiled. “Finally, you’re coming to your senses.”
“I don’t know about …”
“Shhh…Did you hear that?” Leslie asked. “I thought I heard something. A scream?”
I paused and listened, but all I could hear were the sounds of the jungle outside the window.
Leslie sat up straighter. “I guess it was just the monkeys but it almost sounded human.”
“You’re just getting paranoid ‘cause of what happened today. I bet you’d feel better if Sam was here.”
Leslie blushed but didn’t deny it. They’d spent the whole dinner in deep conversation, as if Cullen and I were invisible. That was of course after we’d spent hours with the local police. They were out looking for Mani now and the resort had promised to have security patrol our bunkies regularly. They’d even walked Leslie and I back from dinner when she’d been sick.
“Why don’t I sleep in here with you? Cullen will be fine in our cottage next door on his own.” I took the extra pillow and propped it behind Leslie, knowing she’d relax if I got her comfortable. “How are you feeling? Still nauseous or would you like to try some of the naan bread I brought you?”
&n
bsp; Leslie scowled but relaxed back against the pillows. “I’m fine, Sophia. You know you don’t have to coddle me. Go back to the restaurant and finish your dinner. You make me feel like such a nuisance.”
“I wasn’t hungry anymore anyway and Cullen’s meeting me here. I wonder why he’s not back yet. Maybe he stopped by Sam’s room to have a cigar.”
Leslie sat back up. “What if that was Cullen I heard? Maybe you should go check on him,” she said.
I frowned while carrying the tray of food over and setting it on Leslie’s lap. “Cullen’s a big boy and I’m sure he can fend off a few monkeys.”
Leslie nodded, but didn’t look convinced. She was starting to make me paranoid. There were large cats in India after all and the resort wasn’t lit up very well. Maybe I should go next door and see if he was back.
I glanced around the resort property as I walked toward the main building, noting how still the branches in the tall trees were. Overhead, the gray langur monkeys shrieked and screamed in the trees, shaking the branches. I glanced upward, wondering what had set them off.
Security was posted outside just as they’d promised. I waved and unlocked my Bunkie but Cullen wasn’t in our room. No breeze and no relief from the heat despite it being evening. It was like breathing water for air, a wet heat that never went away. This must be how amphibians feel. I decided to walk back to the main resort to hurry the boys up. I felt safe enough now that extra security was posted.
A noise off in the darkened part of the path startled me out of my daydream. There was no security post here but the main building was directly in front of me, as was the fountain. The monkeys began their shrieking, and I glanced and saw a mound of something in the water. I moved closer and realized it was a yellow-and-orange sari and there was a mass of tangled black hair.
“Help!” I fought to keep from hyperventilating and hurried to the door several feet ahead. I struggled to open it, just as Cullen called to me from behind.
“Sophia. Come here, love.”
He and Sam had come down a side path and they were now approaching me at an alarming pace. I could tell from the look on Cullen’s face that he too knew something was wrong. He pulled me into his arms and we both watched mesmerized by the horror floating in front of us. Sam stooped over the body in the fountain and as he rolled the mound of yellow over, her green eyes caught the light from the nearby lamps. It was Saraswati and she was dead.
Cruel Fortunes Omnibus: Volumes One to Four Page 57