by Mae Clair
Arianna wasn’t certain she understood. “It’s testing you?”
“Yes.”
“About what?”
With a noisy exhale, Caleb rolled onto his back. “Arianna, my father told me I never return home.”
A small tremor started in the pit of her stomach. “I don’t understand.” But she did. She was simply too terrified to acknowledge it with words.
Caleb said it for her. “Either I stay here, die, or get sent to some other time, but I never make it back to my own era. My father believes the weathering rock was inscribed with specific runes to trigger ball lightning. That’s why the lightning is confined mostly to this area. When it happens, it opens a portal through time. The lightning shower at Lauren’s party was triggered when he and I first met. Past and present colliding. He thinks the rock was responsible for uniting him and my mother, reaching through time to do it.” Wetting his lips, he met her gaze. “And he thinks it’s doing the same for you and me. Bringing us together because we were meant to be united, not separated by centuries.”
“Caleb.” She couldn’t breathe. It was as if someone had shoved her head under water. She’d been terrified she’d lose him, that he would be snatched away from her in a shower of ball lightning, sent back to his own time. To hear him talk so candidly brought all those fears crashing over her again.
Did he truly believe what he said, that they were destined to be together? Was it possible they had a future in the present? And wasn’t it incredibly selfish of her to be happy that he might be forced to stay when his family and loved ones waited in the past?
“It’s all right, sweetheart.” Sitting up, Caleb caressed her cheek. “I want to stay with you. I’ve been torn for a long time, but I know this is where I belong.” He brushed his lips over hers, sealing the pledge with a kiss. “We have to be realistic. Just because I never make it back to my own time, doesn’t mean something won’t happen to keep us apart. I still have to face Seth. Any number of things could go wrong.”
She shuddered. “Don’t talk like that.”
“What would you rather I say?” He slid his hand behind her neck, threading his fingers into her hair. “That I love you? That I think I’ve always loved you?” His mouth curved in a soft smile. “I couldn’t tell you that before, because I wasn’t sure of my destiny. I still don’t know where it’s going to end, Annie, but I do love you, and at some point in the future, I intend to make you my wife.”
Arianna gasped. His declaration of love made her heart soar. To hear him propose marriage sent her senses into a tailspin. She’d been hoping for a ruby and he offered a diamond. She tried to squeak out a reply, but couldn’t force anything sensible past her lips.
Caleb looked uncertain. “Am I pushing too fast?”
She flung herself into his arms. “No!” Tears of joy sprang to her eyes. “I love you, Caleb, and I take back what I said. There’s no way on God’s green Earth I’m going to bed without you tonight.”
Laughing, he rolled her beneath him, bending to nuzzle her ear. He slipped his hand beneath her blouse, his fingers cupping her breast through the lacy pink silk of her bra.
“Annie, did we just become betrothed?”
It seemed like a fairytale. “I think we did.”
“It’s not how I envisioned it. I promise I’ll do it proper with a ring.” He hooked a leg over her thigh, inching her knees apart. In the next instant, his mouth was on hers, his kiss warm and tender, the intimate sweep of his tongue pushing her toward delirium. He drew back slightly, just enough to nip the corner of her mouth, then dip his head to breathe into her ear. “Tonight all I can give you is my love, but I pledge it forever.”
Her heart felt like it was going to burst. She didn’t care about rings or fairytale visions of the perfect lover on bended knee. All that mattered was that he had professed his love.
For eternity.
* * * *
“You did what?” Wyn’s brows crimped in a heavy frown.
Ignoring the flatness of his tone, Caleb tipped the open bottle of Merlot he’d carted inside and topped off Wyn’s glass. Arianna had disappeared upstairs, hunting her hairbrush to freshen up after their ride. Eager to share their news with his nephew, Caleb had snagged a glass for Wyn and chased him down in the den.
“I got engaged.”
“To your horse, I hope.”
“That’s not amusing, Winston.” He edged the bottle aside, depositing it on a lateral file cabinet before retrieving his own half-empty glass. Not even his nephew’s carefully voiced skepticism could dampen his spirits. “When Arianna comes downstairs I expect you to be suitably elated.”
“Caleb. Seriously.” Wyn leaned back in his desk chair, ignoring the wineglass. He swiveled away from the computer. “Engaged? You’ve only known this girl for a little over six weeks.”
“Incredible, isn’t it?” He grinned, soaring in the afterglow of the unexpected event. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such exhilaration or been so happy.
He had no one to blame but himself. There hadn’t been room in his life for anything except a military career. He’d plowed through the war, never pausing to examine what was missing. He’d lived with the stain of blood and death on his hands, waking each morning to another day of battle, seeing men he felt responsible for torn apart by mortar or bayoneted on the end of a rifle. Later came the curse of lycanthropy, the werewolf as doomed as the soldier. He’d had to adapt to a new century, all the while living through a grisly transformation every full moon. There hadn’t been time for diversions or pleasure.
Until now.
He’d known in his heart he loved Arianna and had wanted to marry her, but had feared she wouldn’t feel the same. Not only was he from another time, he was part beast. He’d considered himself a creature unworthy of love. Yet hearing his father talk about the weathering rock and his own experiences with life had made Caleb realize his future wasn’t in the past. It was here, in the twenty-first century, with the only woman he’d ever loved.
“You of all people should know time is irrelevant to me,” he told Wyn.
“What about returning to your own century? Chasing down ball lightning and hitching a ride to 1863?”
“That isn’t going to happen.” Caleb elaborated on the conversation he’d had with Rick and how his father believed the weathering rock was responsible for his jump through time.
“So what you’re saying is this rock brought you and Arianna together? Star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, cosmic fate, unable to be apart. Something like that?”
Caleb glowered from under his brows. “Winston.”
“You’re calling me Winston again.”
“Rightfully so. I love Arianna. Why can’t you be happy for us?”
“You know that isn’t it.” Wyn shook his head. “How are you going to… Caleb, think about it. You don’t exist in this century. You have no job, no source of income, and realistically, no potential of securing an income.”
“Trivial.” Caleb waved the concerns aside. “Talk to your friend in the government. He’s already provided me with a birth certificate, Social Security number, and driver’s license. It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to generate a military pension of some sort. I did serve my country, and I’d willingly do it again. The Union owes me back wages.”
“You can’t magically become a colonel in the modern day army, Caleb. Besides, strategy has undergone a change or two in the last hundred-plus years. We stopped using Springfield rifles and Napoleon cannons centuries ago. You’d make a better historian than a commander.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Historian. I like that.” Unable to quell his enthusiasm, Caleb grinned. “Confound it, man, stop looking so blasted dour! I’m going to get married. That’s a cause for celebration. And I truly believe, just as my father remained in the eighteen hundreds after traveling through time, I’ll remain in the present.”
“And Seth?”
Caleb frowned, irked hi
s nephew had struck on the only topic capable of blighting his mood. He grew silent, rotating the glass in his hand, watching the wine dip and swell against the sides, red as the blood he intended to spill. Outside, the sun had sunk below the Earth, feathering the sky with the first licorice-laced shadows of dusk.
“I’m going to hunt him. If I’d killed him years ago when I had the chance, my troop would have never suffered that ambush.” Caleb set the glass aside. “All this time I thought Seth was responsible for my ending up in this era. That I needed him, along with an explosion of ball lightning, to return to the past. But he was the one in the wrong place. The weathering rock meant for me to make the jump through time. But, because we were locked in a physical struggle, Seth was transported too.” He shook his head, parting with a soft snort. “It’s ironic when I think I’m the catalyst.”
“According to your father and a lot of superstitious folklore.”
“There’s no better explanation, Wyn. Arianna and I were destined to meet. Think about it. What are the odds she and I would both be out after midnight, on the same foggy night? That we’d be at the same spot, at the same precise moment in time? Everything makes sense. More than that, it feels right. In my head and my heart.”
Wyn rolled his eyes. “God help us, the colonel is waxing poetic.”
“Is that what you call killing Seth? If I’m responsible for him being here, then I’m responsible for the death of his victims. Who knows how many he’s killed or turned? I can’t allow that to continue.”
Wyn sobered. “If you’re going to hunt him, you have to put serious thought into it. He’s an alpha wolf, Caleb. You’re not even sure what powers he has.”
“I know that. But as long as he’s alive, Arianna and I have no future. Seth saw how I reacted at Lauren’s party. He’ll go after her to get to me. I need to stop him before that happens.”
“All right.” Wyn nodded, pushing his chair back and shoving to his feet. “I guess that means we’re going werewolf hunting. When do we start?”
“I’m going werewolf hunting. You’re not getting involved.”
Wyn grunted. “It’s a little late for that. I’ve got three years invested in you, and now it looks like I’ll be loaning you money to buy an engagement ring.”
“I’ll buy my own ring.”
“With what?”
“I don’t know.” Caleb bristled, frazzled to think he couldn’t scrape together enough funds for a ring. “Those dispatches I was carrying when you found me are worth something. I’ll have them appraised. And there’s always my uniform.”
“You are not selling your uniform, Caleb,” Arianna said from the doorway.
He turned, flushing to realize she’d caught the tail end of their conversation. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her–jet hair loose and tumbling over her shoulders, her green eyes flashing with fire. She was more beautiful than any woman he’d known, slender and poised, the set of her mouth hinting of defiance. With a little imagination he could feel the heat of her breast beneath his hand, the eager press of her body as they’d petted and kissed beneath the setting sun.
“You are not selling your uniform,” she repeated. “It’s part of who you are. I don’t need a ring as a pledge of marriage.”
He smiled, extending his hand. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”
She stepped to his side, twining her fingers with his.
Caleb pulled her close, bending his head to brush her lips. He’d meant for the kiss to be light but, the moment his mouth touched hers, he grew lost in the sensation. He wanted to take her to bed, make slow, passionate love to her and pledge his faithfulness for eternity.
Sliding his hand into her hair, he deepened the kiss.
Wyn cleared his throat. “Think you two can forgo that for an hour? I’m spending the night with Lauren, but I do have some things to finish up first. This is my den, you know.”
Pulled back to the present, Caleb kept one arm looped around Arianna’s shoulders and shot his nephew a conciliatory glance. “I’m sorry. I suppose I got carried away.”
“To put it mildly. I’ll cut you some slack, but only because you just got engaged.” Wyn raised his glass in a toast and grinned. “Congratulations and best wishes to both of you. And much happiness.”
Caleb relaxed, his sense of euphoria returning. At his side, Arianna broke into a wide smile. “I expect you’ll be my best man?” he persisted, surprised by how much the idea meant to him. It wasn’t just the title of someone who would stand by his side, but the definition of his closest friend.
Wyn looked taken aback, then smiled, inordinately pleased. “I’d be honored, Caleb.”
With a squeal of delight, Arianna launched herself into his arms. “He loves you like a brother, Wyn, even if he can’t admit it.”
“She’s right,” Caleb said quietly. He extended his hand. “I’ll be proud to have you stand at my side. Charles and I were never as close as I’ve grown with you.”
Wyn reached for his hand, and Caleb caught a flash of gratitude and surprised wonder in his nephew’s eyes.
He yanked hard, pulling the doctor into a tight embrace. “Just don’t expect me to be this demonstrative on a regular basis.”
Wyn laughed out loud. “Careful, or you’ll use up your emotional allotment for the century. And isn’t there someone else you’d rather be cuddling?”
“Hell, yes.” Caleb shoved him away. “Six foot and hairy runs contrary to my taste.” He extended his arm to Arianna, who slid into his embrace, inching the flat of her palm up his chest. Once again, he thought of the bed upstairs and how he wanted to peel off her clothes, piece by tantalizing piece. “Wyn,” he said without looking. “Can’t you hurry up and do whatever it is you have to do?”
His nephew gave a theatrical sigh. “Kicked out of my house by a lecherous ancestor.” The mouse clicked, followed by the sound of the computer powering down. “Don’t worry about waiting up for me.”
“What?”
“You know damn well what I said.”
Arianna giggled. “Sometimes the two of you are better than a movie. You really are like brothers.”
“I’m younger,” Caleb was quick to point out. “And better looking.”
“You’re one hundred, forty-five years older and conceited as hell. Caleb.”
“Now what?”
Grinning, Wyn scratched the bridge of his nose with his middle finger. “Just wanted to wish you a good evening, Uncle.”
The gesture wasn’t lost on Caleb, who laughed in appreciation. He had to admire Wyn’s off-the-cuff personality.
Even when he was the target.
Chapter 28
Arianna was wrapped in Caleb’s arms, snuggled in the settee on the back porch when Wyn stuck his head through the door to say goodnight. A few moments later, his car rumbled down the driveway. She knew his relationship with Lauren was still in the fun stage, but it was intriguing to imagine the possibility of her best friend married to Caleb’s closest friend.
Probably only friend, she realized with a start. Because of his unique background, he wouldn’t have been able to strike up relationships in the present. Granted, he wasn’t the most open man she’d ever met, but everyone needed friends, even casual acquaintances. She doubted Caleb had many.
It made her wonder about his past. He’d known people she’d only read about in history books. He’d stood on the same battlefield with Robert E. Lee, had witnessed the issuing of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and had fought side-by-side with men like Meade, Custer and Chamberlain. She’d wanted to ask him so many things but had always feared discussing the past would make him yearn to go back. Would it be bittersweet to bring it up now, knowing he was destined never to return?
“I thought he’d never leave,” Caleb said. He swept her hair aside and nibbled her neck. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he initiated a slow exploration of her throat with his lips and tongue.
She drew a shuddery
breath. “Caleb?”
“Hmm?” He slipped a hand under her shirt, caressing her stomach with feathery strokes. The scrape of the calluses on his palm felt wonderfully erotic against her softer skin. With effort, she tried to stay focused.
“I wanted to ask you about the past. About Lincoln and Lee.”
Caught off guard by the odd topic, he drew back. “President Lincoln?”
Of course he would think of Lincoln as president. She nodded, twisting to face him. “Did you know him personally? Did you ever meet him?”
“Once.”
“Really?” Her heart gave an excited thump. “When? Where?” She couldn’t stop her imagination from running wild. “What was he like?”
“Annie–”
Seized by the idea, she raced ahead. “What about Lee and Custer? Oh, Caleb, I was afraid to ask you about these things before, but I want to know about the past. Do you have any idea how many books I’ve read about Joshua Chamberlain? You actually fought with him at Gettysburg. And Custer, the famous Boy General of the Civil War–”
“All right.” He raised a hand, stalling her from going further. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know. But not now, sweetheart. I can’t wrap my head around the past when I have you in my arms.” He caressed her cheek then lightly trailed his fingertips over her lips. “Unless you want to talk about Libbie.”
She blinked in surprise. “Libbie?”
“Elizabeth Bacon Custer,” he clarified. “There wasn’t a man alive who met her that didn’t immediately fall under her spell.”
She sat up straighter, a twinge of worry flickering through her eyes. She knew all about Libbie Custer, the wife of General George Armstrong Custer. The daughter of a prominent judge, she was as renowned for her beauty as her intelligence and poise.
“Yourself included?” It was ridiculous to be jealous of a woman no longer living, who’d died decades before she was born, yet the thought of Caleb being infatuated with someone else left her feeling threatened.