“Is it you?” she asked again, almost afraid to believe she was awake.
“It’s me, my darling.” He crushed her to him and then pulled back just as abruptly. “Or no—I do not have the right to call you that. Not after the way I have treated you.”
“You…I…” Caroline shook her head. “Why are you here? I thought you were going back to your own world.”
“I was…but I did not want to go. Also, I was told by the Goddess to come to you.” He frowned. “I know that does not make much sense. Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“I have a hotel room. Come on.” The diner she’d been at was just across the street from the Holiday Inn. It wasn’t the fanciest place to stay but it was clean and quiet—it would do as a place to talk.
Richard followed her in silence until they were in her room with the door closed. Caroline sat on the bed and gestured for him to do the same. He settled beside her, an anxious look on his sharp features.
“All right.” Caroline made a motion with one hand. “Go on—explain what you’re doing on Earth and how you got here just in the nick of time to keep me from becoming roadkill. You said the Goddess sent you? You mean the Kindred Goddess?”
“Yes.” Richard nodded. “But before I explain all that, I must earnestly beg your pardon. I have treated you abominably these past few weeks and for that, there can be no excuse.”
“Well…you have a right to your feelings.”
Caroline shrugged, trying to hide the mix of emotions bubbling up inside her. Hope…uncertainty…anxiety… Had he only come to save her because the Kindred Goddess told him to and now he was going back to his own world after all?
“I mean, if you don’t care for me like you did the other Caroline, it’s not your fault. You can’t make yourself care,” she elaborated when he looked at her uncertainly.
“But I do care. When I saw that hulking vehicle nearly run you down, I thought I would die if I lost you,” he said in a low, intense voice. “It was then that I realized how deeply I love you.”
“What?” Caroline frowned at him. “You love me all of a sudden? After two weeks of not speaking to me? I’m sorry, Richard, but that’s kind of a fast turn-around for me.”
He shook his head. “I do not blame you if you are incredulous. It took our meeting today—when you insisted on seeing me—to make me realize that we belong together.”
Caroline put a hand on her hip. “Well if you realized it then, why didn’t you say something? Why tell me to have a nice life and act like you were going back to your own world?”
He sighed and raked a hand through his hair.
“Because…I thought I had other obligations.”
Caroline raised an eyebrow. “Other obligations?”
“My cousin, Emmeline,” he elaborated. “She is all alone in the world, now that her parents have cast her out. I thought it my duty to go back and take care of her—to convince her to go up to the Mother Ship or at the very least to make certain that she was safe.”
“Oh…I guess I can understand that.” Caroline nodded. She had seen the great affection that Richard had for his cousin—he seemed to regard her more as a little sister—and she knew that Kindred had very strong protective instincts towards the women they considered to be under their care. Also, Emmeline was in an extremely precarious situation. Living in a brothel and having just given birth with no family to love and protect her—it was hard to imagine how a woman could be more vulnerable.
“I was prepared to sacrifice my love for you and any future we might have together in order to go back and care for her,” Richard said in a low voice. “I will understand if you cannot forgive me for that. For putting blood above love.”
“No…” Caroline said thoughtfully. “No, actually, I like it that you wanted to take care of her. You’re an honorable man, Richard—I wouldn’t want you to be any other way, even if you were prepared to put me second. So, why didn’t you go back to her?”
“The Goddess.” He spoke in a low, reverent voice. “She appeared in the brass frame of the PORTAL machine’s window just as I was attempting to cross. She told me that I did not need to sacrifice our future together to care for Emmeline—apparently she is sending her another protector.”
“She is? And she really appeared, just like that?” Strangely, Caroline wasn’t quite as skeptical as she might have been. She remembered the soft, strong, feminine voice that had comforted her and told her everything would be all right when she had been so frightened in Richard’s world. The voice she had heard and the visage he had seen must be one and the same.
“She did.” Richard nodded. “Sylvan and Sophia and Olivia saw her as well. She told me that Emmeline would be protected and that I should come back to you quickly, as you were soon to be in imminent danger.”
“Well, she was right about that,” Caroline remarked, shivering as she thought of the near miss she’d had with the jacked-up truck. She would have been flatter than a pancake if that thing had hit her—if Richard hadn’t swooped her out of the way just in time.
“She was,” he agreed, nodding.
“So…” Caroline bit her lip. “Were you just sent to save me and now you’re going back again? The same way you did when you saved me from Lord Harkens?”
“No!” Richard exclaimed. Leaning forward, he took her hand in his. “No, I’m here to love you, Caroline. If….you still want me to, that is,” he added in a low voice.
Caroline looked down at their hands, her much smaller fingers entwined with his long, strong ones.
“It’s partly my fault,” she said. “I mean, the way you felt about me before. If only I had told you the truth about myself instead of trying to cheat my way into your life, we could have avoided a lot of confusion and pain.”
“You were afraid I wouldn’t believe you,” he said gently. “And to own the truth, I am not certain I would have. The idea of my true mate switching places with the woman I thought was my mate is passing strange and difficult to comprehend.”
Caroline looked up at him. “Your true mate? You mean me?”
“Yes, you.” Richard nodded firmly. “You were right—it was you I was Dream Sharing with, not the other Caroline.”
“But it was her you Joined with and made memories with,” Caroline pointed out.
He laughed bitterly.
“What memories do I have of her except those of rejection and pain? She never wanted to tie her life to mine. From the moment we Joined, she and her mother were constantly scheming to get free of me.”
“It doesn’t sound very pleasant,” Caroline admitted.
“It wasn’t,” Richard said soberly. “But it was all I knew and so I clung to it—clung to her—long after I should have let her memory go.”
“Well, two years of marriage is a lot to let go of in just two weeks,” Caroline said.
He shook his head. “Why are you excusing my actions? Why do you forgive me so easily for wounding you? I deserve no such mercy.”
“Maybe…” Caroline licked her lips nervously. “Maybe because…I love you, too,” she whispered, scarcely daring to look up at him. “I know I should be angry and put you off for a while but, well, I don’t want to—don’t want to punish you. I just…just want to feel your arms around me again.”
There she went, being shamelessly obvious again. A modern man would probably think she was needy and clingy, but when she dared to look into Richard’s face, she saw nothing but love and gratitude.
“My darling,” he murmured and gathered her to him.
Caroline went willingly, flowing to him as easily as water flows downhill. His warm, spicy, masculine scent filled her senses and his arms were like flexible steel bands around her, making her feel safe and cherished and protected all at once.
She tilted her face up to his and Richard took her mouth in a kiss that made her feel like fireworks were being set off all over her body. With a hungry little moan, she licked delicately at the seam of his lips. He parted for her and Car
oline explored his mouth eagerly. She could feel his fangs growing long and sharp against her seeking tongue and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to feel him sinking them deep in her flesh—biting her, claiming her as his.
She pulled back and looked up at him.
“Bite me,” she begged breathlessly. “Isn’t that a way of claiming your mate for a Blood Kindred? Bite me, Richard—please!”
He looked uncertain.
“I should not. For if I bite you and inject you with my essence, I shall want to do a great deal more to you—such as Bond you to me. And such things should be kept for after we are properly and legally Joined.”
“No!” Caroline exclaimed.
The vehemence of her response seemed to surprise Richard.
“No?” he asked. “You mean…you do not wish to Join with me?”
“Yes, I want to Join with you—of course I want to Join with you,” Caroline said. “What I’m saying ‘no’ about is waiting—I don’t want to wait anymore! I want you to Bond me to you tonight. No more waiting—no more excuses. Now.”
Richard started to object, but she went on hastily.
“We can go to the Sacred Grove and get legally married the minute we get back to the Mother Ship tomorrow morning if you want,” she said. “But I don’t want to risk losing you again. I want you to stay with me here and Bond me to you tonight. Will you do that for me, Richard?”
He smiled, the corners of his sensuous mouth quirking up at her eagerness.
“Well, it would certainly be considered scandalous in my time and place, but I daresay not so much in yours. And since we are in your world—and likely to remain here—I suppose we must abide by the rules of it.”
“Does that mean you’ll do it?” Caroline’s heart was thudding. She couldn’t help remembering the last time she’d asked him to Bond her to him and the way he had put her off. This time she was taking no chances of losing him again.
For an answer, Richard pulled her down to the bed and rolled her under him. Looking down into her face, his eyes half-lidded with desire, he murmured, “It would be my pleasure to Bond you to me tonight, my darling, and Join you to me tomorrow in the Sacred Grove.”
“Mmm…” Caroline reached up and twined her arms around his neck, pulling him down for another intense kiss. As always, his touch seemed to light up her body, awakening parts of her that no one else had ever been able to touch. “I want you,” she whispered breathlessly when the kiss finally broke. “I want you inside me, Richard—now.”
He gave a low chuckle.
“Slowly, my darling. We must savor our first time together.”
But Caroline had been waiting too long to want to savor anything. She felt like a starving woman at a feast who has been told she ought to take her time and taste all the courses first before digging in, when she was far too hungry to wait. What she wanted was Richard on top of her and inside her now, making her his and tying them together forever.
“Please…” she begged, tugging at the black frock coat he still wore. “You have on way too many clothes. I need to feel you against me, Richard!”
He laughed, apparently amused at her eager lust as he began to strip off his coat and waistcoat.
“You know, I don’t know how I ever mistook you for the other Caroline, for all you looked so much alike,” he remarked. “She never wanted me anywhere near her whereas you cannot seem to get near enough.”
“She was a fool who didn’t appreciate what she had,” Caroline said as she started unbuttoning the row of buttons on his loose white linen shirt. “Of course when I think of the awful books the other mother gave her to read…”
“Are you referring to Mrs. E.B. Duffey’s Guide for Young Wives and New Brides?” Richard asked, a smile quirking one corner of his mouth.
“Yes, actually—what a horrible book! According to Mrs. E.B. Duffey, you shouldn’t even let your husband kiss you on the lips—let alone anywhere else,” Caroline remarked.
“Such as here?” Richard had stripped off his shirt, baring his chest completely. Now he began unbuttoning the row of little pearl buttons running down the front of Caroline’s white blouse. He pulled it open and placed a soft kiss on the top slope of her right breast, just above the lace of her bra.
Caroline felt the breath catch in her throat.
“Y-yes,” she whispered.
“What about here?” He pulled her shirt completely off and stroked her breasts over the lace of her bra, which suddenly felt itchy and abrasive to her sensitive nipples.
“Oh, you mean here?” Caroline asked. It was a front-hook bra so she was able to unfasten it and peel it open, baring her breasts for him completely.
Richard made a low growl of desire.
“Yes, my darling—do you think the little book you read would recommend that you let me kiss you like this?”
Bending down, he captured one of her nipples in his mouth while his long, clever fingers stroked and tugged the other peak, making Caroline moan and arch her back.
“Oh God!” she panted, feeling like her whole body was on fire. “No, I’m sure it wouldn’t. Mrs. E.B. Duffey definitely would not approve of you kissing me there.”
“Mmmm…” He sucked her nipple harder and then moved to the other, nipping lightly and then lapping the tight peak tenderly to ease the little ache he had made.
“Oh, Richard!” Caroline couldn’t help moaning, as she thrust her chest up and out, wanting more of his mouth on her. As before when he had touched her, her entire body felt like it was fully alive and awake and hungry for pleasure as never before.
“Gods, darling—I love to hear you call my name like that,” he growled hoarsely, looking up at her. “Tell me, where else did the book say I must never kiss you?
Caroline bit her lip.
“It…it said a husband must never ever kiss his wife below her waist,” she whispered. She was still a little nervous about asking for this. But he had enjoyed it before, she reminded herself. In fact, he seemed to love it.
The way Richard’s eyes went heavy-lidded with lust told her she hadn’t been imagining his pleasure in this act the last time.
“Is that right, my darling?” he murmured. “So I must never, ever kiss you here?” His long fingers brushed against the fabric of her black pencil skirt, right between her thighs.
“M-maybe,” Caroline stuttered. “But it’s a little hard to see where you’re not supposed to kiss with my skirt in the way.”
“Very true.” He nodded thoughtfully. “In that case, perhaps we should take it off you—for complete clarity, of course.”
“Of course,” Caroline agreed, trying not to sound too eager. God, ever since the first time he had tasted her, she had wanted to feel his tongue in her pussy again! It was a pleasure like no other—different from any vibrator she’d ever used.
Richard seemed as eager as she was. He slid her skirt off and then Caroline found she was down to just a pair of plain white lace panties. To her embarrassment, she saw that the panties were already almost transparent with her juices and clinging to her outer pussy lips.
“Mmm, my darling, you’re already wet,” Richard murmured, stroking her thighs as he looked between her legs. “And just from letting me suck your sweet nipples.”
“I…I can’t help it.” Caroline pressed her thighs together and tried to turn on her side but he wouldn’t let her.
“No, Caroline—don’t hide yourself from me. In fact, I want you to spread wider,” he murmured.
Biting her lip with a mixture of embarrassment and lust, Caroline allowed him to spread her thighs and fully reveal the mound of her pussy. The position spread her pussy lips too, and she could see the pink button of her aching clit through the clinging white lace.
Richard made a hungry growl in the back of his throat.
“Gods, what a gorgeous sight! Your soft little cunny, all spread open for me. How I’ve longed to taste you again, my darling.”
Caroline felt a flush of pleasure, but she tr
ied to stay in control of herself.
“But what would Mrs. E.B. Duffey say?” she asked innocently. “Do you think she would approve?”
“Oh, that’s right—you were going to show me where else I must not kiss you.” Richard’s deep voice was slightly hoarse with lust. “But how can I see when you still have these naughty little undergarments on? They are very unlike anything in my world.”
“These are panties,” Caroline lectured him breathlessly. “And if you want to see where you should never, ever kiss me, you’ll have to take them off.”
“With the greatest of pleasure, my darling,” Richard growled. “Lift your hips for me, would you? Let me slide them down.”
Caroline was more than happy to comply, though the feeling of being completely naked where he could see her still made her a little nervous. She couldn’t help remembering that while she might be considered the right size in Richard’s world, she was considerably too big for her own. The loathsome Scruffy McAwesome and his stupid diet pills had made that abundantly clear.
But she saw nothing but desire and admiration in Richard’s pale blue eyes as he took in her naked body. Nothing but love and devotion and the same hunger she felt herself.
“This is where,” she whispered, spreading her thighs again, this time displaying her naked pussy for him. “This is where you’re never supposed to kiss me.”
“What—here?” Kneeling between her thighs, Richard placed a soft, open-mouthed kiss over her outer pussy lips. He lingered for a long time, lapping the top of her slit, but never quite dipping low enough to touch her throbbing clit.
The soft contact seemed to set Caroline on fire with need. She bucked her hips up shamelessly, wanting more.
“Almost there,” she said breathlessly. “But deeper in…inside me. That’s where a husband is never supposed to kiss his wife. The…the book said so.”
“Hmm…let us test that theory, shall we?” Richard growled softly. Gently, he parted her pussy lips with his thumbs, revealing her slippery inner folds. “Gods, my darling—your sweet cunny is so wet and hot,” he groaned. “I love to see you laid bare before me like this.”
Trapped in Time Page 31