Meredith arched her back and moaned as electric pulses of pleasure arced from her breast to her core. Daniel responded by doing the same to her other breast while sliding a hand down her side and up again to cup her breast and run his thumb over her nipple. He rocked against her until she feared she might scream in frustration.
“So soft …” he murmured against her lips. “So … everything.”
He kissed her again, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth, and his hand moving downward, ever closer to where she needed his touch the most. He traced a finger along her slick cleft to her clitoris and applied soft pressure. She came up off the bed, trying to push closer. Moving her pelvis against his touch.
“I want to look at you,” he rasped, raising himself to his knees, and sitting back on his heels.
Heat rushed through her as he spread her thighs, and a vibrating hum escaped his lips. The expression on his face grew intense, possessive, and his breathing went shallow.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
All she could manage was a nod.
“I want your taste on my tongue. I want to be marked by your scent.”
She gasped, and her eyes widened. “I’ve never—”
“Nor have I.” He seemed to be asking for her permission, his expression almost desperate.
She nodded again, and the next instant he was between her thighs, his hands stroking her belly, her waist and hips. He flicked the tip of tongue over her clit, and she was lost, carried away on a wave of sensation. He nuzzled and kissed her inner thighs, and did that rumbling humming thing again. Instinctively, she tilted her hips upward, encouraging, seeking more. Daniel obliged. Oh, how he obliged. Just as he had with her breasts, he teased and nibbled, licked and nuzzled until the coil tightening deep within her exploded, and she shuddered in wave after wave of intense pleasure.
He crawled up to cover her with his body and rocked his sex over and over against her belly. His breath grew erratic as he came closer to his climax. Meredith stroked his back, his buttocks, and kissed along his jawline and down his neck. He cried out, and shuddered as he came.
Daniel collapsed beside her and drew her close. “Meredith … I …”
“I know, Daniel.” She snuggled against him, blinking furiously against the sting coming to her eyes. “Me too,” she whispered.
They stayed like that for a few moments, quietly caressing each other, sharing tender kisses. “Well,” she said. “I suppose we should—”
“Start supper?” he quipped, raising himself up to sitting.
“Yes. Start supper.” She laughed.
“Is there water in the ewer, love?”
“There is.” Reluctantly, she rose from the bed and joined him to wash away the evidence of their lovemaking. The scent lingered. “Maybe open the window for a while,” she said, eyeing the one window in the loft. He pushed it up a few inches, and propped it open with a small block of wood.
Washed and decently dressed once again, they ventured downstairs. Daniel grabbed two folded dish towels and took the pot of navy beans that had soaked overnight out of the oven. He set the pot on the counter. “I’ll stoke the firebox if you’ll gather onions, bacon, and molasses.” Daniel said has he leaned over to gather the wood used for cooking.
“Sure.” She went to the now stocked shelves and found the basket of onions, and the Mason jar of molasses.” She set those on the counter. “Where do you keep the bacon?”
“I’ll get it.”
Soon the delicious smell of the baked beans cooking filled the cabin, and all they had to do was give it a stir now and then. The activity felt so … domestic, and she basked in the afterglow of the newly born intimacy growing between them. His words echoed through her mind. I won’t lose you. One way or another, she didn’t intend to lose him either.
14
Meredith decided to wear her Edwardian walking suit for their dinner in town. Dressed and ready to go, she retrieved one of the gold coins she’d hidden and slid it into her pocket. The weight of the gold settled beside the small pouch holding the remaining diamond. As she made her way down the narrow steps, she pressed her fingers against the leather pouch. The hardness of the gem within offered reassurance, a talisman against the possibility of disaster.
She found Oliver waiting downstairs. “I have something for you,” she said.
“Hmm?” His brow rose.
“I know you’ll want a few souvenirs from the past to take home with you.” She fished out the gold piece and held it out for him to see. “Here.”
“Really?” he asked, his tone excited.
“Really.” She placed the coin in his outstretched palm. “I also have a favor to ask.”
“Cool.” Oliver turned the gold piece over and over in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Take a few pictures of me and Daniel together and a few of me, Daniel, and Charles.”
“Sure, sure. Thanks.” He slid the gold piece into his pocket. “You have your phone on you?”
“I do. I plan to take a picture of Garretsville as it is today. John and Judy will get a kick out of that. I might try to sneak a few pictures of her ancestors while we’re at the diner.”
She lifted her drawstring bag with her phone inside. “I figured I could let Daniel and Charles scroll through pictures on the way to town. I’ve turned off the wi-fi and cellular, so it won’t take a lot of battery life.”
Oliver’s cast her speculative look. “I see the way you and Daniel look at each other, and I know what went on here between the two of you when Charles and I left you alone yesterday.”
Mortification burned through her. “Oliver, that’s not—”
“You’re in love with Daniel,” he said, cutting her a pointed look. “Aren’t you?”
“You definitely lack boundaries.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that.” He shrugged. “Your feelings for each other are obvious.” He continued to study her, his gaze assessing. “What are you going to do?”
“You mean after the thieves are caught? I honestly don’t know.” She headed for the front door. “I have a life and a family in the twenty-first century. Daniel has a life and a family in the nineteenth century.”
“But … you do love him, right?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“You do.” Oliver nodded to himself as if something had been resolved in his mind. “And he loves you.”
Why this mattered so much to him, she had no idea. Meredith sighed. “Daniel and Charles are waiting. Let’s go.” Meredith opened the door and walked out. Oliver could try the patience of a granite slab.
The two men stood beside the wagon, and both had gone to some effort to look presentable for their evening out. Daniel wore his hair slicked back with pomade. He’d shaved again, and he wore what she guessed were his best clothes. She preferred his hair without product and curling naturally. Daniel in his rough work clothes was something to behold. “Would you mind if Oliver took a few pictures before we set out?” she asked.
“Doesn’t that take a great deal of time to set up?” Charles frowned.
Meredith took her phone out of her bag. “Nope. This will only take a few seconds.”
“Aye,” Daniel said, his eyes riveted on her phone. “Come Charles.”
“I thought we could stand on the porch.” She tapped her phone, clicked on the camera, and handed it to Oliver. “I’d like a few of just the two of us first, Daniel.” To remember him by? Her throat closed. Oliver’s probing had unsettled her. “And then Charles can join us.”
“Of course.” Daniel hurried to her side and reached for her hand. He gazed down at her and smiled.
Returning his smile, she forgot about pictures, the past, their future, even the porch. Only she and Daniel existed, and he filled her heart. Oliver had one thing right—neither of them could hide the current flowing between them. She moved closer and put her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his shoulder. Sh
e did love him, dammit, and she had no doubt he loved her back.
Charles cleared his throat. “We should get going.”
“Right.” Daniel let go of her. “Join us, so the lad can take our likeness with the wee box, and then we’ll depart. It’s fairly early yet, Charles.”
After a few more photos had been taken, Charles and Oliver climbed into the wagon’s cargo area, and she and Daniel took the buckboard. Meredith studied the pictures, pleased with the results. “Oliver, show Charles how to scroll through photos, so he can see a bit of what the future looks like.” She handed him her phone.
Charles grunted and shook his head. “I want to look, and yet I find the prospect … disturbing.” He flashed her a sheepish look. “For truth lass, I prefer to pretend you’re not from the distant future, and that you really are my cousin from New York.”
“I’ve never been to New York. It’s not a good topic to bring up in conversation around anyone other than the four of us,” she informed him. “You don’t have to look at the pictures. I just thought you might want to.”
“I’d love to see them,” Daniel told her. “Show me, Meredith. Do you have pictures of your family in that wee box?”
“Of course I do.” She scrolled until she found the pictures she’d taken when her nephew had been christened a year ago. “Here’s one where we’re all together, including my older sister’s husband, Fáelán.” She held her phone in front of him. “That’s my mom, my dad, my sister, Regan, and my twin, Grayce.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “Why is your twin’s hair …” He glanced at her. “It’s blue and she wears it short like a man’s. And what is that in her eyebrow?”
“Lots of people color their hair that way in my time, and the length has nothing to do with gender. That’s a piece of jewelry. Her eyebrow is pierced.” She smiled as she located more recent additions. “Here’s a video of my nephew.”
Daniel gasped as he watched Conan toddle across the room and throw himself at his father’s legs. The sound of her older sister’s laughter, music playing in the background, and Conan’s gibberish, interspersed with the occasional Mama and Dada, answered by Fáelán’s murmured response, brought an ache to her chest. “He’s so cute. Missing out on seeing him grow and change on a weekly basis is difficult.”
Daniel shook his head. “This is wondrous indeed. I want a video of the two of us, Meredith. One where we’re moving and talking.” He twisted around to peer at Oliver. “Will you take one for us, lad?”
“Of course.”
“When town comes into view, stop for minute. I’d like to take a few pictures. Oliver, did you bring your phone?” Meredith asked.
“Not this time. I plan to walk into Garretsville on my own one day. I’ll find ways to take pictures then.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Charles told him. “I think the two of you should stick close to each other and to our camp. Daniel and I would prefer that neither of you go anywhere unaccompanied by one or both of us.”
“I agree, “ Daniel added.
“We know this seems like a lark to you, Oliver, but there are ruffians about, and not just the three we’re trying to foil,” Charles continued. “We don’t wish to see either of you come to harm in a time and place you don’t belong. Give a thought for how truly far away you are from home and your kin.”
In a time and place you don’t belong. Charles’s words pierced her heart and stole her breath. Was that how Charles truly saw her, as not belonging? She glanced at Daniel. His jaw clenched, he stared straight ahead. Charles’s words must’ve also hit a nerve with him.
As much as she’d like to ignore the enormity of the gap between where he belonged and where she belonged, she couldn’t. As if sensing where her thoughts were taking her, Daniel leaned close.
“This is not the day for doubts or decisions,” he whispered. “Let us enjoy this fine evening together. This moment is all that matters.” He reached for her hand. “This moment is everything.”
She twined her fingers with his and nodded. She didn’t agree that this moment was everything. Tomorrow counted as well. Wanting what was right, what would make Daniel happiest in the long run mattered. She couldn’t ask him to leave his era for hers.
Meredith swallowed and blinked against the sting at the back of her eyes. Once she knew he was safe, she’d quietly return to her place in time to live out the rest of her life missing him. At least she’d have the satisfaction of knowing she’d righted the wrong committed against him, and he’d continue to live the life he was meant to, even if it was without her.
Daniel brought the mules to a halt in front of their cabin. The moment Charles had mentioned that Oliver and Meredith did not belong in this time, Daniel had sensed her turmoil, and he meant to have a talk with his friend. Charles’s pronouncement had put a damper on their entire evening, and his own frustration had threatened to boil over more than once.
“Meredith, Oliver, you know where we keep the matches. Go on inside and light the lamps. Charles and I need to take care of the wagon and the mules.”
“Sure.” Oliver lifted his paper-wrapped parcels from the bed of the wagon and hopped to the ground.
Daniel held out his arms to help Meredith, and she placed her hands on his shoulders as he lifted her down.
“It’s too early to go to bed. Shall I put the kettle on for tea?” she asked. “Maybe we can play cards or read for a while. I’d love to take a look at the dime novels Oliver bought at the mercantile.”
“Tea would be grand, lass,” Charles said as he began leading the mules toward the shed, pulling the empty wagon behind them. “You know where the kindling is for the stove.”
Daniel pressed a kiss on her forehead, reluctant to take his hands from her slender waist. “Once the other two are asleep, may I come to you?” he whispered. She nodded, and his pulse raced. Soon he’d have her in his arms again.
He let her go and followed Charles to the shed where he unhitched one harness while Charles worked on the other. “I’ve a bone to pick with you,” Daniel began.
“Oh?” Charles continued to work, not even glancing his way.
“When you mentioned to Oliver that he and Meredith don’t belong in this time, that upset her greatly.” Daniel scowled.
“It’s the truth.”
Daniel drew in a fortifying breath. “The fae man who provided Meredith with the means to come to us also helped me to regain the memories of my time with her in the future. I asked him to do so, for I didn’t want to forget. I was in love with her then, and I’m in love with her now. I intend to marry her, and your—”
“Danny, you’re tampering with things that ought not to be tampered with. This is not her time or her place, and tempting fate will not end well for either of you.”
He should’ve known Charles would react negatively. He was always the pessimist. “Though I was born in the nineteenth century, I haunted Garretsville through to the twenty-first. By your logic I belong in either era. Anyway, I’m hoping to convince Meredith to remain here with me.” He had much to offer her now that they’d struck gold and his plans were coming to fruition. That boosted his confidence.
“I expect she’s every bit as determined to convince you to return to the future with her, aye?” Charles’s tone hardened.
His gut twisted. So Charles feared Meredith would convince him to return to the future with her. That must be why he made his feelings clear to her and Oliver. “Meredith and I will discuss the matter and come to a decision together.”
Charles stopped what he was doing and glared at him over the backs of the mules. “Have you forgotten you and I have a legally binding business partnership? After all we’ve been through together, you’d consider abandoning everything we’ve worked so hard to build? What about our plans, Danny? What about our friendship?”
“I’m hoping she’ll stay, but I must at least consider whatever course allows me to be with the woman I love.” Charles had lost both his parents during the year
s of famine. He had only a sister remaining, and she was happily married and living in Canada. As far as Daniel was concerned, he and Charles were brothers, and his gut wrenched at the thought of letting him down.
“Dan, I saw the pictures of Meredith’s family, her wee nephew, and her identical twin sister. Meredith spoke about her aspirations to work on an advanced degree and to become a professor of history. She can’t do that in our era, here or in Ireland.” Charles shook his head. “I see two people on parallel paths, both with ambitions and dreams they wish to pursue. That she came here to save our lives was a generous, courageous act, and I’m grateful, but …”
“But?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes, and that’s the truth.” He flashed him a sympathetic, almost pitying look. “You have obligations and responsibilities here. What of the promise you made to your mother? What of Meredith’s family, her career, her dreams? You’d have her give them up for you?” Charles grunted. “Best let her go, lad. There’s no way to—”
“Perhaps she and I will flip a coin.” He stomped to the barrel holding the mules’ feed and lifted the lid. “Meredith is my destiny, and I love her more than I ever imagined possible. Fate brought her to me, and I will not let her go.” Conflicting emotions churned through him, and guilt had the upper hand. “I’ll thank you not to speak disparagingly about her not belonging here ever again.”
“Why is that? Could it be you fear she knows I’m right? She doesn’t belong here anymore than you belong in the twenty-first century. Existing as a ghost does not qualify as belonging, and you know it. We’re on the cusp of realizing our goals. What do you have that would land you in good stead in the twenty-first century?” Charles’s face had grown ruddy, a sure sign of his anger.
“Nothing. That’s what,” Charles bit out. “You can’t take our goldmine with you, and I doubt Meredith would be satisfied for long as the wife of an impoverished, landless farmer. What will that do to your pride? How long will it take before the love between you two dimishes? When taking a wife, there’s far more to consider than fanciful, romantic notions.”
Summoned in Time: A magical, ghostly, time travel romance... (The MacCarthy Sisters Book 3) Page 19