So Little Time

by Doreen Roberts

  “And as complex.” He lifted his hand and smoothed his fingers over her hair. “I only know that right now, I want to make love to you, Corie. I want to know the secrets of your body, and give mine to you. I want to join with you in the rituals that are as old as time itself, and I want to sleep tonight with you in my arms, and as you say, forget about tomorrow.”

  She felt her throat close, preventing her from speaking. Instead, she took his hand and led him from the room. He followed behind her, his breathing harsh in the quiet of the hallway.

  She reached the door of her bedroom and opened it. Then, turning to him, she said quietly, “There is one thing I must know, Granger. You said you remembered everything, up until the last day. Did you... Is there a wife waiting for you somewhere?”

  Looking down at her, his face shaded from the light, he seemed almost intimidating. His eyes once more appeared to glow with a silver sheen, and his harsh features looked almost cruel in the shifting shadows. He was unlike any man she had ever known before, and she felt a moment of misgiving.

  Then he spoke, in the soft voice she had come to know so well. “There is no one, Corie. I swear. I am a military man. There was never enough time for more than a brief relationship.”

  She didn’t want to dwell on the brief relationships. It was enough to know that he belonged to no one but her, at least for now. Tomorrow would eventually come, but right then, she could rest in the knowledge that she would be hurting no one but herself.

  Without another word, she led him into the room.

  * * *

  The two men seated in the corner of the nightclub sat quietly talking, taking care not to be overheard. Dr. Boyd Richards, a tall, gaunt man whose black mustache made his features look even more austere, scowled at the glass of beer in his hand.

  “I can’t imagine where he could have gone. We’ve combed this town from one end to the other. We know he didn’t take a train or a bus out, and he can’t drive. Unless he went out on horseback, and I’m damned sure someone would have noticed him if he had. He must still be in town somewhere.”

  “But where?” Dr. Ivan Spencer fingered his gray beard. “Even if someone took him in, it would not take that person long to realize his...condition.”

  “Not unless he’s been clever enough to hide it.” Richards shook his head. “Even so, anyone with half a brain could tell there’s something radically wrong somewhere. There are so many ways he could be tripped up. When you think about it, it’s damn amazing he’s been able to function at all for this long without attracting a hell of a lot of attention.”

  Spencer looked worried. “You think he’s regained his memory yet?”

  “Without a doubt. Without the drug there’s nothing to prevent him from remembering everything. He knows where he came from by now. It’s probably driving him crazy.”

  “What if he goes to someone for help? He was in the army, he’d know where to find the White House. It’s been there since the beginning of the nineteenth century.”

  “The possibility did occur to me.” Richards swirled the beer around in his glass, trying to contain his apprehension. Damn that idiot, Butler, he thought savagely. He should never have let the fool administer the drug. He should have done it himself. But then Butler was expendable if there had been a problem.

  “We could be in serious trouble,” Spencer said, his voice shaking. “We should have notified them when it happened.”

  “And have the entire scientific community descend on him like locusts? Here we had the perfect opportunity to study what happens to a human body when it travels through time. I wasn’t about to let anyone else in on that.”

  “It isn’t ethical,” Spencer mumbled. “He is a human being. I think we should let them know what’s happening.”

  “We can’t let them know what we’ve been doing. You know the government would never sanction our studies. We’ve had to use a cover-up in order to get the financing as it is.”

  “And that’s fraud,” Spencer said unhappily.

  “Exactly. I’m still investigating the possibility that Specturne isn’t a star at all, but some kind of space vehicle. If that’s true, imagine the potential of capturing such a craft. It could put science ahead a thousand years. And my name in the history books.”

  He took a swig of beer and smacked the glass down on the table again. “We can’t inform them about anything. We would lose it all. All that we’ve sacrificed and worked for. Our only way out of this is to find the bastard, and try to send him back where he belongs. Which is what we intended to do anyway, eventually.”

  “You think he can be returned?”

  Richards hesitated. “I think it can be done. Whether it can be done safely, I don’t know.”

  Spencer looked startled. “He got here in one piece.”

  “True. But we don’t know exactly how it happened. We only know that it did. So far the procedure has always been spontaneous. There could be all kinds of variables that we are not aware of. If we set this thing in motion, it could set off all kinds of complications. If so, there is no way of knowing if our traveler could survive the trip.”

  “So, what are we going to do?”

  “First,” Richards said grimly, “we have to find him. I’m convinced he’s still here in town somewhere. If that means going from door to door, questioning everyone, we will do it. Thank God we had the good sense to get him out of the lab in Philly. Can you imagine how difficult it would have been to find him in the city?”

  “I’d say impossible.”

  “Right. Anyway, once we have him in our custody again, we’ll run our experiments on him, then we’ll try to send him back. From the latest reports we know that when the star returns within the month, it always hits the same place. If the reverse procedure works, he will disappear. We will never know if he makes it or not, of course, but at least we will have done our best to rectify the situation. It’s all we can ask for.”

  Spencer stared gloomily across the room. “What if someone did take him in, and knows about it all? He could have told someone and asked for help. What do we do then?”

  “We can’t take the risk of anyone being in possession of that information.” Richards met his colleague’s worried gaze, and added quietly, “We will have to cross that particular bridge when we come to it.”

  Spencer flicked his tongue over his lips. “You mean—?”

  “Whatever it takes. In the meantime we’d better start hunting for him in earnest. If we don’t get him back before the end of next week, we’re stuck with him for another six months. That’s if Specturne ever returns after this trip.”

  “If he does make it back to his time, you know he could very well create a sensation if he tells them what happened.”

  “Who’s going to believe a story like that?” Richards shook his head. “In any case, he won’t remember anything. We’ve found out that the time frame is bounced back several days when the beam hits. It’s like crossing the international date line, we lose time in the transition. We make it up when we cross back. If he gets back he’ll arrive before he left, so to speak. He won’t remember anything.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Spencer said, sounding unconvinced.

  Richards shrugged. “I know I am.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because,” Richard said patiently, “if someone had caused a sensation like that more than a hundred years ago, I’m quite sure we would have heard about it.”

  Spencer stared at him for a long moment. “Yes, I suppose we would. The more we discover about this situation, the stranger it becomes.”

  Richards nodded his agreement.

  “But then,” Spencer persisted, “what if we don’t get him back? What if the procedure doesn’t work? What if he has to stay here for the rest of his life?”

  “Then,” Richards said deliberately, “I’m afraid that our first time traveler will have a short life. After all, accidents do happen.”

  Spencer shook his head viole
ntly. “No, not that. I won’t be part of that.”

  “I don’t want that either,” Richards said. “But I’m not about to allow everything I’ve slaved for all these years to be snatched away from me just when I’m on the brink of the greatest discovery of mankind.”

  He lifted his glass and drained the last of the beer. “Anyway,” he said, as he set the glass down again, “think about it. Who in the hell is going to miss him?”

  * * *

  “Corie,” Granger whispered, “you are a beautiful woman.”

  She shivered, although his gaze roaming her naked body seemed to burn her skin. She had looked at herself in a mirror so many times, yet never until now had she felt beautiful. He made her feel beautiful. The look in his eyes when he gazed at her made her feel like the most gorgeous woman ever to grace the earth.

  She lay at his side, the shaded light from the bedside lamp casting a soft glow across his body. He had undressed her slowly, with none of the haste he must have felt raging inside. He had stood patiently while she’d taken off his clothes, though she’d heard his sharp intake of breath now and then.

  Even now, he seemed content just to look at her, while her heart raced with impatience, her breasts aching to be touched.

  “Corie,” he breathed again, and at last he moved his hand, his fingers gently tracing a path from her throat down to the valley between her breasts. “I am afraid to touch you, for fear that I will wake up from this wonderful dream and find myself back in my tent.”

  “You are not going to wake up, Granger.” She reached out a trembling hand and flattened her palm against his chest, enjoying the sensation of soft dark fuzz beneath her fingers. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “I’m very happy to hear that.” Propping himself up on one elbow, he watched his finger continue the path down to her belly. “I am not nearly as anxious to go back now.”

  A quiver of grief caught her unawares. Determined not to dwell on his leaving, she pulled his mouth down to hers. His kiss blotted out all thoughts beyond the touch of his hand and the feel of his body straining against hers.

  It was as if he’d suddenly let go of his hold on his patience. He lifted his mouth from hers and looked deep into her eyes. “Are you sure, Corie?”

  She nodded. “I’ve never been more sure.”

  Once more his mouth covered hers, while his hand explored her body. Tremors of excitement fanned out from his touch, spreading the rising pressure of need that seemed to possess her mind.

  The hard contours of his body felt hot beneath her searching fingers, and she cried out as his lips nuzzled at her breast. She felt his chin gently graze her tender flesh, and the sensation created new shivers of pleasure to torment her.

  She had never wanted a man the way she wanted this one. The smooth skin of his back beneath her hands, the pressure of his rough thigh on hers, the clean fragrance of his body, the hush of his voice as he whispered her name, everything about him excited her beyond thought or reason.

  His knowing hands sent her mind reeling with the force of her passion. Her body seemed beyond her control, arching impulsively as his fingers found an exquisite source of pleasure.

  Yearning to give back the incredible sensations, she drew her hand down to his belly, her pulse leaping at the sound of his harsh voice muttering his response. “That is so good.”

  “I want you,” she whispered back, and his mouth found hers again, no longer gentle now, his tongue probing with the fierce demands of a man beyond control.

  He shifted his hips, his shoulders lifting as he braced himself on his hands. “Now, Corie, now.”

  “Yes, now.” Again she cried out as he slipped inside her, his body filling her with a drowning heat that spread the intense pleasure all the way up her body.

  She clung to him, feeling the strength of him, that indomitable power of his body, rejoicing in the knowledge that at last, she had broken the reserve that had held him in control for so long.

  Moving with him, her hips in rhythm with his, she rode with him on the ever rising crest of passion, until his shuddering body strained with the grasping need for release.

  She was close now, very close. But she wanted to wait for him, to soar with him to that elusive essence of sheer contentment. Again he stretched his body, his head thrown back, his back arched, while the muscles in his arms knotted with the effort.

  Digging her fingers into his strong back, she wrapped her legs around him, holding him deeper inside her for one last final driving effort. Together their bodies met, held for one interminable second, then with a mingled cry, shuddered into the sweet, final surrender.

  * * *

  Granger lay in the darkness, still feeling the rapid beat of his heart. Corie lay in his arms, breathing evenly, though he knew she was awake.

  Thoughts chased through his mind. Wild thoughts, crazy thoughts, so many conflicting emotions. He wanted to stay. Oh, how he wanted to stay. Yet his duty lay in the past. For now he remembered it all. That last morning.

  There was still a chance that he could be wrong, of course. Only Corie could tell him that. And it was entirely possible she didn’t know the answers. But he had to at least try to find out if what he suspected was true.

  “Are you awake?” he whispered.

  “Yes.” Her reply came back softly in the darkness. “I don’t want to go to sleep.”

  He knew how she felt. Neither did he. He wanted this night to last forever, and never have to face tomorrow. “Feel like talking?”

  “Sure.” She snuggled closer to him. He felt the sweet pressure of her breast against his chest, and his body stirred in response. Steeling himself to remain passive, he said quietly, “There’s something I want to ask you.”

  He felt her tense, and hoped he wasn’t raising any false hopes. “About the battle in Gettysburg,” he added quickly.

  “Oh.” He felt her body slump a little, but she added casually enough, “I don’t know all the details, of course, but I’ll try. I’ve been to the battlefield and seen all the movies and displays about the battle, so I do know something about it. What do you want to know?”

  “You said that the North won the Civil War, and that Gettysburg had a bearing on that victory.”

  “Yes.” She paused, as if reluctant to say anything further, and he wondered if she knew the reasoning behind his questions.

  “In what way?” he prompted, every bit as unwilling as she was to pursue the discussion.

  “From what I remember, there were several incidents. The most significant, I believe, was when General Lee ordered General Ewell to attack the Union army on Cemetery Ridge on the afternoon of July l. It wasn’t a firm order, and for some reason, General Ewell decided not to attack.

  “By the time Lee arrived at the camp, the reinforcements were in place. The North held the ridge, and changed the course of the battle. Gettysburg was the turning point in the war. Had the South won that battle, they might well have won the war.”

  He couldn’t answer for a long moment. In the distance a faint rumble of thunder warned of a storm at sea. The ominous sound seemed to echo in his heart. “And no one knows why Ewell delayed the attack?” he asked carefully.

  Corie took her time answering. “I don’t think so. According to the history books, he was sick that afternoon, and there was some confusion about the position of the Union army. I don’t think anyone knows for sure what happened. I do know that a lot of people blamed him for turning the course of the war.”

  So now he knew. No matter what his feelings were, one way or another, he had to go back. He had no choice. After all, he was a military man. As always, his duty to his country came before everything else. And his duty lay with the Union army, in a tiny town called Gettysburg, somewhere in Pennsylvania, on July 1, in the year 1863.

  Chapter 8

  Corie awoke some time in the night, feeling strangely content and at peace. Granger held her in the circle of his arms, her face against his chest, which gently rose and fell in the relaxation
of deep sleep.

  She could find no way to describe her feelings. The wild, raw longing for him had been appeased, and she knew a deep sense of fulfillment that was warm and satisfying in a way she’d never known before.

  Yet beneath it all, the pain was only just beginning. This was all she’d ever have. Unless his feelings for her were deep enough to hold him here in the present.

  But how could she expect him to do that for her? He didn’t belong in this time, and it was up to her to find a way to send him back. She must do her utmost to send away the only man she would ever love.

  She raised her head to look at his strong profile, etched clearly against the light from the street lamp outside the window. Her heart ached with love for him.

  As she watched him, he stirred and opened his eyes. “Hi,” he said softly. “Having trouble sleeping?”

  She shook her head. “I’m enjoying watching you sleep.”

  He smiled, and she felt the warmth of it deep in her soul. “Was I talking again?”

  “No, you looked very peaceful.” God, how she was going to miss him. Before he came into her life, she’d been more or less content. That was before she realized how much she was missing. When he left her alone again, he would leave behind a cold, dark empty space that would never be refilled.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” Granger whispered, drawing his fingers down her cheek.

  Abandoning her troubled thoughts, she snuggled closer to his warm, naked body. “I’m thinking about kissing you again.”

  “I’d say that’s a very good thought. And it can easily be arranged.” With his hands on either side of her face, he drew her up until he could cover her mouth with his.

  Once more she was lost in his embrace, and the enchanting power of his touch.

  She slept soundly after that, and awoke with daylight flooding the room. A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table told her she’d overslept again.

  Granger stirred as she leaned over him and planted a kiss full on his mouth. “I’m late, so you’ll have to get your own breakfast this morning.”