So Little Time
Page 15
A shudder shook her body and she paused, waiting for it to pass. “The shaft of light will last for five seconds. That’s all the time we will have for you to reach the beam and stand inside it.”
“And if we don’t get there?”
She shrugged, unwilling to think beyond that. “It could be another six months before Specturne returns. If ever. Even if it does, there is no guarantee that it will hit the same time zone or place in the past. We can only guess.”
“What is your closest estimate?”
She considered that question. “From what we know, Specturne appears to be on an uneven orbit. There is a slight variation in the direction of the beam. The last time it visited it hit an island in the Pacific. This time it hit Pennsylvania. The only similarity so far is the fact that it has hit twice in this time period.”
Her voice cracked, and again she paused. “But it’s unpredictable. We don’t know if it will appear in this time period again.”
She pulled away from him and walked to the window, wondering how she was going to tell him the rest without breaking down. “It would seem that if the direction and the distance remains the same, then whatever happens out there would repeat the same pattern. But we can’t be sure. In other words, this is probably your only chance to leave here and return to the right place and time.”
“And once I do, there will be no coming back.”
She turned and looked at him. “No,” she said steadily. “There will be no coming back. Not unless Specturne returns in the exact same orbit. At this point, it seems unlikely. There are so many factors involved. The slightest variation could change its orbit.”
The look he gave her threatened to break her control. “I understand,” he said quietly.
The ache in her throat made it difficult to speak. “I wish I did,” she said brokenly.
He crossed the room in quick strides and reached for her. He held her so close she could feel the vibration of his heartbeat against her breast. With his lips against her forehead he whispered, “How long do we have?”
“Less than a week.” She swallowed, then went on painfully, “We will go to Gettysburg on June 30, and book into a motel. Specturne is expected to direct its beam in the early hours of the morning of July l. If all goes well, you should arrive back at the same moment you left.”
He brushed her forehead with his lips in a soft kiss. “We have a few precious days left to us. Let us make the most of them. If they are all we’ll ever have, I want to remember them for the rest of my life.”
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at his face, so dear to her now. She held them back, determined not to waste time in crying. There would be time enough for all the tears she could shed after he had gone.
For now she would fill the hours they had left together with love and laughter. She would do her damnedest to give him the wonderful memories as her final gift to him.
His kiss was a bittersweet mixture of pain and pleasure. As he deepened it, Corie forced her mind to blot out the bleak future, and lost herself instead in the sensuous magic of his touch.
Long after Granger had fallen asleep that night, Corie lay staring into the darkness, unable to sleep with the dismal ache that refused to go away, no matter how hard she tried.
How could she live without him now? It would have been better if she’d never known him. At least then she wouldn’t have known what she was missing. She would have simply gone on with her life, unaware that a very special part of living had eluded her.
Turning her head to look at him, she was immediately ashamed of her thoughts. How could she deny herself, even for one moment, the happiness and joy that Granger had given her? Those memories would last her for a lifetime. How could she trade them for the dull, boring existence she’d known before he burst into her life and changed her forever?
Granger stirred, murmuring something she couldn’t catch. Her heart seemed to overflow with her love for him. How she wished he could have loved her enough to stay. Yet how could she deny him his need to obey the instincts that had been driven into him? He was a soldier.
She remembered something he’d said before they’d made love for the first time. I am a military man. There was never enough time for more than a brief relationship.
But this wasn’t quite the same as a man going off to war with a promise to come back to her. This was a man going far beyond her reach, with the certain knowledge that she would never see him again. And there was nothing she could do to change that. Unless...
The idea hit her so sharply, she wondered why she hadn’t thought about it before. Why couldn’t she go back with him? She had nothing keeping her here. No family, no real friends.
She had left her friends behind in Philadelphia, and they had gradually lost touch. Too busy with their own lives to worry about someone they never saw. There hadn’t been time to make new friends at the shore.
No one would miss her. Except the people at the lab. She could just quit, tell them she was going back to Philadelphia.
The more she thought about it, the more appealing the idea became. To go back in time, to find out exactly what life was like then. To meet the people she’d read about, experience the events that up until now had been no more than stories in books. It was the chance of a lifetime.
It wouldn’t be easy, of course. She’d have a lot of adjustments to make, and there would be many things she’d miss about the twentieth century.
Again she raised her head to look at Granger. She loved him enough to do it, though. She loved him enough that no matter where he went, or how strange and uncomfortable her life might become, as long as she was with him, she could live happily by his side.
Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about her decision. She longed to tell him what she’d decided. But she knew he would do his best to talk her out of it. She had to pick the right moment.
Excited and terrified at the same time at the prospect, she fell into an uneasy sleep, only to wake up feeling tired and unrested the next morning.
She hated the thought of leaving Granger to go to the lab. “I could stay home and bug you all day,” she said, more than half-serious as she dished up the pancakes she’d cooked for him.
“You can’t do that. It might look suspicious, and we can’t take the chance of anyone finding me here before I have the chance to leave.” He softened the words with a smile, but they still hurt.
She told herself that his leaving had to be his priority. Even so, she wished he didn’t have to sound so anxious to go. The next instant she reminded herself that this was no simple journey from one country to another.
This trip was fraught with possibilities, none of them pleasant. Of course he was anxious for the outcome. He must be eaten up with anxiety at the thought of what might happen. She knew exactly how he must feel.
He pulled her close as she was preparing to leave for the lab. “Please, be careful,” he said, kissing her brow. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She made light of it, laughing up at him, although her nerves jumped at the thought. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let anything happen to me. You need me to get back home again.”
“I need you for a lot more than that.”
For once his kiss failed to comfort her, and she had trouble hiding her uneasiness as she looked up at him. “At least we’ll have the weekend together. Now I’d better go, or I’ll really be late.”
He lifted a hand and traced her lips with his finger.
“Promise me you won’t do anything foolish?”
“Like what?”
“Like trying to find out more than you’re supposed to know.”
She went up on her toes and dropped a light kiss on his willing mouth. “You worry too much. Get on with the papering, it will take your mind off our problems.”
“Now who’s giving the orders?”
She grinned. “Women are allowed now.” She made herself pull away from him and open the door.
“I was
right about one thing,” Granger said behind her, as she stepped out onto the porch.
“What’s that?” Only half paying attention, she scanned the street up and down to make sure no one was spying on them.
“There are some things that haven’t changed, thank the Lord.” He gave her a lecherous look and blew her a kiss from the doorway.
She smiled back at him. “You’re right. Women still know how to please their men.”
“I can guarantee that.”
Seeing him standing there, with a lazy half smile on his face, she longed to run back to him, close the door on the outside world and spend the day making wild, passionate love with him.
“Granger,” she said softly, “it depends a lot on the man, too. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
He closed the door, and already she missed him. She’d given herself enough time to walk to the lab that morning, needing to feel the fresh salty breezes from the ocean on her face.
The sky looked threatening as she marched along the boardwalk, reflecting its steel gray face in the choppy waves that smacked against the shore.
The air felt thick and heavy with moisture, suggesting the onslaught of a storm, and she wished now that she’d brought the car. It looked as if it might turn out to be a wet day.
Granger must be getting cabin fever, she thought, as she watched the sea gulls swooping low over the beach, complaining loudly with hoarse cries at the lack of leftovers.
For a man who was used to the outdoors, he must be thoroughly sick of being cooped up within the walls of a house day and night.
A poster caught her eye as she rounded the corner of the street. It showed a colorful picture of a Ferris wheel standing in the midst of various rides and booths, with the sea in the background.
Corie paused in front of it, a slow smile spreading over her face. Wildwood was at least six miles away. Miles of boardwalk crammed with people this time of the year, if the weather was good. It would be easy to get lost in the crowds.
The more she thought about, the more excited she felt. It was just what they needed. A place where they could forget their problems and just enjoy the fun and excitement.
Another thought struck her and she almost laughed out loud. How would a man from the mid-nineteenth century deal with a late twentieth-century extravaganza like the Wildwood boardwalk? It would be very interesting to find out.
She could hardly wait until the end of the day when she could get home and put the idea to Granger. Two whole days of the weekend to enjoy, before she had to come back to work. She was going to make the most of them.
She would take her camera and get some pictures, something concrete to take back in time with her, to remind him of his brief stay in the future.
Cold fingers knotted in her stomach when she thought about leaving behind everything that was familiar to her. How would she cope in that strange world where everything she had taken for granted would not yet exist?
She stared at the monitor of her computer. How could she live without computers, televisions, telephones, cars, washing machines, much less modern plumbing?
Panic almost drowned her as she struggled with her doubts. She couldn’t do it. Yet, if she didn’t, she would lose Granger forever. Did she really love him enough to give everything up for him? It was a question she’d better know the answer to before she took that step, she warned herself.
Because once she’d let go of her existence in the twentieth century, she would be forever trapped in the past, forced to live out the rest of her life in an alien world. There would be no turning back.
Chapter 9
Granger stood back to survey his day’s work with a sense of deep satisfaction. The bathroom had been a challenge after the comparative ease of plain bedroom walls. But then he always enjoyed a challenge. And now he was pleased with his handiwork.
He liked the wallpaper’s design of pale aqua seashells, and the slight silver sheen to the paper was something he’d never seen before.
This was a colorful world, this twentieth century. Everywhere he turned, he discovered new wonders, new miracles that people from his time had never dreamed could be possible. How he wished he could take some of it back with him, to show them what life could be like with the technology and experience accumulated in 130 years.
He laid down the brush on the footstool, smiling at the thought. Introducing marvels to people unprepared for such revelations would probably cause a major upheaval. He would most likely be considered a magician, or even an evil sorcerer with magical powers.
He’d more than likely be hung from a limb of the nearest tree, which was the way people usually dealt with strangers they didn’t understand.
His smile faded. He could never tell anyone about his strange experience. Who would believe him, anyway? All he could do was to go on with his life as if all this had been a dream. Although he knew without a doubt, that as long as he lived he would not forget the woman who had given him the most precious gift of all, and for a brief moment in time had made him feel a passion unequalled by anything he’d ever known before. Or ever would again. The lingering memory of her voice as she whispered to him in the dark would haunt him to the end of his days.
The sound of a key in the front door startled him out of his thoughts. He’d lost track of time, and now Corie was home and he was unprepared.
Running a hand through his tousled hair he hurried down the stairs to greet her. She stood in the hallway, gazing up at him, her face alight with a glow that took his breath away.
He leapt down the last two steps and caught her up in his arms, swinging her off her feet as his mouth sought hers. Her lips were warm and pliant under his, and the fire in his body took hold.
Lifting his head, he smiled down at her. “Hi,” he said softly. “I missed you.”
She started to speak and impatiently, he smothered her answer with his mouth. Her soft curves pressed against his chest and belly, and he longed to feel the smooth, cool touch of her naked body.
Her fragrance teased him with a seductive promise when she curled her fingers in his hair, and she strived to fit her soft body closer to his. He had trouble breathing when he finally lifted his head.
“I have to shower,” he said thickly. “I’ve been working up a pretty good sweat.”
She grinned up at him, the light gleaming on her small, even teeth. “Want me to wash your back?”
He lifted an eyebrow, his pulse racing at the thought. “In the shower?”
“Sure. Haven’t you ever showered with anyone before?”
He brushed his lips across her tempting mouth. “Sweet lady, I have never been inside a shower before, remember? I must admit, it’s a very pleasant alternative to tin baths and cold, muddy rivers.”
She laughed, and he was certain he’d never heard a more beautiful sound in his life. Taking him by the hand, she gave him her mischievous smile. “Oh, you have no idea how pleasant it can be. Come with me and I’ll show you.”
Right then he would have gone with her into the devil’s dungeons. Somehow she seemed different tonight. Lighthearted, perhaps even excited. He wondered what had happened to change her mood.
He felt a moment’s depression as he climbed the stairs behind her. She seemed to have recovered from her grief at his leaving.
He soon forgot about his dejection a few minutes later though, when Corie stood with him in the steaming spray from the faucet above their heads.
The sight of her naked body, with water cascading over her shoulders and down her full breasts, made his body ache with longing. Her wet hair molded to her head, gleaming in the soft light, and her eyes were closed in her upturned face. Her hands rested tormentingly on his chest, her palms covering his taut nipples.
Lifting his hand, he adjusted the spray lower, and she opened her eyes. He watched her expression change, softening as she smiled at him. Tiny drops of water trickled down her breast, and he stooped to catch them with his tongue.
He had no patience this time. All he’d thought about all day was the memory of their lovemaking. The intense sensations that had rocked his body still tingled in his blood.
He wanted to feel those sensations again. He wanted to hear her soft cries, and answer her with his groan of pleasure. He wanted to feel her body moving beneath him, giving as well as taking, while he brought them both to the rapture of that final shuddering release. And he wanted it now.
Even as he closed his arms around her, he cursed himself for his impatience. This was a woman who deserved to be pleasured, to be caressed and stroked, until she, too, felt the desperation of the wild hunger that overwhelmed him.
Before now he had taken his pleasure when it was offered, a brief moment of satisfaction soon forgotten in the tumult of war. But this was different. This woman was different. Now he wanted to please her even more than he wanted to please himself.
He felt her wet, naked body shiver against him once more, and again the sensuous friction almost shattered his resolve. Putting her away from him, he opened the door of the shower and reached for a towel.
She spoke not a word, but simply stood there watching him with a sultry promise in her eyes that sent his temperature soaring. Quickly, he wrapped the towel around her and stepped with her out of the shower.
He set her on her feet and took a shuddering breath. “I want you.”
“I know.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth for a brief second, then gave him her sweet smile.
He could wait no longer. With a swift movement he swept her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Gently he laid her on the bed and removed the towel from her enticing body. For a long moment he allowed himself the sheer pleasure of looking at her, then slowly lowered himself onto the bed beside her.
He was more knowledgeable now of what pleased her, and he took his time, exercising a tight control on his own needs. She responded quickly, her body coming alive in spasms of pleasure as he stroked and gently probed until he sensed she was close.