Becci.
Caleb stepped closer to the dresser and traced the handcarved
“B.” If the gold remained where he’d hidden it, would
Becci ever find it without his help? If she did, would she use it
to build the nursery she’d planned for Berclair Manor?
In her anger, she’d said she needed the money more than
she needed him or Ascott in her life. Caleb knew that wasn’t
true. Becci needed a man to stand by her side and help her
make her dreams come true. And, heaven help him, he wanted
to be that man.
But if he didn’t return to his time, he would fail Luke as
well as Rebecca. He couldn’t fail them. But how could he live
without Becci? When had she come to mean so much to him?
Caleb closed his eyes. He would stay for a little longer.
Another day or two wouldn’t matter. The time to leave would
come soon enough without him forcing it.
“Caleb!”
He pivoted around. Becci stood framed in the doorway,
her green eyes studying him intently. One hand rested on her
chest, nervously working at the top button on her shirt. She
lowered her gaze, and her thick dark lashes veiled her eyes.
She was a picture of beauty. His heart thundered like a stampede
of wild horses. When she raised her eyes to him, all emotion
had vanished from them.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked, her voice
strangely husky.
He couldn’t lie to her. “I’m trying to find the key to the
past.”
No! Becci wanted to shout as she stepped closer. How could
he leave her? Didn’t he know she would give up everything for
him? But how could he know when she hadn’t known herself
until just this moment? The realization jarred her to a stop.
She had lied to Lilly when she said she thought she was falling
in love with Caleb. She wasn’t falling in love. She was already
head over heels there.
She loved the way he had of smiling when he didn’t really
understand what she was telling him, and the way he put honesty
and loyalty above his own desires. But most of all she
understood what it meant for him to be a man of his word.
He didn’t love Rebecca, but he’d made a promise, and he
would keep it. Becci moved closer. Rebecca would have him
the rest of her life. Tonight might be her only chance to know
the passion of true love.
Becci held his gaze with hers and smiled. If tonight was
all they had, she wanted a memory that would last a lifetime.
She drew in a deep breath for courage and inched closer.
Caleb knew the moment Becci made her decision. She
pushed her braid over her shoulder and smiled. Her chest rose
with each breath she took, and he fought the urge to peel away
the material of her blouse and expose a little more of her creamy
skin. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he backed up to keep
her at arm’s length. Never had it been so hard to step away
from a woman, but he had to. He’d be gone in another day or
two.
Without speaking, Becci closed the distance he’d created
and cupped her palm to his cheek. Every thought vanished from
his head, and all his strength deserted him. Caleb lifted his
hand, letting his knuckles trace the contour of her jaw, so soft
and inviting.
“Kiss me, Caleb. Please.”
Her plea was impossible to ignore, and he decided to take
one kiss. One they both wanted.
He leaned closer until his mouth touched hers. The moment
it did, a hunger erupted within him. He couldn’t pull away, nor
did he want to. Heat flooded his senses as she tugged him closer
and took his lips with an equal hunger. With the tip of his tongue,
he gently begged entrance into her mouth. When her lips parted,
he traced the sweetness within.
Becci gripped his shoulders to keep from melting into a
puddle at his feet. This had been what she’d wanted to do in
the kitchen. She wove her fingers in the black hair that curled
temptingly over his collar and returned his blistering kiss with
one of her own.
Whirling her tongue around his in a sensuous battle, she
took delight in his masculine groan. His arms tightened around
her as he tasted her fiery passion and hungry desire. Then he
eased her away. She could feel him battling for control—control
she didn’t want to relinquish.
She inched closer and felt his restraint crack. He brushed
his thumb lightly against the soft swell of her breast, and she
gasped in pure delight.
She had to feel his muscles, touch his warm skin, let his
body brush hers flesh to flesh. She tugged at his shirt, but
couldn’t free it. She wanted to run her fingers over his bare
chest and make him burn. She wanted him naked in bed, turning
her dreams of him into reality.
Caleb pulled Becci closer, pressing his arousal against her.
He wanted to touch her softness. To kiss his way to the distended
peak of her breast visible through her blouse and lavish it with
kisses until she quivered in his arms. He slipped one button
free and kissed the newly exposed area. Then the second and
third buttons parted. His lips sought her lace-covered breast,
and he kissed her nipple through the soft material.
Becci pulled his mouth back to hers and flicked her tongue
over his lips. Gripping his shirt, she tugged until it slipped free
of his pants. She swept her hands under it to let her fingers
play in the coarse dark hair that curled across his chest. She
traced the provocative arrow down his chest past the ripple of
muscles and over the waistband to cup her palm over his
arousal.
Caleb tore his mouth from hers, caught her hand and pulled
it to his chest as a tremor shook him. If he didn’t stop now,
there would be no turning back. He had to regain control. Lord
help him, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her
captive for all eternity.
“Don’t stop,” Becci whispered, nipping at his earlobe.
“Please, don’t stop.”
“We must.” His words trembled with need. He rested his
cheek on the top of her head, and, as much for himself as for
her, repeated, “We must.”
Not sure he could stay on his feet without support, he
backed up until he felt the bed at the back of his legs. He lowered
himself to the edge and pulled her onto his lap.
As the seconds ticked by, she pressed kisses to his neck.
He had to get away. If he didn’t he would end up bedding
her, and she would hate him when he left. He eased her off his
lap and tried to fasten her blouse. His hands were trembling so
badly he couldn’t work the small buttons into place.
Becci slapped his hands away. Tears pooled on her lashes
as she tried to finish buttoning her blouse, but she didn’t manage
any better than he did.
She lowered her hands to her sides and tried to blink back
the burning tears that threatened to fall. Why had he refused
what she’d so freely offere
d? What she’d never offered another
man?
“Becci, it’s not that I don’t want you,” he said as if reading
her mind. He looped his arms around her waist and pressed her
gently to his chest. “Do you feel the way my heart is pounding?
It pounds with love for you. My body responds instantly with
visible proof of what I want.” He rested his forehead against
her head. “The door is open, sweetheart, and as much as I like
your aunt, I’d rather not have an audience sharing the private
matters of the bedroom. I believe both of us were caught by
surprise.”
Caleb knew he had to make her understand. Slipping her
off his lap, he knelt in front of her and caught both her hands in
his. “Think about what you’re offering me and what it means.
I can’t promise you a future, Becci. I’m not even sure I can
promise you tonight. I want you, but taking you would not be
practical. One of us would get hurt.”
She wanted to shout, “damn practicality,” yet she knew
he’d spoken the truth. He didn’t know that it was too late to
save her from being hurt. She’d already lost her heart. A future
without him would be no future at all.
He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “If, after you’ve got
your wits about you, you still want me tonight, I’ll be in the
shed waiting.”
Becci couldn’t know what turning away from her did to
Caleb. Work waited in the next room. Thank goodness painting
didn’t take concentration. He didn’t have the power to keep
his mind on a tedious task.
He feathered one last kiss to her cheek, stood and walked
out.
***
Becci tossed the empty fried chicken box into the trash.
She’d spent her last ten bucks on the dinner, and she hoped
Caleb appreciated it. After placing a blanket on top of the
basket, she cast a quick glance at the clock. They still had a
little over an hour of daylight for a picnic, if Caleb agreed to it.
He would argue that they didn’t have time to waste, but they
had to eat anyway, and it wouldn’t take much longer to have a
picnic than it would to sit down at the table.
Caleb had been upstairs painting since he’d walked out of
the bedroom, leaving her sitting on the bed trembling with a
need she couldn’t comprehend. He’d finished one room and
started on the upstairs’ hall.
Becci set aside the plate she’d made up for Lilly, then lifted
the corner of the blanket and double-checked what she’d
packed.
“Do you want me to tell Caleb to meet you down by the
lake?” Lilly asked.
Another idea surfaced. Grabbing the basket, she faced her
aunt. “That would be great, but give me five minutes to get it
set up.”
***
What could be so all fired important that Becci had asked
Lilly to interrupt the whitewashing? Caleb lowered his hat to
shade his eyes from the evening sun and started toward the
pond. As he reached the crest of the hill he slowed, and his
heart lurched.
Becci sat on the edge of a dark blue quilt. She glanced up
and smiled then continued to take things out of a large basket.
She laid out a napkin and two plates, then pulled out a bowl of
fried chicken.
But the food wasn’t what held his attention. Becci did.
Her legs were curled under the full skirt of her yellow dress.
Thin straps trailed over her shoulders, leaving an enticing
amount of skin visible. Caleb swallowed hard, and tried to
stifle a hunger that had nothing to do with food.
As he approached her, Becci wove her fingers together
and rested her hands in her lap. “I hope you like chicken.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You said you wanted us to go on a picnic. It’s a beautiful
evening for one.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he repeated, “but I have work to do.”
“We have electricity. You can do the work later.”
“Well, yes. I...I guess I can, but don’t you think you’re
asking for trouble? Especially after what happened in your
bedroom?”
“Maybe I am.”
She looked at him then. He saw fear trembling in her soft
gaze and heard it in her hesitant reply. Kneeling beside her,
Caleb covered her clenched hands with his own and rubbed
his thumb over the soft skin of her knuckles.
Becci swallowed hard when Caleb pinned her with his blueeyed
gaze, and she leaned toward him and said, “Kissing you
could become addictive, Caleb Harrison. I like it more than I
should. If that means I’m asking for trouble, then yes, I am.
Kiss me. Please.”
He brushed his hand up her arm and over her shoulder to
cup the back of her head. His lips touched hers, coaxing at
first, then with more urgency. His tongue teased, begging entry.
With a dreamy sigh of surrender, she opened to him and met
his tender assault with renewed hunger.
He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. “Becci.”
Her name vibrated with feeling, as did the kiss he pressed to
her temple. He stood and took a step backward.
He wanted her. That much was evident. So, why did he
resist what they both wanted?
“We’d better eat.” She picked up one of the plates and
held it out to him.
He took it, slid the napkin off and watched as she placed
two pieces of chicken on it. Her hands shook as she filled his
plate with mashed potatoes and slaw. The thought that he’d
caused that tremor both thrilled him and scared him.
He took a biscuit from her, then moved under the canopy
of the nearest magnolia tree. He eased down between the gnarled
roots and leaned against its trunk, determined to put some
distance between them.
Resting the plate on his thighs, he ate without letting his
gaze leave Becci. When he’d first walked down the hill, there
had been an excitement around her that had dwindled since
he’d pulled away from their kiss.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess I should have asked if you
still wanted to go on a picnic before I planned it.”
“Don’t apologize. This is special. It means a lot to me.”
“Then why are you sitting over there?”
“Because if I sit within touching distance of you, we’ll
end up on that blanket, and the hungers we satisfy won’t be
out of a need for sustenance.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Yes, it would. We are in the clearing, Mary Rebecca. Lilly
is at the house. When I make love to you, I don’t want anything
or anyone interrupting us.”
He set his plate on the ground beside him. His heart hadn’t
slowed since he’d topped the hill, and he wanted what Becci
offered, but not here in the open. “There is a mountainous
attraction between us. I feel it, and I know you do, too. I want
you to be sure what you’re offering me. You must realize there
is no future for us. No wedding, and no commitment, which
goes against my beliefs.
In my time, bedding a respectable
woman means forging a commitment—one man, one woman
together forever. That’s what it’s supposed to be.”
Becci pulled out two mugs and opened the thermos of
coffee she’d brought down. After filling the cups, she tightened
the lid and returned the thermos to the basket.
Standing, she picked up the two cups and joined Caleb
under the low branches of the magnolia. “Caleb, no one can be
sure of the future. What we have is the present. Shouldn’t we
make the most of our time together?”
“Not if it means destroying each other. That kind of hurt
never goes away.”
She handed him one of the cups and knelt down beside
him. She’d heard the bitterness in his words.
“Has someone broken a promise to you?” she asked softly.
“It’s not your concern.” Careful not to spill their coffee,
Caleb motioned for her to turn around then he slid his arm
around her waist and pulled her between his thighs, her back
to his chest.
“I’ll never intentionally cause you pain,” Becci said.
“I know you won’t,” he said as he rested his chin on her
head. Together they watched the last rays of the day dance on
the lake’s smooth surface. A peaceful silence surrounded them,
disturbed only by the night sounds of crickets and frogs.
“It’s been so long since I watched a sunset,” Becci said.
“It’s one of my two favorite moments of the day. The other
is when the sun peeks over the horizon, bringing in a new day.
I’m not sure which one I like best.”
Becci sighed. “I hate to break the spell, but we still have
work to do and clothes to try on.” As she spoke she picked up
their cups and stood. “Maybe we can have another picnic before
you leave.”
“I would like that,” he said.
***
Becci discarded the cotton and boned corset, held the
flowing, wine-colored dress against her, and looked in the fulllength
mirror. The day dress, although casual for its time, gave
the appearance of formal attire. The dark silk material had been
well maintained and carefully stored, as had been the clothes
Caleb was putting on downstairs.
She ran her hand over the ecru lace that went from shoulder
to shoulder just above the bust line and discovered several small
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