Kiss Across Chains (Kiss Across Time Series)

by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  Brody blew out his breath. “I fell asleep one night a slave and I woke up… I thought I woke up, on a bed in Rafael’s house in Galata. He told me I had died and now I was a vampire. That’s the short version. He had to…” Brody shook his head. “Damn, you were cool as a cucumber, Rafael.” He looked around the table. “He told me he had a business trip to Pergamum for a few days with a fellow traveler, but when he got back, he and I would talk about my future, the two of us, ex-slaves. I just now realized…the fellow traveler was Veris.”

  Veris swore. “I was in the other room the whole time. Waiting for him to deal with a domestic problem, he said. Holy cow bells, Rafael. Cool is an understatement. I gave you the minimum amount of information to deal with us and we’re hostile with strangers at the best of times.”

  Rafael shook his head. “Don’t admire me too much. I took Brody out with a fifth century baseball bat in order to get him into the other room.” He grimaced. “It felt good at the time, especially with my neck still burning from the feeding. But I’ve regretted it ever since. Even more since I was turned myself.” He looked at Brody. “I know, now, what was driving you that night. I’ve come to understand a lot more about both of you since then. Review your memories. Veris, recall the trip to Pergamum. Brody, remember your return to Britain.”

  Brody sat back. “Shit,” he murmured, looking at the tabletop.

  Veris glanced at Brody, then at Taylor. “I see,” he said.

  Rafael was watching them both with a strange intensity and it was that, along with Veris’ glance that told Taylor what neither Veris nor Brody were saying aloud in front of Alexander or Tira.

  Rafael had been intimate with them both. He had sought them out and initiated relationships with them. For how long and the circumstances of each, Taylor would have to wait until Brody and Veris were alone with her and comfortable enough to speak of the details.

  Brody lifted his head and pinned Rafael to his chair with a hard, penetrating look. “A Naomh-Mhuire, a Mháthair Dé. I made you.”

  Rafael’s smile this time was warm. Soft. It reached his eyes. “A fact I have been eternally grateful for.”

  “Grateful?” Veris breathed, sounding shocked.

  Rafael’s smile didn’t change. “I have waited for this day for nine centuries. I have planned for it. Schemed my schemes as Brody so aptly put it. I began planning that day I sat on a cushion with my back against the railing at the Hippodrome, ignoring the races, while you and Taylor tried so hard to not tell me too much about your future, while with every sentence you betrayed more and more about how you thought and felt and how very advanced your world was...and I wanted to be a part of it. You had given me a tiny glimpse of it the first day we met, Veris. The way you spoke and thought was so strange, so different. It was clear you had seen a much larger world than mine and I wanted to see it, too.”

  Veris blew out his breath. “I thought I had left no clues about myself until the storm.”

  Rafael shrugged. “You prodded me into using my mind almost from the moment we met. So I used it.”

  Alexander laughed. “The look on your face, Veris. The dismay. Do not feel guilty. You did nothing wrong. You cannot help the effect you have on anyone with a half-way curious mind, when you are back in the past. Taylor worked the same magic on me and brought me forward because of it.”

  Rafael spread his palms. “There you are.”

  Brody leaned forward. “So all this…this business with Tira, the council, was just to get us here today?”

  Rafael shook his head. “You overestimate my role with the council and your own importance. Tira’s, too.”

  Tira scowled.

  “The existence of time jumpers has been known for centuries,” Rafael said. “They’re a rarity, something that occurs once every couple of centuries or so and because they can only move along a personal timeline, they usually end up self-annihilating quickly. You three have come very close to doing that twice already and the council’s official position is to let you self-destruct at your own pace.”

  Brody gave a hollow laugh of disbelief.

  Veris rubbed his temples. “Very unimportant,” he concluded.

  Tira smiled.

  “I knew Tira was stirring up trouble about a jumper. I didn’t know it was you until she protested to the council and they began to investigate.” Rafael gave them a small smile. “I didn’t reach out because I wanted our meeting to be unforced. Natural. In my human role, I would not suddenly call an international rock star or his lover. It would raise questions I couldn’t answer. I had to wait for you to come to me. And there you have it. The complete mystery unraveled.”

  He turned to Tira. “You are going to go back to Los Angeles and leave these people alone. Let the matter take care of itself in the natural course of time.”

  “Or else?” she asked sweetly.

  “Or else the council will find itself a new ruler for the greater Los Angeles area. That is the official ruling. Don’t ask me to put it in writing because the council will view that very unfavorably, Tira.”

  She swallowed. After a moment, she nodded. “Very well.”

  But Taylor wondered if Tira would concede as easily as that. She was curbed for now, but it would pay to watch Tira in the future.

  Rafael looked at Brody. “The drug charges will be dealt with through the human courts. I assure you they will be reduced to legal red tape, nothing more.”

  Taylor pushed the sealed copy of the VHS tape across the table toward Rafael. “That will probably make them all go away.”

  “What is it?” Rafael asked, picking up the tape and turning it over.

  She told him and he nodded. “It will,” he said, leaving it in front of him.

  “And now what?” Veris asked.

  “You’re free to live your life,” Rafael said. “As safely as you can manage it.” He stood up. “I would prefer you live very long lives. I would like to spend more time in your company now I have finally found you once more. Please take care.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The fire was burning in the big fireplace and this time all four of them stood close by the flames, for it was cold enough in Los Angeles in December that hugging a fireplace was comforting.

  “This has a sense of déjà vu about it,” Alexander said, looking about the room, and up at the gallery where all the book spines with their gold leaf shone dimly in the firelight. “I remember an evening similar to this, about five years ago, not long after you returned from Jerusalem….”

  Veris winced. “It was fall, though, and we were sitting over there.” He pointed. “And there was champagne, for Taylor’s birthday.”

  “But everything else is the same, even the baby,” Alexander said.

  It felt like the entire room came to a standstill. Taylor could hear her heart in her ears. “B-baby?” she repeated.

  Alexander tilted his head to one side, studying her. “You didn’t know?”

  “We…hoped,” she whispered, reaching for Brody’s hand. It shook as she slid her fingers into his.

  Alexander smiled at her and pushed her hair behind her ear. “The signs are all there if you know what to look for and I do. You are pregnant. About three weeks, if I am any judge.”

  Veris scrubbed his face with his hands, hard and fast. “And you would be. You’ve forgotten more legitimate hands-on medicine than I’ve ever learned. You had Taylor’s first pregnancy nailed to the day just by looking at her, in the Jordan desert, and you’ve been practicing medicine for centuries since then. I’d say your guess is as good as an ultrasound.” He took a deep breath that shuddered. He was smiling.

  Alexander gave a small smile back. “I am glad to be the bearer of such good news, but I should leave you alone to celebrate.”

  He refused to stay despite their protests and finally, once the front door shut behind him and Veris returned to the room, they stood once more in front of the flames.

  “The timing is all wrong,” Veris said, frowning.
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br />   “Not now, please,” Brody said, with a groan. “I am so sick of talking about time travel the subject makes me want to shove that poker into my eardrums and twist.”

  Taylor picked up both their hands. “Shut up, both of you.”

  They looked at her.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said. “And I want to celebrate, like Alexander suggested.”

  Veris’ expression instantly turned hot and feral and Brody’s eyes turned even darker, as he stepped closer to her. “What do you have in mind?” he asked, his voice low.

  “Your villa in the south of France, just after the First World War. The one on the coast, during the summer, when you said there was no one around but locals who minded their own business? When it was so hot you could fry eggs on the sand?”

  “Hot sounds really good right now,” Veris said.

  “A few hours, while Marit is overnighting with Mia, soaking up the sun and swimming in the sea is just what this pregnant wife would like as a starter,” Taylor told them, pulling Brody closer so she could get her arm around his waist. She held out her other arm, beckoning Veris to step into it. He wrapped himself around both of them.

  “I love you,” she told them. “I don’t care where we end up. I just want to be with you both, until the end, whatever that may be. I want to live our lives, whatever happens.”

  Veris let out a breath. “Agreed,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Unimportant. Screw the council.”

  Brody rested his hand on her belly. “All the people important to me were in that room today. No one else matters.”

  “Kiss me,” Taylor told them, turning her mouth up for one of them to comply.

  They jumped.

  More erotic vampire time travel by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  Bannockburn Binding - Book 1 of the Beloved Bloody Time series.

  In the early 23rd Century, vampires learned how to travel back in time, and created a time-tsunami that threatened life as we know it, until they corrected their mistake. They created the Chronometric Conservation Agency, which is tasked with preserving history and therefore protecting humanity’s future. The Touring arm of the Agency offers trips back into the real past, with vampire guides, called travelers.

  When Natalia (Tally) Marta, vampire and traveler, takes her client to visit the siege of Stirling Castle in 1314, she is caught and held hostage for ransom by Robert MacKenzie, a Bruce clansman. Rob finds himself drawn to the wilful, stubborn and very different English lady he has captured and the relationship becomes an intimate, highly-charged sexual pairing. Swiftly, Tally and Rob realize their bond is more than sexual, that the emotions stirring their hearts are true.

  Christian Lee Hamilton, vampire, one of the last true southern gentlemen, and Tally’s ex-lover, knows the 1314 time marker enough to jump back and help Tally return home. His arrival at Bannockburn adds complications, for Christian finds himself drawn to Rob MacKenzie as much as Tally is. But neither of them can stay in the past forever. To do so means certain death.

  __

  This beautifully crafted story has so much to it than it appears at first; the storylines are creative, the characters surprise us – over and over again -- Reading Romances

  Reviewers’ Top Pick: Oh wow, is this a great read! I simply couldn’t put this down once I started. OMG! I didn’t see this resolution coming. -- The Romance Reviews

  Tracy Cooper-Posey has cemented her spot on my “auto buy” list...the characters and worlds that Tracy builds for her readers is impossible not to love. -- Vampire Romance Books

  Bannockburn Binding is an amazing tale which contains a unique and fresh plot. The story had me so emotional unbalanced that I was afraid to read another page. This is one hot tale with an ending that definitely caught me completely by surprise. -- Coffeetime Romance Reviews

  It was AMAZING. I was really, really surprised by this book. -- Goodreads Reader

  Loved this! Very unique and inventive twist on vamps/time travel. Thank you for keeping me up ALL NIGHT when I knew I shouldn’t. I couldn’t put it down. -- Barnes & Noble Reader

  The storyline is incredible. I must confess I’m dying to read the next book in the series! -- Booked Up Reviews

  THIS IS A “SMOKIN’-HOT” GOOD READ! I really got sucked into the story……… so much so, that I borrowed the next book in the series and have already read that one! – Amazon Reader

  You’ll want to finish it in one sitting! The ending comes together seamlessly -- Romancing the Darkside

  __

  “Ah Christ, Tally,” he said breathlessly. “I should have known ye would find a way to surprise me.”

  She sat up. “Just surprise you, Rob?”

  He hoisted himself onto one elbow and looked up at her. “I’ve given up on trying to judge ye, or anything we do, sweet Tally. How can any of it be wrong or evil if it feels so good?” He gave a half smile. “I just wonder when yer going to run out of ideas.”

  She leaned over and kissed him. “There’s always more where that came from.”

  “Ye are such a beauty,” he murmured and his big hand reached up to brush her hair away from her face. “The kind of beauty that drives men wild and makes them fight wars for the lack of it.”

  “There is no such thing. You’re teasing me,” she whispered. All the same, she felt a glow in her heart that he would think such a thing of her.

  “I would fight for ye.”

  She laughed a little and he shook her to silence her.

  Then she really looked into his eyes and her amusement faded. There in his eyes, she could read his heart, his soul….

  “No, you cannot. Not for me.” She gripped his shoulder. “Not for me, Rob.”

  “For you and no-one else.” His voice was a low rumble that she could feel against her hand.

  Abruptly, painful tears pricked at her eyes. “I would break your heart,” she whispered.

  “No, you wouldn’t.” He spoke with complete assurance. “I have watched ye for a week, Natália mine. I know ye. Ye would not deliberately hurt me. Ye think I don’t understand women, that I have not seen the glances you have sent me. Ye’re wrong.”

  Real fear leapt in her chest. “You can’t possibly know me.”

  “Not the facts, no. They still remain a mystery, but the truth—that I know. I know who ye are puts you in a dilemma you’ve spent a week trying to sort out in ye mind.”

  She drew very still. “You know that?” she whispered weakly.

  “I’d be the fool if I dinna notice what’s before my eyes.” His fingertips swept across her brow. “I’m not as foolish as all that.”

  The prickling in her eyes turned to hard, searing tears. “There is no future for us,” she whispered. “None.”

  Rob sat up and cupped her face with his hands. “Hush, my lover.” His lips touched hers. “D’ye know nothing of the Scots? We’ve been fighting against the longest odds this blasted world could throw at us for generations. Ye think a little thing like ye heritage could keep me from ye?”

  Click here to buy Bannockburn Binding now: http://amzn.to/128OpgJ

  _____________

  Byzantine Heartbreak, Book 2 of the Beloved Bloody Time Series

  Can they love again? Is it too late?

  Nayara Ybarra and Ryan Deasmhumhain are the most powerful vampires known to humans in the 23rd century. They lead the Chronometric Preservation Agency, welded together yet divided by grief that won’t heal, their lives on hold. Vampires have lived apart from humans in the two hundred years since Nayara and Ryan jumped back in time and killed their lover, Salathiel, to halt the time wave that was destroying humanity and vampires.

  Now, Càel Stelios, Worlds Assembly member, intends to make humans like vampires any way he can. He knows the vampires must become allies. Their unique strengths and abilities will help humans in the coming battle against the raging psi and their psychotic leader, Gabriel.

  While he wages his political and social campaign he hides his true ambitions: to win Nayara and Ryan for hi
mself. But despite being politically powerful, rich, smart and sexually potent, Stelios has a overwhelming disadvantage: He’s human. “No” is not a word he accepts without a fight, however. The psi-filers and Gabriel have plans, though, that will make fighting very real and bloody indeed...

  __

  Amazon Best Seller – Top 100 Romance Time Travel Best Sellers

  Nominated Best Romantic SF-Futuristic Book of the Year 2012 -- The Romance Reviews

  REVIEWER’S TOP PICK -- The Romance Reviews

  Byzantine Heartbreak is hot damn awesome! Holy swear-word, is this an awesome book! The sci-fi world is fascinating, the romance utterly compelling and the secondary characters amazing. Oh please, Ms. Cooper-Posey, write faster! The Romance Reviews

  This is another outstanding novel by Tracy Cooper-Posey! ...a world that is unique, bold, passionate, and fresh to the erotic world. This powerfully passionate and emotional tale will rock you to the core. Coffeetime Romance Reviews

  One of the best stories I’ve read this year. The emotional draw to the characters is amazing and it’s impossible to not wonder/worry about them even after you’re finished reading. Vampire Romance Books

  Sexy, intense, and keeps you in suspense until the end of the book. I could not put it down and read it in one day. Amazon Reader

  A world that sucks you in very quickly. If you are tired of the cliched paranormal novels, then this book is for you. Goodreads

  The author takes us on a journey with her beautifully drawn characters to the twenty third century. The vivid description of this world set in the future is a major plus side to this book. Top 50 Amazon UK Reviewer/Top 500 Amazon Reviewer

  __

  “Politics has a lot to do with timing,” Cáel said firmly, lifting his voice a little to compete over the sound of the raucous jazz and the audience that were clearly enjoying it.

  Ryan snorted and filled his glass again. “Your timing is off. I’m up one shot on you. Drink.”

  Cáel picked up the glass. “Take your vampire rights, just as a for instance. You will never get full rights while the current president is in office.”