Beyond Time

by Wendy Stone

  “Where’d you go, baby?”

  “Michael Rankin.”

  “He’s in prison, honey. He’s never getting out. You should never think of him again.”

  “I know. It’s just hard not to. I’m the reason he’s going to die, Jack. I was the state’s big witness. I had to look him in the eyes and tell the jury everything he did to Mattie and me.” She pushed out of Jack’s arms and ran her hand through her golden brown curls. Her soft eyes seemed to harden as he watched. “And the hardest thing of all, I’d do it again in a second, for Mattie.”

  “Nobody in that court could doubt your sincerity or the power those memories had, Cadie. You looked like a vengeful angel, striking a blow against those who had struck first. And all I ever wanted to do was pull you off that stand and hold you in my arms.” He sighed, turning his back to her as he felt the helpless emotions send tears to well in his eyes.

  He felt her arms come around him from behind and her face rub against his back between his shoulder blades. “I know, Jack. I wanted you to.”

  He turned, burying his face in her curls as the tears overflowed. “I wish I could take those memories away and replace them with something better.”

  She rubbed at his back, hearing the upset in his voice. “If those things hadn’t happened, Jack, you and I wouldn’t be standing here like this now. I’d be planning my wedding to your brother.”

  “I’d give you that back too, if it would make you happy, Cadie. I love you that much.”

  Cadie’s hands cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “Jack, I loved Matt. At one time, he was all I could see or think of. I miss him; I won’t lie to you about any of that. Mattie had an innocent charm that could get him whatever he wanted. I think it was him talking to my parents that got me out for our first date.” She kissed his lips gently and then took him into the single bedroom in the tiny apartment, turning off the television as they passed it. Pushing him on the bed, she cried out in surprise as his hands drew her down as well. She sat up, straddling him to stare down at him. “Are you going to listen to this?”

  Jack grinned; though he kept it subdued and nodded, dropping his hands to tuck them under his head. “I’ll listen, Cadie.”

  She rolled to the side, rubbing her face against the brand new sheets, Egyptian cotton, a present from Jack’s parents. They’d bought them the queen size bed as well, though it would barely fit into the tiny bedroom. Cadie had seen it as a sign from them that they were happy with the way things were turning out and that she shouldn’t feel guilty for loving Jack. She rested her head against Jack’s chest, staring at her hand and the ring that glittered on it as she spoke.

  “The day I had the car accident, the one outside your house, I blacked out, remember?”

  “I couldn’t forget it. I’ve never been more scared than that.”

  “I saw Mattie that day, Jack.”

  “Cadie, Mattie’s dead. You couldn’t...”

  “I did! We were back on the day he died, but I refused to go down to the stream with him. Instead, we went back to that swing behind your parents’ house. I told him what had happened the day he died and how lonely and miserable I’d been, but then he looked me in the eyes and told me that I had another chance at happiness, that I had you. I realized at that moment that he was telling me not to feel guilty and not to let you go, that what we were feeling was one of those forever kinds of loves. He came back from beyond time to tell me he was okay and that he was at peace, Jack.”

  Jack stared down, his hand roaming over her. What she was telling him was a bit hard to believe but he knew she believed it. “I can’t believe I’m jealous but I am. I’d have given a lot to see Mattie again.” His expression grew thoughtful but he was still listening to her intently.

  “He said that if he had a choice of a man for me, if he couldn’t be the one, it would be you.”

  “He said that?” Jack pushed one of her curls off her forehead, twisting it around his finger. It seemed to grasp his skin, holding on to him.

  “Yes. Then he told me not to feel guilty, that he was in a better place and he would see us again.”

  “He was talking about heaven?”

  “I think so, I hope so anyway. So I’m not going to feel guilty about loving you and wanting to spend my life with you.”

  Jack smiled, bending his head to kiss her. “Then it’s a good thing that I love you too, and that you are going to spend the rest of our lives with me.”

  “And part of that life is making love.”

  Jack stared down at her, amazed. She’d had such a matter of fact tone about her, as if that was a foregone conclusion and he’d better agree or else. “I’d like for it to be.”

  “Like or love?”

  “How about want and demand?” he teased.

  “I can live with those also,” she giggled.

  “No more worries?”

  She sighed and he could see the fear still lurking in her eyes.

  “You say stop and we stop, honey. No recriminations or guilt. This will be how you want it.”

  “I want you,” she whispered. “It’s not as if I think you’ll hurt me, ’cause I don’t. I’m afraid that you’ll turn into one of them in my head, Jack.”

  “Close your eyes.” He waited until she did. “Now, what part of me most says Jack to you?”

  She chewed on her lip for a moment and Jack had to fight back the moan. He wanted to be the one to nibble on that luscious lower lip, to flick it with his tongue and suck it into his mouth. He was lost to those lust filled thought until she opened her eyes and stared at him. “Did you hear me?”

  He closed his eyes for a moment, fighting to contain the desire that would have him squirming at her feet in another moment. “No baby, I’m sorry, but you can’t chew on that lip and not expect me to be able to focus on anything else.” His voice was low and rough and he cleared his throat twice before he was able to continue. “What did you say?”

  “The scar above your eyebrow. Mattie told me that you’d gotten that scar pulling him out of the pond one winter when the ice broke through. He told me that you wouldn’t let go of him, no matter how cold your hands got, not until help came.”

  Jack grinned. “I thought I’d never be able to feel anything again. I never knew water that cold existed.” He took her hand and closed all her fingers but for the index one into a fist. Her index finger he rubbed over that small scar. “Okay, then if you get scared or if I change into one of them, you use this as a lifeline back to me. Okay?”

  She rubbed her hand against that small scar, and then smiled bravely at him. “Okay.”

  “I’m going to kiss you now.”

  The words were all the warning she had before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her across his chest, his hands running over her as his lips covered hers. He sucked that sweet lower lip of hers into his mouth, nibbling gently at it, hearing her moan. That moan went straight to his groin and he almost groaned at the pain in his cock. He’d wanted her for so long, ever since Mattie sent his first picture of her to him. He would have done a lot to have her, but not at the expense of his brother’s life.

  “You taste so good,” he growled and then kissed her again, taking her deeper into the wave of passion and lust he was feeling. His hands went to her waist and he fought to keep them there though he thought he would burn up if he couldn’t touch her more. He wanted to grasp her hips, to tug her even closer and let her feel the heavy throb of his cock and to know how much he wanted her. But he couldn’t, he wouldn’t, not yet. He would let her set the pace of their lovemaking, even if it killed him.

  * * * *

  Cadie let her legs part, straddling his hips. She could feel the bulge of his cock pressing against her. For a second, a spurt of panic almost had her off the bed but she slipped her finger over that scar and forced her eye
s to open to see his face.

  “Jack,” she moaned against his lips.

  “What? Oh God, Cadie, I didn’t frighten you, did I?”

  Cadie shook her head, a little giggle escaping her. “No, you feel so good to me. You’re my Jack.”

  “I am and I always will be, baby. I want to be your husband and the father of your children.” He drew her close again, feeling the eagerness in her lips as she brought them down to his. They parted, her tongue slipping over his lips and into his mouth. He pressed his hips up, groaning as his jeans became even tighter, as if they’d strangle his cock. Taking her hands, he pushed her fingers against the buttons of his shirt. “Take it off,” he groaned.

  She fumbled at the buttons, finally pulling the last one free and then her hands opened the sides, her fingers sliding over the muscled smoothness of his chest.

  “Oh,” he growled. “Touch me, Cadie.”

  She was happy to oblige, her hands touching him, her lips feathering over his jaw and then her tongue slid around the whorl of his ear. The groan he gave sent a shiver of lust through her and she pressed her cotton covered pussy against that iron bar in his pants. He pushed back, his hands sliding down to her hips, rubbing her against him.

  She sat up, watching as his eyes opened, a concerned frown crossing his expressive features. “Cadie?”

  She reached down, his eyes following her hands and then she almost tore her tee-shirt off over her head. “Does...Does it disgust you that those men...that they...did...” She couldn’t finish her sentence, holding her shirt up against her chest. A tear slipped down her cheek. Before another could join it, she felt Jack’s arms come around her and he sat up, pulling her against him tightly.

  “Those things that they did or didn’t do, they don’t change anything in the way I feel, Cadie. Please, if you can’t believe anything else, believe that. You’re my Cadie-bug, the love of my life. I want you to be my wife and the mother of my children. Disgust doesn’t even enter my mind when I think of you.”

  The sweetness of his words tugged at her heart, but it was their firmness, the deliberate way he spoke that made even more of an impression on her. She felt that fear take wing and breathed a sigh of relief, even as Jack began rocking her against his chest. She pulled away, her hands sliding up his chest and then over his shoulders, knocking his shirt down his arms. Her smile was radiant, a bit of sass in her eyes as she looked up at him.

  “Hmm, then I guess we won’t need that box of condoms I saw in the nightstand. I want a big family, Jack.”

  “How big?” he asked as she pushed him back down on the bed.

  “At least two of each. I never had a brother or sister and I know how lonely being an only child can be.”

  Jack moaned as her mouth slid down his neck and then over his chest, nibbling at his flat nipples until a shudder of pleasure shook him. She looked up, her blue eyes shining devilishly. “Feel good?”

  “Feels much better and we might have to wait a while longer to get you pregnant.”

  She sat up and pouted for a moment, then a smile crossed her lips and she reached behind her, unhooking her bra with a practiced ease. Shrugging the straps off her shoulders, she dropped the garment over his face. “Does that mean I shouldn’t have done that?”

  “Cadie Bestry-to-be, you are an evil woman.” He took her bra, pushing one cup against his face, his tongue lapping at the sweet smelling fabric. “But I like it. Anything else you’d like to take off? Feel free.”

  She grabbed his hands, sliding his palms along her ribs and then over the soft mounds of her breasts. She moaned and then shivered as he stroked them, crying out as he took one hard nipple between his fingers, pinching it gently. “That feels so good,” she said, arching her back to press more of her flesh into his hands.

  He rolled, his hips coming between her spread thighs. “If you like that, you’re going to love this.” He squeezed her soft tit, his mouth lipping at her nipple, tugging it inside. He suckled gently then caught the firm bud between his teeth, his tongue flicking at it with lust-filled intent.

  “Ahh,” she cried, her hips moving, undulating against his. The pleasure was almost painful, so sharp and growing sharper as he switched breasts, his fingers twisting the bud his mouth had left.

  “Oh, God, don’t stop, Jack. Don’t ever stop.”

  “Never,” he promised. His hand went to the string that held her loose sweats tight to her belly, easily pulling the bow free. Then it pushed inside, skimming over her panties before sliding inside the waistband. She jerked when he touched her swollen lower lips and he slowed his movements, gently stroking the thin line of hair that capped her soft sex. He suckled harder on her nipple and her hands speared through his hair, holding him to her with desperate intensity.

  She looked down at his face, seeing his cheeks hollowed his eyes dark and half closed with passion. There was also a touch of fear in them, or perhaps not fear but worry would be a better way to describe them. He was afraid of what he would cause her to feel. She smiled. It was so like Jack. “I love you,” she whispered. “I’m not afraid anymore, Jack. You’re the man who loves me, the man who was so willing to wait this long before making love to me. How could I ever be afraid of you?”

  “But what if...” He couldn’t finish that thought, afraid it would affect her in ways that would stop him from what he was doing.

  She tugged him down, her mouth soft but determined against his. “What if nothing. I know what I want. I want you. Don’t disappoint me, Jack.” She could feel the smile, that quick twitch of the corners of his mouth. It was so intimate and so like Jack. He wouldn’t disappoint her. She had no doubt of that.

  His tongue pressed between her lips and she met it with her own, dueling erotically. She moaned as his hand slid under the waistband of her sweats again, but this time he didn’t stop, this time his fingers pressed under the band of her thong and slipped so sweetly into her swollen flesh. Her body jerked as his fingers pressed against her clit, strumming deliberately against it. Her soft cries egged him on and he refused to be stopped, pushing her closer and closer to climax.

  “Come for me, Cadie. Come on my hand.”

  Her hips were undulating, her hands gripping his wrist, holding him to her. Her eyes were closed, her mouth open as she panted. He could feel the first fluttering of her pussy as she felt that overwhelming surge of pleasure. Her back arched and her legs closed, holding his hand to her. She trembled against him.

  When the spasms stopped, she gently pushed his hand away. She struggled to catch her breath, her eyes wide as she stared at him. “God, Jack...”

  He smiled and she smacked at his arm, laughing with him. ”Let’s not get too big a head.”

  “I’m just happy that I could please you, Cadie. I’m glad you responded so easily and so wonderfully to my touch.”

  “It’s because it’s you, Jack.” She rolled over, lying across his chest. “I love you.”

  His eyes closed at the feel of her against his bare skin. “I love you.”

  Cadie could feel him shaking and the hesitation in his hands as he moved them over her bare back. Shifting away from him, she smiled at his growl of frustration. She sat on the side of the bed, pulling off her socks. She felt the bed move as he rolled closer to her and she stood before he had a chance to touch her.

  “Cadie? Where are you going?”

  “Nowhere.” She met his gaze and pushed her fingers into the waist band of her sweats, taking the thong along with them as she pushed them past her knees. Sinking down again, she pulled them off her feet before turning to meet his eyes. “Jack...”

  “Baby,” he groaned. “You are so beautiful.”

  Cadie smiled and it made her look radiant. Her eyes grew wide when he rose from the bed, going into the closet and reaching up onto the top shelf. He took something down and then turned back to
look at her.

  “I was going to do this over a romantic dinner at some fancy restaurant, Cadie. But I can’t wait.” He sank down beside her, lifting her left hand and kissing the diamond ring that was on her ring finger. “I know how much this ring means to you. I hope that...” He pulled a box from behind his back, opening it to show her the contents. “...this one will come to mean just as much.”

  Cadie gasped. It was a diamond surround, one that would fit perfectly around the small diamond that Mattie had given her. Tears began to stream down her face and she pulled off her first engagement ring, holding it out to Jack. He put the two rings together and then slid the ring back onto her finger. “We’ll have them soldered together, Cadie.”

  “Th...this doesn’t upset you?”

  “What, that you want to wear the ring Mattie gave you? No, Cadie. He was my brother and someone important to both of us. I’m honored that you’re wearing these two rings as one.”

  She threw herself into his arms, laughing with him as they rolled across that wide bed. “Make love to me, Jack. Make me yours.”

  “Forever Cadie, mine forever.”

  * * * *

  Mattie smiled as he heard their vows of love and the emotion that was in her voice as she promised to love Jack forever. He could rest now. Cadie and Jack would be fine. He felt the pull of what came next and the promise of a heaven unlike anything humans would be able to understand. The bright white light pulled him in and he felt the touch of family and the beauty of the angels singing. Then there was joy.

  About the Author:

  Wendy Stone has been published for a while now. The Hunters in her Eternal Press series have become sort of a family of her own. Who wouldn’t want three strong and tall men at their dinner table? Maybe on their table as well?