by Mariah Stone
By some miracle, she is here.
“Samantha,” I say when I get close enough, and she turns her head to me.
Her eyes widen. “James,” she mouths and flies into my arms.
I take her and kiss her and engulf her, pressing her to me so hard I might crush her. Her mouth is hot and soft and velvety. Her taste makes me hard. It really is her.
“My jewel,” I say when I lean back to look at her. “Why are you here?”
“I had to make sure you were all right.” Her big dark eyes shine but cloud with worry when she looks me over. “What happened to your eye?”
I chuckle. “Nothing. I must disguise myself here.”
She looks at the boat that is still being loaded. “You were leaving?”
“To the East Indies.”
“So I’m not too late.” She smiles, then a frown creases her brow. She slaps me on my chest. “How could you do that? Put the necklace on me like that?”
“You know why I did it. You needed to go. So I made you go.”
“But I wanted to get you to safety first.”
“I am safe.”
“How did you escape the eruption?”
“I found a stick and used it for support. I hurried down as best I could. And when I could not go any further, my crew came to find me.”
She sighs with relief. “Thank God. You had no idea how much you frightened me. When I went back, your date of death was unknown. You changed me, James. I know it’s crazy because we only met yesterday, but you showed me what I can be when I’m not afraid to be hurt. I was a coward, hiding behind the facade of a woman who does not care about intimacy. But when I felt what I felt with you, I couldn’t imagine living without it for a moment. So I came back. I don’t know what the future holds, James. But I know I want to find out with you. So I came to stay. For now. Maybe forever. I know my adventure with you is not over, and as long as I love you, I want it to continue.”
“You love me?” I whisper. My heart is twisting and opening, and it is sweet and aches as if a magical balm has begun to heal a bad wound.
“I do.”
“Did you not say you never wanted to love anyone?”
“I did.”
“And yet?”
“And yet I love you.”
“My heart has been full of you since I saw you. I just did not want to allow myself to believe that you would not betray me. But you did not. And you showed me that I can love like I have never loved before.”
She kisses me again. Tenderly, slowly, as if we have nowhere to go.
And we do not.
“Hey, Mr. Bennet!” a man says from the boat, and I break the kiss and look at him. “Are you coming or are you staying with your molly? We are leaving.”
I look at Samantha. “I’m staying,” I say to him without breaking eye contact with her. “And this is no molly. She’s a lady the likes of which you will never see again.”
I am rewarded with the brightest smile of my life.
“Waste of time,” I hear the man mumble and the jetty shudders as my bag lands by my feet. The boat sets off.
“I need to get off this island,” I say. “There is a price on my head.”
“Right. I might have an idea of what we could do.”
“What?”
“We could find Cole. My friend Lisa must be with him.”
“But he is in the East Indies, is he not?”
“No. I know for a fact he’s somewhere around New Providence Island. And I got a clue on how to find him.”
I smile, my chest fills with light, warm air. “An adventure then?”
She smiles back. “An adventure.”
Samantha kisses me. And as our lips meet and meld together, the feel of her pressed to me sets my blood on fire. But even though she thinks it will be an adventure finding Cole, she has no idea that the real adventure will be spending every day with her, no matter what.
THE END
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Also by Mariah Stone
Called by a Viking series (time travel romance):
One Night with a Viking (prequel)—grab for free!
The Fortress of Time
The Jewel of Time
The Marriage of Time
The Surf of Time
The Tree of Time
Called by a Pirate series (time travel romance):
Pirate’s Treasure
Pirate’s Pleasure
A historical Christmas regency romance (standalone):
The Russian Prince’s Bride
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About the Author
When time travel romance writer Mariah Stone isn't busy writing strong modern women falling back through time into the arms of hot Vikings, Highlanders, and pirates, she chases after her toddler and spends romantic nights on North Sea with her husband.
Mariah speaks six languages, loves Outlander, sushi and Thai food, and runs a local writer's group. Subscribe to Mariah's newsletter for a free time travel book today!