For All Time

by J. M. Powers

  “Not so funny now, is it?” She rested her palm on his broad chest. It looked so tiny against him. She wanted to ask if he believed the part about his heart finding true love. He took her hand from his chest and turned it.

  Her gaze darted up to his when he placed the stone into her palm. “Let it carry ye, Sage. If ye so choose.”

  “But...” She froze, afraid any movement would catapult her away from him.

  “Ye did not have a choice. Now I give ye one. I suppose upon rubbing it shall take ye home.”

  “You didn’t rub it to come here. Maybe that’s not how it works.” She wanted to drop it to the ground. Forget it existed.

  “If it does not work, we shall seek out Wren.” He propped his shoulder against the stone wall, studied the stone, and then her. “I want thy happiness above all.”

  He wanted her here—but what did she want? She felt as if the world fell away under his scrutiny. Did she have to make the decision right now? A big part of her already had. She leaned into him and he held her head against his chest. His deep voice vibrated against her ear. “The time between us was a blink of a day, but I avow...” his voice faltered.

  She pulled back and brushed his ebony hair away from his eyes. His tears pooled like oil, then one spilled softly and hung for a moment on his square jaw before dropping away to his tunic. He swiped at his eyes and turned away.

  “Cade?”

  “I never weep.” He whipped around. “Ever. But the thought of ye leaving shatters all defenses. Ye may deem me a fool for believing such nonsense about magic, about the stone. Yet because of it, I acquired everything that ever mattered. I found worth in life. I found ye, Sage.” His hand cupped her chin. “I found ye,” he repeated.

  The weight of his words knocked her over the edge of happiness. She started to speak, but he continued, holding her captive with the tender hold upon her chin.

  “Perchance ye feel as I do? Ye feel the magic? The bond when we kiss?” Again, he spoke before she could respond. “Because of ye, I have nay doubt of the power of love.”

  She took several steps back. “Wait.” She closed her eyes against his piercing and pleading gaze. Should she believe so easily? Could she trust her heart as well as his? Her soul answered with a resounding yes. Suddenly home wasn’t important, though she’d miss Tex. The crazy, high-spirited dog saved her sanity when everyone else had abandoned her. Her last relationship had hardened her heart, yet Tex was her constant companion through everything. And now she had to abandon him?

  She felt the weight of Cade’s hands on her shoulders. “Sage?” Concern bled through his whisper.

  That damn stone may be magical, but it was Cade who melted the protective barrier around her heart. And for the first time in her life, she felt happy. In love. Still, her happiness dimmed at the thought of leaving her furry companion behind.

  “Sage, open thy eyes. Look at me. Tell me what thoughts cloud thine beauty.”

  She clenched her eyes tighter. It was unfair she had to give up one treasure to gain another. But she loved this man as if he was the missing piece in her puzzled life. Until now, that life was an incomplete picture. Tell him. Tell him how you feel. She searched for the courage to bare her heart. This man—this stranger—could tear it apart so easily. She needed to trust him. Trust in love. A bark tore her away from her thoughts. Then another much louder bark, followed by the feeling of fur brushing her leg. Tex?

  No. It can’t be. She realized she had closed her hand in a fist. Did she inadvertently rub the rock? Sage peeked through her lashes to find Tex panting at her feet. Falling to her knees, she broke into tears and buried her face in his fetid coat. “Tex! You found me!” Her sobs racked her body, the cold ground shooting needles through her nearly frozen legs.

  “I beg thee, do not weep.”

  She nearly knocked him into the alley wall when she leapt into his arms. “I thought I’d lost him!” She peppered Cade’s face with kisses. “Now I have the best of both worlds.” And her two favorite men in life.

  “Then why do ye continue to weep so?” He cupped her face and ran his thumb across her cheek, wiping her tears.

  “Because I’m happy I’m here.” She pressed her cheek against his palm. “With you.”

  “Ye choose to stay?”

  Did he want her to? “I’m here right now, aren’t I?” She glanced down to assure her dog was still there. “Was Tex touching us when we traveled? That must be it. Or he wouldn’t be here now. Right? Unless there’s a female dog around here with a magic stone around its neck. Ha, wouldn’t that be a hoot?” She laughed and hugged him tighter.

  “Rambling—delightful. I could become fast accustomed to it.” He chuckled and squeezed her bottom. “And the way ye leap into my arms and wrap around me like a well-worn cloak.”

  “I love the way you say stuff.” She ran her finger along his jaw. God, the man had a way of making her heart skitter with his gaze.

  “Do ye love me?” An eyebrow raise and a dimple at the same time. Did he know how that affected her?

  “We just met.” She wasn’t going to make the same mistake Margery had. Maybe it was better to keep her love hidden for now.

  “Time means naught, fair one. Ye are weaved within my heart, yet I shall not stop ye should ye choose to go. Or if ye wish me share your life at thy home.”

  “You’d be willing to go back with me?” She searched his face for a hint of hesitation.

  “I would.”

  “And if I stay here? What then?”

  “I would love ye,”—he traced her lips with his finger—”for all time.”

  She smiled so wide her cheeks ached. “I’d love you too, Cade.” Well, so much for keeping her feelings to herself. He turned and pressed her against the wall. The cold seeped through the cape, but her body heated just the same.

  “Thank the gods.” His words blended into a kiss as he lowered her feet to the ground. His leg parted her own as he pressed against her. Holy shit, she’d never felt so alive, so wanted.

  A drunk, tattered man wandered into the alley, a sour stench announcing his presence.

  Cade broke their embrace, dug out a coin, and flipped it to him. “Be gone.”

  The man held out his gnarled hand. “Spare another coin and I shall go.”

  Cade glowered and raised his middle finger. “Beware my wrath.”

  The drunk backed away with fear in his eyes, then fled

  Sage fell into a fit of giggles. “You learn fast.” She kissed his upraised finger. “However, I can think of a thing or two that would put this to better use.”

  “Ye are sinful.” He chuckled.

  She shushed him with a kiss upon his lips, then trailed her finger along his jaw and down his throat before finally resting her head on his chest. “I suppose I’ll have to change my ways then. I need to fit in, after all.”

  “Look at me.”

  She craned her neck to see a serious expression on his handsome face.

  “Dare not change a thing about thyself.”

  “I have to. I can’t go around in shorts and tank tops.” She recalled the gown Margery wore; though a bit tattered, the style was beautiful. The simple, yet elegant braid was becoming too. “Maybe I should braid my hair.”

  “I love thy hair the way it is,” he said, running his fingers through it while kissing her neck.

  “What about the way I dress?”

  “I am more interested in the way ye undress.” His words muffled as the kisses trailed to her ear.

  “And my cursing?”

  He drew back and winked. “Well, ye might wish to curb thy penchant for cursing at every turn.”

  She doubted that would happen. “Any other requests?”

  His growl nudged against her sanity. “Ah, I can think of a few.”

  Sage giggled. “Cade. Seriously, I know nothing about your world.”

  “I shall show ye the ways of a knight’s lady.” His dimples appeared in a flash. “In every way.”

  �
��Oh?” She kissed each cheek and nipped his earlobe. “Is this one of the ways?”

  He moaned. “Mayhap.”

  She unlaced his tunic and kissed his chest. “And this?”

  “Could very well be a start.”

  She reached downward and batted her eyes innocently. “Is this a place to start?”

  “Woman, ye are quite brazen. I believe I shall have to calm thy ways with a sound lesson in my bedchamber.”

  “Oh. A spanking?”

  “Aye.” He lifted her, guiding her legs around his waist. “I have rethought thy attire. I shall have many gowns made for ye. Then, when ye send my body into frenzy...” He kissed her, the tenderness gone. Claiming her. Biting her lip. Animalistic. She nearly came undone. “Aye, my sweet maiden, I shall have free rein to lift thy skirts and take ye at my whim.” His hands cradled her bottom. “Spank indeed. What a delicious thought.”

  She savored the way his tongue explored her mouth, her neck, and then her cleavage. He glanced up when she tugged the scoop of her neckline even lower to offer him more.

  “Sage, may the gods strike me, I cannot wait to take ye fully.” His hot mouth warmed her body despite the chill in the air.

  She trembled, answering each tender touch with a moan. She’d never craved anything so bad. She guided his hand up her thigh and he pushed aside the leg of her shorts. The passion pulled taut, then snapped.

  “Cade...” She tugged at the waist of his breeches. “Now.”

  “Damnation!” He dropped her with such suddenness she cried out at the rush of cold air between them. “That cur bit me!” he said, examining his ankle.

  Tex circled around him, growling. Sage bit her lip to keep from laughing and bent down and patted Tex’s snout. “Easy, boy. Cade is just, um...” A bubble of laughter finished her sentence.

  “’Tis just as well. My passion clouded my judgment. An alley is surely not the place to make love. I shall bring ye to my home tonight.” He eyed Tex. “He shall stay in the stables.”

  “He will stay with us.” She crossed her arms. It seemed he was about to argue, so she knelt by her dog. “Tex is family.”

  “Very well, but he shall learn manners and that I am the master.”

  “Oh, yes, master.” Why did that remind her of “I Dream of Jeannie”?

  He smiled. “Then come morn, we shall gather on the church steps. Only then shall I present thee as my wife.”

  “Wife? Like...get married?” The question sounded stupid even to her ears and she burst out laughing.

  “Ye find marriage amusing?” Cade’s expression darkened.

  “Uh, I do at the moment. Where did that come from?” Was he serious? Shit. He wasn’t smiling. She had to remedy that. “Seeing our kisses are so rockin’, imagine the magic when we do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “It.” Warmth pooled between her legs at the thought. Dammit. She was acting like... Nuh-uh. She was not a harlot. Just crazy for his body. And his kisses. And his bare hand against her bottom. Then again, she was certain he’d make her cry out. Hell, everyone in earshot would know what they were doing in the alley. “I don’t care what people think. Even if we get caught, I wouldn’t care.” She would die of embarrassment, but he had her going full steam.

  “I would.” He kissed her behind the ear. “Ye shall be my lady.” His lips traveled to her cheek. “My wife,” he whispered against her lips. “Pure.”

  This wasn’t good. Her heart plummeted. She had to tell him. “Wait.”

  He took a step back. “Ye do not wish to marry me?”

  “I’m not pure.” She worried her bottom lip when he didn’t say anything. Was he disappointed? Disgusted? Angry? She couldn’t bear to look up at his face.

  “What do ye mean?” He didn’t release his hold on her. That was a good sign, right?

  “I’m not a virgin.” She played with the lacing on his tunic, unable to meet his gaze. “My last boyfriend and I lived together for six months. He was my first. I thought—well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. The point is I...I didn’t wait for marriage.” Shit. Now she wished she had.

  Chapter Four

  Sage’s honesty touched him. This woman was from a different time. Perchance ‘twas acceptable to live with a man without marriage in New York.

  A pang of jealousy—nay ‘twas fury pulsing through him at the thought of another man touching her. Now she bowed her head in shame.

  He cupped her chin and raised her face. “Ye are not pure?”

  She swallowed hard and blinked back tears. “I should go home.” She wrenched her chin from his hand and looked away.

  “Can ye explain? Do ye work at a tavern in New York?”

  Her eyes widened and she took several steps back. “Are you effing kidding me? You think I’m some kind of whore?”

  “N-nay.” Damnation, the man in him wished to know. “”It matters naught if ye are, for I love ye.”

  Her hands fisted at her sides and tears pooled in her blue eyes. He no longer saw her breath in the air. Was she holding it to keep from crying?

  He took her hand and she stared at it, neither grasping it nor pulling away.

  Her whisper was so soft, he could not hear her.

  “Pray tell?”

  She looked up at him and swiped the tears with the back of her hand. “I can’t believe you think of me like that.”

  She grabbed her cur’s scruff and squared her shoulders. “Send me home.”

  He searched for something to say. Angels above, had he ruined everything? “Curiosity is an evil thing sometimes. And I never should have allowed it to enter something so true.” Hope dwindled when she let her hand slip from his. He must make amends for his mistake. “In my ignorance, I faltered, and beg forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness?” She seemed to mull it over.

  “Sage, ye could be a scullery maid, a stable hand, a mistress to a king, yet I would still love thee.”

  She sniffled. “You want a virgin. You said as much.”

  He watched her tears fall to the ground. Hell’s teeth, how they wounded him. And the oaf who took advantage of her deserved death. But wasn’t his thought to take her right here in the alley? Was he any better than that man? Sage touched more than his heart, she captured his soul. The stone brought him to her. It could not be wrong. His heart could not be wrong.

  “I found ye—’tis meant to be. I want naught more.” Many times he had bedded women, but never had his heart been involved. Mayhap ‘twas the same for her. Though she said she had bedded one man, she did not wed him. She did not love the damn cad. She said as much... Had she not?

  “You turned Margery away because she isn’t pure.” Her breath came in tatters

  “I turned her away because I doth not love her.” Gods! She cared for him, or she would not care what he thought of her.

  She shrugged. “I never should’ve mentioned her. It really doesn’t matter.”

  Oh, but it did. The furrows etched on her brow told him as much. He ran his hand through his hair. How could he convince Sage she was an angel compared to that wench? He never should have put a condition of purity on their love. What had he done? First he feared losing her when Margery confronted him, and now he was to lose her due to his own ignorance. Nay. He would not allow it.

  He took her hand. This time she rubbed her thumb over his fingers. “Ye traveled back in time, nay? So ‘twas as if that did not happen.”

  That did it. Her blue eyes searched his face, looking for...for what? A moment passed before she spoke.

  “Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?” More tears pooled in her eyes.

  “Neither. ‘Tis the truth.” He forced a smile, his pulse throbbing at this temple. “New life, new beginning.”

  “I—” She swallowed so hard he heard it. She refused to look at him. Damnation! Did she not see she was worthy?

  Mayhap ‘twas he who was not worthy of such a treasure. Perchance fate decided to taunt him for doubting, for expecting too much. Hel
l, he would battle fate, the gods...anything that stood between him and Sage.

  He urged her closer and waited for her to look at him. “I care not of thy past. I only care to hold ye. Love ye.” He bent to his knees, bowed his head, and whispered. “I beg thee. Do not leave.” It seemed a chasm of eternity, but ‘twas but a space of time. She did not answer. She only bowed her head. “Thy shame is for naught.”

  Chapter Five

  Shame? She wasn’t ashamed of anything in her past. Sage gaped at him. “Life is freer in my time, Cade. People sleep together without marriage.”

  “I never should have asked about thy purity. It brought ye pain. I love ye, Sage, and accept ye as ye are. A woman who shall share my life, bear my children, or if ye wish, hunt with me, counsel me in thy ways so I understand them...anything ye wish. I intend to spoil ye thoroughly.” A small smile gradually lit his face.

  Damn, he really meant it! She wrapped her hands about his waist and gazed up at him, speechless. For once.

  Time travel, magic, and everything they shared in such a short time was a lot to take in, but she was sure of one thing. She loved him.

  “Okay, then here is an explanation about my ways.” She took a deep breath. “You thought I was ashamed of my past.”

  “Aye, I did at first.”

  “I can’t change a thing I’ve done and to be honest, I don’t want to. I thought I loved my old boyfriend, and chose to sleep with him.”

  “Very well.”

  “Just to make it clear: The fact I’m not a virgin doesn’t make me any less pure of heart.”

  “I never should have—”

  “Apparently, in your time women don’t sleep around unless they are...like Margery.”

  “That is not entirely true. There are some who simply keep sexual trysts well hidden.”

  “Oh.” She grinned. “Then this explanation is over. My feelings for you are sexual, but they also include purity of love strong enough to stay here when I don’t even know what’s going to happen next. How’s that for pure?”

  “I beg ye, banish what I said before about purity. It was said in heat of passion. I never meant—”

  “Yes you did.” She shrugged. “Whatever I’ve done in my past made me the woman I am now. The woman you claim to love.”