Come Back to Me (Love Across Time Book 1)

by Annie Seaton

  “Thank you. I’m fine now.” She opened the door, went inside, and tried to close it, but his boot blocked it.

  “I’ll give you a half hour and then I’ll come over to check you’re okay. I have to go back to the festival…we have a set to play later this morning,” he said.

  “There’s no need, David.” Megan kept her voice cold. Conflicting emotions ran through her and she needed some time to sort her head out. “I’m fine. Go and do whatever you have to do.”

  “I’ll be back.”

  She shrugged and he removed his foot and walked away.

  Megan leaned her head against the door for a moment. A hollow feeling gnawed at her stomach and she didn’t think it had anything to do with hunger.

  Of the food variety, that was.

  Despite how the urgency of the sexual attraction had faded, strong feelings rioted through her. Her response to David was all mixed up with the love for the “rock star” icon she’d had as a teen, and her love of his music. Not only had she experienced that music live, she’d had hot sex with the idol from her teens.

  Either that or she was crazy.

  Shaking her head with disbelief, she walked upstairs to run a much-needed bath. Everything was the same in the pretty little bedroom. Her suitcase overflowed on the floor just as it had been.

  When the bath was half-full, she turned the taps off and tipped in some bath salts that were on the windowsill above the old-fashioned pink bathtub. Slipping off her jeans and T-shirt, she stepped into the bubbles. Sliding down into the warm water was bliss and she rested her head on the back of the bath, closing her eyes as the water covered her.

  Images of the last day flashed through her mind and she shook her head slowly from side to side. She reached for her loose hair and looped it in a top knot as it fell to her damp shoulders. She had time travelled back to the seventies and had watched Davy Morgan sing. She’d also had the best sex of her life with him on a riverbank at the festival.

  As she thought about it, her nipples pebbled and the muscles between her thighs tightened. She’d been able to ignore it because she’d felt ill when she’d woken up next door, but now the sexual desire was back with a vengeance. Stepping from the bathtub, she toweled herself dry and shook her hair free. As she walked past the tiny hand basin, her reflection peered hazily back at her through the steam on the small round mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright, her lips red and full. Excitement glimmered from the depths of her eyes and it mirrored the anticipation running through her body. She looked more alive than she had for the past year.

  Her suitcase was on the floor and as she reached for it, a wave of dizziness overcame her. Dropping to the bed, she put her head between her knees and waited for the feeling to pass. At least she didn’t feel sick this time. Her eyelids were heavy and she decided to close her eyes for just a moment before she got dressed.

  Chapter Twenty

  David knocked on the door and waited. He’d spent the past hour trying to decide how to handle this damned fire Megan had lit in him. He’d been deliberately distant when they’d come back through the time slip because he didn’t want her to know how worried he’d been about her when she’d passed out. He’d sat next to her and watched her sleep once he’d put her in his bed, and it had taken all his willpower not to climb in beside her.

  The past three days since she’d arrived in his life had turned his world upside down. His life had been settled and he’d been content with the way things were. He’d gotten over being blamed for Emma’s death, and until Holly had shown him that bloody article, he’d managed to put it behind him. He enjoyed living in isolation in the Cayman Islands and coming over to his cottage every summer to go to a festival, do some touring, and put down a new album in the studio. Living and writing his music in the twenty-first century and slipping back to be a part of the seventies scene gave him the best of both worlds. Most importantly, he had the privacy to live his life exactly how he wanted and the royalties from the songs he was singing were keeping him very comfortable.

  Until today, Bear and Slim, Clive, and of course Alice, were the only others who knew how he lived across the span of time. His two band members made a habit of coming back with him occasionally for a visit to the pub. The connection among them enriched their music.

  And now dear Alice was gone.

  Megan’s knowing about the time slip could make things difficult. Putting herself in danger had brought the bad publicity surrounding Emma’s death back with a vengeance. He needed to keep Holly in control, too. It was time to get another publicist if she was going to go for the sensational. All he hoped was that Holly hadn’t seen Megan on the stage, because if she had, he was sure she’d plan some out there publicity about Davy’s new woman. He snorted in disgust. This festival couldn’t come to a close soon enough for him. The high from the music had been the usual buzz, but the double complication of the bad publicity and Megan’s staying next door was doing his head in.

  This connection to her and the urge to be with her was purely sexual. She’d gotten beneath his skin.

  And into my head. And he didn’t want to admit that she was on the way to his heart.

  Once he checked she was okay, he was going to say good-bye. He knocked again and looked at his watch. There were only a couple more hours before he had to go back and join the guys for the next set. He would move on and put her behind him, too

  “Megan? Are you there?” He lifted his hand and rapped his knuckles on the solid wooden door. When she didn’t answer a frisson of fear rippled through him. He’d not seen anyone be so badly affected by going through the gates.

  God, what if she’d passed out in the bath?

  This time, he pounded on the door and when she didn’t answer, he turned the knob. The door opened and he stepped in.

  “Megan?”

  Taking the stairs two at a time, David hurried along the narrow hall upstairs and looked through the open bathroom door. The bath was full of water and her clothes were on the floor but there was no sign of her. The panic subsided a little. Swiveling around, he headed for the bedroom and stopped in the doorway. Megan was curled on her side in the middle of the bed wrapped in a pink towel. His heart kicked up a notch. One hand rested beneath her cheek and a rosy flush stained her skin. Crouching next to the bed, he ignored the blood pumping through him and placed his hand gently on her forehead and brushed the loose hair back from her face.

  “Megan,” he said softly. “Are you okay?”

  She rolled over onto her back and stretched. “I’m fine. I fell asleep after my bath, but I feel great now.” Looking up, she smiled and held his gaze. It was like getting a jolt of electricity through his entire body.

  For the love of God, he couldn’t keep away from her. With a groan, he buried his face in her hair and tried to contain the raging need that was coursing through his body. He’d thought he had it under control, but one look at her lying on the bed wrapped in a towel and all his good intentions flew out the window.

  Standing up, he peeled his T-shirt off and threw it on the bed before stepping out of his jeans. He looked down at Megan—the intensity of her gaze had not left him and it held the same fire that was coursing through his body.

  At the window, delicate lace curtains blew softly in the light morning breeze and the smell of roses filled the room as Megan reached a hand up to him. She kept her gaze locked on him without speaking.

  Need rushed through him, and he closed his eyes. A thrum of need throbbed through his blood and this time he wanted to go slowly.

  But damn it to hell, he had to be back with the band in an hour or so.

  “Shit.” He dropped down beside her onto the bed and stared at her. Her gaze raked him up and down as he hesitated.

  “What’s wrong?” Her voice was a low, throaty purr.

  “I want to stay here with you, but I’ve only got a short time before I have to go. I don’t want to rush you again.” He ran his finger lightly up her stomach and cov
ered the hand on her breast with his.

  “Do you have to leave?”

  David held his breath as Megan lifted her butt from the bed and pulled the towel away from around her. His gaze travelled down her body, past her full breasts and down past her flat stomach. In their swift coupling in the dark the other night, he’d not been able to see and appreciate her beauty.

  “Yes.” He dropped his mouth to her neck and nipped the delicate pale skin, and she gasped. “If I don’t go back this time, it will change the future. Or what is my present. This is the set where we get picked up by the agent and the band will take off. If I don’t go—”

  “Well, then, you’d better hurry up here and get on over there.”

  “Shit, why now of all times?” He took her mouth with his and slipped his tongue into the welcoming warmth. Time almost stood still and the need to leave went away…almost.

  She reached her hands around his back and her nails scratched down his back.

  ***

  Fifteen minutes later, David pulled his jeans on before leaning down to the bed and brushing Megan’s lips with his. She pushed him away reluctantly—knowing he had to go. He stretched the black T-shirt over his head as he headed for the door and she smiled as he tripped over his boots and cursed. Picking them up, he stood in the doorway and smiled back at her.

  “I’ll be back about midnight. As soon as we finish. Wait up for me?”

  “I’ve slept enough to stay awake for two days.” Megan stretched as a delicious warmth coursed through her. “I’ll go into the village, get some supplies, and make you dinner.”

  David frowned. “Don’t go anywhere near the stones. Promise? I don’t want to lose you again.”

  “Oh, there’s no fear of that, don’t you worry. I’ll stick to the road and come straight back.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and wrapped the sheet around her. “Now go.”

  With one last reluctant look at her, David disappeared along the hallway, and when she heard the front door close, Megan went across to the window and grasped the sheet to her breast waiting for him to appear. After a couple of minutes he came out of his cottage, dressed completely in black, with his guitar slung over his shoulder, and crossed the back garden. This time when he approached the stone markers and disappeared, she relaxed, knowing he was okay and where he had gone.

  Wide-awake and her energy renewed, she slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower before wandering downstairs. Even though she hadn’t spent much time there, the cottage was beginning to feel like home. Thoughts of her real life and home seemed distant and the time she had spent with David filled her thoughts. She knew she’d surprised him with her sexual response this morning.

  Hell, I surprised myself.

  The effect he had on her physically and the way he made her feel were unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. The intensity of her feelings for him consumed her completely—body, heart, and soul.

  As she headed for the kitchen, a muffled ringing reached her and it took a moment to realise it was her cell phone in her bag back in the living room. As she rummaged for it, a strange feeling came over her. It was as though it was someone else’s bag. It was all familiar to her, but she felt distanced from everything, as though the time spent in the past had put a glass wall between the past and her present.

  Shaking her head in an attempt to dispel the strange sensation, she pressed the phone to her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “Megan, where the hell have you been?” Kathy’s voice came over the connection and she sounded upset. “I’ve been trying to call you for twenty-four hours and your phone just rang and rang every time.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t take my phone with me to the…er…festival.” Megan wandered over to the window, looking at the tents in the far distance as she tried to concentrate. “And it was dead for a couple of days too before I got an adapter, and the signal is really bad. A lot of stuff doesn’t work right here.”

  “Tony wants to talk to you. It’s not good.”

  “Okay. Put him on.”

  “Hello, Megan, I’m afraid the news isn’t good. You’re going to have to come home.”

  “I can’t.” It was the last thing Megan wanted to do at the moment.

  “You have to.” The irritation was evident in Tony’s voice. “I’ve worked my butt off for you, and the disciplinary committee has agreed to hear your appeal in person. They’ve had a look at some of the evidence I’ve gathered from your files—mind you, there was very little to support your case—so you’re lucky they’re prepared to interview you. I think it’s because the police are involved.”

  “The police?” Megan screwed her nose up as she walked across to the kitchen. The empty bottle from the red wine—was it only such a short time ago—was still sitting on the kitchen sink.

  “Yes, I called in to see them the other day. One thing in your favour. Greg Cannon has a record.”

  “I can’t come home yet.” Megan tried to focus on Tony’s words. It all seemed so long ago and far away. She couldn’t summon any interest in what he was saying.

  “What do you mean you can’t come? I’ve done as much as I can without you. Jeez, Megan, what the hell is the matter with you? There’s no point continuing your research if you don’t come home. You won’t have a job or a doctoral position at the university.”

  Megan didn’t reply and for a moment there was silence at the other end of the phone and then Kathy came on again. “Megs, what’s wrong? Why is Tony storming around slamming doors and glaring at me?”

  “I told him I can’t come home yet. The appeal hearing will have to wait.”

  “I’m sure Tony can work something out.” She could hear Kathy’s muffled voice speaking to Tony and it sounded as though she had her hand over the phone.

  “How soon can you come home?” Kathy came back on.

  “I don’t know. I have some things to work out.”

  “Your research?”

  “No, just some stuff.” Megan began to get irritated. “Look Kathy, tell Tony I really appreciate what he’s done, but I’ve got some other stuff to deal with that’s far more important to me than my job.”

  Her sister’s voice rose. “You’ve only been gone a few days and like Tony said your research will mean nothing if you don’t have a job. It’s your whole career, Megan. If you want to save your skin, you’ll have to come home to the meeting. What’s happened over there that’s more important?”

  It was as though Kathy was now the mouthpiece for Tony, and Megan decided it would just be easier to agree.

  “Yes, okay, whatever Tony thinks. I’ll come home then. I’ll let you know when I’m coming. And now I have to go. Good-bye.”

  Megan terminated the call before her sister could object, and she turned the phone off before throwing it back in her bag. It surprised her that there was any battery life left on the phone, anyway.

  But then she thought about it. It had only been a couple of days since she’d charged it.

  So much had happened to her in the last forty-eight hours.

  Her whole life had changed, and she had a lot of things to work out before she flew back home for any hearing. She wasn’t sure what she wanted yet, but before she made any decisions, she had a festival to go to.

  And a man to consider.

  Time would tell. That’s what she needed…time to get her head around everything.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Fuck, man. We thought you weren’t coming.” Bear was behind the drums at the back of the stage and he watched David as he hurried to the amplifiers and plugged in his guitar, with only seconds to spare.

  He turned and grinned at the drummer. “I wouldn’t have missed tonight. I know how important this concert is. Tonight’s our big night.” Pulling the guitar strap over his shoulder, he nodded to the announcer, who’d been waiting at the microphone to announce the band.

  Energy flowed through David’s body and his nerves were jumping. As hard as it had been to
leave Megan and come back through the time slip, his fingers were itching to play tonight. The music was flowing through him and he knew this was going to be the performance of his life. He could thank Megan for that.

  Maybe it was all part of a bigger plan. Meeting Megan, getting inspiration for his performance, meeting the agent after the concert. Even without being forearmed with the knowledge of the performance tonight, he would have known that they were going to pull off a top-class performance.

  It was a shame Megan couldn’t be here to watch them, but the journey through the stones seemed to take so much out of her. He wasn’t going to risk her travelling again.

  Ever.

  As soon as he was finished here, he was going straight back to her.

  David launched into the first riff, the mellow music introducing the first words of his signature song, and the crowd cheered as they recognised the tune. A familiar face caught his attention and he frowned. Alice stood at the end of the front row in the middle of a group of young girls. She was dressed in a bright-red dress and her hair was braided beneath her red hat. Smiling up at him, she swayed with the music and David shook his head. He hadn’t expected to see her here tonight.

  Three songs later, the perspiration was dripping from him and when he pulled his shirt off, the crowd went wild. The number of people watching them had grown as they’d played and the word must have spread across the festival site. Music lovers had left the other stages and had come to listen to the Davy Morgan Band. He caught Slim’s eye and the bass guitarist grinned at him and gave him a thumbs-up.

  Looking down at the crowd as he sang, David detached himself from the words and just let it flow. He wondered which one of the onlookers was Mick Rothman, the agent who would come and see them after the concert and get them an amazing record deal. Knowing what was going to happen before it did was bizarre, but he’d read about the deal that happened tonight in his biography and now that he had come through the time slip, he was creating the present.