Time Raiders: The Seeker

by Lindsay McKenna

  Athena laughed giddily. “Don’t worry, you love this guy, and you wouldn’t be thinking clearly in such a situation. Besides, the first twenty-four hours after a time jump, your brain is muddled at best. Don’t be hard on yourself.”

  Delia felt her face burning. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as Jake’s mouth stretched into a grin. Love? Yes, it was love. Riding over with Athena this morning, she’d told her about Jake and herself getting back together again. In that moment, Delia realized she’d never stopped loving Jake. She’d just suppressed it and pretended it was over. “I held it against my wound and it healed within seconds.”

  “Precisely,” Athena said. She gave Jake a look of anticipation. “Jake, hold this fragment in your left hand. That’s the hand we receive energy with. I want you to close your eyes, hold it and allow the energy that will come through it to heal your arrow wound.”

  Jake took the object and closed his eyes. Within seconds, the palm of his hand felt as if it were burning. And then energy shot up his arm and he felt intense, swirling heat move into his left shoulder-blade area where he’d been struck.

  Delia traded a glance with Athena. They stood with their hands on the bed, anxiously watching his face. He had been pasty looking at best, with a day’s growth of beard on his face. Now, as he held the fragment in his palm, his skin tone regained a healthy pink color. Delia bit back a gasp.

  Within minutes, Jake felt the heat recede. It flowed out of his shoulder, down his left arm and centered once more in his palm, where he held the fragment. Opening his eyes, he said to Athena, “I think it’s done.” Handing it back to her, he sat up. To Delia he said, “Undress this wound and let’s see what’s happened.”

  “Do you feel healed?” Athena asked, carefully tucking the fragment into the briefcase.

  “Yeah, there’s no pain when I move my shoulder.”

  Delia untied his sling and he carefully moved his arm, stretching it in several directions to test it. “No pain,” he told them triumphantly.

  “I’ll be,” Delia whispered excitedly. She uncovered the wound. “It’s gone, Jake! All that’s left is a pink scar.” She removed the dressing completely.

  Jake sat there, naked from the waist up. To Delia, he looked delicious. A feast for her eyes, heart and needy body, which wanted him so badly.

  “Wonderful!” Athena crowed as she moved around the bed and carefully examined Jake’s back. “It healed you! Completely! In Argenta’s journal she never made mention of the fragment’s ability to heal.” Giving the pair a triumphant look, she said, “Jake, I’ll go sign you out of the hospital. I think it’s time you and Delia went home—together. We’ll see you at the lab in a couple of days to start the debriefing. Sound like a plan?”

  “Nice. Very nice,” Jake commented as he sauntered into Delia’s condo. The winter sun slanted in through a rectangular window, giving the place a cheery look. Jake had never been in Delia’s condo since they’d split up two years earlier, before she’d moved here. Hands in his pockets, he stepped across the bamboo floor into the small living room. Green plants were in two corners, near the couch, with its willow-green and fuchsia flower upholstery. A black lacquered coffee table sat in front of it, with two small upholstered chairs opposite.

  “Thanks,” Delia said, closing the door. Jake looked completely well, as if nothing had ever happened to him. She was still in shock, but it was a good kind. Placing the keys on the black granite counter in the kitchen, she hung her purse on a hook in the hallway near the door. The hall led to the bedroom, her office and the bathroom.

  “Green as ever—your decor,” Jake said, turning and giving her a heated look that couldn’t be interpreted any other way than that he wanted her—body and soul. He knew she would get the message. He saw her eyes go smoky gold.

  Holding out her hand, Delia said, “Green has always been my favorite color. And I love the spare Japanese design of my place. Come on, let me show you where you’re going to sleep tonight.”

  Jake gripped her hand momentarily, then slid his arm around her shoulders as they sauntered down the hall together—like old times. The bamboo flooring shone as sunlight glanced off it here and there, thanks to skylights above. “I don’t know about you, sweetheart, but all I want right now is you, in our bed.”

  Her body tingled wildly in anticipation. Delia wrapped her arm around his narrow waist as they approached her bedroom on the left side of the hall. “What? Are you sure your wound is healed enough? You aren’t starving? Want to eat first?”

  “None of the above,” he said in a growling tone. “And all I feel in the shoulder area is a little tenderness.” He gave her a pointed look. “That’s not going to stop me from loving you.”

  Jake paused at the entrance to her bedroom. There was a king-size bed with a dark green and lavender raw silk spread. Here, too, the decor was cleanly Japanese, with plants and a nubby light green carpet. “Nice,” he murmured, looking down at her. He saw the hunger in her eyes—for him. It filled him with warmth as he led her to the bed.

  “I’m going to enjoy every second of this,” he murmured, brushing her hair with a kiss as he unbuttoned her white cotton blouse. Slipping his fingers beneath the soft fabric, he grazed the silk of her camisole and lightly caressed her firm breasts.

  “Still not wearing a bra, I see.” He laughed against her curly hair. It felt so right to move his fingertips across her fine collarbones.

  “A bra? Not on your life. Not ever…” Delia helped Jake pull the silk camisole over her head. She watched as he dropped it on the end of the bed. Her flesh tingled hotly in the wake of his caresses. Naked from the waist up, she whispered in a teasing tone, “Now it’s my turn….”

  Jake grinned and allowed himself to relish each fleeting touch of her fingers as she unbuttoned his denim shirt. “I’m not wearing anything under my shirt, either,” he said.

  Delia chuckled with him as she dropped his shirt to the floor. “I hope not! You never lose your sense of humor, Tyler.”

  “Something else to love about me,” he whispered into her ear as he moved his hands to the waist of her Levi’s.

  “Not so fast,” she murmured, provocatively sliding her fingers to the waistband of the navy-blue Dockers he wore.

  Groaning, Jake felt lightning heat rip raggedly through him as her warm, exploring fingers unsnapped them and then pushed the fabric down his hips.

  “Ah, you’re not wearing any shorts, Tyler…. Why, shame on you!”

  “Well, if you aren’t wearing a bra, why should I wear boxers?” he teased, catching her smiling mouth with his. Her lips, soft and wet, nipped eagerly at his. In one swift motion, he lifted her in his arms and gently deposited her on the warm silk coverlet.

  Her eyes flew open in surprise, and he gave her a predatory grin. “See? I’m all better. So get that worry that I’m still ailing from that arrow wound out of your eyes, okay?” He moved up on the bed as he unsnapped her jeans and pulled them off her legs.

  “Uh-oh, no panties, either…What am I going to do with you, Ms. Del?”

  She laughed. “Remember? I hate bras and panties. In two years you forgot that about me?”

  Moving his hand slowly up her thighs, he murmured, “Oh, I remember all right. I never forgot that about you, sweetheart….” And he saw her eyes go liquid with desire.

  Delia pushed his arm aside as she forced him onto his back. “Not so fast,” she whispered wickedly. Jake’s Dockers dropped into a heap on the floor. She raised herself up on one elbow and clicked her tongue. “You’re armed and ready….”

  “Only for you, darling.” Jake drew her across his naked body. He felt her warm, firm thighs straddling his own and he groaned as she deliberately rubbed herself against him. Bolts of heat shot through him and he clenched his teeth.

  Delia moved her hips sensuously and slid down upon Jake. Her inner muscles rippled as they met and melded. Splaying her hands against his dark-haired chest, she opened her eyes and lost herself in his stormy gaze. Wh
en he settled his large, callused hands around her hips and began to move her against him, she uttered a sigh of utter surrender and pleasure.

  Two years apart from Jake dissolved into nothingness as he leaned up and brought her against him. The moment his lips captured her hard nipple, Delia gasped in delight. Sliding her arms around his shoulders, she held him, and the pain of the past fled as they moved together. Her heart flew open as it always did when they made hot, sweet love. It was as if those two years hadn’t existed at all. Maybe, Delia thought, being Time Raiders, the jumps had indeed dissolved their painful years apart. She hoped so.

  Fervently, she leaned forward and found Jake’s mouth. With all her strength, with all her love, she kissed him, until they were both breathing raggedly. As his hands moved across her body, Delia gloried in his strength and also the gentleness that had always been a part of him. That was what she’d missed the most: his sensitivity to her needs, reading her correctly and somehow making their love sessions so special. Filled with awe as his rough hands moved to cup her breasts, Delia moaned. Arching into his palms, she felt the white-hot release of her body, as if a volcano had exploded within her and was sending out tidal waves of incredible pleasure.

  Delia felt as if she had become nothing but white-and-gold stardust in the universe. Then Jake stiffened against her and she clung to him, moving in sync with him to enhance his orgasm as he spilled his life, his love, deep within her glowing, throbbing body.

  All too soon, the raw pleasure began to subside and Delia felt sated. She rested weakly against Jake as they lay on the bed in one another’s arms. Enjoying straddling him in the aftermath, she moved her hips teasingly. He groaned, smiled and opened his eyes, gazing deep into hers.

  “I’m glad some things don’t change,” he growled, framing her face with his palms.

  Sinking into his arms, Delia moaned and let him know just how much she’d enjoyed their reunion. Their lips slid together and she relished the power of his mouth, how it cajoled hers and commandingly took over, making her feel incredibly loved and cared for.

  Later, as they lay in one another’s arms, the silk coverlet drawn up across their waists, Delia stirred. She rose up on one elbow and placed her hand on Jake’s massive chest. “What do you think?”

  “About what? Making love?” Jake grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

  Slapping his chest playfully, she said, “No. And you know I didn’t mean it that way. I’m talking about us, Jake.”

  Sliding his hand up her arm, he rasped, “I know what you meant, sweet woman. And yes, we’re going to try again. Those were two damn lonely years without you.”

  “I wasn’t happy about breaking up with you, either, Jake. But your lack of intimacy was just too much to take.”

  “Well,” he murmured, enjoying the feel of her sleek skin, “I’m working on that. I’m going to make the changes, Del, because I don’t like being without you in my life.”

  Nodding, she absorbed the sight of his rugged face into her heart. “I missed you, too, Jake.”

  “I know…I saw it the first time you laid eyes on me in that lab, before the time jump. I saw your anger, but I also saw something else…. Longing…maybe a little love that hadn’t yet been destroyed by our being apart.”

  Nodding, Delia lay down at his side and nuzzled the hollow beneath his jaw. She slid her arm across his chest and reveled in his embrace as he held her close. “As long as you can change, Jake, I can hang in there with you.”

  “I’m coming to the realization that we’re all wounded in one way or another,” he told her, pressing his lips against her soft, silky curls. “We’re all operating in a pattern, but that doesn’t mean we can’t break out of old patterns and make new ones.” He kissed her brow. “I want to make a new pattern with you, starting now.”

  Fighting back tears, Del lifted her head and met his clear blue eyes, which held such fierce love for her. “Yes…I’d like that, Jake.”

  He caressed her hair. “Let’s sleep for a while. We’ve earned this time together. For the next little while our lives won’t be our own. We’re going to be working twelve hours a day over at the lab, putting all our adventures into their computerized system.”

  Sighing, Delia closed her eyes and gave him a fierce hug. “I love you, Tyler. And yeah, today is ours. Tomorrow, they own us body and soul, but after that, a vacation together should be our reward.”

  Laughter rumbled through his chest. Delia warmed to Jake’s laugh, absorbing the feel of his strong male body. She couldn’t see herself ever parting from him again. He’d grown, he’d matured over the last two years, and she knew intuitively that he would make the changes so that they could live together.

  With that sweet thought, she spiraled her into sleep. Tomorrow would begin the grueling reporting on their mission, but they’d be ready for it. Together.

  Chapter 22

  “A fter three days of debriefing,” General Ashton said, “we’ve got more questions than answers.” She looked around the conference table at Athena, Delia and Jake. A computer technician at the far end made sure the report was fed into a computer and a hard copy produced. Another copy would be encrypted and placed into a vault for safekeeping.

  Athena grimaced. “I’m very interested in the Centaurians Adonia spoke about, Delia. I feel Kapaneus was really a Centaurian. More than likely he possessed the scribe’s body, but we can’t know that for a fact.”

  “His aura was red,” Delia said. “He was the one who owned that headband, which looked like a much improved copy of the one we have. Plus he attacked us energetically at Servilia’s home, though somehow we repulsed his assault. It ended up knocking him out, instead, a boomerang effect. He has all the earmarks of someone who has total control over his psychic abilities. That makes him dangerous, and I feel you’re right—he’s a Centaurian Navigator.”

  “I believe he is, based upon your conversation with Adonia.” Athena studied the notes she’d made on her Blackberry over the course of the debriefing. Pointing to it, she added, “And it’s good to get the history on the seal.” She smiled briefly. “At least we know who put it here on Earth and why.”

  “Those are assets,” the general said, nodding. “Knowing who our enemy is gives us an advantage. We know the Centaurians have Navigators who utilize the same headband, albeit a more advanced model than the one you use, Athena.”

  Nodding, the professor studied the drawing Delia had made of Kapaneus’s headband. “It’s more streamlined, less bulky and certainly easier to wear than the Roswell model. And it appears to be less heavy than ours.”

  “But it probably performs the same functions,” Delia said.

  “I’m going to assume it does,” Athena told her.

  “The question,” Ashton said, “is are the Centaurians aware of the stamp?”

  “Adonia said everyone in the galactic federation was aware of the stamp,” Athena reminded her. “The fragments were put into play because the Centaurians had kidnapped a hundred Earth women to try and figure out our genetics. They just didn’t know where any of the pieces were placed. This was the Galactic Council’s way of slapping their hand for breaking the law.”

  “That Centaurian, Kapaneus, knew the seal existed,” Delia murmured.

  “And we have to assume he got the information back to his home world,” General Ashton added.

  “But I threw his headband into the Tiber,” Delia stated. “If he can’t find it, does that mean he’s marooned in that time without any means of contacting home base?”

  The general shrugged. “We don’t know if he found it or not. We don’t know if a Navigator without a headband can still be in psychic contact with his world.”

  “Adonia made a strong point of saying that the headband controlled everything. I threw it into the river because Kapaneus was closing in on us. I knew he’d go after his headband instead of us,” Delia said. “And we were swept into the current of the Tiber just as it was getting dark, so there was no way to know if Kapan
eus retrieved it or not.”

  Ashton grimaced and moved uncomfortably in her chair, then folded her hands on the table. “We have to assume Kapaneus found the headband. That means they may try to track us down,” she warned grimly. “If they possess time-travel technology as well as the ability to cross space from one star system to another in a matter of moments, we’re at risk.”

  “Also,” Jake said, “was Kapaneus sent in after we arrived in that time? Or was he already in place, waiting for us?”

  Athena shrugged, then looked at the retired general. “What do you feel about this, Bev?”

  Rubbing her chin, the woman repeated, “We simply don’t know. What we need to do is assume they followed us into Rome. Time movement creates a rippling effect, energetically, doesn’t it, Athena?”

  “Yes, any movement disturbs the normal energy patterns within the universe when a time jump is initiated. It would be akin to us throwing a large rock into a quiet pond. The ripples created could be picked up with sensitive instruments. And Adonia said the Centaurians have very advanced technology, superior to anything else in the galaxy, to pick up such perturbations. I believe we must assume they felt me send Jake and Delia back to Rome, and that they responded by sending Kapaneus there to hunt them down.”

  Grimly, Jake looked at Delia, who sat next to him. Her face still glowed from the lovemaking they’d shared hours earlier, before today’s debriefing began. He then gazed at the general, who sat at the head of the conference table. “If that is so, then whoever is sent to locate the second piece of this stamp will alert the Centaurians again. They’ll send another agent to track down our mission specialist.”

  Nodding, Beverly said, “I agree. We must assume they will do that. All we can do is put all Time Raiders on alert.”

  “The only way we can tell Centaurians are different,” Delia said, “is to see their red aura. Not all time jumpers have that particular psychic ability. And did the Centaurian take over the body of the scribe? Or was he really a Centaurian? We don’t know. The other red flag is if someone is wearing a headband like Kapaneus’s. There’s a lot we don’t know about these Navigators and their skills. It’s going to be tough to figure out who our enemy is.”