by Rebecca York
She shook her head and backed away from the clearing where they’d been talking, then made a circle around the area, finding her way back to the trail that she had used previously.
There were places like this in her world. But around Sun Acres, much of the land was empty of life and littered with ruined buildings that had been destroyed in wars over a hundredyears ago. And forests near the city had been cut down for wood to heat houses and cook food.
She hadn’t known much about the history of her universe when she’d come to Sun Acres. That wasn’t something they’d taught in school. Maybe because most people were too busy surviving to worry about history.
But Griffin had access to books and journals that ordinary people never saw. He had let her read some of them, and she knew that life had been very different before the turn of the previous century.
The change was precipitated by a man named Eric Carfoli,who had come to a place called Chicago, for a “World’s Fair.” Logan had told her they had had the same fair in his world, only nobody named Carfoli had been there. In her world, the man had said he could create psychic powers, and people had flocked to his tent.
And when they emerged, many of them did have abilities that they’d never dreamed of.
Some could read the future. Some could move objects with their minds. Some could look into the private thoughts of other people—or communicate mind to mind over long distances. And some had acquired the ability to change from human to animal form.
They’d been excited about their new talents and eager to use them. But the people without the powers had feared them and killed many of them. And in the end, the two sides had lined up against each other and fought fierce battles.
When the fighting was over, the land was in ruins, the place called the United States of America was destroyed, and the people who were left banded together for protection in walled cities like Sun Acres.
That was how strong men had declared themselves noblesand taken power. And how some previously free people had been forced into slavery. It had also created a world where men had asserted their domination over women.
Quinn broke from a stand of trees and saw a light flickeringahead of her. An electric light. In her world, it would have seemed like magic. You flipped a switch, and the room filled with brightness. You didn’t need oil lamps or candles. Or fireplaces for heat. And you didn’t need slaves with psi powers to run equipment like ovens or water pumps—the way she had done.
This side of the portal was different. In so many ways. There were a few people with psychic abilties, but not enough to be a problem for the rest of the population. And in truth, many people didn’t even believe in those powers. Which was why a family where the men changed to wolf form could keep their secret hidden.
EVERYBODY has secrets. And his were bigger than most because there was so much at stake, Colonel Jim Bowie thought as he looked out the window of his quarters onto the parade ground of the military compound. Not a standard U.S. Army installation. No, this was Flagstaff Farm, and he had built the facility from scratch—after inheriting the property and a small fortune from his late wife.
God rest her soul. She’d died in a fatal car accident five years ago. An accident he’d arranged, because he’d needed her wealth more than he’d needed a wife.
With her money and his know-how, he was preparing his men for a mission so secret that he hadn’t spoken of it aloud.
He ran a hand over the close-cropped gray hair on his head. Prematurely gray. He was still in his prime. He trained every day along with his troops. He could still climb a thirty-footrope and scramble over an eight-foot barrier almost as fast as his fastest recruit. And he could beat any of them on the firing range. Ordnance had always been his specialty.
Not that he was competing with them. He wouldn’t allow himself or them to see it in those terms. But staying in top physical condition was part of leadership.
Superb intelligence and careful planning were even more critical—when it came to the task he’d assigned himself, the most important thing he had ever undertaken in his life.
It had been in the planning stages for month—years, even. And now he was very close to the big day.
Everything was in place, but he had one nagging doubt. A soldier whose behavior seemed a little off. And until he was sure of the man, he would wait to inform the squad of the upcomingmission.
AS Quinn drew closer to Logan and Rinna’s house, she marveledonce again at the way their home sat isolated in the woods. It was the perfect place for a werewolf, yet it would be so vulnerable in the badlands outside Sun Acres.
Rinna lived here now. She had come through a portal the year before. Quinn had found her six weeks ago—much the same way she’d found the ghost—by sensing her presence.
Although Rinna had been shocked to see someone from her own world, she’d been quick to offer her hospitality, once Quinn had made it clear she wasn’t there to try and drag Rinna back. But Quinn couldn’t help feeling like she was imposing, maybe because she wasn’t used to much kindness in her life.
As she approached the house, she went still. She could see Logan and Rinna through the window, standing close, their arms around each other. They looked like they might be heading for their bedroom. A flare of heat shimmered through Quinn’s body as she watched them. She had been aroused in the forest. Now, seeing this couple so obviously in love brought her own arousal back.
She clenched her fists, feeling like a voyeur. Again.
It was like being around Griffin and Zarah. They were so much in love that they didn’t always think of how other peoplewould react to their displays of intimacy.
Living with them made Quinn all too conscious that she had no one. Was that why she’d responded with such heated passion to a ghost? Because she wanted a man of her own?
But he was not a man, she reminded herself. And there was no future with him.
As though Rinna knew she were being watched, she raised her head and peered into the darkness. Then she pattedher hair with her hand and stepped away from the window.A moment later, the front door opened.
“Is someone there?” Rinna called.
Quinn scuffed her foot against the ground. Glad of the dark, she said, “I’m sorry. I think I came at a bad time.”
Logan joined his wife, his voice hearty. “Quinn! We were wondering when you’d be back. Is Zarah with you?”
“Not yet.”
“Come in.”
She took a breath and let it out before stepping inside.
“How are you? How are Zarah and Griffin?” Rinna asked.
“They’re fine. But he wants to send her soon. I’m here to make sure everything’s okay.”
“We have a room all ready for her. Do you have the photograph?”
“Yes.” Quinn unzipped the fanny pack and removed the small camera that Logan had given her. She’d followed his instructions and taken several digital photos of Zarah. She and Griffin had been amazed at the likeness. They’d seen old photographs, but never of anyone they knew.
Logan ran through the images Quinn had taken. “We can get started on a driver’s license for her. We’ve already got a birth certificate that says she was born in a little town in Pennsylvania, where the records were wiped out in a fire twenty years ago.”
“That’s good.”
"Sit down and relax. Did you have any problem?” Rinna asked.
She hesitated. She wanted to ask about Caleb Marshall, yet she was afraid that she’d get an angry reaction from Logan.Certainly, a relative of his had killed Caleb. But who? His great-uncle? His second cousin? His grandfather?
Rinna picked up on the hesitation. “What happened?” she demanded.
“A . . . landslide.”
Rinna winced. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
“No. It didn’t happen on the way. The rocks and mud must have slid down a hill a few days ago. Or a week. I couldn’t tell. But it blocked the trail, and I had to go another way.”
; “Lucky you didn’t get lost.”
“I have a good sense of direction.”
Rinna nodded. “Let’s go into the family room. I’ve been collecting tapes and DVDs that will give you a better understandingof our world.”
Our world. She said it so casually, like she had completelytransferred her life to this place. Rinna had been born a slave. And Quinn had become one when her city was conqueredby its neighbors. She and Rinna were both free now. But their lives had taken very different directions. Quinn doubted that she could ever fit in here. Or would a strong bond with a husband from this world make the difference?
Husband. Why was she thinking about that? Was she planning to marry a ghost?
Rinna was still talking. “And tomorrow, we can go down to Washington, D.C. I want to show you the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Then we can go into the SmithsonianMuseum complex. I’m sure you’ll love Air and Space. And the Arts and Industries Building. And you’ve got to see the IMAX. It’s a movie theater with a five-story-high screen.”
Quinn dragged her mind back to the conversation. She had read about those places and wanted to visit. But she also felt guilt. About neglecting to mention Caleb Marshall.
“Are you hungry? Can I get you a snack?” Rinna asked.
“Can I help you?”
“No. You relax. I know you had a tiring journey.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
In the great room, Logan used the cable recorder to bring up something called The View, and Quinn watched in dumb fascination as a group of women chatted about topics only men would have discussed in public in her world. The commercialswere just as enlightening as the show. She had never seen so many products that people could buy.
Rinna set out cut vegetables and a delicious sauce and also little sandwiches of turkey and ham.
Trying not to seem too greedy, Quinn helped herself.
THE next day, Rinna was as good as her word. The three of them drove down to the capital of the nation, and Quinn was more amazed than any of the other gawking tourists as she took in the sights. It was a beautiful city. An open city. And obviously a place of power.
They ate at what Logan called a tapas bar, which had a menu full of dishes that the three of them could share. They each picked something that sounded good. And Logan added several more plates of food, which they passed around, samplingmeatballs, artichoke salad, a wonderful paste called hummus, and a selection of different kinds of olives.
It was all a strange experience for Quinn—not just becauseof the difference between this world and hers. In her life, she’d encountered few people who wanted to please her or entertain her. She’d spent her early years studying hard in school. And when she’d graduated, she’d started working for the benefit of others.
Suddenly, two people were devoting themselves to showingher things she would enjoy, even if it had a serious purpose:getting to understand this culture.
They went back to the city twice more, and each day she felt worse about hiding something from her friends. She should tell them about Caleb. But it had gone too far, she told herself. How was she going to explain him now?
Then came the nights. She could fill her days with new experiences. But when she climbed into bed, Caleb Marshall haunted her in a way no living man ever had.
Back in her world, Griffin had said he would find her a husband. But she knew that his search wasn’t going well. Since she had been a slave, probably none of the nobles wanted a woman of such low status. And what if Griffin found her a merchant or someone from one of the guilds? Would he be a man she could love?
Griffin had said she didn’t have to abide by his choice. But then what? Was she dooming herself to a life without a mate?
So what was she planning—to choose Caleb Marshall instead?
Too bad he wasn’t alive. Yet he was still one of the strong, sexy, aggressive Marshall men, and she knew she should talk to Logan about him.
She shuddered. More importantly, she should warn him that the ghost might be dangerous. But he hadn’t done anythingbad yet, so she kept the knowledge of him to herself, feeling guilty and disloyal.
Each night, her roiling emotions kept her up for hours. But finally she would fall asleep—and dream about Caleb.
She would wake in a sweat, her nipples tight and her woman’s parts throbbing. In her dreams, she was aroused, but she never reached the point of satisfaction.
CALEB sat in the darkened forest with his knees bent and his back propped against his favorite oak tree. He had watched it grow from a sapling to a mature adult, towering in the forest. And he thought of the tree as a friend. Once he’d been friends with an orange-striped cat. Or, it had seemed that the animal could sense him. It came back to this patch of woods again and again, and sat staring at the spot where he stood. But maybe that was just an illusion. Maybe it had come here because it found the hunting good.
One day, he’d realized it wasn’t there anymore. And it had never come back. He thought it was dead, and he hoped it hadn’t met a painful end.
That was when he’d started trying to make the forest safe for the animals who lived there. He knew he had scared hunters away with the little ghostly effects he could produce, like making the leaves rustle or the air colder. And he had even managed that landslide that had made Quinn change her route through the woods.
Quinn was the first person he had made contact with on a personal level—he guessed because she had sensitivities that few people here possessed.
He moved his back against the tree trunk. It was strange that he could feel the bark. Had he felt anything so solid like that before?
He wasn’t sure.
But he knew he had started becoming more aware of— everything—after Quinn had first stepped into a shaft of sunlight filtering through the trees. And he had known that she came from some unreachable place.
He had followed her progress through the woods. A woman of medium height with slender curves, an elfin face, and long, sun-streaked hair. He had sensed that he could communicate with her—if she would only come closer. But she had taken a trail that was too far from this spot.
And the farther he got from his grave, the less real he felt.
His grave!
He hated to think about that place. About the skeleton that must be lying there now.
Pushing away that image, he turned his mind back to Quinn. She had awakened a hunger inside him, so he’d schemed to get her close enough to touch.
And when he’d touched her, he’d experienced a jolt of physical sensation that had almost knocked him off his non-existentfeet. When she’d struggled against his hold, he knew he couldn’t let her go. Not yet.
As he remembered those moments, sensations came rushing back to him. The feel of her woman’s body in his arms. The weight of her small breasts in his hands. The gentlecurve where her hips flared out from her waist. The dart of pleasure that had traveled through him when he’d stroked his fingers across her nipples.
He had felt his cock grow stiff, and he had marveled at the sensation. He remembered sexual pleasure. He’d had his share of bed partners in life, since a werewolf before he found his mate was a magnet for women.
Could he join his body with Quinn’s? Probably not. But he thought he could give her the ultimate pleasure. If she would only come back to him.
She had said she would come here again. But she hadn’t. And he knew days had passed because he’d seen the sun come up and go down three times.
Panic seized him. Somehow he had the terrible feeling that if he didn’t bring Quinn back here now, he would lose his chance. Standing, he sent his mind outward, calling her back to him.
CHAPTER FOUR
Quinn woke with a start—a summons ringing in her head. Not words, but a steady humming sound that pounded through her brain with a terrible urgency. Lurching up, she looked around, then leaped out of bed and stood in the dark on unsteady legs.
She was alone. But she whispered, “I’m coming.”
After dressing quickly, she made a fast trip to the bathroom, then debated what to do. Neither Rinna nor Logan had come out of their bedroom, and she decided it was best to let them sleep. But she knew they would worry when they woke and found her missing, so she wrote a note and left it on the kitchen table.
Then she slipped out of the house, shivering a little in the early morning air. The gray light that came just before dawn gave her enough illumination to see. And a run through the forest quickly warmed her up. She headed back the way she’d come, her total focus on the job she’d agreed to do.
She was sure the urgent message had been sent by Draden, one of Griffin’s most trusted men, and a powerful psychic. Before she’d left Sun Acres, Griffin had arranged for a way to summon her quickly. If he needed her in a hurry, he could have Draden reach out to her—even across the doorway between the worlds.
Under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn’t have worked, because she didn’t have Draden’s abilities. To forge a link between them, the adept had given her several treatments that tuned her mind to his.
But on each trip away from Sun Acres, she needed a “booster.” And, even so, she was never able to hold a conversationwith the adept.
This time, the message was blurred around the edges. She closed her eyes, trying to focus. The summons wasn’t as clear as she had expected. But she knew her duty.
“I’m coming,” she repeated, hoping he was picking up her answer.
As she hurried toward the portal, a deep male voice stopped her in her tracks.
“You came back to me,” he said, his tone warm and sure.
Caleb.
“No,” she breathed, knowing that she had made a mistake.She should have skirted this part of the forest, but as soon as the summons had come, she had been totally focusedon getting back to her own world. Raising her head, she looked around, trying to see the ghost as she had done last time, but failing to make out anything visual.
“I called you, and you are here.”
His words made her head spin. He was the one who had called her? She closed her eyes, trying to figure out what had really happened.