A Twist in Time

by Donna Raider

  “Well,” Leah furrowed her brow, “we should get you home and let you rest. We can discuss this more tomorrow.”

  “I feel great, Mom,” Richie declared. “I feel better than I’ve ever felt.”

  She agreed he could play with his friends and turned to join Mika. Leah gasped as she saw that Amber had placed herself between Mika’s knees and was leaning into her intimately, telling her something that was making her smile. Mika was leaning back away from Amber, with her arms behind her on the table. Fury filled Leah as she headed toward the couple.

  “I believe you are in my place,” Leah growled at the blonde, who jumped back from the priest.

  “Leah, Amber just gave me the most awesome news. Her dealership is donating the SUV we have been using to the church.”

  “That is awesome news.” The mayor smiled, moving between Mika’s knees and leaning her back against the priest.

  Mika immediately put her arms around Leah and pulled her tight against her. This is how she treats the one she loves, she thought. She’s not leaning away from me. Her fury diminished quickly.

  “It is a win-win situation for all of us,” the flaxen-haired beauty said as she smiled. “The dealership can write off the donation, and the church and team will have safe transportation.”

  Leah repented of her initial anger and said, “You’re very generous, Amber. We are extremely fortunate to have you in our community.”

  Amber smiled a sad smile and nodded as Emily galloped up to them.

  “Hey, Amber,” the sheriff said as she grabbed her hand, “a bunch of us are going out tonight to celebrate the Wolves’ victory. Want to go?”

  “Thank you,” Amber said softly, “but I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, come on,” Emily insisted, “it’s Leah’s week with the kid, so it’s my week to howl.”

  “I don’t think so.” Amber smiled a placating smile, gently removing her hand from the sheriff’s grip. “I don’t drink that much.”

  Emily kept insisting, and Mika finally said, “Sheriff, I don’t think she wants to go with you tonight.”

  Emily glared at the priest as if she hated her and stomped away.

  “Thank you, Mika.” Amber smiled that sweet, honest smile she reserved for the priest.

  Everyone helped clean the picnic area and load the equipment into the SUV. Players loaded into their parents’ cars, leaving only the Anthal family in the newly donated SUV. Richie fell asleep on the way home.

  Mika and Leah talked softly on the way home. “We have many days like this. It would seem so right to go home and go to bed with you. I will be glad when I hear from the powers that be.”

  Mika’s words sent a warm surge through Leah’s body. “Yes, it seems right, and you know it’s possible. We don’t have to wait to hear from anyone,” she whispered in her ear, laying her hand on the inside of Mika’s thigh.

  Mika jerked as if she had hit her with a stun gun, but covered Leah’s hand with hers so she wouldn’t move it.

  When they arrived at the mansion, Mika carried the sleeping Richie upstairs to his room, took off his shoes and socks, and spread a light blanket over him.

  She knew that Leah’s bedroom was at the end of the hall from Richie’s and silently thanked her for not coming upstairs. As much as she wanted to see her bedchambers, she knew she wouldn’t be strong enough to walk away from Leah in her bedroom.

  When she returned downstairs, Leah was waiting for her with two glasses of cold lemonade. She followed Leah into her study, and they sat down next to each other on the sofa.

  Leah sipped her drink and said softly, “Mika, I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

  Her words sent a chill through Mika’s body. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, must I marry you to have sex with you?” Leah said bluntly. “What if I can’t marry you? What if there is more than the church between you and me? Does that mean we can never be intimate?”

  Mika was dumbfounded. It never crossed her mind that she would not want to marry her. She knew Leah loved her as much as she loved Leah.

  Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water gasping for air, but no sound came out.

  “You don’t want to marry me?” She grimaced as if someone had kicked her in the stomach.

  “I didn’t say I don’t want to marry you.” Leah looked away from the disbelief in her face. “I said, ‘what if I can’t marry you?’ There is more at play here than the church.”

  “Bu-But why couldn’t you?” Mika stammered.

  “There are things about me you don’t know.” She shrugged. “Things of which I’m not proud. Things I regret and of which I am deeply ashamed. I thought I could play this game and just be happy being close to you, but it gets harder every day. Every day I find myself conjuring ways to get you into bed with me.”

  “I don’t care about your past.” Mika frowned. “I don’t even want to know about it. It’s not as if you have killed babies or something. It doesn’t matter. All I know is that I love you and want to marry you as soon as I can. Please, Leah, don’t… Do not do this to me.”

  But I have killed babies, Leah thought. I have ordered the slaughter of entire villages. Babies were innocent casualties of my fury. I’ve also murdered my own children to secure a throne that was nothing in the end.

  “It is just difficult,” Leah cried. “On days like this when you and Richie and I are a family. I feel so close to you, so certain that I can be happy with you forever. I want us to go upstairs to our bedroom and make love and wake up together in the morning and make love again.”

  “We can have that. I want that so much,” Mika pleaded. “Please, whatever it is, I can fix it, I promise.”

  For some reason, the Wicked Queen believed she could. So far, Mika had fixed every problem she had encountered. She clung to her desperately, hoping she could control her deepening need for the priest. Abstinence had never been her thing. The problem was she didn’t want anyone but the priest.

  “Just give me a little more time, honey.” Mika caressed her cheek with soft fingers. “I don’t want a life without you in it.”

  Mika pulled her into her lap and kissed her slowly, passionately. “I can’t lose you,” she whispered.

  As had happened so often before, Mika woke the next morning with Leah asleep on her lap, her head resting peacefully on her shoulder. Mika studied her awe-inspiring face. She was truly the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Everything about her was perfect. Her tousled hair fell softly around her exquisite face. The tiny scar above her lip that made her lips even more desirable. Unable to control herself, she lightly kissed Leah.

  Her long lashes fluttered against her cheeks, and then opened sleepily. “Good morning.” Leah smiled. “So, I did get my wish to wake up in your arms. I trust you, Priest. Please don’t hurt me.”

  “I would die a thousand horrible deaths before I would hurt you,” Mika said softly.

  Richie watched them from the doorway and decided he could get his own breakfast. He wished Mika would get her act together and stop hurting his mom. He knew she cried herself to sleep most nights. He often heard her cry out the priest’s name in the middle of the night and knew she dreamed about her.

  CHAPTER 10 - A Woman, After Midnight

  It was only two days until Samson’s birthday party. Leah had found a knight’s shield that had his family crest on it. Mika was amazed at how detailed the shield was. It looked extremely old and authentic. Knowing how much Samson cherished his family history, she was certain Leah’s gift would be the hit of the party.

  Amber, Leah, Emily, Samson, and Mika had been working closely together on the baseball league. Leah oversaw scheduling team games and keeping up with the seven league teams as they headed toward the playoffs.

  Samson and Mika practiced once a week with the youngsters’ team and played each week on the mixed team. Both Mika and Samson liked the mixed team best, where the families interacted with one another on a fun level.

/>   Emily and Amber oversaw the equipment and transportation. In addition to the SUV Amber had donated to the church, she and Emily also drove another SUV to haul the boys and their equipment to their games.

  Although Leah was aware of the many times and ways Amber touched Mika, she tried to ignore it. She knew the fair-skinned woman often made up excuses to be with the priest. Leah was beginning to get irritated by Amber’s obvious efforts to attract the priest.

  They were at a council meeting, and Amber was presenting a proposal to enlarge her dealership. Leah watched the flaxen-haired beauty as she moved effortlessly from one visual aid to another. Her dazzling smile seemed to accentuate her gorgeous green eyes and flawless skin. Her white teeth flashed as she answered a stupid question with a smile and patience. The mayor wondered why the priest had chosen her instead of Amber. Amber was certainly more even tempered. She had a sweeter nature than Leah and genuinely cared what others thought of her. Leah and Amber were like fire and ice. Yes, Amber would make a much better wife for a priest than I, thought the mayor. She looked for Mika to see if her eyes were following Amber as she laughed and answered questions from the council.

  “…and then, Madam Mayor, I would slide my hands beneath that silk blouse you have on and kiss and caress your magnificent breasts until you begged me to…”

  Leah’s head snapped around to see who was thinking the thoughts that had invaded her mind. Emily wasn’t in the room. When her eyes locked with Mika’s, the priest’s face turned bright red, and she thought, “Uh-oh, busted.”

  Leah gave her a look of total disbelief. Mika immediately slipped out the door at the back of the room. Well, I guess I know whom Mika was thinking about during Amber’s presentation, Leah thought, pleased. She wanted Amber to shut up and sit down. She wanted the damn meeting to be over now.

  Leah found Mika in the diner, drinking coffee. Mika hung her head as Leah approached the booth and sat down across from her.

  Leah leaned forward and hissed through clenched teeth, “What the hell was that?”

  “I-I…don’t know,” Mika stammered, telling her the truth. “I was just looking at you and the usual thoughts started running through my mind. When you looked at me like that, I knew you were aware of exactly what I was thinking. It’s very embarrassing.”

  “No.” Leah touched her hand. “I loved it. I’m only sorry I interrupted your thoughts. It is called mind fu…uh, fornication. I have never experienced it before.”

  “Neither have I,” Mika whispered. She felt like a teenager whose mother had just found her collection of naked women pictures and pornographic magazines.

  “I’m sorry, Leah.” Mika hung her head. “I would never disrespect you.”

  “Honestly,” Leah sighed, “it made me realize that you are going through the same thing as I. I feel better knowing that I am not the only one suffering.”

  The priest exhaled sharply. “Oh, lady, when it comes to you, I give a whole new meaning to the word suffering.”

  Leah laughed out loud. Oh, yes, she is going to be a wonderful sex slave, she thought.

  Just what does that entail, being a sex slave to Leah Anthal? Mika thought back, giving her a wicked grin.

  The color drained from Leah’s face. “Did you just hear my thoughts?” she asked softly.

  “Oh yeah.” Mika grinned.

  “I don’t know what’s happening,” Leah said aloud.

  “Neither do I, but I like it when it works both ways.”

  Leah forced herself to think about other things: unfinished paperwork due tomorrow, Richie’s science project, and Samson’s birthday party tomorrow night.

  “Did you get any of those thoughts?” she asked.

  “No.” Mika frowned. “What did you think about?”

  “Anything but you.” She laughed. “You try it.”

  Mika thought about the confessions she had heard today, the upcoming ball game, and Samson’s birthday party. “Anything?” She raised a quizzical eyebrow.

  She watched Leah. I must kiss those lips tonight, she thought.

  “Please do.” Leah’s answer rang loud and clear in her mind.

  “Apparently, we are only able to mind fu…uh, mentally communicate when we are thinking sexual things about one another.” Leah grinned.

  “Oh, no,” Mika groaned. “That means you’ll be able to read my mind ninety-five percent of the time. Of course, you already know that I’m dying to kiss you. Sort of destroys the element of surprise.”

  “But, oh, the delicious anticipation.” Leah smiled wickedly.

  “You’re killing me, lady,” Mika mumbled.

  The next morning, they discovered the phenomena had disappeared as quickly as it had materialized, leaving Leah to wonder who was having fun at their expense.

  ##

  The mild August day seemed to set the tone for the evening’s party. Leah had made the large meeting room at City Hall available for the gathering, so the entire Samson and Anthal families were decorating the huge room. Mika and Samson set up the stage for the band while the others hung glittering lights everywhere.

  Emily had found a giant disco ball in the storage room of the sheriff’s office. “This is perfect for your birthday, Dad,” she squealed like a teenager as the lights reflected off the ball, sending an incredible light show throughout the hall.

  She climbed a ladder and threw a rope over the exposed beam in the center of the room, making a pulley to lift the heavy ball. She then attached one end of the rope to the ball. She told Amber to climb the ladder and attach the ball to the hook in the beam.

  Raising a questioning eyebrow, Amber climbed to the top of the ladder and waited for Emily to hoist the ball up to her.

  Mika and Samson noticed the efforts of the two women. “That looks like a recipe for disaster.” Samson grinned. “We’d better help them.”

  Amber managed to secure the chain on the ball to the beam’s hook and untie the rope. As Emily yanked the rope from the beam, it backlashed and wrapped around the ladder leg, throwing Amber off balance.

  Samson grabbed the ladder and kept it from falling, but Amber launched toward the floor. By some miracle, Mika caught her. She clung to the priest, shaking and crying. “I thought I was a dead woman,” Amber choked.

  Mika held her until she stopped trembling and then carried her to a chair and set her down gently. Mika went down on one knee and pushed a stray strand of flaxen hair behind Amber’s ear so she could see her face. “Are you okay?” she said softly.

  Amber nodded and then threw her arms around Mika’s neck and wept uncontrollably into her shoulder.

  Leah had watched the scene unfold. Jealous rage was building within her, and she could feel her magic begging for release. She fought the urge to transport the woman to Somalia, where she was sure her blonde beauty would be greatly appreciated. Clenching her fist, Leah pushed the magic back down to a controllable level and vowed to have the priest in her bed before daybreak. She was sick of Mika’s rules. She cared for her, and she wanted her. Leah had to find a way to satisfy the agonizing ache she had been living with for so long. She knew if she ever made love to Mika, she would cease to know other women even existed. Leah knew she was that good.

  Emily ran to Amber and Mika, horrified by the accident she had caused. Amber reluctantly let Emily lead her away. The priest searched the room for Leah, but she and Richie had gone to the mansion.

  Mika finished helping with the decorations then called Leah as she walked to the rectory.

  “Hello, Priest,” Leah purred, using the deep, sultry voice she knew drove her crazy.

  “Leah,” Mika moaned, “um, uh, just called to see what time I should pick you up for the party.”

  “Six thirty will be excellent.” Leah’s sensuous voice sent tingling electricity up and down Mika’s body. She often wondered what would happen when she finally shorted out.

  ##

  Mika rang the doorbell right on time. Leah opened the door and watched Mika as she gazed at her.
Leah wore a deep blood-red dress that hugged her hips, then gently flared out, ending just below her knees. The top of the dress was cut low, showing more cleavage than Mika liked to share with the world, but she couldn’t stop staring at it.

  “See anything you like, Priest?” Leah smiled sensuously.

  Mika couldn’t move. She knew how a trembling, mesmerized antelope felt as it waited for the lioness to take it down. Excitement stirred in her as she realized she was the prey tonight.

  Two can play that game, she thought foolishly. Little did she know she had no chance of winning this game. She didn’t even know the rules. Leah had always played by her own rules.

  “You look unbelievably gorgeous,” Mika finally choked out the compliment, wondering what had just filled her mouth with cotton balls.

  “You look gorgeous, too.” Leah smiled her most tantalizing smile as she tiptoed to brush her lips against Mika’s. Mika’s arms immediately went around her waist and pulled her in for a deeper kiss.

  Leah leaned back from her, dripping sensuality. “No, darling, you’ll ruin my makeup.”

  Mika moaned. “Please don’t do this to me all night,” she pleaded.

  Leah shot Mika her sultriest look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Priest.”

  Every fiber of her being screamed, Run! Run! Save your soul, Priest, but all Mika could think about was touching her.

  Leah placed her hand on Mika’s forearm, and Mika looked to see if her flesh was sizzling. She felt as if she had been branded as the fire emanated from Leah’s touch and flamed like an inferno throughout Mika’s body.

  ##

  As they entered the party room, Ruth hailed them to her table. She had gathered Delilah, Samson, Naomi, and Sara. Mika wondered where Sara’s husband was. Emily and Amber were sitting on a bench on the patio, talking.