Time Bound

by Lora Andrews

  She whipped around to face him. Meyers looked like he’d swallowed glass.

  Simon almost laughed and set his glass back on the table. “There is one way to settle this matter once and for all. Don’t you agree?”

  Cordelia narrowed her eyes.

  “Go on, my mistress. Do what you do best. I am all yours.” He spread open his arms, and this time the smile he flashed her was genuine.

  She glanced at Meyers. Simon felt more than saw the doubt hammering away at her conviction. As the Americans would say, this was a done deal.

  “Well?” he prompted.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, darling.”

  She sauntered to him and placed her chilled fingertips to his temple. Her power lashed at him, a cold, slimy claw that gnawed through his mind. Ah, but years of practice had taught him how to navigate the assault.

  This was child’s play.

  Simon closed his eyes and grunted. Part of the illusion was making her believe he was under her control. Too bad he couldn’t conjure perspiration to run down his brow. Now that would bolster his performance a notch or two.

  He superimposed targeted images where the dark trails of her magic aimed. An inserted memory of him at his desk, pained over the possible disloyalty of one of his trusted guards. A half-truth mixed with another half-truth, since he had wondered about Meyer’s conditioning. Of course, he hadn’t thought the man capable of a double-cross. A faux pas on his part. He’d been too wrapped up in Caitlin Reed to notice.

  Simon reigned in his temper and dropped barriers in his mind to prevent Cordelia from seeing his truths. He let his imagination roll. His attempts to ferret the mole. His frustration over who it could be, and the sorrow he felt over such a betrayal.

  Oh, the sorrow.

  Caitlin Reed’s face, and anything associated with her and Ewen MacLean, he kept deliberately fuzzy. Cordelia would have a vision of a short, blond Canadian actress he’d hired to play the role, the antithesis of the tall, leggy, American brunette. When he returned to Scotland, he would escalate Caitlin’s efforts to find the stone. With Cordelia on his heels, time was of the essence.

  The cold invasion retreated from his mind. She’d had enough.

  Simon opened his eyes. He deliberately swayed on his feet and clenched his jaw. Perhaps adding a bit of alarm or dismay to his expression would give the impression of a man defiled and fearful of his mistress’s power.

  No, fear he could never feign—no matter the cost.

  “Well? Am I to court my doom?”

  Cordelia stepped back from him, her expression shuttered. “Perhaps I was mistaken.”

  Simon tugged his shirt sleeve, straightening the cuff until it was visible a half inch below his suit sleeve. “Perhaps?”

  She folded her arms across her chest. Her nipples pressed against the silk fabric. “Go home Simon, and take Mr. Meyers with you.”

  “I will do no such—”

  “You most certainly will. Mr. Meyers will carry on as he has all these years. And Simon, should anything happen to him before my arrival at your lovely highland manor, I will have no choice but to believe you’re hiding something, and that somehow you managed to circumvent my considerable powers of persuasion. Besides, Gary and I will be in constant communications, shan’t we Gary?”

  “Oh, yeah.” The guard smiled.

  Cordelia patted Simon’s cheek. “Oh, come now, no pouting, darling. It does not suit you. Should Gary feel threatened in any way or fail to make his customary report, I’ll be forced to call Father.” She adjusted Simon’s collar and tightened his tie. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

  “No, we wouldn’t,” he ground out. She had him by the balls.

  “Good boy.” She released the tie and he vowed to set the bloody thing on fire with it wrapped around her neck.

  When he finally exited Cordelia’s penthouse, with Meyers in tow, the image of their charred bodies blazed hot in his mind.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  I lied to you?

  Really? Had she no sense of self-preservation?

  Caitlin wanted to groan and throw her face in her hands, but doing so would trigger Daniel’s attention and that of the second guard humming in the passenger seat. The spiffy Mercedes Benz purred along the wet pavement, hugging the tight highland road as Daniel drove them back to the ruins.

  Ewen sat in stony silence, his muscular arms folded across his chest, temper percolating beneath a dark scowl.

  And she wanted to tell him the truth? The real truth? What was she thinking?

  She wasn’t thinking. That was her problem. Her I.Q. dropped a level or two around Ewen MacLean, especially when she lost herself in those gorgeous eyes. But today, she’d seen pain in their depths. Genuine fear and concern for his people. Emotions that had tugged at a kindred part of her soul. She knew all too well what it felt like to worry about the people you loved. And the fact he did pulled at yet another emotion she’d rather not think about.

  He slid across the leather seat until he’d swallowed the space between them. Any closer, and he’d have her pressed against the door.

  Her heart thumped.

  “You are a seer.” The words dropped from his mouth like a ticking bomb.

  Oh shit. “I don’t know—”

  “How the bluidy hell do ye not know?” The tiny vein at his temple bulged.

  “Shh.” She glanced to the front seat. “This isn’t something people have been alerted to.” And if he didn’t shut up now, MacInnes would learn of her special talent before she’d even gotten a chance to master the skill for herself.

  He pinned her with a cold stare. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” she hissed back.

  “I told you ne’er lie to me.” His brogue had thickened to where she could barely make out the words spitting from his mouth. “If you’re no seer, then what exactly are you, Caitlin? What is it you refuse to speak aloud?”

  How the heck was she supposed to answer that question? I see things. Oh, and by the way, I glow in the dark. Yeah, that would go over really well.

  Talk, his eyes transmitted.

  The Oyster Burger threatened to make a reappearance.

  “Look, I’m not refusing to answer, so stop glaring at me. Now isn’t the time or the place to discuss this.” She referenced Daniel and the guard with a jerk of her chin. Maybe he’d get the message.

  “Fine.” Ewen coiled his arms tighter across his chest, his biceps flexing under the strain. He was pissed. There was no doubt of his war chief status. “But make no mistake lass, speak of it we will.”

  Alrighty then.

  He snapped his head away, one leg bent at the knee, while the other shimmied against her outer thigh. His black tee stretched across miles and miles of very impressive pectorals. She had the sudden urge to press her mouth to his angry lips and shock the living daylights out of him. That would teach him to get all war-lordy on her.

  Would he be shocked?

  Or would he crush her against the seat and take her with a searing kiss that would melt her panties?

  Caitlin released her bottom lip—the one she hadn’t realized she’d bitten. God, she had collaborated with plenty of men over the course of her career. Teachers. Specialists. School Psychologists. Never once had she thought of jumping their bones during an IEP meeting. This situation with Ewen should be no different. Granted, none of those men looked like him, but still…

  Kissing Ewen MacLean would be a recipe for disaster. Caitlin had enough doom and gloom heading her way without adding a lapse in judgment to the mix.

  “THE GATEHOUSE WAS HERE.” Ewen crouched to the ground and rubbed his fingers into the soil.

  Caitlin glanced at the loch. “You can tell that from touching the ground?”

  He grinned as he stood. “Protection from invasion. The sea loch extends from Inveraray and out to the Kyles of Bute. This is the ideal spot for the tower and main entrance.” He pointed to a perimeter along the grassy terra
in. “The curtain wall ran this way.”

  A cold wind blew over the promontory. Caitlin stifled a shiver and zipped her coat, then tucked her hands inside the sleeves. At least the rain had slowed to a drizzle.

  “Why did you no’ tell me you were cold. Here.” He shrugged out of his jacket.

  Caitlin shoved the garment back into his hands. “Will you stop? I’m fine. Besides, you can’t be out here in just a T-shirt either.”

  “Is that a twenty-first century rule? A man needs to wear a garment for fear he’ll melt in the rain?”

  Was he joking? She couldn’t tell with the enormous scowl cemented to his face.

  “It would appear I am not the only one amongst us with a glower capable of scaring the devil himself,” he said.

  “I don’t glower.”

  “Don’t be stubborn.” He wrapped the coat around her, his fingers lingering on her shoulders before he pulled his hands away. “Take the warmth the garment offers.”

  “Fine. It’s not worth fighting over.”

  His expression darkened. He shoved his hands into his pocket and looked out to the loch. Daniel was somewhere behind them, at the edge of the ruins monitoring their movements. He’d left the car farther up the field in the hands of the red-haired guard who she supposed was serving as the lookout. But who—or what—he was looking out for was the real question.

  “Why did you no’ tell me you have the gift of sight?”

  “I—”

  “I want to trust you, lass. I do. But I am no longer certain I can. A realization that weighs heavy on my mind.” A ragged breath tore from his lungs and hurt her heart.

  “Wow. I suppose I deserve that. It was never my intention to lie to you.”

  His expression was unreadable. “Walk with me.”

  “Okay.”

  Ewen set a slow pace. With each step, her mouth dried. She looked for signs of the outer wall, but all that remained were tuffs of wild grass and a few rocks scattered here and there along the uneven terrain. She pulled Ewen’s jacket tighter across her chest and buried her nose into the collar. His clean, earthy scent filled her nose.

  “Do you think me untrustworthy? Is that why you lied to me?”

  “No.” She’d been in his head. She knew he was honorable.

  “Then tell me why, Caitlin. I deserve to know the truth.”

  She winced at the look of betrayal on his face. Why did his feelings matter so much, anyway? She had known the guy for all of two days. Two days that felt like twenty years. And worse, her heart couldn’t tell the difference.

  “I was scared.”

  “Of me?” A pang of disappointment flared in his eyes.

  “You were so set in your opinion. You equated a psychic ability to magic. You said it was unnatural, and quite frankly, given what I know of your history, I thought if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t stick around to help me find the stone.”

  His jaw twitched. “Did you think me a zealot, or a spineless coward who would renege on his word and abandon the quest at the first sign of trouble?”

  She clamped her mouth shut. Ugh…yeah?

  He stopped and fisted his hands to his hips. “Christ, Caitlin. How could you think so little of my honor?” Of me, his body language screamed.

  She squirmed under his scrutiny, feeling like one of the caterpillars her second graders studied in the spring. Only this experiment would not end with the emergence of a lovely Monarch butterfly. Nope. She had a feeling she wouldn’t make it out of her chrysalis intact.

  “You think it’s easy being different? People pretend to be understanding and accepting, but the minute they sense there’s something off about you, you’re labeled and judged, or worse, feared. Suddenly you’re the outcast and demonized for something you have no control over. You called me a seer like it was a nasty disease. That hurt.”

  Pink colored his cheeks. She’d never seen a guy blush, and something about his physical response touched her. He opened his mouth to speak, but she stuck out her hand. “I don’t want your pity. I don’t know if I’m what you’d call a seer. All I can tell you is that…”

  She pushed out a breath. Here goes nothing. “I can sense emotions, and I think I can see into the past.” The jury was still out on whether or not the pendant was magic. No, actually the verdict was in. She was just too scared to open the envelope.

  The wind ruffled through his dark hair. His expression softened a bit, enough to give her hope. “I’m listening,” he said.

  “It started aboard the plane. When I touched your hand, I saw the men who attacked you with axes.”

  He stiffened.

  “And when MacInnes grabbed my wrist, I saw the abuse he’d suffered as a boy.”

  His face paled. “The skill manifested itself after your capture?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “Which is it?” He threw his hands in the air. “It certainly canna be both.”

  “Sheesh, will you let me finish?”

  “Go on.” Frustration rode his voice.

  “Look, I’ve spent my whole life running from what I am. It’s not easy for me to open up all of a sudden and talk about something I buried in my psyche for decades.” She swiped her hair over her shoulder. Daniel hadn’t budged from his position at the entrance to the ruins, and from this distance, she was sure he couldn’t hear their discussion. Still, fear of being overheard clogged the words in her throat. How did she explain a phenomena that she couldn’t understand herself?

  “As a child, I…sensed things. I’ve forgotten so much. It’s as if the memories were, I don’t know, shelved away somehow. I remember being shuffled from psychiatrists to psychologists. I was diagnosed with several anxiety disorders among other things. I had a hard time at school.” The embarrassing panic attacks were fodder for the bullies, and she never quite outgrew the stigma. “Anyway, at some point, I got over it. I stopped hearing the voices. I stopped sensing people’s feelings. I became normal.”

  Ewen angled his head and studied her face. “Gifts such as yours do not simply subside.”

  “Mine did. For twenty-three years.” But from the hard lines of his jaw, he wasn’t buying a word of what she’d just told him.

  “Are you in collusion with MacInnes?”

  Her jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Answer the question, Caitlin. I need to know. Does MacInnes know of your abilities?”

  “No. I’ve never breathed word of my gift to anyone but you, and I’m already regretting the decision.” She barreled ahead, kicking through the tufts of wild grass as she moved through the field.

  Ewen caught up to her and blocked her path. “I apologize for doubting your intentions.” His jet-black hair brushed the top of his shoulders, and the T-shirt did little to camouflage the bundles of muscle tensing beneath the fabric. And despite the cool breeze, she could feel the warmth radiating off his chest.

  She looked around then shoved her hands beneath her arm pits. “There’s nothing here.” Ewen’s coat fell to the ground. She stooped, picked it up, and handed him the jacket. “We should head back and try to find the library. It’s better use of our time.”

  “I meant no offense. Truly.”

  “Well, whatever. You’re not obligated to help me. No secrets, remember? I withheld information that would have influenced your decision to aid me. I should have been honest with you. You had a right to know about my abilities and the risk I pose, so I’m releasing you from your oath.”

  “And what? Now I lend my support to MacInnes since you’ve freed me from my word?” His sexy lips contracted into a tight line across a face that could have been chiseled from stone. “It does no’ work that way, Caitlin.”

  “It does in this day and age. People break oaths and promises all the time. So why should you be any different?”

  “Then you’re lucky I am not of your time. I gave you my word, and I’m getting damn tired of telling you I mean to keep it.”

  “Magic is a deal-breaker for you,” she
reminded him.

  He frowned and scraped the back of his hand across the dark stubble on his jaw. “I willna lie to you. I fear magic, yes. But I believe in your innocence. You’re as much a victim in this plight as I.”

  Caitlin’s throat tightened. She wasn’t fool enough to think a few days would persuade a sinfully gorgeous man to risk his life for hers when six years of marriage hadn’t been enough time to convince her husband to stay.

  “What if you’re right and I can’t control the power growing inside me? Right now, it’s sensing emotions or looking into the past, but what if it morphs into something else? Something darker? Then where do I stand?”

  The answer flashed in his eyes. “It’s a risk I’ll assume. I’ve seen enough to deem you worthy of my protection.”

  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph… Her walls were in serious jeopardy of crumbling with this god chipping away at her defenses.

  “You need to trust me.” He ran a thumb along the side of her face. “If your power exceeds your control, you have to trust I can help you.”

  “I…” She’d never shared this part of herself with anyone.

  A gust of wind whipped her hair in her mouth. Ewen tugged the errant strands loose and gently tucked the hair behind her ear. “Trust me,” he whispered.

  God, she wanted to, but she’d been let down too many times to trust blindly. “I don’t know that I can.”

  He dropped his hand and glanced at the jacket caught in his grip. “Fair enough.”

  “Ewen—”

  “Come, let’s find the hearth. The keep would have been the most fortified part of the estate, and the great hall the center of its activity. If we locate the hearth, then I can estimate the hall’s placement in the field.”

  She hurried to catch up. “What are we looking for?”

  “Foundational stones. Evidence of a ritual. A circle. Symbols. I’m not certain, but mayhap we’ll know it when we see it.” They walked toward the center of the field.

  Ewen lowered his head. “You avoid touch. Is your ability triggered by contact with skin?”

  “Yeah, at least I think so. But it’s inconsistent.”