[English] LOVING ON BORROWED TIME (Tình Yêu Vay Mượn)

Loving on Borrowed Time
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Lara pulled the baggie shirt off over her head and hurriedly slid into her new dress. She kicked the hideous pants off and smoothed her hands over the gown. It was a little itchy, but beat that ugly outfit she’d been wearing by a mile. She heard some splashing as Reece busied himself with washing. Rather than stand there and torture herself with imaginings of his wet skin, she headed for the door.

“I think I should go help, um… your mother,” she said. “Try to repair some of the damage I’ve done to poor Helga’s reputation.”

She chanced a glance at him. A mistake. He raked his fingers through his damp hair, tucking the unruly strands behind his ears. His eyes, usually covered by one stray lock or another bore into her intensely, hitting her with the force of a battering ram. Her knees wobbled.

“You’re a knockout in that dress, Lara. I thank God those Vikings can’t see the real you. I’d have to bring Axe Junior to dinner to keep them at bay.”

She was pleased with his compliment, but refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how he affected her. Good thing he wasn’t looking at her feet, or he would have seen her toes curl under.

“Axe Junior?” she questioned.

He pointed to the smaller of two axes hanging on the wall among a group of weapons, which included the long sword he’d brandished in the main hall. “Axe Junior. Axe Senior is too unwieldy to carry in polite company.” He pointed to the two handed axe below the small hand-axe.

“No problems there, then. I don’t think these Vikings do…” she finger quoted do “…polite.”

“You might be surprised. They’re rugged, but not barbaric.”

“I saw two of them having ***, right out there in the open.”

“Is that what has you so hot and bothered, sweetheart? Or was it because I made you wet by talking dirty to you.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Screw you, Jericho.”

“Whenever you’re ready, you know I am.” He winked at her.

She opened the door, refusing to look at him, least she get lost in his intense stare again. “You’re impossible.”

She left the room, slamming the door halfway through his laugh. Lara spotted cranky, tired mother-in-law-to-be still standing over the fire in the center of the room. She was ladling out stew to a line of women each holding one or more empty bowls. The long house was very full now. All of the bunks were occupied by two or more Vikings. Women were seated among the men. Wives, she presumed. The slave women would drop off filled bowls of stew to those in attendance and collect more bowls before getting back in line. Lara followed their example. She retrieved two bowls from a table near the exit door and moved to the end of the line. She recognized the woman in front of her as the one who had been next to her on the long boat. She had an ugly bruise on her right cheek and kept her eyes downcast. Lara reminded herself of Reece’s warning about changing the past, but that didn’t make it any easier to see this. Maybe Helga had somehow helped her people escape and that was the fate of these mistreated women. Lara wanted to believe that with all her heart.

The line moved quickly. When it was Lara’s turn, cranky, tired, mother-in-law-to-be paused. “I need a break,” she said, handing the spoon to Lara. “You take over.” She took the bowls out of Lara’s hands and stood waiting for Lara to serve the stew. Lara was very careful in ladling the stew into the bowls. She worked hard at ignoring her rumbling stomach. Even though this stew looked more like a pot of grease with some chunks of meat and what might be vegetables or roots or sticks thrown in, Lara was willing to forgo her rule about only eating things she could readily identify.

“What is your name?” Lara asked her.

The woman hesitated. “Thora.”

Lara nodded. Thora moved to the table at the head of the house, near the door to Eirick’s quarters. Lara continued to ladle stew into bowls until everyone was eating, including the slaves. Reece came into the room and rowdy chorus of cheers erupted from the congregated Viking warriors. Thora motioned her son over to her and pushed an extra bowl of stew in his direction. He signaled Lara to join them before sitting down. Lara retrieved a bowl, filled it with stew and sat next to Reece on the bench. His leg brushed against hers and rather than move away, he nudged her knee. When she looked up at him, he nodded at his empty goblet.

She bit her lip. Was he serious? She was starving. Thora was watching her, probably deciding how hard she’d beat her when she got the opportunity. Lara stifled a sigh and went to the bucket-like container of mead. She ladled mead into the goblet and filled a glass for herself while she was there.

She returned to the table and Reece took both glasses, handing one to Thora. “Don’t forget to get one for yourself.”

Thora seemed very pleased by this. The corner of Lara’s eye twitched. Reece’s eyes widened and he quickly turned his attention to his stew. So he was familiar with her pissed-off-beyond-belief look. She wondered if he knew what to expect when she got him alone again. She returned to the bucket and ended up ladling mead for five other people before she was finally able to return to her yet untouched meal.

“More bread,” Reece said as soon as she sat down.

“Get it yourself,” she growled.

He squeezed her knee under the table. “Never make me repeat myself, Helga,” he warned.

She wondered how many Norsewomen took Axe Junior to their husband’s skull in the middle of the night. “I apologize,” she gritted between clenched teeth. She got up again and went to a side table that held a pile of flat breads and a collection of soft cheeses. She took some cheese back with her too. She didn’t want to have to get up again.

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She sat down and lifted her spoon, glancing at Reece who was grinning at her. He was enjoying every minute of this.

“Can I eat, now?” she asked.

“What’s stopping you?”

The corner of her eye twitched before she glanced down at her meal. A crust of grease was solidifying around the edge of the stew. Her stomach turned. Would she really be able to keep this fatty concoction down? Her arteries were clogging just looking at the stuff. She avoided the grease along the edge and took a bite of something beige. It wasn’t as bad as she’d anticipated, but it was far from good. The meat was mealy, the vegetables either hard or mushy, the broth tasted like old lard. Reece tore his bread in half and handed a piece to her. He then surprised her by stroking her lower back soothingly.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he whispered into her ear. “Eirick is trying to stay on his mother’s good side, is all. So he can keep you. ”

His warm breath teased her ear, sending a thrill of excitement down the side of her neck. She bit into the bread. It was tough and chewy, but satisfying. She finished the bread before tackling the stew again. Concentrating on her meal, she ignored the warmth of Reece’s body beside her, the touch of his thigh against hers, the scent of his body, the husky timber of his voice as he answered his mother’s questions in monosyllables. This man had no effect on her. Nope. No effect. None. Nadda. So why, oh why, did she jump when his hand touched her back at the base of her spine? “Are you ready for bed?” he asked quietly.

Bed?

She swallowed hard, hoping it would make her tongue start working again. Before she could answer, one of the men shouted, “Eirick, tell us a story of your conquests.”

“I’ll have to pass this night, friends. I’m anxious to get to know this one,” he said, his voice thick with lust. He nuzzled Lara’s neck and covered her breast with his hand, kneading it gently with his palm.

She jerked away from him and lifted her hand to smack him. He caught her wrist and laughed. “You are going to be a delight to tame,” he growled, climbing from the bench and dragging Lara to her feet.

He buried his fingers in the mass of her hair and tugged her head back. Her eyes closed as he covered her mouth with his. She stiffened as a jolt of pure lust shot through her body. He kissed her deeply, suckling upper lip, nibbling on the lower, touching his tongue tentatively to hers. She was scarcely aware of the boisterous cheering going on around them. He kissed a trail towards her ear.

“You’re supposed to be fighting me, remember?” he whispered.

Her hand lifted suddenly as if controlled by a reflex and connected with his chin. Stunned, he staggered backwards. She bit her lip to bite back the apology on the tip of her tongue. His eyes narrowed dangerously. He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, heading for the door just to their left.

“Put me down!” she demanded, struggling against him.

“Don’t wait up,” he said to the people in the lodge.

“I said put me down!”

Reece carried her into his chambers and closed the door. He set her to her feet.

“I didn’t mean to hit you,” she said at once.

He drew her against his chest. “Where were we?”

Chapter 5

Lara’s blue eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared up at him. The candlelight threw strange shadows across her face. Reece took her chin in his hand and brushed his thumb over her lower lip as he stared down at her. She relaxed against him and lust slammed into his gut, stealing his breath. Memories of her face when lost in the throes of passion flitted through his mind. Unruly curls sticking to the perspiration moistened skin of her face and neck, heavy-lidded eyes locked with his, mouth open as she breathed his name in ecstasy. And then the vision changed. Eyes open yet unfocused, pupils dilated, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as she lie in a contorted position on the parking garage floor beside her car. Her skin ice-cold beneath his searching fingers. No pulse. No breath. No Lara.

No Lara.

A vice clenched Reece’s heart and he cradled the back of her head, tugging her against his chest as he fought tears. She was here. She was breathing. He could save her. He could. Carl didn’t know what he was talking about. It was possible. Reece would make it possible. He refused to live without her. She was everything to him. True, she didn’t know him, but as much as it broke his heart, there was nothing he could do about that besides get to know her again. Slowly. Though everything inside him wanted things to be as they had been immediately, he needed to take things more slowly.

“Reece?”

Her soft voice, muffled against his chest, spiraled feelings of tenderness through him. He bit his lip, holding in the words he longed to say. Don’t leave me again. I love you, Lara. I love you. He’d already said ‘I love you’ once. It was too soon for her to hear it again. He had to be patient. Take his time. Slow down.

“Yes?” His voice sounded thick with emotion, even to him. Damn.

“Where did you get that amulet?”

Surprised by her question, he chuckled. Apparently, she wasn’t as lost in romantic feelings as he was.

“I was on an expe***ion in Cairo.”

She pulled out of his grasp and stepped away. He fisted his hands to prevent himself from drawing her back against him. He wanted her, true, but more than the great *** they shared, he wanted her love. And if he pushed her, he might never attain it again. She wasn’t an easy woman.

“It was unearthed in a dig,” he said. “The two pieces were found together, but it was cracked down the middle. I bought it for a great price because it was broken.”

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“So you have both pieces?”

Reece shook his head. “Carl has the other half. That’s how he keeps following me. His half of the amulet is drawn to mine. Apparently, he leaps a few moments after me, but there is some sort of delay seen on the other end. It usually takes him a few days to appear. I leapt more than seventy times before I returned to the modern era. What’s been a few hours for him, has been eight months for me. When I arrived in your time, I trekked halfway across the world to see you. I almost missed finding you again before Carl arrived.”

“Is this really a good idea, Reece? I mean if I am meant to die, then maybe—”

He stepped closer to her, gripping both of her arms in his hands. “Don’t say it, Lara. Don’t even think it. You are not meant to die. I won’t let it happen.”

He kissed her heatedly, the taste of her lips intoxicating. All too soon she pulled away. She held a hand up between them and refused to look at him. “Don’t.”

He bit his lip, but didn’t press the issue. He understood. She needed more time. He would give her time, but he would never give up on winning her again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You should try to get some sleep. You must be exhausted.”

“I am. In so many ways.” She moved across the room, still not looking at him. “I can’t believe this is happening. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up in some psychiatric hospital. Are you sure this isn’t a dream?”

“For me, it’s a dream come true.”

She picked up the discarded shirt she’d been wearing earlier. “Can I ask you a serious question, Reece?”

“Of course. Anything.”

“Do you know where I can find a bathroom?”

He laughed.

She turned and glared at him. “I’m being serious.”

“I know. I just expected something a bit more important.”

“Trust me, Reece. This is very important.”

“I imagine it is. I’ll take you to the latrine, my saucy wench. And then I’ll take you to bed.”

Chapter 6

Lara blinked her eyes open. Light streamed in through the small round window above the bed. Her first vision of the morning was Reece’s face, leaning over her. She smiled and stretched languorously.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

“Watching you.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to see what you look like when you aren’t bustin’ my balls.”

Her grin widened. “Hope you got your fill.”

“Not yet.”

He covered her eyes with one hand.

“Now what are you doing?” she asked.

“Shh. You’re still asleep. If you’re asleep, you won’t fight me when I do this.”

“Do what?”

She felt the tip of his nose brush against the side of her neck, followed by his tongue. He gently suckled the flesh just beneath her ear and she was frozen in place with pleasure. He nipped her earlobe and she tensed. His warm breath in her ear caused her to shudder. “Beautiful, Lara,” he whispered.

“Reece?”

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

“I don’t want you to.”

His breath caught. “Do you really mean that?”

“Yes.”

There was a knock at the door. “Eirick, you don’t mean to laze in your bed all day, do you?” Thora’s voice carried into the room.

Reece groaned.

“Yes,” he called. “That was my intention.”

“It’s time to go for your hunt,” his mother insisted. “We have no meat for supper.”

Reece removed his hand from Lara’s eyes. She blinked them open to look up at him.

“I’ll be there in a moment,” he called. His mother moved away from the door. “What a nag.”

Reece bent his head and brushed his lips against Lara’s. When he moved to draw away, she buried her fingers in his thick, silky hair and lifted her head to kiss him. A groan vibrated in the back of his throat as she suckled his lips eagerly. He drew her closer, his hard body pressing against her length. Future me is a lucky girl, she thought. She gasped when shifted on top of her and ground his hard c**k into her mound.

Oh God, yes. Current me is even luckier.

Reece tore his mouth away and lifted up on his arms, gazing down at her with passion-glazed eyes. “You shouldn’t encourage me.”

With a wicked grin, she rocked her hips and he pulled a shuddering breath through his teeth.

“It’s been too long,” he said.

Balancing on one arm, he pushed the covers down to her waist and reached for the hem of her night shirt.

There was another knock at the door. More like a pounding. “Eirick!” a deep voice shouted. “There’s a storm brewing. We must go now.”

“It’s going to be a while longer,” Lara said.

“You mean you’re going to send me out in front of my men in this con***ion.” He ground into her again to make her very aware of her effects on him. She could feel that he wouldn’t be needing a sports car to compensate for anything.

“Don’t you have Vikings to lead, villages to pillage, small animals to kill for our lard stew?”

“I’d rather tame a saucy wench.”

“You’re going to need more than that to tame this saucy wench.”

He grinned, looking irresistibly cute with his hazel-green eyes sparking with mischief. “I can try though, right?”

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“Maybe later.”

“A maybe is better than a no.” He kissed her gently and climbed from the bed. He turned his back to her, and what a gorgeous back it was, strong and smooth, with the cutest butt known to woman situated just beneath. He adjusted himself in his undershorts and reached for his pants. He slid them on and turned to face her. She couldn’t keep her eyes from shifting to the bulge in his pants. “Do you think anyone will notice?” He turned to the side with his hands on his hips. His rigid c**k forced his underdrawers into an unmistakable tent that protruded from his open fly.

She shook her head, holding her breath. “I doubt it,” she gasped. She bit her lip to hold in a laugh and climbed out of the bed.

“You really should do something about this state you put me in, woman.”

“I’ll go get you some cold water. Just let me to get dressed.”

“Heartless, saucy wench. Getting me all excited and then refusing to follow through.” He tossed on his shirt and grabbed his boots before heading for the door. “I can’t take you dressing in front of me at the moment. If you need me, I’ll be in the latrine for a while. Be sure to knock before entering or you might catch me in a compromising position.”

She chuckled. “Don’t fall in.”

He left and Lara reached for the blue gown, smiling to herself. Reece Jericho was trouble, there was no mistaking that. That trouble was already neck high and still rising. She didn’t think it would be all that horrible to go completely under. She wouldn’t even struggle. Much. Resisting Reece’s allure was kind of like quicksand. The more she struggled the faster she sank.

Lara thought she might get some rest while the men were away on their hunt. Boy, was she wrong. Thora seemed to consider this day with Helga as a suitable-wife interview, and apparently suitable wives needed to know how to grind grain by hand, weave cloth, cure hides, and find firewood. They also needed to know how to gather eggs, milk goats, cook, clean and launder. By the time Reece entered the lodge near dark, Lara was exhausted. The only highlight of her day had been the realization that she was living through history. She was fascinated by the Viking culture, even though she’d done more manual labor in one day than she typically did in a month. Another thing she became thankful for were Helga’s obvious skills. If Lara completed the tasks without much thinking, Helga’s expertise just sort of took over and she was weaving cloth like a pro and milking the goat without getting the wind kicked out of her a second time.

Reece kissed Lara’s cheek and handed her a collection of dead hares tied together by their back feet. “You look tired,” he said quietly.

“What am I supposed to do with these?” she asked.

“Why, gut ‘em, skin ‘em, and cook ‘em. What else?”

Lara’s jaw set on a hard line. “No.” She’d worked her tail off today. And what had he been doing? Tracking down defenseless bunnies and skewering them with arrows.

“It’s expected of you,” he told her.

“I don’t care. I’m tired. Find someone else.”

“Don’t make this a fight, Lara,” he pleaded. “I’ll give you a nice massage later, when no one is looking.”

She snorted. “Like I’d want a massage from you.”

“Then you can give me a nice massage later. There are things in my pants that have been in need of your attention all day.”

The corner of her eye twitched. He grimaced, took her by the shoulders and turned her towards the exit of the long house. He directed her outside and when they reached the yard, he handed her a knife.

“See that this doesn’t end up stuck between my ribs,” he said.

“I can’t make any promises, darling.”

“Hurry up now. It’s almost dark. I wouldn’t want you to slice off your finger because you can’t see what you’re doing.”

“I have a mind to slice off certain male appendages at the moment. Since they are so in need of my attention and all.”

“Remind me never to piss you off, sweetheart,” he said.

“It’s too late for that, sweetheart.”

“I’ll keep the bench warm for you,” he said, and disappeared inside.

Apparently, gutting rabbits was not one of Helga’s better skills. She’d managed to do quite a hack job by the time she brought the meat into the long house. And gutting a rabbit was a lot different than throwing a store-bought, hunk of meat in the oven. She had a serious case of the dry heaves by the time she was finished. One at a time, Lara added the hare quarters to the dish iron heating over fire. The dish iron was like a flat frying pan, and fat spattered into the fire as she cooked. She burned her fingers more than once as she seared the meat and then added the pieces to the stew pot.

Reece was apparently several mugs into his mead already. He was celebrating with his men in fine style, encouraging them to tell stories of their exploits and cheering them on loudly. Thora refilled her son’s mug over and over again, until by the time Lara found the time to sit next to him, he was slurring his words. At least he could be classified as a happy drunk. Loud and happy. Lara wanted to shove a sock in his mouth. How dare he have such a good time while she was working her fingers to the bone?

“How was your day, beautiful?” he asked, his normally intense features slack.

“Don’t talk to me,” she demanded.

“Don’t be that way,” he slurred and hiccupped loudly. “I’m sure you did a great job in your duties.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer. “Tell me allllll about it.”

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“If you don’t get your hands off me right now, you’ll regret it.”

“Ah, how’s that for dampening the fun. Have some mead.”

He pressed the cup to her lips and lifted it, spilling the honey wine down her chin and the front of her dress. She shoved him, and he toppled over backwards, off the bench and onto the floor. His cup of mead tumbled out of his hand, liquid sloshing across the floor. He made things worse by laughing.

“I take it you don’t want any mead,” he said between chuckles.

She stood up from the table and flounced towards Eirick’s quarters.

Everyone in the room was laughing, rather at her expense or Reece’s she couldn’t be sure.

“You better get that woman under control, Eirick,” one of the warriors called. “She’ll have you wearing a dress before you know it.”

“I’ve tried, Sven, there ain’t no taming that one,” Reece claimed, right before Lara slammed the door.

A few moments later, Reece entered the room. Lara was sitting on the bed, tugging a comb through her hair. Apparently, Vikings combed their hair often. Few of them had naturally curly hair though. These combs were more like a torture device.

Reece sat down next to her on the bed and gave her a pitiful puppy dog look. “Are you mad at me?”

“You’re drunk,” she told him unnecessarily.

“That I am. Are you mad at me?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because you’re mad at me.”

She breathed a frustrated sigh. “Typical male response.”

“Give me the comb, I’ll help you,” he offered, taking pity on her and her tangled curls.

“No thanks. Go drink some more with your buddies.”

“But I want to be with you, Lara. That’s why I came in here.”

“It doesn’t seem that way,” she said.

“I love you.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Mouth puckered, he closed his eyes and leaned closer. And closer. And then fell over onto the bed with a loud snore.

“How very romantic,” she said to her unconscious bedmate. She sighed heavily and moved to remove his boots.

He grumbled a thank you when she rolled him into a more comfortable position on the bed and covered him with a quilt. She didn’t bother going to share the evening meal in the main hall. Instead, she blew out the candles and crawled into bed beside Reece. He spooned up against her immediately. She lay there tense for a moment and. When his only movement was to nuzzle her hair, she took his arm and wrapped it around her waist. She stared into the darkness for quite a while, thinking about her reaction to him. She hadn’t been mad about the rabbits or even his drinking, she decided. She had been mad because he hadn’t seemed to miss her half as much as she’d missed him.

She breathed a frustrated sigh. “Typical female response,” she murmured to herself just before she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 7

The next morning, Reece awoke to the uncomfortable effects of his alcohol overindulgence. He covered his eyes with his forearm and groaned. Lara sighed in her sleep and cuddled up against his side. His heart thudded as her small hand rubbed across his belly and then curled to clutch the fabric of his shirt.

“Reece,” she whispered.

Was she calling his name in her sleep? Dreaming about him? This was a good sign. He grinned and covered her hand with his. He had to be careful not to pressure her. He had learned the hard way not to tell an independent-minded woman what to do, not to even give her the impression that he was attempting to gain her cooperation. It had to be her idea for them to be together, not his. But he couldn’t help wanting her. Just when they’d forged their future together, she had been taken from him. And now he had her back. A year younger and a having no memory of him because as far as she knew, they’d never even met. That year of them falling in love would never exist for her. But he’d get to live it twice. Reece smiled to himself and then grimaced as some invisible blacksmith used his head to pound horseshoes flat.

He and Lara probably had one more day here before they leaped again. He never knew exactly when Carl would show up. Somewhere between 60 and 84 hours after arrival. Reece needed to stay close to Lara today in preparation. He was pretty sure they had to be touching to leap together and there was no way he was leaving her here with an uncouth Viking.

A loud rattle at the window, which was made of a semi-transparent, stretched animal hide, drew Reece’s attention. It looked rather gray and foreboding outside. The wind blew against the window in abandon. A storm had hit sometime in the night. And it was a perfect excuse to waste the day in bed with Lara at his side.

She stirred, stretching languorously.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured.

She started, glanced around nervously and then lifted her head to look at him. “I thought this was all a bad dream.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

She smiled. “I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, just very overworked. I feel like I ran a marathon yesterday.”

“If we’re quiet, we can lay here all day and listen to the storm outside.”

“As if Thora, a.k.a. Slavedriver, will allow that,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“The whole house is quiet. I think everyone has the same idea,” he whispered.

Lara settled back beside him, gazing up at the ceiling. “What do we do with ourselves if we aren’t working our fingers to the bone?”

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“We could get drunk. Tell stories. Make love.”

“All good for passing time.”

He rolled on his side and lifted onto one elbow, gazing down into her blue eyes. He winced at the jolt of pain that pulsated through his head.

“Hungover?” she asked.

“A little,” he admitted. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved.”

“Stay here. I’ll bring you some breakfast.”

She smiled. “That’s sweet of you.”

He rolled over her, and off the bed on the other side. “You know, I don’t even remember going to bed last night,” he said.

“You probably don’t remember what you said to me before you passed out then.”

He winced. Oh no, please, not that. Too soon for her to hear those words again. Please, not I love you. Anything but that. It will send her running in the opposite direction. Eyes closed, he asked, “What did I say?”

“You promised you’d milk the goat today.”

He chuckled. “I did? Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like something I’d promise.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“If you say so, but you’ll have to show me how.”

“The trick is to make sure your hands are warm before you grab the teats.”

He laughed. “I can see why cold hands might be a problem.”

“For their size, goats really pack a wallop.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He crossed the room to the door and looked back at her before entering the main room of the longhouse. It was apparent why everyone was quiet. They were all nursing hangovers, and the storm that raged outside was of blizzard proportion, so there wouldn’t be much work getting done this morning. After a quick trip to the latrine, Reece grabbed a plate of cheese, bread, and smoked venison sausage, and a jug of water before he returned to the room. Lara was sitting on the edge of the bed, drawing a comb through her tangled curls.

He had a stirring of familiarity, as if he’d seen this before. Last night, perhaps? He wondered how much a fool he had proved himself to be while in his stupor. She was acting normally though. Surely, he hadn’t behaved too improperly.

He sat down next to her and cut a piece of cheese from the small block. She reached for the serving, but he hid it behind his back.

“Open,” he prompted.

“I can feed myself, Jericho.”

“A bit testy this morning?”

“I don’t do helpless female.”

He was well aware of this. “I was in no way implying that you were helpless or female. Though, you would have a difficult time hiding that you’re female.”

“Are you always this irritating?”

“You do bring out the best in me, sweetheart.”

He set the piece of cheese on the edge of the plate. She grabbed it and popped it in her mouth.

“You could feed me,” he offered. He cut off a slice of venison sausage. She snitched it from the plate and crammed it in her mouth as well. Something was obviously bothering her. “So what did I say or do last night that has you so up at arms?”

“Nothing.”

“Did I make a pass at you?”

“You tried, but you passed out.”

He drew a pained breath through his teeth. “I’m sure that was impressive to see. Did I tell you that I love you again?”

He met her eyes and didn’t need to hear her answer to know that he had. “Well…”

“I’m sorry. I’m sure that was the last thing in the world you wanted to hear.”

She bit her lip. “Not the very last thing,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to hear that this cheese is made from goat’s milk, for example. I’ve seen what that comes out of.”

He tried to smile at her joke, but failed. He’d give anything to hear her say she loved him.

Lara touched his face and he looked at her. Her expression was serious when she said, “Hearing those words from you wasn’t horrible.”

He leaned closer. She didn’t draw away. Instead, she closed her eyes. He closed his eyes, too, just before his lips brushed hers. Her kiss tasted of heaven and smoked venison. He concentrated on not taking the upper hand. He allowed her to kiss him, his hands clenching into fists rather than doing what they wanted to do—draw her closer, stroke her skin. She pulled away after a moment and leaned back to look at him.

“What I wouldn’t give for a toothbrush right about now,” she said.

Reece lifted his hand and huffed a breath into his palm, before giving it a hesitant sniff. “Do I offend?”

“I didn’t say that. You know, the things I miss most are all found in a bathroom.”

“I think they use teeth scraper things to clean their teeth. I’ll find you one after we eat.”

“How long will we be on the run?” She asked, looking weary.

“I don’t know. Until we come up with a better plan. If we could get the other half of the amulet, Carl couldn’t follow us anymore. We might also have control over our leaping. If you can decipher the hieroglyphics on the other half, that is.”

“I have some knowledge of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but I’d need access to my reference books to translate something complex.”

“You were the one who deciphered the symbols on this half,” he told her and lifted the amulet to look at the tiny symbols. The amulet was the reason Lara had been killed. He wished now that he’d never unearthed it. Wished he’d never involved Lara. But you can’t change the past. He was hoping it was possible to change her future, by living in the past.

Loving on Borrowed Time
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Lara touched the flat stone, tracing the markings with her fingers. “Some of them are rather faded. I’m surprised I translated them correctly.”

“You’re brilliant,” he said, his eyes shifting to her face. She took his breath away. Always had, and undoubtedly always would. “And beautiful.”

“Thank you. You’ve got a pretty-boy, tough-guy thing going on. How do you pull that off?”

“Lots of practice.”

“I see. And least you forget, I’m starving. Cut some more cheese.”

“Trust me, sweetheart. You don’t want me to cut the cheese.”

She groaned. “When will you get better jokes?”

“What do you mean? That was a good one.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Juvenile and corny,” she assured him.

“I suppose you could do better.”

“Not on an empty stomach.”

He cut the cheese into several bite-sized chunks, then carved up the sausage as well. He tore the bread in half and then sat lotus style on the bed with the plate between them. They ate in silence for several moments.

“So we just need to get the other half of the amulet and we can stop running? We can go home?”

“I don’t think we can ever go back to our own time,” he told her. “Despite what the newspaper says, your death wasn’t a random murder. Someone is after you.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“Sort of,” he admitted. He didn’t want to say too much. “The wrong people found out about the power of the amulet.”

“Like who?”

He probably shouldn’t lie to her, but the truth was too terrifying to share. “Some religious fanatics. They want the amulet to shift the flow of power in the world. We vowed to keep it away from them. Imagine the amount of damage those kind of people could do with this artifact.”

“So why did they kill me?”

He shrugged. “I wish I knew. Probably to get to me. I didn’t stick around long enough to find out. I just wanted to go back in time, find you, and make you safe. Carl wanted to find me and keep me from changing your future. He’s convinced it will lead to the end of the world.”

“Is Carl one of the fanatics?”

Reece shook his head. “They don’t even know about Carl, or the other half of the amulet. Carl is my partner. He and I discovered the amulet together. We each took a half and you deciphered the hieroglyphics on my half. You said something about the other half being a control element.”

“How did I know that?”

“I’m not sure. You read something about the amulet in an ancient script, I think. You warned me not to use it, even though we knew how. You said the Egyptians were afraid of it. Said it was cursed.”

“Egyptians thought a lot of things were cursed. And why did you use it, when I told you not to?”

“To find you.”

“Did I ask you to?”

Reece stared at her, his heart lodged in his throat. She simply didn’t get it. He wondered if she would ever love him like she once did. Circumstances were different this time. Maybe she wouldn’t fall in love with him at all. He didn’t know what had caused her to start looking at him differently in their previous relationship. She’d thought of him as an amusing guy, never to be taken seriously, then one day it was as if she’d seen him in a totally different light and she’d allowed him to get close. It had been the greatest gift he’d ever received. She loved fiercely, deeply, uncon***ionally. But getting her to initially open up to him had been next to impossible. I have to be patient. She’ll fall in love with me again. Just keep it together, Reece.

“No, you didn’t ask, but I had to save you, Lara. It’s the only thing I could think to do in that situation.”

“Maybe I didn’t want to be saved.”

“Maybe I didn’t care what you wanted,” he countered. “Maybe I really saved you for me.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Maybe I should thank you for saving me,” she snapped.

“Maybe you should. I risked a lot to save you, you know,” his voice raised in anger. “I gave up my entire life for you.”

She touched his cheek and his temper was instantly placated. “Thank you,” she said. “I owe you one.”

“You would have done the same for me,” he said. “I know you would have.”

She smiled. “I must have thought you were something pretty special, then.”

She leaned towards him and kissed him. She pulled away and gazed up at him shyly. For an instant, Reece saw her as Eirick saw her. As Helga. Reece felt what Eirick felt. Unbridled lust. He toppled her onto the bed, pushed her skirt up and pulled her underdrawers from her body with a vicious yank. Eirick struggled with the fly of his pants, holding Helga to the bed with his weight while he unleashed his ****.

“No,” Helga cried. Reece couldn’t sense Lara anymore at all. This had happened before. When a situation got particularly tense, he lost his battle with his vessel’s consciousness and was taken along for the ride. Reece couldn’t stomach the thought of being witness to a rape, however. He struggled to regain the upper hand over Eirick’s lust and actions.

Helga’s image faded and Lara was suddenly gazing up at him with a horrified expression. “She’s a virgin, Reece, and she’s terrified. Don’t let him hurt her like this.”

Loving on Borrowed Time
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“I’m trying, Lara. But this event is important. It has to happen. There are things we cannot change.”

“What do you mean?”

“If something has to happen in the past, it has to happen. We can’t stop it. There is something necessary about this moment. A reason they have to consummate this relationship.”

“They have to have *** or he has to rape her?”

“How should I know? All I know is that when events shape the future, I can’t change them. I’ve never been able to. I’ve tried more than once. I thought I could stop Lincoln’s assassination, but no, I just had to sit there and watch.”

“I feel it too, Reece. That this is important. Maybe she gets pregnant or something and the child can only be conceived on this morning. Just don’t let him rape her. Please.”

“I don’t know how to stop this.”

“We won’t stop it. Just make it easier. Reece, make love to me.”

As soon as she said it, Eirick’s pull over Reece’s actions lessened. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Reece regained total control. So they just needed to have ***. He didn’t have to rape her. Thank God.

And then it hit him. He was going to make love to Lara. This was his chance to show her how well they fit together. How they were made for each other. How great their *** life was. Or had been.

Reece buried his fingers in her thick curls and tilted her head back so he could trail kisses down her throat. He found the spot beneath her ear that always turned her to willing mush in his arms. As he suckled spot number one, she groaned, her back arching to press her br**sts into his chest. His only regret was that they weren’t yet naked.

“Reece,” she whispered. “Reece. I want you.”

Not quite I love you, but it was a start. He struggled to remove her tangled night shirt and his own sleeping attire to leave them both naked. He kissed a trail down her chest and drew her nipple into his mouth. He sucked spot number two hard and then soothed it with the flat of his tongue before sucking hard again.

“Oh,” she gasped, clinging to his hair with both hands. “That feels so good.”

And his c**k was so hard. He wasn’t sure how long he could put off thrusting into her. He shifted his mouth to her other breast, sucking hard, soothing with his tongue, sucking hard again. He moved his trembling hand between her thighs and sought spot number fifteen buried within a nest of curls. He was too impatient for spots three through fourteen this time. He just needed to be inside her. He’d like to blame the Viking for his lustful urges, but it was all him. He’d missed everything about Lara these past eight months, including her body.

The dampness between her thighs hinted her readiness, but he wanted her first time with him to be special, even if it wasn’t his first time with her. He massaged her swollen clit with two fingers. Her body tensed and it took several moments for her to relax again. He remembered their original first time being much the same. It had taken Lara time to get over her reservations, but boy, when she had.

He shifted his mouth to her other breast again and increased the pressure on her clit with his fingers. He rubbed faster. Harder. More gently. Harder again.

“Reece?” she gasped.

He slid his fingers inside her slick pu**y and then shifted them back to her clit.

“Oh!” She tensed again, trying to regain her senses instead of giving herself over to them.

This was going to take some work, he realized. He kissed a trail down her belly, pausing to nibble on spot number eleven along the crest of her left hip. His fingers never stopped rubbing at her clit as he kissed lower. Lower.

“Reece? Reece!”

He wouldn’t tell her to let go. Wouldn’t tell her to just relax. Or let it happen. She would fight climax even more then. He knew how she reacted when he tried to tell her what to do. While he liked to think they had all day together, his c**k was complaining by throbbing incessantly. He had to make her come. Quickly.

Reece slid his fingers back inside her and pressed his tongue against her clit, writhing it in repetitive circles until she grabbed his hair in both hands and her back arched. He slowly thrust his fingers in and out of her pu**y, sucking and licking at her clit until she cried out. “Reece, Reece. I’m going to come,” she sputtered as if surprised by this realization.

Yeah, baby. That’s the idea.

“Wait. Don’t. Stop. I’m going to...”

Her pu**y clenched around his fingers and her hips buckled. She cried out, bucking against his hand to draw his fingers in and out of her body. He flicked his tongue over her clit to keep her writhing in ecstasy for as long as possible. When her body went limp, he kissed his way up her belly. Reece removed his fingers from her hot sheath and settled on his side beside her, propping himself on one elbow to watch her face as his fingers found her clit again.

She twitched in involuntary spasms as he continued to tease her most sensitive spot.

“That feels wonderful,” she whispered and opened unfocused eyes to try to look at him.

He smiled gently and kissed her lips. Her fingers gently rubbed over his chest, exploring its hard contours shyly. She found a ticklish spot on his rib cage and he squirmed.

“Doesn’t seem quite fair,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“You know what I like, but I have no idea how to please you.”

“You don’t think I’m going to tell you all my secrets, do you?”

Loving on Borrowed Time
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“I think it will be more fun to discover them for myself.”

Her hand moved lower, bumping over the muscles of his abdomen. When her palm rubbed the sensitive skin between his hipbone and straining ****, he sucked an excited breath between his teeth.

“Found one,” she whispered.

Her hand moved closer to his ****. It twitch. Lord, he was so turned on, he wasn’t sure how much of her curious exploration he could take. Her fingers brushed his sac and his belly tightened. She cradled his nuts gently in one hand and he gasped.

“Another one.”

He stopped stroking her clit long enough to position her hand on his c**k and then returned to giving her pleasure. She trailed her fingertips up his length and he squeezed his eyes shut. When she reached the rim of his c**k head, she wrapped her hand around his shaft and massaged the head with her thumb, spreading the slick bead of pr**cum over his flesh.

“Lara.”

Her hand began to move, stroking his length slowly. If it hadn’t been eight months since he last had ***, he’d have found the motion pleasurable. As it was, he would reach climax much too soon if she kept that up. Her hand stopped and she squeezed him a bit too hard for his liking.

“Easy, sweetheart,” he breathed.

“Reece, I want you. Now.” She tugged at his c**k and spread her legs wider.

She wanted him? Inside her? He figured it would take hours before she was ready to accept him into her body. The first time they’d made love— He’d almost died from lack of fulfillment.

“Reece, Reece. Now, before I come again.”

He was still rubbing her clit. She moved with his hand, close to tumbling over the edge again.

He rolled on top of her and settled between her thighs. He looked down at Lara’s beautiful face and for a moment he saw Helga, blonde hair sticking to her flushed cheeks, skin slick with sweat. She gazed up at him, her blue eyes passion-glazed and trusting.

“It will be over quickly, dear one,” Eirick said, kissing Helga’s trembling lips.

Reece wondered if Lara would feel the pain of Helga losing her virginity. This was a much better way for Helga to lose it than Eirick losing his temper and forcing himself on the little Norsewoman, but still, it would not be pleasant.

“Reece, Reece, hurry,” Lara demanded.

“Shhh, sweetheart, I’m going to take it slow at first.”

“I want it hard, Reece. Hard and fast.”

Yeah, him too, actually, but he was controlling a body not his own, in a time not his own, under circumstances he was not meant to participate in. Reece reached between their bodies and grabbed his ****, seeking her opening. When he found her, he eased forward an inch, allowing her to become accustomed to his size. Helga’s body resisted Eirick’s, but Lara’s engulfed Reece’s c**k head in slick, molten pleasure. It took every shred of Reece’s willpower not to thrust into her like a man possessed. The barrier to Eirick’s penetration gave way and Helga cried out in pain. He sank an inch deeper.

“You’re being careful and slow for them,” Lara said, staring up into Reece’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I knew it would hurt her, and—”

His words were silenced by Lara’s passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, relaxing, opening herself to him, and he slid deeper. She was thinking of Helga’s comfort, too. Reece sank deeper. Deeper, until at last, Lara had accepted all of him. He tugged his mouth from hers and buried his face against her throat, trying to maintain a smidgen of control when every nerve ending in his body demanded he thrust into her as hard and as fast as he could.

For a long moment, he just inhaled and exhaled, his belly trembling, his balls tight and heavy. Every muscle in his body taut, Reece began to move within her, gyrating his hips to open her to his possession. She moved with him, grinding against his pubis, sighing with delight as he added gentle thrusting to his gyrations. Reece forced himself to think about her pleasure and drew gentle hands over her skin, pressed butterfly kisses to her jaw, throat and lips. Lara clung to his shoulders, her head tilted back in surrender, and it was all he could do not to repeatedly tell her how much he loved her. As their excitement built, they moved together and apart faster. The urgency in his groin had gotten the better of him. All he could think about was finding merciful release and pumping his cum deep inside her body. Lara cried out, her back arching in delight, her pu**y clenching around his c**k in hard spasms. It sent him flying over the edge into a realm of pure bliss. He erupted inside her, pleasurable spasms gripping the base of his ****, offering him release. He couldn’t help calling her name in the throes of ecstasy. She called his name in return as they shuddered against each other.

Their bodies went limp and though Reece knew he was probably crushing her, he couldn’t have moved even if he wanted to, and frankly, he didn’t. She trailed one hand up and down his back, drawing goose-bumps to the surface of his skin. He delighted in the feel of her beneath him—soft br**sts pressed into his chest, smooth legs tangled with his, warm pu**y gripping his softening ****. This is where he belonged. The time didn’t matter. The place didn’t matter. Only the woman mattered.

“That was amazing,” she whispered.

He smiled against her shoulder and lifted his head so he could stare into her eyes.

“I’ve never had an orgasm with a man inside me before,” she whispered. Her face flamed as she looked up at him in wonder.

“Oh, did you have an orgasm?” he teased. “I wasn’t sure.”

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She chuckled. “I thought it was fairly obvious. What with the moaning and uncontrollable convulsions.”

“You could have been faking.”

She was quiet for a long moment. “Actually, I was totally faking, Reece. I think you need to start over and try again. Get it right this time.”

He grinned at her. “Yeah, I am a little out of practice. We should probably try that again. It’s not in me to leave you unsatisfied.”

“I’m guessing future me really liked that about you,” she said.

“Couldn’t get enough.”

“I’m starting to believe that.”

Lara’s beautiful, smiling face melted into Helga’s bewildered expression. “Eirick?”

Eirick took Helga’s hand and kissed her wrist. “Yes, dear one?”

“I enjoyed that rather a lot,” she said. “I thank you for not hurting me.”

“I did hurt you,” he said, and kissed her cheeks, then her nose, “but never will again.”

“That was a necessary pain. It was over quickly. And then I felt such pleasure. Oh Eirick, it was wonderful.”

Eirick stared down at his captive bride, somewhat perplexed. He’d never given a woman pleasure like that before. He wasn’t exactly sure how he’d come up with those motions in his hips or how he’d known to rub and suckle that little bump between a Helga’s legs to delight her. Making love to Helga brought him much more satisfaction than his usual thrust, come, roll over and fall asleep routine.

“I think... I think that I love you, Helga. My wife.”

She smiled and stroked his cheek lovingly. “And I you, Eirick.”

“We will have many strong sons and beautiful daughters.”

“That means more pleasure, doesn’t it? Should we start now?”

“Yes. Children should appease my mother. You will quickly win her favor as you have won mine.”

Lara’s face drifted back into focus. She smiled at Reece. “I think we helped them a little,” she said.

Reece chuckled. “Eirick is wondering how he came up with such smooth moves in the bedroom. Maybe we should show him a few more tricks, so he can keep his woman happy for years to come.”

Lara grinned. “I’m game if you are.”

A vibration hummed against Reece’s chest. “****, could his timing be any worse?” He pulled the amulet from between their bodies and felt the physical tug he always felt when Carl’s half of the amulet was near. “Almost time to go,” he said to Lara.

Lara reached for her clothes and Reece chuckled at her. “You don’t take those with you anyway.”

Lara flushed. “I arrived naked the last time. I was hoping to avoid that this time.”

“I prefer you this way.” He kissed her chin. “Naked looks good on you.” The amulet hummed louder. Reece stared into Lara’s eyes as he waited for the right moment to begin to recite the words that would send them to another time. He wrapped her hands around the stone half-circle and covered her hands with his. Outside the room, there was a crackle. Reece began to recite the inscription. The bedroom door burst open. A Viking/Carl appeared in the doorframe. Reece didn’t need to look at Carl to know it was him. He knew he would be there. He always was.

“Damn it, Reece,” Carl bellowed. “I just want to talk to you. Don’t leap again.”

“Maybe we should hear what he has to say,” Lara said, turning to look at the man stalking across the room.

There was another loud crack, and Reece and Lara floated sideways through time. Lara squeezed her eyes shut, emitting a little squeak of terror. Reece was used to this by now. It was still amazing to watch the scenes of time blend together and rush past at a dizzying rate. And then they touched down.

Instead of lying in bed between Lara’s silky thighs, Reece found himself mounted on an enormous horse. He was fully bedecked in heavy armor, his view limited by the visor of his helmet. Reece held a sword in his right hand. His other hand controlled the reins of his steed. The person in front of him clung to his forearm for dear life. He couldn’t see her, but knew it was Lara seated before him on the horse. She was trembling so hard she was making his armor rattle, but she seemed unharmed. Before Reece could even orient himself to his surroundings, a large black object came at him, aimed directly for his head. He deflected it with his sword, his shoulder screaming in protest as the heavy mace ricocheted off his weapon.

Reece spun his horse around and found that it wasn’t just one menacing soldier trying to kill him, but a whole calvary of them.

“I think this is our cue to make a run for it, sweetheart,” he called to Lara.

Reece spun his horse around again and kicked the animal into a canter. Something hit him in the side with enough force to knock him to the ground. He hadn’t seen what had happened, but he was on flat on his back and Lara was being carried off by one of Reece’s foes. Naked, Lara kicked her captor, screaming at the top of her lungs, but to no avail. Apparently, they were after the girl, but that didn’t mean they planned to leave Reece alone now that they had their prize.

Reece rolled to his feet, cursing his armor for slowing him, but blessing it for taking the brunt of that mace and his jarring tumble from his horse.

“Are you going to stand there gawking, Ferguson, or are you going to fight with honor?” one of the remaining soldiers asked him.

“Do I really have a choice?” Reece asked, lifting his sword. Reece had to fight and he had to win. Some crazy medieval knight had kidnapped Lara and Reece had no intention of letting her go. Ever.