Ancient Ties (34 page)

He spoke first. “I’m glad to finally meet you. Judy has told me I should.” He brought his other hand up to encircle her hand in his warmth.

Her eyes widened in surprise, she bit her lower lip when she heard his voice. Deep, smooth like liquid velvet over jagged rocks. Janney stiffened against being drawn toward him, his greeting more intimate than the situation warranted.

“Ben Marrick?” Repeating his name was all she could manage. Even to her own ears, her voice was noticeably breathless. She dragged her gaze away from his, looked down, and frowned at their clasped hands. Time stood still. Thoughts rippled through her mind. Memories. Dream memories?

The man radiated heat like a campfire. An inferno. Janney longed for that warmth around her. She’d never had such a strong reaction to a man before. Had she? All she knew at that moment was that she didn’t want him to let go of her. Her lips

parted as she looked up into his eyes again. He grinned at her as if he knew some secret that she didn’t. He winked.

“Don’t look so frightened, Janney Forrester. I try not to intimidate my friends like I do the kids.”

“Um hum. The kids,” she mumbled, transfixed. Janney hoped that he couldn’t tell how strongly she was reacting to him.

It was embarrassing. He was just being polite.

“I think we’ve been abandoned. Everyone’s gone into the other room.” His eyes flickered over their surroundings, his lips quirking up on one side.

Looking quickly around, Janney finally recollected herself, cleared her throat, and tried to withdraw her hand. He held it a moment longer before letting her go. She missed that warm, rough contact. Ben guided her into the dining room, following her closely, his hand hovering heatedly at the small of her back.

Lightly, but possessively. She felt that any minute he could slide his hand around her waist and pull her back into him. She was shocked that she wanted just that. All her little private nerve endings pulsed.

Judy waved them over. Janney spotted a single chair and quickly sat down between two other fellow teachers. She knew Judy expected her to sit next to Ben, but she needed to put some distance between them. She ignored Judy’s questioning look. A knowing smile crossed Ben’s face as he smoothly sat down three places away from her at the eight-person table.

The servers started distributing salad plates. Janney didn’t taste a thing. Her heart beat so fast, and her stomach churned until she was afraid she would be sick. She didn’t want to call attention to herself so she told herself to calm down, take small bites and sips of water. She had no intention of drinking any more liquor tonight.

Soft music, old-fogy type dance music filtered over the banquet room as a backdrop to the hum of voices. It was all Janney could do to sit calmly and respond to the people at the table with her. She tried not to look at Ben Marrick since his presence flustered her so much. A few couples started dancing.

Without raising her head, Janney sneaked a peek at him. A possessive anger roared up from somewhere inside her when she saw Yvette DuPres, the French teacher, pressing her hip against his arm. Janney’s fingers curled into claws in her lap, under the tablecloth. She almost snarled.

“Ben, would you care to dance?”

Janney clearly heard Yvette’s exaggerated French-accented purr. The word bitch jumped to mind.

Ben looked a little surprised, a little wary at the offer, but catching Janney’s eye, he winked again and stood up. What was with this winking? He acted like they were old pals. Maybe they had been.

In another life. Mmm. What an odd thought.

“If you’d been sitting next to him, that would be you dancing with him,” hissed Judy furiously when she settled into a vacated chair next to Janney.

Her thoughts interrupted, “It’s no problem,” Janney said.

“Let’s go to the ladies’ room.”

“Sure. Janney, that dress looks great. So classy. Yvette looks like a trollop.”

“Judy, why don’t you just ask him to dance? I know you want to. Just do it.”

“Hmm. Maybe I will, just to get him away from that fake French floozy.”

“Yvette’s all right. At least she has good taste in men.”

Janney had to admit that.

“Oh, so, you like him after all, huh?”

Laughing, Janney said, “Okay, Jude, you got me there. I admit he’s nice. But all we’ve done is shake hands. We haven’t talked to each other.”

“But what a shake! My heart was in my throat when he held your hand. And you stood there for so long gazing into each other’s eyes. It was so romantic.”

“Come on, don’t get carried away.” The memory of the feel of his hands holding hers flooded over her. She felt hot and excited. Happy. Oddly happy.

Odd. Odd. Everything about this night was odd.

When Janney and Judy returned from the ladies’ room, they stood for a while to the side of the dance floor. Yvette was still plastered against Ben’s chest with her arms around his neck, her fingers toying with the hair on his nape. Janney didn’t think he looked like he wanted to escape. They seemed to be having a humorous conversation. Ben laughed out loud.

“If you won’t do it, I will.” In the next moment, Judy strode over, tapped Yvette hard on the shoulder, and announced that she was cutting in.

Walt, Judy’s husband joined Janney and asked her to dance.

Then, taking over, he swung her onto the floor, right over next to his wife and Ben Marrick. Janney loved Walt, she really did, but he was as incorrigible as his wife.

She could hear Judy’s conversation with Ben. “Well, I thought I’d rescue you from python woman. She’d eat you up and spit you out.” Biting her lip and blushing, Judy gave him a quick look and said, “God, maybe you’d like that. I mean, well, oh, God, I’m sorry. Let me start over,” she rambled on embarrassedly.

Janney’s stomach flip-flopped when Ben’s cheeks flushed.

He’s adorable.

“No, I wouldn’t like that. Thanks, Judy. You saved my life.”

So, he isn’t interested in the Yvette type.

“Don’t you want to dance with Janney while the music is still slow?”

Janney gasped. Judy was so obvious.

“Yes,” he answered promptly.

“Switch,” Judy said brightly. “Come on, Walt. Let’s do it.”

At lightning speed, Judy had Walt in tow, and Ben and Janney were finally face to face again.

“Would you like to dance?” Ben asked softly and slipped his right arm around her waist even before she could answer. Then snuggled her in tight against him.

Oh, God.
She could actually almost breathe. What in the world was happening? He felt so good. Too good. It would be so easy to melt into him. They fit.

Janney had no trouble following Ben, his dancing excellent.

She tried not to think about the middle parts of their bodies touching. Something hard bumped then stayed pressed against her stomach. A throaty moan rose in her chest, and she tried to cover it with a cough. He spread his fingers over her back and pressed his cheek into her hair. With a deep breath, his chest expanded into hers, brushing her breasts. He smelled so good, fresh, like wintergreen. There it was again. The instant connection. He felt completely right. She belonged in his arms.

Burning up. Shivering with cold.
I must be coming down with
something. That has to be it. He can’t be affecting me this way. This
kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life.

“Who are you?” Her whisper was half to herself. She was surprised when he responded.

“Marrick,” he stretched the name out. “Ben Marrick.” Soft.

Wet. Warm. The wisps of words blowing in her ear sent quivers down her spine. He raised his hand and traced the strands of the gold necklace. His fingers touched her skin. She couldn’t breathe.

In the background, in the vibrations through the dance floor, she felt the thump of drumbeats, heard the quick twang of guitar strings, but it felt as if she and Ben were dancing in slow motion. The only two people in the world. Ben Marrick. Marek.

She didn’t know him. But, she did. Scenes took over her senses.

Her cheeks flushed hot with remembered places. Remembered arms, chests. Breasts. Positions. The baths. She closed her eyes letting the memories take over. When she opened them, he was watching her.

Janney pushed abruptly back and stared into his eyes. It was not possible! She knew those deep brown eyes. Chocolate-fudge eyes. She saw triumph. Sparks of humor. This was not funny. It was a sick joke. “Don’t do this to me.

“I have to go to the ladies’ room,” Janney sputtered. She had to get away from him. How could anyone know what happened in England? How could Judy and this man play this trick on her? Janney, obviously not thinking clearly, grabbed her purse from the table and raced out of the dining room.
I have to
get out of here.

Ben had a premonition that Janney would try to escape. She was just unlocking her car door when he called her name.

“Janney Forrester, you’re leaving?”

“I’m tired.” Janney yanked on the handle.

He flattened his palm against the window glass holding the door closed.

“It’s freezing. Let me go.”

She sounded frantic. Ben knew all this was a shock for her.

It had been like a runaway chariot ride for him, too.

Marek had been furious when he awakened that day and Janney was gone. In a rage, he destroyed every piece of pottery in his room. Had torn down the bed hangings. Every breath he took hurt his chest. As angry and disappointed as he had been, he hoped that, at least, Janney had returned safely to her own time.

Marek railed against the Gods. He even addressed, civilly, his petitions to Venus. This was her province. Love. He knew in his heart that Venus had brought Janney to him in the first place and that the Goddess could bring them back together again.

He had to go into battle, no matter how much he wanted to immediately follow Janney, providing, of course, that he could.

He fought valiantly in the conflict. He’d had no more breakdowns. He’d retired from the army in victory and had come home. Only she was gone.

In the midst of all this, Leonidas had arrived in Britannia. At first, he knew Leonidas warily watched his father. Augusta, the wonderful, understanding Augusta, took the boy under her wing. Father and son finally made peace. They did the things that

fathers do with their sons. Nevertheless, he never stopped thinking—obsessing—and worrying about Janney.

Marek did not doubt that the voice in his head was the voice of Venus. She would help him find Janney even if he had to go into the future. But Leonidas. He couldn’t leave him again.

Would the son go into the future with the father?

Marek finally spoke about Janney. He told Leonidas what he knew of her time. All the fantastic events, scientific inventions.

Leonidas seemed enthralled.

Now, here he was. In the Twenty-first Century. Venus had performed a miracle. Leonidas had been right behind him at the portal. Marek had been devastated that it had closed too quickly.

The Venus-voice in his head advised him to be patient. To find Janney and be patient.

Marek had no idea how patient he would be forced to be.

He had found Janney, and she didn’t know him. He hadn’t counted on that.

“Ben, I’m freezing.” Janney stamped her feet and rubbed her arms even in her heavy coat.

“Let me in,” he ordered gruffly. “I want to talk to you.”

“Let go of the door.” When he did, Janney pursed her lips, but slid in the driver’s side and flicked open the passenger door lock from the control on her side. While she started the ignition and turned on the heater full blast, Ben struggled to fit himself into the other side.

“This is a small automobile.”

“It’s mine.” She sounded irritated.

This wasn’t the way he wanted this to go. He naturally thought Janney would jump happily into his arms. He did not count on her not knowing him. Well, he was a warrior, a tactician. There was more than one way to win a war. Or a love.

“You were in Britain this summer?”

She looked sharply at him. She’d been nervously drumming her fingers on the steering wheel.

“What? Did Judy tell you my whole life story?”

She had, but Ben knew enough not to admit it. “She mentioned that. Where did you visit?” His tactic was to get her talking about her trip, and hopefully she’d remember—him.

“Um, London, Salisbury, Bath. I saw Stonehenge.” She paused, turned her gaze back to the front windshield, and stared out.

He saw her blinking and wondered what she was seeing.

The stones? The blasted goats? His lips curved up in a smile at the memory of Janney stripped to the waist, her arms trapped at her sides. Her breasts at his mercy. Ben slid his arm across the back of her seat. He had to touch her.

Ben’s blood pounded. His fingers itched to take her. He was hard and ready. He had been too long without her.

“Have you been there, England, I mean?” Janney asked.

“Ah, yes. My Master’s is in ancient civilizations.” Ben and Venus had come to an agreement when she sent him into the future. She gave him a new name, official documents, such as driver’s license and passport. She gave him a past, a degree to explain his knowledge of ancient Rome and Britain. Even Ben had been surprised at the talents of the Goddess, but he intended to take full advantage to get what he wanted. He wanted this woman. Janney had adjusted to living in the past, but now she didn’t seem to remember it. Well, it was his job to nudge her memory.

“I’m an expert on Roman life. The military. The baths.

Everyday life. Especially in Britain.” He watched her face, his fingers slipped up under the soft hair at the nape of her neck. He saw her lips tighten. She stubbornly wouldn’t look at him.

“And now you teach fifth grade and college courses? That’s quite a stretch.”

“Fifth grade was the opening here. I like that age.” He tried to keep calm. He already missed Leonidas. They had just begun to know each other again.