Ancient Ties (8 page)

Now, she looked positively stricken, and absolutely and unbearably alluring, biting her lip in that sensual way she had.

Last night he hadn’t tasted enough of her lips.

“Janney Forrester.” He found he could say no more than her name. Where was his brain? He devoured her with his gaze as if he could see below the surface of the water, beneath the linen gown. As if he could see her nipples. He imagined they were a pale cherry color against her fair skin. They’d taste like cherries, too. She’d moan and melt against him when he licked and suckled them. His phallus leaped to attention.

Her soft round breast had fit perfectly in his hand. Zeus, if he could caress her now, she’d be slick with water. He would slide his fingers around her hips; tangle them in the hair covering her mound. Was it yellow like the hair on her head? He grabbed a shaky breath, blinked. He would find out. His visual survey slowly rose to her lips, then to her eyes. His heart lurched uneasily at her obvious discomfort.

By the Gods, she was shivering. “You look…cold.”

He wanted to touch her. He could warm her, but he dared not. Certainly not here. He knew she wasn’t used to their lifestyle. She’d come back in time in tightly fitting clothing, but at the same time, her body wasn’t easily accessible. For some reason, in her time women flaunted their bodies, but still built up barriers with layers of clothing.

Janney crossed her arms over her breasts. Cold or aroused?

Either way, she was uncomfortable.

He stretched out his hand. “Do you wish to get out?”

She backed up, the water swirling around her. She whispered, “I can’t.” A flush climbed up her neck, quickly covered her cheeks. Even her earlobes turned bright red in the process.

His protective instincts flared again. He wanted to keep her safe. It took all his willpower not to pull her into his arms.

Marek shifted his gaze to her mouth, trying not to stare at the water rippling around and over her breasts. He couldn’t help it, his lips lifted in a smile. He realized his mistake immediately.

Janney snarled, “This isn’t funny, and you’re horrible to laugh at my expense.” Turning, she plowed through the water away from him. Before he could react, a servant scrambled over to help her out.

Great Jupiter, help me!

The sight of her nearly nude, barely-clothed body shook him to his core. Her torso elongated, stretched out to take the hand of the attendant helping her out. Releasing a short, sharp blast of breath, as if he’d been punched in the gut, he angled his head, and openly ogled her firm bottom, as silver water droplets spilled off down the gown. It clung, wedging into the dark crease of her bottom, wrapping around her thighs, hobbling her legs. His fingers curled into his palms. The sight of the material clinging lovingly to her body imprinted itself in his brain. He couldn’t breathe.

Abruptly, to his surprise, Janney turned to face him, her eyes sparking with anger. She deliberately flaunted herself,

daring him. Taunting him. As if she knew how arousing she looked.

If he’d thought she looked spectacular from the rear, he could have sunk below the water and drowned with pleasure at the view he had now of her front. The shift molded itself to her breasts—breasts quivering with her every breath and swelling right here before everyone.

Hades!
Her pale nipples poked sharply at the cloth. Marek’s face flamed, his lips suddenly parched. He’d lick his lips, but he wasn’t sure he had enough saliva in his mouth to do the job.

Marek narrowed his gaze, trying to drag it off her breasts.

Good Gods. Everyone could see her. She was practically naked.

Curse it.

In part of his mind, he heard the murmurs of conversation around him, the sound of the water rushing into the pool, but he just stood there. His body primed, his phallus rock hard. It wasn’t possible to do anything other than stare.

Great Jupiter!

Marek blinked. His gaze tracked downward to her gently rounded belly. Suddenly, his lips quirked, and he grinned broadly.

She really is!
Another breath burst from his lungs, his laugh echoing to the top of the dome. The puffs of curls, even waterlogged, were light.

She really is naturally yellow-haired. Ahhh!
He just barely stifled a groan.

Janney angrily whipped around, treating him to another view of her perfect bottom and stalked off toward the undressing room.

Great God Mars! Help me!

It would be quite a while before his erection subsided enough for him to leave the pool.

Mt. Olympus

“Venus, my love. That was not fair.”

“Mars, my dear love, who said I had to be fair?”

“Where is Cupid? Did you send him to the baths? Did he use gold-tipped arrows or darts?” Mars shot questions at her in rapid order. He rose from his throne and stalked toward the love of his life, the Goddess of Love.

“Do you mean is Marek in love or in lust?” Venus asked, as she watched him warily, fully intending to be standing by the time he reached her.

Moving faster, Mars imprisoned her, placing a hand on each arm of her plush, golden throne. “What is the difference? He is under your spell, my dear.”

Furious, Venus tried to rise but Mars refused to step back.

“It makes a huge difference, my dear Mars.”

Irritated, she taunted him, “One will change him forever, and he will be mine. You will just have to watch to find out what antics our cherubic child, Cupid, is up to. He does take after me more than he does you. Cupid knows that love is the most important emotion. War is vicious and gets mortal man nowhere but dead.”

Venus fell back in her throne and turned her face away from Mars. Resting her chin on her hand, elbow on the arm of the throne, she looked off into the clouds as if she hadn’t a care in the world. Damned if she’d give her thunderous, ruthless husband the attention he craved.

Mars snarled into the lovely, shell-like ear she presented to him, “Your dear Marek is in lust. Love is a waste of time for a warrior. I will not allow it.”

Her teeth clenched, she said quietly and calmly, “You do not have any say in this matter. He is mine. You have agreed to it. Love rules Marek Benin now.”

I don’t belong here. As beautiful and fascinating as it is, it’s not
my world.
Janney fumed as she stalked back into the haven of the undressing room.
He made that abundantly clear. How dare he bare
his teeth at me, his eyes all over me? He wanted to see my body. Well, he
saw me. And, he laughed!
What’s so funny? My body’s not perfect, I

know that, but he didn’t have to humiliate me like that. My tummy’s
not flat, and my thighs could be thinner, but they aren’t all that bad.

She swiped away a couple of tears before they trickled down her cheeks.

Bastard! Who the hell does he think he is? Just because he has the
body of a Greek god. Crap. No, a
Roman god. Why would he want me
anyway when he can have what’s-her-name in the baths? A man like
him, he’s probably had women all over the world. Probably most of them
are here today. I’d just be one more notch on his sword belt! Arghh!

Moments after Janney stomped out of the baths, Augusta bustled in, clucking and fussing over her. Janney tried to push the man out of her mind.

The ass!
It was as if the water had foamed around him, boiling hotter as he came near her.

“Are you all right, dear? You left in such a hurry.” Augusta handed her a length of drying cloth.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Janney spoke through clenched teeth, absently rubbing the cloth over her skin. At the end of their relationship, Ed had accused her of being asexual. He’d claimed they’d become more like brother and sister by that point. She’d been so flabbergasted and had no answer to that. He was probably right.

Ha! I sure don’t feel very sisterly about Marek.

Janney sniffled again, brushing her forefinger under her nose. At no time when she looked at or thought of him, did she think of him as a brother.

“Did Marek say something to upset you?”

“What?” Janney turned to Augusta. Her mind had started to wander from her anger.

“You two were talking, and then, all of a sudden you left.

Did he say something?”

“Mmm.” Janney lowered herself to a wooden bench. Did he say something? Oh, it wasn’t what he’d said, was it? She squeezed her eyes shut trying to get the picture of him out of her mind.

Gawd, he stood there at the side of the pool and looked like sex on
the hoof. Hotter than any beefcake calendar guy I’ve ever seen. One
hundred percent all man.

Being in the baths with him, the heated water lapping gently against her skin, tickling, surging, she’d wanted more than anything on earth to press her soft parts against his hard male parts. Wanted to rub her nipples over his chest. To tease him.

Watch his eyes widen with surprise; his lips open with desire.

She’d wanted to feel his rock hard cock pressed into her stomach.

Damn him.
She craved to explore his body, to slide her fingers around him. Around every huge, long, thick, exciting inch of him.

God, I want him bad.

Then he’d held out his hand. She’d almost gone to him.

Thank God, she didn’t. He was a bastard for laughing at her. He knew she was all alone here in this time, and she needed a friend.

He’d hurt her feelings.

Dammit. I hate him.

I have to get out of here and back to my own time. Please, God,
help me.
Was God even listening?

On the ride back to the villa, Janney refused to speak to him or even acknowledge his existence. In case no one understood her, she made her feelings completely clear when she slammed the door of her bedchamber, shutting out all three of them.

Janney, dressed in her Twenty-first Century clothes, barreled back out. “You’re right, Augusta,” she heard Marek growl. “I’m an ass. She didn’t deserve it. I’ll talk to her.”

“Don’t bother,” she snarled, not looking in his direction.

“I’m checking the portal.”

She knew they followed her. Let them. She looked down, her chin quivered, her fingers clenched and unclenched at her sides. Taking a deep breath and opening the door, she looked out. She stepped over the threshold.

The courtyard.

As she leaned her head against the doorframe, Marek tried to brush past her. “Why did you laugh at me?” Janney’s voice quavered, half expecting his rejection.

He turned, opened his mouth.

“Don’t bother to deny it.” She glared at him.

“I didn’t laugh at you.” His voice went low and intimate, his chocolate brown eyes gleaming heatedly.

“Then what?” She felt her pulse beating in her throat. Oh God, why did she ever ask?

“Ah…”

“Damn you! This isn’t worth it. I don’t care…” Janney turned away.

“I’d wondered…” His hand slid around her arm, turning her back around.

“Wondered what?” She held herself rigid; the arm he wasn’t holding was stiff at her side, fingers clenched. Her gaze slid up to his eyes. His compelling eyes.

“If…um…your hair down there,” he nodded toward her crotch, “was naturally yellow.”

Her eyes widened in shock, her lips parted in a gasp. She’d never thought of something like that. She might as well have been naked after all.

“You bastard. I can’t believe you said that,” she whispered.

Even though she was embarrassed to hell, her crotch pulsed heatedly. She pulled herself from his grasp, and before she could think what to do or say, he was gone.

“You’re doing a lot of damage. Rome will have to buy us some new equipment.”

Marek grunted his reply. He’d been jousting with a straw and leather training figure. If the form had ever lived, he certainly didn’t at this point. Marek plunged and cut as if he were in the heat of battle, which, in a way, he was. Handing him a cup of water, Gaius urged his friend to take a breather. Marek stretched his arms out above his head, twisting and angling his body to loosen the kinks in his muscles.

“Would you spar with an old man and an old friend? You might be just tired out enough by now for me to win.”

“You’re on,” Marek growled, accepting the challenge.

Gaius, although fifteen years older, was still a surprisingly good competitor for the younger man. They attracted a crowd of onlookers cheering and making side bets. Gaius, a wily former soldier, made up in cunning what he lacked in strength, and Marek’s sword flew from his hands. Of course, the fact that Marek was angry and distracted hadn’t helped him. Flustered, but generous in defeat to his oldest friend, Marek pounded Gaius’s back. They strolled companionably off for some refreshment.

“Are you still leaving for your villa tomorrow?” Gaius asked.

“Yes,” Marek answered shortly, making a pretense of being interested in the contents of his goblet of wine.

“Maybe now would be the opportune time. The weather is holding. It will be a perfect time to be there. It’s a lovely—”

“No,” Marek ground out, interrupting. “It’s not a good time.”

“It might be better to leave before you become too involved.” Gaius didn’t need to add with whom.

Rubbing his eyes with the heels of both hands, he said quietly, without looking at Gaius, “It’s too late for that, my friend.”

“Yes,” Gaius replied sadly. “I can see it is. Marek, she wants to go home to her life, her family. She’s going to check that doorway every day.”

“I’ll take her to my villa.”

“What would that solve? Even if she went with you, she would still eventually want to go home. She doesn’t belong here, in this place, in this time. Let it go before both of you are irreparably hurt.”

Marek knew Gaius was right, but he didn’t know if he had the strength to let it go.

Let her go
? When he was with her or even thought about her, the other memory was banished, at least for a while. He had all the free time in the world. He could spend it loving her.