Stars Across Time (22 page)

“Slightly more interesting than latrine mold,” Andie said.

“I don’t need an answer now. And you’re right in that we’d have to do some research and see if it’s feasible for you to stay, if you wanted to, but I wanted to bring it up because I don’t know how much time we’ll have left together, er, that you’ll be here, I mean.”

The door opened, and Sue walked out, carrying glasses of water and a bottle of mead. “Have you decided?”

“The salmon, please,” Andie said.

“Surprise me,” Theron said because he hadn’t so much as glanced at the menu.

Sue looked appraisingly, not at him but at Andie, then she nodded to herself. “Nothing too garlicky, eh? I think the oysters would be appropriate, yes.” She took the menus, smiling slightly, and left them alone again.

Oysters? Had those been considered an aphrodisiac in Andie’s time too? Maybe she wouldn’t think anything of the comments or the selection. He poured mead for both of them, feeling the need for something alcoholic and bracing.

Andie scooted closer, touching his arm again. “Is it my imagination or does everyone here want you to get laid?”

He almost spewed his mouthful of mead out across the table. Fortunately, he choked it down instead, though some of it went down the wrong pipe, and he ended up coughing. “I’m, ah, not entirely familiar with that expression.”

“I think you got the gist.”

“Possibly.”

Andie beamed up at him, her face so much more lively than it had been when she was a prisoner. She had been so busy being tough and putting up a stoic front then. He remembered her question in the carriage, her uncertainty about whether she should have pretended to be his lover. He had thought that had been an attempt to separate herself from the notion, but here she was, gazing up at him, her hand on his arm, her eyes twinkling in the light of the candles. Even if she was an enigma to him in many ways, he wasn’t so out of practice with women that he couldn’t tell when one was enjoying being with him, despite the fact that he was talking of things far too profound for a light dinner date.

“Do you mind?” Theron asked gently, lifting his hand to brush her soft cheek.

“No,” she whispered. “I’m not a prisoner now,” she added, her eyes locked onto his, her expression earnest.

Yes, that had been his reason for breaking their last kiss, a reason he had dearly regretted. He hadn’t wanted to take advantage of her. But now, she was his guest in the fort. She had shown up on his doorstep—or at least the square in front of headquarters—of her own volition.

The memory of that kiss in the dark shadows of the cabin flashed into his mind. He had been surprised by her eagerness then, when she shouldn’t have wanted anything to do with any of them. He had been embarrassed by how aroused he had been, worried that he was taking advantage, but at the same time, he had found it so difficult to break away, to keep himself from pressing her against the wall, from cupping her ass with his hands and pulling her up to him,
onto
him.

He found that his gaze had wandered downward, to the curve of her breasts, so close he could easily touch them. Embarrassed, he jerked his eyes back toward her face. She must have guessed at his lustful thoughts, but they didn’t seem to alarm her. Andie merely raised her eyebrows and smiled, her lips parted slightly. In invitation.

Theron lowered his mouth to hers, brushing her lips with his. Despite the heated thoughts flooding his mind, he told himself to keep his touch light and sweet, at least for now. Her lips curved against his, and she scooted closer to him. It would have been easy to let his hands roam, as he so much wanted to do, but a restaurant wasn’t the place for anything overly passionate, at least not a restaurant that he would like to return to one day. They should talk, use this time to get to know each other better, in a non-physical way.

Despite the thought, not much talking happened until Sue returned with the first course. Andie had her fingers curled into the hair at the back of Theron’s head, and she let them drop when the door opened, but she didn’t pull far away from him. She rested her shoulder against his, which he found quite pleasant.

Smiling, Sue delivered the plates of food, giving Theron a wink as she set down the oysters. Knowing her intentions were good—if obvious—he kept himself from glowering at her.

“It looks delicious,” Andie said, lifting her fork when they were alone again. But she hesitated before digging in, looking more closely at the plate. “Is the fish, uhm. In our time, they talk a lot about mercury in fish. From what you said, I gather things are worse now?”

Theron took a sip of the mead, wishing he hadn’t said anything about toxins and radiation, not when he was now trying to give her a reason to stay. “There’s mercury in everything, not just fish. A lot of other metals that aren’t great for humans, too. You’ve seen that a lot of people have birth defects, especially midline ones.” He waved to indicate his nose, mouth, and eyes. “I’m not a scientist—”
Not even close, Theron
, “—but they say it’s related to people’s systems being overburdened and unable to clear out the toxins from the body. More babies are born with defects, and there are... mental illnesses, I guess you would call them. Like with the raiders. But there’s less of that here, in the civilized areas. You can go into the clinic monthly and get a shot that amplifies the body’s ability to excrete toxins. And some people don’t even need the shots,” he added, seeing the concerned expression on her face. “It depends on your genes. Some people are naturally good at clearing out the toxins and are never bothered by them. And our doctors actually recommend eating fish.” He pointed at her plate, hoping this discussion wouldn’t ruin her appetite. “There’s mercury in it, yes, but most kinds are high in selenium, too, and that binds with the mercury so it can’t bind to other things in your body. And it’s a healthy food, overall.” That was what his father had told him, anyway, to convince him to eat salmon as a child. “We eat a lot of it. Seaweed too. For the iodine. So you don’t soak up the radioactive stuff lingering in the atmosphere.” He sucked down an oyster to demonstrate his own enthusiasm for the food, hoping to pass it on to her. Fortunately, they were delicious, with butter, chives, parsley, and a hint of cayenne mingling in his mouth. He did smirk because he was fairly certain Sue usually made them with garlic too. That was oddly absent. He wouldn’t be surprised if she sent mints—or mouthwash—out with dessert.

“Seaweed?” Andie asked. “Hm, my mom used to make me eat seaweed soup as a kid. It’s a traditional Korean dish. When she wasn’t looking, I would dump it in the pot of the big rubber tree plant next to the dining table.”

Theron snorted, amused and unsurprised that parents hadn’t changed much over the centuries. “Was it a healthy plant?”

“Actually, yes. Very green and vibrant. I never knew I was doing it a favor.” Andie lowered her fork, cut a piece of the salmon, and put it in her mouth.

Theron considered that a victory. “Do you miss her?” he asked, wanting to change the topic. Toxins were even less appealing of a dinner subject than latrines.

“Yeah. I was too busy rebelling and being a general ass as a teenager to appreciate my parents, especially her. She always wanted what was best for me, and even if her advice made me grind my teeth, it was well-intentioned. I wish I’d had a chance to let her know...” She swallowed, her eyes on her plate, and shrugged. “Lots of things.”

Distressed by her distress, Theron closed his eyes, wishing he had chosen another topic. Any topic. Rubber tree plants.

“What about your parents?” Andie asked. “Are they still alive?”

Theron ate a few more bites of his food before answering. He almost lamented that he did not have a tragic familial past he could share, one that would let them commiserate about their mutual losses, but... “They’re alive, yes, and together. Happy. They have an orchard about twenty miles south of here and a little inland. They keep bees and goats, too, and my mother makes goat cheese, candles, and honey. My father makes all manner of weird alcoholic beverages with the fruit from the trees and also from herbs and random weeds he gathers from the field behind the house. His last experiment was red clover and dandelion wine. He sent some to me here. I thought it was horrible. Some of the privates liked it, but they don’t have high standards. They’ll drink anything that’s free.”

To his surprise, Andie was smirking. Theron had worried she might find his parents irritatingly perfect, especially after the story she had shared about hers trying to force her to be something she wasn’t.

“Do they wear tie-dye shirts and drive a V-Dub bus?” she asked, still grinning.

“Pardon?”

“They sound like hippies. Do they rail against the government and smoke weed, by chance?”

Theron wasn’t familiar with the term. “Dad does rail. I think when they were younger, they might have collected the mushrooms on the property for more than eating purposes.”

“I thought so. Did you grow up there? You must have been bored.”

“I was,” he said, surprised that she had guessed. “Oh, there was plenty to do when I was a boy, but as a teenager, I was a little—” what had her words been? “—of a rebellious ass. I was an only child because my mother had lost the first two in pregnancy, and they wanted me stay there, to be safe and take over the orchard some day. I joined the army as soon as I was able. After the first ten years, they gave up on trying to get me to leave it and turned their efforts toward trying to get me to have children, so they might have some grandchild to take over the orchard. I’m afraid I’ve been a disappointment for them in that respect.” A shot of inspiration charged through him. “I’d love to take you to meet my mom. If we can find the time. She would like you, and...” Wait, was it too soon to talk of meeting the parents? He couldn’t help but wonder if Andie might think of his mother as a surrogate for the one she had lost.

“You’re sure she would like me? I’m not exactly what parents dream of for their little boys.” She glanced down at her chest. At the tattoos?

“She’s seventy now. At this point, she would be tickled as long as I brought home something female and human.”

“So, she’s like the privates who drink your dad’s wine? Doesn’t have high standards?”

Theron flushed. He hadn’t meant to imply
that
. “She would know that a woman who caught my interest must be fantastic.”

Andie snorted, but her eyes gleamed. Maybe she didn’t believe that statement, even if he saw it as the truth, but at least she seemed to have forgotten the toxins and the thoughts of dead parents. He and his fumbling tongue had achieved that much.

He slipped his arm around her waist, wondering if he might have better luck if his tongue focused on non-verbal communication. Perhaps thinking the same thing, Andie lifted a hand, brushing her fingers across his jaw. Their lips came together. Sue brought out a dessert, a layered pastry filled with chopped nuts and held together with honey. It was sticky, so they were forced to lick each other’s fingers clean. For sanitary reasons, of course. Having Andie sucking on the tips of his fingers was arousing, as was that gleam of humor that remained in her eyes, and he lamented that they would have to drive all the way back to his house in the fort before things could go any further. Unless they wandered back into the greenhouse and found a sturdy potting table. No, no, he hadn’t even
asked
her if she wanted things to go further. Though he would be crushed if she didn’t.

“There’s something I want to show you,” Theron whispered, capturing her gaze with his own.

“Here?” She glanced down at his lap. “Is that legal?”

Theron blushed. In the shadows of the candlelit table, he hadn’t thought his arousal had been
that
obvious, but maybe she was thinking of similar things.

“It’s at my house,” he said. “Will you spend the night? So I can show you?”

“Theron.” Andie kissed him, grazing the inside of his lip with her teeth, sparking desire within him. “If you
don’t
take me home, I’m going to be insanely disappointed.”

“Oh? Good.”

He returned the kiss, intending to make it brief since they could leave as soon as the bill came, but the taste of the honey on Andie’s lips tantalized him. And she seemed to enjoy the taste of him just as much. She leaned against him, resting her hand in his lap, and naughty thoughts flashed into his mind.

Before anything too naughty could happen, someone cleared a throat nearby. It was a male voice, so it couldn’t be Sue. His driver? As much as he didn’t want to take his lips from Andie’s, Theron turned to look.

“Gideon?” he asked, his voice raspy. He looked at the lieutenant, trying to figure out why he was here while using a brain that only had one thing in mind. Andie dropped her head, her fingers curled around the back of his neck while she kissed his throat. Theron barely kept himself from telling Gideon to go away, that whatever it was could wait until tomorrow.
Late
tomorrow.

“Sorry, sir.” Even in the dim candlelight, the embarrassed flush to Gideon’s cheeks was visible. “I just thought you should know.” He held up a piece of paper. “I did the research you asked about.” He glanced at Andie, laid down the notes, then skittered back, giving a choppy salute. “Goodnight, sir.”

Theron, his eyes locked to the paper, forgot to respond to the salute and was barely aware of the door shutting.

Andie drew back, looking at his face. “Something important? Do you need privacy?”

Reflexively, Theron tightened his arm around her back, not wanting to contemplate any privacy in which she wouldn’t be a part. “No. It’s about you.”

“Oh? Seeing if I really am in the military?”

“I never had any doubt about that. Trust me.” Theron pushed the page closer to the candlelight so he could read the lieutenant’s block letters. Even though he didn’t ask her to—nor did he
want
her to—Andie shifted away from him so he could see better. His shoulders slumped as he read the message, but he forced himself to smile when he met her eyes. “Do you want to know about your future?”

“I don’t know. Is it good?” She hadn’t tried to read the note, giving him his privacy, whether he’d wanted it or not. “Are you allowed to tell me about my future, or is it possible that the telling could change what happens? That always seems to be a big deal in the time-travel science-fiction movies.”