Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (16 page)

The kid scanned the notes, then grinned from
ear to ear. “Thank you, sir. Petrol’s freaking expensive up
thisaway. That’s right generous of you, sir.” He bobbed his head,
took one last gawk around his old haunt, and was gone.

Baird was sure all the former playmates
would hear at the pub tonight what had been done to Dunhelm, at
least so far.

Julian sauntered into the hall, his tie
loosened in an apparent concession to casual dining, and took a
disdainful sniff. “Fish pizza?”

“
No. Regular pizza, but the
fish and chips shop is the only place that makes any.” Baird
plopped the boxes on a folding table and opened one. The pizza
inside proved to be heavily laden with sausage. “One’s supposed to
be vegetarian. I forget which.”

Julian grimaced and poked open the second
box with a fingertip. “Probably got turnips on it,” he muttered and
sniffed suspiciously.

“
Well, good evening,
darlings,” Marissa cooed from the doorway. “I certainly hope I’m
not late.”

Julian didn’t even look up. “Just in time
for something Baird optimistically calls pizza.”

Undeterred, Marissa smiled and swept into
the room, dressed in a flowing pantsuit of sage green. Probably
silk, Baird guessed, because he knew more about Marissa’s
extravagant taste that anything about women’s clothes. Her hair was
loose, an uncharacteristic choice, and Baird was sure it was the
first time he had seen her without dark lipstick.

Go figure. He’d never imagined Marissa
dressed in anything other than black. Baird’s glance slid to
Julian, noting again the lawyer’s loosened tie.

Dunhelm apparently worked its magic on
everyone.

Marissa sniffed, then shivered indulgently.
“Pizza for dinner? It smells positively divine!”

Julian cocked a brow at Marissa. “You’re
joking, right? Either that or you’ve been living on airline food
too long. This pizza smells like fish.”

“
Julian, don’t be silly,
darling. I’m sure whatever Baird ordered will be simply marvelous.”
Marissa’s voice dropped to a seductive murmur. “Aren’t you just
famished, Baird?”

Aurelia swept into the room in that moment,
and anything Baird might have said to Marissa was completely
forgotten.

She looked like a Dark Age goddess come to
life. The light of the setting sun toyed with the gold of her hair
and made the proud tilt of her chin look more regal than ever.

Her hair was plaited with an intricacy that
rivaled the carving on the stone before her chamber, countless
blond braids tucked and woven and looped into a headdress of
fantastic design. She wore a tunic of a sapphire blue print that
seemed vaguely familiar to Baird, though he couldn’t place where he
had seen it before.

It certainly didn’t look like anything
Marissa would wear, so couldn’t have been The Loan.

The tunic was pinned at Aurelia’s shoulders,
then fell open to reveal the creamy sleeves of the dress she wore
underneath. Long silken sleeves nearly covered her hands, a sweep
of ivory brushed the floor in her wake. The tunic was hemmed with
wide border that fell just below Aurelia’s knees, its fullness
pulled in by a glossy golden cord hung with lavish tassels.

If nothing else, she was playing any eighth
century fantasy to the hilt. That confusing protective urge roared
to life once more and Baird promised himself that he would not only
solve the mystery of Hekod’s disappearance, but see Aurelia’s
confusion sorted out before he left Dunhelm.

It was the only decent thing to do.

Aurelia stepped forward, her azure gaze
locked challengingly with his own and Baird realized, to his
dismay, that her feet were bare.

His mouth went dry.

“
The bitch!” Marissa
hissed. She pushed past Baird so impatiently that she nearly sent
him sprawling. “She’s torn up one of my sheets!”

Baird looked again, recognized the print of
Aurelia’s tunic and realized simultaneously that her belt was a
curtain tie-back.

His lips quirked despite himself.

But Marissa was across the room like a shot,
her hand shaking as she scooped up a fistful of the sheet Aurelia
had fashioned into a dress.

“
My sheets!” she murmured,
turning the fabric over and over in her hands. “My precious sheets!
Two hundred and fifty count Egyptian cotton percale. Special
ordered, a design exclusive.”

She fired a lethal glance at Aurelia, who
stood as straight and impassive as a queen. Marissa’s fingers
clenched in the fabric and she gave it a savage shake. “How could
you destroy my bed linens?”

“
Bed linens?” Aurelia
blinked in obvious astonishment. “You mean only to sleep on such
fine fabrics?”

“
Of course!” Marissa raged.
She flung out her hands, but Aurelia did not even flinch. “Why else
would they have been on the bed? What kind of a backwoods
upbringing have you had, that you don’t even know a sheet when you
see it?”

Aurelia’s lips tightened and her blue gaze
turned glacial. “I have always slept in a fur-lined cloak, wrought
of samite carried by my sire from the markets of Micklegarth.” She
fixed a stern glance on Marissa. “Bed linens, as everyone knows,
when used over and over again, do nothing but promote fleas.”

Julian choked back his laughter.

“
Fleas? Ugh!” Marissa
grimaced, then she seemed to recall where she was. She flicked a
glance to Baird and summoned a falsely sweet smile. Her voice
dropped to a friendly tone that Baird knew was contrived and her
accent made a curtain call. “Wasn’t my favorite silk dress good
enough for you, darling?”

“
Such a fine chemise is a
wonder next to the skin, but hardly appropriate to wear alone to
the board.” Aurelia’s tone was cutting, and Baird marveled at the
intelligence shining in her eyes. This time he knew without a doubt
that she wasn’t as dumb as she would have him believe.

And that fired his blood even more than her
bare feet did.

“
Not appropriate?”
Marissa’s mouth worked silently for a moment. “Not appropriate?
I’ll have you know that that is a Donna Karan pure silk dress that
cost a fortune at Bloomingdales, darling! It has seen more fine
restaurants in style than the likes of you could even begin to
imagine!”

Baird decided it was time to intervene,
before Marissa said something they would all regret.

“
Well! Enough about
clothes.” His tone was deliberately cheerful. “How about
dinner?”

“
These pizzas aren’t going
to be any better cold,” Julian added. “Can’t you two have your
catfight later?”

“
Catfight?” Marissa rounded
on Julian with flashing eyes and must have caught a glimpse of
Baird stepping closer in the process.

Her mouth twisted for a moment, then she
turned back to Aurelia with a honeyed smile. “You were supposed to
wear the undies next to your skin, darling,” she said through
gritted teeth. “Poor Aurelia, all this proper dress must be so very
complicated to you after the simple rural life you’ve lived. Don’t
worry, darling, I’ll be perfectly happy to explain every little
detail to you.”

“
Undies?” Aurelia sniffed
with disdain. “What kind of a woman wears such little bits of
nothing as that?”

Baird looked to Aurelia in amazement. Could
it be that more than her feet were bare? It was too easy to
remember the lean perfection of Aurelia’s legs, legs that might
right now be brushing against the creamy silk of Marissa’s dress
without interference.

“
Could we just eat
already?” Julian demanded in exasperation.

“
Marissa, leave it be,”
Baird interjected firmly, putting his own tempting thoughts aside
with an effort. “We have plenty of sheets and tomorrow, I’ll take
Aurelia to get more clothes. You’ll have your favorite dress
back.”

“
I’m not even sure that I’d
want it back from someone who knows so much about
fleas!”

“
I’ll have it cleaned.”
Baird looked sternly at each woman in turn. “And now, let’s
eat.”

“
Hey, Mort, I need an
expert opinion. Do you think this is a red pepper?” Julian’s
attempt to redirect the conversation wasn’t subtle but it
worked.

Marissa took a deep breath and crossed the
floor, her lips still tight. “No. Maybe the pimento out of an
olive, darling. Surely there’s no hope for decent antipasto
here.”

Julian winced. “From a jar!” He shuddered
dramatically. “I knew a fresh bell pepper was too much to hope
for.”

Baird glanced to Aurelia when she didn’t
move. “Do you want some pizza? It’s getting cold.”

Aurelia looked him up and down. “I know
nothing of this pizza you offer.”

“
Well, don’t judge all
pizza by this particular example.” She looked puzzled, but Baird
shrugged. “The real chef is coming in a couple of weeks. Until
then, we take what we can get.”

Aurelia still didn’t move, and Baird again
felt that urge to make her smile.

Well, she thought she was a princess and
seemed determined to play the role. It was harmless enough. Why not
play along?

Baird bowed slightly. “My lady?” He offered
Aurelia his hand in a gallant gesture that seemed to suit her
manner. “May I escort you to dinner?”

Aurelia stared at his outstretched hand for
a long moment, then carefully - as though she didn’t trust him not
to bite - laid her delicate fingers across his own.

And Baird felt a disconcerting sense of
recognition again. Aurelia’s gaze flicked to his, and an answering
heat burned into his own. Aurelia certainly had a strong effect on
him - was it just the puzzle of trying to remember that was
responsible for his powerful attraction?

Right now, Baird didn’t care.

On impulse, he leaned over her hand and
brushed his lips across its back. Aurelia shivered and her lips
parted as she stared at him.

But she didn’t pull away.

Baird couldn’t think of anything other than
the sweet press of those lips beneath his own. Everything else
faded before his need to taste her again. He had to know whether it
had just been surprise or something deeper that fired between them
today.

Baird stepped closer and Aurelia didn’t step
away or protest. Slowly, he lifted her small hand towards his
chest, watched her sapphire gaze dance over his face…

“
Come on, already!” Julian
complained. “Don’t make me eat this travesty of a pizza cold,
too!”

Aurelia’s head turned with a snap and she
hauled her fingers out of Baird’s grip. She scooped up her skirts
and joined the others so hastily that she seemed to be taking
refuge in their midst.

The tantalizing moment was gone.

And, against all reason, Baird found himself
hoping it would return soon.

*

Aurelia’s very flesh seemed heated after
Bard’s touch and she had a hard time thinking with any kind of
sense.

He was bending his charm upon her without
delay - and she was falling prey to his seduction so readily!
Aurelia could not seem to help her instinctive response to his
touch - though now, she hated the fact that she had wanted him to
kiss her again.

Bard was following his plan to the letter
and Aurelia, even though she had guessed his intent, was powerless
to stop her traitorous body from responding.

What had happened to her resolve?

But even as she wondered, Aurelia was
reliving the fan of Bard’s breath against her lips, the resolute
grip of his hand upon her own, the heat of desire that glowed in
his eyes.

The way he held her hand was so gallant, so
different from the course behavior she expected of him, that
Aurelia did not know what to think. She swallowed her unwelcome
response with difficulty and focused on the oddly small board.

To her astonishment, there was no mead.

“
Will you have some
Chianti?” Bard asked.

Aurelia was so shocked that he intended to
pour the beverage himself that she did not immediately comprehend
his question. Were there no servants for the king himself? He truly
did have a barbaric court!

“
Aurelia?” he prompted.
“Chianti? There’s water, if you prefer.”

What kind of fool drank water? Especially
after a battle had been waged? Who knew what foulness had trickled
into the well?

Aurelia examined the red liquid in the glass
flagon. “I do not know this Chianti,” she said carefully.

“
It’s cheap,” Julian
confided, his tone making his opinion more than clear. “I never
drink the damn stuff - much prefer a good Chateauneuf de Pape,
myself - but there isn’t a lot of choice around here.”

“
Sebastien will take care
of all of that, darling.” Marissa seemed to have recovered, both
her accent and manner securely back in place now that she was
beside the king once more.

“
You know he’s coming?”
Julian looked surprised, whoever this Sebastien might
be.

Marissa chortled. “Oh, of course, darling! I
helped to convince him!” Her expression hinted at powers of
persuasion that Aurelia didn’t even want to imagine.

Whores and their tricks were of no interest
to a well-bred woman.

Julian grimaced. “I should have figured you
would have had something to do with stealing him away from New
York.”

“
Aurelia, would you like
some wine, cheap as it is?” Bard’s voice was tinged with impatience
and Aurelia could not blame him. His minions were far from
respectful of his position.

Unfortunately, there was no one else to ask
what was probably a silly question except Bard, for the other pair
had begun to bicker about this Sebastien.