Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (168 page)

Lilith framed Mitch’s face in her hands and
felt his conviction waver ever so slightly. He caught his breath as
she moved closer. The velvet of the night seemed to slip through
the windows of the unlit kitchen and press in on them from all
sides. Lilith only knew she had to persuade him of this one simple
truth.

“
Do you feel that tingle?”
Lilith whispered and when Mitch looked into her eyes, she knew he
had. There was a fire in his gaze fueled by the very magick they
made between them.

Lilith lifted Mitch’s fingertips to the
flutter of her pulse at her throat. “What about that?” She brushed
her own fingertips across Mitch’s chest and pressed her fingers
against the thump of his own increased heartbeat.

“
That’s not chemistry,” she
insisted softly, “it’s magick.
Our
magick. It’s recognition
- despite an incredible difference of time and place, despite the
odds, despite even the difference of the skin you’re in. How can
you imagine that it’s anything else?”

Mitch stared down at Lilith as though he
couldn’t look away. She smiled up at him and eased to her toes,
liking how his eyes flashed and his arms slid around her.

He whispered her name, then bent and kissed
her with an ardor that made Lilith’s heart sing. He might not be
persuaded completely, but she was definitely making progress.

*

When Mitch lifted his head tantalizingly
long moments later, his pulse was thundering in his ears. Lilith
caught her breath and smiled just for him. “Magick,” she whispered
with delight, then ran a fingertip across his lips.

Her sure touch made him shiver, but Mitch
stubbornly attributed that to simple physiology. All the same, it
was clear he wasn’t going to make much headway against Lilith’s
convictions, at least not tonight.

Maybe this was just another step in working
towards an acceptance of what had really happened to her in the
past. Mitch took a deep breath, looked into Lilith’s glowing eyes,
and decided it was worth letting the lady chart her own course. He
supposed that someone who made a business of telling fortunes would
need to have at least a cursory faith in magic.

Mitch conceded that he had finally met
someone who not only refused to follow his rules, but did so
enchantingly that he was more than happy to let her do so.

That made Mitch smile.

In fact, predictability was starting to lose
its allure in this woman’s presence. It was time to go with the
flow a bit. Mitch took a deep breath and deliberately changed the
subject.

“
So, what have you been up
to this week?” he asked mildly. He caught Lilith’s hand in his and
led her to sit on the top step of the porch. Her shoulder bumped
against his in a way that made him think of that kiss they had just
shared and consider the merits of sharing another. “Make any more
lovematches?”

Lilith shrugged and looked across the yard.
“Oh, nothing particularly worthy of note,” she said, but there was
an undercurrent to her tone.

Mitch really liked that Lilith was as lousy
of a liar as he was.

“
Doesn’t sound like it,” he
suggested.

Lilith smiled and shook her head. “It’s not
important.”

But Mitch knew it was. He reached out and
touched her chin, turning her to face him. In the light falling
from the kitchen, he saw the shadow that had set up camp in
Lilith’s eyes.

Something
was
bothering her. Mitch
had a sudden fear that his earlier comments hadn’t been so readily
absorbed as he had hoped. Dread rose in his chest and threatened to
choke him. Had he pushed Lilith too far, too fast?

His voice sharpened. “What’s wrong?”

Lilith started to shrug, but Mitch wanted to
know the worst of whatever he had done.

“
Tell me.” He smiled
encouragement and winked for her. “You can trust me, can’t
you?”

To Mitch’s relief, Lilith smiled in turn.
She even leaned her head against his shoulder. Mitch slipped his
arm around her waist, liking the warm press of her curves against
his side.

“
A young man came to see me
on Monday,” Lilith admitted quietly. “He was
Rom
.”

Mitch glanced down at her. “Gypsy?”

Lilith nodded but didn’t continue. Mitch’s
imagination conjured up all sorts of possibilities as to why this
would trouble Lilith, very few of which he liked.

“
Did he bother
you?”

She half-laughed. “Yes, but not in the way
you mean.” Lilith straightened and tossed back her hair, flicking a
hesitant glance upward to Mitch. “He wanted me to visit his
grandmother.”

Mitch didn’t understand the connection.
“Why?”

“
She won’t speak English
any more. She’s in the hospital.” Lilith frowned and Mitch knew she
hadn’t been unaffected by the young man’s visit. “I think she’s
dying,” she added quietly.

“
What did he expect you to
do?” Mitch wondered whether the visitor had expected some kind of
mumbo jumbo healing ceremony with Lilith at the center of it
all.

And Lilith taking the blame when magic
didn’t deliver the cure.

Well, Mitch wasn’t going to let
that
happen. His protectiveness was just gearing up when Lilith’s next
words killed the engine.

“
He wanted me to talk to
her,” she admitted softly. “In
Rom
. Translate, I
guess.”

That sounded pretty harmless. In fact, Mitch
couldn’t immediately discern what the trouble was. “What did you
say?”

“
I said no.”

“
You didn’t want to get
involved?”

“
No.” Lilith’s lips set. “I
am not
Rom
anymore.” Her fingers were tightly knotted
together, a sure sign that this wasn’t an easy choice for her to
make.

Mitch sensed that there was something
important behind this assertion. Could Lilith be discarding select
parts of her “cover story”? He reached out and ran one fingertip
over her knuckles, wanting to help but not push. “Do you speak
Rom
?”

Lilith’s answer didn’t come immediately.

Mitch simply waited.

“
I used to,” she finally
said.

“
Then, what’s the harm in
talking to her?”

Lilith’s gaze swiveled and locked with his.
“I am still
mahrime
. She won’t talk to me.”

Mitch had forgotten that part of the story.
“Did you tell him that?”

“
No. He wouldn’t have
understood.”

Mitch studied Lilith’s profile silently for
a long moment. He knew the sound of fear when he heard it - and he
also recognized something that might help Lilith deal with her past
all by herself. It was so tantalizingly close - she could reach for
this solution and Mitch would be right behind her.

“
I have to admit,” he said
quietly, “that doesn’t sound like you.”

That got Lilith’s attention. “What do you
mean?”

“
Do whatsoever you will but
harm none,” Mitch quoted quietly. “Don’t you think your denial is
hurting this woman? And what about her grandson?”

Lilith’s eyes filled with sudden tears, but
she didn’t speak.

“
I’ve never seen you turn
away from anyone or anything, Lilith,” Mitch added softly.
“Although we haven’t known each other long, I can see that you
always give. Why not this time?”

But if Mitch was expecting his question to
make a crack in the veneer of her elaborate story, he was destined
to be disappointed.

Lilith’s hands unclenched, she reached and
caught at Mitch’s hand. “I’m afraid she’ll reject me.” Lilith took
a shaking breath, surprising Mitch with this display of
vulnerability. His protectiveness roared. “The way they did before.
It was awful to see their eyes…”

Mitch squeezed her fingertips and halted
that painful story before she could get too far into it. “But what
if she doesn’t?” he dared to suggest. “What if she needs you just
as much as you need her?”

Lilith turned and stared into Mitch’s eyes.
He didn’t break her regard, and he didn’t know what she saw, but
after a few moments, she bowed her head.

She sighed. “I just don’t know what to
do.”

But Mitch had a very distinct sense that
this was important, that this was something Lilith needed to do.
“Do you want me to go with you?”

That offer made her smile, her hand rise to
Mitch’s cheek. Lilith’s thumb slid over his lip, her eyes shone
slightly. “You’d do it, wouldn’t you?” There was a thread of wonder
in her voice that reminded Mitch of how self-reliant she’d had to
become.

He smiled for her. “You bet.”

That made Lilith ease closer. She brushed
her lips across Mitch’s so slowly that he felt a thrill run all the
way down to his toes. “I think you know what it means to be a
giving person,” she murmured, her gaze roving over his features,
“because you’re a very giving man yourself.”

Before Mitch could answer that, Lilith
framed his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. He caught her
against him, savoring the sweetness of her kiss, the delicacy of
her waist beneath his hand.

Finally, Lilith pulled away, depositing a
feather light kiss on each corner of his mouth as though she
couldn’t resist him. “I’ll think about it.”

Admiration flooded through Mitch that Lilith
was working so steadily toward unraveling her past by herself. He
was fiercely glad that he had been able to help her, even in such a
small way.

“
You look exhausted,” she
said softly, and Mitch had to nod concession.

“
Two all-nighters have a
way of getting to you.” He yawned, then looked into her eyes. “You
all right?”

“
Fine.” Lilith rose and
strolled to the gate, waving her fingertips at him from her porch.
“I think I could get used to having a champion around,” she mused,
then smiled.

Mitch smiled. “There’s no rest for the
wicked,” he complained amiably. “See you tomorrow night?”

Much to Mitch’s disappointment, Lilith shook
her head. “I have readings booked every evening, but surely we’ll
see each other on the weekend.”

“
Kurt and I will probably
end up waking you up.”

“
But the fence is
done.”

“
This weekend, we’re going
to patch the roof.”

“
Is Andrea going to watch
the children?”

Mitch grimaced. “I haven’t asked her yet.
After calling her at the last minute this week, I thought I’d give
it a few days.”

Lilith folded her arms across her chest, her
gaze intent. “Let me watch them Saturday, Mitch. Andrea will be
getting ready for her trip and we can have a little trial run while
you’re still around.”

“
That’s a great idea,
although I’m sure Andrea will turn up at some point. Don’t let us
wake you up too early.”

Lilith smiled, then tilted her head
abruptly, as though she was listening to something. Mitch listened,
but couldn’t hear anything at all. “I’ll be up early on Saturday,”
she declared softly, her certainty catching Mitch’s attention.

“
You sound pretty sure of
that.” Mitch leaned against the pillar on his porch. Lilith’s last
luscious kiss was going to keep him from sleeping anytime soon, he
knew that.

“
There’s something in the
wind,” she whispered mysteriously. “Something almost as special as
finding you again.”

Before Mitch could ask, Lilith kissed her
fingertips, then disappeared into her house.

He supposed he’d have to wait to find out
what she meant.

He wasn’t surprised that that didn’t trouble
him at all.

In fact, Mitch was grinning as he headed
into the house, did his final check, and climbed the stairs to bed.
Anticipation wasn’t a bad thing.

Not at all.

*

It was very early on Saturday morning when
Mitch thought he heard Jen stir. He rolled out of bed and crept
into her room in the darkness, only to find her grimacing in her
sleep. He knelt down beside her and tucked Bun safely back into the
bed.

Mitch wondered what she was fretting about
in her dreams. Jen frowned as though the weight of the world was on
her tiny shoulders, fidgeted and gripped Bun’s well-worn ear
tightly.

He hoped his unsettled week hadn’t unsettled
his daughter. Mitch knew well enough that kids had radar for these
kinds of things and Jen was even more sensitive than most.

He brushed those blond curls back from her
forehead, and murmured soothing nonsense to her. Slowly the rhythm
of his touch seemed to ease Jen’s anxiety. Her frown faded, her
breathing deepened, and Bun’s ear got a break.

Mitch squatted there and watched her sleep,
his mind full of memories. He could still see the hospital waiting
room where Janice had insisted he remain during the delivery. He
could still see the cheerful smile of the nurse who had opened the
door when he’d thought he couldn’t stand waiting any longer and
beckoned to him.

And he could still see Jen’s tiny red face
as the nurse passed his child into his arms for the first time.
Jen’s eyes had been squeezed tightly shut, baby hair dark and damp
against her brow. Her tiny hands had been clenched into fists and
she had looked even more like a little old man than Jason had.

She had been so small, so light, so
precious. The nurse had taken him to Janice’s room and left him
there, marveling at the bundle of flannelette, while Janice slept.
Mitch had sat there all night, transfixed by the way his daughter
slept, amazed that she even existed.

Holding his second newly arrived child had
been no less of a marvel for Mitch.