Isabella’s Airman (9 page)

“Bella!” Her voice was shocked; her eyes raked my appearance. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

There would be time later for my story. “I’m fine, thanks to Davy.” I moved back into the circle of his arms, reluctant to leave him for even a moment.

“We just arrived back.” Juliet’s eyes flicked to Davy, back to me. In answer, Teddy lifted her face with a single finger under her chin and pressed his mouth to hers.

Davy’s lips drifted across my own. “I’ll come and find you tomorrow. Go and get some sleep.” It would have to be enough.

I managed to wash my face and hair, rinse my filthy clothes, and get into my pajamas before Juliet burst into our shared room. The horrors of the night were too awful to share right now. I played it down for her, unable to think about it, still too fresh in my memory. I feared that as soon as I closed my eyes, I’d wake to find myself back in that pit. Swallowing, I forced a smile and urged Juliet to tell me of her evening.

I lurked in the kitchen while I waited for Davy. I wiped my sweaty hands on my apron for the fourth or fifth time, and then fiddled with my hair again. Where was he? He’d disappeared after breakfast, after confirming there were no ops tonight and reminding me of our date this afternoon.

“Here, let me help.” Juliet found me staring into the cloakroom mirror, trying my hair this way and that. No matter what I did, it fell forward with a mind of its own. Laughing, she shoved a handful of little bent clips into it and bullied the unruly locks into submission, my yellow ribbon incapable of holding it back on its own. She smiled at my reflection. “Gorgeous. He won’t know what’s hit him.”

My familiar golden-brown eyes stared back at me, framed by ginger eyebrows and lashes a lighter shade of my coppery curls. I looked different, and not just because of the way I’d done my hair. Excitement coursed through me, painting spots of color in my cheeks and lending a brightness to my eyes.

Juliet hugged me. “Teddy’s here, I have to go.”

I watched as they roared off together on his motorbike, her skirt hitched high around her thighs as she cuddled against his back. Minutes later, Davy arrived.

With a huge grin on his face, he swept off his cap and bowed low with a flourish before holding out his hand to me. “My lady, Isabella. Your carriage awaits.” I stepped out into the bright sunlight.

He’d done exactly as promised and procured a horse and cart for our afternoon’s excursion. The wooden bench seat had been made more comfortable with a blanket and two pillows. A small wicker basket nestled beneath the overhang. It was perfect.

Clip clopping along the country lanes, my mind skirted back over the horrors of the night before. I hadn’t slept well. I was scared of closing my eyes and finding myself back there. In the darkness.

I mentally shook myself. Today was too nice to spoil fretting over something I couldn’t change. It had happened. It was over. I peeked at Davy while pretending to refasten my hair back.

Even though he’d been bright and funny when he collected me, something was wrong with him too. His jaw looked tight, and his shoulders hunched. He gripped the reins fiercely, yet the horse seemed placid enough. If I were Juliet, I’d engage him in brilliant, witty conversation. Where should I begin?

I glanced up, startled, when the cart stopped. Davy turned to me, swiveling on the bench seat and offering me a smile. “I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit preoccupied, and I’ve been neglecting you.” Holding his arms out to me, I couldn’t resist. I snuggled into his embrace, and a sigh escaped from him.

I took a deep breath and summoned all my courage. “Davy, is something wrong?”

“Our wireless operator, Jock, is unwell. Suspected appendicitis. So if we have ops tomorrow, he won’t be able to fly.”

Surely that was good news. “Does that mean you’ll be grounded?”

“God, no.” He nuzzled against my ear. “It means we fly with a substitute. And I hate doing that.” He eased back to look me in the face. I took the opportunity to caress his cheek, loving the way he pushed back into my hand, cat-like. “We spend months getting to know each other, working as a single unit. If one of us is missing, it’s like, well, wearing someone else’s shoes. It just doesn’t feel comfortable. It’s worse for Teddy. He’s the backup wireless op, and the new guy will be his responsibility.”

He brushed a gentle kiss across my lips, pulling away far too soon. “Let me tether Rosie, and we’ll go and have our picnic. We’ve only got a few hours, and I don’t want to waste a minute of it.”

An hour later, we lay sprawled across the blanket, the pillows by our side, Davy’s uniform jacket abandoned, and his shirtsleeves rolled up. True to his plans, we’d picked the bright pink cherry blossoms, and he’d showed me how to make a daisy chain for Rosie’s harness. The stream had been bitterly cold when we trailed our feet in the running water, but we’d seen the kingfisher—a vibrant flash of electric blue as it dived for a tiny fish. We’d feasted on freshly baked bread, strong cheese, and crisp sweet apples. There was more beer too, kept cool by immersing the bottles in the stream. Sensory overload again.

Davy leaned over me, propped on one elbow, his dark eyes twinkling. There was a flash of dimples when he smiled. He held a yellow flower—a buttercup—beneath my chin, and it tickled. I giggled and tried to take it, but he kept whisking it out of reach.

There was so much I needed to tell him. So much I wanted to know.
Would you believe me if I told you where I’m from?

“Is this like your home, Davy?”

The buttercup brushed my chin again. “Naw, Wales has mountains. This landscape is too flat for my liking. I’m used to mountains and lakes and snow in winter. Whereas here? You can look for miles in any direction without even seeing a hill.” Inching closer, he stretched one finger to trace the edge of my jawline.

Are you in love with me?
“I was so frightened last night. You saved my life.”

Dark eyes regarded me. The finger stilled on my chin. “Seeing you trapped in the shelter? God. I aged ten years last night.” We stared at each other. I saw love and trust in his eyes. And longing.

“I’d rather not think about it.” I managed a smile and forced myself to push the bad memories to the back of my mind. They’d surface again later, but I refused to let them spoil our afternoon. I looked down at my cherry blossom garland and fingered the velvety pink petals. Such a brilliant color, they looked as though they been dipped in blood, the edges lined in a dark scarlet color.

Juliet said sex with Teddy had made her bleed.

I shivered, and Davy frowned. “You have to let it go,
cariad
.” He thought I was still fretting about the air raid. “When you’re afraid of something, if you let it, the fear will eat you up. You have to move past it. Focus on what you
can
do.”

I can have sex with Davy.

Did I want to?
Yes
.

Was it wise?
Probably not.

Did I care?

I stretched up and claimed his lips, and he responded. Soft and gentle turned hot in an instant, and I had my answer.

There was just over a week left before I had to return to my own time. I didn’t want to waste a minute of it.

Today,
this afternoon
, was for me. For us. To hell with the consequences.

We lay tangled together on the blanket, kissing until I had to stop for breath. I had to speak now, before I lost my nerve. “When we saw Juliet with Teddy in the barn, you said you wanted that. With me.”

His eyes widened, and he pulled back a fraction. I still lay wrapped in his arms, one of his hands tracing a lazy circle on my spine. Every touch made me want him more.

“Aye,” he said eventually. “I do. But I’m happy to wait. You mean more to me, Belle, than a quick tumble.”

“Juliet said it was painful. I’ve never done this before.”
I don’t want to disappoint you.
I blurted it out, wishing immediately I could scoop the words back and lock them away. Davy’s hand closed over mine, warm and gentle.

“You don’t have to be nervous, Belle. It’d be amazing if we made love, but we don’t have to.” Made love? “I don’t have any expectations from you this afternoon.” His fingers squeezed and released. I looked up to see his gorgeous smile. “Simply spending a few hours with you, away from the aerodrome. It’s all I want.”

He hesitated, glancing up at the sky for a moment. “I want to tell you something. I feel like a fish out of water here. Not just with it being so flat while I’m used to mountains, more that I feel like I don’t belong, like I’m an outsider. And I sense that you feel like that too.” He shrugged and then dropped back on the grass, one arm across his eyes. The silence grew and stretched between us while I marveled at his words, completely unsure what I could say. Yes, I don’t fit in because I’ve travelled back in time? Maybe not.

“Ignore me,” he muttered. “I’m just tired.”

He was tired because he’d spent a large part of the night looking after me during the air raid. Digging me out of the collapsed shelter. And he’d be flying again soon, fighting for our country, seeking out enemy aircraft that wanted to shoot down his plane. He was only twenty years old. It seemed an unfair weight of responsibility for one so young. In contrast, the most important thing I had to do was to submit my assignments on time.

I sat up and bent over Davy, tickling his chin with the rapidly wilting buttercup. Leaning down, I brushed my lips over his. His arm shifted, and his gray eyes stared up at me, hope blossoming.

“I want you to make love to me, Davy. I don’t want to wait.”

With one finger, I sketched lazy circles on his forearm, running through the short dark hairs down to his wrist. His smile grew, his free hand cupping around the back of my head, tugging me toward him. Rugged and strong, he was almost a different species to the men in my own time.

There it was, that instant connection as soon as our lips made contact. Closing my eyes, I opened my mouth to him and felt his eager tongue flicking against my lips as he pressed tiny kisses against my mouth from one corner to the other. He seemed content to just kiss me, one hand tangled with mine, the other caressing the back of my head. He tasted of apples, and I knew that every time I ate one again, I’d remember this day.

I gave myself completely to the experience, storing up the details to remember later. The heat of the sun warming my back, the buzzing of a nearby bee, the scent of the bluebells, a chirping from the birds overhead, and the softness of the crumpled grass beneath our blanket. Davy’s fingers meshed with mine, his hand stroking my hair, the sound of his heart beating. Rosie whickered nearby, her harness jingling.

I would never have this again. It wasn’t nearly enough.

He moved our linked hands to press against my breast. A soft groan escaped from him, the back of his hand smoothing along the curve and sweeping down again. I opened my eyes and locked my gaze with his to read his expression. Heat. Longing. Need. Those sharp cheekbones, the proud, strong chin. The little dimples that flashed when he smiled.

Davy closed his palm over my breast, and my entire body jerked, electricity flooding through me, sparking every neuron in my brain. God. I stared down and saw my nipple standing proud through my thin dress, tingling and screaming for attention. He gave a wicked smile and extended one finger to circle around the little bud. It was slow, unbearably slow. I burned for him to touch me again, to touch me
there
again.

Davy exhaled against my skin and moved up to steal another kiss, pressing deeper, his tongue seeking entrance. He tormented me. One hand against my breast, the thumb brushing past my nipple, then down again. I didn’t think. I just reacted. Grabbing his teasing hand, I closed it around my aching breast, securing it in place, enjoying the throaty rumble as he laughed against my skin.

His mouth dropped to my collarbone, and he nudged the dress to one side. Eager to feel more, I fumbled with my buttons. “Let me,” he breathed. He moved slowly. Each button took him an age. Each new inch of skin received a kiss.

Impatient to feel him against my flesh, I tried to help, but he refused to allow me. “Mine,” he whispered.

His hand stroked around my breast, raising the nipple for his kiss, his hot mouth setting fire to my skin. I bucked beneath him, feeling every nerve exploding, a surge of energy running in all directions. God, Christ, and all the saints. When his tongue laid claim, I shuddered, trembling and twitching and unable to control my body. A shock wave flashed outward, shot up to my brain, and another flash to my core, suddenly aching and heavy. Davy’s hand crept stealthily up the outside of my leg to pause at the knee, his fingers flirting higher. His mouth lifted, and I whimpered, only to feel him blow a soft breath across my burning flesh. I twisted, feeling as though I were on fire, a roaring, dense heat between my legs. It was a strange feeling of pressure, a pulling, tugging sensation I’d never known before. My lungs accelerated, and my heart raced.

Something tightened in the depths of my stomach, a coil winding in a spiral, with shivers running up and down my body. Restless, I moved my legs, shifted my arms, Davy’s mouth feverish against my breasts. It almost hurt, the pleasure so exquisite, I felt as if I were on a knife edge.

My eyes locked with Davy’s. I needed something, was desperate for it, if I only knew what. His hand moved higher, his fingers tiptoeing across my panties. Shocked, I drew a rapid breath. The heel of his hand rubbed and circled hard against my core. I writhed against him and felt a rush of unexpected moisture between my legs. I didn’t care about anything except the feel of his hand. A new pressure built inside me; I teetered as though on a precipice.

Davy’s hand was defining new boundaries, a new me, changing how I would view everything from this point on.

His clever fingers arrowed onto a single point where rational thought ceased to exist. I didn’t know—didn’t understand—what he touched, but I erupted. A thousand fireworks exploded in my brain, and my body jerked.