Unbreakable Bonds (4 page)

“You’ll be fine. Trust me.” She buckled her belt and talked him through doing the same thing then she got them on the way to her house.

His already ghostly-pale face lost even more color as they got on the interstate. Cars coming at them, whizzing around them—she knew it must be hard for him to remain quiet. Soon they were on her street and the only one out on the road.

Pulling up the short, lined drive, Ta-Mara smiled. She loved her house. It was her dream home. Plantation style, two level and over four thousand square feet. Four bedrooms, three and a half bath. She parked beneath the
porte-cochère
and climbed out. Levi joined her near the hood.

Her breath caught as the outside lights shone on her guest. He truly was magnificent.

“This is your home?”

“Yes. Come on in. I suspect you’d like a shower and some dry clothing. I don’t have that much which will fit you, but I should have something my brother wore last time he was here. I think you will be okay with those.”

She led the way up the steps into the house, past her office where she paused for a moment. Mud and water covered nearly every inch of her guest, so she led him to the laundry room, which doubled as her mudroom. Thankfully, she had a pile of clean towels stacked on the dryer.

“Take off your clothes and wrap up in a towel. Then I’ll take you up to your room so you can get cleaned up.”

He didn’t even blink, just dropped his cloak and went to work on tugging the shirt from the waist of his pants. She gulped and stepped back before ducking into the kitchen.

“Yell when you’re done,” she called over her shoulder.

Leaning against one of the counters, she waved a hand in front of her heated face, fanning herself. He had no shame and had begun stripping right in front of her. Turning to her left, she reached for a glass then went to the fridge to get some iced water. She’d just finished the drink when she got the feeling she was no longer alone.

She thought she’d be ready to see him again. She wasn’t. He stood there wearing nothing but one of her towels tied around his lean hips.
Good Lord
. It was like staring at a romance book hero—all cuts and definitions, not an ounce of fat, and light smattering of hair that drew her gaze to where it disappeared below the towel.

Yep, she wanted to trace it with her fingers and see exactly where it would take her. Although she knew precisely where it would go. His eyes weren’t on her at the moment. He was gazing about her kitchen, wonderment and suspicion on his face.

“I’ll take you to your room.”

Those amazing blue eyes found her and she gulped again. He looked hesitant, so she shoved her own lust for him to the side before approaching.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, placing a hand on his arm.

“Will you be in trouble helping me?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. “Again, with that? I’m a grown woman and no one tells me what I can or cannot do. Come on.”

Without another word, she left the kitchen, leading him through the living room, hall, foyer then up the stairs. At the top she veered to the left and led him to a bedroom. Opening the door, she stepped in then watched him enter.

Despite wearing nothing but a towel, he moved with fluid grace that made her want to take more than one look.

“The bathroom is over there, make yourself at home. I’ll be back in a few minutes with some other clothing for you.”

He nodded and she slipped out. She went to the room her brother used when he visited and dug through the closet. Her sibling wasn’t as broad-shouldered as the man in her house but he tended to wear his clothes bigger. New stuff in hand, she made her way back to the room Levi occupied.

She knocked on the doorframe before entering. “Levi? I brought you some clothes.”

A muttered shout filled the air. She dropped the clothes and bolted to the bathroom, fearful he’d fallen because of his head injury.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, Ta-Mara. Shoulda insisted he go to the hospital.

She skidded to a stop in the doorway and stared at his reflection. There was only one word she could think of for his expression—overwhelmed.

The towel he wore had loosened and dipped, allowing her to see a bit of his ass cheek. She cleared her throat and he spun toward her, gripping the sliding towel. Dampening her lips, she sighed. There were two ways to handle what she’d just realized. One would be to panic and call the cops to get this time traveler out of her house. Two, accept it and help him, as she’d planned on doing anyway.

For that reason, she didn’t address the confusion on his face, just walked deeper into the bathroom and opened the glass shower door. Once the water was on, she looked over her shoulder. “I don’t have it all that hot but you just adjust this to change the temperature.”

He walked closer and leaned against her as he gazed past her. She stared at his tanned arm covered with a smattering of dark hair as he stretched it out into the streams of water.

“Is it okay?” she asked, trying to ignore how husky her voice sounded.

“I… Yes, fine.”

She showed him how to shut if off once he had finished, then put a dry towel on the door for him to use. After mentioning the clothing she’d placed in the bedroom, she left him with the heat lamp running, along with the fan, not to mention instruction on how the toilet worked.

Ta-Mara headed directly downstairs and to her room, where she sat on the padded bench at the foot of her bed. Only for a moment, however, before she shot back to her feet and changed out of her work clothing into something much more comfortable—and not white, which had really shown off more than she wished, courtesy of the rain.

Clad in black shorts and a deep rose tank top, she made her way down to the laundry room to look at his soaked clothing. She frowned as she lifted the heavy woolen pants. Setting up a drying rack, she hung everything over it to air dry. She could take them to a dry cleaner for him.

What was she thinking? He could do what he wished with his own clothing. Shaking her head in amusement, she went back to the kitchen to start dinner. She had two days off, which would give her a bit of time to think more on what she now knew to be true.

Her guest wasn’t an actor but an actual Confederate. How he got here, she had no clue but it didn’t take her much to go from the book she’d been reading to the man who currently showered in her house. Both were named Levi. Both were from the Deep South. Hell, according to the description in the book, they were damn near identical.

Okay, so there was still a chance this was a dream and she would wake up feeling extremely embarrassed. On the other hand, if this
was
a dream, what the hell was she doing down here instead of being up in the shower with that man?

“Hell, can’t even get some in a dream,” she muttered as she slid the dinner she’d prepared before work into the oven.

“Cannot get some what?”

She jumped, not having expected him to be there, much less to overhear what she’d been complaining about to herself.

“Nothing,” she said, rotating to face him.

It was a damn good thing she’d spoken before she got to see him completely or she wouldn’t have even managed to get that word out. And she’d thought he looked good in the wool. That had nothing on him in jeans and a tee. The dark denim molded to his thighs like a second skin. The shirt as well. The charcoal gray cotton had never looked so good on her brother.

Levi’s muscles rippled beneath the shirt. Her mouth went dry as she stared at him unabashedly. The ends of his hair were still wet and she swallowed hard as he walked toward her, those intense blue eyes focused on her.

“H…how are you feeling?”

Yes, inquire politely as if not thinking of ripping those clothes off him and impaling yourself on his cock, which is definitely large, given the bulge in the jeans.

“Much better, thank you.”

Okay, this could prove to be a problem. Even his lashes were sexy—thick, long and curly. The stubble on his face tempted her to touch. Oh, what would it feel like abrading her inner thighs? Heat flashed through her and her pussy clenched with greedy need.
Get a grip, Ta-Mara.
Funny how she’d been telling herself that since she’d run into him.

Pasting a smile on her face—one she hoped didn’t show how badly she was lusting after this virtual stranger—she nodded. “Good. Looks like your injury hasn’t begun bleeding again. I’ll have some supper ready in a bit. Feel free to look around.” She walked to the fridge. “Or perhaps you would like something to drink. Tea? Beer? Coffee?”

No answer was forthcoming so she glanced over to see him investigating her Keurig coffeemaker and the carousel tree beside it, which was filled with different flavors of coffee and tea. Wiping her hand off on her shorts, she went to his side.

“It’s a coffeemaker.” She reached past him for a mug and placed it on the drip tray. With a light touch on his arm, she directed him to the tree of flavors. “I don’t see you as a tea man, but more of a medium roast kind of guy. Grab that one there.” She gestured.

He picked it up and turned it over in his hand, examining it with a cute furrow between his eyebrows. She directed him where to insert it, snapped the cover down and pointed at the button to push.

“This is making coffee?”

“Ready in about a minute,” she answered, walking to the fridge for cream. Uncertain which he would prefer, she grabbed the four different flavors she had. She placed them beside the machine that continued to hold his attention as it began filling the mug. “Not sure what you like.”

His eyes flashed up to hers and she felt it as if he’d touched her like he had in the store. Pressing her to the wall, sharing his heat with her.

She cleared her throat and tried to slow her breathing, which had suddenly kicked up. “Of cream. I have a few different ones you can choose from.”

Heat filled his eyes and more moisture pooled between her legs. It wouldn’t surprise her in the least if it ran down her inner thighs. The way he skimmed his gaze over her didn’t help her state in the least. Oh yeah, she’d be having some delicious dreams tonight.

Chapter Three

Levi had never seen things like this. Sure, it smelled like coffee but the entire process was new to him. Then there was how she managed the lights. And that thing she pulled cold stuff from. They’d had a larder, this…this was so much more. It looked like a refrigerator, only better than the ones he’d seen.

He kept his eyes on the machine before him, determined to ignore everything else until this thing had been figured out. The aroma was divine. When the liquid no longer streamed down, he grasped the handle and took it out. Placing the large clear mug on the counter, he reached for the containers she’d set down. He opened each and sniffed them. Opting for Irish cream, he added a generous dollop then stirred it in.

“The way you keep looking at the mocha one, I’m surprised you didn’t use it.”

He glanced at her when she spoke. His heart hammered all that much harder. She was so beautiful. She stood there barefoot in her kitchen with a sparkling pink shine on her nails, those long, lean legs that weren’t covered up but bare for all to see. Her upper body, amazing as it was, also didn’t have much in the way of covering.

Not that I mind.
And he didn’t. The difficulty came in trying not to stare at her. Full breasts, flat stomach, hips that were made for a man—him—to hold as he drove into her. His shaft thickened and he turned deliberately away from her.

This is no way for a gentleman to behave.
The question was, was he gentleman? He sure as hell wasn’t feeling much like one. Far from it. Something about this woman made him want to behave as he had in her shop, press her against the wall and…

He shook his head. This wasn’t the time for thoughts of such behavior.

“Are you hungry?”

He could do with some sustenance. “If it is not too much trouble.”

“Not at all. I’ve put it in the oven so it should be ready soon.” She rested her hip against the light brown countertop.

Her directness amused and pleased him. He didn’t have much to say about quiet, shy women. The ability to look him in the eye and occasionally challenge him was part of what had deeply attracted him to Calliope.

He tracked her as she moved toward him, her hips swaying gently with each step. Beauty in motion. Her full lips were a distraction and one he wanted to taste. Part of him was full of reprimand over the fact he hadn’t kissed her when the chance had been there.

“Excuse me,” she murmured as she stepped around him.

He watched her as she swiftly put down another mug and made more coffee. While she set the table, he made his way around the kitchen, opening things and trying to figure out exactly how they worked. This stuff was incredible.

Levi peeked his head into her pantry and couldn’t believe the amount of food in there. Did she live with others? Cook for others? Stepping back out, he spied a calendar on the wall. The date stopped him in his tracks.

“This…this date. Is it the truth?”

“Yes.” She appeared by his side. “What year did you leave from?”

Her voice wobbled a bit and it helped him knowing this seemed to be stressful for her as well.

“Eighteen-sixty.”

“Of course. Eighteen-sixty, why didn’t I think of that,” she muttered, heading back to the table and sitting down. She stood, went to get her drink then returned to the seat. “It makes perfect sense I find a man in my store who’s come more than a century and a half into the future.”

He moved to her side and sat in the chair next to her. Her face was stricken and he didn’t much care for that look on her.

“Are you okay?” he questioned.

“Me? Oh, I’m fine. How about you?”

“A bit disconcerted by what has just been revealed to me. But, better than you, I fear.”

She waved him off. “I’m good. I mean, it’s a common thing for me to bring home men who by all accounts shouldn’t even be alive in my time.”

He remained beside her, not talking because he didn’t believe she even addressed him. Levi had to dig his fingers into his palm to keep himself from reaching out to tuck her curls behind her ear. This close, she smelled divine. That same scent he’d gotten from her earlier surrounded him like ribbons and drew him closer.