He kissed her again, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth, and his hand moving downward, ever closer to where she needed his touch the most. He traced a finger along her slick cleft to her clitoris and applied soft pressure. She came up off the bed, trying to push closer. Moving her pelvis against his touch.
“I want to look at you,” he rasped, raising himself to his knees, and sitting back on his heels.
Heat rushed through her as he spread her thighs, and a vibrating hum escaped his lips. The expression on his face grew intense, possessive, and his breathing went shallow.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
All she could manage was a nod.
“I want your taste on my tongue. I want to be marked by your scent.”
She gasped, and her eyes widened. “I’ve never—”
“Nor have I.” He seemed to be asking for her permission, his expression almost desperate.
She nodded again, and the next instant he was between her thighs, his hands stroking her belly, her waist and hips. He flicked the tip of tongue over her clit, and she was lost, carried away on a wave of sensation. He nuzzled and kissed her inner thighs, and did that rumbling humming thing again. Instinctively, she tilted her hips upward, encouraging, seeking more. Daniel obliged. Oh, how he obliged. Just as he had with her breasts, he teased and nibbled, licked and nuzzled until the coil tightening deep within her exploded, and she shuddered in wave after wave of intense pleasure.
He crawled up to cover her with his body and rocked his sex over and over against her belly. His breath grew erratic as he came closer to his climax. Meredith stroked his back, his buttocks, and kissed along his jawline and down his neck. He cried out, and shuddered as he came.
Daniel collapsed beside her and drew her close. “Meredith … I …”
“I know, Daniel.” She snuggled against him, blinking furiously against the sting coming to her eyes. “Me too,” she whispered.
They stayed like that for a few moments, quietly caressing each other, sharing tender kisses. “Well,” she said. “I suppose we should—”
“Start supper?” he quipped, raising himself up to sitting.
“Yes. Start supper.” She laughed.
“Is there water in the ewer, love?”
“There is.” Reluctantly, she rose from the bed and joined him to wash away the evidence of their lovemaking. The scent lingered. “Maybe open the window for a while,” she said, eyeing the one window in the loft. He pushed it up a few inches, and propped it open with a small block of wood.
Washed and decently dressed once again, they ventured downstairs. Daniel grabbed two folded dish towels and took the pot of navy beans that had soaked overnight out of the oven. He set the pot on the counter. “I’ll stoke the firebox if you’ll gather onions, bacon, and molasses.” Daniel said has he leaned over to gather the wood used for cooking.
“Sure.” She went to the now stocked shelves and found the basket of onions, and the Mason jar of molasses.” She set those on the counter. “Where do you keep the bacon?”
“I’ll get it.”
Soon the delicious smell of the baked beans cooking filled the cabin, and all they had to do was give it a stir now and then. The activity felt so … domestic, and she basked in the afterglow of the newly born intimacy growing between them. His words echoed through her mind. I won’t lose you. One way or another, she didn’t intend to lose him either.
14
Meredith decided to wear her Edwardian walking suit for their dinner in town. Dressed and ready to go, she retrieved one of the gold coins she’d hidden and slid it into her pocket. The weight of the gold settled beside the small pouch holding the remaining diamond. As she made her way down the narrow steps, she pressed her fingers against the leather pouch. The hardness of the gem within offered reassurance, a talisman against the possibility of disaster.
She found Oliver waiting downstairs. “I have something for you,” she said.
“Hmm?” His brow rose.
“I know you’ll want a few souvenirs from the past to take home with you.” She fished out the gold piece and held it out for him to see. “Here.”
“Really?” he asked, his tone excited.
“Really.” She placed the coin in his outstretched palm. “I also have a favor to ask.”
“Cool.” Oliver turned the gold piece over and over in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Take a few pictures of me and Daniel together and a few of me, Daniel, and Charles.”
“Sure, sure. Thanks.” He slid the gold piece into his pocket. “You have your phone on you?”
“I do. I plan to take a picture of Garretsville as it is today. John and Judy will get a kick out of that. I might try to sneak a few pictures of her ancestors while we’re at the diner.”
She lifted her drawstring bag with her phone inside. “I figured I could let Daniel and Charles scroll through pictures on the way to town. I’ve turned off the wi-fi and cellular, so it won’t take a lot of battery life.”
Oliver’s cast her speculative look. “I see the way you and Daniel look at each other, and I know what went on here between the two of you when Charles and I left you alone yesterday.”
Mortification burned through her. “Oliver, that’s not—”
“You’re in love with Daniel,” he said, cutting her a pointed look. “Aren’t you?”
“You definitely lack boundaries.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that.” He shrugged. “Your feelings for each other are obvious.” He continued to study her, his gaze assessing. “What are you going to do?”
“You mean after the thieves are caught? I honestly don’t know.” She headed for the front door. “I have a life and a family in the twenty-first century. Daniel has a life and a family in the nineteenth century.”
“But … you do love him, right?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“You do.” Oliver nodded to himself as if
