Another Dawn (49 page)

      
Sofie'd been right. This was heaven. Comparatively speaking. They had a decent amount of food, shelter, heat...

      
And each other. It was time to set the course for the rest of his life.

Chapter 19

      
The vertigo Sofie'd suffered before slammed into her again with a vengeance. Her stomach heaved, and if there'd been anything in it, she knew it wouldn't have stayed down long.

      
Images spun through her head, sharper and clearer than ever before. A different flash of memory flooded her brain with pictures–a man in a hospital bed. In her heart, she knew the young man was someone she loved and cared about, but her vision wouldn't let her see his face clearly.
 

      
Tears stung her closed eyes, but the dizziness subsided, leaving her spent and shaken. She heard the door open and a blast of cold air swirled through the cabin.
Luke.

      
"Sofie, what's wrong?" Luke gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up."

      
Furious with her inability to remember, she lurched from beneath the quilts and lashed out at her only friend. Luke was keeping secrets. He knew things that could help her end this madness. She struck blindly with her fist until he grabbed and held her wrists.

      
Tears streamed down her face and her body convulsed. "Tell me, damn you," she said. "Tell me."

      
The expression of helplessness in his eyes was too much. Sofie sagged against him, letting him support her weight. Sobs tore from her heart, from her soul, from her shattered memories. "Please, t-tell me."

      
His arms went around her and she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her. Her sobs ceased and her tears subsided as his warmth penetrated her bones and offered comfort. The rough wool of his coat teased her chilled flesh.

      
Her naked flesh.

      
Of course, he'd obviously undressed her himself, so she had nothing left to hide.

      
Nothing except her heart.

      
"What is it you want me to tell you, Sofie?" he asked, his voice gentle and seductive. "You know I'd never hurt you. Don't you?"

      
Sofie nodded against his shoulder, the rough fabric abrading her cheek. "I...I want to know everything you know about me."
 
She lifted her face and looked up at him. "You must know something. Otherwise, why were we together that morning? Please, please don't lie to me."

      
"Sofie..."
 
Luke sighed, bringing his hand up to stroke her hair. "I have so much to tell you."

      
The fire's heat and his embrace chased away the chill. "I'm listening."
 

      
"All right."

      
She rested her head against his shoulder again, slipping her arms around his waist. Desire made her feel warm and languid. She wanted him now more than ever, but she needed to concentrate on getting answers to her questions.

      
He cleared his throat and stroked her hair, now completely free of its tight braid. "Aren't you cold?" His voice sounded strained.

      
"My clothes are wet. Remember?" Reluctantly, she slid from the protective circle of his embrace and pulled a quilt from the bed. She should be ashamed, parading around nude in front of a priest, but a wicked part of her loved the way his gray eyes smoldered as he watched her wrap the quilt around her body. "There, is that better?"

      
Clearing his throat again, he removed his coat, hat and boots, then carried the wet items over and spread them out before the fire with hers. Sofie loved watching him. His movements were spare and precise, and well-toned muscles rippled enticingly beneath his shirt. For a priest, he was one fine hunk of man.

      
Focus on the questions, Sofie
. Trying to ignore the coil of longing that settled low in her belly, she drew a deep breath. Luke was ready to provide answers, but she had to put her questions into words. Intelligible words. She could do this.

      
Preparing for the inquisition, she climbed onto the bunk and folded her legs, covering herself completely with the warm quilt. He returned and sat on the edge of the bed, his smile warm and his eyes stormy. Yes, he definitely knew something.

      
"I put some snow in a kettle over the fire to heat."
 
He sighed, appearing resigned. "All right, ask your questions, then I'm going to fix us something to eat. I'm starved."

      
She kept the quilt tucked around her while she turned to face him. She wanted to watch his eyes. His beautiful eyes...

      
"What happened? Who am I?" There, that was pretty specific. "And why do I remember things that don't exist here? I can tell you understand some of those things, too. Please, Luke?"

      
"I..."
 
He rubbed his eyes, then looked up to meet her gaze again. A muscle twitched in his jaw. "Well, I don't think plan A is going to work after all."
 
He gave a cynical laugh.

      
"Plan A?" Sofie's heart thudded against her ribs. She knew something important was about to happen. "What?"

      
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

      
She nodded, praying she wouldn't regret it later. "Go ahead."

      
"Something crazy happened that morning."
 
He shook his head. "I...I don't know exactly how this happened, but somehow those explosions..."

      
"Somehow those explosions
what
?"
 

      
His expression grew somber as he met and held her gaze. "Sofie, those explosions threw us back in time over a hundred years."

      
She laughed. It was a crazy kind of laugh, sort of like
The Bride of Frankenstein
. After a moment, her laughter died. As crazy as it sounded, wasn't this the only explanation? Wasn't that why Redemption had seemed trapped in the past?

      
Because
they
were trapped in the past?

      
"I...I don't understand," she said, her voice sounding much calmer than she'd expected. "You're saying we're both from the future?"

      
"Yes."
 
Luke sighed. "Instead of dying in that explosion, we were thrown back in time."

      
"Together."
 
Sofie's throat clogged with unshed tears as the enormity of their situation struck her full force. "We should have died, but we were spared for some reason."

      
"Some would say divine intervention."
 
He reached out to stroke her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Sofie, you're so beautiful."

      
She swallowed hard, knowing there was more he hadn't said. "You really don't know my name?"

      
"No, but I wish I did."
 
He tugged at his collar and rubbed the back of his neck. "Someone told me you were a doctor, but we weren't formally introduced."

      
"I see."
 
She tilted her head to one side. "Where were we? What was happening there?"

      
"A, uh, an electrical experiment. Government stuff."
 
He gave a nervous chuckle. Too nervous.

      
"A medical procedure?" She watched his changing expression, knowing he still hadn't told her everything. "Luke, I remember seeing you in a hospital gown. Tell me."

      
His face paled and he dropped his hand to his side. "Just an experiment. I really don't know much more than that."

      
Tears stung her eyes and she shook her head. "You're still keeping something from me, Luke."
 
Her voice cracked and she wondered why and how she'd fallen in love with this man. How could she, when he continued to withhold critical information? "Tell me."

      
His face reddened beneath a few days' growth of beard, and the expression in his eyes was haunted. "Sofie..."

      
She rose onto her knees and faced him, gritting her teeth as anger warred with the love she still felt for this beautiful, lying man. "Tell me."

      
"I'm not a priest, Sofie. Never was."

      
Her blood roared through her veins and pounded in her head. "You're..."

      
"Not a priest."

      
Shock spiraled through her. "Not a priest?"

      
"Never was," he repeated.

      
She stared at him, watching the expression in his eyes carefully. He was telling the truth. "I don't understand."

      
He sighed and shook his head slowly. "How could you?"

      
"Why, Luke?" Dumbfounded, she watched a light flare in his eyes as his gaze drifted down the front of her, as if he could see right through the patchwork quilt. Her confusion made way for the hunger she'd struggled to keep buried all these weeks. The full meaning of his confession, and all its implications, hit her suddenly and without mercy.

      
The man she'd been lusting after and fallen madly in love with wasn't a priest? They were two
consenting
adults thrown back in time together, with no sacred vows standing between them.... "Really not a priest?" Her mouth went dry and the flush of desire swept through her.

      
"Really not."
 
He gave her a boyish grin, then reached out to cup her cheek again.
 

      
Her other questions could wait. After weeks of self-denial, her physical needs were cutting in line. No more waiting. She knew what she wanted, what he wanted, and now there was no reason not to....

      
With trembling hands, she opened the front edges of the quilt covering her aching breasts, enjoying how his smoky eyes darken from gray to obsidian. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she let the quilt fall from her shoulders.

      
She loved the way his gaze caressed her bare flesh. Her nipples hardened beneath his scrutiny, aching for his touch. And his mouth. Oh, she definitely remembered his mouth. Her breathing quickened and the emptiness within her became unbearable.

      
"Well, then..."
 
She bit her lower lip, then ran her tongue over it slowly. Sensuously.

      
His soft intake of breath assured her he understood her unspoken invitation. How could he not? Like a bow drawn too tight, her body quivered in anticipation.

      
Slowly, he trailed his fingers from her cheek, down the column of her throat to the curve of her shoulder. He rose onto his knees to face her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Sofie, do you understand what you're doing to me?"