Another Dawn (51 page)

      
She wanted to touch him...taste him. Fair was fair, after all. Very gently but firmly, she pressed his shoulder. Releasing her, he gave her a questioning glance.

      
"My turn," she whispered.

      
Her wicked smile should have warned Luke he was about to face his Waterloo. She nudged until he was flat on his back, then she slithered over him.

      
Life could be worse.
 

      
He wanted and needed her more than anything or anyone he'd known in any century. Nothing could be better than being stranded in a blizzard with Sofie. Nothing.

      
She kissed and nibbled his lower lip, then moved lower to linger over his chest and nipples. He hadn't realized his nipples could be so sensitive as she nipped and licked until he groaned in full surrender. She maneuvered her legs between his as the tips of her breasts tantalized the skin of his abdomen.
 

      
He reached for her, wanting to bring her back to his mouth, where he could kiss and be kissed, taste and be tasted. Eluding him, she kissed his thighs and the base of his engorged sex. Scattering punishing kisses where he'd never expected to be kissed, she paused just when he thought he couldn't take anymore. "Sofie..."

      
He wove his fingers through her hair and didn't breathe. He didn't dare. His inexperience was showing, and right now he didn't want to lose control. Wincing when he knew he couldn't take another moment of her delicious torture, he shifted away. "No...more."

      
Though he desperately wanted to experience what she'd been about to deliver, the time wasn't right. This was all too new and explosive for him. Later...

      
He grabbed her hips and maneuvered her astride him. She hesitated, and the anticipation almost killed him. This was something he'd only read about in magazines and had believed he wouldn't live to experience firsthand.

      
"Don't torture me, baby."

      
She lowered herself onto him. "So...big."
 

      
"Mmm."
 
He cradled her hips and buried himself, watching her shocked expression. "So tight."

      
She moved against him, her eyes glittering with wicked promise. "So right," she whispered.

      
Yes, right. Only a miracle had brought them to this. No doubt remained in his mind that he and Sofie were meant to be. This was bigger than both of them.

      
She fastened herself around him, clutched him deep inside, and angled her hips just right. Wanting to watch her, Luke kept his gaze on her face.

      
She moved against him and he drove upward to meet her. Her hair fell in loose, sexy curls. And her breasts... He reached up to fill his hands with them, encouraged by her astonished gasp and sudden contraction.

      
"Mmm."
 
He urged her forward, then tasted her tawny nipples. Sweet. So sweet... She throbbed around him and he nearly exploded then and there.

      
But he wouldn't go alone. Rolling her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, he watched her as she propelled her pelvis against him. The veins in her neck became distended and her head lolled backward. The sight and feel of her riding him, her beautiful breasts filling his hands, her head thrown back in ecstasy...

      
They came together. Straining and groaning, sharing and pulsing, she slumped against him, delivering delicate kisses along the side of his neck. Luke stroked her back, holding her to him in awe.

      
She was his. Nothing stood between them except his conscience and the truth.
Damn the truth
. Instead of telling her he was leaving the priesthood, he'd told her he'd never been a priest. More true than the latter, but still a lie of omission. She still didn't know who he really was.

      
Or why he'd been masquerading as a priest.

      
But when he'd returned to the cabin and found her so upset... Plus, in all honesty, he realized that knowing they were fellow time-travelers created an invisible bond between them. And Luke wanted–needed–to bind her to him in every conceivable way.

      
Before she learned the whole truth.

      
Guilt, as potent and toxic as the day he'd learned of Grandpa's death, threatened to pollute something pure and beautiful. His gut knotted and burned. Lying to the woman he loved was lower than low.

      
She was obviously regaining bits and pieces of her memory. He couldn't bear to see her look at him as a murderer. Though he knew he was innocent, she wouldn't.

      
Unless, maybe, he told her first. Somehow, some way, he had to eventually tell Sofie the truth. Soon.

      
All of it.

Chapter 20

      
Sunlight glaring off snow without the protection of sunglasses was not fun. Sofie pulled her hat lower over her eyes as she followed Luke down the pass. The snow was melting faster than it had fallen, exposing patches of bare ground.

      
Every time she thought about the fact that she and Luke were from another century, she shook her head. Maybe, if she ever remembered her family name, she could find her ancestors. But what would she tell them? To say their situation was bizarre would be an incredible understatement.
      

      
Just ahead, the earth seemed to vanish, but after all the miles they'd traveled, Sofie knew it meant another downward slope. She hoped this one didn't have as many switchbacks as the last.

      
Luke brought Rosie to a halt and glanced back over his shoulder with a wide grin. "Look," he said.

      
Sofie edged her horse close his and gazed down at the vast plain before them. Far in the distance, she saw a city. "Denver?"

      
Luke nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, in our time, this will be called Lookout Mountain. Maybe it already is."

      
"Gee, wonder why."
 
She answered Luke's grin with one of her own. "How long will it take us to get down there?"

      
He shrugged. "I've given up judging distances via horseback, but I hope within a day."

      
A barrage of emotions bombarded Sofie. Looking down on the city of Denver triggered no memories for her, though she felt certain she'd been there many times. "Was Denver your home, Luke?" She really knew little about this man she loved.

      
He tensed and cleared his throat. "Yes, it's home."
 
Gazing down the pass at the massive plain, he sighed. "At least, it was."

      
Sofie reached for his hand, and he brought hers to his lips, kissing it fiercely. After a moment, he lowered it, but kept it in his grip.
 

      
"I have something to tell you," he said quietly, then turned to face her with a haunted expression. "I...I was convicted of a crime I didn't commit, Sofie."

      
She sensed he needed to tell her about this, though she knew in her heart it wouldn't–couldn't–change her feelings for him. "I'm listening."

      
"I went to prison for eleven years."
 
He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "But I want you to know I was really innocent. Do you believe me?"

      
Sofie squeezed his hand. "Yes, I do."
 
She smiled up at him. "I love you, Luke Sa–"

      
"Not Salazar."
 
He shrugged, but the haunted expression remained. "Nolan. My last name is Nolan."

      
Something else occurred to her and she studied his eyes. "You haven't told me why you were pretending to be a priest, Luke."
 
She rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "I can't imagine why anyone would."

      
"I'm getting to that."
 
He patted Rosie's neck absently. "I guess you could say I ran a little farther than I'd planned."

      
Realization slammed into Sofie. "Whoa, are you saying you were still in prison when–"

      
"Yes."
 
He met her gaze, his eyes glittering with anger and something more. Fear? "After those explosions, I realized–thought–everybody else was dead. Father Salazar was and I needed clothes, so..."

      
"I see."
 
Sofie swallowed the lump in her throat. She'd been more than ready to accept that Luke had a criminal record, and that he'd been wrongfully convicted. But he was also an escaped convict.

      
"Sofie, if you'd been in prison for eleven years for a crime you didn't commit," he said carefully, "and you found yourself in a position to just walk away..."

      
"Yeah, I see your point."
 
She leaned over and kissed him. As she straightened, she caressed his cheek with her gloved hand. "I love you, Luke, and you're safe here. What's past–or future–can't hurt you anymore."

      
"I sure hope you're right."
 
He sighed again, then seemed to gain control of his emotions. As he flashed her a grin, he appeared years younger. "Thank you for loving me, and for believing me."

      
"My pleasure."
 
And it was. She looked toward Denver again. "Guess we'd better get moving."

      
"One more thing."
 
He took her hand again and gazed intently into her eyes. "Sofie, I couldn't ask you this before telling you who I am, but now..."

      
Her heart did a somersault. "I'm listening."

      
"Will you marry me when we get to Denver?"

      
Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Yes," she whispered. "I'll marry you."
 

      
They kissed again, and Sofie wished they could spread a blanket out on a dry patch of ground to seal their engagement. Making love with Luke Sa–Nolan every day of her life would be heaven. No doubt about it.