CHAPTER FOURTEEN #4
Sam slid her hand down his arm to his hand and sank to the ground, which felt soft, maybe mossy, beneath her bottom and bare thighs.
She realized what she was doing, released him and threw back her head, breathing hard.
He sank down beside her. For a long time they just sat there in the near darkness, gulping air.
The birds started to sing from the treetops around them.
Sam leaned back against the trunk, and realized it was his shoulder. She hesitated.
The past few minutes were a crazy blur. But they’d done it. They’d outrun those monster knights. And his body felt awfully warm and strong, frankly male, behind her shoulder. His body felt good. “What a rush,” she finally said.
He made a sound, like laughter.
Sam now saw that the forest wasn’t pitch-black. It was dark with shadow, but she could make out every tree trunk and branch that was close by. She could even see the chipmunk that had paused at the base of a tree, not far from where they sat. It blinked its beady eyes at them.
She smiled and breathed.
Ian didn’t move away from her.
He’d leapt through time to find her.
Her heart seemed to quiver oddly at the notion. She was almost elated. She dared to look up at his handsome profile. He glanced down at her. His gaze remained serious and searching.
“I’m all right.”
“They didn’t hurt ye?”
“They planned to. But those locks slipped off and then Tabby threw a really good protection spell at me. I took off.” She sobered. “If Tabby hadn’t heard my cry for help, I’d be dead right now.”
He stared into the forest grimly.
She looked at him. She wanted to touch him, his cheek, his jaw, and the rest of his amazing, hard body. She wanted really good, really hot sex. No, she wanted really hot sex together with friendship and caring. She sort of liked Maclean.
And she wanted to thank him for his help.
But that was insane. She got down to business. “Where is the damned page, Ian?”
He looked at her. “Loch Awe.”
It only took her an instant. He’d never leap back in time to hide it, not if he didn’t have to. “How did you get it there?”
He shrugged. “A charter jet, a pilot, a messenger.”
There was one problem, Sam thought. She was in 1527. She needed to tell Nick, who was in 2009.
Ian looked at her.
“Reading my mind?”
“Ye know by now that I can’t read minds. Not often, anyway.” He was sharp.
Sam wondered if she was really going to double-cross him. How could she not? They’d gone through hell because he’d stolen the page and was refusing to hand it over. She’d almost lost her short hair to a knight wielding a spiked ball because he had the page! Enough was enough.
She knew what she had to do, but it didn’t sit well with her. She stared at the little chipmunk, which had been gathering up seeds, grim and thoughtful. She just didn’t have a helluva lot of choices now.
“So how are we getting back to 2009?” she asked. But damn it, she wasn’t really ready to leave. She wanted time with Brie and her sister.
“So ye can run to Nick an’ betray me?”
“Yeah, Ian. So I can run to Nick and betray you.” She stared at him intensely and his regard was as unwavering.
Then she reached up and cupped his cheek.
“I don’t want to argue or fight. I don’t want to be on warring sides.
I owe you. I want to say thanks. But it’s time to hand over the page before they do some terrible things to us.
Before they wind up with its power. This is the real deal, Ian.
We’re not fighting bit-part players here and you know it. ”
He pulled his face away. Sam thought he was angry, but then she realized he was sitting up, listening. Alarm kicked in as she strained to hear, as well. She realized that the birds had stopped singing. The forest was so silent that she could hear their breathing again. It was unnatural.
And then she thought she heard something moving in the black depths in front of them.
Maclean took her hand and they glided backward, deeper into the forest. Sam heard heavy breathing now. It wasn’t human. And that was when she felt the draft slither through the trees, brushing her bare arms, her bare legs.
Their gazes met. Then they turned as one and from behind a tree saw the shadows of man and beast.
The demon was hulking. So was its dog. The height of a Shetland pony, it had to be two hundred and fifty pounds. It was sniffing the ground, its gray coat glowing.
The nonhuman being had to be seven or eight feet tall. He stopped and looked right at them. When he smiled, his teeth flashed in the darkness.
Sam looked at Ian and jerked hard on his hand.
He threw his arms around her.
The demon dog howled and the nonhuman released it. As it charged, Sam said, “No more time, Maclean.”
It galloped madly at them, eyes blazing, ready to tear them from limb to limb.
Ian cursed.
Had he lost the power? “Maclean!” Sam shouted.
He grunted and pulled her more tightly into his embrace.
As the dog leapt at them, they spun wildly up through the trees, past thick branches and spikelike needles, the pines scratching and clawing their arms, their faces.
Then they were being hurled through the bright blue sky, into clouds, past the bright, glowing sun.