This is insane. I’m insane.

Rebecca tried not to look at the man who sat in the passenger seat of her small Volvo. He was naked as the day he was born, except for her spare coat, which she’d had him wrap around his waist before they’d gotten to the car. He seemed unashamed of his nudity, and every time he caught her looking, he just laughed.

And it was such a nice laugh too. Rich, dark, full of erotic promises. The men she’d dated didn’t laugh like that, like they were thinking about how you would taste and then chuckling when you squirmed as they licked you until you screamed their name. Those were just the men in her fantasies. And yet he acted as if he was going to…

She needed to distract herself fast.

“What’s your name?”

“Apologies. My unusual situation is no excuse for poor manners. I am Devon Blake, at your service. And you are?” His rich accent was music to her ears. Of course he had a name like Devon Blake. A sexy, elegant, masculine name.

She focused on the road as she drove them to her small house, which was only a few blocks from the museum. “I’m Rebecca Clark.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Clark.”

“Please, call me Rebecca.” Her response made him smile wide and wickedly. Her heart fluttered. She shouldn’t be reacting to a stranger like this. He could be crazy, likely was crazy. He might even be a serial killer—a very hot one with a killer smile.

Focus!

“So you won’t tell me how you really ended up naked in a gallery or where the marble statue went. Fine. Is there someone I should call to come and get you and take you…home?” She’d have to figure out what happened to the statue soon, otherwise her boss would fire her in an instant, but she had to figure out what to do with Devon first.

“Call?” he asked, his dark brows rising. “How do you mean?”

“On the phone. You have to know what that is, right?” She reached a stoplight and took a second to pull her cell phone out of her purse. He took it from her, staring at the black screen.

“Is this another one of your tricks, like this carriage that needs no horses?”

She almost laughed. He’d been startled when she’d led him to the Volvo a short time ago, and she’d had to coax him inside. She’d had to lock the doors after she’d started the engine; otherwise, he would have leapt out of the moving vehicle. It was like he’d never seen a car before.

“Curious piece of rock, like polished obsidian.”

“Just press the home button.” She gestured to the small indent of a button.

His elegant fingers touched upon the home screen button, and he pursed his lips, then pressed it. The screen lit up, showing a picture of her male Wheaten Terrier, Evan.

Devon dropped the phone to the floor and recoiled as though it were poisonous. “God’s blood! What the bloody hell is that?”

“Calm down!” Rebecca shouted, smacking his arm as he tried to make the sign of the cross. “It’s just a phone.”

Devon crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the phone sourly. “Damned infernal device, that’s what it is.”

“Oh boy,” Rebecca muttered. It was obvious Devon needed serious help. He was completely out of touch with reality.

By the time she reached her neighborhood, he was staring at the houses along the street with awe.

“So much has changed,” he whispered to himself. His voice was colored with a grief and longing she didn’t understand.

“Um, right. We’re at my house now, so why don’t you come with me, okay? And keep the coat wrapped around your…just keep it wrapped. In case my neighbors see you.” It was dark and close to one in the morning, but still, Mrs. Lesley next door was a prying old woman who loved to stick her long nose between the blinds and peer at Rebecca’s house. If she saw a naked man wandering the streets, it might give the woman a heart attack.

Rebecca rushed to her front door and opened it, then gestured for Devon to hurry inside. He gripped her black coat around his waist, but it couldn’t totally cover his ass. His very fine, tight-as-hell ass…

“This is a lovely home,” Devon announced. He stood in the entryway and took in the butter-yellow walls of the vestibule covered in old photographs and the half-paneled walnut wood walls of the living room beyond.

“Thanks.” Rebecca sighed as she leaned back against the closed door. Without warning, Evan came bounding down the stairs, streaking straight toward Devon. He barked furiously for all of two seconds before he stood up on his hind legs, placed his front paws on Devon’s bare stomach, and stretched, eagerly expecting a pat on the head.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. So much for being a guard dog.

Devon stroked his free hand through Evan’s pale-cream fur and smiled. “I do enjoy the company of dogs. Good creatures to have about to chase rats. Sometimes better than cats.”

She didn’t rise to the bait and tell him that they were no longer in a century that required animals to keep houses rat free. He was just looking for an excuse to act all anachronistic on her.

“Evan, come here, you crazy dog,” she cooed and knelt down to greet the only male she really trusted with her heart. He pounced on her, licking her face wildly, his soft cream-colored fur feeling like fleece beneath her hands. Yeah…Evan was the only male she’d ever really trust to love. She gazed into his bright brown eyes and tried not to laugh when his tongue lolled out of one side of his mouth. She’d spent many nights with her face buried in his fur coat, crying over her latest disappointing date. Evan was her furry soulmate. When she stopped petting him, he made a soft whining noise and pawed at her knee, reminding her she was forgetting to stroke him.

“You’re spoiled, you know that? Spoiled.” Rebecca laughed and then suddenly remembered Devon was standing behind her. When she straightened, and looked his way, she saw the soft way his eyes were watching her and the dog.

“You care about him,” Devon said quietly.

“Yeah, he’s been with me for a long time. Seven years. He’s gotten me through a lot of breakups.”

“Breakups?” Devon’s brows rose.

“Breakups, you know, when you and the guy you’re dating stop, well, dating.” Geez, this guy could really play this delusional game well.

“Ahh, in my century we call that crying off. Men who do that are cowards.”

“Huh, couldn’t agree more on that.” She muttered. “Anyway, why don’t you come inside. The couch is this way.” She pointed to her cozy little living room that had a soft brown leather couch and a flat-screen TV. “I’ll fetch you some clothes to wear, some blankets, and a pillow.”

She left Devon standing in her living room with Evan bounding around him like a puppy with a new toy. She raced upstairs and dug through her linen closet, relieved to find some old clothes from her last boyfriend stuffed in a bag she’d forgotten to take the Salvation Army. There were boxers, some shirts, and even a pair of jeans inside. It would have to do for tonight.

Devon was staring at her TV when she returned, a frown curving his sensual lips.

“Another infernal device?” he asked her, nodding at the TV. “Like your phone?”

Rebecca laughed. “You’re probably the only man in the world who’d say that about a TV.” She then held out the pair of boxers she’d found. “Here. You can wear these tonight.”

He took the boxers and let her coat drop to the floor. She immediately looked away, trying not to stare at how huge it was.

“Nightclothes?” he scoffed. “I don’t require them. I prefer to sleep naked.” His gaze swept her from head to toe. “Feeling the sheets slide upon my skin. It is quite…liberating.”

For a second Rebecca was fixated on the idea of a naked Devon in bed, luxuriating in the sensation of sleeping completely nude. She shook herself out of it. That was a dangerous train of thought she couldn’t entertain. Men were trouble, and she did not need to fall for a guy like Devon who clearly had issues.

“You’ll wear these because it’s my couch, and I’m not having you sleep naked on it.” She bent to retrieve her coat from the floor and left to throw it in the laundry room. It gave her a second to fan her face without being seen.

“You’ve stepped in it now, Rebecca,” she muttered. “Missing statue, crazy naked hot guy in your living room…”

Maybe this was a dream, some wild manifestation of her inner desires. Maybe if she went to bed in her dream and then woke up, she’d wake up for real. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Put the naked, sexy, gorgeous crazy man to bed and then go to bed yourself…with sexy naked man beside you…

She shook that tempting thought out of her head. He was clearly disturbed, and she had to get him some help first thing tomorrow morning. She could take him down to the police station and see what they thought of Mr. Man from the Past. She’d also have to report the missing statue and face the wrath of her boss.

She prayed Devon wouldn’t run off in the middle of the night. He was her only chance at figuring out what had happened to the missing marble piece. If she couldn’t find it, she’d end up fired—or worse, investigated as an accomplice. Her whole life would be turned upside down when the police figured out she was somehow involved in its disappearance. The thought made her stomach churn.

When she returned to the living room, Devon had donned the boxers but not the T-shirt. He was seated on the couch, running a hand along Evan’s head and back in long, smooth strokes. The dog gazed at him with unrelenting hero worship.

Traitor.

“I hate to trouble you,” Devon began, his voice soft and alluring, “but might I have some water? I’m afraid my throat is…” He rubbed at it. “Parched.”

Rebecca rushed into the kitchen, slightly embarrassed. Ordinarily, offering a guest a drink or something to eat would have been the first thing she would have done. But then, this wasn’t exactly an ordinary social situation. She peeped around the kitchen wall back into the living room. “Are you hungry?”

“I could certainly eat if you are preparing something,” he said, but she could tell by the way he put a hand to his stomach that he wanted food.

“He’ll have to make do with PB&J,” she muttered as she whipped him up a sandwich and got him a glass of water. She didn’t cook that often. There was something really depressing about cooking for one, and she didn’t like keeping a ton of leftovers in the fridge.

When she placed them on the coffee table in front of him, he glanced around.

“No servants to attend you? What about your parents? Surely you don’t live here alone? That’s far too dangerous for a woman.” He gulped down the entire glass of water and released a grateful sigh.

He was back to his time travel game again, but she decided to play along. “My parents live fifty miles away. Women in this century live on their own. We don’t need to be watched over like children. And servants? I definitely don’t have any. Only really, really rich people have those.”

Devon chuckled as he took a bite of his sandwich. “It seems not everything has changed then. But you shouldn’t live alone. I still believe it’s dangerous.” He took another bite and smiled. “This is quite wonderful. What is it?”

“Peanut butter and jelly.” Rebecca sat down in one of her armchairs by the couch, watching him as he ate the simple sandwich as though it were a rare delicacy.

“This is good fare,” he said and took another bite. “Sweet, yet nutty with just enough salt to complement it.” When he was done, he set the plate on the table. He looked at the plate, and then, without a word, he stood and returned to the kitchen with it.

“What are you doing?”

“If you have no servants to attend to your needs, then I shall clean this myself, but I…” He trailed off, looking strangely bashful. Rebecca had to acknowledge that a half-naked man in her kitchen wanting to do his own dishes was…so fucking hot.

She got up and held out her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just—”

He held the plate away from her. “No, just show me what needs to be done.” It was clear, however, that he was in awe, if not overwhelmed by the kitchen with its humming fridge and the sleek countertops and microwave.

“Just pull this handle and open the dishwasher.” She showed him how to open the washer and put the dish into the rack. “I’ll turn on the washer in a few minutes.”

Devon stared at the washer. “It washes the dishes for you? Such magic in this century—it astounds me. He smiled a little.

Rebecca nodded. “Yeah, you’d really love the washing machine for clothes then.” He didn’t seem to hear her sarcasm.

“No wonder you need no servants. How extraordinary!” He was really deep into his role as a man lost in time. She had to admit it was very convincing. Which only made the matter more disconcerting.

Devon looked down at his body which was still caked with a faint layer of dust, not too much but enough that it seemed to bother him.

“Would it be too much trouble to prevail upon you for a bathing tub?” he asked.

“A bathing tub? Oh! Right,” she laughed nervously. “How about a shower.”

He looked toward the windows, frowning. “You bathe in the rain? But…well, I suppose if it’s what people of the future do, then I will give it a go.”

“No,” she laughed a little, feeling definitely crazy that she was going to have to show him a shower and explain it.

“Come with me.” She lead him upstairs to her bathroom and fetched a couple of towels, setting them on the counter. She also grabbed a spare toothbrush and put it on the counter next to a tube of toothpaste.

“Okay, so this is the shower.” She pulled back the shower curtain and pointed to the tub and the nozzle. “You stand beneath the shower head and you turn on the water. The letter H will give you hotter water and C will give you colder water. And be sure to pull up the lever here on bath spout or it won’t work. Got it?”

He wrinkled his nose, still frowning. “I can manage,” he finally said.

“Good. I’ll be outside, just holler if you need me.”

“Thank you.” He closed the door and she listened to the sound of him undressing through the thin door. She’d seen him naked, but the thought of him standing beneath the shower, water spraying down his body made her flush with heat. The man was built like a god and it was a little hard not to fantasize about him.

The sound of the water coming out was followed by a sudden bellowing shout.

“Devon!” She opened the door and burst inside the bathroom. Devon was crouched against the back wall of the shower, sputtering as his face was being blasted by the shower head.

“Bloody cold as ice!” he gasped, shivering.

“Shit!” Rebecca hastily adjusted the temperature and reached up, angling the shower head down so it hit his chest and feet.

“You alright?” she asked, doing her best not to look down at his naked body.

He was still shivering and rubbing at his arms but he nodded. “Thank you, I was taken unawares by the temperature. It’s colder that even I am used to.”

“Colder?” she asked.

“Yes,” he chuckled, meeting her gaze, unashamed of his nakedness. “We used to have footmen heat up buckets of water and fill copper tubs. It took ages and by the time the tub was full the water was somewhat tepid, but never frigid like this.” He then scowled at the shower head.

“Well you can adjust it if you need to. Make it a little hotter or colder. I’ll leave you some clothes in the hall and you can come down when you’re done.”

Devon nodded and she reached out, pulling the curtain closed on him and the view of his gorgeous body.

She waited a moment longer outside the bathroom, and when she was certain he was alright, she fetched a new set of boxers for him to sleep in. Then she went back downstairs and tried to watch some TV while she waited for him. Fifteen minutes later, he came back down the stairs, his wet hair and skin damp but clean. He looked better, far better than he had all night.

“Thank you Rebecca, I very much needed that.” He held out the wet towels and she ran them over the washing machine and came back to the living room. He was staring at the TV, arms crossed over his bare chest as he watched a re-run a procedural Navy drama called NCIS.

“The wonders of the age…” he murmured to himself and then turned to her.

Rebecca couldn’t resist smiling. That was much more of a natural male reaction to a TV.

“Right… So, why don’t you try and get some sleep on the couch, and I’ll wake you in the morning, okay?”

She had no intention of telling him that she was going to take him to a doctor first thing tomorrow. That would send him running off into the night half-naked. He might get hurt. As much as she didn’t need this new complication in her life right now, she hated the thought of him running away even more.

It was going to be a long night.