Chapter Nineteen
Torr woke at the sound of the scream. Jumping from the bed, he opened the bedroom door, and another rent the air. Within the second, he yanked open the door across the hall, ran into the room—and ducked.
Looking behind and above him, he could see faint moonlight shining on the blade of a dagger protruding from the doorframe. Whipping his gaze to the bed in the room, he found a familiar dark-haired woman holding another dagger.
“What the fuck? What are you doing in my bedroom?”
He rose slowly from his crouched position, instinct telling him to move carefully. “I heard ye scream. Are ye harmed?”
The woman stared at him. No, rather she examined him, slowly, analyzing. He could sense her rapid heartbeat, but it wasn’t due to his nakedness. She was afraid.
She finally met his gaze, her brow lowering. “I must have had another nightmare.” She looked past him through the door. “Is Diana back?”
He slowly shook his head. She still held the dagger with amazing balance. “Nay, she has not returned from New Scotland yet.”
The woman’s gaze snapped back to him, and she squinted. “‘New Scotland?’ ‘Nay?’ Shit, you’re Torr.”
“I am.”
“You’re not supposed to be here.” The hand with the dagger finally lowered to the bed, and she visibly relaxed. “Diana took you back.”
“I have returned.” The exotic beauty in the bed was obviously not hurt. Better than that, she was excellent with knives. If he hadn’t had the added speed he somehow gained after time traveling, he would be bleeding all over her room right now. The woman’s aim was deadly.
She finally lifted her gaze to his and gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.” She nodded toward the door. “I thought you were attacking me. Don’t know if you remember me. I’m Katz. I do have nightmares on occasion, so if you’re going to be sleeping across the hall, you may want to knock before you barge in to rescue me. You’re lucky I was half asleep when I threw that.”
He moved to the doorway. Pulling the dagger from the wood, he strode to her bedside and handed her the hilt. “I’m guessing if ye are that good with a knife, ye have had reason to be. I will keep what ye said in mind, but if I know a friend of Diana’s is in need of help, I will not hesitate.”
Katz nodded. “Understood.” She carefully took the knife from him and slipped it beneath her pillow. “Though you should know, I rarely need help.”
He grinned. “I’m beginning to understand that.”
“Huh?”
“I will return to my room now.” He nodded once. “I hope the rest of yer night is uneventful.”
“Yeah, me too.”
He calmly closed the door to Katz’s room and strode back into Diana’s, the smile on his face growing wider with each step. By all that was holy, he was going to like living here.
…
Diana waited while the blur cleared and she was in her room once again. It had taken longer to persuade Dan to leave Waterford than she’d expected. Whoever the Disruptor was had been very influential, but she’d finally taken drastic measures and shot a gun off near Dan’s house. That had convinced him. She hadn’t seen Douglas, so he was probably in another time period disrupting history there.
Now all she wanted to do was download her observations with Arthur and take a well-deserved vacation. She didn’t care what Jules thought about that. If she didn’t get away, she’d be worthless to everyone. She had nothing left to give.
Dropping the small suitcase on the floor, she threw the ugly wool suit in a heap and pulled on her white terry cloth robe. She’d stop in the kitchen to grab a cup of tea and then go see Arthur. She glanced at the clock. It was early afternoon, so plenty of time to take care of any necessary issues then she was off to the Philippines. A nice tiki hut over the water with no internet or electricity sounded good, and hopefully no Jules. She needed a break…from life. Or rather from her life.
Passing through the high-ceilinged central entrance of the house toward the north wing, her thoughts were on Earl Grey tea, but when an arm wrapped about her waist from behind, she didn’t hesitate. Javier, of course. Always testing her, but she wasn’t in the mood. She threw her head back against her assailant, feeling a certain amount of triumph over the grunted response. Even better, his arms loosened, allowing her to step away and turn with a kick to his chin, except she never made contact.
As she faced her opponent, foot high in the air, her lungs contracted. Torr!
He grasped her foot and sent her flying through the air. Confusion, happiness, anger, and fear all collided within her heart as she braced herself for a hard landing on the tile floor.
But impossibly, he was there once again, and swooped her into his arms a good foot before impact. She grabbed onto him as he settled her to her feet again.
She stared, her mind still trying to grasp his presence in her home. “What are you doing here?” Her words came out in a whisper.
He grinned. “I’m living here.”
Living here? She cleared her throat, shock having closed it. “But I thought you wanted to stay in Scotland and watch over your family.”
He took a step closer. “I will always love my clan, my brothers, even Gealach. I could have stayed and watched over them, helped them unawares, but I made Go-Lucky bring me to you. You own my heart, lass. Without you, I am truly dead.”
She couldn’t fight the tears any longer and let them fall. Her heart had seized at his first words and now she started to live again, truly live. Her happiness bloomed from the center of her chest and flowed over her in warm waves, causing tears of joy.
He stepped forward and with his large, calloused finger, gently wiped the wetness from her cheek. “Do ye not want me?” The fear was clear in his gaze.
It was too much. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to meet hers.
He grasped her to him and kissed her deeply, lovingly. Joy filled her soul as she held onto him.
When he broke the kiss, he smiled at her and brushed back the stray hair that wouldn’t stay in her bun. His bright blue eyes twinkled as he gazed at her with such passionate love that her heart threatened to burst.
“Marry me.”
She smiled back through her tears and laid her hand upon his rugged chin. “Aye. I will.”
Torr picked her up and spun her around so fast she thought she was time travelling, but she couldn’t stop laughing. Her happiness exploded.
When he stopped, she had to hold onto him while the room slowed. When it did, he was gazing seriously at her. “Go-Lucky, Arthur, Javier, Zania, and Katz know I am here. What will the rest of yer clan say if I stay?”
She thought about it for a moment. “They’ll have a lot to say, especially Jules, but I don’t care. If Jules wants me as an employee, you are part of the package.”
“But this is yer clan leader.”
She grinned. “Yes, but this is my house, so I can have my clan leave, though I’d prefer that didn’t happen.”
He nodded, his eyes sympathetic but determined, his hand locked firmly behind her waist. Then he grinned, “Arthur said this is yer home. I am glad because as yer husband, I need to start work on it immediately.”
What? Work on Stonehaven? She tried to pull back, but he only allowed her a couple inches. “Why? What’s wrong with it?” Her house was the last thing they needed to discuss.
He let her go completely and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window that faced the front drive. “It is not secure. Ye need a defensive wall, electronic cameras, and a silent alarm system. If someone penetrates the defenses, I want to catch him without him knowing I’m coming.”
She joined him at the front window and laid her hand on his arm. “Wait. Did you say electronic cameras?”
He nodded, still focused on the scenery outside, a scowl on his face.
She tugged to get his attention. “How do you know about electronic cameras and alarm systems?”
He glanced at her. “Arthur. He downloaded the English language as well as information on the latest security options.”
She stepped between him and the window, demanding his full focus. “How did you get him to do all that? Last I knew, he didn’t want you here any longer than necessary, the ‘necessary’ meaning as long as it took for him to pick your brain.”
His gaze was fully on her now. “I’m not sure about my brain, but he was worried about ye, so I told him that by staying here, I could make ye happy. Then explained he could make ye feel better if he helped me be ready for ye.”
She shook her head. She’d not even noticed that they were speaking English. The man truly was a great strategist, and she’d bet if he was in charge of security, they’d be safer at Stonehaven than in Fort Knox. At the very least, it would keep her nosy neighbor, Mrs. Hale, from using her telescope from her living room window.
He didn’t break her gaze. “I will do whatever I need to in order to win yer clan leader’s approval. I do not want ye to lose yer clan.” Torr’s tone was deep, as deep as his gaze, which connected with her soul.
Her throat tightened, making her voice raspy. “Like you lost your family?”
“Aye, and like I lost ye. I cannot…ever again.” He nodded then swallowed hard as his eyes watered.
She moved against him, her body craving his hard warmth even as she gazed into the bluest eyes seen in any time period. “I can’t lose you again, either. I don’t care where or when we are together, on Eastern time or on Highland time. All I know is I have to be with you to breathe.”
Torr’s arms encircled her and pulled her tight against him. “I love ye.” His lips found hers in a loving kiss that promised her forever.