darkness where she could pretend nothing had happened, sheâd take out todayâs horror and examine it.
She quickly shifted her thoughts back to Peter. âNow I have to live with Mr. Pleasure Master in his cave. And itâs all your fault.â Good. Sheâd found a scapegoat.
Beside her, Rhett Butler drawled, âFrankly, my dear, I donât give a damn.â
Chapter Four
Ian listened to the womanâs restless movements in the darkness and waited. Silently. Heâd learned the power of silence, whether lying in wait for an enemy when a sound could mean death, or beside a woman, touching her with quiet, allowing her desire to build. Seducing her in all the ways that needed no words, no glide of flesh against flesh. And there were many, as Kathy of Hair would soon know.
But tonight was not the time. Tonight she thought only of this New York she believed she came from.
And what if what she says is true?
He did not close his mind to all things different, but this seemed overmuch to believe.
No, even with her strange speech and the odd things she brought with her, he could lie beside hernow, run his fingers the length of her smooth body, touch her as heâd touched so many women, and sheâd be like all other women.
She moved again, and he drew in an impatient breath. There was nothing for it. He must speak with her or neither of them would sleep this night.
Pulling his plaid around him, he rose and walked to where she lay. He sat beside her, letting her feel his presence.
âIan?â
His aloneness, his oneness with all things physical, opened him to the things that other men could not see. The womanâs fear and confusion broke over him in waves of tortured feeling. A canny hunter would strike while the prey was weak. He thought about it, then dismissed the idea. Not tonight.
âYe canna sleep.â
âI never sleep well in a new place. And your bed isnât exactly floating-cloud quality. Besides, itâs too quiet. Iâm used to traffic, people.â The darkness softened her voice, rounded the sharp edges of her complaint.
She sighed. âIâm sorry, Ian. Forget the last whine. Itâs not the bed, itâs . . .â
He could hear the tears in her voice, knew sheâd cried in the darkness, muffling the sound so she wouldnât wake him. ââTis the darkness that feeds yer fears. When ye canna see, ye turn yer thoughts inward.â
âBut how did I get here? How will I get back?
Why
am I here?â
He had no answers, so instead he rose and used the still-hot remains of the hearth fire to light a candle, then returned to her side. In the flickering light, he searched for the truth.
âHey, Iâve got it.â Her choked laughter held no happiness. âThe Great-Hairdresser-in-the-Sky couldnât stand looking at dry split ends here for another century so She sent me.â
He sensed the silent scream behind her words.
He watched her turn onto her side, then prop herself up on one elbow. Listened to the rustle of her clothes. Caught his breath at the blue glitter of her eyes in the candlelight. Felt the first familiar stirrings.
âYou know, that whole idea is funny. There was this . . . God, Iâm already talking in the past tense.â The thought seemed to upset her. He could see it in the aimless patterns she traced on his fur, recognized it in her uneasy pause.
âI watched
Ghostbusters
on video last week. You have to understand, Iâm a huge movie fan. Anyway, all through the movie they kept repeating, âWho you gonna call?â I guess thatâs me. No offense, but your friends have to have the worst hair in the universe.â She shrugged. âDesperate times call for desperate measures. So someone or something yanked me into your time to fix it.â
âYe believe this?â What was a video? What was a ghostbuster?
âNo.â Her voice was small, lost. âLook, I
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