Page 28 of Stay with Me

“No, I do not have a woman,” came his soft response.

She waited for him to expound, but he said nothing more. The silence combined with sadness was another clue, that he’d loved deeply and the loss had been dreadful. “Whenever you want to talk about her, I’m a good listener.”

He ducked under several branches and cleared the ever-thickening growth for her. “I would not guess that angels are given into marriage.”

He’d called herangelon a previous visit. Was that what he thought she was? An angel? She supposed that provided the most logical explanation for why she’d appeared and disappeared randomly right in front of him.

“I’m not an angel.”

“A saint?”

“No, most certainly not.”

“A witch?”

“Of course not. Just an ordinary person.”

“Then you came to me through visions?”

“Something like that.” How could she explain time crossing to him when she could hardly make sense of it for herself?

“So you have affections for another?”

Her thoughts sprinted to Isaac. Since the breakup, she’d gone out on a few dates, but she’d never felt any sparks with any of the men.

Nicholas’s grip on her hand tightened. “Who is he?”

“There’s no one anymore.”

“Then this man is no longer involved in your life?”

“We still work together on occasion.”

The muscles in Nicholas’s arm flexed. Didn’t he like the idea of her being with another man?

She gave herself a mental slap. Of course Nicholas wasn’t jealous. He barely knew her. “I don’t have feelings for him the same way he does for me.”

“Yet he still pursues you.”

“He’s a good and kind man and would never push for anything.”

Nicholas stopped abruptly so that she almost slammed into him from behind. His hand landed upon her hip to steady her, but in the next moment his fingers splayed, telling her he liked touching her, that he liked her.

She could feel him studying her face, and she didn’t dare look up into his eyes, didn’t want to see anything, didn’t want to feel anything. As gorgeous as he was, she hadn’t come to the past to have a fling with this man. She’d come to save him. That’s all. She’d make sure he was secure, and then she’d start her efforts to find holy water and return to the present.

She twisted free of his hold easily with a maneuver she’d learned in one of her self-defense classes. Then she pushed forward through the brush ahead of him, not sure which direction she needed to go but guessing from the dampness beneath her boots that they were nearing a stream.

A few seconds later, she halted at the edge of a swiftly flowing creek. It was about three meters wide and appeared to be only a dozen centimeters deep. Although the water wasn’t clear, it was translucent enough to see the pebbles and stones at the bottom.

They didn’t have much time to spare for rinsing off, had to hide before their pursuers caught up with them. Without wasting another second, she stepped in, sat in the middle, then leaned back. The water was cold, but she let it flow over her, rinsing away the filth from the moat. She twisted her hair tie loose and dunked her hair too.

Splashing beside her, Nicholas lowered himself into the water. As he ducked under, she couldn’t stop herself from watching the way the water cascaded over his bare chest, flowing into the valleys between his pecs and abs and all his other muscles. He slipped his hair out of the strip holding it in place, releasing shoulder-length dark hair. With his head submerged, he combed his fingers through his hair before scrubbing at it vigorously. He rubbed at his arms and his chest, then lifted his head. Before she could look away, he caught her staring.

She jerked her attention back to her own body and splashed water over her jeans. But she couldn’t keep her sights from straying sideways and watching him stand, every glorious muscle in his body showcased by his wet garments.

He paused and peered through the forest the way they’d come, then reached out a hand to her. “We must proceed with all haste.”

This time, she didn’t hesitate to place her hand in his. As he helped her stand, the breeze wrapped icy tendrils around her, making her shiver.

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