Time After Time by Kay Hooper Page A

“You’re the brains of the gang, pal; think of some way we can explain those scarred trees.”
    “I’ll try, Bonnie, but these G-ladies are tough customers.”
    Alex couldn’t help but laugh. She shook her head and changed the subject. “Did you want me for something?”
    Noah caught her in his arms so that she had to clutch at his shirt to keep her balance. In a throbbing voice he said, “I dare not offer what I desire to give, much less take what I shall die to want!”
    She blinked at him. “Good heavens. What’s that from?”
    “A paraphrase from
The Tempest
. I’ve become fond of that play.”
    Staring up at his reflective expression, Alexfought a desire to giggle. “Oh. Well, I meant, did you want me for anything special.”
    He looked at her, his eyes suddenly darkening to stormy gray. “Always. Always something special.”
    Alex reacted without thought, her arms sliding up around his neck as his lips met hers. She tuned out the sounds of the workmen, listening only to her own heart pounding and to the hot blood rushing through her veins.
    A sudden fierceness rose in her when his mouth slanted across hers hungrily; she wanted to hold him with every muscle she possessed, tie him to her, cage them together. And there was elation, an odd, giddy relief, as if she had found a treasure long lost to her.
    She could feel the need building in him, and an answering need rippled through her body like the shock waves of an earthquake. His lips were branding themselves on more than her own, searing through to the deepest levels of herself until they touched and marked her soul. Alex wanted tocry out wildly, emotions spiraling inside her until they filled her, consumed her….
    “Excuse me, but—Oh. Sorry.”
    Alex stared up into clouded eyes that cleared slowly, and felt a wrenching sense of loss when Noah released her and turned to face an apologetic Teddy.
    Noah cleared his throat. “Yes, Miss—Teddy?”
    “The gate’s locked. I looked, but there isn’t another. I’m really sorry to disturb you.”
    “No problem.” Noah glanced at Alex, his eyes still stormy. “I’ll unlock it for you.”
    Alex remained there at the base of the stairs for a long moment, one hand gripping the railing. The sheer raw power of her response frightened her, but there was an odd satisfaction as well because she’d not known she could feel so deeply. And there was more. The rush of emotion was still with her even though he was not.
    Her hand released the railing and rose, and she gazed down at her palm with a growing sense of wonder. Was it like that, then? A pairing olderthan either of them could know? A destiny that held no certainty except the certainty of love?
    Love …
    She caught her breath, releasing it in a ragged sigh. What could she say to Noah?
I’ve always loved you, even when you were a Union soldier, and when I was a Gypsy girl and … and other places and times and people that were us
.
    Lord, she couldn’t tell him that! He’d think she had flipped, gone stark raving bananas! And maybe she had.
    “Alex! Oh, there you are. Didn’t Noah tell you? We need you up here.” The painter was bending over the railing a floor above and staring down at her.
    “Coming.” She turned and automatically climbed the stairs, her heart thudding heavily from something other than the exercise.
    Noah escorted Teddy through the gate and into the fenced area, determined to do his part to keep Cal safe. He wondered briefly at Alex’s clear decisionto be friendly to this woman, finally coming to the same conclusion that Alex had come to: A friendly enemy might possibly jump your way when the chips were down.
    “I’ll come along if you don’t mind,” he told her casually.
    “I don’t mind. It’s your property, after all.”
    Noah followed her toward the trees and swore silently; even from here he could see the deep scars on a large oak tree. His mind clicked into gear and began working frantically. Any reason. Any reason at