Authors: Samantha Leal
The embers burned low on the fire, and when Melissa woke, Saber was already up, stoking it and adding more wood.
She approached him from behind, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck. She had never felt more like a woman around him. She had never felt sexier.
“A kiss,” she whispered as he turned to her and her lips met his. He ran his hand through her hair and slipped his tongue against hers.
It was all so perfect. She wished it never had to end.
But she knew she couldn’t stay there.
When they broke apart, his eyes looked sad, as if he knew it was all over, too.
“I need to go,” she said. “Can you take me back to the cave?”
Saber looked out at the fire and ignored her for a moment. She could tell he didn’t want her to leave.
Her heart ached as she was torn between her decision and the man in front of her… Could she leave him now they had met? Their connection was so pure and fierce. Could she walk away from him?
Tears stung her eyes and she wiped them away. Saber shook his head and held onto her chin. He looked at her deep in the eyes and said, “No.”
Melissa smiled and nodded.
“Come with me?” she said as a stroke of genius flooded through her. “You don’t have to stay here… Come back with me?”
She knew it was a crazy concept, but she also knew it was the only answer. She didn’t want to leave him; there was no life for him there. But she didn’t think he would let her go. If she managed to get him back to the cave and they found a way to reopen the vortex, maybe they could be back in 2015 and live happily ever after.
Saber was looking at her as if he didn’t understand anything she was saying. It was the first time he had looked confused since he found her. Melissa took his hand and smiled.
“Trust me,” she said.
He smiled back and nodded.
***
The journey back to the Neanderthals’ cave was short and frightening. Saber threw her up over his shoulder and ran with her back down the incline, past the rocks and cliff face and over a small rise. The opening was there and Saber sniffed the air. He nodded and moved forward, happy that the coast was clear.
Inside the cave, the carcass of the tiger was lying limply on the floor and the Neanderthals had already removed its tusks. Melissa shivered as she opened her mind to suggestion and hoped the rocks would call to her again.
Saber watched her as she held onto his hand and looked around. Her heart was pounding and she was about to panic when suddenly a light shone on the corner of the room and two points from two rocks, one above and one below, were almost touching.
“That’s it,” she smiled as she led him over to them.
Saber held her hand and with their other hands, they both took hold of the rock points. Just as before, Melissa felt a surge of power run through her and Saber roared like a lion as the pain hit them and the earth began to move.
The world went black, but she could still feel his hand.
And then… nothing.
***
A big arm cradled her, and as she opened her eyes, they met his.
“Melissa,” he said with a smile as he brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her gently on the lips.
She sat up and looked around in panic.
Were they back? Had she brought him back to the present?
They were in the cave and it looked similar to when she had been there with Quattro, but there was still something different.
She looked down and they were both still wearing the fur pelts and their skin was dirty.
“Dr. Quattro?” she called out, but her voice echoed around the cave. She knew there was no one there.
“If this were 2015, this cave would be crawling with archaeologists after yesterday,” she said. “Something’s changed.”
She could see the shaft they needed to climb in order to get back to the surface, and Saber led the way. He put her on his back and climbed it with his bare hands and feet with such incredible strength Melissa couldn’t believe he was actually capable of doing it.
He had lived a long time in a savage land with only himself to rely on, but now he had found her and he wanted to protect her. When he reached the top of the small cave opening, he heaved himself up and out with Melissa still clinging to him. As they rolled back onto the grass in the French field, Melissa looked around and was surprised that there was still no one there.
“Looks like we’ll have to walk,” she said.
Saber put her over his shoulder again and headed east.
They reached a road after about two hours and the first car that pulled over held an old couple who looked intrigued and confused by what they were seeing. Saber’s eyes were like saucers as he watched the car as if it were a predator. Melissa assured him it was all fine, and as they made their way back to Bordeaux, she asked the couple in basic French what the date was.
“April 10
th
, 1973,” the woman said as she turned to smile at her.
Melissa’s heart pounded and she didn’t know where to look. Saber wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
She wasn’t even born until 1990… She couldn’t help but laugh.
She thought back to her life in 2015 and of all she was lacking. She may have had a great career, but she could still do that in 1973. Her family were long gone and she didn’t have a boyfriend or husband to speak of. The explorer in her wanted to stay where she was, to never tell anyone what had happened to her and to integrate Saber into society without anyone being any wiser.
She looked at him, and when he looked back at her with his beautiful and innocent eyes, she knew they could make it work. They could stay in France and build a life. Now that they had each other, anything was possible.
Neither of them were from that time and that made it all the more real. It made it so much more exciting for them to be experiencing the journey together.
“Let’s do this,” she smiled and she squeezed Saber’s hand.
The archaeologist had her very own caveman, and they were about to embark on the wildest ride either of them would ever have thought possible.
“Time doesn’t exist when you’ve got love,” she whispered to him. And even though he was still learning, she was pretty sure he understood.
THE END
You can find out what happens next in Mated to the Caveman, available now from Amazon
My New Billionaire Stepbrother
Cynthia Wilde
Copyright ©2015 by Cynthia Wilde. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work!
Table of Contents
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Jennifer wished that she didn’t have to be there at all. But there she stood in a hideous pink bridesmaid dress, standing next to her mother while she married the man of her dreams. She was having every girl’s fantasy wedding. Her fiancée had told her that money was no object, and by the attention to detail and the spare-no-expense feel of this affair, it was clear he hadn’t been lying. Jennifer hated his constant show of wealth, but her mother Darla apparently was looking for the financial reassurance of stability over the spiritual connection of emotional attachment and chemistry. At the same time, Jennifer had to admit that the chocolate fondue fountain her mom had planned would be pretty awesome. The light show would be cool too, for that matter. Still, she would have rather stayed home.
Her mother’s new husband Ryan was a bit older than she was, maybe by ten years. Jennifer was never privy to their exact age difference, but everyone with eyes could tell when the couple was out together. To be fair that was really not a big deal. If she had really liked the guy she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But Jennifer never really did warm up to him during the whirlwind three month courtship. She kept that to herself as best as she could though, because her mother just seemed so happy. She couldn’t bear to be the one to rain on the woman’s parade, so she just kept her mouth shut and tried as best as she could to be supportive.
Jennifer was happy to see that the ritual ceremony was over and people were getting up to head to the reception. She went to congratulate her mother one last time before leaving them to go change and get to the other venue.
“Congrats mom, you look so adorable.”
Jennifer was being honest, as her mother was radiating a glow that was hard to surpass. She looked as close to radiant as she ever got and the dress was just beautiful. That dress probably cost more than Jennifer would make in a year, and it showed. All of the detail and embroidery really made it stand out.
“Thank you baby. Stick around Jenny, so you can meet your new brothers.”
Jennifer looked confused since she had never heard of Ryan having any children. She envisioned a couple of teens that he had from a previous marriage.
“I didn’t know I was getting new brothers out of this deal, mom. No one ever tells me anything. I go off to school fifty miles away and ….oh, never mind. I will see you at the reception and meet them then, okay?”
The blonde tried to smile, hiding her true feelings from her mother. As always her mother was distracted and didn’t seem to notice her daughter’s annoyance. She walked away as she heard her mom gushing to her oldest friend, Ruth. Jennifer pulled her hair out of the fancy up-do which had taken an hour to create. Shaking her hair out, she slid into her old Mazda, which had been parked in front of the church, and headed down to the country club where the reception was to be held. Well, at least she wouldn’t have trouble finding her car in that parking lot later. Being almost 10 years old, it would certainly stand out, she thought, shaking her head.
Jennifer sat in her car for a few minutes after she pulled in. She hunted for her party dress and pulled it on after taking off the pink fluffy nightmare dress that her mom made her wear. It was now the tackiest, most expensive dress she owned and she hoped to hock it on Ebay as soon as she got back to school. Maybe someone would buy it, or at least she hoped so. She figured it would at least pay for a few books if nothing else.
Jennifer fluffed her hair and re-applied some light pink lipstick. She lit and took a few quick drags on a cigarette before stubbing it out and going inside, blowing smoke out of her lips as she went. She knew almost no one there and Jennifer found herself walking towards the bar. The buffet would be her second stop.
“Do you have an I.D. miss?”
“Oh come on, I’m the daughter of the bride. If I have to be here, the least you can do is give me a couple of shots.”
“I’m sorry miss, but no card, no drinks.”
Jennifer was about to say something else when a tall, dark-haired man came up behind her.
“I need….”
The man looked over at Jennifer and waited for her to answer.
“Double vodka.”
The bartender looked between the two, and rather than protest, did as the man, who also seemed to be his employer, bade. Jennifer thanked the attractive stranger and then headed towards the buffet table with drink in hand. She didn’t care for weddings in general, and especially not for this one in particular. Probably as a direct result, her cup was empty by the time she got back to the table. Jennifer looked around for the handsome stranger for a moment and when she didn’t see him, she decided to try her luck for another drink on her own.
The young, tuxedo clad bartender already had another one poured and ready for her when she got back. Pleasantly surprised, she thanked him.
“I told him to keep ‘em coming for you all night, as many as you wish…as long as don’t get too wasted.”
The change of tone was welcomed, as well as suspicious. She took the drink and walked toward the closest available table. For the moment she ignored decorum and the standard prearranged seating. She just wasn’t in the mood. Jennifer had just picked a random seat when her new tall, dark and handsome friend joined her, taking a seat on her left.
“Hi.”
Jennifer looked over at the man and said hello back. He was ruggedly handsome and he was dressed impeccably. Jennifer didn’t know that much about custom tailored suits, but she suspected that was what he was wearing. He reeked of money, as most of the people around her did. Some of those at the reception seemed to make a show of every bit of jewelry, and took every opportunity to mention their connections, but he carried it all off effortlessly, as if he might as well have been wearing a pair of old overalls. His brown eyes held hers captivated for a moment, before she looked down at her plate.
“So um, thanks back there. I really needed a drink.”
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t elaborate and he didn’t press. She ate a few bites and then looked over at him. Jennifer could feel the man’s dark eyes on her and she waited for him to say something.
“Are you here for the bride or groom?”
“Bride, ugh, definitely the bride.”
“You don’t like the groom?”
“He makes her happy. That’s what’s important.”
“So what you really mean is that he’s a pompous jerk,” he laughed.
“Are you here for the groom?”
The man chuckled and nodded.
“That I am. My name is Charles, yours?”
“Jennifer, nice to meet you.”
Jennifer finished her drink and looked over at the bar, debating if she wanted to leave to get yet another one. She found herself attracted to the tall, handsome man and he seemed to be interested in her as well. Before she had time to act first, he excused himself and headed to the bar. Walking back with the drink in each hand, he looked devastatingly gorgeous. He placed her drink in front of her nonchalantly. His hair was a bit longer than was the fashion at the moment, ending at the collar. It had a slight wave to it and was almost pitch black. His skin had an olive tone and his eyes, when focused on a person, were hard to hold a gaze with. They were just so intense.
“Thank you. I think I should slow down, I am starting to feel a bit of a reckless smile on my face.”
“There is a smile on there, and it is beautiful. If you were mine, I would make sure you smiled like that every day.”
Charles leaned in close, but instead of going for a kiss, he just asked her if she wanted to dance. His face was beside hers, his words whispered gently into her ear. She tingled with the non-touch, his hot breath playing with her sensitive earlobe.
“Sure,” she said, trying to play it cool, while a wave of heat washed over her entire body.