Just in Time: Portals of Time (16 page)

“They’re policewomen, right?” David asked, watching the show.

“Yeah. Off duty. I treated them to drinks if they’d save seats for me. They look freakin’ good, too.” And one was really Luke’s type. Small, blond, curvy. His gaze strayed to Dorian.

Well, the small and curvy one
had
been his type.

HER BACK TO
Craig Krueger, who reminded her of an actor she’d seen on LifeLine Television for Women, Celeste smiled over at her
Sisters of Doom
. (She really did think Luke’s moniker was amusing.) “Easy,” she whispered. They were both nervous, and Celeste could feel it emanate from them. They wore some scented water called perfume, as she did, and it was a lovely smell. There was male cologne and alcohol also tingeing the air.

“I’m trying.” This from Dorian, who had not scanned the place for Luke and David.

A big man with a smile on his face approached them from behind the bar. He wore a shiny jacket and trousers that matched. A suit, Luke had called it. Alex Lansing wore one in a lot of photos she’d seen of him. “Hey, ladies. Just about every unaccompanied guy in this place wants to buy you a drink.”

The bar was a U-shape, with perhaps thirty seats, and many of the occupants were staring at them. Celeste guessed the outfits they’d chosen had worked to attract the opposite sex. (They
did
look pretty in their new dresses. Helen had taken them shopping and had almost as much fun as they had.)

Giving the bar worker a big smile, Dorian ordered. “We’ll have a bottle of champagne. Your best. And we’ll pay for it.” Luke had instructed her on what he called the
classy
things to drink and not to let anyone buy them or they’d be approached.

Frowning, Alisha turned to them both and spoke in a hush. “I know I need to participate. This is just so primitive. People come here to engage in flirting to get sex? Godheads, I wish they had the SexLine.”

“Remember why the SexLine developed. Because of our infertility.”

Celeste thought about Helen and Jess. “Helen is delighted with her fertility. She went to the doctor who specializes in babies and he told her everything was coming along fine.”

“We knew she was doing well,” Alisha said, “After you touched her.”

“Still, she needed the confirmation.” Celeste put her hand on her own stomach. “I wish I could have a child.”

Before Alisha could scold her, the bar worker reappeared.

“Here you go, ladies. Only the best.” He watched them. “Which you three should have.” A loud pop, then the bottle fizzed. As he poured the drinks, he said, “You from out of town? You seem different from the usual crowd.”

They mumbled their affirmative responses, and the man finally went away.

Celeste sipped. The taste was tart, and the bubbles tickled her nose. “I like their champagne.”

“Wine gave you an ache in the head the other night. No more than one glass of this stuff. I looked up their alcoholic beverages online after our little tasting. We should have red wine because it has some nutritional properties. But Luke directed this false drama and thought champagne would be the best.”

This
was
a drama, and Celeste was the main actor. A fission of something went through her. She knew she could do the work but also knew her friends were worried about her. “I’m sure everything will go smoothly.” She captured Dorian’s hand and squeezed it. Took away a bit of her anxiety. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’re a babe in the woods.” This from Lisha.

“I won’t even ask.” Celeste had studied the idioms for tonight, but
babe in the woods
hadn’t been one of them.

As they waited, they sipped their drinks and talked about the chosen topic—clothes—until they heard behind them, “Hello, there, ladies. I’m Luke, and this guy is my buddy David.”

DORIAN LOOKED OVER
at Luke. You’d never know he was an officer of the law. Tonight, he wore a light coat the color of a deera. Beneath it, a shiny shirt of the same color. His hair, longer now, was styled in a way she’d never seen it—a sexy tumble of locks—and his smile was one that people wore when they met just before joining. “Hello, Luke.”

Leaning in close, he whispered in her ear. “You, look like a million bucks, babe.”

She smiled. “I assume that’s a compliment.”

He chuckled and grazed her arm with his.

David angled himself next to Alisha. “Love your dress, doll. Care to tell me your name?”

As planned, Alisha turned a sexy look on David. By the expression on the minister’s face, he was affected by it. “Alisha.” She pretended to be thoughtful. “David. What a Biblical name.”

The minister smiled. “I’m anything but holy.”

They all laughed at the outright lie.

“So, you come here often?” Dorian asked. It was the pickup line she’d learned.

“Not enough, if I’ve never seen you before.” Luke moved in closer. Dorian caught a scent on him he’d never worn before. She had to resist the urge to inhale deeply.

“You’re leaving me out, guys.” This from Celeste. It was true. Though it was the plan to leave Celeste alone at the bar, Luke was totally focused on Dorian, and David couldn’t take his eyes off Alisha.

Luke muttered under his breath, “Want to dance, beautiful?”

“Yes.”

“You, sweetheart?” David asked Alisha.

She smiled and took his hand.

They’d taken only a few steps away when Craig Krueger abandoned the woman on the left side of him and swiveled his chair to the right. He’d gotten a glimpse of Celeste. “Must be my lucky night,” then, “I’m Craig.”

“
Hmm,” Celeste said sexily. “We’ll see what we can do about your good fortune.”

“I’M CELESTE HART.”

“Hel-lo, Celeste Hart. I want to know everything about you.”

She leaned in so he could see what they called her cleavage. Her breasts were supported in a ridiculous archaic garment that dug into her and squished them together. “As do I. About you.” She had to keep herself from wincing. He’d used an excess of scented water and it almost gagged her.

“Ah, I’m an open book.”

Someone who was read easily. She gave him a perusing glance. “I’ll see about that, too.”

Returning it, he asked, “So, what do you do for a living?”

“My life’s work is in research.”

“What do you research?”

“Fertility.” Another sexy smile. “Are you interested in the reproductive organs of men and women?” This flirting thing was easier than she thought it would be.

“Of women. So you’re an expert at that?”

“I’m an expert at a lot of things. Tell me what you do.”

“I research, too. For a corporation.”

Play the femme fatale,
Luke had recommended.
Cater to his feelings of masculine superiority.
“Is your subject matter more interesting than mine?”

“Right now, nothing’s more interesting than”—he peered down at her chest— “yours.”

And so the plan was executed. She had his interest and would capitalize on it. Jess’s life depended on her success.

DORIAN WAS CONFOUNDED
by the nature of this thing called dancing. Two people came together on the big square area, held onto each other’s arms, then barely moved. She glanced at the others, also out on the floor. No, some people moved more than she and Luke. He whispered in her ear. “Stop staring as if you’ve never seen people dance.”

“I haven’t. This ritual stumps me.”

He pulled her a little closer. “I’m all for it.” He sniffed her hair. “You smell great.”

“Helen suggested we buy something called perfume. Though we have unlimited funds, the expense of it was staggering.”

“Well worth every penny.”

“You smell different, too. This also confuses me. Why do I like it?”

“Because scents set off pheromones that attract people to each other.”

“Everyone smells the same in my time. The chips said nothing about the smells being different now.”

“Seriously?”

“Earnestly. It must have something to do with the controlled atmosphere of our time.”

“That is really sad, Dorian.” His voice sounded genuine enough.

“Our future is sad, Luke.” Though she was tall, she still had to look up at him. Her gaze landed on that little dent in his cheek again. She liked that, too. “Do you think this plan tonight will work? I have concern for Celeste.”

He nodded to the bar. “She’s hooked him already. And she knows how to play it. All five of us will leave within the hour, and she’ll make arrangements to meet him again.” He smiled. “God, she’s beautiful.”

Dorian stiffened. And couldn’t figure out why. She…resented the comment he made about Celeste. Whom she loved dearly.

“You’re frowning.” His voice sounded amused.

“I don’t like what you said about Celi. And I have no idea why.”

He laughed out loud. “You’re jealous, sweetheart.”

“The emotion you felt when Rick Carson hugged me.” He started to protest. But she spoke again. “I do feel it, but I don’t understand it.”

“I can’t wait to explain that to you.” He kissed her hair. “Later.”

IT WAS NEARLY
midnight by the time they returned to Jess’s. When Luke pulled up to the house, he took out his phone and dialed the number of his friend Anderson, whom he’d hired to watch the family while the four of them were away. “Hi, Dick.”

“Hey, buddy.”

“We’re here. Alisha and Celeste are coming inside. Can you stay another hour? I have something to work out with Dorian.”

“Ha! I know the meaning of that. Go for it. I’m good till one.”

After Luke clicked off, he turned to the women in the backseat. They’d already dropped off David at his apartment. But not before a heated discussion on how to trap Craig Krueger into revealing information to Celeste and how to get proof of the plot against Jess. Celeste had told them when she touched Krueger’s arm, his vibes were such a mixture of negative emotions she’d been taken aback by them. The argument began over that tidbit. David worried about them. Dorian continued to claim she should have taken this on. And Alisha was good to go. Celeste acted as if the decision was made and no one was going to change her mind, which was probably true.

He angled his body so he could face the three of them in the back of his Bronco. “Dorian, get in front. You two go on inside and get some rest. We can continue debating the wisdom of what we’re doing in the morning.”

Chin high, Alisha said in a snotty voice, “Whatever you have to work out with Dorian concerns us.”

Luke could be stubborn, too. “No, it doesn’t. Good night.”

“Dorian…” Alisha’s voice was strident.

Dorian seemed torn—and tired. She’d had so many new experiences tonight, he felt sorry for her. Before he could retract his offer, she said to them, “Go ahead. I want some time alone with Luke.”

Celeste laughed. “That’s what concerns Alisha.”

Moving up closer in the backseat, Alisha said, “We decided two nights ago, you would stay away from Luke.”

“We?” Luke responded. “What the hell?”

Celeste opened the car door. “Come on, Lisha. You’re not going to stop this thing between them by telling her what to do.”

“She agreed.” Still, Alisha slid out behind Celeste.

When they were gone, Luke turned Dorian to face him. “You told them we kissed?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. It was private.”

“They guessed something had occurred, Luke, and I wanted to tell them. Women share everything in our society. One time, when I joined with a very virile man on the SexLine, I couldn’t wait to tell them what he—”

Luke put his hand to her lips. They were covered with lipstick, which she’d said tasted like fruit. “Hush, I don’t want to hear about your meaningless sex with some other guy.” Jealousy was in the air tonight, he guessed. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk.”

“I
did
agree to try not to get closer to you.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not happening.”

He drove to the park down the street and pulled into a deserted lot with a couple of dim streetlamps.

“Luke, Lisha says I’ll lose my focus in protecting Jess because I’m thinking about you.”

“There are a lot of people watching over him. You, me, Anderson. And we’re all adults, professionals. Kissing you—and more—won’t harm his safety.” Taking a strand of hair, which had been moussed and blow dried so it was puffier than before, he rubbed it between his fingers. “Regarding that, have you thought about my offer?”

She touched her temples. “You make my head spin. What offer?”

“That I stud for you?”

She frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“The kisses we made. They weren’t like our joining.”

Now they were getting somewhere. “Yeah, why not?”

“I experienced emotions. Conflicting ones.”

He ran his thumb across her lips. “Good or bad?”

“They felt good. I’m not sure they were healthy, though. They seem unnatural.”

“No, Dorian, what we did
is
what nature meant. Your time lost something very precious.”

Her eyes flashed. “We lost it all because of what
you
did in this time period.”

Honestly, he said, “I know. I’m sorry. I hope you can change things. We’re all trying to be better environmentally since you came.”

That was true. They turned faucets off immediately. Did not waste food. Tried to use the cars less.

“I seek your forgiveness, too. I’m all…jittery after what we did tonight.”

“
Wound up
is the term we use. So am I.”

“Because of our plan?”

“No, because of this.”

He leaned over the gearshift. Threaded his fingers through her hair. And lowered his head.

Sparks shot through him. He’d been thinking about kissing her,
joining
with her from the minute she walked into the bar in that should-be-illegal dress. Through the silky material, he cupped her breast and pressed more deeply onto her mouth.

She clutched at him. Opening her lips, as he’d taught her, she explored him. When she nipped his mouth, he bucked toward her. After a few minutes, he had to break the contact. “Dorian, we’ve got to take this further.”