to send him one who made his loins ache and his admiration rise. A bonny lass with fire in her eyes and steel in her spine.
A lass who might pose a threat to his very life. She knew more about him than anyone ever had. The secret behind the Wizard’s success.
Magic .
THREE
Julia stared at the closed door, pulling the blanket tighter around her as the last of her control shattered. The tears that had threatened with the loss of her clothes spilled over, running down her cheeks as great, wracking sobs tore through her shivering body.
“I want to go home,” she whispered into the empty room. Crying, she crawled onto the sorry excuse for a mattress and huddled beneath the blanket, wrapped in misery.
She hated to cry, but the storm was upon her and she knew it wouldn’t end anytime soon. She’d handled being flung through time and being hit by a barbarian with killer blue eyes. Even the news that she wasn’t going home until she performed some mysterious and unknown task hadn’t laid her low.
But losing her clothes was the last straw. She loved that sweater. And, dammit, that had been her best bra. It was too much!
Too much to accept. Too much to process.
How could she possibly be in the past? Yet if she’d harbored any doubt that she was dealing with magic, it had disappeared along with her clothes.
Magic .
The tears only ran faster. By the time they’d finally run their course, her skin was chilled and clammy, her headache had worsened, and her eyes had grown heavy and swollen. She felt awful. And scared. And horribly, horribly alone.
As badly as she wanted to blame everything on Talon—after all, he certainly seemed to believe he was the one who’d called her—she couldn’t forget the way the garnet had turned hot and begun to glow just before the car started spinning. The necklace had played some part in her time shift, she was sure of it.
Cat’s words rang in her head. Don’t touch it until you get home . But she’d put it on anyway.
She had only herself to blame.
Reaching inside the blanket, she felt for the stone and found it still lying cool against her chest. She fingered the purple garnet with a mix of relief and wariness. There was no doubt the thing was dangerous. Putting on the necklace had been a mistake of monumental proportions. But if the rock had been her ticket to the past, it might also be her way home.
“Send me back,” she murmured to the stone, much as Talon had spoken to his ring. “Dammit, send me home.”
Lifting the thing where she could see it, she held her breath, watching for the telltale glow, willing the stone to begin to heat in her hand.
But nothing happened.
With a huff, she dropped the necklace to settle between her breasts and pulled the blanket tighter around her, the musty smell of wool enveloping her. One thing was certain. She didn’t dare tell Talon her suspicions that her jewelry was at least partly to blame for the magic. He’d probably take it from her.
Despite the fact the man knew who she was and where she’d come from, she didn’t trust him. She’d never met anyone wrapped in so much subterfuge. He was a thief and a con man. Yet, there was something magnetic about him, too. Something that attracted her on the most basic level. An appeal deeper than his killer smile or those blue eyes that danced with intelligence and mischief, charming even as they manipulated.
There was something not quite civilized about him. The way he’d grabbed her without hesitation. The way he’d knocked her out, then offered her a smile that had stolen her breath.
Talon wasn’t like any man she’d known in her own time. He was far more physical. More confident, but in an entirely different way than the well-dressed Wall Street types. This man could take care of himself and he knew it. What’s more, she suspected anyone entering his orbit sensed that strength on the most primitive level. That danger.
It wasn’t that he was all fists and manhandling. He’d
A lass who might pose a threat to his very life. She knew more about him than anyone ever had. The secret behind the Wizard’s success.
Magic .
THREE
Julia stared at the closed door, pulling the blanket tighter around her as the last of her control shattered. The tears that had threatened with the loss of her clothes spilled over, running down her cheeks as great, wracking sobs tore through her shivering body.
“I want to go home,” she whispered into the empty room. Crying, she crawled onto the sorry excuse for a mattress and huddled beneath the blanket, wrapped in misery.
She hated to cry, but the storm was upon her and she knew it wouldn’t end anytime soon. She’d handled being flung through time and being hit by a barbarian with killer blue eyes. Even the news that she wasn’t going home until she performed some mysterious and unknown task hadn’t laid her low.
But losing her clothes was the last straw. She loved that sweater. And, dammit, that had been her best bra. It was too much!
Too much to accept. Too much to process.
How could she possibly be in the past? Yet if she’d harbored any doubt that she was dealing with magic, it had disappeared along with her clothes.
Magic .
The tears only ran faster. By the time they’d finally run their course, her skin was chilled and clammy, her headache had worsened, and her eyes had grown heavy and swollen. She felt awful. And scared. And horribly, horribly alone.
As badly as she wanted to blame everything on Talon—after all, he certainly seemed to believe he was the one who’d called her—she couldn’t forget the way the garnet had turned hot and begun to glow just before the car started spinning. The necklace had played some part in her time shift, she was sure of it.
Cat’s words rang in her head. Don’t touch it until you get home . But she’d put it on anyway.
She had only herself to blame.
Reaching inside the blanket, she felt for the stone and found it still lying cool against her chest. She fingered the purple garnet with a mix of relief and wariness. There was no doubt the thing was dangerous. Putting on the necklace had been a mistake of monumental proportions. But if the rock had been her ticket to the past, it might also be her way home.
“Send me back,” she murmured to the stone, much as Talon had spoken to his ring. “Dammit, send me home.”
Lifting the thing where she could see it, she held her breath, watching for the telltale glow, willing the stone to begin to heat in her hand.
But nothing happened.
With a huff, she dropped the necklace to settle between her breasts and pulled the blanket tighter around her, the musty smell of wool enveloping her. One thing was certain. She didn’t dare tell Talon her suspicions that her jewelry was at least partly to blame for the magic. He’d probably take it from her.
Despite the fact the man knew who she was and where she’d come from, she didn’t trust him. She’d never met anyone wrapped in so much subterfuge. He was a thief and a con man. Yet, there was something magnetic about him, too. Something that attracted her on the most basic level. An appeal deeper than his killer smile or those blue eyes that danced with intelligence and mischief, charming even as they manipulated.
There was something not quite civilized about him. The way he’d grabbed her without hesitation. The way he’d knocked her out, then offered her a smile that had stolen her breath.
Talon wasn’t like any man she’d known in her own time. He was far more physical. More confident, but in an entirely different way than the well-dressed Wall Street types. This man could take care of himself and he knew it. What’s more, she suspected anyone entering his orbit sensed that strength on the most primitive level. That danger.
It wasn’t that he was all fists and manhandling. He’d
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