Beth laughed. Taking out her cell phone, she knelt in front of the trio with her back to them and held it up to take a selfie.
None were impressed at first, thinking the phone a small mirror of some sort when they saw their reflections. But once she snapped the picture and showed it to them, along with the picture she had taken of Robert and some of the pictures that were already stored on it—including images of herself and Josh that clearly displayed modern buildings and cars and a thousand other things that just didn’t exist here—they believed her.
The men’s enthusiastic examination of her futuristic possessions and the ensuing barrage of questions regarding the twenty-first century roused her spirits. By the time she and Robert retired to the solar, she felt almost like herself again.
Of course, she also got a nice burst of energy when Robert made passionate love to her. How wonderful it was to shut her mind off and just let her body feel and burn and need. No worries. No regrets. No images of blood and violence bombarding her. Just Robert. His big, muscled body moving over her and stealing her breath, his tender words strengthening his hold on her heart. She really did love him. So much.
The quiet of the keep she had found so unfamiliar in her early days now soothed her and coaxed her toward sleep as she snuggled into Robert’s side.
“Beth,” he whispered.
“Hm?”
“Do not fall asleep yet, sweetling. There is a question I must put to you first.”
She smiled. “You were great. It was wonderful. I loved every minute of it. Just let me snooze for a few minutes, then we can do it again.”
A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “The question did not involve my prowess, though ’tis good to know I pleased you.”
“Mmm. Pleasing me is an understatement.”
He nuzzled the hair atop her head. “Beth.”
Soooo tired.
He shook her a little. “Beth?”
“Hmm? I’m awake,” she murmured. Were her words a little slurred?
“Then open your eyes and look at me,” he said, a smile in his voice, “or I shall think you are simply answering me in your sleep again.”
Beth tilted her head back, pried her heavy-lidded eyes open, and offered him a sleepy smile. “You are so beautiful.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “As are you, my love.”
Reaching up, she caressed his stubbled cheek.
Robert turned his head slightly and pressed his lips to her palm. “Are you awake?”
She nodded, fingers fondling his whiskers.
“Beth, I wish to spend every night with you as we have this one.”
She bit back a laugh. “I’ll bet you do. I do, too.”
“And I want you by my side every day,” he continued earnestly, “touching and kissing me freely, scandalizing any who care to watch, aggravating me, making me laugh and making me happy in a way I did not think I could ever be again.”
Her heart began to pound as he continued, both his tone and expression somber.
“I love you, Beth.”
Elation filled her.
“In the short time you have been here,” he said before she could respond, “you have become as important to me as the air I breathe.” Pressing another kiss to her palm, he pressed her hand against his chest above his heart. “Will you marry me?”
For a moment, warmth and wonder filled her, expanding her chest and making her heart race. Then something like pain ripped through her, shredding the happiness she so wanted to grasp.
A lump rose in her throat. She squeezed her eyes closed.
Robert’s heart beat abnormally fast beneath her palm as he awaited her response. She heard him swallow hard, waiting for her to speak.
“Robert,” she whispered, her voice and heart breaking, unable to find the words she needed.
Robert wrapped his arms around her and drew her face to his chest. “’Tis all right, love. I have your answer.” Though his voice was gentle, sorrow weighted it. His chin came to rest atop her head as he smoothed her hair with one large palm.
How could he comfort her like this when he thought she had just rejected him?
As Beth fought to hold back the tears that threatened, she felt the hand at her back clench into a fist around the covers. Every muscle pressed against her tensed as he fought the pain of the wound she had just inflicted.
Why? she wondered desperately. Why had they not been born in the same time?
His time. Her time. It didn’t matter which.
Why had she only found him after she had watched her brother fall?
Why had she been brought here to find love when her uncertain future left her unable to claim it?
Why did she have to hurt Robert when she only wanted to make him happy?
Struggling to find her voice, she leaned back and looked up at him, regret piercing her like needles when she saw his face. “You know I love you,” she whispered brokenly.
His shattered cerulean eyes avoided hers.
Her heart clenched. “Robert.” Grasping his chin, she forced him to meet her gaze. “I love you. Don’t ever doubt that.”