Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (174 page)

The room felt different, too, Mitch noticed,
and it was more than the paint and the border and the sheer
curtains wafting in the cool evening breeze.

Jen’s room felt
safe
. As secure as a
little cocoon. Mitch shook his head, knowing full well who was
responsible and wondering whether she would blame it on another
spell.

That made his smile widen. Lilith’s magic
was more than welcome around here.

Mitch kissed Jen’s temple, D’Artagnan only
dropping his chin to his paws after Mitch left the room.

Mitch silently continued to Jason’s room.
The little boy was snuggled deep beneath his duvet, his fair hair
tousled. It had been painted in here too, some shade that seemed to
glow faintly. The room seemed cleaner and brighter, Jason’s
indestructible furniture in primary colors looked right at home.
There was a book on his desk that Mitch hadn’t noticed before.
Insects A - Z.

He opened the flap and found an inscription
in an elegant feminine hand.
From the library of Lilith
Romano.

“
Lilith lent it to me,”
Jason confessed quietly, his voice thick with sleep. Mitch looked
down to find his son’s eyes open. “There were bugs in the garden
like lights. Lilith said they were fairies, but when I caught one,
it was a bug.” He yawned.

“
Lilith let you catch a
bug?”

“
Only for a minute so I
could see. Then we looked in her book for its picture. It’s a
firefly, not a fairy.”

Jason snuggled deeper as Mitch sat on the
side of his bed. “And what did Lilith say about that?”

Jason smiled sleepily. “That fairies don’t
like to be caught and that it changed just to fool me. She said
they’re like that.”

Mitch grinned and hunkered down beside his
son. “But the book doesn’t say anything about fairies?”

Jason shook his head. “Nope. I think she
made it up, just for Jen. Like the radio.” His eyes drifted
closed.

“
The radio?”

“
In the kitchen. Lilith
left it on at night when she painted, so Jen would know she was
there.”

Mitch’s heart warmed at Lilith’s concern. No
wonder Jen was sleeping so contentedly. Mitch brushed the hair back
from Jason’s brow as the boy’s breathing deepened. “Sleep well,” he
whispered. “It looks as though you’ve all been busy.”

“
Mostly Lilith,” Jason
murmured then he rolled to his back and smiled. His eyes opened
slightly, the serious gleam there catching Mitch’s attention. “I
like her, Dad.” He smiled and pointed past Mitch’s head. “And she
gave us the stars.”

Mitch followed his son’s finger to find the
ceiling covered with luminescent stars. There were even a couple of
planets glowing softly in the darkness, the sight of them and
Jason’s choice of words making Mitch smile.

Lilith giving his children the stars. Mitch
liked the sound of that. And he liked very much the kind of magic a
certain witch was spreading around his house. She harmed no one and
she certainly made a lot of people happy.

Mitch could live with that.

In fact, he really wanted to.

He kissed an already dozing Jason and
crossed the hall to his own room. The lady who had haunted Mitch’s
own dreams was curled up on his bed, her feet bare, her hair
loosened like a dark cloud behind her. Mitch’s heart skipped at
just the sight of her there and he hesitated on the threshold, not
want this moment to end too quickly.

He could stand here and imagine that he
really came home to Lilith, that she really was waiting for him,
that they really were making a household together. As long as he
stood here, he could imagine that she would awaken with a smile and
beckon him to bed, that she would curl against him and whisper to
him of what had happened in his absence. That he could tell her
everything he had learned, everything that troubled him. That they
could make love slowly and thoroughly, that they together could
make the marriage Mitch had always wanted to have.

It was there, standing in the doorway of his
own bedroom, watching a beautiful woman sleep, that Mitch Davison
realized that he was in love.

And he was in love with the most unlikely
woman of all. A winsome witch who believed only in things she
couldn’t see, an imaginative and delightful woman who spread fairy
dust throughout his house, a generous and giving soul who asked for
nothing but his love in return.

He was ready to give it to her. Because
Mitch loved Lilith, as he had never imagined he would love a
woman.

For a long time, Mitch had believed that he
would never find love, that he would never take a chance again,
that it just hadn’t been worth it. But Lilith had challenged his
preconceptions, she had made Mitch rethink all those conclusions
that he thought were set in concrete for all time.

Now, Mitch couldn’t imagine his life without
her. He couldn’t imagine his heart not doing this goofy little jump
every time she smiled at him, or her image popping up in his mind
unexpectedly. To not hear that low voice again, or hear the tinkle
of her laughter, or see her dark eyes dance was completely
unthinkable.

Mitch felt as though he had always loved
Lilith, though he smiled at that echo of her own conviction. She
was starting to infect his nice, orderly thinking with her crazy
ideas.

And oddly enough, he didn’t mind in the
least.

Mitch stepped into the room, not intending
to wake her, but Lilith stirred as though she had been waiting for
him. Her eyes opened slowly, her gaze fixed on him and she smiled
so warmly that Mitch tingled from head to toe.

“
You’re home!” she
murmured, with a delight that made Mitch’s heart do that goofy
jump. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow,” she
whispered, her pleasure at his change of plans
undisguised.

It felt damned good to be missed.

“
Couldn’t stay away,” Mitch
admitted huskily. “You’ve been busy.”

Lilith stretched, her toes pointing, then
curling contentedly. She nestled into his pillow and smiled
sleepily. “I wanted to surprise you. I would have finished the
ceilings by tomorrow.”

“
Well, now you’ll have to
deal with inexperienced help underfoot.” When Lilith chuckled,
Mitch came and sat on the edge of the bed, unable to resist the
urge to brush her hair back over her shoulder. “And you have
surprised me,” he said gently. “Both kids’ rooms done already is a
pretty impressive feat. Especially with them around.”

Lilith smiled. “All you need is a little
creativity.”

Mitch smiled back. “No magic?”

Lilith wrinkled her nose, her gaze warm. “It
can’t hurt.”

Her hair was as soft as silk beneath his
hand. Mitch run his fingers over it, the dark tendrils curling
around his fingers as though they would snare his hand in their
softness. He didn’t want this moment to end. “So, what colors are
they? I couldn’t see in the darkness.”

“
Mmm, mauve and aqua and
mint, nice safe colors for Jen. A sea-washed haven for her. And a
crisp yellow for our intrepid explorer.” Mitch caught his breath at
the easy way she said “our” but Lilith didn’t notice. “You’ll be
amazed how much bigger and brighter the house looks, just with the
ceilings repainted.”

Lilith nestled closer, her hand landing on
his. Her fingers were warm and soft, Mitch turned his hand over and
held hers tight.

“
What are you going to do
in here?” he asked, mostly because he didn’t want her to stop
talking. She could do anything she wanted with his bedroom, as far
as Mitch was concerned.

Lilith smiled. “True blue,” she confessed as
she met his gaze warmly. “And maybe some silvery stardust to keep
things interesting.”

Mitch grinned. “I like the stars in the
kids’ rooms.”

Lilith rolled to her back and stretched.
“Jason had to have planets too, but I refused to lay them out
according to the star map enclosed.”

“
You’ll never live that
down.”

“
I know,” Lilith sighed and
squeezed Mitch’s fingers. “Maybe you can fix them for
him.”

Mitch really liked her implication that they
were in this together. Lilith eased back, making room for another
on the mattress without slipping free of his hand. She smiled, her
voice dropped low. “Get naked and come to bed, Mitch. I want to
touch you and know you’re really home.”

The invitation was everything Mitch could
have hoped for. He certainly didn’t need a second request. He
peeled off his shirt and dropped his trousers, leaving them in a
pile with his socks and shoes. Down to his Jockeys, he slipped
between the sheets with a sigh of contentment and reached for
Lilith.

But she hooked a finger in the elastic of
his briefs.

“
Everything,” she insisted,
the mischievous twinkle in her eye making Mitch’s heart
pound.

“
I thought it was too
late.”

Definitely too late for talking,” Lilith
confirmed, then winked.

There was no doubt what she meant.

Mitch’s mouth went dry. “You’re sure?”

Her smile broadened. “I missed you. Besides,
you’re the one who had to make up your mind,” she teased. “Are
you
sure?”

Mitch was.

Without a doubt.

But things still weren’t simple.

He frowned. “Lilith, I wasn’t planning this.
I don’t have any condoms.”

She seemed untroubled by this confession.
“So?”

Mitch might have shed a lot of assumptions,
but he hadn’t lost all his practicality. He knew he was as clean as
a whistle, but he didn’t want Lilith worrying about anything
later.

“
Lilith, it’s the nineties.
Aren’t you worried about little biological souvenirs?”

She laughed then and tapped a fingertip on
the end of his nose. “The only man I’ve ever been with, one way or
the other, is you. And we didn’t have any condoms those other times
either.”

There really was no arguing with her on
that. And she had been supremely unconcerned so far, even though
they had done it without protection once.

Of course, there was one other issue, but
Mitch wasn’t going to raise that question again. In fact, he
couldn’t think of anything more wonderful than Lilith conceiving
his child. She’d be a terrific mother.

And he’d have another point in his favor
when he proposed.

Let the lovemaking begin.

Mitch stripped off his Jockeys and cast them
across the room with a flourish. He grinned at Lilith’s whistle of
admiration, then flicked a finger at the sleeve of her dress. “And
what about you?” he challenged softly.

Without a word, Lilith sat up, then got to
her feet. She held his gaze while she unbuttoned her dress with
theatrical leisure, bared one shoulder as though dancing to a band
only she could hear, then covered it up and playfully bared the
other.

“
Tease,” Mitch charged and
Lilith laughed.

“
You’re the one determined
to take things slowly.” She turned her back on him and shook her
shoulders so her dress fell down her back. She tipped back her head
and laughed at Mitch when he made a great show of trying to see
some flesh behind the curtain of her hair.

When she spun back to face him, her dress
was back on her shoulders but open the whole way down the front.
Mitch glimpsed her matching lingerie, the smooth creaminess of her
belly. Her legs flashed and he realized he’d never seen them
before.

“
You always wear
dresses.”

“
It’s my Rom roots
showing,” she admitted with a smile and an ease that surprised him.
“We’d rather show our breasts than our knees.”

With that, she flicked back her hair and
wriggled the dress off her shoulders. The dress fell around her
ankles in a floral swirl, then Lilith stepped out of it, like
Botticelli’s Aphrodite stepping off her seashell.

Mitch’s mouth went dry. Her skin glowed like
sun-kissed sandalwood in the pale light. She was smooth and curved
like a goddess. She was wearing a feminine froth of a brassiere,
the openwork of the white lace contrasting with the golden hue of
her skin. Lilith’s curves were achingly feminine. In those
lace-edged panties, she was a sight infinitely better than any
skinny model in a lingerie catalog.

When Lilith knelt on the bed beside him and
reached to unfasten her bra, Mitch captured her hands in his.

“
Let me,” he whispered. Her
eyes shone as she lifted her hands away, and Mitch ended up with
her breasts cupped in his palms. They fit perfectly – as though she
had been made for him to love. Or maybe the other way around.
Kismet. Mitch grinned at the whimsy of that thought.

“
What?” she
asked.

“
Perfect fit.” He arched a
brow and met her gaze. “Must be destiny.”

Lilith smiled in turn, her lips brushing
against his. “Kismet indeed,” she whispered. Her perfume swallowed
Mitch like a cloud.

His thumbs slid across her nipples and
despite the gossamer layer of silk covering them, Lilith gasped at
his touch. Mitch felt her nipples bead, then he bent and kissed her
lips more thoroughly. Lilith sighed and leaned against him, as warm
and as welcoming as she always was in his thoughts.

Mitch closed his eyes and tasted her skin,
inhaled her scent. He let his hands run over her curves, let his
lips trail across her collar bone, down her throat, across those
full breasts. He bracketed her waist with his hands and suckled her
through the bra. She cried out and clutched his hair.

Mitch eased Lilith back onto the bed and let
his questing lips move lower. He traced the length of each rib with
his kisses; he twisted his tongue into her navel; he reveled in the
love thundering through him. He wanted to savor this woman. He
wanted to pleasure her. He wanted to wipe everything out of her
universe except his own tough.