Just in Time: Portals of Time by Kathryn Shay Read Free Book Online Page A

I’ll call it up on my computeller. I bet I’ll
love
that video.”
    “For all our sakes, I hope Alex Lansing’s not something else you just
love
.” Alisha stood. “Don’t stay in there too long.”
    “Just a few more minutes.”
    After Alisha left, Celeste slid down and put her head under the water, enjoying the sensation of submersion. She visualized the chips containing the likeness of Alex Lansing. She couldn’t wait to meet him. Meanwhile, she’d have to settle for watching this
Star Trek
show
.

Chapter 5
     
    “MY LOVE IS yours,” Dorian told Alisha and Celeste just before she disconnected on one of their daily calls. She hated speaking with her friends and not seeing them, but they couldn’t risk someone other than Jess catching sight of the computeller. So Alisha had contacted her with their newly purchased—though barbaric—cell phones.
    From the corner of her eye, she saw Luke Cromwell stroll down the hallway to his brother’s kitchen. This was why she used the device common to today: the man always seemed to be showing up without warning and…he hovered. He poured some coffee and leaned against the counter, unabashedly watching her. His arrogant posture made him attractive, something Dorian didn’t understand.
    “What does
my love is yours
mean?” he asked, his gaze intent.
    “Eavesdropping, Lieutenant?”
    “Yep.”
    “I was speaking with my sisters. Saying I care for them.”
    “Another oddity in your syntax.”
    “My don—parents taught us the phrase. They wanted something special among the four of us.”
    “Where do they live?”
    “They are deceased. My sisters live in New York now. But, as I told you before, we came from Virginia.”
    “Which is right outside of Washington.” He said the words sarcastically, and again Dorian didn’t know why. So she nodded at her notes on the low table in front of the seating conformer—a couch. “Are you ready to talk about the emails?”
    “Yeah. Where’s Jess?”
    “He’s on a walking with Helen.” She smiled. “He’s enjoying a day off.”
    “My brother?”
    “He said he wished to spend more time with his spouse.”
    “This death threat’s got him scared.”
    “As it should.” She studied Luke. Today he was dressed in a tight-fitting, white shirt that outlined every one of his impressive muscles, low-riding pants called jeans (which was also a name) and shoes called sneakers, perhaps because they made no noise when someone walked in them and could come up behind another person without being heard. “Are you not working today, either?”
    “Sort of. It’s my regular day off, but I’m going to the office after lunch.”
    “I see. You’re a holicworker like Jess.”
    Silence. Then, a piercing, brown gaze that made her shift on her feet. “Are you for real?”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Neither do I.” He came in closer and towered over her. His scent surrounded her. It was almost overpowering. “The word is workaholic. Everybody knows that word, yet you misused it. You misuse words and terms a lot, like Jess is
out on a walking
.”
    Dorian had watched some videos of women and their interactions with men in this time period. Mimicking them, she tilted her chin. Exasperation and boredom seemed to put the male species off. “This is tiring, Lieutenant. I’ve already explained why my speech is unusual. And frankly, I find you tedious.” She smiled. “I know I got that word right.”
    His eyes widened, glistening in the light coming in from the window. His breath had sped up, and suddenly he seemed even more male. Which sparked something inside her. The men of her time never affected her like this, never seemed as virile as this one did right now.
    Or as dangerous
.
    Though she wanted to move in and press her body to his, to touch him all over, she turned away to pick up her notes. “Shall we confer?”
    Grabbing her arm, he whirled her to face him and gripped her biceps. His hands were strong, and a quick rush