Unbreakable Bonds by Aliyah Burke, Taige Crenshaw Read Free Book Online Page A

having forgotten for a moment who he was and the time he came from. Ta-Mara quickly explained what the television was and how it worked. She gave him the remote. Levi sat heavily, staring in awe at the screen. She left him to it and went to make some calls. Pausing in the kitchen, she braced her hands on the counter.
    What have I gotten myself into? There is no way I can deal with a man from the eighteen-sixties. Hell, I shouldn’t even believe that he is some time traveler. Yet I do. Ta-Mara thought of his deep blue eyes and the intensity of them that stole her breath away. And damn my luck, he’s so fricking sexy.
    There was nothing she could do about any of it so she went to fix what she could—getting him some identification.
     
    * * * *
     
    Levi stared in the direction Ta-Mara had gone and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had no idea what had happened earlier. All he remembered was watching her ass then coldness. For a moment, he’d have sworn he was back in the forest, running, but that had to be impossible— Doesn’t it?
    “I’m in the here and now,” Levi muttered. “Not my time, but I’m learning to adapt.”
    With that in mind, he glanced at the box thing she’d called a television. He frowned, seeing the moving people and color in it. He lifted the little black thing she gave him called a remote then pressed a button. Levi partially rose as a woman appeared. She was singing, but it was her clothing—or lack thereof—that made his eyes widen.
    “Enjoying a little Beyoncé, I see,” Ta-Mara said.
    He glanced toward the doorway. She was peeking in at him with a small smile on her face. Levi returned it before gesturing toward the screen.
    “Her clothing is much different than I am used to.” He glanced at Ta-Mara’s top and thought of her bottoms. Again, he hardened and he cleared his throat before speaking again. “Much different.”
    “Probably. Do you mind if I take a picture of you?” she asked, and when he nodded, she raised a small silver thing in her hands. “I also have a few questions. What is the month and day you were born, your height and eye color?”
    He gave her the information then asked curiously, “What is that you used to take my picture? Why do you need to know these things?”
    “Oh, this. It’s a camera. And the reason why…it’s a surprise.” She smiled. “Don’t know if I can get it for you, but I will try.”
    She left. He wondered what the surprise could be. Immediately he flashed to her wearing something more like the woman on the screen just for him. Levi shifted in his seat then turned his attention back to the television. His eyes widened as the woman Ta-Mara had called Beyoncé slithered across the floor, beckoning him.
    “No thanks. Not what I prefer.” He snorted. “Maybe if you were Ta-Mara, I’d be down on the floor with you.”
    Levi closed his eyes again, thinking of kissing Ta-Mara. I wonder how she tastes. He opened his eyes and pushed the thought away. Levi knew it was foolish to long for her when he had no idea why he was here and what would happen to him. He needed to learn what he could so he could blend in. He didn’t want to cause Ta-Mara trouble. He changed the television to another show and leaned forward, staring at the images he was very familiar with—war. As the man spoke of the war, Levi wondered why, of all things, that hadn’t changed or ceased to exist.
    “The news.” Ta-Mara came in again.
    “I see people still have war. No matter the reasoning, it leads to senseless death on each side.” Levi sat back.
    “So you’re against war.” Ta-Mara perched in the chair she had occupied earlier.
    Levi thought of what he had lost because of people waging war against an ideal that he would dare love someone of a different color. His Calliope hadn’t done anything but love him, despite the obstacles and hate they’d faced. For a moment he wondered if they could have still been together had they been born later, during what