An Earl in Time Read online

  The flickering light before her was mesmerizing, so close she could reach out and touch it. Of its own volition, her hand reached out and did just that. The mass of sparks sent a sizzling tremor through her. Amazingly, it didn’t hurt. In fact, it was almost…energizing.

  As she flexed her fingers, enjoying the sensations that streaked up and down her arm, she felt her ankles released. A push threw her forward into the waiting mass of black and purple. With that sudden force, she fell headfirst into the light, and the sensation of freefalling overtook her.

  ****

  Natalie dove headfirst…into nothing. Her stomach heaved at the sensation. She swallowed, taking in a breath that sounded like a cross between a gulp and a gasp.

  Just when she thought the nausea would overtake her, there was a pin-pick of light somewhere far below her. Her body righted itself so it lay on a horizontal plane, but that little circle of light expanded, rushing toward her.

  She screwed her eyes shut before her body crashed into the opening vortex of light and waited for the pain to come. None did. There was no hard impact with the ground or the crunch of broken bone.

  Instead, a satiny smooth fabric caressed her fingertips, and whatever she lay on was firm. A cool breeze wafted across the soles of her feet. She must have lost her shoes. Now all that remained for her to do was open her eyes. Natalie frowned, terrified to see what awaited her.

  Never one to let her fears overtake her, she’d worked up the nerve to do a full optical assault on her surroundings, when a throat cleared and a voice spoke.

  “And where did you come from, my pretty little bird?”

  She started. No one had ever called her a bird before. Was that lightly accented voice talking to her? Cracking open a wary eye, she gazed up at the face looming over her. And fell all over again, spiraling down into an unknown abyss.

  His would’ve been a sinfully handsome face, but for the fact he didn’t look exactly human. Oh, the eyes, nose, and mouth were there and in the right proportion, as was the general shape of the face. But the eyes glinted with an abnormal light—a purple iridescent light—under strongly arched brows. Brown hair that should have been normal wasn’t. It held too many varying shades of red and gold, running the spectrum back and forth between the two.

  He should’ve looked like some poster boy for hair color gone bad, but he didn’t. A light touch painted each strand with those varying hues, subtly morphing from one shade into the other. Somehow she intuitively knew no bottle had produced that crackling color. If it could have, women the world over would have been forking over their cash for the dye to get that unusual but stunning result. And out of his long hair peeked something that also gave her pause. She blinked. His ears were pointed.

  But the most disturbing fact was he watched her with an intense fascination. Hadn’t he ever seen a woman before? But then, she had never before seen the likes of him.

  “You’re human, little bird.”

  Her eyebrows drew together. She’d been expecting a threat or demand, not an observation. Just who and what was he?

  He smiled, the grin creeping across his face like a ray of light. “We have legends about round-eared humans.”

  Natalie gaped at him, his randomness catching her off-guard. “Huh?” She’d literally fallen into his lap, and he told her they had legends of humans?

  “I believe you flew too far and are now nowhere near your home. We shall have to provide our little bird with shelter until she knows where her nest lies.”

  He took the bird analogy a bit far, and his wording struck her as strange. To whom did the ‘we’ refer?

  She sucked in a deep breath, and the questions forming on her lips died. He gazed a little too intently at where her hair covered her ears before he lifted his arm. Time slowed down to a crawl as she tracked the movement of his hand. At the first touch, she closed her eyes, or so she thought. Even with her lids closed, she swore she could still see him sweep the strands back from her face. Sight and touch further combined as he gently traced her right ear, leaving a burning wake of pleasurable tingles. Or was it her left…her brain had turned to goo.

  Shifting, Natalie suddenly became aware she was sprawled across his lap—a lap she didn’t know and couldn’t quite reconcile as being real. And never mind the lightly tanned hand that touched one of her ears as if it were a novelty. Her thoughts finally sank in and propelled her into motion, causing her to roll rather ungracefully off his person. Thankfully, he didn’t move to either help or restrain her.

  Once she was a more comfortable foot or two away from him, a bewildered fright ran riot through her veins. She couldn’t have moved any more than she already had. Her numb body refused any commands demanding movement.

  Before she fully realized it, he stood above her and extended a hand. “Come.”

  “Come?” she echoed. Something didn’t add up, but she couldn’t quite place a finger on it. She glanced from his hand to his face, back to his hand. Then clarity struck. This moment seemed familiar, as if she’d lived it before. Without Natalie consciously deciding, her hand sought out his.

  “To my home, to my city. You have three weeks, after all.”

  Her reaching hand halted. “Three weeks?”

  Grasping her hand, he pulled her up, not answering. She trailed behind him, and when she had all but given up on him responding, he spoke. “Three weeks to decide where your dreams rest. If they don’t lie here with me, you will go back to your world with no remembrance of this one or the people in it.”

  She stumbled at his words, her mind hazing over like a foggy mirror. Blessed blackness swamped over her, and down she spiraled again.

  ****

  Lorh glanced down at the burden in his arms, squaring his jaw. The events set in place so many years ago now came to fruition. Though those years were nothing more than a flick of an eyelash to his people, he had felt every day painfully. If not for his family, it would have been unbearable. Now he only needed to warn them.

  They would be overjoyed. Given time, he hoped Natalie would feel the same.

  A brief smile played over his lips. To have her fall into his lap had been a pleasant surprise. His hand glided over her black shoulder-length hair, and what he found made him frown. She would have to let it grow to befit her station.

  His gait sped up in his haste to reach the manor, only to slow when the graceful lines of his home came into sight. He would get her settled in and let the process begin.

  She had arrived, and they wouldn’t allow her to fly away so easily. A tether stronger than leather or cage would hold her to their side. Time and memory would see to it.