The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

the wall to the floor. Do they look familiar?”

“We noticed it years ago, and JC thought it resembled his birthmark.”

“Crap. It does. But you know what? It’s gone now. Did you notice his foot?”

“No, I was watching JC’s eyes. Not his feet.”

“Kenzie mentioned his skin was as smooth as a baby’s butt. I guess he got new skin all over.” She shivered, and Austin rubbed her arms.

“It’s cool in here. Let’s go.”

She looked at the drawing again. “Erik drew that design on my forehead.”

“I know. I saw it. He drew it in blood.”

“Oh, right. Well, he also drew it on my forehead when I fell off the bull and almost died. I saw it then.”

“Did you have an out-of-body experience?”

“I guess so. I saw my body on the ground, but I couldn’t feel a thing. Then I woke up in the hospital. I think Erik was with me.”

“It sounds like he’s always been around to protect you. When we get back, we can show this to David. He has equipment that can map it out, and if there are clues, he and Kenzie will find them.”

“Clues to what?”

“Who knows? But there’s a connection between you, this cave, and JC. I want to know what it is and what it means for the family.”

They left the cave, and Austin decided to take the longer route back to the mansion. The sun was going down, and it was an easier path. He led her around the side of the mound, through the tree line, and stopped.

“I’ll be damned. Never seen this before. It must be the cabin where Elliott kept JC.”

“Is it on the farm in the future?”

“Someone obliterated the cabin and its foundation. Come on. Let’s get out of here. It’s giving me a creepy feeling.”

Ensley grabbed Austin’s arm to hold him back. “Wait.” She let the light shine on the ground. “See these footprints?” She squatted and studied them closely. “I’ve seen these before. They’re Erik’s.”

“They’re going in both directions.”

Ensley glanced behind her. “I wonder if he came from the cave and went back again the same way?”

Austin helped her up. “Why would he need a cave?”

“We won’t know until we study the drawing. But what if there’s a secret passage in there that allowed Erik to move laterally? We know he was here and in Chicago and North Dakota. How’d he move around so easily?”

“With his brooch.”

“But so far, none of the brooches have been dependable that way. That’s why Kenzie got so mad at Elliott. She was afraid the brooch wouldn’t take him right back to get Meredith.”

“I still don’t see why Erik would need another way to move around.”

“Because he can’t fly.”

“Another mystery will drive the family nuts. Come on. Let’s get out of here. If the Illuminati know about the cave or caves, we could be in even more danger. Let’s keep this quiet for now. We can tell David and Kenzie as soon as we get back.”

She looked up at him. “Do you have your phone?”

“Is there someone you want to call?”

“No, I want pictures of the footprints.”

“I don’t have it. Tavis and Remy knocked me out and abducted me. I must have dropped my phone in the movie theater.”

“They abducted you from a movie theater?”

“It’s not what you think. There’s a small theater in the ranch house.”

“Of course there is. I know it’s not a typical ranch house like the one I grew up in, but a movie theater?”

“Elliott wanted it to be a winter resort for the family. It has everything. And I love it there.”

“Why?” Her expression was a curious mixture of wistfulness, loss, and something harder to identify.

“The mountains, winter sports, and hunting and fishing.”

“North Dakota has all that.”

“Do you want to go back there?”

She shook her head. “No, I sold the ranch. It was time to move on.”

“I’ll take you to Colorado for Christmas. Unless you decide that you’re ready to leave the city for the mountains now.”

“Let’s get through this adventure first. Okay?”

He took her hand and led her across the clearing, looking for the perfect spot to kiss her. It had to be a place they could easily find later if they wanted to reenact their first kiss. When he saw a tree stump, he made a beeline in that direction.

“Hey, slow down. Your legs are twice as long as mine. I look like a hobbit next to you, mister gargantuan hardcourt hero.”

“I’m no longer a hardcourt hero, and you don’t look like a hobbit.” He sat down on the tree stump, pulled her onto his lap, and didn’t give her a chance to back out. He cupped her jaw with one hand and the back of her head with the other. Then he tilted her face up and melded her mouth with his.

His tongue slid past her lips, and she stroked his tongue in an irresistibly erotic rhythm. They shifted the angle of their heads several times but didn’t break the kiss until he pulled away and pressed his lips against her neck just beneath her ear. She probably knew he was aching to enfold her tiny body in his arms and hold her so close against him that he could feel her heartbeat.

He didn’t want to stop, but somehow—only God knew how—he kept his hands on her hips instead of exploring the hollows and mounds he’d visually charted when he barged in on her in the locker room.

He ended the kiss long before he wanted to, knowing he had to table his dirty thoughts and raging hard-on while he was still able. He looked deeply into her eyes, then released her. “You better hop up, or I’m going to toss up your skirt and petticoats and do it right here.”

He willed her to comprehend the intensity of his feelings, but he must have gone too far because she stood up abruptly.

“We should go.”

“I’m sorry—”

“No, don’t be, and I’m not at all sorry. The kiss was perfect, and I didn’t want it to end, but I don’t