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

“He said when he had news, he would tell me.”

Erik had brought him to Jarlshof to meet the rest of the Council members a few years ago, and Arne introduced his daughter. She was fourteen, old enough to marry in their culture. Unbeknownst to Tavis, Erik and Arne arranged for their marriage. When Erik told Tavis he was to wed her, he was furious and explained that in his time, fourteen-year-old girls were too young to marry, and he refused to consummate the marriage until she turned eighteen. That didn’t sit well with the Council, but Tavis refused to bed her. He would support her, but he wouldn’t be a true husband to her yet.

Astrid had grown from a timid young girl into a beautiful and desirable woman—a Valkyrie—who possessed all the intelligence, skills, and passion he wanted in a wife. Her English was almost perfect, and she read every book he gave her. He had told her about the lands and centuries beyond Jarlshof. The information excited her, but she didn’t want to travel. He intended to pressure her again while he was here.

He nuzzled her neck. “Where’s my son now?”

“My slave has him. They went to the storeroom for vegetables.”

The girl had served Astrid in her father’s house and was given to her when she married Tavis and moved to Erik’s longhouse. She was only about twelve, but Astrid depended on her to do most household cleaning tasks.

“What’s his name?” When Tavis thought about children, usually during MacKlenna Clan get-togethers, he wanted to honor his grandfather and name his child Joseph.

Astrid looked surprised. “He has no name other than Son of Tavis. We have been waiting for you to give him a proper one.”

Now he felt like a real cad. “How old is he?”

She held up two fingers. “Two months.”

Now he knew he was a real asshole. His last trip here was to celebrate Astrid’s eighteenth birthday and consummate their marriage, and she had conceived during the three months he stayed here. Why hadn’t he asked before he returned to his century?

“You should have told me.”

“I didn’t want to be a burden and hold you here when you had work to do in your time.”

“I would have stayed. Nothing is more important than you.”

He grimaced, knowing how dangerous childbirth was in the twelfth century, and the infant mortality rate was so high. What if he’d returned and learned that she and their son had died in childbirth? With that thought, terror rolled over him. And now that Erik, his mentor, was gone, and Tavis didn’t have a brooch of his own, what would he use to travel back and forth?

Astrid rested her hand on Tavis’s chest and fiddled with the chain and silver medallion he wore against his skin. The jewelry had been a wedding gift from her, and he never took it off.

“From the first time I saw you, I imagined having a son with your eyes and hair, and I finally got my heart’s wish.”

He smiled, appreciating the wish of a maiden, and he realized only now how much she’d given up when she agreed to wait four years for him. He’d forced her to sacrifice her childbearing years to accommodate the standards of the future and his sensibilities.

He kissed her. “I’m sure he’s a beautiful baby, but I’d rather he looked like you, not me.”

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him back, and he looked down and slowly raked his eyes over her. He knew the feel of every curve, every bone, every muscle in her body. But her body had changed. The changes made her even more desirable, and he hardened in anticipation of making love to her.

She teased him with a provocative smile. “A son should resemble his father, not his mother.”

He didn’t have an answer for that. But he had the answer to a question he’d asked dozens of times: Will you go to the future with me? He had a child now, and it was important to him to do what was best for his family. He would talk to Astrid’s father first. Without buy-in from him, she would never leave her home by choice, and he’d never take her away against her will.

“I will leave you now,” she said. “Come to me as soon as you finish with the Council.”

Since he didn’t know how long it would be before they had time alone, he thought about his upcoming conversation with the Council, which immediately killed the boner.

She sauntered away but looked back at him, smiling. “Hurry.”

Damn right, he’d hurry. And after just that saucy smile, his hard-on was resurrected.

He waved and then walked toward the cliff, where he gazed out over the sea. The chilly breeze blowing off the water tensed the muscles in his neck and shoulders. He rolled his neck, but it didn’t help, and nothing would right now, other than a few hours alone with his wife. And that wasn’t likely to happen until after the funeral.

How many times had he stood here with Erik, talking about the future and the Celtic brooches? Dozens? No. Hundreds. And each time Tavis asked about the stones, Erik always gave him the same answer, “When the time comes, you will know all there is to know.”

But Erik often made random comments about the stones and their power, and when he did, Tavis didn’t spend much time putting them into context. He wrongly assumed he would have many more years with Erik. Now, when it was too late, he had questions.

Tavis thoughtfully scraped his thumb across his stubbled chin and considered his relationship with the remaining Council members. He didn’t trust them the way he trusted Erik. They weren’t untrustworthy. It was just that he didn’t have a connection with them, but that was about to change. As Erik’s heir, he inherited a seat on the Council, or maybe they would hold it open for Tavis’s son. The Council could vote to do either one.

He glanced across