CHAPTER 3

When they arrived atthe duke’s estate, their quarries were mounting horses and about to go out. So they followed them, but at a distance so as not to be seen. Turned out they were going to a low, rectangular stone structure in the middle of the forest. Before they could wonder what they were doing there or what was inside, their instrument detected a body of water inside the building. Kalli looked at Dariux, bemused.

“A pool?” she asked.

“It seems to be. How interesting.”

“The best part is that now we can get a lot closer to them.” She was fairly thrumming with excitement.

He smiled. “If you take off your skirts, I’ll set up the post.”

She removed her outer skirt and petticoat and handed them to him. Underneath, she wore her modern pants. His eyes focused for a moment on her shapely legs before he caught himself. Shaking his wayward thoughts, he turned his attention to converting her skirts into the observation tent.

When he finished setting everything up, they crawled inside. Of course, there wasn’t much room in the interior. They barely had enough space to sit or lie next to each other. The post was supposed to be low profile. Its technology made it completely blend in with the environment, allowing them to observe without being seen.

They had been together in these cramped quarters before, but today he was especially aware of the vibrant woman by his side. She fairly thrummed with excitement as she started measuring and collecting data.

He was interested in their study to a certain degree, but his concern was more with the technical aspect of time travel. His duty fulfilled for the moment, he lay on his side and contented himself with just soaking in her nearness and enjoying the fresh fragrance that emanated from her hair.

“Truth, that is an interesting twist,” said Kalli triumphantly, thrusting the instrument into his hands.

He only needed to look at it for a moment to realize what she meant. “For real. What do we do about that?”

“Nothing for now. It has to do with our mission. Let’s observe and study. It’s not the time to intervene yet.”

“You said that before. When do you think it will be time to intervene, then?”

“When our mission is complete. When it’s time to go back.”

“How are we going to do it? Are we to reveal ourselves, or simply snatch the woman and take her with us?”

“I don’t know, Dariux! This entanglement changes everything. Before, we could have done that. Transport her and just leave her to wonder what had happened. But if they fall in love, that would be cruel.”

“Would it? They will both find someone else to attach themselves to. They are both premium specimens and shouldn’t have any problems finding another mate.”

“It doesn’t work that way. You learned nothing of all the studies we have done?”

“I have read about love. But I don’t understand the emotion. I think the literature exaggerates.”

“I don’t think so. You have seen their scan readings. Testosterone and estrogen are peaked. So are serotonin and dopamine. All those speak of a great attraction. But this reading we just got of oxytocin? Dariux, that’s the elusive love hormone!”

She was fairly vibrating with her excitement. “We have never got a high reading. We thought that might be the key. In them, its levels are off the charts. Like nothing we have seen before. I think we’ve found the real deal.”

“Then that’s a complication indeed. Because they don’t belong together. They should’ve never met. It was an accident.”

“Sometimes the best science happens by accident.”

“Kalli, you are becoming a romantic.” It was not a compliment. “Are you too under the influence of the hormones you are studying?”

“Not at all, Dariux,” she replied coolly. “I’m merely excited about my research. This could be a breakthrough.”

“If you say so. What do we do, then?”

“For now, keep observing and gathering information. We still have some time. We’ll see later.”

Dariux nodded without enthusiasm. He knew Kalli had good intentions, but this mission was not going as planned. And he suspected it would be up to him to make the hard decisions.

He wondered, not for the first time, if it would have been better not to mess with emotions at all. Look at all the chaos that was ensuing. Two people from different centuries falling in love. If one could believe those readings, of course. And he having inappropriate reactions to his colleague...

Right now, he would like nothing more than to take her mouth in a deep kiss, soothe that lower lip she was biting so mercilessly, then roll over her and... Damnation! He was doing it again. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to get another erection, and in the close confines of the tent, she could not fail to notice.

Better to turn his mind to the investigation. A few seconds of that proved counterproductive, for their study subjects seemed to be engaged in sexual activities. The very action he would like to pursue. Double damnation!

A moment later, Kalli pushed back from the instrument she was examining. It was the heat scan; he noticed. Her cheeks were flushed, and she seemed...embarrassed?

“I think we have enough data for today. We can pick up and move on now,” she said while haphazardly replacing instruments back in their cases.

“Wow, careful with that. Why so suddenly? What’s going on? Is there danger?”

“No, no! Nothing like that. I just...I don’t think we should spy on people at certain moments.”

Dariux raised his eyebrows. That was exactly what she had been doing throughout this entire mission. “Which moments are those?”

As an answer, she just handed him the heat scan. He looked into the visor and cursed. Their study subjects were indeed engaged in copulation. In a most imaginative and, if the heat of their bodies was any sign, highly pleasurable manner.

He moved back forcefully from the suggestive image and ran into Kalli, who was awkwardly leaning over him to put something away. His movement knocked her off balance, and she fell half on top of him, one of her thighs between his legs. Where his very prominent erection prodded her.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. For a moment, she looked so surprised that he wanted to die of mortification. But before he could get out the words of apology, she swept down and captured his mouth in a kiss.