waited until they were alone
like this, but they had been this way for nearly half an hour and
she still hadn’t mentioned it.
He wasn’t sure
why he was so desperate to know, there was just something about her
face when she stepped out of the bathroom that had his curiosity
peaked.
“So… where’d
you go today?”
Her smile
indicated that she saw right through his attempted casualness. He
felt his cheeks rise with color.
“I went to
London.”
“To visit the
queen?”
Gemma grinned.
“1820. We were rescuing a writer, Arthur Paulson.”
“That name
sounds vaguely familiar.”
“He apparently
published a piece about child labor or something.”
“Yeah… that
does sound familiar. I must have read about him.”
Harrison
watched his girlfriend bite the inside of her cheek.
A-ha! I knew
there was more!
He kept his
lips sealed, trying to wait patiently. She always spilled
eventually; he just wished she wouldn’t take so long to do it!
“Have you ever
read about Nathaniel Clayton?”
“No, I don’t
think so.” Harrison’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“He, um, kind
of helped me out today and I was just wondering about him.”
“Helped you
out?” Harrison’s stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”
She let
out a long sigh then spilled the beans. They came tumbling out in a
torrent of expression that had Harrison’s insides quivering with
fear, annoyance, and as much as he hated to admit it, pride. Gemma
never thought twice about putting her safety on the line for the
sake of someone else.
Squeezing
her tight, he kissed the top of her head. “My spatia angelus. You did the right thing, time
angel.”
She
swive led her head to spy
him. “So, you’re not mad with me for getting my sweet butt in
trouble?”
His lips rose.
“I’m just glad that Clayton guy was there.”
“Yeah, me too.
There was something about him, Harrison. He was just… lovely.”
Harrison could
tell the word was insufficient. Gemma’s brow wrinkled before she
shook her head and looked back up at him with a grin.
“Did I tell you
he looked just like you?”
“Like me?”
Harrison grinned. “No wonder you liked him so much.”
Gemma giggled.
“Maybe he’s a distant relative or something.”
“Yeah.” His
insides buzzed with the thought of a brewing investigation. “I’ll
look into for you.”
“Thanks,
babe.”
He ran his
finger over her smiling lips before bending forward to meet them.
He let the kiss linger and deepen a little before drawing away. If
the fire in his brain was an indicator, he could tell they both
wanted more, but the timing wasn’t right. Gemma wouldn’t give
herself wholly to him until she could spend the entire night in his
arms afterwards. That’s what she’d said and in all honesty, he kind
of liked the idea. With the Nazi police as her parents he knew the
likelihood of it ever happening before they went away to college
was impossible. He could wait.
He wrapped his
arms around her, shooing her parents’ condition of breaking up
after high school out of his mind. They couldn’t stop him from
seeing Gemma. He would find a way to keep her in his life and he
would fight tooth and nail to make sure it happened.
Gemma’s smile
looked forced as she moved to stand. “I gotta go. Debrief’s at
five.”
The phone in
his pocket beeped as he took his girlfriend’s hand and headed for
the parking lot.
“Want to go to
the movies with Darren and Courtney tonight?” He looked up from his
screen.
Gemma’s eyes
lit with the idea, but her smile quickly faded. “We already went
out together on Monday. I don’t know if my parents will let me have
another night this week.”
“Did you ask
about dinner with my family on Friday?”
“Not yet.”
Gemma bit her lip.
Harrison
couldn’t stop the annoyed sigh from spurting through his lips.
“Please don’t
do the face. I hate the face.” Gemma squeezed his hand.
“You’re
seventeen. You should be allowed to go out when and where