Torin stared at the food, then glanced back at Emma. Her soft, full lips ripped his attention away from the strange explanation when they formed the most delicious-looking pucker while she blew on her own steaming spoonful of stew. His body immediately thrummed to attention. Lore.He forcedhimself to lean back in the chair instead of pulling her across the table and revisiting the sweetness of that luscious mouth. Shaking himself out of the erotic reverie, he forced himself to focus on his bowl. What the hell had the woman just said about something stirring the food to make it hot? “I dinna understand. There is no fireormagic to warm the food?”
A sympathetic smile tugged at the corner of her tempting mouth. “I don’t understand it myself, Torin. I just know when I turn the knob it works.”
That made him feel a bit better, but uneasiness still stirred within him. This world had changed in so many ways. The strange silver spout in the wall that spewed either scalding hot water or an icy cold stream depending on how much the white handles twisted against the pipes. A horseless carriage that jarred a man’s body with such evil magic that the strongest warrior would retch. And now a strange box that took raw food and transformed it into steaming hotness within the blink of an eye. And all with the simple twist of a silver knob. Madness. Sheer and utter madness.
He didn’t belong here. He had to convince Emma to help him reseal the portal so theCailleachwould grant him passage to the next realm and allow him to join his clan. This place and time held nothing but confusion for him. His time in this reality had passed long ago. So much confusion. So many unknowns.
Torin stole another glance across the table, distracted for a moment from his thoughts by the tempting curve of Emma’s breasts straining against the thin material of her shirt.And what about her?He swallowed hard against the sudden dryness in his mouth. Now that he’d discovered the pleasures of her touch—and so much more, how could he bear to leave Emma behind? Torin pushed away from the table. Maybe if he turned away from the woman who had just set his soul on fire, he could push that unpleasant question out of his mind.
“You can’t be finished. You haven’t even tried your stew.” Emma crumbled a handful of crackers into her bowl and added more shredded cheese atop the steaming chunks of meat and vegetables.
He waved away her words with a vague flick of his wrist. “The links of meat will do me.” Torin circled the room, glancing back at Emma as she dug into her food. She would never leave this realm, forsake her sister, or abandon the place where she healed the children. He shook his head, sucking in a deep breath from between clenched teeth. He knew in his heart she’d never relinquish this place without a fight. Her loyalty was part of her charm. How could he convince her to come with him and explore the wondrous powers awaiting her discovery? How could he show her she didn’t belong in this place anymore than he did?
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Emma grabbed her napkin off the table and patted it across her chin. “Have I got food on my face?”
She was so innocent. His heart shifted with a tender feeling he never thought possible. “No, lass. Your face is as clean and lovely as ever.”
Emma’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, and she dropped her gaze back to her bowl. Clearing her throat as she pushed the spoon in circles through her food, she kept her head lowered as she spoke. “So, why are you looking at me like that, then? You look like you need to say something, but you can’t figure out how to say it.”
Her words heightened Torin’s wariness. Emma might not realize the gifts she possessed, but she naturally tapped into her powerful sense of perception with amazing ease. “Have ye ever wondered where ye came from, Emma? Have ye ever sought out your ancestry?”
She rose from the table, scooped up the bowls, and hugged them against her chest. Her expression flattened into anemotionless blank as though she had donned a mask. “No. It doesn’t matter where I came from. All that matters is where I am headed.”
Fear.Torin smelled it as surely as the smoldering peat fire smoking in the grate. Emma feared what she might find if she looked into the past. What else could drain the color from her freckle-dusted cheeks? Emma was afraid. “What if I could tell ye of your history? Of the wondrous gifts and discoveries awaiting ye as ye…move forward?”
Emma paused, not looking at Torin. Her knuckles whitened as she stared down at the thick ceramic bowls in her hands. The muscles in her jaw rippled as she turned and whacked the dishes against the garbage bin until globs of stew splattered into the can. Still staring down into the garbage, her voice trembled. “What if I told you I didn’t want to know?”
“Ye do notwishto know the magic that lies within your touch, or ye areafraidto discover the power awaiting your command?” Torin edged closer. He had to make her see it was time to face her heritage. The time for running was over.
Emma turned, dropped the bowls in the sink, then flinched as the pottery shattered with a grating crash against the porcelain-coated cast iron. “Well, dammit!” She pounded the heels of her hands against the rim of the sink, staring down at the broken bowls. “Themagicyou speak of hasn’t helped me a damn bit or gotten me where I am today. Determination is all I need. Why do I need magic now?” Bitterness and resentment hung heavy in the air, seasoning every word she uttered.
Torin understood better than Emma could ever know. His powers hadn’t protected him from unbearable pain or loss either. “You and I are not so different, Emma. Pain has filled our lives. The magic doesna shield us from sorrows along our path. It’s merely one of the threads woven into our fate.”
“My fate—my destiny is to help children and heal them the best I can. That’s the only magic I have room for in my life. All I need is the magic of science.” Grabbing the garbage bin, she yanked it over beside the sink. With stiff jerking movements, she fished the shards of pottery out of the basin and dropped them into the can one by one.
Lore, the woman’s stubbornness reminded him of his own. Torin grabbed both her hands and bent forward until she raised her head. “The powers can no longer be ignored, lass. The time is past for pretending. Ye must face your true path as a guardian. I can help ye find the way. The wonders just awaiting your touch will fair set your mind to spinning.”
Yanking her hands free, she backed against the counter. “Why is this so important to you? Why are you hounding me about this, Torin? What’s in this for you?”
A sharp rap on the door caused them both to jump. Emma’s eyes widened as she looked at the door then swiveled her attention back to him.
Fear? Torin studied her expression as a dusty rose flush heightened the color of her cheeks. No. Not fear. Something else. He pulled his dagger from the leather sheath strapped to his leg and took a step toward the door. Whatever lay on the other side of that threshold was causing Emma a great deal of unease.
“No!” Emma grabbed his arm as she pushed past him with her handbag clutched to her chest. She pulled the front door open just enough to pull in a brown paper package while holding the door steady with her knee.
“Here. Thank you very much.” Emma shoved a handful of something that she’d pulled from the depths of her black bag through the narrow opening. She followed this motion with a polite smile, then closed the door with a quiet bang. Turning, she clutched a small brown package against her chest and leaned back against the door.
What was the lass up to now? Torin nodded at the package as crossed both arms over his chest. A sense of dread armed his defenses. He had been hit with so many other strange contraptions in this time; he was none too certain he was ready for another. “What does the package hold, Emma?”
She glanced down at the twine-wrapped bundle cradled in her arms. She caught the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth then lifted her gaze to his. “This package?”
Embarrassment. Torin forced himself not to smile. Whatever she held in her arms was causing the lass quite a bit of discomfort. He had to know what the strange bundle held. Surely a package so verra small couldna hold anything too wicked. “Yes, Emma.Thatpackage.”
“Stuff.”
“Stuff?” Torin stared at her in disbelief. So, she didna wish to tell him what she had hidden beneath the brown paper?
The color heightened across her cheeks. “Yes. Stuff. My stuff.” Nodding toward the crumb-covered kitchen table, she wrapped her arms tighter around the bundle. “Are you sure you’ve had enough to eat? I can’t believe one cheese-covered hot dog is a meal for a man like you. I think I’ve got some cookies in the cupboard. How about some cookies with a tall glass of milk?”
