Teaser:

 

SIDNEY TRAILED RONAN by about ten feet. This part of the jungle was particularly heavy. Vines hung from the trees and overgrown brush made it difficult for them to walk. Tree trunks were closer together than before and blocked out most of the sun, casting ominous shadows that seemed to dance and mock the women’s flight. All Sidney could do was concentrate on picking her way carefully behind Ronan. When she did have a few spare moments to relax on one of their infrequent breaks, thoughts of her companion swam in her head.

 

From what she had learned so far, Ronan had been a homicide detective who had given up everything to protect her. She’d learned of the threat against Sidney’s life and found the desire to protect her more important than her career.  

 

She knew that Ronan came from a well to do family since she had mentioned that her mother was a socialite and that she had funded the professor’s research. However, Sidney felt that the by-products of that research were the vital key in unlocking the mystery that surrounded her. She had no reason to doubt Ronan’s character; there was an air of honesty and innocence about her that Sidney didn't think anyone capable of faking.  

 

Not to mention that she is arrogant, insolent, intelligent, and gorgeous.  

 

She was sure it was these other qualities more than her stunning beauty that drew Sidney irresistibly against her will. She'd never once heard Ronan talk about where she was from, except indirectly. Whenever the subject came up, she evaded the question or changed the subject. Moreover, she knew things, Sidney realized with a frown. Things a person could only know if…  

 

Eyes going wide in shock, Sidney came to a standstill as she watched Ronan’s retreating back. Suddenly pieces of the puzzle seemed to click into place. How and when Ronan would know what was going to happen to her, the extremely sophisticated motorcycle, and all of that futuristic equipment. The key word here was futuristic.  

 

Her heart pounded and her mouth was suddenly dry. She wondered if it could be true. Could this woman really be from the future? Sidney felt disoriented at the prospect, caught in the plot to one of her movies. She felt of her previously injured wrist and remembered how Ronan had healed her. Though far-fetched, it was a distinct possibility.  

 

Sidney refocused on the present and could barely see Ronan in the gloom. Since she had the analyzer, the threat of becoming lost in the jungle was very real if she lost sight of Ronan. All thoughts of time travel left her mind as she rushed to catch up.

 

Only a few feet behind now, she looked ahead and saw another looping vine. This one was substantially thicker than the others were and for some reason garnered her interest. She trailed the satiny black length of it with her eyes and found it terminated in a bobbing and weaving, hissing, diamond-shaped head. Ronan was about to walk right into a twelve-foot long python.  

 

“Look out.” Sidney dropped her briefcase to leap toward Ronan. She wasn’t sure what she had planned to do by racing toward her but a second later, everything spun out of control.  

 

The scene seemed to play out in slow motion as Sidney scrambled forward. She watched Ronan draw the pistol from her belt with lightning quick reflexes and cut the serpent in two. Perhaps her momentum prevented her from being able to stop, or maybe it was just the unconscious desire to instigate an encounter. Whatever the reason Sidney was unable to cease her headlong rush and ploughed right into Ronan. Both of them crashed heavily to the ground and in the tangle of arms and legs, Sidney suddenly found herself lying on top of the full-figured woman. Soft breasts pressed against her chest and she suddenly had a great deal of trouble drawing breath.  

“S…sorry,” she mumbled absently, caught in the cobalt web of desire she found reflected back at her.  

 

For an unknown amount of time, she stared into the ice blue gaze before her eyes shifted lower and focused on the full lips. Ronan's mouth was open, her breath panting. She was so close Sidney could see the tiny wrinkles on the lips and wondered if they were as soft as they looked. She saw her tongue move, the words forced out.

 

“Kiss me,” Ronan said in a breathless whisper.  

 

The words ignited a fire in her core that Sidney had long since thought extinguished. With a groan of excitement that overwhelmed her, she lowered her head and captured the lush softness with her own. Heat flashed through her brain, exploding simultaneously in the center of her being. Lips explored gently at first and charted the tender flesh. Then Ronan’s lips parted in a gasp and their tongues began to explore in earnest as they absorbed, immersed in, and devoured each other.  

 

Unconsciously she pressed closer to the strong body as Sidney tried to absorb every sensation that seared through her. Her mouth was insistent, almost bruising the soft flesh of Ronan’s mouth as she tried to consume her utterly. No thoughts remained, only this hungry excitement that rendered her breathless and caused her to moan into the mouth against her own.

 

The satiny softness of Ronan’s lips slid over her own provocatively and Sidney lost herself in the sensation. The outside world ceased to exist as both women thought of nothing, striving only to drown in the sweetness they tasted.  

 

Finally, they both drew slowly away. Ronan’s mouth sought Sidney’s out repeatedly in short, hungry kisses. Sidney willingly returned the brief caresses. She never wanted this feeling to stop and knew that somehow if she did she might regret her actions. The hardness of the ground finally decided for her. Branches and other debris digging into their overheated bodies dampened out the moment with the need for movement.  

 

Sidney drew away to see Ronan, eyes closed and mouth swollen with the strength of their passion, her lips still parted as she struggled to calm her breathing. Sidney’s hands were on Ronan’s chest and she was mortified to find that she had unbuttoned several of them in her desire. Suddenly she felt extremely embarrassed by the wantonness of her kiss and lack of control. While it was true that Ronan had asked her to kiss her, the strength of Sidney's desire for another woman caught her off guard.  

 

“I…” she managed, but then realized there was nothing she could say. She sighed, closed her eyes, and then reluctantly climbed off Ronan.  

 

Oh God, what have I done, she wondered morosely as she walked slowly back to pick up her briefcase.  

 

Her face flamed and Sidney stood with her arms folded as she stared down at the battered brown case. She started in surprise when long arms slid around her waist from behind and pulled back to rest against a strong frame as Ronan held her.  

 

“It’s all right,” Ronan reassured her with a gentle kiss against her temple. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

 

Sidney pulled away from the comfort she had found in the embrace. Her feelings of vulnerability caused her to lash out. “No, it is not all right. I am not accustomed to behaving in such a manner. And certainly not with an employee.”  

 

Ronan’s head snapped back at the comment and she stared at Sidney in wounded anger. “Is that all I am to you, an employee?”

 

“What else would you be?” Sidney asked as she tried to deny her feelings. She knew she was hurting Ronan but was unable to stop.

 

“You were hired as my pilot.”  

 

Ronan swallowed against the tears that struggled beneath the surface. Her jaw worked with the effort of containing her emotions and she responded softly. “I would have thought things had changed between us and that you would see me as a woman, not as a hired hand.”  

 

Sidney looked at her with as little sympathy as she could manage. “I’m sorry. I don’t work that way.”