When Storm leans against one of Bert’s machines and is sent back in time, without his memories, Heather has to go after him. A simple retrieval won’t work. She has to make him remember before they can return to their own timeline. Finding him is easy, getting him to regain his memories isn’t. Then she finds out Ialog is there, giving Storm something to keep his memories at bay. Now she has to find a way to stop her old nemesis and bring her mate home.

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Release Date: April 16, 2024
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

~ A Red Satin Romance ~

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Excerpt

Chapter One

Storm held Heather close as she continued to sleep. His fingers brushed against her soft skin. As busy as their schedule was, it was nice to have a little of the morning to themselves. Heather still wasn’t getting enough rest dealing with the twins and he did his best to let her nap when he had the chance, even though he could think of other things they could be doing right now.

“You do have a one-track mind.” Heather opened her eyes and looked at him.

“You are supposed to be sleeping.” He ran his knuckles along her jawline.

“It’s hard to sleep when you keep thinking of our intimacy. Were those memories or fantasies?”

He gave her one of his bone-melting smiles as he pressed her back into the bed. “Yes.”

“Yes?” She smiled up at him.

“Because somewhere along the way my fantasies become reality and then memories.” He nuzzled her throat.

“Is the door locked?” She tilted her head so he could have better access.

“No. Why?” His lips caressed her mark, sending little frissons of heat through her blood.

“Because your son has figured out how to open the door.”

“He’s not tall enough to reach the panel to open the door.” Storm stopped long enough to lift his head and looked at her. “But it doesn’t surprise me he figured out another way. He is our son.”

“I sure don’t want him tottering in here at the wrong time.” She touched his face.

“Then he won’t.” Storm surged into her. Tendrils of excitement filled her as he entered her. She wrapped her legs around his waist.

“What?” She shifted so she could accept him in deeper.

“Haven’t you noticed that they are never looking for us when we’re arguing, amorous, or intimate?” He pulled out and drove back in. “You have a mental connection with them that tells the children when it is safe to come in.”

She brushed her fingers against his mark and was greeted by him sucking in his breath. “Too much talking.”

He chuckled as he pressed his lips to her mark. “I have created a monster.”

“One you are very proud of.”

“Oh yes.” He pulled her into a sitting position, bracing his arm along her spine to give her support as she slid up and down his length. Her muscles rippled against him as she moved. They shared everything, including their intimacy. He could feel her desire as it swirled through her, filling her with excitement.

Storm leaned her away from him a little so he could hit the spot that brought her more powerful orgasms. Each time he brushed the spot, her need blossomed to a point where she felt her body shake with each stroke. One particular stroke drew a moan out of her. She was close, so close. Muscles tightened against Storm, and her blood hummed. Slowly the heat built in her stomach. The flames licked along her insides until it enveloped her, sending her out to the stars.

Storm eased her back onto the bed as he continued to rock into her. Another moan escaped. Everything tightened again. The heat of his mouth latched onto her mark as his release started to unfurl. Feeling his orgasm brought her to the brink again. She soared through it with him.

“Beautiful.” He brushed a few strands of hair from her face. “My heart.”

“A great way to start the day.” She smiled up at him. Her smile widened when she sensed her son opening the door. Someone has come to visit.

“Papa?” Terrik, their son, toddled over to the bed.

“Yes, son?” He touched her face once more before rolling off her and looked down at his son. One of the biggest joys in his life was their children. Terrik was brilliant like his mother yet had the ability to strategize like him. A sharp wit and a smile that reminded him of his own gave Storm a hint at what his mother went through with him before he mated with Heather. His daughter rivaled her brother in intelligence and her mother in beauty. Shyer than her brother, she would look at people with her big violet eyes and melt any male’s heart who saw her. He knew he would have his hands full when his children started coming of age, but he welcomed the challenge.

“Mama wake yet?” He looked up at Storm with gold eyes surrounded by a violet ring and a bright smile.

“Yes, she is.” Storm offered his arm to his son who grabbed it just above his wrist so his father could lift him to the bed. Something they had started when Terrik had been old enough to crawl to the side of their bed. He held his son until Heather could move. She always needed a few moments to regain her mobility after they were intimate. “You’re awake a little early today.”

The boy snuggled against his father as Heather watched him. “Heart.”

“I know, she’s my heart, too.” He pulled his son close and pressed a kiss to his head. Storm smiled at how fast the twins picked up on key phrases and words.

Heather smiled when he crawled to her side. He was careful to not disturb her too much as he snuggled against her.

“Heart, mama.”

“You’re my heart too, sweetheart.” She touched his face. “Just like your sisters and your father. Where is your sister? She’s normally right behind you.”

“Sleeping.”

“Perhaps we should go check and see if she is awake now.” Heather sat up with the cover wrapped around her.

“Do you need some time, my heart?” Storm looked at his son curled up against her. She normally spent a little time with the children when they first woke but had promised to be ready quickly. They had hoped to be back before the children would wake up. This changed things. “We need to travel to Bert’s compound this morning. I told him we would be there as soon as we got up. He is expecting us, but I’m sure we can take a little time if you need it.”

“We can go as soon as I get dressed. It won’t take me long to get ready. Kuarto and Tiko have promised to take care of the twins while we’re gone.” She stretched, careful to keep the cover up to shield her nakedness. Nudity wasn’t something Vespians found embarrassing, but being raised on Earth she still was a bit shy showing her body to her children.

“Not the great spoiler?” Storm picked up his son and placed him on his chest.

“Your mother has council meetings today and the last time your son was in council chambers he was a bit too active. He disrupted several disputes, forcing Kuarto to go and get him. She had to promise to take time off when she watched the children after that.” Heather didn’t keep the laughter out of her voice. “I promised her it would be her turn next time. Bert said we could bring them with us, but Kuarto has been pestering to spend time with them.”

“You have come to trust Bert,” Storm commented as he entertained their son while Heather got out of bed and dressed.

“He has been honest with us so far and has taught us a lot about our abilities. I feel he can be trusted.” She closed the seals on her gown then reached for the boy. She touched his nose as she turned from the bed. “And how is my little protector this morning?”

He pressed his hand against her heart the way he had seen his parents do so many times. “Hungry.”

She laughed, hugged him and headed to the twin’s room. “Then let’s get your sister and feed you two.”

Storm climbed out of bed and dressed while she fed the children. He came into the main room once he sealed his uniform and picked up the cup of coffee Heather had waiting for him. “Do you think Terrik knows what the gesture means?”

“He knows that gesture is one of the ways we show affection for each other.” Heather leaned against her mate with her cup when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “The fact he wants to do it too is just so sweet.”

“You still have trouble leaving them behind, don’t you?” He hugged her close when he heard her voice fill with such emotion.

“You have the same problem.” Careful of their coffee, she turned in his arms and touched his face. “Besides it will only be for a few hours.”

“And we need to get going.” He took her cup and placed his and hers on the table. “The transport is ready. Is your brother coming here or are we bringing the children to him?”

“I’m coming here,” said Kuarto as he walked in.

“You don’t knock?” Storm growled when he realized the man was behind him.

“I was told I didn’t have to.” He walked up to Heather and kissed her on the cheek. “Being family has its perks.”

“The children are almost finished with their breakfast.” Heather started running through her list of things to do for the children. “I have their clothes laid out on their beds. Um, they do dress themselves, but you might need to help Terrik. He has a little trouble getting the seals closed properly.”

“They’ll be fine, Heather. Stop worrying.” He sat with the children as they finished their meals. “Now go. We’re going to have fun today.”

“Mama?” asked their daughter, Zunarka. “You leave us?”

“You get to be with Kuarto and Toki for a little while today.” She touched her daughter’s cheek. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Can we go to garden?” asked their son. He had already dismissed them and was ready to play.

Storm put an arm around Heather’s waist and escorted her out of the room. “Your soft heart would keep us there another hour if I didn’t pull you away.”

“I’m not that bad.” She looked up at him. “Am I?”

“It’s one of the reasons why you are my heart.”

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take them long to get to Bert’s compound. Once the elders had a chance to question Bert, they gave him permission to stay on some land in a remote area of Vespia so he could do his research on what happened to the rest of the ancients. They felt it was better not to alert the entire race that they had a living, breathing ancient among them. If the planet was aware of his presence, they would never leave Bert alone.

Heather and Storm walked into his main computer room and found him working on assembling a large piece of equipment. He had parts floating in the air as he used a three-dimensional image to move them around until they were ready to be put into place. There were small clamps on the pieces floating that allowed them to defy gravity.

“You have been busy.” Storm looked around at all the different components Bert now had up and running, not sure if he was happy with the elders’ decision. The only other ancient they had been involved with had a fixation on his mate and he feared the same thing would happen again over time, but Heather trusted the man so he kept his opinions to himself.

So far Bert had been the exact opposite of Ialog, but how long would that last? Would he develop that strange overpowering desire to have Heather the way that Ialog had? She was part of his visions. He had told them she was important to the future of their races. Would he try to take matters into his own hands like Ialog did? Storm knew he had to be leery, or they could be caught unawares.

“A lot of the equipment I need for my search was already in my ship so it was easy to transfer it. Others I brought from my other compound, plus I have been working on a few more to make sure I have everything I need to begin my search.” He looked at Storm. “I know you have no reason to trust me. Ialog did ruin that, but I promise I have no ulterior motive. I just want to find my people. It is hard knowing I am alone.”

Did the man just read his mind?

Heather touched Storm’s arm. He could see that she understood. She had lived with being unique all her life. He placed his hand on top of hers. He trusted her. If she felt Bert was safe, then he would too. For now.

The simple gesture had him wanting her again. She started smiling at him so he knew his eyes had started glowing once more. Good thing they had the ship with their favorite chair in it. He just might get a scream from her on their way back.

Storm walked around, looking at the different pieces of equipment. All types of machines covered the walls along with several large screens. “Fridon would love this place.”

“Then bring him next time.” Bert grinned as he worked on connecting a board to one of the screens. “I enjoy his sharp mind.”

Storm nodded as he rested his hip on one of the consoles.

“Oh, Storm don’t lean there—” Bert frowned as Storm winked out of sight. “Oh, dear.”

 

* * *

 

Bert sprinted to where Storm had stood only seconds ago. This wasn’t good. Storm wasn’t supposed to disappear this soon. Was he? The information he knew about Storm’s time travel gave him the impression it wouldn’t happen for a few months. How did the timeline get off? How was he going to fix it? Using a handheld device, he scanned the area then started pulling up data.

“Oh dear?” Heather grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him to face her. “What do you mean by ‘oh dear?’ Where did he go?”

“It’s not the where I’m that worried about, it’s the when.” The data he looked through on his handheld also filled one of the screens. Heather watched in awe as he flipped through thousands of images in seconds. It didn’t take him long to find him, but he knew where to look.

“The when?” Heather rubbed her forehead.

“I know this doesn’t make sense.” He needed to explain instead of just ignoring her and trying to fix what happened. “The thing Storm rested against is a time machine. I have used it as a viewing apparatus to watch and learn about people I had to deal with as well as travel to times and places I wanted to learn more about. I assembled it here so I can travel where and when I need to gather clues on what happened to my people. Not knowing where to start I wanted to start in the past, from where I last saw them.

“It was on because I was finishing the installation. But it wasn’t set properly. Normally I have a timeline and location set, along with how long I plan on being there. It also has the DNA sequence of the person going back so they don’t get harmed by the transfer. Storm set it off without any of that being done so although I now know the where and when he went, I doubt he remembers anything. Extracting him is going to be complicated and we have to be careful on how we do that.”

“Wait. A time machine? No one has been able to control time travel yet.” Heather moved close to the machine, but Bert blocked her way. If she touched it the same thing would happen to her, and he didn’t need two of them lost in time.

He hoped he was right about where and when Storm landed, but he needed to check history to make sure the timeline was still intact. If Storm was supposed to go back now, then he was safe, and the next step would be to send Heather after her mate.

“None of the races you’re familiar with have the technology yet, but we have been able to successfully control it.” He moved to another computer to get historical data before going back to the time machine.

“Great. So my mate is trapped back in time somewhere? Bert, we have to bring him home.”

Bert watched her as she looked at the machine. He knew she was thinking if she did what her mate did would it send her back to the same point in time? Heather instinctively moved toward the machine to find her way blocked by Bert again.

“Please don’t touch anything. Without it being prepared properly you don’t know when or where it will send you and your mind will be wiped. You could end up on another planet and in another timeline if I don’t do this right. That won’t do Storm any good. Once I verify a few things we’ll work on bringing him back. It shouldn’t take too long. I promise.”

Bert laid his handheld on the surface. The equipment he sat it on hummed as it worked.

“Why didn’t your machine send that little handheld off to who knows when?” Heather asked when the device didn’t disappear.

“Safety protocols because of my DNA.” He gestured to it. “It’s on the handheld.”

Heather gave him an exasperated look.

“Dealing with a time machine is tricky work. In order for me to touch it over and over without being sent all over time uncontrollably I set protocols in that remote. The machine reads the remote which tells it to remain idle. I have to have that handheld on the machine to control it while I program the machine. Normally I have it set not to send anything without permission, but because I was still installing it and never expected Storm to touch it, I hadn’t quite gotten to that. It’s hard to install the protocol when the machine isn’t fully installed and calibrated.” Although he should have. He knew Storm time traveled; he just didn’t know when until now. He had thought it happened a little too early, but the timeline hadn’t changed so he was feeling more optimistic. Bert pressed a few buttons. “Storm is on Earth. Looks like the western section of the...oh dear.”

“Again with the ‘oh dear?’ What now?”

“He’s in the early twenty-first century. Looks like Washington State of the United States.” He turned to look at Heather. Storm was where he was supposed to be. He didn’t see the connection with the location until now. “Isn’t that where Ialog kept you when he kidnapped you on Earth?”

“Yes. It is also where I was found as a child and where I left Sam after I wiped her memories. Wonder why that area seems to be a focal point.” Heather pointed to the machine. “Have you calibrated it?”

“Yes.”

“So retrieve him.”

‘It’s not that easy.” He picked up his handheld and looked at the data on the screen. “Because the machine hasn’t been configured for his DNA it can’t read him properly. Retrieving him won’t work. Someone will have to go after him.”

“I’ll go.” She took a step toward the machine.

“Heather, slow down.”

 

* * *

 

“Slow down? Bert, I want my mate back.” Now she knew how Storm felt when she disappeared. The thought of him not being here for her had her stomach in knots. A feeling she didn’t like.

“His mind was overloaded by the transport. According to the records I’m finding in history, he’s been in that timeline for about two years. There have been no ripples in our timeline so he was supposed to go back there to have the universe we know. I can’t change that, or we could find ourselves in a different timeline. And what is going to be a problem is your mate has been diagnosed with amnesia.” He looked at Heather. “He won’t know who you are.”

“But I can still go back and get him, right?”

“Yes, but I’ll need a little time before you leave. You can’t go back and just drag him forward. You need to make him remember before you can bring him forward and I don’t know how long that will take. I’ll need to create a life for you in that timeline. A history that withstands scrutiny. Although their computers were still in the beginning stages, their security systems were great at ferreting out false information. You need to have an iron-clad identity. I also need to give you the proper supplies to survive then as well.”

Survive? How long was this going to take? “Why are you going through all this? I just want to go in, make him remember, and then bring him home?”

“I’ll explain as we go.” Bert crossed to another screen and worked on a keyboard near it. “It shouldn’t take too long to get everything ready.”

Heather didn’t like the fact that her mate had been on Earth with no memory of her for two years. He had a libido that would cripple the normal human. How many women had he slept with since he had been gone? And how many had he put in the hospital?

The sooner she went back and found him the happier she would be.

“I need to make a manual upload to your insert.” He stepped up to Heather and made adjustments to her device. “There. You should have all the details of the life I have made for you. I have also given you timeline events that need to take place while you’re there. That green color will run along the edge of your sight the whole time. If you see it turn red you need to let me know.”

“How am I to do that?” Images and information flooded her mind. “Wow.”

“I’m working on that as well. Now I won’t be able to talk to you directly, so making sure those things that downloaded happen will allow me to follow you as you move through the timeline properly. If something goes off, I’m going to set an alarm to go off here, so I’ll know.” He stepped back and went to the console that sent Storm away. “I know you’re anxious to get going, but I have a few more things to do before I can send you back. My job right now is to make sure you have everything you need to bring him home.”

“Just hurry, Bert. I want my mate back.” Heather crossed her arms over her chest while she waited. She knew she looked like Storm but didn’t care. Not knowing what she was going to find when she found him made her nervous.

 

 

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