Free When Lightning Strikes by Cynthia Lucas Page A

not certain, but I think I have seen twenty and three winters,” she offered cautiously.
    His look became murky. If Sarah was twenty and three, then surely she must be someone’s wife. No woman of station went beyond six and ten winters without being dutifully wed in some advantageously arranged union.
    Dominic's mood darkened dramatically at the realization that the tempting beauty lying here with him was surely someone else's wife or at least betrothed, though she wore no ring, lock of hair or other symbol of such a union. Perhaps she had lost it or it had been stolen from her.
    This lady indeed seemed gentle and her compassion genuine. And despite the desire coursing through his veins only moments ago and the spark of interest she expressed in his life, he knew he must keep his distance at all cost.
    And yet for some foolish reason, the very thought of her lying naked beneath some other man infuriated him!  Even if that man was her lord and husband.
    He slid farther away from her abruptly. He had no right to feel this way. He barely knew her! His rage grew deeper at the knowledge of this weakness. Why and how had this woman made him feel anything at all?
    “Dominic. What is the matter? Did I say something to trouble you?” She stared at him with a questioning look. “ Uh, oh. I think I just blew it, ” she thought to herself.
    “My lady, if you have seen twenty and three winters, then it is most certain that you have a lord husband waiting for you wherever you came from. He will come looking for you soon, I am quite certain. And unless you are barren, there are probably children…more than one.”
    She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell him there was no ‘lord husband’ or children waiting for her at some stupid castle. Of course, there is your fiance, David. Remember him? The guy you're supposed to be marrying?
    Her conscience turned up the volume to full blast in that moment and it was like a splash of icy water hitting her in the face.
    She was lying here half naked, next to a beautiful man. No, make that a stunning man. She had been lingering on his every word. Just moments ago, she had been fantasizing about tasting those lips of his and when he had reached out for that stray lock of her hair, she had nearly melted right then and there. Granted she was trapped in some far off century and she was an emotional basket case, but it still wasn't right. She was a woman about to be married…that is if she could just get back to her own time.
    She slid farther away from him and with all the strength she could muster she put on her best act as a gently born medieval lady.
    “You are very right, sir. You are not a knight, but you are a man of honor, from what I can tell, despite what your hardships force you to do. And I…am a lady. It is not right for you to be so close to me in this manner.”
    “No, my lady it is not. You are unable to remember from whence you came, but perchance your memory will return over the passage of time. I will send out a few of our men to the local villages to see if any of the nobles have passed through looking for a lost lady. Believe me, the peasants tongues will wag with the gossip of any lords who have ‘misplaced’ their wives.”
    He could have laughed at the sheer idiocy of the statement had his heart not been so heavy in that moment. Instead, he smiled bitterly, and his voice took on a more serious note.
    He stood up, stooped over and walked to the far side of the wagon.
    “I will sleep over here. I intend to be honorable in ransoming you. I have come to like you in the short time we have spoken Sarah, and I will cause you no shame among your people. I wish, God forgive me that I did not have to ransom you at all. I would return you to your people for no recompense whatsoever, were it left to me. But, my companions will want to get their hands on any coin that they can. As I said earlier, the winter has been long and we have been unable to peddle our wares as much as we