"Aren't you hungry?" she asked.
"Sort of. My stomach isn't a fan of the Scat. Just give me a minute." He released a deep calming breath. "What do you think of the view? This is Overlook Hill."
Verity craned her neck with a mouthful of burger and froze. She had been here, in her own time. Back then it was all farmland with scattered tree clusters, and small sprinklings of buildings making up Astor, Bridgeport, and Navarino. But now, a city bigger than the Chicago of her time swallowed the three villages. The view was different with freeways snaking around, and tall fingers of buildings clustered around the downtown area. Cotton balls of treetops dotted the land. And wires! There were wires strung all over. Ships in the bay were being unloaded by cranes touching the clouds. Those ships with smokestacks were nothing like the schooners and their massive sails or the newer steamboats she was familiar with.
"It's breathtaking." She took another bite.
"I thought you'd like it."
"This has been the best day of my life," she said toward the view. The picnic table shifted and Verity turned to find Mathew sitting next to her with a gentle smile. She swallowed her bite. His bright blue eyes scorched with desire, and Verity glanced around for spying eyes. They were alone, giving her a boldness that she'd learned from her brothers.
Mathew's hand reached up and caressed her jaw. "I'm glad you're having a great time. That's why we're here." His nose brushed against hers and his hand steadied the back of her neck.
"Are you not having a great time?" She set her burger on the table.
"I'm enjoying myself right now. I can't figure you out."
"About what?"
His finger stroked her ear and a tickle shifted her head.
"How can a woman, from a century of hard work and manual labor, figure out a computer in a few hours?"
Verity hadn't realized her accomplishment was impressive. With the seriousness in his composure, his compliments were genuine, and that surprised her more than anything. Once again, a roaring need for Mathew consumed her.
"There's something up here"—he touched her temple—"that I cannot get enough of."
His index finger stroked her lower lip, and a sense of urgency propelled her forward. Verity's lips found Mathew's and she fisted his soft dark hair. Her body flooded with heat while his lips begged for more. She scooted closer to him and he moaned beneath her lips. His soft hands slipped under her shirt, caressing her belly. Verity's breathing hitched at his touch.
Mathew's hand explored up her chest while he kissed her neck. Small breaths came from her mouth and Verity dared a bold move. Her fingers sought the length beneath his trousers and slid along him. His hips shifted under her palm. She went further, fighting the fasteners of his trousers. With the sound of the zipper, Mathew stopped. Again. She wanted to scream.
They both panted in each other's faces and Verity searched his eyes for answers. Had she done something wrong?
"What is it?" she asked. His face was pained, his eyes saddened. She begged, "What's wrong?"
***
THE SOUND OF THE zipper snapped Mathew back to reality. He wanted her so much, but her vigorous curiosity hid a childlike innocence, which was wrong of him to take. Wrong of him to want to take. Buying her fast food and taking her out a couple times did not mean he was owed anything. She deserved better than that. She deserved better than him. What was he doing? Mathew shook his head to clear the muddled mess his libido was creating.
Verity's searching gaze drove him wild, distracting him from his responsibilities. His shaking hands retreated from her sweet skin. But he feared he was already lost to her, and doing what was necessary meant causing him more pain than he could bear.
He wanted to show her all the great things the world offered. He wanted to show her—not that he was bragging—great pleasure. But then what? He'd be sending her home to her family. Not that Mathew understood quantum mechanics, but Kiko mentioned a cataclysmic event, and Mathew would do whatever necessary to keep the present as it should've been.
He needed to find Kiko. He'd already completed his end of the bargain—help her with her dream research project by preventing Verity from getting captured. In return Kiko would help him file the missing person's report. She needed to uphold her end of the deal. He hadn't heard from his sister in weeks and he feared the worst. And he should be in his office right now figuring out an answer to the financial issues plaguing the clinic.
"Matt, what is it?"
Sunlight and flying seagulls haloed her. Verity's intense gaze melted him, and he wanted to kiss each individual freckle and savor the time to find all of them. And then he admitted his deficiency—he couldn't take her innocence away. "I can't do it."
"Can't do what?" Her hand reached down. Mathew arched in surprise and she smiled deviously. "Everything feels just fine."
Was she not as innocent as she appeared?
"Have you ever been with a man before?" Mathew asked.
Verity's face pinched in annoyance. "I'm not a virgin, if that's what you're asking." The sharp tone of her statement made him believe in her time people frowned upon the loss of the social status.
His brows popped in surprise at her revelation. "I just want to be sure you're comfortable with what's going on."
Verity relaxed and smiled. "I am not naïve to a man's body. He was Mother's choice. But things didn't work out after a devious afternoon in the barn."
Mathew's brain created an unsavory image from that. "Because he wasn't good enough?"
"Apparently, I wasn't."
He couldn't believe that for a hot minute.
Verity gave him a soft smile. Her hand cupped his wiry jaw. "Let's finish eating."
Reluctantly, Mathew resumed his seat across from her, and fisted his cool burger. His stomach was finally capable of holding food. Amusement park rides were murder on his gut and made him dizzy beyond enjoyment, but after seeing her excitement, he didn't regret the experience. He wished she could stay. He wanted to see her smiling face at his clinic, take lunch breaks with her, and go home together after work. And that reminded him of his missing employee, April.
"My sister's missing."
Verity paused her chewing and swallowed a thick bite.
"I'm sorry. Do you know where she went?"
Mathew shook his head. "Not at all. Not even a city name. April worked for me at the clinic, alongside Becca. She had a boyfriend who was kind of a jerk, and I knew she was miserable." Mathew ate a fry. "She was never going to be happy with him. After six months of dating, Levi told me he wanted to marry her. I was actually relieved, because I knew she'd freak out. So, being the overprotective big brother, I encouraged his hideous proposal idea, knowing it would split them apart."
"Sometimes we have to do things for the ones we love, even if they can't see the good in it," Verity said.
Mathew smiled. When they finished eating, he said, "Let's take a drive." They packed up their trash, and he navigated them back down the steep hill and through town to April and Kiko's rental house. His stomach knotted, wishing she'd rush out the front door with a big grin on her face. He pulled into her short driveway and unbuckled. "Come with me."