About
the Book
Title:
Time on Her Hands
Author:
Melissa Jarvis
Genre:
Historical Time Travel Romance
A race against time,
to save the world.
Derek Massey is the
enigmatic head of the time travel agency The Lineage. He makes
the difficult choices, ones that have isolated him from everyone.
Sarah James is an experienced Lineage agent, the one others look to
for help. She hides her secrets and past well. Only one man has ever
caused her to lose her temper.
But when the
timeline is betrayed, Sarah will have to work with Derek to solve the
biggest anomaly of all, one that threatens to destroy not just the
Lineage, but the world itself. Their journey will take them to
the last days of Pompeii and to Renaissance Italy, to a familiar
traitor and a pocket watch that could be the key to everything. Sarah
and Derek also discover each other’s vulnerabilities, behind the
confident agent and the inscrutable leader. Danger ignites the
passion between them.
When the truth is
finally revealed, both Sarah and Derek’s secrets, about their past,
their families and their own feelings will come to light. Each
has to make a terrible decision. Can a new love stand against
years of duty? Or will one of them choose the ultimate
sacrifice? Only time will tell.
Author
Bio
We
all have two sides...Melissa Jarvis is a mild-mannered publicist by
day, and action-packed writer by night. She writes paranormal
romance and urban fantasy, and cites Anne McCaffrey, Robert A.
Heinlein and Robert Asprin among her influences. Melissa lives in
celebrity-friendly Southern California with her husband and son. A
native of Texas, you might hear the word “y’all” a lot from
her, and watch out, it’s catching.
For over 15 years, she has also worked in the public relations industry, with clients ranging from the Playboy Jazz Festival to the Los Angeles Mission to JVS, as well as indie film directors and comic writers. She’s won numerous awards from the Public Relations Society of America LA Chapter for her efforts. And she’s survived with most of her mind intact!
For over 15 years, she has also worked in the public relations industry, with clients ranging from the Playboy Jazz Festival to the Los Angeles Mission to JVS, as well as indie film directors and comic writers. She’s won numerous awards from the Public Relations Society of America LA Chapter for her efforts. And she’s survived with most of her mind intact!
When not writing or
trying to convince her family to let her have a pet dragon, she loves
antiquing, crafting, and of course, reading.
Links
Book
Excerpts
Throughout
Pompeii, vendors hawked their wares, horses neighed and clacked their
hooves against stone streets, children darted about, believing
themselves free from the watchful eyes of their mothers, and
tradesmen haggled their goods with raised voices and handshakes. It
was a scene she had seen played out in countless cities and countless
eras. She recognized several of the places they passed, standing now
in their full glory, instead of buried by ash and resurrected by man.
Sarah
had hoped Derek would break the impasse, but his gaze remained fixed
on the road ahead. As if he couldn’t see the people, the vibrant
signs of life that would soon be gone. Did he ever regret the “do
not interfere” rule of the Lineage? Her throat felt tight, as if it
was trying to prevent her screaming “danger” to everyone she saw.
“Where
should we start?” She forced the words out.
“We
are looking for something out of the ordinary in a place where
ordinary is an illusion. It was your idea to bring us here.”
He’d
sidestepped the question. A well-used trick of his. Sarah grit her
teeth, trying to divorce her emotions from the situation. It demanded
logic, not feeling. It demanded the return of her calm, unflappable
demeanor. She closed her eyes, breath shallow, and then smiled as the
answer came to her, along with an image she hoped would match the
reality.
“The
baths. We need gossip, and they are the center of it.”
“I
have stripped once already today, and now you are asking me to do it
again?” Derek
sounded indignant.
“I
once had to dance on the lap of a sultan wearing nothing but a veil
that was not strategically placed and a few gold chains. We all have
to do what the job demands. And if that means bathing naked with a
few dozen people, well, be thankful I don’t have a camera.” Sweet
blackmail. If only. She could at least cherish the memory.
Sarah
watched him struggle with his expression, as if he was trying to
reset it to neutral. “I agree to the necessity. I believe the
balnea
are next to the forum. You are not the only tourist to have visited
this ghost town.” Derek strode down the Via
Stabiana
as if he’d tread it a thousand times before, and she hurried to
catch up. His eyes were no longer fixed but roamed the landscape
around them, calculating, assessing. The wall was back up. He made a
sharp right and Sarah caught a glimpse of a stone etched sign, Via
di Nola.
There
were less people crowding the city than she’d expected. Was it the
cold keeping them away, or had they sensed the imminent danger of the
mountain slumbering in the distance? She shivered, despite the layers
of clothing. Not so much as a goose bump marked Derek’s arms,
though.
Derek
stopped at a stone building, clearly marked as the public baths. “Do
you have more coins, or am I going to need to charm my way in?” she
asked.
“There
is no need for you to ah, display anything. But we should agree on a
basic cover. I suggest we present ourselves as a married couple who
just arrived in town. Claim ignorance of local events.”
“I
see. And what do I call you, husband? Or is it my darling? Sweetie
pie? Honey—”
He
cut her off. “Faustus. And you are Domitia. Those are the names in
the pouch I grabbed earlier.”
She
wondered which sadistic Lineage employee had come up with those ids.
Although the man who made a deal with the devil was an appropriate
pseudonym for her companion at present.
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