The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (15 page)

Words.
Say something.
“
What about your shoulder?
”

“
I already said it
’
s healing.
Besides, if the rope breaks this time, I
’
ve got you right there to back me up.
”

“
Don
’
t joke about that.
”
She shuddered, not wanting to think of what might have happened to him if she hadn
’
t gotten there in time.

He crouched in front of her.
The motion washed his chalky scent and body heat around her.
He stilled, seeming to realize how close they now were.
She held her breath and jammed her hands between her knees to keep herself still.

Those eyes.
Those eyes traveled all over her.
Curious.
Cautious.
Something more that was too dangerous to name.
She shivered and wondered how it would feel if his hands followed where his gaze led.
Shivered more, because as scared as she was, she wanted it.

He snapped out of it first.
“
I
’
m calling a truce.
Or trying to.
Give me a day, two at most.
I
’
ll help you for today, and you try rock climbing with me.
If you don
’
t like it, we don
’
t do it.
”
He extended his hand.

There was no way out of this but to touch him.
She took his hand.
The sensation of his warm skin on hers set off a shivery chain reaction that started from the tips of her fingers and traveled all the way down to her feet.
She couldn
’
t let go.
She wanted to stay angry with him for the way he
’
d cornered her.
Outraged.
Something.
Anything that didn
’
t feel quite so much like the need to kiss him again.
Flustered, she dropped his hand and jumped to her feet to move away.

Ian stood, too.
“
Please
help me with the falcon?
”

Absorbed in the movement of his mouth, she hardly registered his words.
Her pulse raced.
She managed a nod.

He reached for her hand again and shook it, smiling a little.
The contact surged through her body.
His gaze dropped to her mouth and the smile faded.
Her every nerve screamed
“
Kiss me,
”
and to hell with their baggage.
Do it, just do it.

As if he
’
d heard her thoughts, he bent his head closer.
His gaze caught hers and sizzled.

A wild shriek from outside brought them reeling apart.
Faith.
In an instant, her fog of desire washed away in a flood of fear.
Sara bolted from the tent to see what had happened.

Dustin stood at the edge of the dig, chuckling.
Faith sprawled on the ground several feet away, shaking with laughter.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Sara called.
God, she was getting jumpy.

Her sister clambered to her feet and windmilled her finger in the air.
“
We were doing the victory dance over the good news, and I slipped.
”

Thomas ambled toward them with a bucket of tools.
“
Don
’
t get victorious just yet.
We
’
ve got a long way to go, and that
’
s not counting the uncertainty of finding any artifacts.
”

“
Spoilsport,
”
Faith groused.

Sara felt Ian come up behind her.
Her skin tingled in response.
“
We
’
ll have help,
”
she blurted.
“
Lambertson
’
s coming in a few days with more people.
And until then, Ian
’
s offered to pitch in.
”

Faith, Dustin, and Thomas swiveled as one to stare at her.
Sara took a quick step away from Ian.
“
In exchange for my helping him with his wildlife project.
I
’
ll need a couple hours the next few afternoons.
I
’
ll make up the time after dinner...uh, doing charts or something.
”

Okay, now she was babbling.
And why did she feel like she had to explain this to them?
She wanted to go back to her tent and crawl under the cot in mortification.

“
Lambertson,
”
Ian said.
“
He
’
s a big-time archaeologist, right?
”

“
Yeah.
How
’
d you know?
”

“
Luis Rivero talks about him all the time.
Lambertson
’
s kind of like his god.
”

Sara gave a small, edgy laugh.
“
Yeah, he has that effect on people.
I guess we should start by giving you a tour of our project, then?
”

“
Sure.
”
He cast a meaningful glance back at her tent, but then he grinned and started toward the ruin.

She offered up a silent prayer for strength, and jogged after him.

As she showed Ian around the dig, the team fell back into the rhythm of their work.
The men appeared delighted to have another strong back to add to their crew, if only for a little while.
Faith didn
’
t seem so easily persuaded.
Her sister labored over a plot of earth with her shovel, not speaking.
Sara picked up another pair of shovels for herself and Ian, then descended into the pit.

Faith glared at her.
Not now,
Sara mouthed, glaring back.

For most of the day, she worked side-by-side with Ian on one end of the excavation site.
He asked intelligent questions, and listened to her answers with a scientist
’
s ear.
His interest in her work surprised and pleased her.

She found it hard not to stare when he hefted shovelfuls of earth as if they weighed nothing.
Thunk.
The shovel bit into the peat.
Shoosh.
Soil and stone hissed off the metal blade and sailed into the wheelbarrow outside the pit.
Almost before that scoop had
thump
ed to a rest in the wheelbarrow, he
’
d started on the next.
The sheer physical demand of digging often left her body aching by the end of the day.

Ian seemed to have enough stamina for both of them.

Heated flames poured into her cheeks and she looked away…but not for long.
Her gaze returned to him as if drawn by a magnet.
He
’
d thrown aside the fleece jacket as the day
’
s warmth increased, and the back of his T-shirt was dark with a vee of sweat.
His hair lay plastered to his scalp.
A bead of perspiration ran down his unshaven cheek.
Did men have any idea how sexy they looked while doing manual labor?

He caught her eye and smiled.
The work seemed to have loosened his knots where she was concerned...or at least he was willing to put them aside for now.
“
Tired already?
”

“
Already?
We
’
ve been at it for hours.
”
The remark didn
’
t sound right the minute it left her mouth. He grinned, and she knew he
’
d caught the unintended double meaning.

She bent over her shovel and thrust it into the peat.
“
How
’
s your shoulder?
”
she flung at him.

“
Fine.
How
’
s your ego?
”

“
What?
”

He laughed, full and throaty.
The sound rang out across the moor and vibrated in her spine.
“
I think I
’
ve done most of the work here.
Not bad for a rookie, wouldn
’
t you say, Doc?
”

She scanned the pit and saw that he
’
d cleared over half their plot while she
’
d been lost in her thoughts.
With a look of chagrin, she said,
“
You
’
d have made a decent archaeologist.
”

He leaned an elbow on the handle of his shovel.
His dimples resurfaced.
“
I can find more interesting ways to get dirty.
”

Was he flirting with her?
Why was he flirting with
her
?

Did she dare flirt back?

Should
she?

Oh, God, how she wanted to.

Dustin
’
s light-brown head was bent over the sieve box.
Thomas had taken away another wheelbarrow of peat.
Faith swung a pick into the earth a few plots away.

Ian cast an eye at the lowering angle of the sun.
“
Ready to get out of here?
”

“
Yeah.
”
She wiped sweat from her brow and came away with grimy fingers.
“
Ugh.
”

“
We could go for a swim first.
”
He leaned closer and his smile vanished.
“
I promise not to sneak up on you this time.
”

His nearness almost overwhelmed her.
Every molecule of her body seemed to fizz with awareness of him.
The very air between them heated.
“
I don
’
t—
”

“
For crying out loud, you two.
Go swim!
”

Sara jumped and spun around.

Faith laid her pick over one shoulder and wound her way through the markers.
She grabbed Sara
’
s elbow and pulled her a few steps away.
“
I can feel the sparks shooting off you two way over there,
”
she hissed in Sara
’
s ear.
“
You are
scrambling me
.
Get out of here so I can hear myself think, for God
’
s sake.
”

Horrified, Sara said,
“
I am
not
sparking.
”

“
In about five minutes, I
’
m going to radio the fire brigade from Unst to come put you out.
Go.
”
She gave Sara a little shove in Ian
’
s direction, then stomped back to her plot.

“
What was that all about?
”
Ian asked, pushing sweaty bangs off his forehead.

“
Nothing.
Let
’
s get out of here.
”
She walked ahead of him toward the edge of the pit, as fast as she could without making it look like running.

Chapter Six

Ian stared as Sara waded into the inlet without looking back.
She shivered as the water inched up her slender legs.
His gaze traveled up the back of a sensible red bathing suit that had driven the sense right
out
of him the instant he saw her in it.
There was nothing wrong with looking at her, he told himself.
But oh, God, she had curves in all the right places.

Then she ducked under and came up with water sluicing down her back, and he wanted to do a whole lot more than look.
Get in there, you idiot.