Happily Ever After (32 page)

Somehow, he managed to smile up at Maria.

Never again would he malign Sophie’s cooking. May
God strike him dead the instant he considered it!

Gad! He couldn’t stand the sight of his dinner. He
would have long ago set the bowl down and walked away but Maria continued to
stare at him expectantly.

He swallowed convulsively, trying to talk himself
into swallowing his pride along with a bug. It wasn’t so bad, he assured
himself... just one... big... crunchy bite... and it would be all over.

Bile rose in his throat.

“Te gusta?” Maria asked him, nodding hopefully.

He lifted his brows as he looked at her, wishing she’d
turn away and give him two seconds to shove a leaf into his mouth so he could
pretend to chew one.

“Yes?” she persisted.

Jack prayed to God—any God—that the
bowl would suddenly burst into flames. He forced himself to nod and smile
appreciatively.

He glanced over at Sophie and saw her with Kell,
their heads together in conversation, and wished he were there beside her.

What were they talking about? What was Kell
saying?

Did his friend appreciate the scent of her hair
the way Jack did? Jack’s brow furrowed. Damn it, it seemed he did, as close as
Kell was leaning into her, and Jack’s gut churned violently, but it had nothing
to do with the dish in his hand.

Damn … what he wouldn’t give to be sitting beside
her... eating her blackened eggs and ham.

He herd her laugh and it made his heart jump. Her
smile made his belly flutter. Her scent made him want to kiss her ... and her
eyes ... he could look into them a lifetime and never have it be long enough.

She stood suddenly, looking saddened, and Jack’s
heart twisted for her.

Was she disheartened by her cooking efforts? Had
someone said something to hurt her? Jack would skin the bugger, whoever he was!

She slipped into the woods, and he waited a few
moments to see if she would return.

She didn’t, and he set the bowl down at once,
apologizing hastily to Maria, and went after Sophie.

The woods were lush and cool.

Sophie couldn’t bear to sit and watch Jack with
Maria any longer. She’d tried to be a big girl about it, but the sight of the
two together had been much too painful. No matter that Kell had been kind
enough to keep her company, she couldn’t bear it, and she’d retreated like a
coward into the sanctuary of the woods.

She hadn’t intended to go far, but somehow she
lost herself in thought and wandered deep enough to lose her direction.

Everywhere she looked now she found the same thick
vines and bush. Still, there was no need to panic, she told herself. Camp must
be somewhere very near. She could still smell the scent of charred food.

Or maybe it was her imagination. Good lord, this
was all she needed... to lose herself in the woods. Wouldn’t that be a perfect
addition to her long list of catastrophes?

Barely, she could make out a path in the bracken,
and she followed it, hoping it would lead back to camp.

It ended abruptly at the edge of a deep chasm.

She gasped in awe at the miracle of nature she had
stumbled on.

Mesmerized, she moved carefully to the edge to
peer down below and found the chasm filled with crystal-clear water. It was
incredible, almost surreal. Magical even. Ten feet below the surface, silvery
fish darted in schools among the thick, dark tree roots. Beams of light pierced
the green canopy above and stabbed deeply into the pool like airy icicles. They
formed a prism of sorts below the water’s surface. Color radiated from them,
painting fish as they passed through the watery rainbow.

Entranced by the sight, Sophie knelt at the edge
of the chasm. Pebbles rolled from beneath her into the pool below, startling
fish.

She had never seen such a beautiful sight. Her
fingers itched to draw it. Sucking in a breath, she knelt there on the brink
and stared in fascination, imagining how she would capture it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Starting at the voice, Sophie turned to find Jack
watching her. Her heart leaped a little at the sight of him, both in relief and
something more. “Yes,” she said on an exhale. “I’ve never seen anything quite
like it!”

It left her breathless.

So did Jack.

She peered down again as he came to stand at her side,
enthralled by her discovery.

“It’s called a
dzonot
,”
he told her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Sophie felt it and her breath
caught. “They’re created when cave ceilings collapse.”

Sophie peered up at him.

“The Maya believed these were doors to the watery
underworld which were inhabited by rain gods and jaguar spirits. There are many
of these types of pools here. The land is riddled with them, but this one is
particularly beautiful.”

“It’s...” She peered down once more into the pool.
It was so clear she could see every pebble at its bottom. “There are no words
to describe it.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “I was going to bring
you here later to show you, but seems you found it on your own.”

She turned to smile up at him. “You were going to
bring me here?”

The thought that he intended to share something so
incredible with her warmed her beyond words. When was the last time anyone had
taken the time to bring her into his world? To share with her the things that
pleased him? Fascinated him? She couldn’t remember.

He sat beside her. More pebbles scattered into the
pool below as he boldly hung his legs off the edge.

Sophie smiled and sat as well, sliding her legs
over the chasm’s edge.

He looked at her then, giving her a particularly
wicked glance. “There is a Mayan legend about an evil princess named
Hechicera
, who couldn’t marry the man
she loved. It’s said when lovers come too close to the
dzonot
,
Hechicera
seizes
them and drags them into her cave where she turns them into
aluxob
.” He arched a brow suggestively,
and said, “We’re pretty close to the edge.”

Sophie blushed at the implication.

Indeed, they were indeed lovers now.

She didn’t want to forget a single moment she’d
spent in his arms. As scandalous as the thought was, she didn’t have a single
regret.

Sophie’s breath quickened. She wished he’d kiss
her again … right now... brush her hair aside as he was inclined to do. “What
is an
Aluxob
?”

Jack nodded. “Little people like leprechauns.”

Sophie lifted her brows. “And what does she do
with these unfortunate lovers?”

His brows knit. “Well, I’m not certain exactly,
but small huts are built in cornfields after each harvest. And the first ears
of com are left there to feed the
aluxob
.”

He went quiet, staring at her like that again...
as though he wanted to kiss her.

Sophie held her breath. “Why?” she asked, when he
didn’t.

His voice was seductively soft as he told her,
“For the farmers who honor them, the
aluxob
will push up their com plants and rock their hammocks at night.”

Sophie thought about it a moment, picturing
herself in a hammock with Jack, while little leprechauns rocked them beneath
the stars. “That’s a lovely legend.”

His eyes sparkled as they watched her. “It is,” he
agreed.

“They must have been a wonderful, benevolent
people!”

He shrugged. “I’ve a suspicion they weren’t as
benevolent as some wish to believe.”

“Why not?” Sophie asked, truly curious. He was so
filled with knowledge. She wanted him to teach her everything he knew.

He looked down into the pool, nodding. “For one...
there is a place called
Chichen Itza
.”
The name means ‘mouth of the well of the
Itzas
.’”

“
Itzas
?”

“Water wizards,” Jack explained. “Some believe the
pyramid there was erected as a sacrificial altar.”

Sophie made a face. “As in Abraham and his son?”

Jack shrugged. “Anyway, this particular pool
measures almost two hundred feet across. Below the surface of that green scum
you see are also the remains of countless sacrifices and offerings... animals
and sometimes humans, along with gold and jade jewelry.”

Sophie shuddered at the thought. “You mean they
just threw people inside ... and let them die?”

“That or they were already dead.”

“How terrible!”

“That’s nothing next to some of their rituals.”

“I want to know the things you know!” Sophie
exclaimed.

Sophie wished she could stay at his side forever
and discover things with him. She wished she could spend quiet moments in his
company just sitting and reading. She wished she knew as much as he did. But
right now, she wished more than anything that he would shut up and kiss her.

Her face warmed under his scrutiny.

Silence fell between them... except for the
trickle of water falling somewhere down below. It was a beautiful, musical
sound.

“What are you thinking, Sophia?” His voice was as
soft as a caress and her stomach fluttered at the sound of it.

“I was thinking...” She blinked as she stared
longingly at his mouth. “... that I love...”

You
, she
wanted to finish.

His hand reached out suddenly, touching her face,
startling her, and she swallowed her words.

Jack held his breath, waiting for her to speak.

“Yes,” he prompted when she didn’t continue.

She blinked, and he could tell she was struggling.
“That I
love
... how you know these
things.”

Disappointment slithered through him.

He caressed her chin with his thumb. “I
love
... your curiosity, Sophia.”

Her eyes seemed to reveal an inner battle. Jack
waited, hoping she would speak those three words he so longed to hear from her.

“And… I really,
really
love...” she began again, her brows twitching a bit with
what seemed to be confusion. “I love …”

“What is it you love?” he asked her, his heart
hammering fiercely.

She swallowed visibly. “That you are so willing to
share your knowledge with me!”

His thumb touched her lower lip, rested there, and
she blinked. “And I really ...
really
love your beautiful smile, Sophia.” Her lip trembled just a bit, and he teased
it, willing her with his eyes to speak those three little words words. He
encouraged her, telling her also, “And I love the sound of your voice... and
the way you laugh... He leaned close to her, his nostrils flaring. “And the way
you smell.” He took a deep breath, craving the taste of her.

Sophie closed her eyes and lifted her face into a
ray of sun, and Jack sat there staring at her, mesmerized, his heart swelling
with joy at simply being in her presence.

Never in his life had he felt so at peace with
someone, so connected... so alive.

He bent to kiss her, finally, touching his lips
tentatively to hers. His hand moved down to her throat, and he felt her swallow
once more. But she didn’t stop him, and he deepened the kiss, wanting nothing
more than to crawl into her body, to be at one with her.

He wanted all of her, body and soul.

He wanted her mind, wanted her heart.

Tom between his desire to show her that her body
was not all he wanted of her, that he respected her and loved her spirit and
her mind as well, and wanting to make love to her again and again, to take her
for his own, he hesitated, and drew away.

“Sophie,” he began.

There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t
know where to begin. He didn’t want her to go back to Harlan, didn’t want to
lose her, but he wanted her to do whatever made her happy. If in fact Harlan
did that for her—made her happy—then he wanted that for her, too,
even if it would kill him to see them together. But he hoped she didn’t love
the jackass still. He really couldn’t bear to see them together... to know that
he would touch her... kiss her... make love to her...

The thought of it made his gut turn.

The words caught in his throat.

She stared up at him, her golden eyes wide,
looking far too vulnerable. “Yes, Jack?”

Jack swallowed his words, unsure how to voice
them. He’d never spoken those three words to anyone in his entire life, not a
soul. He’d never felt for anyone the way he did for Sophia.

If there was just one thing he’d learned from his
studies—a lesson to be carried into his own life—it was that
nothing lasted forever.
Nothing.
His
studies and excavations were proof enough of that fact; societies came and
went. He hadn’t ever intended to put his heart at risk for something so
fleeting as love. But he didn’t care any longer...

Sophie was worth it … and suddenly it was clear to
him that the only thing that lasted, long after the flesh decayed … was love.

He wanted Sophie at his side always, to share his
journey through life.

But who was he to ask her to give up her own life
on a whim... to follow him blindly? What did he really have to offer a woman of
her station?

His brows knit as he struggled with his thoughts.

What was the right thing to do?

Did she love Harlan Penn?

She desired Jack, that was true enough, but desire
and love were two different things.

In the end, it came down to just one thing: She
had to follow her heart. He couldn’t put words into her mouth, or feelings into
her heart.

He sighed heavily and looking down into her
beautiful face, he smiled and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any eggs ’n’ peppers
left?” he asked.

“Eggs and peppers?” She blinked up at him. “You’re
still hungry?”

If she only knew. “Starved,” he confessed.

Her brows knit. “What about the meal Maria brought
you ... didn’t you eat?” She pulled his hand away from her face, and averted
her gaze. “You really don’t have to eat my breakfast just to make me feel good,
you know! I’m well-aware that it was awful!”