The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (42 page)

“
Are you?
”

“Of you, wanting my sister? You’re just conceited enough to believe that, aren’t you?” She struggled to compose herself, when all she wanted was to punch him repeatedly in the nose for being the biggest jerk in the universe. “You know what? This is ridiculous. We have a job to do, and like it or not, we’re stuck together. After this project, I pray to God I won’t have to work with you ever again.” She shook her head and walked away to join Luis.

****

Ian watched Faith stalk into the water. Flintrop sat back down and withdrew a sheaf of folded papers from his coat pocket. He snapped them open with an aggravated flourish, and began to read. Ian wondered if the bastard had come just to chaperone Sara. “Does he have a talent for pissing people off, or something?”

Sara worried her lower lip between her teeth. “I’m sorry. I tried to come alone. Luis heard I was coming, and then Flintrop got in on it...”

He took her hand.
“
I don
’
t care.
I
’
m just glad you
’
re here.
”

She blushed and evaded his gaze.

He angled his head.
“
What?
You worried about the watchdog over there?
”

“
He
’
s looking,
”
she protested.

“
Good.
”
Taking her face in his hands, Ian planted a thorough kiss on her lips.

She squeaked as if in surprise, but when he drew back, she beamed, even as her cheeks reddened.
“
We
’
re in
public
.
”

“So? When we get home, I plan to do a whole lot of kissing you in public.”

Her mouth opened, but whatever she meant to say gave way to a look that hovered between a smile and underlying anxiousness.

Ian
’
s stomach lurched with a disappointment that startled him.
“
You didn
’
t think this was just a passing thing, did you?
”
He searched her face.
“
You did think that.
”

“
I don
’
t know what I thought.
I
’
ve been trying not to think past the next few weeks.
”
She hugged herself, rubbing her arms in spite of the evening
’
s balmy air.

Ian stuffed his unwelcome dismay into a mental corner.
He stroked a hand across the soft curve of Sara
’
s cheek, then cleared his throat and lowered his hands.
Looking her up and down with appreciation, he asked,
“
Going for a swim, or did you just come to flaunt that bathing suit at me?
”

“
Are you complaining about my bathing suit?
”

Banter.
Much better than that anxious look.
He waved a finger between them.
“
I
’
ve come to realize, the less clothing separating the two of us, the better I like it.
”

She blushed, and he fought the urge to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to the nearest secluded spot.
She glanced furtively around, looking like a teenager who
’
d been caught staying out too late.
“
I
’
m going to swim now.
”

He groaned.
“
You
are
flaunting it.
”

She smiled again, untied her wrap, then handed it to him with a sly smile.
“
Now I
’
m flaunting.
See you in a bit.
”
She strolled off to the water.

Ian allowed himself a pleasant view of swaying hips as she walked across the uneven sand.

A shadow fell over him.
He looked up.

Flintrop gave him a cold blue stare as he passed on his way back toward the camp.
“
Don
’
t get too used to it, Waverly.
”
He sauntered away before Ian could reply.

The rest of the evening went well enough, though Ian wished he
’
d carried Sara off, after all.
By the time he got back to his camp, he couldn
’
t think straight for wanting her.
The erstwhile cold bath of the inlet had done nothing to alleviate that.
He stayed up most of the night writing in his journal, though none of the entry mentioned a stitch of his wildlife research.

Faith had asked him flat out if he loved her sister.

God, yes.
Since he was ten.
Even when he didn
’
t want to.

But then Sara had given him that look.
Did she think this thing—this whatever-it-was between them—was temporary?

That thought bothered him almost as much as the gathering apprehension whenever he thought of the amulet around her neck.

****

The next week and a half went by in a blur of full-speed work. Ian spent his days on the cliffside. During the nights, Sara came to his camp, and they made love. Always passionate, always intense, and over far too soon. Each time, she stole away well before the sun rose. And each time, something stopped him from confessing the way he felt about her. He sensed an uneasiness in her, but put it off to the looming dig deadline.

This morning, he’d started climbing early and spent most of the day on the rock. Halfway down the cliff, he thrust his fingers into a handhold and angled sideways on his rope. A flock of terns rested on a craggy outcrop below, jabbering amongst themselves. He took a rough visual count of the flock and raised his camera, focusing the lens, aiming, and shooting the photo without conscious thought.

Horus soared by, chirping in what Ian had come to understand as his greeting. “Hey, hotshot, can I borrow those wings?” Smiling, Ian edged the instep of one foot onto a thin crease of rock for a moment of rest.

Then he saw the second falcon.

For a moment, he wondered if Sara had paid him a visit, but Horus shot past him again with a drawn-out wail and rose into a dizzying spiral. The two birds whirled around one another. Ian recognized a courtship flight. His mouth fell open as he followed the roller coaster circling of the larger bird.

Definitely not Sara, by the way Horus was reacting.

Grinning, he raised the camera around his neck and hurried to focus. “Sweetheart, I think you just got me my tenure.” He snapped a rapid series of photos, running the battery almost all the way down before the birds circled away together. He started back up the cliff, eager to get his observations down on paper.

He had to tell Sara.

When had thinking of her become such second nature?

He gave a soft laugh. Since forever, really.

His memory spun back twenty years to the first time he saw her.
Shaking, her eyes a startling grass-green, she
’
d braced herself against the oncoming punch of a boy almost twice her size.
Ian recalled a bright flash of anger and his blood surging in his ears.
He
’
d been about to jump between them when the bell rang, and the teachers came to herd them all back from the playground into the school.

Those eyes had burned right down inside of him.
After twenty years, in spite of all that had happened since then, they still did.
He suspected, twenty years from now, they still would.
If we ever get the chance to find out,
he thought, grimly returning to the present.

A fitful burst of wind rocked him in his harness, reminding him that he
’
d better get topside.
With the breeze picking up like this, he expected another storm to follow on its heels in the next day or so.
He climbed back up the cliff, feeling out each crevice before continuing the push upward.
Birds scolded him from their niches in the rock far below.
The wind gusted up the cliffside, smacking against his body.

He had just gained the edge when a shadow blotted out the sunlight overhead.
Ian swore and slid downward a few feet.
He gripped harder on the rope, wincing against the burn, and jammed the toes of one shoe in a foothold.
He jerked to a halt with pebbles rattling their way down the cliffside, and looked up.

The shadowy figure bent down out of the sun glare.
Ian recognized Luis.
“
Need a hand, greenhorn?
”
the man asked, then laughed.

“
Jesus, Lu.
Could you not do that when I
’
m dangling from a two-hundred-foot cliff?
”
Ian hauled on the rope, regained the last few feet, then reached for his friend
’
s hand.

Luis pulled him upward over the cliff edge.
Ian unbuckled his harness and started winding the rope.
“
What
’
s up?
”

“
I just came up to say hello.
”

“
How about a hello and a beer?
It
’
s damn hot down there with the sun pounding on the rock,
”
Ian said, wiping a hand across his sweaty forehead.

“
Lead the way,
amigo
.
”

They headed toward Ian’s tent. Freshly armed with a cold six-pack, they sat in a pair of camp chairs outside. Ian propped his feet on an empty crate. “I was just hurting for a break. You came along at the right time, buddy.”

Luis beamed, and they clinked bottles.
Time stretched out while they settled into the wordless male communion of sunshine, the outdoors, and fermented beverages.

Luis swept a look around Ian
’
s camp.
Some crates had already been packed for shipment home, and covered with a tarp.
“
It looks like you
’
re going to be done around here pretty soon.
”

“
Yeah, another few weeks, maybe.
Got most of the data, and about a thousand photos.
”

Luis gave him a broad smile.
“
So, you and Shark Markham, huh?
”

“
Me and
Sara
.
”

“All right, all right. She’s not so bad, I guess. At least she pulls her weight on a project. She was in a good mood this morning, so I figure she must have gotten an hour of sleep instead of the usual half.”

Ian wondered if they knew about her sneaking out to see him.
“
What do you mean?
”

“
I mean, she
’
d rather work than eat.
She
’
s going to wear out before we finish, unless she
’
s part machine.
”
Luis set the heel of one work boot on the crate.

Ian picked at the label on his beer bottle.
“
How are things going down there?
”

“
We
’
ve almost got the perimeter dug out, and we
’
ve started on the interior.
You need some peat bricks for a campfire, you know where to find them.
”

Ian flashed a quick, preoccupied smile.
A little over one week to go.
He itched to do more than sit up here waiting.
He kept his gaze on his beer bottle, peeling its label back bit by bit.
“
I guess you guys are ahead of schedule, seeing you were planning for this to take all summer.
”

“
Yeah.
Lambertson is going to be late coming back, but I think we
’
re going to finish without him.
”
Luis drained the rest of his beer, and stood up.
“
That is, if I get back down there and help, instead of sitting around up here with layabouts like you.
”

“
It
’
s a dirty job.
See you.
”
Ian waved his friend off, then went reluctantly back to work.

Chapter Sixteen

Ian spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on his notes.
After that, he decided to pack one last crate for the day.
Unused tent gear joined extra camera lenses in their padded case.
He wedged a few books in the remaining space, then hammered the crate shut.