Uncharted

by Robyn Nyx

  “It’s not new. It’s just…better.” Chase looked away and grinned, her ego suitably buoyed by Rayne’s continued attention to her improved physique. Impressing women had been one of the motivating factors in working so hard.

  Rayne nudged her shoulder. “I can hear you smiling.”

  “You still have to look away,” Chase said and turned back to Rayne.

  “Let me show you how it’s done in the jungle.” Rayne leaned back onto her shoulders, thrust her hips in the air, and swiftly maneuvered herself out of her pants. Rayne’s slender thighs packed enough muscle to show they were strong, but were still shapely in that incredibly feminine way that made Chase melt, suck in her breath, and want to reach out and trace every inch of skin from her hips to her toes—all at once.

  “You’re staring.”

  Chase swallowed and gathered her courage. “You told me to watch.”

  “I didn’t say you should adopt that predatory look in your eyes.”

  Rayne was clearly amused. Chase figured she must be used to this and every other sort of attention from almost everyone. She admired Rayne’s ability to use it to her advantage, but she didn’t want to be manipulated by her natural desire. Rayne was stunning. Chase truly couldn’t stop her physical response, but she did have control of her own head. “You’re a beautiful woman, Rayne. I’m queer and you’d be exactly my type…in another life. Without our history.”

  Rayne looked away toward the rest of the camp, and Chase took the brief opportunity to yank off her trousers. She rolled them up and stuffed them into her river bag before pulling out her mosquito net and fixing it to the loops of her hammock.

  “Will our history always be a wedge between us?” Rayne busied herself fixing her hammock and net adjacent to Chase’s. “It’s not all bad…”

  Rayne’s half-question, half-statement hung in the air between them. Chase got into her hammock and slipped her legs and ass into the wafer bag. She zipped the mosquito net closed.

  “What you did, Rayne, was a massive betrayal. If someone ever did the same thing to you, are you saying you’d forgive them and move on? So easily?” Chase tentatively shifted farther along the bed to get comfortable. “You’re right. Not all of our history is bad. A big chunk of it…” were the best times of my life. “A lot of it was really good fun.” Chase’s pulse quickened, and she took a few deep breaths to regain control. Being in such close proximity to Rayne had always had this effect on her. She’d need to figure out a way to handle it on this expedition. For now, she simply said no more and turned off her flashlight hoping to signal an end to the difficult conversation.

  She felt Rayne swing up against her as she crawled into her own hammock and secured the insect protector around her. Her flashlight dimmed.

  “Chase…”

  “Yeah…” It was too soon to feign sleep.

  “I’ve never said sorry for Florida. I’ve never apologized for how much I hurt you, professionally and personally…”

  Chase felt light pressure from Rayne’s hammock shifting against her before her fingers rested on Chase’s arm through the nets. Chase was glad for the enveloping blackness around them. She didn’t want Rayne to see the tears in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Chase. I truly am.”

  Rayne’s touch was gone and the warm breeze hit Chase’s skin where it had been, reminding her how brief Rayne’s sincerity could be. Chase willed herself not to move, not to respond, not to speak. She’d waited eight years for those words. She’d longed for a heartfelt apology, and she was desperate to believe Rayne meant it. It would take more than one apology to rebuild the trust Rayne had smashed with a wrecking ball.

  But it was a suitable start…

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chase woke to the smell of open fire cooking, and her stomach growled its approval. She knew they’d have to hunt and kills animals she’d barely heard of, let alone tasted. She felt the solid presence of Rayne beside her and didn’t try to resist the urge to see her sleeping. Chase loved waking before the women who’d shared her bed to watch them sleep. Only for a little while, not for a creepy, intense, and lengthy period. Although some might argue that anything lasting longer than a quick glance was creepy. But Chase had always found something so peaceful and comforting about sleep. The silence was meditation before the world assaulted her brain.

  Falling asleep beside someone was usually an ultimate declaration of trust. It was trusting them not to kill, rob, or otherwise abuse her. Usually. Except when she was all but forced into a situation which necessitated sleep among people she barely knew, never mind trusted. That word again. Rayne, again. Part of Chase wanted to trust her. The part that had agreed to accompany her on this insane expedition that would probably turn out to be the greatest adventure of her life. And perhaps it was that holding back Chase’s willingness to let Rayne in again. If this ended up being the ultimate adventure, would everything else be bland and beige without Rayne beside her?

  “Do you have a fetish for watching women sleep?” Rayne opened her eyes and caught Chase enjoying her.

  “I like the silence,” Chase said. Excuses seemed unnecessary. She’d spoken to Rayne about it when they were friends. She knew all about Chase’s atypical way of being. “The world is generally too busy talking. Life is so loud. I like the moments before people feel obligated to fill them with noise.”

  Rayne smiled, and the softness behind her eyes spoke of understanding. She’d never judged Chase even when Chase had judged herself in all her weirdness.

  “Lots of people aren’t comfortable with silence.” Rayne turned sideways in her hammock to face Chase. “It gives them too much time to think about everything they regret in their lives.”

  Chase raised her eyebrows. “I’d never thought about it that way. What about you? Where do you fall on the spectrum between absolute silence and constant noise?”

  Rayne ran her hand over her hair, still in a ponytail. Chase imagined long hair wasn’t conducive to lolling around in a string hammock. She liked how low maintenance her short hair was…but she did love the feel of long hair trailing a path along her naked body.

  “That’s the spectrum, is it? They’re the two extremes as defined by the Chase Stinsen school of logic?” Rayne asked, and a smile played at the corner of her lips.

  “Yeah.” Chase could tell Rayne was teasing her and didn’t mind. “They’re the parameters. Answer the question.”

  Rayne frowned and stuck out her bottom lip. “You’ve gotten bossy. Is it the steroids?”

  “I’ve always been this way. It’s not ‘bossy,’ it’s straight talk.” Chase gestured toward Tonyck, busy burning breakfast. “Have your tank twins spoiled you with their sycophantic nonsense and you’ve forgotten how to have a simple conversation?”

  “‘Tank twins’? Nice. I think they’d like that.” Rayne poked at Chase through her mosquito net. “Well…Ginn would probably like it. Tonyck might just beat you up for it.”

  “What is her problem with me?”

  Rayne waved her hand in the air. “I don’t know. She’s a military woman with a certain way of doing things. You’re an academic with a different way of doing things. Sometimes people just clash. Is she still giving you a hard time?”

  Rayne looked away, but before she did, Chase saw something in her expression that didn’t match her words. Rayne knew precisely why Tonyck didn’t like Chase; she simply wasn’t saying.

  The rumbling in her stomach and need for sustenance trumped her desire to understand Tonyck’s motivation for hating her and Rayne’s reason for lying about it. She unzipped her net, swung her legs out, and jumped onto the ground after a quick check for anything slithering or crawling across the leaves. The butt or the breasts? Chase had to bend over to get her pants from her bag; which view would be best to offer Rayne?

  “The ass,” Rayne said.

  Had mind reading become another of Rayne’s extensive skills? “What?”

  “Your hesitation. You’re wondering how to re
trieve your pants without giving me a hot flush. I’m saying I don’t mind overheating so I’d prefer that you stick your butt in the air…if I’m allowed to have a preference.”

  “You’re not.” Chase turned sideways and gave her neither. In her hurry to pull on her pants under Rayne’s sexually loaded stare, Chase got her toe caught on the inside lining and toppled to the ground. “Don’t you laugh.”

  Rayne ignore the warning and giggled.

  “You’ve got such a cute laugh,” Effi said, approaching their area with two sticks crammed with skewered cubes of cooked meat.

  Chase rubbed her hand across her mouth. She would’ve liked to have said something similar, but she hadn’t. She missed out on the breathtaking smile Rayne gave Effi for the compliment. Why was she jealous? Chase didn’t want those smiles for herself…did she?

  Chase finished dressing and accepted the appetizing offering gratefully. She went to take both, but Effi pulled the second one back and waited for Rayne to escape her bed. She gave Chase a quick grin as if they were playing a game. Chase didn’t want any part of it and ignored her. Rayne didn’t bother to put her pants back on, and Effi didn’t bother to hide her appreciation. Chase was sure Rayne noticed but didn’t dignify it with any recognition, making it Chase’s turn to grin.

  “This is really good,” Rayne said after taking a bite. “What is it?”

  Chase held up her hand to stop Effi from speaking. “Are you sure you want to know?”

  Rayne smiled and put her hand on Chase’s shoulder. “Always the protector.” She touched Chase’s cheek gently before turning to face Effi. “Tell me. I’m not as fragile as this one seems to think I am.”

  “Monkey,” Effi said, seeming to take a certain amount of pleasure in the revelation.

  Chase inclined her head and Rayne shrugged, outwardly unaffected by the thought of munching on monkey meat. “Needs must,” Chase said, but she was thinking about whether she really saw Rayne as fragile, or whether she simply wanted to see her as fragile to pander to Chase’s caretaker sensibilities.

  “Let me know if you would like more. It’s another full day’s journey on the boat before we reach the old FUNAI HQ. It will be a while before we eat something fresh again.”

  Effi smiled at both of them before she walked away, leaving Chase to wonder about Effi’s flirtatious nature. Ginn and Chase were the only women in the group she hadn’t shown an interest in. It wouldn’t have fazed Chase if it had just been Rayne on the receiving end of Effi’s attentions. That was always to be expected. But to be overlooked in favor of the mean tank twin, that was tough to take. Not that Chase would be interested in Effi, but who didn’t find it flattering to be desired?

  “Where are you at?” Rayne waved her had in front of Chase’s face.

  “Sorry. I was just wondering what type of women Effi was interested in.” Chase leaned back against the tree, pulled off a chunk of meat, and popped it into her mouth. She tried not to think of a cute little monkey swinging through the trees before its life was ended for their breakfast. They were going to be eating all sorts of meat and fish she’d usually avoid, although she’d never seen monkey meat on the menu of any of her local restaurants.

  Rayne stepped closer to Chase and stood between her open legs. “Are you jealous?”

  Rayne reached out and traced her fingers along Chase’s collarbone. Chase’s skin tingled at her touch, but she subdued any overt physical reaction. Had Rayne placed her other hand down Chase’s shorts, she wouldn’t have been able to hide that response.

  “Of Tonyck? Nope, she’s not my type.” Chase looked across at Tonyck, needing an ardor dampener. Rayne had a hypnotic Medusa effect, but Chase was melting instead of turning to stone.

  Rayne put her hand on Chase’s cheek and gently brought her around to face her. “Not of Tonyck or Ginn…of me. Am I your type?”

  Chase pulled the inside of her lip between her teeth and bit down. If she could feel a little pain, maybe it’d distract her from her raging reaction to Rayne. She couldn’t move Rayne’s hand. If she tried, she worried that their fingers might entwine by some magical spell, never to be separated again. If she succumbed just once, she was sure her body would override her mind and demand Rayne again and again. “Please…don’t.”

  Rayne’s eyes flickered, something registered though Chase couldn’t know what. She smiled, the one Chase had seen many times when they were friends; the smile she’d never seen her give to anyone else. Rayne took her hand away but stayed close.

  “Effi is one of those people who flirts with anyone and everyone to make themselves feel good, because in here,” Rayne pressed the palm of her hand on Chase’s heart, “she doesn’t mean it. Stick around, she’ll get to you.”

  Chase was glad of the chest muscle she’d built and trusted it would be protection enough for Rayne not to feel her heart thudding against her ribs. “You know her that well?” Chase had the feeling Rayne might also be referring to herself.

  “No. I just know her type.” Rayne stepped to the side and leaned against Chase’s tree.

  Chase was simultaneously relieved and wounded by Rayne’s movement. “We’re in the middle of the Amazon with someone you don’t know? Kind of feels a little reckless.”

  “I know and trust Pablo. I’ve known him since I helped him escape the gold prospectors. He knows Effi. That’s good enough for me.” Rayne pushed off the tree and began to walk away. “Monkey tastes pretty good. I’m going back for more before it’s all gone,” she said into the still, humid air.

  Chase didn’t respond. Words wouldn’t come because Rayne’s casual mention of her involvement in saving Pablo’s life had just blown her mind. Before she’d fallen asleep last night, Chase had mentally created a blackboard in her mind. One side, pros. One side, cons. Rayne’s name scribbled in chalk at the top. She’d populated the cons column first, and it hadn’t been hard. She’d chalked in the pros, and they were more numerous than Chase had expected before she’d begun the list. But the cons still outnumbered the pros, and that’s how Chase needed it to remain to maintain the status quo she’d accepted. Rayne was a selfish, shallow woman who wouldn’t know the right thing if it walked up and announced itself. After they’d parted ways, framing Rayne that way made it easier for Chase to keep her at a distance. And nothing Rayne had done, to Chase’s knowledge, in the past four years had indicated any anomaly with that picture…

  Until she showed up on her doorstep with tales of the Golden Trinity and saving Amazonian Indians.

  Until Chase learned that Rayne had somehow rescued Pablo from certain death with no obvious benefit to herself.

  What else had Rayne been up to, unbeknownst to Chase, that would add more items to the pros list? And if that column became longer than the cons, if Rayne’s mind and soul, if her heart matched her outward beauty…how was Chase supposed to maintain professional boundaries with the most physically desirable woman she’d ever met? More pressing than how she’d do that, was why she’d do that.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rayne sat beside Pablo at the boat’s helm and took a deep breath of the Amazon air. She spent so much time in smoggy, filthy cities, that the taste of clean air often eluded her memory. Moments like this reminded her of one of the few good memories of a childhood vacation in Zion. The muddied, brown, and murky water of the Itaquaì River was a fitting simile to the rest of her childhood recollections. But this reminded her of a good day; a clear, bright, bluebird sky, no man-made machinery to be heard, and an accompanying three beat call of condors. The feeling of reaching the trail end of Angel’s Landing at twelve years of age and looking out across the park had never left Rayne. She’d sat at the very edge and dangled her toes at 6000 feet on 270,000,000 years of rock layers. She’d felt invincible and untouchable…and alone. Years had passed, friends and lovers had come and gone, shared their paths for transient periods before parting ways. Those same three emotions remained. Rayne had conditioned herself to the evanescent nature of relationships, platoni
c or otherwise. No one to rely on her equaled no unrealistic expectations and no one to disappoint.

  The only person she didn’t feel so alone in the presence of was Chase. But inevitably, Rayne had disappointed her too. She thought back to breakfast and practically pinning Chase to a tree. Please…don’t. The same words, sentences, phrases could be heard so many different ways by different people. To many, Chase’s words would have sounded like a plea for Rayne to simply leave her alone. Rayne hadn’t interpreted it that way. She’d seen the look in Chase’s eyes that accompanied those words. She’d seen the conflict between what Chase had said and what she had meant. That wasn’t born from any arrogance on Rayne’s part, taking no for yes wasn’t one of her faults. It came from knowing Chase because Chase had let her in and allowed her familiarity. And Rayne’s understanding had been supplemented further when she felt Chase’s reaction to her unplanned disclosure regarding Pablo. Confusion abounded, and Chase had said nothing. Rayne had walked away, as she often chose to do, but this time it was to give Chase the space and opportunity to process what had transpired. She’d come to learn that Chase didn’t tend toward spontaneous judgment, decisions, or actions unless pushed. Rayne didn’t want to push. If Chase was ever going to come to her, she wanted it to be after quiet deliberation. She glanced back at Chase who was leaning back on the boat, propped up by her arms, triceps bulging from the edges of her rolled-up shirt. Who was Rayne trying to fool? She’d gladly take her in the heat of the moment too.

  “We should be at the FUNAI HQ before nightfall, Ms. Rayne. I’ve been told that some of the outer huts survived the fire,” said Pablo. “I am expecting we’ll be able to sleep indoors tonight,” Pablo said, “which is good because there might be big rain.”

  “Excellent.” They were lucky this expedition had fallen toward the end of the rainy season. Rayne didn’t mind trekking in the rain, but the problem lay in never being able to get anything properly dry in the humid heat and making a fire was damn near impossible. Rayne didn’t fancy getting trench foot even for the biggest treasure haul in history. “You’re sure no one else has already taken up residence there?”