by Lily Cahill
She was silent as she gradually relaxed into his arms. "So what happens now?" she finally asked.
What he wanted to say was, "We spend the rest of our lives together, I fill you with little bear cub babies, anything we want is ours, and we live happily ever after." But he didn't think she was ready to believe that was possible. Instead, he said, "Why don't we call this an experiment. We need to gather more data before we can make a hypothesis about what's going to happen next."
"That's not how the scientific method works," she grumbled, but her fingers were tangled in his chest hair.
He peeked down at her. She was still scowling. "What is it?"
"You thought that Alex and I were together."
"You said partner. You said you had been together since college. What was I supposed to think?"
"But that means you thought that I was cheating on Alex, that night in Seattle."
He kissed the top of her head. "I did think that. And it's been driving me crazy. I can tell you aren't the kind of person who cheats. But, obviously, you and Alex have a close relationship, so I wasn't sure what to make of it."
"She's my best friend."
It was his turn to tense up. "She?"
"Yeah." She lifted her head. "You didn't realize Alex was female?"
He thought back over all the times Kam and Marley had mentioned Alex over the last few days. He didn't remember them ever mentioning her gender. Many times, he had considered searching for Alex on the Internet, but every time his sense of propriety had stopped him. He didn't want to obsess over Kam's partner. After all, it was up to Kam which of them she chose.
He laughed and rolled onto his back, pulling Kam with him until she was sprawled over his chest. "I've been driving myself crazy, imagining you like this with some Indiana Jones-type guy."
"Dr. Alexandrea Winter," she said, her voice mock-serious, "Is much more like Lara Croft."
"Really?" An image rose up in his mind of Kam wrapped in the arms of a buff, tough babe. Somehow, it didn't bother him nearly as much as the idea of her with another man. "Hot."
She smacked him again, but laid her head on his chest with a sigh. "She is going to kill me when she finds out about this."
Caleb ran his hand down Kam's hair. "Maybe at first. But if she's as good of a friend as you say, she'll be happy to see you happy."
When she didn't answer, something tightened in his chest. "Are you ... happy?"
"This isn't logical. It wasn't in my plans."
He tipped her head up so he could see her eyes. "That wasn't what I asked."
"Yes," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "I'm happy. I've been going crazy, wanting you."
He hadn't known it was possible to feel triumph and sympathy at the same time. She was obviously beating herself up about the burgeoning relationship between them.
There was no one in his life that would criticize his feelings for Kam. The Brotherhood would understand that they were mated, and his money and power put him beyond any other reproach. It was different for Kam. Her professional reputation was obviously important to her, and he was sure that academia was just as full of gossip and rumors as any other field.
There was one way he could shield her. "We could try to keep it a secret."
Something shuttered in her eyes. "Is that what you want?"
"No." He lifted his head so he could kiss her, long and slow. "I want to spend every second with you, and I don't think I'll be able to hide how I feel. But if that's what you want, I'll try."
She looked down at him, half-sprawled over his chest. Their legs were tangled, and her gorgeous hair was spread over them both. He loved seeing her without her glasses--it was a privilege to see her bare face, even if she was frowning.
Then her expression cleared.
"No. I don't want to lie to Alex or Marley. We can keep it casual," she added quickly, as if he would protest. "But we should be upfront. I'll tell them that we're seeing each other. Should you tell someone? Your board of directors?"
"My personal life is none of their business," he said. But, it occurred to him, he needed to contact B3. The fact that Kam was his mate would affect their interest in the dig. They would probably trust her more once they knew she was fated to be with one of their own.
"Okay," she said. There was something still troubled about her expression, but he was distracted when she wiggled up to kiss him.
Her breasts felt heavy and ripe against his chest. He was just about to cup one when she pulled away. "You said Marley went to the store?"
Caleb nodded. "He left about forty minutes ago."
"A trip to the store doesn't take more than an hour. I feel weird about having sex when he's in the house."
Caleb's lengthening cock wilted. "Okay, no problem."
"So you're going to have to fuck me quickly," she said with a wicked grin, and ran her hand down his taut abdomen. When she took his cock in her hand, he sprang to life again. Before he could manage more than a stammer, she straddled him.
Seeing her poised over him--her black hair spilling over her full breasts, her golden skin still pink with the warmth of his body, her hand wrapped around his cock as she fit the head against the entrance to her wet pussy--was the hottest thing he had ever seen. Then she sank down, taking him deep inside, and Caleb experienced the rush of rightness that he now knew came from making love to his mate.
She rose and fell over him, driving him crazy with her slow strokes and long grinding thrusts. He took her breasts in his hands, molding and squeezing them, tweaking her nipples with his thumbs. Her hair rained over them, and he felt as if they were shrouded in a private world.
He could tell she was close from the flush in her cheeks, the way she bit her lip. She rose up, her strong thighs flexing with effort. Just when she was about to stroke back down, Caleb slipped a hand between their bodies and quickly rubbed her clit.
The effect was instantaneous. She gasped and shuddered with orgasm. He could feel the muscles of her pussy clenching around the head of his cock, which drove him past the point of patience. His hands went to her hips, holding her in place over him as he thrust up into her.
She gasped, still shaking with pleasure. He bent his knees for more leverage and let his body take over, pounding into her with the raging force of his desire. His fingers dug into her hips as he gazed up at her, watching her breasts bounce wildly at each thrust. She tossed her head back, balancing her hands on his chest. "Yes, yes, give it to me. Fuck me."
Her words kicked him into overdrive. "Touch yourself," he begged, his voice ragged. "Make yourself come."
When her eyes opened, they were as brilliant and deep as emeralds. She lifted one hand to her breast, cupping it in her palm and rubbing a nipple between her fingers. The other hand went to her clit. Their gazes locked. Her hips were pushing down to meet his thrusts, her fingers fluttering against his cock as he pistoned into her.
She was his; he had no doubt about that. But as he watched her tumble off the cliff into orgasm, he knew he was hers just as surely. Then the world disappeared as he drove his cock into her one final time and exploded.
Chapter Thirteen
Kamilah
Two days later, Kam was trying to concentrate on translating Xenwi's remaining manuscripts. The medicine man had recorded all aspects of tribal life, and normally Kam found his work fascinating. Now, she could barely keep her focus.
Alex would be arriving soon. And Kam would have to tell her about Caleb.
She sat under a white canvas tent at the dig site, books spread all over the table in front of her. Dictionaries of various tribal languages were piled with digital prints of Xenwi's writings. The samples themselves were too fragile to be handled regularly; they were already in storage at the university library.
Caleb and Marley were out in the field working with two separate groups of volunteers. Marley and his group were working on excavating the newest grave, using the same brushes and picks that archaeologists had been using for genera
tions. Caleb, by contrast, was pointing out something on a computer screen. He was walking some volunteers through the imaging software, which was so high tech that it could map sites that would have taken years to uncover otherwise.
He didn't look bored, Kam noted. As he spoke, an excited light filled his eyes. But he would get bored eventually; eventually, he would head off in search of a new thrill.
The more she prepared herself for that eventuality, the less it would hurt when he left.
In the past, she'd never felt more than a friendly attachment to her lovers. She was practical about sex--it was enjoyable and healthy, and could be experienced without all the cultural conventions that made sex complicated. She didn't believe sex needed to lead to marriage or a committed relationship. Up until now, she had never wanted it to.
As an archaeologist, Kam had to use logic to make reasonable conclusions about the people she studied. People, however, were inherently illogical. Love was a perfect example. People made choices that violated their self-interest or the needs of their society, simply for love. She had studied the phenomenon extensively, but never experienced love herself.
Until now.
Growing up, she had admired the way her parents adored and supported each other. They had always seemed like a matched set, despite all the socio-cultural differences they needed to overcome. She had assumed that someday, she would meet someone, and they would click together as neatly as her parents had.
She and Caleb didn't click. They sparked, like flint hitting stone. The heat they created together was incandescent. She admired his mind, his work ethic, and his creative way of attacking problems.
But on a fundamental level, they were very different people. She was an intellectual, content with her papers and studies. He was amused with her world for now, but in the long term the siren song of money, adventure, and women would surely lure him away.
There were so many parts of him that he didn't share with her. More than once, he had left the room to answer the phone, or quickly closed a window on his computer when she came in. It wasn't her business, she reminded herself. She didn't own him, and she never would.
The knowledge didn't stop her from loving him. But it would stop her from trying to keep him.
She didn't realize she was staring at him until he raised his hand in a wave. Embarrassed, she waved back, then looked down at her papers.
She was trying to identify the moss the Yursui had used in their bear rituals. She had taken samples of all the mosses in the area, and none produced a psychedelic effect.
According to Xenwi's account, the Yursui warriors not only believed that they had turned into bears, but also saw all the other warriors as bears. So this moss surely created hallucinations. It was unusual for so many people to experience the same hallucination, but perhaps, in a homogeneous social environment marked by pressure to conform, each warrior saw what he wanted to see.
She sighed and stretched. She caught sight of a small patch of mold growing in the corner of the canvas tent. It was a product of the wet weather--it seemed like their tents at the dig site never fully dried, even when the sun was out. Mold grew on anything that was left damp and unattended. They had sprayed the tents with mold-killer at the beginning of the season, but it looked like they needed another treatment.
Then she froze. What if the hallucinogen wasn't the moss--what if it was a mold?
She ran from the tent straight to Caleb, who was sitting on a stump surrounded by volunteers. "I need your computer!" she called, not waiting for him to respond before she whipped it out of his lap.
"Sure," he said, although she had already crouched down in front of him and, using his knees as a desk, started typing searches into the Internet.
"Why don't you guys take a break? There's water in the tent," Caleb suggested. When the volunteers were gone, he said, "Now that we're alone, why don't you come sit on my lap?"
She spared him a glance mainly but kept her eyes focused on the screen. "Not a chance."
"Well, at least sit down here," he said, standing up and lifting the laptop with one hand and offering her the other.
Even though Kam was in the midst of a brainwave, her body still reacted to the touch of his hand in hers. He was so damned cute, wearing a ball cap and T-shirt. One of the volunteers had recognized him his first day on the dig, but Caleb had brushed off the flurry of attention. After a few days of working together, he had just become part of the crew.
He sat her down on the stump and set the computer in her lap. "Now. What are we looking for?"
"Stachybotrys chartarum," she said. "Black mold. It's been known to cause hallucinations when inhaled."
"So?"
"So what if the hallucinogenic element wasn't in the moss that the warriors drank--it was in the very air they breathed?"
He frowned. "Wouldn't the whole village have been affected?"
She shook her head. "Not if the mold was only found in a place where only the warriors went--like the sweat lodge where they performed the religious rituals."
"I thought black mold was deadly," Caleb said, squatting down beside her so he could also look at the screen.
"It can be. It can certainly make you very sick."
"So why didn't these warriors get sick?"
"Maybe they developed a resistance over time," she mused. "We've been holding off on DNA testing the bones we've found, but there might be some insight there. I'll contact some universities and get the process started."
She started to look up testing labs, but Caleb slipped the laptop away from her. There was a strange look on his face. "Why don't you let me handle that part? I know a guy."
"Yeah, so do I," Kam said, peeved. "Like, some of the most respected people in the scientific community, who do this sort of thing all the time. They'll know what we should look for."
"Don't you think we should keep this under wraps for now?"
"Why?"
She had never seen him look uncomfortable until now. "I mean, we can't put it out there that black mold makes you hallucinate. Kids will be cultivating it to get high."
She could tell he was joking, but he still had a sickly look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said, too quickly. "We should definitely do some more testing on this, but ... discreetly. Besides, we want answers now. If we send the bones to a university, it could take months to get results. It will be much faster if we use a private company. Let me handle it."
It didn't make any sense. She had the connections to get the job done quickly. Sure, news traveled fast in the scientific community, but she would trust most of her colleagues to be confidential. Besides, what was there to be confidential about?
But, Caleb was taking an interest in the project. He was trying to protect her work. And if he was willing to use his money to expedite the process, then she wasn't going to complain.
"All right," she said finally. "I'll show you how to pack and ship them. We should have a cross-section of the population. While we're at it, we should also have some of the other materials tested to see if there are any other biotic components we should be aware of."
His smile was relieved as he tucked the laptop under his arm and pulled her to her feet. "Thanks. You can trust me; I'll take care of it."
He was standing so close. She glanced up and saw that no one was around. She laid a hand on his muscular bicep, needing to touch him for another moment. "I hope so."
"You can trust me," he said, his voice deeper now. "I missed you last night."
Kam blushed. She'd spent the night torturing herself with the sweet memories of his body. "I missed you, too. But I couldn't, not with Marley ...."
"I know, I get it, it's fine," he said. He stepped just a little closer. "Did you tell him about us?"
She shook her head. "There wasn't a good time. And I figured, with Alex coming back today, I might as well tell them together."
He nodded. "Do you want me to be there?"
Part of her wanted to say y
es. But she couldn't start to rely on him as a partner like that. "No. That makes it seem like it's a bigger deal than it is. We're adults, we're attracted to each other, it doesn't have to mean any more than that."
A look of pain crossed his face. His hands were on her hips now, as if they belonged there. "There are things we should talk about, Kam. I need to tell you some things, and they might upset you."
Fear shot through her. She understood that he would leave. They didn't need to talk about it. She could tell herself that it was temporary over and over again, but hearing those words from his lips might destroy her.
Even now, even when her heart was aching, she wanted him. Her hand had traveled to his broad chest, and she could feel the heat of his body through his shirt. His strong jaw, rough with stubble, called out to be kissed. They shouldn't be touching like this, with so many people around, but Kam couldn't work up the will to push herself away.
"When can we be alone?" he said, his voice rough with desire. His brown eyes were liquid hot.
Before she had a chance to answer, she heard a familiar voice say, "Well, well, well. How long has this been going on?"
Reality slammed into her. She stepped back from Caleb and found Marley and Alex, watching them from just a few feet away.
Chapter Fourteen
Caleb
"I don't know what to do now," Caleb hissed into the phone. He kept his eye on the stairs to the basement, hoping that no one would come down.
"Calm down," said his B3 contact, a man he knew only as Pablo. While the members of B3 frequently came together for leisure and business activities, no one knew where each member ranked in the organization. In order to maintain secrecy, no one knew who was on the mysterious council except for those who were chosen to serve.
Pablo was the man who had contacted him two years ago, asking InTech to fund the Yursui dig. They had never met face to face, and all Caleb knew about Pablo was that both his name and his South American accent were probably fake. Still, Pablo was his only way to contact the council and let them know what Kam had found.