by Dylann Crush
“You’re getting married, aren’t you?” Excitement bloomed in my chest.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? What’s this maybe crap? Did he propose?”
“Well”—Jaylene clucked her tongue—“not exactly.”
“So?”
“We’re going to elope. Neither of us wants a big wedding. And at this point, the big white dress would be a total joke. But I want you to be there. Will you come?”
“Of course I’ll come. Just name the date and time. I’ll be there for sure.” When Jaylene and I were younger we’d joked about having a double wedding. I was thrilled for her but also felt like she was leaving me behind. However sorry for myself I felt, I wouldn’t let it get in the way of being happy for her.
“Good. I wish I’d been able to tell you in person, but it seems like we never have enough time together.”
“I know. I’ll call you later to get all the juicy details.”
“Love you, girl.”
“Love you, too. Drive safe and—” The phone went dead, cutting off my warning to be careful on the road. Well, damn. At least I’d killed another fifteen minutes. With no phone to check the time, I’d have to guess. I sat back against the tree, settling in for another hour of waiting when the rope jerked in my hands.
21
Theo
Tying the rope to my waist had seemed like a good idea. It worked well for my dad when he used to go caving by himself. But crawling around through the narrow passageways in some of these tunnels meant the rope kept catching on the sharp edges of rocks. I pulled and nothing happened. I couldn’t go back out the way I’d come in, the tunnel was too narrow to turn around, and I was much more effective going forward than trying to back out. At least I wasn’t stuck.
I jerked on the rope again and a piece of rock tumbled to the floor of the cave. The rope gave way. Finally.
Continuing on, I emerged from the tunnel into a cavernous chamber. As I got to my feet, my headlamp shifted to the ceiling. I dimmed the headlamp and glanced up. The ceiling was a breathing, writhing, solid mass of sleeping bats.
I’d found them. Now I just needed to confirm what species they were, and I could safely alert my dad and the rest of the team to their existence. I pulled my compact camera with the zoom lens out of my pocket and focused in on the bats. No doubt about it. These were the endangered Indiana bats. And as far as I could tell, they didn’t have the deadly white nose fungus. At least not the ones I was looking at. I stood there, silent for a moment, in awe of being in their presence. I’d freaked out a bit on the climb in, and my ankle was throbbing from my previous injury, but it was worth it.
Moving around the chamber, I snapped as many pictures as I could. The team was going to freak. My dad would be ecstatic. For a moment, I let myself picture his face as I shared the news. For once, he’d look at me with the same burning pride he usually saved for my brother. My chest swelled with the knowledge that I’d be providing him with the one thing he hadn’t managed on his own yet.
As I let the scene play out in my mind, a noise came from the tunnel, like some sort of creature scrambling through. I shone the light from my headlamp into the darkness. Nothing obvious was causing the disturbance. So many times I’d been surprised by how sound traveled in these types of caves. The soft scratch of a lizard could sound like an avalanche because of the acoustics. Figuring it was nothing more than some leftover rubble shifting from me moving through, I turned back to the bats.
The noise behind me intensified. Something was definitely coming down the tunnel. Something big. I shone my headlamp into the space again and caught a glimpse of hair. Blondish hair.
“Scarlett?” I directed the headlamp to the side as she looked toward me. The light from her helmet shone in my eyes. It was definitely Scarlett. “What are you doing?”
She scrambled on her hands and toes. At about half my size, the narrow tunnel wasn’t quite as confining for her.
“The rope jerked,” she huffed. “And my phone’s dead.”
“I’m so sorry. The rope got stuck on a rock and I pulled. I’m fine though.”
She stopped her forward momentum and glanced out at me, still several yards deep in the tunnel. “You’re fine?”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “And guess what? I found the bats. There are hundreds here, maybe even thousands.” I spread my arms, indicating how vast the cavern was, expecting her to congratulate me on a job well done.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Her forehead crumpled and her mouth drew into a hard line. “I thought you were hurt.”
“It’s okay. I’m great.”
“It’s not okay at all.” Her voice rose, taking on a bit of a strangled sound.
“Are you okay?” I leaned into the tunnel. The light from her headlamp was so bright I couldn’t see anything beyond it.
“No. I’m one-hundred-percent so not okay. I’m backing up. I can’t believe this.”
“What’s the problem?” Why the hell was she freaking out? I tried to figure out what would have her so upset. Then it hit me. I’d told her she couldn’t come in the cave without changing her clothes. And she had no extra clothes. Which meant…
The light from her headlamp slowly began to move backward.
“Scarlett?”
She glanced my direction. The light bounced off the top of the tunnel allowing me to get a good look at her face. And her shoulders. Her naked shoulders. Holy fuck. I bit my lip to keep from losing it. The woman had balls of steel.
“Are you naked?”
Her eyes glittered, sparking with heat that probably could have set me on fire right then and there. “I thought you were hurt.”
“You’re not going to be able to back out. You may as well come forward.”
“I can’t.” Her voice shook.
“Yes, you can. I won’t look. Give me your hand.” I stretched my hand toward her.
“If you’re not hurt, you’re going to wish you were by the time I get my hands on you,” she threatened.
Keeping a firm bite on my bottom lip, I reached farther into the cave. “Just a little more. Come on, you can do it.”
Sounds of her making her way through the tunnel tempted me to risk a peek. But if she caught me, I’d be done for. So instead I continued to mumble encouragement. “Not much farther. You’ve got this.”
Finally, her fingers brushed against mine. I held her hand, guiding, not pulling. If she didn’t have on a stitch of clothing I didn’t want to yank her along a rough surface. Just thinking about the rocks and rough terrain rubbing up against such sensitive body parts had me wincing. Her hand dropped mine and, afraid I’d lost her, I opened my eyes. Streaks of mud and god only knew what else, covered her torso and limbs. But hell, underneath the grime and dirt, I could make out the swell of her hips, the curve of her breasts, and oh shit…
The palm of her hand connected with my cheek. “I told you to keep your eyes closed.”
I turned away. “I’m sorry. You dropped my hand. I thought something had happened. You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. It’s freezing and I’m naked and I’m stepping in bat shit, aren’t I?”
Holding out my arms, I twisted around slowly, making sure my eyes were squeezed shut tight. “Come here.” I felt for her.
She grabbed my hand. “I’m freezing my ass off. Can we get out of here now? Did you get what you needed?”
“Yes.” I let go of her hand long enough for me to shrug off my jacket. “Here, put this on.”
I heard the fabric rustle as she pulled it on then a swift zip.
“Are you decent? Can I open my eyes?”
“Sure.” Her voice held a hint of defeat.
“Get over here.” I tugged her close. She resisted for a moment then tucked herself against my chest. I smoothed my hand over her back, trying to warm her through my jacket.
“I’m still mad at you.” She spoke into my pecs, her voice muffled by my shirt.
“I don’t blame you. What happene
d?”
“The rope jerked. My phone died so I couldn’t call anyone.” She shifted her head to look up at me. “And then when I got into the cave I remembered you saying not to yell because it might disturb the bats.”
Nodding, I tried to make her feel a bit better. “Good thinking. Can I just ask one thing?”
She narrowed her eyes, giving me a look drenched with apprehension. “What?”
“Why the hell did you crawl through a cave naked?” A grin slipped through. I couldn’t help it. Now that I knew she was okay, covered in grime and dirt, but overall okay, I had to know.
“Because I thought you were hurt.” Her pointer finger landed in the center of my chest. “But don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll never do it again.”
“You want to see something cool?” My fingers caught hers and I gave them a squeeze.
“Something I think is cool or something you think is cool?” Doubtful, she cocked a hip. My jacket swam on her shoulders, bringing out another wide grin on my part.
“Neither. It’s undeniably, universally cool.”
“Sure. Show me your cool thing so I can get home and rinse this…whatever all of this is…off me.” She lifted a hand to her hair and tried to smooth it over.
“Look up.” I dimmed my headlamp and tilted my head back. Scarlett did the same.
She stood silent for a moment then let out a loud gasp. “Are those”—her light flashed across my cheek as she shifted her gaze to my face—“are those the bats?” Her voice rose at least an octave.
Afraid she was going to fling herself through the tunnel and not look back, I put a hand on her shoulder. “Yep. They’re sleeping.”
She squirmed under the jacket. “Okay, I’m creeped out. That’s super cool for you, but I’ve got to get out of here.”
I couldn’t force her to stay any more than I could force her to suddenly appreciate the tiny mammal my family had devoted most of their lives to saving. “They’re actually very vulnerable to us right now.”
“Don’t give me that whole ‘they’re more afraid of you than you are of them’ crap.”
“Just look at them.” I slid my arm over her shoulders. “They nestle together for warmth. They’re going into hibernation right now. They won’t hurt you.”
A shiver ran through her. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“They eat insects. Did you know the average bat eats thousands of mosquitoes a night?”
“Good for them. Although my stomach is calling for more of Mrs. Cahill’s cookies. Can we go?”
“Sure.” I gathered my bag and slung it over my shoulders. “Do you want to lead the way?”
“And have your nose to my bare ass the whole way back? Hell no.”
I held back a laugh. “All right then. Follow me.”
22
Scarlett
I was more embarrassed than anything. Besides a few superficial scrapes and scratches, the only thing injured was my pride. Especially when Theo made me sit on a trash bag on the ride back to my place lest I spread a combination of dirt and grime all over the inside of his truck. I did the best I could to try to clean up with the baby wipes I carried in my purse. Next time—although as far as I was concerned, there would never be a next time—I’d ignore the rope and leave him to his own devices.
But then I wouldn’t have seen that side of him, the side he revealed when he went on and on about those damn bats. The man knew his stuff. He almost made my dislike for the creatures recede into just a not-so-fondness instead of sheer hatred. I couldn’t say exactly what I’d based it on. Growing up in rural Missouri we’d always had bats around. My grandpa used to tell me they were Mother Nature’s bug controllers. I didn’t like bugs, but I didn’t like bats even more.
Seeing Theo in his element had been a turn on, though. The man was sexy when he spouted off all of those statistics. Although, sex was the furthest thing from my mind. Slipping around in freezing mud would do that to a girl.
By the time we pulled into the driveway, the sun sat low in the western sky. “You want to come in for a quick bite before you head out?”
He checked his watch. I could almost feel the indecision.
“I can get you a jar of that hot fudge sauce to take home.”
He nodded his head. Chocolate for the win. Worked every time, not that I needed an incentive to get a man to spend time with me. There weren’t any men I wanted to spend time with. Until Theo.
We entered the house to a peaceful stillness. My mama senses could immediately tell that Rodney wasn’t home. I was going to microchip that kid if he didn’t start falling into line. I stopped at the kitchen sink and gave my hands a proper scrubbing. Finding my charger, I plugged my phone in and waited for it to fire up so I could check messages.
“Where’s Rodney?” Theo shed his boots at the door and entered the living room.
“I’m not sure.” I scrolled through my texts and found what I was looking for. “Good. He’s over at my mom’s for dinner. She wasn’t sure what time I’d be back, so she came by to pick him up.”
“Whatever they’re having, I bet it doesn’t smell as good as what you’ve got going.” Theo followed his nose into the kitchen and stood at the kitchen sink, washing remnants from the cave from his hands.
Knowing I’d be gone most of the day, I’d tossed a roast in the slow cooker before I left this morning. Rodney knew that. If he’d gone to my mom’s, it was probably more for the Wi-Fi than the food. Mom had no idea how to turn off her router so he’d be able to take advantage of that. Stinker.
“Help yourself to a beer or soda from the fridge. I’m just going to jump in the shower real quick in the hopes I start to feel somewhat human again.” I grabbed a towel from the linen closet and disappeared into my room to snag a change of clothes.
“I feel funny asking this”—Theo’s voice followed me down the hall—“but would it be weird if I borrowed your shower when you’re done? I’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of me, and I’d love to rinse off. If not, that’s totally fine. Just thought I’d ask.”
My stomach turned over. Theo in my shower. Naked. After I’d just been in there. Naked. A bead of sweat broke out on my upper lip. It was just a ceramic tub with a tile surround. Nothing special. Just a standard feature in any house. The fact that Theo would be standing naked in my shower shouldn’t make my heart thunder in my chest. Shouldn’t make my cheeks flush. Shouldn’t make me think about inviting him in with me.
“It’s too weird. I get it.” Soft footsteps came down the hall. He paused in the door of my bedroom. “Forget I said anything, okay?”
I ran my gaze over his features. Gorgeous, thoughtful eyes. A jawline sporting just the right amount of scruff. Lips I already knew to be gentle and firm. I could do a lot worse for my first venture back into the world of dating.
“You okay?” His brow drew down, concerned.
Something snapped inside me. “You know, I was thinking. Why don’t you just hop in with me? We’ll save on water, get done in half the time…”
His arm rested against the door frame. “You sure?”
I nodded. I was sure. Sure that I was ready to put myself out there, especially with a guy who wasn’t from here, who wouldn’t have expectations or connections. Who wouldn’t blast the news of our hook up around town before he even left my driveway.
“Um, okay then.”
“Okay, then?” I scrunched my nose. What kind of acceptance was that? “I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll still feed you dinner and all.”
“That’s not what I meant. You just caught me a little off guard, that’s all.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I was reading the signs. I’m a little out of practice, but you did kiss me, didn’t you?”
His eyes went wide. “Yes. I did. And I enjoyed it very much.”
“But…”
“But nothing.” He lowered his arm and took a step into the room. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”
“Fo
rget it. I rescind the invitation.” I’d already been mortified to within an inch of my life when I crawled through a cave naked—NAKED—in an attempt to rescue him. Now, after such an anti-enthusiastic response to practically throwing myself at him, I figured I no longer had any point of reference on the dealings between men and women, and should best leave things alone. I shook my head even as I rolled my eyes and made a move to pass him.
He reached out and wrapped his hand around my wrist.
“Let go. If I don’t get this crap off me soon I’m going to become petrified.”
He smiled as he ran his tongue over his lips. “I want to accept your invitation.”
“It’s too late.” I shifted my gaze from the way his tongue ran over that full bottom lip and made a move to forge ahead.
“It’s never too late, Scarlett.” He pulled me into him and we whirled together, my back landing against the wall of the hallway. Photographs rattled in their frames. His eyes lost all sense of humor, turning darker. His mouth hovered close to mine. Close enough that the warmth of his breath brushed across my cheek.
My core hummed with awareness and anticipation. I hadn’t been this close to a man in years. And Theo wasn’t just any man. He was the whole package. He had the looks, the brains, and the brawn to bring a woman like me to my knees.
We eyed each other like we were both waiting to see who’d make the first move. My heart thudded, so loud he’d have to be deaf not to hear it fill the sliver of space between us. His lips parted and I focused on that space between, my body tingling from the tips of my toes with anticipation. The want, the need, to feel his lips pressed to mine consumed me. But I wouldn’t make the first move. It had to be on him.
He moved closer, sliding the tip of his nose along the side of mine, his lips barely brushing the corner of my mouth. I closed my eyes, breathing him in as I forced myself to hold back. His hands moved to my sides, centering me against the wall. Then he slid his foot between mine, nestling his hips against me. My hands tightened on his shoulders, my breasts grew heavy. I was suddenly hyper aware of every single spot where our bodies connected.