He kissed the top of her head, then wrinkled his nose. “Ah, you are a little ripe. Do you have enough energy? Maybe we should walk back.” Luca teased her.
“No! I’m fine, really.” She blushed, stammering, “Is this, like, private?”
“Yes. I have asked that you not be disturbed. And that if we do not return by”—he looked at his watch—“sixteen thirty, some of our colleagues will come looking for us. It is thirteen twenty now.” He smiled wickedly, reaching down to the bottom of his tee to strip it from his body. “I propose to hold you and wash you since you are weak,” he said through the shirt sliding over his face. Free of it, he winked, his hands moving to his buckle. “Are you bathing in your clothes?”
It was impossible to tear her eyes from his broad shoulders, leanly muscled chest, and washboard abs. Her heart raced, and her breathing hitched as understanding dawned. Over three hours of privacy to bathe with him, be with him, in the afternoon of what should be a workday. “Um, no. But what I wouldn’t do for—”
“Soap?” Luca asked, extracting an unopened bar of soap from the bag he had dropped.
“Hey, that looks like my camp soap!”
“It is. Forgive her, but Meg went through your kit at my request. I thought you might appreciate yours over mine.” Unwrapping the soap and lifting it to his nose, Luca inhaled. “It smells like you—cinnamon and honey. You can be upset with me.” He dropped the wrapper and soap back into the bag.
“Are you kidding? You’re so thoughtful. I feel totally unkempt.” Ari began unbuttoning her shirt, then hesitated. “Aren’t you going to turn around?”
“I would prefer not to. May I remind you that I have seen you? All of you?”
“It was dark.”
He smiled slyly. “We had a lantern, remember? I assure you, I saw my fill.” Huskily, he said, “You are beautiful.”
He thinks I’m beautiful. A broad smile blanketed her face. “Fine then.” Playfully she turned her backside to him and shed her clothes, wading into the knee-deep, refreshing water and moving toward the waterfall. It looked perfect, not too big or powerful yet strong enough to satisfy her need to slough off her kidnapping. “Omigod.” She sighed to herself. “The water is heavenly.”
Ari reached the waterfall and paused, transfixed by its music and beauty. An iridescent sheet of water rushed out of thick foliage covering the jutting rock wall some twenty meters above her, plinking onto rocks and into the river. Nestled back and under the waterfall was a shallow tranquil pool of water and a flat green expanse of earth, dappled by moving sunshine. Large leafy plants bobbed gently along the pool’s edges, hiding a grotto beyond. She took an eager step forward, giggling as the sparkling mist covered her skin, cooling it in the midafternoon heat and humidity. Ari felt the filth from her ordeal wash away. Reaching up, she pulled the elastic band from her hair and loosened the braid.
Luca splashed in, following in her wake. His eyes scanned the surrounding jungle and the water for any trouble while appreciating his delicious view of the petite woman he was crazy about. Her beauty took his breath away. She resembled a river nymph. Her wet titian hair hung past her shoulder blades, and freckles chased over her body. Water sluiced over her lean legs, mesmerizing him. He remembered all too well what they felt like wrapped tightly around him when he pumped into her. He shook his head, gently stroking her shoulder, then trailing down her arm to clasp her fingers. Speaking into her ear, just before pulling her under the waterfall, he asked, “Enticing, yes?”
“Yes.” Ari shivered from his touch. The desire in his eyes had her full attention. “It’s perfect. How on earth did you find it?” Pointing, she said, “Look. There’s even a grotto back there, behind those large leaves. See it?”
“I do,” he said, smiling lazily. He pulled her forward to stand with him under the cascading water, soaking them. “Bath, my lady?” Luca extracted the soap before tossing the bag into a drier area of the grotto. Teasingly, he pulled the soap away from her reaching hand, smirking. “I will wash you.”
Ari’s eyes grew big. Her heart galloped in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe, to speak. She took a deep breath to try to slow her heart, exhaling. “Okay.”
“Head first.” He quickly worked the bar into a lather. “Get your hair good and wet.”
She stepped closer to allow him to work the suds in more easily. His strong fingers massaged, working in circles all over her scalp—the crown of her head and methodically down to her front hairline, becoming very gentle when he neared her wound. He paid particular attention to the area around her ears and above the nape of her neck. The only people who had ever washed Ari’s hair were her mother when she was young and her hairdresser—and that was pleasant but nothing close to what she was experiencing now. Luca washing her hair bordered on orgasmic. She closed her eyes, attempting to still the sensations wreaking havoc in her body. A moan escaped her.
He worked the soap lower—over her neck, shoulders, reaching behind to her upper back. Ari was silky, smooth, and his erection throbbed in appreciation. Her tight nipples were evident under the suds sliding over her body. Luca’s awareness of how he affected Ari excited him. His hands bracketed her waist and slid down her hips. As much as he wanted to touch her, he wanted to build the sexual tension between them. He yearned to taste her parted lips. But not yet. Instead, he stepped back slightly and laughed, teasing her. “Am I washing too hard?”
She shook her head in response.
“Why are your eyes closed?”
She responded by opening her eyes. They were dilated, and her face flushed as she took in the glory of him. Her mouth formed a silent O.
“Wash me,” he said thickly, handing her the soap. His hair hung loose, falling just below his massive shoulders. He bent over so she could lather his head. Her movements mirrored his. She felt as though she would faint from wanting him as her hands worked into his hair and scalp and then traveled over his neck and shoulders.
“Turn,” she said, her voice cracking. She breathed deeply before soaping his sculpted back, working lower as she admired his body. Suds and bubbles ran down his muscular legs, into the river, dissipating in the moving water. Her hands moved more slowly as she washed him. Every part of Luca was lean, wiry muscle. His ass was no different. She stilled.
“Why did you stop? My ass would like a bath as well. I could do it, but I much prefer your hands on me.” He growled. “Relaxing and exciting at the same time.”
Her heart drummed in her ears. She lathered the soap again and did as he asked, losing herself in the tingling rioting through her body. Since when had a man’s backside turned her on?
He groaned as she left electrically charged tracks on his skin.
She shook her head ruefully, turning him gently to face her. His heart cartwheeled under her hands as she massaged his chest, his heart galloping in concert with hers. His skin was warm under the crisp water. Memories assailed her—of touching him, tasting him, and dare she admit—she blushed again—biting him. She worked in larger and larger circles, dropping lower and lower to his narrow hips. He was so beautiful. She bent and kissed the scar running inside his hip—remembering why he had it, sadness welling up in her, and then, with a will of its own, her hand moved slowly over his smooth, thick rigid length. It had been far too long.
Luca inhaled sharply. His palms slid over her breasts and down her flat belly. He stroked her hips and then cupped her ass, massaging it with more ardor.
“Maybe I wasn’t done,” she said.
“We have only begun,” he said softly as his fingers played in the cleft of her cheeks and moved underneath to caress her sleek thighs, probing inside her core and then moving rhythmically with sureness.
Ari bucked in Luca’s arms. “Yes,” she whispered into his mouth.
He sucked and then gently bit her lower lip. Her body pulsed in response, pressing against him, aching to be filled. His body’s insistence firmly prodded her belly.
He pulled back, eyes searching w
ith an intensity that made her melt. “Come with me,” he said, pulling her through the rainbow of spray into the grotto tucked away. Once there, he pulled her against him, his mouth seeking, covering hers. His unbridled hunger erupted. Luca devoured her with his mouth, tongue, teeth, and hands.
Ari arched against him returning all his touches, kisses, and soft bites.
He slipped his hands beneath her cheeks. “Jump as I lift you.” Hoarsely he said, “Wrap your legs around me.”
She did as Luca asked, moaning loudly as he thrust into her. Their mouths and bodies fused, and they took turns without speaking, playing with their pace, stretching out the edges and absorbing the reeling sensations behind the fall of water at the grotto’s opening, delirious with passion as they sought to wring each other and themselves out.
Tomorrow was it. Where in hell did her summer go? And what a summer! A knock on her door pulled Ari from her thoughts. “Hi!” was all Ari could muster, lost as she was in Luca’s green depths. When would she stop feeling giddy and shy around him?
“Good evening, sweetheart.” Luca kissed her deeply and then took his time admiring her. “I really like you in that yellow sundress.” Grinning, he added, “If you have to wear something.”
His words and sexy smile almost had her pulling him into her room and stripping him. But tonight was the party, the breaking up of the team. That’s what it felt like anyway. “Thank you. I like you in that green tee. Brings out those amazing eyes of yours.”
“Amazing, huh?” He kissed her leisurely and fully. His thumb under her chin lifted her gaze, allowing him to look deeply into her eyes. “Ready?”
Her voice trembled with emotion as he took her hand. They walked toward the comedor—where the team gathered for their last time together before departing to their homes and places of work scattered all over the globe. “As ready as I can be. I hate to see everyone go. I will miss them terribly. I feel adrift, Luca.”
He stroked Ari’s hand with his thumb in silent answer.
Dinner was rowdy, quite a change from when they had all met over three months ago. There was an abundance of laughter and a few tears as people jockeyed to talk to each other.
“Can I have your attention, please?” Joan stood and tapped her beer with a knife. “Hello? Hello?” she called over the loud talk. She tapped louder, and the room finally quieted. “Thank you, friends. I want to say a few things.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “I’ll try to make this short and sweet.”
Some soft laughter broke out, and then the room was silent.
“I know. I’m not one to be succinct. Well, except for my mapping. I arrived lost in Guatemala, a lost, lonely widow. I have had the time of my life, and I wish to thank Luca for making me—I believe the oldest by far—part of the research project. I have a renewed sense of purpose and a spring in my step. Each of you is remarkable, and I hope that I, in some small way, contributed to helping with and documenting the excavation and ensuing discoveries. I hope to see each of you again and to support you with my work. I will miss you dearly. Please stay in touch.”
The room erupted in applause, and more than a few were wiping at their eyes. Luca appeared next to Joan, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and giving her a big side hug. She beamed up at him, said something, and then left. The room quieted again.
Surveying his colleagues in the room, Luca spoke slowly, his voice full of emotion. “As you know, I have participated in many projects and headed more than a few. This project was one of the most fulfilling and definitely the most harrowing.” He paused before continuing. “The synergy among you is outstanding, given your unique focuses. When I was asked to oversee an interdisciplinary team, well, I almost passed. I could not conceive how it would work. Think about it. The primary objective was archaeological and anthropological exploration. Sure, I built the team as requested—inviting linguistic anthropologists, epigraphers, biological anthropologists, ornithologists, botanists, and entomologists to ap—”
Slightly in his cups, Matt boisterously interrupted, standing and raising his beer. “Hey, Boss, you’re a molecular biologist, entomologist, and a medical anthropologist. Quite an interdisciplinary package. Works for you.”
Laughter erupted around the room. Meg took that opportunity to reach out and guide Matt back to his seat, kissing him quiet.
“You have me there, Matt. Thank you.” Luca grinned at Matt to assure him his interruption caused no ill feelings. “Have another beer.” He continued after the laughter died down, conviction fortifying his words. “As I was saying, I had my doubts regarding assembling the different disciplines. I could not have been more wrong. In the future, I wish to model more teams such as ours. I expect others will as well. As you now know, besides being a standout anthropologist, Natasha moonlights for Interpol. I have been in continual contact with her since she took the American—Eric Schaus—into custody. He is recovering from his injuries, if any of you are curious. He will never walk quite the same though, and he will be prosecuted.
“The site of Ajal is now officially renamed as Xquic, in honor of the mother of the Hero Twins. If you have any questions regarding the significance, read Popol Vuh or ask Ari.” Luca winked at her. “Her knowledge is encyclopedic. Xquic has been offered to me, to oversee. I accepted.”
Chaos erupted. Luca waited patiently for the talk to die down. His gaze rested on Ari, pleading for her to remain calm.
Meg elbowed her, speaking into her ear. “Did you know, girlfriend? We’ve simply got to talk. Your Eric is the American! Omigod, Ari. I never put it together. The guy we pulled up was such a flipping mess, like something trampled him. Unrecognizable, other than being a human.”
Ari shuddered at Meg’s mention of the trampling, remembering what Carlos said in the temple. She spoke out of the side of her mouth, her eyes riveted on Luca and what he was going to share next. “I had no idea. And he is not my Eric. Only Eric. The biggest fucking asshole to ever live. I’ll fill you in, I promise.”
“All right. Thank you for your support and attention. I have one more item. I welcome the chance to work with you again. There will be an application process for permanent and rotating positions. I expect that I will be inundated with requests after the news gets out about the site. Funding is already coming in. Any of you applying will receive priority consideration. The site has particular significance and is currently secured by Guatemala’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Interpol. I am going home to tidy up my affairs and put in a request for a sabbatical, then return.” Luca raised his beer. “Thank you all, and safe travels. Salute.” He made his way toward Ari, extending his hand, he asked, “Accompany me outside?”
She reeled from Luca’s news and checked her emotions as they walked hand in hand, understanding he had been bound by confidentiality. They had avoided talking about the future. Her stomach, head, and heart were a mess. Ari bowed her head, blinking back tears and struggling to calm the fear making her heart to beat erratically. She sat on a concrete bench in the moonlight on the promenade, facing the water. Her arms were drawn in stiffly against her ribs and crossed in her lap, legs crossed at the knees, clenching and unclenching her hands—to the point of pain.
He sighed deeply, sitting down next to her. “Look at me, Ari.”
She turned slightly, gazing into the thickly fringed bright green eyes of the man she loved, the man she trusted with her life and wanted to trust with her heart.
“Sweetheart. I am sorry you are so distressed, and I am also sorry you had to find out in this manner, in front of the team. I was bound by confidentiality.” He drew her closer to him, kissing her softly and taking her hands in his. “I wanted to ask you to stay, but I feel like it is a lot. You and I have happened quickly, unexpectedly. I went crazy when you were kidnapped, and what you meant to me became very clear. That night we argued, before you were taken, Nat and I were discussing some serious issues with the project. You did not allow me to explain.”
“I know, and I’m sorry f
or that. Natasha told me the same thing before she left Ajal with Eric. I’ve let it go, Luca.”
“There are things I said that I should not have said, and there is something I should have. I love you, Ari. I heard you that night of the kayak trip. I pretended to be asleep. After loving and marrying the wrong woman, I was scared. I was scared to hear it from you and to say it, to trust what we both feel for each other. I want you with me, but you have a life back in America. I am torn.”
Ari went slack-jawed. Deep within herself, she had buried the hope that Luca might feel about her as she did him. But hell, who falls in love in a span of mere months? It was the thing of fairy tales, something she had desperately clung to for so long. Could she trust that it was real? Her eyes widened and filled with fresh tears. She was giddy with joy. “I love you too. I meant it when I said it the first time.”
He grinned, his eyes glowing. He let out a long breath he’d been holding. “Thank God. Come here.” He pulled her into his arms.
She resisted, standing up and stepping away, fiddling with the colibrí hanging from her necklace. “I love you, but I’m afraid.”
“Of me?” he asked earnestly.
“I’m afraid of falling, Luca.”
“What do you mean, falling?”
“Falling in love. Falling for the wrong man again. Falling out of love.”
He gathered her to him, holding her close, running his hand over her back. “I’m not him, Ari.” He felt her stiffen.
“How does this work? You and me?” she asked into his chest, into the very place his heart beat erratically, just like hers.
He set her away from him, looking into the earthy brown eyes that felt like home, his mischievous glint challenging her. He continued to hold on to her upper arms. “Would you consider coming back here with me? Working side by side, permanently? The funding coming in can more than support us, and we can stay in the large RV that the American was forced to vacate. Our work is not glamorous, but it is a passion we share and it is important. What do you think about flying to the States first and then to Italy, to get our affairs in order? I want to meet your parents, and I wish for you to meet my family.”
Afraid to Fall (Ancient Passages Book 1) Page 27