His Lost Mate (A Steamy Paranormal Romance Novel) (25 page)

“Cimi, the gods demand more sacrifices. The rain god cannot shed his blood to bring the rains without an offering of fresh blood. You should be honored to be a chosen one. Your sacrifice will secure you a place in the Otherworld.”

As Cimi tried to stand, the warriors shoved her down to her knees. She avoided looking into Chac’s manic eyes, fearing he would trap her soul and she would be forever lost, searching for the Otherworld.

Behind the cover of the jungle, she heard shouts and people thrashing through the bushes. Kayab suddenly appeared at the clearing. His hands were bound and two warriors brandishing spears flanked him on either side.

“Kayab!” she screamed.

“Cimi, no!” Kayab cried out. “I am sorry, so sorry. I love you, Cimi. I will find you in the Otherworld. I promise.”

She felt the sick realization deep in her breast—they had waited too long and now it was too late. The warriors holding Kayab were distracted by Cimi’s screams. Kayab slipped out of his bindings and ran toward her. Just as his hands grasped her arm, one warrior bludgeoned Kayab on the back of the head. He collapsed at her feet, his blood soaking into the dried dirt.

Cimi shrieked.

* * *

Lauren opened her eyes as Margaret and Deven ran around the mound and stood over her.

“Lauren, what happened? Are you all right?” Margaret asked.

Lauren’s gaze darted around the jungle, expecting to see the warriors with spears for a moment, then realized she’d had another vision. “I’m…fine.” Her words didn’t sound convincing even to her.

“Why did you scream?” Deven reach for her hand. “You’re shaking.”

No way was she was going to tell him about this experience. She wouldn’t tell anyone, not even Margaret. As she searched for another excuse, several coatimundis scurried out of the jungle and passed within a couple feet of Margaret.

Lauren jumped back and stifled another scream. “I must have dozed off.” Watching the coatimundis disappear into the jungle gave her an idea. “A coatimundis ran over my foot and scared the daylights out of me. Sorry I screamed.” She forced a chuckle.

Deven’s voice gentled. “I thought you were being attacked. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“You look a little flushed, dear. Maybe too much sun?” Margaret smiled warmly, a knowing glint in her eyes.

Was she offering Lauren an excuse?

Deven brushed her hair away from her face. “It is really hot out today.” He picked up her backpack. “Is your water bottle in here?”

Lauren nodded. “I can get it. Really, I’m fine. I dozed off. I’m probably a little dehydrated. I got distracted during our walk and forgot to drink water.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Deven asked.

“I’m fine.” Pulling her hand away, she retrieved her backpack and dug out a bandana and wrapped it around her hair, making a ponytail to lift her hair off her neck.

Deven’s grin quickly turned serious. “If you’re ready, we’ll head back to camp.”

“But it’s still early, I want to dig more today,” Lauren said.

“This would be a good day to quit early and take a swim by the waterfall,” Deven said. “We can work a couple hours, then we’re calling it a day. What do you think, Margaret?”

“I think we could all use a break from these ancient stones.”

* * *

Deven didn’t need his machete for the fifteen-minute walk to the tropical waterfall and pond. The trail was well worn by previous field crews. After a day of hot and dirty work at the dig, the pond offered the only relief.

White water spilled over a stone ledge and dropped about twelve feet into a natural pool about fifty feet across. Mist from the splashing water swirled across the emerald surface and formed small rainbows.

Surrounding the pond were palmettos, giant ferns, banana plants, towering trees and flowers of more varieties than Deven could begin to name. Opposite the waterfall, the pond narrowed and the gurgling stream continued into the jungle. The trail ended at a large flat rock that was raised a couple feet above the water level.

“It’s like a paradise or a tropical oasis,” Lauren said as she dropped her backpack and yanked out her towel. When she slipped off her T-shirt and shorts, revealing a skimpy bikini, Deven felt his knees buckle.

He hadn’t seen how beautiful she was the night before when they had sex, so seeing her here in this jungle setting took his breath away. He felt a quick throb in his groin and tried to take his mind off it. He didn’t need to show off a hard-on now in mixed company.

Justin and Kyle let out a whoop and charged to the water’s edge. They dropped their towels, pulled off their T-shirts and stood at the edge of the rock.

“Dive or jump?” Justin asked Kyle, his hands on his hips.

“Gentlemen, if you’re diving, go in from that side. It’s the deepest.” Deven pointed to the far end of the flat rock.

The large rock at the edge of the water made a nice sunbathing area and a good access point into the water. The dense vegetation around the pond made it difficult to enter any other way. Justin and Kyle gave each other a quick glance, let out a hoot and jumped into the water.

When they came up, Lauren leaned over the edge and asked, “How is it?”

“Great. Come on in,” Kyle answered.

Deven watched Lauren climb down the rock to the narrow sandy shoreline and walk in up to her ankles. “Oh it’s cold. It feels great.”

“Hurry up, Lauren,” Kyle shouted. “We’re going to check out the waterfall. Dr. Chandler said we can walk behind it.”

She glanced back at Deven, but she didn’t say anything. He felt a tug in his chest. What was going through her mind? Their disagreement had certainly put a strain on their new relationship. She’d barely had said a word since the ghost and jade owl discussion. He doubted things would be the same between them. The thought knotted his gut. It was his fault for getting involved with a student. He should’ve known better. His project was too important to take the kind of risks Lauren was asking of him.

He really blew it with her. When she began to tell him about her dreams or visions, he was quick to discredit her experience, offer her a scientific explanation instead of showing his concern and support. No wonder she pulled away from him. He saw the disappointed look after he told her she couldn’t dig for that owl. It was like an iron door had slammed closed, shutting him out.

He’d heard of archaeologists who had some kind of sense or intuition about the location of ancient sites and artifacts. He would rather go by solid scientific evidence.

Ghosts, reincarnation, a sacred talisman was too bizarre to be true. Margaret believed in a supernatural world. His sister Sarita did too, but Deven was the analytical, seeing-is-believing scientist and not one to accept the esoteric theories.

As he watched Lauren’s lithe body run into the deeper water and finally dive under, his heart skipped a beat. When she came to the surface, her blonde hair was slicked back away from her face and down to the middle of her back. She swam with Kyle and Justin toward the waterfall.

Deven unbuttoned his shirt, slipped it off and jumped in.

When he reached the waterfall, the students had already disappeared behind the curtain of white water. He heard their echoing voices from the cave-like formation behind the falls. They had to shout to be heard over the rush of cascading water. Deven carefully climbed the slippery moss-covered stones and stepped behind the wall of water.

Lauren stood at the edge of the stone ledge, her arm outstretched, letting the water rush over her fingertips.

“This is so neat back here. Great way to cool off,” Lauren said over her shoulder to Deven.

“I guess diving off the top of the waterfall is out of the question, Dr. Chandler?” Kyle asked.

“What are you, a daredevil?” Deven asked.

“Only when he’s surfing,” Justin answered. “Go ahead, dude. I’ll pay to watch you dive off the waterfall.”

“Don’t you dare. Don’t even think about it.” Lauren glared at him.

Kyle smiled. “Why would you be worried if I got hurt?” His tone sounded a bit flirtatious.

“You’d kill yourself. Stick to surfing,” she said.

“Okay. But it would’ve been a wicked dive,” Kyle said.

Lauren rolled her eyes.

Deven noticed Kyle eyeing her through his wet blond hair that hung in his eyes. Kyle acted like he had a high school crush on her and hovered over her at the camp and the excavation site. Another reason he should avoid a romantic attachment with her. He didn’t need to initiate a soap opera on his dig by competing for the love of a woman with one of his students.

Could Lauren become interested in Kyle? He was a good-looking kid—young man. Women seemed to like the surfer bad boy type. He was younger than Lauren by at least five years. The difference in age wasn’t much, but Lauren was more mature than Kyle. Anyone would be attracted to her. He couldn’t deny he felt a pang of jealousy. Could he be falling in love with her?

Damn
. She’d had several opportunities to talk to him, instead she had confided in Margaret about her dreams long before she told him. The thought stung him—she didn’t trust him enough. And no wonder.

Lauren walked past Deven and barely glanced at him. “I’m going back down to swim some more,” she said to Kyle and Justin.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Kyle said.

Lauren left the waterfall cave, using her hands to help support her as she started back down.

“Go on, Kyle, aren’t you going after her?” Justin teased.

“Quit, dude. She ain’t interested.”

“We could leave you two alone and find out. Right, Dr. Chandler?” Justin asked.

Deven didn’t answer and tried to give him a blank look. He hoped the guys didn’t pick up on his feelings for Lauren.

“Deven!” Lauren shouted from below, her voice cracked and Deven knew something was wrong. He rushed out from behind the waterfall with Kyle and Justin following. Lauren stood waist deep in the water and was walking backward toward the waterfall. She acted like she was backing away from a bear.

At the far end of the pool a man in a camouflage uniform approached carrying an AK-47 rifle.

When Lauren reached the rocky steps leading up to the waterfall cave, she started climbing.

“It’s okay, Lauren. He’s one of the new guards.” Deven raised his hand to the guard in acknowledgement. The man waved back as he slung the rifle over his shoulder.

Deven noticed Lauren twisting her ring around her finger. “You’re going to wear your finger to the bone if you keep that up,” he teased her.

She quickly dropped her hand. “You’d think I’d be used to these guys lugging military guns around by now.”

“It does take a bit getting used to. Think of them as police officers.” He rested his hand on her shoulder.

She nodded and gently stepped away from his touch. “I know but it’s still unnerving.”

“Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Deven walked Lauren over to the shore where the guard stood. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“Miguel. How are you?” he asked in Spanish.

“
Ola
, Dr. Chandler,” Miguel said with a thick Spanish accent. “I making my rounds and hear voices. I come to check it out.”

“Miguel, this is Lauren Halpern, one of my students.”

Miguel nodded. “
Senorita
Lauren.”

“Kyle and Justin are the other students.” Deven pointed to the two men swimming in the water near the bottom of the falls.

“We’re glad to have you, Miguel,” Deven said. “Sorry to see Diego go.”

“He was a nice man. Why did he leave?” Lauren asked.

Miguel hesitated, his gaze darted around the jungle. “
Senorita
, his family not want him to stay here.”

“Why not?” She asked.

Miguel rocked on his heels. “They don’t like him out here. Too far from home.”

“Everything all right? I heard Diego’s wife was sick,” Deven asked.

“Diego’s wife? No, she fine, she not sick.”

Deven didn’t argue. Diego had told him he couldn’t stay at the camp because his wife was ill.

Miguel studied the pool and surrounding area. “Nice here. You stay long? Not good to stay when dark comes.”

Deven glanced up to the sky. The blue sky had turned indigo. Through the trees, he saw streaks of red and orange. The last rays of sunlight cast long shadows in the jungle. “You’re right, Miguel. It’s time to head back to camp.”

Three days later in Tikal, Deven brought Lauren to the Palace of Windows for her orienteering assignment. Justin and Kyle were dropped off at their sites at opposite ends of the park. All three students were spread so far apart that there would be no chance to confer with each other before Deven came back to pick them up. Lauren felt the awkward silence that hovered between them since their argument at the northwest site had eased, but their conversations remained stiff and professional.

She wandered the grassy courtyard area in front of the ruin and placed her hands on her hips, trying to decide where to begin. The structure had two perpendicular wings creating a U-shaped building around a courtyard. Lauren figured she’d be there all day on this project.

“It shouldn’t take you too long to map this site out,” Deven said.

Lauren made a face then smiled. “Oh sure, you give Justin and Kyle nice square pyramids to map out and you give me a complex that looks like a maze of ancient Mayan condos.” She hoped her playful, sarcastic tone would lighten the tension between them.

Deven laughed. “We were here before, so you should be familiar with the layout.”

She remembered the two-story ruin consisting of several interconnecting rooms arranged like railroad cars. “I can handle it.” An undertow of emotion stirred in her gut while standing so close to him. She ached to slip her arms around him, press her body to his and show him how much she wanted him. Would they ever work through their differences?

“Pick any corner and work your way around, recording each coordinate, then draw the map of the structure and indicate where you would set up an excavation grid.”

Lauren nodded but couldn’t look at him, knowing if she did he’d see desire and sadness in her eyes. “Guess I better get started. Don’t know how long this weather will hold out.”