The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (17 page)

“
So this time, I get to be the rookie.
”

He chuckled and continued down the cliff.
“
Keep it coming, rookie.
”

He showed her how to rappel downward until they got within sight of the roost.
He swung near enough to put a hand on her arm and stop her descent, then pointed.

The roost huddled in a crag out of the wind, no more than a shallow ledge of granite.
Crouched on its edge, watching them with suspicion, was the falcon.

Excitement surged through Sara.
She bent close to Ian
’
s ear and spoke in an exuberant whisper.
“
He
’
s beautiful.
This is amazing!
”

Ian lifted the camera hanging around his neck and leaned back in his harness to photograph the bird.
“
And you thought this wasn
’
t going to be any fun.
Check out the view.
This is prime real estate.
”

At his gesture, she turned around in her harness.
The lowering sun glittered on the waves.
Birds keened below, and the ocean pounded in her ears.
Unst lay just visible on the horizon.
“
Wow.
It feels like we
’
re the only two people on earth out here.
”
And that, she thought privately, had far too much appeal right now.

“
This is why I
’
d hate being tied to a desk all the time,
”
he told her.

The falcon took flight and soared away over the water.
She watched it go, captivated by its grace.
When she looked back, she saw Ian smiling at her.
“
Thank you.
”

“
What for?
”

“
For the cliffside with a view,
”
she said, then smiled.
“
What do you need my help with?
”

He sobered at once.
“
I was hoping you
’
d try an experiment with me.
If you don
’
t mind...
”

She frowned when he didn
’
t continue.
“
Shapeshifting.
”

“
If you can,
”
he added.
“
Just to see if you can understand him.
I wouldn
’
t ask you to get too close or do anything dangerous.
And I
’
d really like to know what it
’
s like to fly.
”

Underneath his guarded exterior, she saw a flash of wonder that made her heartbeat skip.
She felt the same thing every time she shapeshifted.
“
It
’
s scary.
Incredible.
”
She cast her gaze up at the top of the cliff.
“
Did you ever just stand up there with your arms spread and let the wind rush through your fingers?
”

He shook his head.

“
That
’
s what it
’
s like.
Stepping off the edge of the world.
”

Something flickered in his eyes then, the subtle but unmistakable connection of understanding.
“
That
’
s the way it is when I climb.
”

They stayed on the cliffside, talking and birdwatching until the sun began to descend.
By the time they reached the top again, she couldn
’
t contain her enthusiasm.
“
I can
’
t believe you do that for a living.
What a rush!
”

They removed their gear and sat on the cliff edge, dangling their legs over the side.
“
Well, it isn
’
t always this much fun,
”
he told her.
“
The tradeoff is that I have to spend most of the year in a classroom or in board meetings, justifying the fun part of my career.
”

“
Board meetings, ugh.
”
She swung her legs back and forth, heady with the sensation of sitting on the edge of a cliff.
With him.
And for once, having a conversation that lacked suspicion on both sides.

What a nice change.

Warm with sunshine and good humor, she asked,
“
What information do you have about peregrine falcons?
”

“
A few photos, some of my sketches.
Nothing else that
’
s specific to the Eurasian subspecies.
Why?
”

“
The more I know about an animal, the easier it is to shapeshift into it.
”
At his look of interest, she hurried to add,
“
I
’
m not promising much.
I can try it, but I might not be able to keep the shapeshift for long.
And as for talking to it, I can
’
t promise anything at all.
”

He nodded soberly, but she could tell he was bursting with questions.
She folded her hands in her lap and wondered why she
’
d agreed to this insane endeavor.
“
I
’
ll come tomorrow afternoon.
Can I see your sketches?
”

“
Yeah, they
’
re in my tent.
”
He got to his feet and picked up the rest of their climbing gear.

She took a last look at the copper-gold water and followed him back to his camp.

Inside, he combed through a stack of books on a table.
He handed her a thick volume on North American wildlife.
“
That one has a good color plate and a writeup on the American peregrine.
The Eurasian is similar, so it might be what you
’
re looking for.
I
’
ve got a couple days
’
worth of notes on our friend Horus down there—
”

“
Horus?
”
she interrupted, then smiled.
“
The Egyptian falcon god?
”

“
Seemed appropriate.
”
He flashed that dimple again.

She clasped the book to her chest.
“
Well, all we have to do next is find him a mate, and you
’
ll have your Hathor.
”

“
Who
’
s Hathor?
”

“
She was the wife of Horus.
Goddess of music, dance, motherhood, and
”
—she cleared her throat and opened the book, staring hard at a picture of a grizzly bear—
“
sexuality.
”
She hugged the book to her body like a shield while her cheeks flamed.

He crossed the tent.
When she looked up, he was holding his journal, flipping through the pages.
Their gazes met.

Ian lowered his journal.
He glanced down at her lips, and ages passed in silence.
Sara wanted to run away, run toward him, escape, ignore it, and savor it, all at once.
She swallowed, not knowing what to do.
Not knowing what
he
wanted to do.

He took a hesitant step closer and then stopped, rigid with tension.
“
Oh, for Christ
’
s sake.
”
He pitched his journal on the cot, strode forward, and kissed her.

The contact exploded through her.
Her every nerve fired like a Roman candle.
She breathed him in, smelling saltwater and fresh air as he plunged his hands through her hair and pulled her closer.
His stubble scraped her chin.
With a muffled moan, she parted her lips.

He slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss.
Oh, God, everything she remembered about their last kiss was wrong, so wrong, only a shadow of what he really felt like pressed against her.
Invading her mouth, invading her space, tearing her senses asunder and putting them back together in totally the wrong order. Careless of anything but the need to touch him, she dropped the book.

It fell on his foot.
“
Ow!
”
He lurched backward.

“
Sorry!
”

He gave her a rueful, sidelong look and sat down on his cot.
“
Was that a hint?
”

She blushed, still feeling the tingle of his mouth on hers.
“
No.
”

“
Good.
”
He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down onto his lap for another scorching kiss.
His mouth left hers to skim along her jawline.
She gasped, feeling him nip at the tender skin just under her ear, and splayed her hands across his back to trace the ridges of his shoulder blades under the taut muscle.

In one fluid motion, he raised her arms and pulled her sweatshirt off over her head, then tossed it to the floor.
His hands settled on her waist, burning hot through the thin fabric of her bathing suit.
He bent his head to her throat and rained feather kisses there.
It felt so good...

Too good.
The last time she
’
d been like this with anyone... Had it really been so long?

Oh, God, how embarrassing.

She felt the weight of the amulet lift from her chest as he pushed it aside.
Realizing where his trail of kisses was leading, she stiffened.

He stopped at once and raised his head.
“
What?
”

Words stuck in her throat and she closed her eyes, trying to blot out humiliating memories.
She hugged herself in dismay.
Why was it still so hard?

His hands came to rest on her arms, urging them out of their protective embrace.
“
Don
’
t you want this?
”

Oh, how she wanted it.
There was no measurement for how she wanted it.
She hesitated, trying to put the awkwardness into words, but he was so close, still touching her, confusing her.
Had she spent the last couple decades buried in work just to avoid this?
“
You wouldn
’
t...
”

“
Understand?
”
His hands slid down to grasp hers.
“
Try me.
”

Her cheeks burned even as she forced the embarrassment down.
“
I haven
’
t... Not since I was sixteen.
”

When she stole a look at him, his expression hadn
’
t changed.
He waited for her to continue.

“
He was popular, good-looking, all of that.
I thought he really liked me.
We... Things didn
’
t go well the next day.
I feel like such an idiot.
”
She tugged one of her hands out of Ian
’
s to rub at the back of her neck.
“
He spread it all over school.
A couple of his swim team friends followed me around for the rest of the year, asking if I
’
d help them with
their
workouts.
I never faced him about it, because I was afraid to get any closer to him, because then he
’
d find out about my powers, and make everything worse—
”

Ian stopped her with a finger over her lips.
“
Kyle Wagner?
”

“
Oh, God.
”
She shot up.
Bad enough that she
’
d spent the rest of her school years trying to live down the undeserved reputation Kyle had put on her...the attention from which had made it all the harder to hide her gifts.