How could it be that Corrie’s little speech about fucking in the jungle was the most romantic thing he’d ever heard?
“Can’t wait.”
Today. He’d tell her the truth today.
* * *
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
“When did you decide you wanted to be an archaeologist?” Ford asked as they treaded water in the crystal-blue pool below the waterfall.
“Uh-uh. No archaeology, remember?” she responded, playfully flicking water in his direction with her foot.
“I’m not asking about archaeology. I’m asking about you. I want to know what brought you to this point in your life. I want to know how Dr. Socorro Mejía came to be.”
“Why in God’s name would you want to know that?” she asked, making a silly face.
“Oh, it’s part of my next term’s curriculum—how to end up swimming naked at the base of a spectacular waterfall in the middle of the Mexican jungle with Dr. Ford Matthews. It’s a working title.”
She laughed with the full-throated laugh he loved. Excellent. Now she was nice and relaxed. The perfect opportunity to ease into the Conversation. Get her talking about the start of her career. Learn more about her interest in Chimalli and the importance of her being on this dig in an effort to focus on the positives and not his deception.
You know . . . deceive her into thinking it was no big deal that he’d snatched this job out from under her without her even knowing.
“Seriously, though. Was it Indiana like everyone else? Or because of your ancestry?”
She pursed her lips. “Let’s talk about something else instead. Or, better yet, we can skip the talking and do other things with our mouths,” she said before she disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Typical Corrie. Avoiding any topic that focused on her. Even when he tried to lighten things up with a joke, she never took the bait. And despite how perfect everything seemed between them—seemed was the operative word.
Because . . . the day itself was perfect. The team was grateful for the break. The hike down to the waterfall had been unhurried and stress-free. The crisp blue water was both refreshing and calming, with the sounds of the waterfall resonating through the air. And Corrie . . . Corrie was carefree and comforting.
She was perfect.
But Ford needed to come clean, and for once he could be assured they wouldn’t have any interruptions. Today was the day, even if his attempts to ease into a tough conversation were going to hell. He couldn’t afford to put it off any longer. And maybe . . . just maybe, Corrie’s carefree attitude meant she might actually take the news okay.
Maybe kick some more water at his face, then play-dunk him under the water before taking him—again—on the picnic blanket.
God . . . he really was a piece of shit.
No. He had to do this now.
She swam toward him through the clear water like a mermaid. Something else to add to the growing list of Corrie’s talents. Slowly, she emerged from below mere inches in front of him, droplets clinging to the delicate features of her face as she smiled with that sexy-as-hell smile intended to make him forget about the conversation they needed to have.
“Corrie . . . we need to talk,” he said.
“Do we, though?” She nuzzled closer, tangling her legs around his own, almost crushing his will to resist. It couldn’t prevent his lower half from involuntarily reacting, though. Hot, naked woman pressed against his body? Yeah . . . his dick couldn’t fight back the blood pumping through his veins.
“Please don’t do that,” he managed to eke out as she planted soft kisses along his neck and jawline. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here.”
“My origin story doesn’t qualify as a serious conversation,” she teased, nipping at his skin. “Besides, we have serious conversations all the time. Come on, I don’t want to talk about work. Let’s let loose and relax while we have some peace and quiet. Enjoy each other without distractions and having to hide.”
“I don’t want to talk about work, either. I want to talk about you . . . and me . . . and what we’re doing here.”
She froze and inched away with her eyes wide as a doe in the headlights. Shit. That didn’t come out right.
“No, not like that,” he tried to explain. “I’m not talking about our relationship—”
“Relationship?” A nervous laugh escaped her lips. “Ford, you know how I feel about—”
Hmm. He didn’t really like the way she laughed at that. But, no . . . that wasn’t where he was trying to go with this conversation, though that was a conversation for another day. If she didn’t kill him before then.
“No, that’s not what I mean—”
“Then what do you mean?”
“Well, if you’d give me a minute, I can explain—”
“Shh!” She lunged forward and placed her hand over his mouth. But when he went to pry it away, she shushed him again. “Listen,” she whispered. “Do you hear that?”
He lifted his head and listened to the sounds around him. “I don’t hear anything. If this is your way of trying to change the subject—”
“No. Wait . . .”
They stilled, trying to hear over the crashing waterfall, when . . . there. There it was.
“Ford?” a faint voice called out.
“Dr. Matthews? Dr. Mejía?” called another.
“Corrie? Ford?”
Their names were being called in the distance.
“That sounds like Ethan,” Ford said.
“And Sunny. And they’re getting closer.”
The possibility of getting caught was always there. Heck, Ethan had almost caught them the day before. But not like this. Not when completely naked with a hard-on that refused to go away. And not with one of Ford’s students there to see. And who knew? Maybe there were more of them searching for Corrie and Ford. Maybe the whole team would pop out of the jungle at any moment, catching Corrie in the exact kind of scandal that she’d so desperately fought to avoid.
Luckily, their things were well hidden under a tree where they’d enjoyed a shady respite from the sun. Unluckily, they couldn’t chance running toward it in time to get dressed. Ford and Corrie twirled through the water, each looking for an escape route. But with the voices getting closer, they had no time.
“I think I see something,” Corrie said, pulling on Ford’s arm and swimming toward the waterfall.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Look,” she said, staring into the cascade. “We can hide on the other side.”
Ford cocked back his head. “The other side? Corrie, have you lost all sense?”
“No. Check it out,” she said, before disappearing beneath the surface. He tried to reach for her hand, but he was too late.
Ford’s heart rate increased. With the churning falls, he couldn’t see below the surface. Not that the falls were massive by any stretch, but they still pounded the surface of the water with a steady thrum. Where was she? Where did she go?
Ford could swim, but he couldn’t swim that well. And he didn’t know CPR. Panic settled over him. How long had it been? Thirty seconds? A minute?
He lifted his hands to scream out her name, not worrying anymore about Ethan, Sunny, or anyone else who might be looking for them, when, suddenly, there she was, waving at him from the other side of the sheet of water. What the . . . ?