Page 94 of Her Reluctant Hero
Beneath the Surface
MJ Fredrick
Chapter One
By the time Mallory Reeves reached the campsite, the sun had set behind the mountains, giving the crescent of sand below her a red glow. The color matched her mood.
She’d flown hundreds of miles, ridden four hours beside her sullen former brother-in-law Toney, all because Adrian had run off to his dig without signing the papers. Contrary beast that he was, he must have sensed how much she wanted this divorce.
The camp was like so many she’d been to before, only smaller. Even with her eyes closed, she’d be able to map out where everything was. The location might have been a resort, complete with palm trees, if not for the olive-drab tents in a circle, two bigger than the rest, with a fire pit in the center. Along one side of the camp were aluminum barrels raised off the ground on wooden brackets—the water supply. The shower would be over there, a none-too-private nylon-walled tent that could never wash off all the dirt.
Generators lined the other side of camp, silent until the lab was up and running, which would happen once Adrian started bringing up artifacts. Strung from one tent to the next were clotheslines, covered with clothes, mostly male and mostly collegiate. If she looked closely, she could identify Adrian’s collection of T-shirts with rude archaeological sayings. She doubted he’d changed that much.
The sound of the ocean on the other side of the dunes washed through the open windows of the truck. The beach was carved from high rocky cliffs. Toney parked on a ledge above the campsite. To leave, they would have to back up the narrow road to turn around.
Other teams stayed in hotels and commuted to the expedition site every day. They had fast food available and running water. Alcohol. She had to marry the one archaeologist who didn’t think he was on a dig unless he was living like Grizzly Adams.
Not that he knew who Grizzly Adams was. Being raised in Scotland and living in camps most of his adult life made him weak in the area of pop culture.
About the only area he was weak in.
That and, well, practicality.
Being here was more like being home than the house she and Jonathan had bought. She was no longer the down-and-dirty girl she’d been, looking for clues about ancient civilizations in the writings they’d left behind. Her job translating for Allied Global wasn’t as hazardous.
Or as exciting.
She climbed out of the Land Cruiser, scanning the camp for Adrian. She had to guard herself from surprise when he appeared.
No matter how she’d prepared herself for affecting a cool reaction, nothing readied her for the man who approached. He moved with sinuous grace, hard muscled, lean faced, with his dark hair cropped close in what he called his “dig cut”, easier to keep clean. Silver-blue eyes glinted in the firelight. Her mouth dried up at the sight of him in the muscle-shirt style she’d always loved, his broad shoulders and sculpted arms tanned dark. She fisted her hands against the memories of stroking her fingers over his skin, casual gestures, sexual ones. She’d never touch him again, and the loss of familiarity weighted her belly. The past couple of years had been good to the man she’d known nearly half her life. The man who’d turned his back on everything she held precious.
Adrian Reeves, gorgeous as ever.
“Mal.” He was the only one to call her that. He braced a booted foot on a tree stump, the picture of virility. Unbidden, memories of being wrapped in those arms flooded back, and with them the heat of desire. The one thing they’d been able to do right every time.
Mallory swallowed. “Adrian.”
“You look good.” His mocking smile took in her mud-spattered boots and pants even as his Scottish burr tickled her nerves. “Never thought I’d see you in those clothes again.”
She pushed away her reaction to his look, that jump in her stomach, by recalling Jonathan’s expression of surprise when she’d packed. Her need to keep her gear had given him evidence she hadn’t put this life behind her as she’d claimed.
“Toney wouldn’t tell me what you’re looking at. I think he’s still mad at me.” She glanced after the younger man as he strolled off toward an open-sided tent before she turned to Adrian. “Have you found something good?”
A light came into his eyes, sending the cynicism she’d seen there before scurrying into the shadows. That hadn’t changed. Dr. Adrian Reeves loved his work.
“You might say that. Will you be able to stay through tomorrow? I’ve got some stuff to show you.” He rubbed his palms together, grinned, and she caught a glimpse of the idealistic boy she’d loved.
She glanced toward the dunes. On the other side would be the dive boat, the gear they’d need to go out to the site dozens of feet beneath the surface. She could taste the oxygen and feel the regulator in her mouth. The wash of nostalgia was unexpected. Turning back, she shook her head. “I need to get home as soon as I can.”
He stepped forward, his eyes scanning her, but she didn’t flinch. He was looking for a weakness. She refused to show him one.
“You said that on the phone. What’s your hurry?”
God, she didn’t want to tell him the truth, not two seconds after she got out of the truck. “I have a life in the States.”
“One you were willing to drop to come out here.”
“You didn’t leave me any choice.” She held his gaze for a long time, wanting him to understand he’d inconvenienced her, but also needing to hide how much it hurt her to come.
