Chapter 6
They walked single file down the trail, Paige and Calvin carrying on a conversation about the possible effects of the earthquake, and the potential danger they might have to deal with. “If the grounds aren’t stable, there’s a distinct possibility of another slide.” Calvin explained as they walked.
Cooper tuned out the discussion, which he normally wouldn’t have done, but since it was his brother he had complete trust in his advice, they’d do whatever he recommend. Instead he indulged himself in a few fantasies about Paige, who was walking in front of him looking unbelievably sexy in boots, jeans and a T-shirt. By the time they’d reached the dig site, all he could think about was pulling Paige into the trees and kissing her, and maybe a bit more than that.
Feeling slightly ridiculous, he turned his thoughts back to what was happening around him. They’d reached the site, and David and Calvin were in the middle of the shock and excitement everyone felt when they saw the hillside. Finding the log that he’d sat on the day before, Cooper settled down for a long afternoon of waiting while Calvin checked the safety of the site.
Paige followed Calvin around, asking question and making notes on her tablet. David found a spot away from everyone and sat down, then he bowed his head and said some words under his breath. Finally, he seemed satisfied and got up and came over to sit with Cooper.
“I’d like to explain what we’ll be doing tonight. It’s a quiet ceremony, but I’ll need a fire and a few other things, and they should be collected from here.” David said quietly, his earlier boisterous attitude suddenly gone.
It suddenly occurred to Cooper that they were sitting not more than a few yards from the remains of this man’s ancestors. Pushing back his annoyance, he gave David his full attention as he went on to explain the ritual he’d perform later that night. He also explained the ceremony they would use when it was time to rebury the remains that had been dislodged during the earthquake.
Despite his earlier dislike for David, his innate sense of curiosity got the better of him and he was soon deep in conversation with David. The man was clearly very intelligent and had a true love of his people and their traditions. He couldn’t help but develop a grudging respect for David. As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad that David was here to help them through this tricky part of the situation. Only now did he realize just how close they’d come to making a major blunder, angering the entire Native American Indian population of the west.
The sun was sinking low on the horizon before Cooper realized it, he’d been so engrossed in his conversation with David that he’d lost track of the time. Spotting Paige and Calvin up on the hill, he felt an immediate stab of desire when he saw her, but it was quickly replaced by a wave of jealousy when she reached out and put her hand on Calvin’s arm and laughed at something he’d said.
They looked much too cozy up there on the hill, so he got to his feet and yelled, “Are you two about finished, the sun’s going to set soon.”
They looked up started, then looked at their watches. Paige looked surprised when she saw the time, and Calvin looked completely besotted with Paige. “Sorry we lost track of the time.” She yelled back, “We’re coming.”
Cooper nearly went up the hill after them himself when Calvin took Paige’s hand to help her over a rock and then didn’t let go. David came up and stood next to him, a knowing look on his face. “She’s quite the woman. I had hopes once, but she doesn’t let anyone in. We’ve never talked about it, but I would guess that Justin’s father did a real number on her.” He said, watching Paige and Calvin come down the hill.
Cooper didn’t like what he was hearing one little bit. If David had hopes once, he probably still had hopes. But right now, his attention was focused on his brother and the hand that still held Paige’s. Tired of the whole situation, he promised himself that no matter what he was going to make sure that no one else made a move on Paige before he could secure his position in her heart.
Climbing up the last few feet to meet them, he took Paige’s other hand and gave Calvin a dirty look until he let go. “Well, is it safe?” He asked, trying to seem normal as he kept a firm grip on Paige’s hand.
She shot him a strange look but didn’t pull her hand away, again confused by his mixed signals. One minute he seemed to like her and the next he was mad at her, now he was holding on to her hand like she’d fly away if he let go. But his hand felt so nice wrapped around hers that she decided to just enjoy the feeling, including the little sparks of pleasure that began forming in her belly when he stroked his thumb across her palm.
I won’t know about the cave until we get inside, but I’d say that as long as it doesn’t rain and we’re very careful, we should be able to clear a path without any extra shoring up.” Calvin said, trying not to laugh at Cooper’s clearly possessive behavior with Paige.
“Good, then we can get started tomorrow, as long as that’s okay with David.” Cooper said, looking to the shaman for the final decision.
“I don’t see why we can’t.” David said, picking up his backpack and getting ready for the trip back to camp. “Let’s go back to camp and have some dinner, then we’ll come back up and perform the ceremony.”
They all agreed and set off up the trail for camp. Cooper fell in step behind Paige, finally forced to let go of her hand. The whole way back to camp, he was going over the speech he was going to give his brother about keeping his hands off Paige. He was pretty sure that his brother was only riling him, but he’d seen that look on Calvin’s face before and it usually meant that he was falling for a woman.
He had a brief moment when he thought that it might not be worth the effort, but then Paige turned around and asked, “Do you and Calvin want to join us for dinner? It won’t be anything fancy, but it’ll fill you up.” Then she flashed him a big smile, clearly pleased with the evens of the day. “We should celebrate.”
His heart did a little flip flop and he couldn’t help but agree to dinner, although he’d planned to use that time to lecture Calvin about the man code. When they all got back to camp, they went their separate ways to clean up, promising to meet back at Paige’s camp for dinner. Cooper made sure he was the first one in the shower, a tricky homemade contraption he’d rigged up to get them through the summer, then was out the door before Calvin could even get into the bathroom.
He found Paige making dinner. She’d changed her clothes and let her hair down. It fell in thick waves over her shoulders, so glossy he wanted to run his fingers through it, instead he asked, “Can I help?”
“Sure, you can start cutting up those potatoes.” She said, smiling at him.
“I thought today went well.” He said, then added. “David is a good guy; he’s going to be a big help.”
“I’m glad you think so. I’ve known David for a long time and he’s always been there when I needed him.” She said.
“You two never....” Cooper trail off hoping she’d understand what he was asking.
“David and I, no. He’s more like the big brother I never had.” She said, completely unaware of how David really felt.
“Oh, well I just thought, the way you act together.” Cooper wanted to know for sure that she wasn’t interested in David.
“Well, we’ve been through a lot together; digs can be a dangerous lonely place, but I’ve never really thought about him that way. It’s not usually a good idea to get involved with people you work with. It’s a small community and small problems can get big fast.” She said, finally beginning to understand what was wrong with Cooper today — he was jealous.
Turing away to hide the smile that thought brought her, she put the meat she’d been cutting in the pot, then added the potatoes Cooper had cut. Finally, unable to resist, she met his eyes across the table, sucking in a breath when she saw the raw desire in his eyes. Suddenly flustered she moved around the table toward the fire pit, but Cooper caught her arm and pulled her to him.
She went into his arms willingly, looking up to meet his eyes again, her legs turning to jelly at the intensity. “I don’t know what happens to me when I’m around you but all I want to do is kiss you.” He said, then his mouth came down on hers in a possessive kiss that was only broken when they heard a car on the road.
When she tried to pull away, he held her close to him and whispered in her ear, “We’re not finished yet.” Then kissed her once more before he let her go.
She almost stumbled when he let her go, her knees still weak from the rush of pleasure his kisses had just created deep inside her. “Umm, okay.” She mumbled, then smiled up at him shyly.
When she smiled at him like that, he wanted to pick her up and carry her across the road to his bed, but instead he crossed the camp to the car that had just pulled up. It looked like this day was never going to end. Paige came up and stood next to him, only shrugging her shoulders when he shot her a questioning look. But when the man who was driving the car got out, she let out a little squeal and ran over to him, and gave him a huge hug.
“Steven, you’re here already. I knew you’d be up here fast, but I didn’t think it would be this fast.” She said, linking her arm in his and leading the way over to where Cooper was silently fuming.
When they got to where Cooper was standing, the man shot out his hand and said, “You must be Cooper Montgomery. I can’t thank you enough for inviting me and the team up here; this is a unique experience that could teach us a lot.” Steve said, his pleasure clear on his face.
Cooper glared at the man, wondering if that pleasure came from being near Paige or the prospect of watching the wilderness come back to life. The way he had his arm around Paige he was sure it was the first reason. Tramping down his annoyance at the entrance of another good looking man into their little group, Cooper reminded himself that he had just been kissing her and she’d definitely been responding to him, and acting like an ass wouldn’t gain him anything.
Paige watched Cooper face, realizing for the first time that if she watched him carefully she could read his emotions. Right now he was trying desperately not to show how jealous he was, so she carefully stepped away from Steve, wanting to laugh when his face immediately relaxed. It was unbelievably sweet that he was so jealous, but it also surprised her since they’d only had two brief kisses. She’d always thought jealously came with much stronger emotions.
Over dinner, Steve explained to Cooper what he wanted to accomplish while he was there for the summer and they decided that he would set up his headquarters farther down the mountain, closer to Honey Hills. Until his crew arrived, he was going to share the field with Paige and David, but then he’d move.
“We won’t really be in your way; you’ll barely know we’re here.” Steve assured Cooper.
Cooper simply grunted at Steve and finished his dinner. “What’s one more group of people running around here?” He said, giving Steve a smile that was clearly forced.
After dinner, Paige walked Cooper to his house to get ready for the ceremony at the dig site, thinking that it might calm his ruffled feathers. She’d seen the way he’d reacted to Steve and while it was still charming, it was going to be a long summer if they didn’t come to some kind of understanding. When they got to the porch, she sat down on the bench against the wall.
“It’s really good of you to put up with all these people climbing over your land, it’s got to feel like an invasion.” She said, making him instantly feel bad about the way he’d been behaving.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been behaving badly but....” Cooper tailed off not able to put what he was feeling into words. If he told her that he thought he was falling in love with her, she’d think he was crazy.
She waited for him to reply, hoping that he’d tell her how he felt, but instead he did the only thing he could think of and pulled her into his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. Paige was tempted to pull away, but only for a second as the heat of his tongue filled her mouth and delicious tingles of pleasure spread from her core. She melted against him unable to resist the pull of his body, then wrapped her arms around his neck and gave into the wave of sensation rocking her world.
Cooper growled when Paige put her arms around his neck and melted against him, her breasts pressed against his chest, her tongue darting into his mouth experimentally. He knew that no one could see them, so he moved his hand from where he’d been stroking her back and slid it up her side until he cupped her breast. Paige practically came alive in his arms, a moan escaping her throat through the kiss which had suddenly turned passionate.
When he rubbed his thumb across the stiff peak of her nipple, she squirmed in his arms, and broke the kiss panting with need. Cooper slid his hand up her shirt and again found her nipple with his thumb. With one less layer between them, the feeling was that much more intense. He nibbled on her neck, finding a spot that seemed to drive her crazy with longing, making her squirm even more.
Cooper pulled her breast free of her bra and gently rolled her stiff nipple between his thumb and finger, then found her mouth with his to muffle her cry of pleasure. Kissing her until she was breathless, he freed her other breast and lowered his mouth, taking her nipple between his teeth before sucking it into his mouth. His hand slid down her stomach, then he gently spread her legs and cupped her in his strong hand, rubbing her through the thin fabric of her pants.
He could feel the wetness between her legs and was just about to slide his hand down her pants, when a loud burst of laughter from the camp reminded of where they were. They came back to their senses slowly, knowing that their quiet time was about to be interrupted.
“Hey you two, David says it’s time to head over to the burial ground. Are you ready?” Calvin yelled as soon as he got close to the house, not wanting to interrupt anything. In fact, he was glad to see his brother back in the world, although this new jealous person wasn’t the brother he remembered, but it sure had been fun to tease him today.
If he was honest with himself, Paige was just the kind of woman he wanted. She was smart and sexy, and always seemed to have a smile on her face. But his brother was obviously enamored with her and he’d never step on Cooper’s toes. He certainly deserved some happiness for a change. He’d known that Amy was bad news from the very beginning, but Cooper had been in love with the idea of the perfect family and nothing could have dissuaded him from the path he’d chosen.
The only saving grace had been the pre-nup that Calvin had insisted on; Cooper hadn’t been happy with the idea, but in the end he’d given in. He’d never reminded Cooper of that, but they both knew that Calvin had saved him from an even uglier divorce. Paige, on the other hand, might be just the woman for Cooper — someone who would challenge him and keep him on his toes. When he found them tucked back in the corner of the porch, their flushed faces told him all he needed to know.
“Are you two coming with us, because David is ready to go?” He asked, again.
Paige and Cooper looked at each other, then burst out laughing. “We’re coming.” Cooper finally said. Calvin just shook his head and walked away, thinking they’d both lost their minds.
The ceremony was simple and more moving than Cooper had thought it would be. A few of the crew had come to join them, keeping a respectful distance at first but coming closer when David began to explain what he was doing. Eventually, everyone joined in the blessing, a very moving moment for everyone there.
As everyone was leaving, Marissa pulled Paige aside, “You should take a few minutes tomorrow and come up to the house. We haven’t had much time to talk and I’d like to hear about what’s happening down here, besides you have to be getting tired of all these men. You seem to be surrounded.” She said, shooting a look at the men who were busy fighting about the best way to put out the fire.
Paige thought about that for a second and decided that it sounded like a good idea, the constant currents of unrest between the men were beginning to get on her nerves. “I’ll do that, I promise. They do begin to wear on you after a while.” She said, impulsively giving Marissa a hug.
When they got back to camp, Paige quickly bid everyone a good night and retreated into her tent, done with the drama for the day. She only wanted to climb into her sleeping bag and think about Cooper. She’d never experienced anything like the feelings that Cooper seemed to bring out in her, the pleasure more intense than anything she’d ever felt. There was no way she could deny that she wanted Cooper more than she’d ever wanted a man in her life; the way he made her feel couldn’t compare with anything in her past.
It was a huge risk to become involved with Cooper, but the truth was that she was already involved and there was no going back now. She’d have to protect herself as best she could and hope that her heart wouldn’t be broken in the end, but when she was with Cooper it felt so right, like she’d finally come home after being gone for years. Her only hope was that he felt the same way, his physical desire for her was clear, but he never talked about his feelings, not even to tell her that he liked her.
Cooper too was thinking about Paige as he went to bed. He’d told his brother in no uncertain terms to back off and then endured an hour of teasing from Calvin. But the truth was he didn’t care about the teasing as long as it was clear that Paige was off limits. He’d never had to chase a woman before, they always seemed to find him, but then he realized that most of those women had been chasing his money and status not him. Paige was completely unconcerned with his money, in fact had never even mentioned it, which was probably one of the reasons he was attracted to her.
She was so different from the women he was used to. Money wasn’t important to her, and status in society didn’t matter. Her focus was her family and her work in that order, but what had also become clear over the last few days was that people were drawn to her, especially men. Even more amazing was that she seemed completely unaware of her effect on the opposite sex; most women would have used that to their advantage, but not Paige.
He knew that he was going to have to tell her how he felt and soon, but every time he opened his mouth to confess his feelings, he just couldn’t do it. It was almost like he was emotionally paralyzed. He knew how he felt, but putting it into words was just too hard, some part of him still so scarred from Amy’s betrayal that he didn’t trust his feelings. But he also knew that it wasn’t fair that he used their physical attraction to cover his insecurities, Paige deserved more.