She laughed. “This time it was okay,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean it will be in the future.”
He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, then lowered his mouth to hers in a hungry kiss that left her knees wobbling. “How about that time?” he asked, grinning at her. “Was it okay?”
She slapped him, then took a few shaky steps away from him, knowing that she was blushing. “Just because we just made the find of the century doesn’t mean you get to kiss me all the time,” she said. “We still have to act professionally.”
“Yes, ma'am,” he said, but took her hand as they walked toward their home base. “Stephanie, let’s keep this between us for now, let’s wait to tell anyone until we know for sure what’s there.”
She looked over at him. “You want me to keep the biggest find of my career a secret?” she asked, shocked, then started shaking her head. “I can’t do that, Cooper, I can’t just let it sit down there. Besides, if we don’t tell, someone will find it eventually.”
“I didn’t mean forever, I just meant for a few days,” he said. “If we let people in now, they might start thinking what youwere, and we need to have a different answer to give them when that happens.”
It only took a few seconds to see that he was right. With all the talk going around, it wouldn’t hurt to explore the crypt on her own before making it public. “That’s a good point, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to do that with everyone here,” she said. “If we disappear with a bunch of equipment, someone will get suspicious.”
“Give everyone the day off tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll explore the crypt on our own. Then, when we’re ready, we can tell everyone.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” she said, smiling up at him. “I guess I must be tired.”
“It’s been an exciting and eventful day, you should be tired, but I bet you’re too excited to sleep,” he said, taking his jacket out of his locker. “Let’s go grab some pizza and bowl a few rounds or something.”
“You want to go bowling, right now?” she asked, gaping at him, then started laughing. “Okay, let’s do it, let’s go eat food that is bad for us, suck down a bunch of sodas and roll a big ball at some pins.”
“That’s not quite the way I would describe it, but you’re on, Dr. Warner,” he said, letting her go through the opening in the rocks first. “Should we make a little wager on who the winner will be?”
“No way, I still haven’t paid up on the last bet,” she said, shaking her head. “Unless you want to go double or nothing.”
“Now you’re really talking,” he said, nodding at the security guard as they walked by. “Winner buys the pizza.”
She looked up at him. “There have to be ground rules,” she said. “No kissing, no sweet talk, no touching, and no compliments, we’re going just as friends, nothing more, and anyone watching should be able to see that.”
“Wow, you forgot to add, no having fun,” he said, pouting.
“I think you’ll survive,” she said, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
CHAPTER 12
***COOPER***
Cooper stood in the middle of the crypt watching Stephanie pace back and forth in front of the mural, a frown of annoyance on her face. “I don’t know what to think. This just doesn’t make any sense. No matter how many times I try to look at this from a different perspective, I still come back to the same place…shifters,” she finally said, then paused and stared up at the painting again before shaking her head. “I can’t believe I even said that. Julien must be getting to me; it’s the only explanation for these crazy ideas in my head.”
Battling a heavy sense of guilt, he watched her pacing for a few more minutes, knowing that he had the power to relieve her confusion, that he could tell her the truth about what she was seeing, but he wasn’t sure that she’d believe him. He wasn’t worried about the risk of exposure; deep down, he knew that Stephanie would never betray him. He was more concerned about her disbelief and what he might have to do to convince her.
One thing was clear to him: the crypt had to stay a secret. The longer he’d been inside, the more he’d begun to understand the message in the mural. If the public got to see it, it wouldn’t take others long to catch on as well. There was power there aswell, a surging stream that came and went like the waves in the ocean, feeding his magic and keeping the dragon inside him wide awake. It was a special place, a place created by suffering, and he had to find a way to make Stephanie understand that, as fantastic as the discovery was, it could never be shown to the rest of the world.
“First of all, you’re not crazy. I’m seeing exactly what you’re seeing,” he said, making her pause and look over at him. “Did it ever occur to you that you’re interpreting the painting right, that it really is about shifters?”
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, then looked over at the mural again. “There are stories about shifters in Native American folklore, but this is more than that; this is a history of shifters. I’ve spent years studying the tribes in this area. I’ve spent time on the reservations, I consider some of the people I’ve met good friends, and I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this.”
“Just because you haven’t seen or heard about it doesn’t mean it isn’t real,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “There are some things that are so sacred to the Native Americans they’ve never let an outsider see them, and I think we’ve stumbled on one of them.”
“You think they know about this?” Stephanie asked, her eyes wide. “You think they’ve known this was here the entire time?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I think this crypt was lost to time because it was such a big secret,” he said. “At some point the need for it disappeared and the people forgot about it, but at one time, it was very important to first the Native Americans, and then other settlers.”
She was silent for a few minutes, turning over what he’d said in her mind, then looked over at the mural once more. “Something this important couldn’t have just disappeared, someone must still know about it. There must still be stories toldabout it,” she said, turning back to him, a look of excitement on her face. “It’s just a matter of asking the right people. I’ve still got contacts on the reservation, maybe it’s time I made a few phone calls.”
A second later the excitement drained from her face. “If I start talking about this and they don’t know what I’m talking about, they’re going to think I’ve lost my mind,” she said, then brightened up again. “I can show them pictures, then they won’t question my sanity. At least, I don’t think they will.”
Stephanie looked over at him, a hopeful look on her face, and he knew it was time to take a leap of faith, time to trust that what he felt for her was the real thing and worth the risk he was about to take. Reaching inside himself, he let the dragon’s instincts take over, reassured when a wave of warmth spread through him, making his body tingle all over. Desire quickly followed, and he took a couple of steps toward her, wanting to take her in his arms.
