“I thought you didn’t know anything about the location of the city,” Rafa said.
“I told you. I studied up,” she called over her shoulder.
Something wasn’t adding up. If all one had to do was a couple hours ofstudying up, the Lost City of the Moon should have been the Not-So-Lost City of the Moon ages ago.
“And in the less than twelve hours since I last saw you, you suddenly became a Moon City expert and pinpointed a new starting place that dozens of explorers have searched for unsuccessfully for the last couple hundred years? You sure we shouldn’t stick with the original plan and head west along the Amazon first?”
Miri stopped short, causing Rafa to almost crash into her backside before she whirled around to face his chest. Her eyes went wide, taking in his pecs, before traveling up to his face. She pulled in a deep breath.
“You know, they put me in charge for a reason. Give me a little credit that I might know what I’m doing, would ya?”
Rafa stared back at her, stunned. Her voice was firm, albeit a little shaky. But her eyes were determined. Her finger, pointed. And her nipples, hard.
Whoa…that was hot.
She spun back around, and he watched her saunter with confidence inside to the hotel lobby. Under those nerdy glasses, subtle features, and klutziness stood a boss waiting to be unleashed. And it was fucking sexy as hell.
Fine. He’d let her lead them to Caracaraí and on this little boat ride through the jungle. He’d give her this win, but that didn’t mean he’d make the rest of the expedition easy.
Then he’d get serious about this sabotage business.
Chapter
Six
The instant the bathroom doorclicked shut, Miri let out the breath she’d been holding. Her interaction with Rafa had run the emotional gamut—embarrassment, attraction, annoyance, and…what was that last one she’d felt when staring at his hard chest and smelling that fragrant coffee aroma laced with bodywash lingering around him? Lust?
She glanced at her reflection in the hotel lobby restroom mirror, noticing her rosy cheeks and hard nipples through the thin fabric of her unlined bra and T-shirt.Oh god.Had Rafa noticed? Was that why he was staring at her like that?
Heat shot between her legs, and she fought the urge to relieve the pressure. The thought had already crossed her mind when his hands had wrapped around her waist as he’d lifted her down from the van, and the only thing she could focus on was wondering what they’d feel like against her bare skin. And popping the button on her pants. And dipping beneath her pale pink cotton briefs and sliding along the folds of her—
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
Miri jumped at the heavy pounding on the door, snapping herself out of her daydream and pulling her hands away from the button of her pants, where they’d unwittingly gone.
“Miriam, are you in there? We’re all waiting,” Dr. Quinn called from the other side of the door.
“Yes,” she squeaked out, then cleared her throat. She glanced in the mirror again, her cheeks even more flushed than before. “I need another minute, and then I’ll be right there.” She swatted her sweaty bangs from her forehead and splashed cold water on her face.
“Well, hurry up. I’d like to know what the hell is going on before the rest of the team.” The anger in his voice couldn’t be masked.
This was bad. This was really bad.
When she’d woken Anissa early this morning to change their itinerary, she hadn’t yet cleared everything with Dr. Quinn first. Perhaps she should have—they were co-leaders after all. But she’d tried calling his room and knocking on his door to no avail, and she needed to get everything set in motion. Waiting to fill in Dr. Quinn would have only slowed them down.
Yet she had still planned to give him the rundown before they set out for Caracaraí. It wasn’t her fault that he’d decided to be a grouchy louse when shoving his bag at her.Since you’re clearly taking charge, you can also take this. Come find me when you’re done—you’ve got a lot of explaining to do. And she still would have tried again if Rafa hadn’t completely zapped her brain of all functioning activity.
Functioning activity she desperately needed if she was going to succeed on this mission.
Ever since her very first visit to a natural history museum, Miri had been enthralled with archaeology and ancientcivilizations. If only archaeological society was as enthralled with her. She hadn’t written any noteworthy articles, gone on any high-profile expeditions or digs, or scored any sizable grants based on her research. She was still seven years away from making tenure, something the head of the Anthropology and Archaeological Science Department reminded her of more times than she could count. He’d given her a warning before she departed for this adventure:Dr. Mejía may have asked for you, but this is your last chance, Dr. Jacobs. If you’re unable to turn this expedition into something tangible—journal articles, funding sources, or a discovery worth bragging about—you won’t make it to tenure. Not here, at least.
Sure, UC Berkeley wasn’t the only archaeology game in town, but you didn’t leave Berkeley without a damn good reason. And getting fired? Well, it was a reason, all right, but not one Miri particularly cared to experience or explain in any future job interviews.
This was everything she’d worked for. But no matter how hard she tried, Miri always faded to the background.
So, now that she was in charge—sort of—she’d scoured her notes and every bit of research she could find on the Moon City. Analyzed the landmark list and compared it to the various rainforest biomes. Studied the least-explored areas in the Amazon. And after a sleepless night, Miri had placed the Cidade da Lua as being potentially located near Serra da Mocidade and the stone table possibly somewhere near Rio Branco.
It was a long shot, but why couldn’t she be the one to make the actual discovery? Just because others had failed didn’t mean she needed to as well. Being smart wasn’t all it took. What about tenacity, determination, and…intuition?
