Chapter 8
***COOPER***
Dr. Warner was tense when he sat down next to her, but as the meal progressed, the banter around the table seemed to relax her, and she even joined in a few times.
“Well, Dr. Warner, what do you think of my friends?” he finally asked when she’d pushed her empty plate away.
“Are they as crazy as I think they are?”
“Without a doubt, but I like them. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” she said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “And I think you should start calling me Stephanie, at least away from the site. Everyone else is, and it seems strange for you not to as well.”
“I’d like that, Stephanie,” he said, smiling at her, the feel of her name on his lips sending a ripple of familiarity washing over him. “I’m glad you enjoyed dinner. I was afraid it might be a bit overwhelming; this crowd can be a lot.”
“They seem like a great group of people. I haven’t had that many close friends, you’re lucky to have them,” she said, looking around the table with a look of longing. “I move around so much that it’s hard to make friends and keep them, it’s one of the drawbacks to this job.”
“You must really love it,” he said, then before he could say more, Hattie interrupted.
“Stephanie, we’d love to hear a little bit about Egypt,” she said. “It must have been exciting to live there.”
“To me it was just home until we came back to the states when I started college,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “But it’s a wonderful country, very different than here, and once you understand their ways, it’s easy to feel at home there.”
“You said your parents are archeologists too,” Hattie said, getting up and beginning to gather plates. “They must be really proud of you.”
“They are, but I think they always hoped that I’d do more with my life,” she said, then shook her head. “The problem is, I can’t imagine doing anything else. I love my job; it’s an adventure every day.”
“I’m sure they just want what’s best for you,” Hattie said, carrying the first stack of plates to the kitchen. “Tell us about the ruins, it must be exciting to explore something so unique. Do you know anything about the people who built it?”
A frown appeared on Stephanie’s face. “Not much, I’m afraid, and it’s been driving me crazy,” she said.
“We know that the houses were built over a span of hundreds of years, we know they were all abandoned at some point during various times, and new ones were built later. What we don’t know is whether they were hiding from something or what that something could possibly be.
I’m afraid it’s going to be a struggle to get any information from the ruins themselves; we’re going to have to look for clues in other places. ”
“Wow, that’s got to be frustrating,” Hattie said, shaking her head. “What do you mean by other places?”
“We’re hunting for the garbage dump, we might find some clues there,” Stephanie said. “And I’ve got a historian working on local history, although that’s kind of been a dead end so far, unless you believe in magical creatures.”
“Magical creatures?” Hattie asked, sitting down at the table again. “You mean like witches?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Stephanie said, a look of regret on her face. “It’s just a crazy theory my historian Julien came up with. I don’t really want to repeat it; someone already leaked a crazy story to the press.”
Cooper looked over at her. “Is that why the reporter was at the site?” he asked. “What happened?”
“Someone must have overheard part of our conversation at the pizza parlor,” she said.
“He wanted to know if we really believed witches and vampires were using the cave as a place to hide. I shut him down, but if it makes the news, we’ll be swamped with people wanting to get inside.
I wish Julien hadn’t brought it up. Shifters, witches, or vampires, its all just folklore, we need hard facts. ”
There was a long silence around the table, and everyone turned to look at him.
“Julien thinks shifters used the cave to hide when regular people were after them,” he explained.
“He’s dug up a lot of old stories about people turning into wolves or bears, and one about a dragon.
I don’t think he really believes the theory; I think he was just having fun. ”
“Surely no one will take a story like that seriously,” Jackson said. “People are smarter than that, aren’t they?”
“I wish,” Stephanie said. “I worked on a dig in Rome when I was in grad school, and word got out that we’d found the bones of a saint. Thousands of people showed up hoping to get a look at them.”
“But this is different, that was religion,” Ryan said. “This is just…superstition or something, right?”
“It doesn’t matter if the story makes the news, I promise you a crowd will show up,” she said.
“A lot of people believe in magic and the paranormal, they’re drawn to it, and the chance to see a place that’s supposedly steeped in it will be too much to resist. I’ve already arranged for a couple of security guards to start tomorrow. I’m hoping it will be enough.”
“Well, you certainly do live an exciting life,” Hattie said. “I never dreamed there could be so much drama involved in uncovering history.”
“There’s nothing like a good ghost story to get people excited,” she said. “I just wish they’d get excited about real history.”
“I for one am interested in the real history,” Gabe said. “I don’t suppose we could talk you into a tour sometime? I would love to see what’s down there.”
“Me too,” Walker said. “Cooper’s shown us some of his drawings, but I bet they’re nothing like the real thing.”
“I think we’d all love a tour,” Hattie said. “But I’m sure you’re busy. If it’s too much to ask, feel free to say no.”
I’d love to give you all a tour. Cooper can help me; he knows the ruins as well as I do, she said. “Let me check my schedule and get back to you.”
“Wonderful,” Hattie said, getting to her feet again. “Now let’s get this mess cleaned up, boys, it’s getting late.”
“Oh, I’ll help,” Stephanie said, jumping to her feet. “It’s the least I can do after that wonderful dinner.”
“I won’t hear of it, you’re a guest,” Hattie said, shaking her head. “Cooper, you take her over by the fireplace and relax, we’ll get this cleaned up while you two talk, then we’ll have some dessert.”
“You heard her, we’re getting out of dish duty, make a run for it while you can,” he said, grinning at her. “This doesn’t happen every day.”
She laughed. “I guess I can stay for a few more minutes, but then I have to go,” she said, following him over to the couch by a big fireplace. “This is an amazing house.”
“We’re lucky to live here,” he said, letting her sit first, then joining her. “I’ll miss it when we graduate, it’s become home to me.”
***Stephanie***
Stephanie couldn’t help but notice how warm Cooper was when he sat down next to her, nor could she ignore how good he smelled, and she found herself leaning into him.
When he casually draped his arm over the back of the couch behind her, her heart began to beat a little harder, and her body began to tingle.
Wishing she’d gone home like she’d planned to, she felt a blush rising on her cheeks and realized that the silence between them had gone on a long time.
Turning to look up at him, she was surprised to find him watching her, and her cheeks got even hotter. “Is it wrong if I tell you how beautiful you are?” Cooper asked, the look in his eyes making the tingle turn into a tightening between her legs. “I wouldn’t want to cross any boundaries.”
“It probably is, but I still like hearing it,” she said, smiling up at him, surprised by her own daring. “Not very many men have ever said that to me. I’ve never had very many admirers, I’ve always been so much younger than everyone else until now.”
“Then my timing is perfect,” he said, grinning at her. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that favor you owe me.”
Her first thought was of kissing him, and alarm bells went off in her head. “I’m not going to kiss you,” she said before she could stop herself. “I mean if that was what you were thinking…”
“Well, that wasn’t what I was thinking, but I’m glad to know you’ve been thinking about it,” he said. “That should make it that much better when I finally do kiss you.”
“Cooper, this isn’t a good idea,” she said. “We have a professional relationship, and that’s all it should be. Maybe I shouldn’t have come to dinner tonight.”
“Stephanie, we haven’t done anything wrong, we haven’t crossed any lines, yet,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “I can be patient, at least I think I can.”
“That is not reassuring,” she said, shaking her head. “This isn’t a game, Cooper, this is my career.”
“Let me warn you right now, this isn’t a game to me,” he said, then leaned a little closer. “I think this is the real thing, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Her heart was pounding in her chest again, and a little gasp escaped from her chest as a surge of desire took her breath away.
“I should go home,” she said when she could find her voice.
“All your sweet talk is starting to get to me, and I don’t know if I trust what I’m feeling for you.
This is all so new to me, Cooper. I don’t want to rush it, I don’t want to make a mistake. ”
“I won’t rush you, but I’m not giving up either. I’m drawn to you, Stephanie. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else,” he said, taking her hand. “I think there’s a reason fate put us together, and I’m willing to wait until you trust me enough to give in to what’s growing between us.”
“You’re making this very hard,” she said, wishing she could just give in to her feelings. “But there’s so much at stake, not just my heart, but my career. It means everything to me. I hope there will be time for us, but I can’t promise anything. Thank you for understanding.”
“I understand, but my mind is made up,” he said, looking into her eyes. “You’re mine, Stephanie, you were meant for me, and one of these days, you’ll see that too.”
The urge to throw herself into his arms was so strong, she had to grip the couch to keep herself still. “I think I’d better go before I do something I’ll regret tomorrow,” she finally said when the feeling had passed. “I should tell everyone goodbye and thank Hattie before I leave.”
“That’s not going to be easy,” Cooper said, getting to his feet. “They’re all gone.”
She was surprised to discover the kitchen was empty. “Oh, well…” Her words trailed off. “I’ll go then.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Cooper said, then picked up a foil-wrapped plate on the counter. “This has your name on it. I bet it’s a piece of Hattie’s apple pie.”
She took the pie. “That was sweet of her,” she said. “I wish she would have let me thank her.”
“You’ll get another chance,” he said, guiding her toward the hallway. “I have a feeling you’ll be back again.”
“Oh, you do?” she asked, smiling up at him. “You’re awfully confident, aren’t you?”
They’d reached the front door, and he paused before opening it, then turned to face her. “When it comes to you, I am,” he said, then pulled her into his arms, making her senses go wild. “Let me show you why.”
When his mouth came down on hers, it was like nothing she’d ever experienced before; her body suddenly came alive, and she found herself winding her arms around his neck even as a voice in her head was screaming at her that she was making a mistake.
Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, awakening a part of her that no one had ever touched before, and she was suddenly overwhelmed.
Pulling away from Cooper, she stared up at him for a second, then turned and fled out the front door, not stopping until she was locked in her car.
She sat trying to catch her breath, her body still throbbing with need, then looked over at the door, a wave of warmth flowing through her as she saw Cooper standing on the porch watching her.
It took several deep breaths before she was able to get the key in the ignition and start the car, but when she looked back at the house, he was still waiting patiently for her to leave.
Telling herself the kiss was no big deal, she waved at him, then pulled away from the curb, but she knew deep down that everything had just changed.
Her life would never be the same again, and the thought scared her more than anything ever had.