Chapter Five
Lisbeth followed Thomas, Benson, Rafe, Abbas, and the guides to the entrance of a cave.
Truthfully, it looked like a small opening.
No one would assume it was the start of a massive cave system.
Thomas had drawn a copy of the map so the original wouldn’t get damaged while they were in the tunnels and caverns.
She glanced up and frowned. The sky was overcast, but the clouds weren’t dark. Hopefully, that meant the rain would hold off. She sighed, and her eyes connected with Thomas’s. He had a concerned look on his face. “You can wait here.”
Lisbeth frowned at him and then asked Abbas, “Did the guides say they were worried about the rain?”
Abbas shook his head, and she turned back to Thomas. “I will be fine.”
His jaw clenched, and fury flared in Lisbeth.
Thomas had no right to tell her what to do, especially if she was in no real danger.
He laid the paper that contained the replicated map on a rock.
Everyone joined him, perusing the drawing.
The cave system was miles and miles of tunnels.
In the far back was a cavity that had two, potentially three, tunnels leading to it. In the small open space was an X.
On the original map, it contained a more elaborate drawing with various items from the time period, but she supposed Thomas wasn’t an artist. The paths of two tunnels leading to the X were long and winding.
The other one followed a more well-known corridor, according to Thomas, but then veered off onto a smaller tunnel leading to the X.
Thomas traced his finger along the paths. “I think it is best if we split into two groups and cover the longer routes first. The map is thousands of years old. We will likely need to dig our way through some areas, or the tunnel system might not exist any longer.”
He then turned to the guides and spoke to them in Arabic.
Both men nodded. He looked back at Lisbeth and Benson.
“You two will join me and our guide, Farid. Rafe, Abbas, and the other guide, Badr, will take the second path. The last guide will wait outside to alert us to any potential rain or flooding.”
Everyone nodded. Thomas stuffed ropes and other supplies in a bag and handed a lantern to Benson before grabbing another one for himself. Lisbeth said, “I can carry something.”
“Trust me. We will all need to help. Who carries our gear is irrelevant.”
She nodded, and he frowned. “I’m in charge there. Do you understand?”
Lisbeth flushed. “I’m not some young girl looking to cause trouble.”
He lifted a brow as if he didn’t quite believe her.
She bristled. Truthfully, at nineteen, Lisbeth probably wouldn’t have taken the situation seriously, but she wasn’t that girl anymore.
She rolled her eyes. “Understood. What happened to the fun, dashing explorer? I see you’ve pivoted back to Serious Thomas. ”
Rafe chuckled, and Thomas glared at him before turning back to her. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”
She sighed. “Thank you.”
Thomas, Benson, Rafe, Fadir, and Badr lit their lanterns, and they all moved to the entrance of the cave.
Stepping in, it felt small. There was only one tunnel before them, and it was necessary, due to the narrow width, for them to move in a single-file line.
The glow of the lanterns off the cave tunnel walls added an eerie feel to the space, making Lisbeth shiver.
She glanced at Thomas to see that he held a piece of chalk, which he ran along the side of the corridor.
She imagined it was in case they became turned around.
Lisbeth had just started to wonder if that was even possible when they burst out into a large area.
The space had exits to eight separate tunnels.
Fadir spoke to Thomas in Arabic, and he nodded before turning to everyone.
“Fadir wants me to explain that if we get trapped in the tunnels by water, there are two options to survive the flooding.”
Nerves flared in Lisbeth’s stomach. His words made her realize that this wasn’t some game. This was a serious situation. Thomas pointed to a ledge above them. “You can hoist yourself up to the ledge. If you look at the markings on the wall, the water never reaches that high.”
Benson muttered. “Christ.”
Lisbeth shot him an apologetic look. He’d been in her employ for many years, but this was likely the craziest situation she’d ever placed them in.
Thomas then drew a circle above one of the tunnels.
“If you can’t reach the ledge, this tunnel forces water out into the river.
You will need to hold your breath for a minute and allow the water to take you. ”
Abbas tugged at his collar, his nerves on edge. Thomas looked around, and Rafe said, “Can you be any more ominous?”
Badr spoke in Arabic, and relief seemed to fill Abbas’s face. “Fadir said that no rain is expected today. It is merely a precautionary measure.”
While the explanation was frightening, in some ways, Lisbeth felt relieved to have options.
Thomas, Rafe, Badr, and Fadir studied the map.
She, Benson, and Abbas waited. Thomas drew a triangle over one tunnel opening and a square over another.
“My team will take the triangle tunnel. Rafe’s team will take the square. ”
Everyone nodded, and Thomas glanced at her. “Ready for this?”
“Yes.”
*
Thomas sat on a rock, exhausted. They’d finally reached the end of the long, meandering tunnel.
There, they’d found a sliver of an opening that led hopefully to the cavernous space where the tablets were supposed to be located.
Unfortunately, it required shimmying through a narrow corridor to reach it.
Benson looked reluctant to go any further.
Thomas had measured the width of the slender space; they would all fit, though it would be tight.
“We need to travel in pairs,” he explained. Thomas had a friend become stuck in a cave a few years ago and almost died, so he always had specific rules when traversing any underground system—working in pairs or trios was one of them.
“I can go,” Lisbeth said.
Her guard, Benson, frowned so deeply that Thomas had to refrain from laughing. Lisbeth sighed, “I’m the smallest. It would make sense for me to go. Thomas will be with me. I will be fine, Benson.”
Her guard sighed, unsure. “Your Grace, this makes me nervous.”
Lisbeth stepped into the opening and pointed at the space between her and the wall. “Look how much room there is.”
Thomas slapped him on his shoulder. “How about Lisbeth and I go see if this leads anywhere. If it doesn’t, we can come back and try the next tunnel tomorrow. If we are lucky and it leads to the opening on the map, everyone can push their way through.”
Fadir nodded, seemingly at ease. The man had been traversing the tunnels probably his whole life, so Thomas wasn’t surprised. Benson finally sighed and sat down on a rock. “Fine. I know you want to find the tablets, but I hope I don’t have to push my way through that opening.”
Thomas chuckled. He turned back to Lisbeth and moved her out of the opening. “I will go first.”
She looked as if she wanted to argue, but he shook his head. “You are smaller than me. If I fit, we know you will.”
Lisbeth nodded, and he handed her the lantern. She smirked. “At least I’ve become responsible enough to carry our light.”
He gave her a pointed look.
She shrugged. “Just a jest.”
Thomas shook his head but then focused on the opening.
He slid in sideways. He wasn’t truly the biggest fan of exploring caves, and this was precisely why—the damn tight spots.
His back slid against the tunnel’s cool surface, but the further he moved in, sometimes his front was pushed against the wall he was facing, and in other places, he had more than enough room.
He could tell Lisbeth was by his side because of the light. In most spots, there wasn’t enough room for him to turn his head. “How are you doing?”
A gasp escaped Lisbeth, but there was amusement laced in her voice. “I don’t think cave exploration will be something I continue to pursue, but I’m fine.”
He grinned. “You wanted to do this.”
She nudged him in the side with her elbow.
A familiarity flowed between them. It was an emotion he’d felt his whole life with Lisbeth growing up, and when they’d run away together.
His thoughts were distracted as he stepped further and found himself in a large cavern.
He stopped Lisbeth with his hand. “Hand me the lantern.”
She did as he asked, and he held it up. The space was breathtaking. They were on a large ledge, but further out was a drop and then a large basin of the clearest water Thomas had ever seen. Lisbeth joined him and gasped. “It is beautiful.”
He sighed. It was, but unfortunately, the opening to the cavity they were looking for was underwater. That meant, at some point, it had been permanently sealed, likely from a tunnel collapse, Thomas guessed.
“This path won’t get us to the cavern we are looking for.”
He pulled instruments from his bag and took measurements to ensure he was correct. Lisbeth looked around at the sizable space. “How do you know?”
Thomas explained, “Based on the dimensions of this cavern and the map, the opening would be underwater if it still existed.”
Lisbeth frowned, and Thomas began to step back into the narrow corridor from which they had just emerged. Lisbeth looked at him, shocked. “You won’t take a moment to enjoy this?”
Thomas turned back to her. Even in the lantern light, she was quite a messy sight. Part of her braid had unraveled, and her long shirt and pants were smudged with dirt. She had a bit on her cheek as well. “You are a mess.”
She beamed at him and held her arms out. “I do not care, Thomas Easton.”
Thomas shook his head, but he was mesmerized. She was a vision. Lisbeth smiled at him. “We will go back in a minute. Sit on the edge with me and look at the water.”
He looked at the edge of the rock ledge dubiously. “It could crumble.”
She sighed. “We will be careful.”
Thomas followed her as she tentatively tapped the ground with every step.
Once they reached the ledge, they sat. He placed the lantern next to him, and it reflected off the cavern walls and water.
It was a stunning space. The rock and stone had been shaped by moving water, giving it a completely unique look.
Lisbeth swung her legs back and forth, making him queasy. She glanced at him and said, “I promise I will scoot back before I stand up.”
“Please do.”
She giggled. “You still are Serious Thomas.”
A bark of laughter escaped him. “I never said I wasn’t, Lizzie.”
She turned to look at him. “You are the only person who has ever called me that.”
Why did that statement thrill him? Damn it, and why was she still so beautiful?
Her blonde hair was a mess, but in a way that made him want to unbind it.
Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. For a moment, he wondered what adventures with Lisbeth would have been like over the last ten years.
Instinctively, he leaned over and gently rubbed away the smudge on her cheek.
The air around them changed; it became charged with something that Thomas knew was not appropriate. His gaze flicked down to her lips, and her mouth parted. A memory of kissing her flashed in his mind. All the desire he’d been holding back for Lisbeth roared to life.
He didn’t want to crave this woman still, but he did. She bit her lip and leaned towards him. Thomas wanted to kiss her. Christ, he craved to push her down in this beautiful space and get lost in her body, if he was being honest.
Their bodies bent towards each other, and his lips hovered over hers. He heard her breath hitch. Would one taste destroy him? Did he care? His hands slid up the back of her neck into her hair. She whimpered. His mouth touched hers in a whisper of a kiss.
“Did you find it?” Benson bellowed from the other side of the small tunnel they’d just traveled through.
Lisbeth pulled back, scooting herself away from the ledge, and jumped to her feet. She hollered through the opening. “We don’t think so. We are coming back now.”
She looked at Thomas nervously. “We shouldn’t have done that. We have both moved on, and it should remain that way. We are different people. Those feelings are long gone.”
They weren’t, though, and the way she rocked on her feet skittishly, Thomas suspected she was lying to both of them. He grabbed the lantern and joined her by the opening. She glanced at him and said, “It was nothing, right?”
He could lie to her, but instead, he placed the lantern on a small natural shelf. She gulped, and before she could deny that the brief touching of their lips was nothing, again, Thomas pulled her to him. He smashed his mouth down on hers. No, this was certainly not nothing. This was everything.
The softness of her lips molded against his.
He ran his tongue along the seam, and she parted her mouth.
He delved in and brushed against her tongue, taking and enticing.
His cock, already hard, strained against his trousers.
He threaded his hands in her hair, deepening the kiss as she pushed herself against his form.
Thomas wanted to slide his hands down her body and find the heat between her thighs, yet he stepped back. She looked at him wide-eyed and touched her lips.
Benson yelled, “Should we follow you in?”
Thomas hollered back, “No. We are on our way.”
He grabbed the lantern and stepped back so she could go first. Lisbeth watched him. Thomas quietly said, “I don’t think it’s nothing.”
She slid sideways into the opening, fleeing as fast as one could in a small space.