28. Chapter Twenty-Nine #2
My stomach tightened as the landing came into view. I'd spent three months thinking about what I intended to ask Malek, Tavian, and Luca, so the nerves weren't uncertainty. Permanent was simply a large decision even when I was sure about it.
Mara stood near the landing while one of the workers secured the boat line. She looked almost exactly the same as she had when I'd left, down to the battered boots and brown hair already escaping her bun in the humidity.
“You came back voluntarily.” Mara called to me as I stepped onto the landing, amusement spreading across her face while I adjusted my personal bag and tested my legs after sitting in the boat.
“Against my better judgment.” I told Mara as I reached for the smaller camera case, grimacing when the humid air made the back of my shirt cling to my skin.
“You've been here thirty seconds and you're already sweating.” Mara observed as she glanced at my damp hair and stepped aside so the next case could be unloaded.
“Patagonia was cold enough that I forgot this was possible.” I told Mara as I put the case down long enough to lift my hair away from the back of my neck.
“You'll remember.” Mara assured me as she stepped forward and hugged me briefly, the familiar smells of insect repellent and station soap clinging to her field clothes.
“You look annoyingly pleased with yourself.” Mara added as she pulled back and studied my face, apparently noticing the mood before I said anything.
“I got the puma shot.” I told Mara as my smile returned immediately, unable to pretend I wasn't proud of it.
“Of course you did. I expect to see it later.” Mara replied as satisfaction replaced the teasing in her expression, and she squeezed my shoulder once before stepping away.
“You will.” I promised Mara as I picked up the camera case, already knowing I'd make her sit through more than one photograph once I'd recovered from traveling. Mara glanced toward the luggage being moved behind us and then at the bag I hadn't handed over.
“You can leave the rest here. I'm guessing you're not planning to spend the afternoon catching me up.” Mara told me as she opened the station door, her eyes briefly shifting toward the western trail.
“Not immediately.” I admitted to Mara as I carried my equipment inside and set down the things I didn't need.
“That's what I figured.” Mara replied as she adjusted the clipboard beneath one arm, giving me a knowing smile before turning back toward the cases being unloaded.
I took my personal bag and the smaller camera case.
The western trail felt shorter than I remembered, probably because I was walking faster than my usual field pace.
Humidity coated my skin, insects found me almost immediately, and wet leaves brushed my forearms whenever I cut too close to the edge of the path.
Red feathers flashed overhead. I slowed as the scarlet macaw dropped onto a branch above the trail and cocked its head until one dark eye pointed directly at me.
You came back, the macaw said as its claws shifted around the wet branch.
“I told you I would.” I answered the macaw as my fingers tightened around the case handle, hearing its familiar voice again doing more to me than I wanted to admit.
The bird clicked its beak once, then threw its head back and screamed loudly enough to announce my location to everything within an entirely unnecessary distance.
“Oh, that's helpful.” I told the macaw as it launched toward the sanctuary, its red feathers disappearing between the leaves ahead of me.
I increased my pace as the first weathered stones appeared through the vegetation, followed by the outer wall and courtyard.
I barely had time to lower the camera case and shrug my personal bag from my shoulder beside it before Tavian came around the far side of the ruins at a run.
“Evie.” Tavian said my name as he reached me, relief clear in his voice before his arms closed around my waist and lifted me completely off the ground.
“Tavian.” I laughed his name as I wrapped both arms around his neck and buried my face against him the second sun-warmed wood, citrus leaves, and spice filled my nose after months without the real thing.
His purr started hard enough that I felt the vibration through my chest. Tavian held me off the ground for several seconds before setting my feet back on the stone, but he didn't release me.
Both arms stayed around my waist while he pressed his face against the side of my neck and drew in another breath.
“You're really here.” Tavian told me as his palm traveled across my back, his voice quieter now that the first rush had passed.
“I am.” I answered Tavian as honey and jasmine strengthened beneath my blockers, my fingers curling into his shirt while my Omega reacted enthusiastically to having him close again.
“You smell different.” Tavian told me as he lifted his head and nosed through my hair, examining me with enough concentration that I nearly laughed.
“I've been traveling for almost two days. I'm probably not at my best.” I reminded Tavian as I ran my palms over his face, taking in familiar amber eyes, warm skin, and hair that had grown slightly longer since I'd left.
“You smell like you. There's just a lot of other stuff on top of it.” Tavian replied as his hands returned to my waist, his nose wrinkling when he caught another unfamiliar travel smell.
“That was almost a compliment.” I told Tavian as I cupped his jaw, relief loosening my shoulders when touching him felt just as natural as it had before I left.
He kissed me before I could say anything else.
There was nothing cautious about it. His mouth covered mine, one hand went into my hair, and I kissed him until everything outside the two feet around us became considerably less interesting.
A deeper purr sounded behind him.
Tavian eased back, and I looked over his shoulder to find Malek standing at the edge of the courtyard with his golden-brown eyes fixed on me. His shoulders were motionless, but cedar and damp earth had already grown stronger around him.
His control lasted a few seconds. I went to him before he made it halfway across the courtyard.
Malek's arms closed firmly around me, one broad palm spanning my back while the other moved into my hair.
I pressed my face against his chest and breathed in cedar, damp earth, and faint smoke, realizing immediately how little of him had actually remained in the shirt I'd carried across Patagonia.
“I missed you.” Malek told me as he pressed his mouth against my temple, the deep vibration of his purr moving through his chest into mine.
“I missed you too.” I answered Malek as my arms tightened around his waist, the words catching unexpectedly now that I could actually touch him. Malek scented my hair and cheek before his nose moved beneath my jaw. He took enough time with it that my emotional reunion eventually became ridiculous.
“Are you going to smell every inch of me?” I asked Malek as his beard scraped lightly over sensitive skin and sent a shiver through my shoulders.
“Probably.” Malek replied against my neck without a trace of embarrassment, which made me laugh into his shoulder. His mouth brushed the skin beneath my jaw without biting, and I stayed against him until his arms loosened enough for me to look toward the other side of the courtyard.
Luca was waiting several feet away. His dark hair had grown past his shoulders during the three months I'd been gone, and his usual composure wasn't hiding much today. Sandalwood and herbs had strengthened around him, but he hadn't stepped in or reached for me.
Of course he hadn't.
I crossed the distance myself.
“You made it.” Luca told me as his hands lifted only after I reached him, his green-gold eyes moving over my face before I wrapped my arms around him.
“I did.” I answered Luca as I pressed against his chest and closed the small distance he'd deliberately left for me to choose.
His restraint disappeared as soon as I touched him.
Luca held me tightly with one palm over the back of my head and the other at my waist, and I spent several seconds listening to his purr before leaning back.
“I need to tell you something awful.” I told Luca as I kept my palms against his sides and watched concern appear before I'd even finished the sentence.
“What happened?” Luca asked me as his arms loosened immediately, giving me room while his eyes searched my face.
“The cable wrap worked perfectly.” I informed Luca as I watched the worry disappear and tried not to grin. He stared at me for one beat and then laughed.
“You scared me for that?” Luca asked as he shook his head and cupped my cheek, the laughter loosening something in his face I hadn't realized was tense.
“I've been saving that review for three months. I needed to make the delivery memorable.” I told Luca as I leaned into his palm, rubbing my thumb across the inside of his wrist.
“That still isn't a complaint.” Luca pointed out as his thumb passed beneath my eye, amusement replacing the last of his concern.
“I'll come up with one eventually.” I promised Luca as I leaned forward and kissed him. An elder capuchin appeared on the ruined wall behind him, stopped to inspect the four of us, then scratched absently at its ribs.
Spotted ones were loud while you were gone, the capuchin informed me as its attention moved between the three men.
“I believe you.” I told the capuchin as Tavian made an offended noise beside me.
Especially that one, the capuchin added as it stared directly at Tavian before starting along the wall again.
“I heard you.” Tavian complained to the capuchin as his brows pulled together, apparently unconcerned that the monkey couldn't understand a word he said. The capuchin continued without acknowledging him, and I laughed while Luca's shoulders shook beside me.