On the Hunt - Page 50

“Neither do I. Perhaps because it’s you.” He lifted his shoulders. “I suppose that’s a big part of it. I appear to have an obsession about you. And I’ll try to keep it from annoying you. But you do realize I won’t be able to stop if I notice something is bothering you? I’ll have to step in and try to solve it. It’s a function of my DNA.”

“I’ve noticed you have a problem in that direction. And those blasted caves sent up a red flag for some reason. Why worry about that now? Kalim might not even let us do any scuba diving near those caves. He considered it too dangerous before. He never permitted any of his people to do any underwater exploring in that area after he lost a couple of his villagers when an overhead stalactite crashed down on them. Kalim was always very careful about taking care of the people of Hathor Island.”

Harlan looked up from the sketch Kira was drawing, his expression grim. “But perhaps not as careful about taking care of you? You were an outsider, and you were probably very curious about those caves.”

She shrugged. “I was told not to go near them. It wasn’t Kalim’s fault, and that only made them more attractive to me. I did make sure that I conveniently lost Aban when I decided I wanted to explore by myself.”

His oath was low but profane. “I thought that was probably how it went when Aban was telling me about it. Dammit, it was Kalim’s duty to keep an eye on you. He invited you here.”

“And I wanted to come. He didn’t know anything about my trips to the caves until I went to him and told him about them.” She paused. “I figured it was only fair by then.” Her eyes were suddenly twinkling. “Because I had to show him the box of trinkets I’d brought up from one of those caves. Since all those caves technically belonged to him.”

“Trinkets?”

“An ebony-and-stone box I discovered jammed beneath the rocks in one of the caves that contained a generous collection of gold chains, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires. I’m sure you’ve guessed that it’s that particular cave I’m so eager to return to and explore. It would be foolish not to go back to the source and see what else we can find. Kalim was very impressed. Some of the stones were quite large.” She thought about it. “And he was also a bit angry, but he got over it when he decided that I could have cheated him out of the entire collection and just walked away. That’s when he offered to split the treasure with me if I’d arrange to do the hunting and gathering. I gave him the treasure box so that he could investigate the age and value of the contents.”

“No wonder he was so worried when you disappeared,” Harlan said wryly. “It wasn’t only an expert herder and trainer he’d lost when I snatched you away that night in Colorado.”

“That’s not fair,” Kira said. “He’s been very generous to me. He didn’t have to make that deal with me about the treasure.”

“And you didn’t have to tote that box of jewels to the surface and offer it to him along with anything else you might come up with. I believe it might be even steven if you look at it that way. You might even be a little ahead.”

“I doubt it.”

“Of course you do. But then you believe in fairy tales and even a glamorous Cleopatra who might just appear around the next bend.”

She chuckled. “Or the next cave?”

“That, too.”

“But I also believe in a man who followed me up in those mountains and saved my life even when I was more than a little rude to him. That’s also kind of a fairy tale, isn’t it?”

“Let me think about it.” He paused, considering. “No, I’m not any kind of hero you might imagine. That was my brother, Colin. I just work hard and try to get along and do my best to keep you away from any nasty caves that might frighten you.”

She stiffened. “Why do you think I’d be afraid of any cave? They just… interest me.”

“Most of them. And I don’t want to accuse you of not being brave as a tiger, but I believe you might have a few withdrawal symptoms when it comes to facing that particular deep, black cave nemesis.”

He was joking, but Kira was still having a sudden vision of swirling water, a sleek, undulating body, and ultimate darkness as she struggled to carry that ebony box toward the surface.

“You’re shivering.” Harlan pulled her into his arms. “Not so funny?”

“Of course it is.” She nestled closer. He was warm and strong and so different from the cold darkness of that moment she’d been suddenly remembering. “But you’re right. I’d never had any trouble with claustrophobia or other cave-oriented problems. But that day when I brought that box up to the surface to give Kalim, it was different. It was too dark in the water… and I kept hearing things, and I thought I saw something moving back and forth in some of the streams. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it made me uneasy. I couldn’t wait to get away from the caverns and up to the surface.” She ruefully shook her head. “It’s never been like that for me before or afterward. I deliberately went down again the next day but I didn’t feel anything…” She stopped and then corrected herself. “Yes, I did. I thought I saw something, felt something, a sort of… presence moving down there in the caves, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe I’ll be able to decide once I can focus the lights of the sled on it.”

“Possibly. Or maybe you won’t want to know.”

“Of course I will,” she said curtly. “I won’t let my imagination make me afraid of any natural element. I didn’t tell you that there was another, smaller container I found that I left down there in the caves because I was in such a hurry to get out of there. I fully intend to go back for it. You wouldn’t respect me if I didn’t. I wouldn’t respect myself.”

“Okay.” He held her closer. “You’re completely wrong about that, but I’ll let it go. Can we forget about caves and talk about what a wonderful time we had today? And may I tell you how I’m looking forward to tomorrow? Or maybe we’ll just wait until afterward to talk.” His lips were on her temple and his hands were caressing her throat. “Afterward can be pretty wonderful, too…”

Harlan was at the main camp making their biscuits when Kira came back from taking her bath in the lake the next morning. She smiled as she plopped down beside him. “My, that smells good. This is beginning to be a habit. I thoroughly approve.”

“I saw you heading down to the lake when I woke. I would have joined you, but that lake looked a little too public for my taste. I like that you’re friends with the herders, but I’m not into communal bathing. I prefer a more private arrangement with you. So I decided I’d cook you a decent meal and then go down later.”

“How very snooty of you. How long before you finish cooking? I need to give Fiona a call before we take off for the barges. I promised I’d stay in touch. I meant to call her yesterday, but I became distracted.”

“I wonder how that happened?” He was grinning. “If you’d rather wait until later, it’s not as if we’ve totally deserted her. I called her after lunch yesterday while you were talking to Hannah about her own career. She sounded fine, and all she wanted was for me to tell her about Kalim’s horses. She said her own training with Golden Boy and Domino was going along splendidly.”

“I’ll still call her,” Kira said. “I made a promise, and I want to tell her about how fantastic your sled is working out. She has a right to be proud of you. Not that she isn’t already.” She took out her phone and strolled over to sit beneath a tree while she placed the call. “Let me know when you’re ready to serve breakfast and I’ll come running.”