With Trigg holding one hand and Jude the other, she’s able to let them guide her feet as her head pivots from side to side and back up to the immense expanse of the mountain.
“This place is beautiful,” she says with a sigh of awe.
The scents and sights of the marketplace are exotic and exhilarating. The town is quite literally on the side of the mountain, and we are moving through narrow alleyways with dirt paths in order to make it up to the next tier of shops. But Emma’s right — it’s absolutely breathtaking.
The voices of merchants ring through the crisp air. There are bright shades of reds, greens, and yellows everywhere. Shops and stands line the sides of the slender streets.
I haven’t seen such a cacophony of color in one place since I wandered through the bazaars of the Middle East. This little gem of a town is a popular tourist destination for those on a trek from the shore to the ruins.
Spices, cheeses, nuts, meats, fruit, candy, ceramics, textiles, lanterns, jewelry. Everything is piled and heaped, and people are haggling back and forth, arms and hands doing just as much of the work of communicating with the tourists as any words.
One particular stall catches my eye, and I pause to look over the offerings. Cacao powder, cumin, chorizo seasoning, Yucatan recado rojo rub — meat spice, even epazote. There has to be five dozen different spices laid out in front of me — black, red, orange, even pink and green — all in large ceramic bowls with scoops for measuring.
I’m thankful they all have little slips of paper next to them with English translations, because the native names are indecipherable to me.
“Emma,” I call out. “Is this what you’re looking for?”
Gunner comes up behind me while Emma and the other guys circle back to us.
“Oh! Annatto seeds. And is that fresh nutmeg?” she asks, peering over the selection.
“Habanero mango?” Gunner leans over and inhales deeply over a light brownish-orange mixture. “Oh, fuck. We need some of this.”
“Get as much as you want,” I tell him.
The shop owner knows when he has a whale customer and moves right over to Gunner. His English is broken but clear. “You want, you have.”
He motions at the spices then picks up a scoop and hands it to Gunner along with a plastic bag.
Gunner shakes his head, “No, I don’t need that.”
The shop owner protests, using his arms to gesticulate, trying to hand him the scoop again. “Take, take.”
Gunner shakes his head again, copying the man by letting his hands do most of the talking. He draws circles around the ceramic bowl and gestures as though he’s lifting the whole thing up. “All of it.”
The shop owner’s eyes light up, and his lips form a small smile. “Yes, all. Good.”
Emma picks out half a dozen spices before she realizes I’m doubling all her orders. She gives me a squint, but I just shrug. “Why do you think I insisted all the guys wear backpacks? Load us up, baby.”
That smile of hers is so sweet, I can’t help but lean in for a kiss. Emma greets my lips softly, and I lay one hand on her hip. I can feel her smile widen against my mouth, and a thrill runs through me as she kisses me back with enthusiasm.
To think, this is what I’ll have for the rest of my life.
“Hey, Emma, come check this out.” Jax’s voice cuts through the cacophony of sounds at the marketplace.
I part from Emma’s sweet kiss and we both look around, spotting him about twenty feet away at a different vendor.
His twin stuffs a large parcel of spice into his backpack. “Go on. We’ve got this,” Jude tells us.
Emma and I wander over to Jax. He’s standing in front of a colorful display of textiles, but as soon as we approach, he waves for us to follow him. He walks past the fabrics out front and toward the back of the shallow shop.
The light is dim in the rear of the stall, but the goods on display immediately catch my interest. “Oh, this is the handwoven stuff, here.”
All three of us run the material through our fingers, admiring the woven fibers and the handiwork.
“This is fantastic artisanship,” Jax says, turning a long swath of cloth front to back, looking at the stitching.
Looking through one stack and then the next, I finally find what I’m looking for. It’s a large, oversized, lightweight tunic, with festive embroidery at the hem and neck. It’s the perfect garment for Emma to drape over that sexy bikini of hers when the tropical sun becomes a bit much out on the water.
I leave Jax and Emma to sort through bolts of fabric while I purchase six of the tunics, because who knows, maybe we’ll all use them.
Jude joins us just as we’re finishing up our business at the textile stall, and we look back to see that Gunner’s finally finished up his spice shopping. He’s stuffing the last of his goods into Trigg’s backpack, because his own pack is already bulging.
Together, the six of us make our way to the end of the marketplace. The zipline is the next step. The big guy shouldn’t have packed so much pork away. He’s one hell of a daredevil, but this ride may test his intestinal fortitude after having eaten half a pig.
Emma checks all our packs, making sure we’re all zipped up and everything’s secure, then we get in line. There’s only one family ahead of us, so there isn’t much of a wait.
We hand off our heavy packs to an attendant, who bundles them into a cargo net of sorts, preparing to send our gear down ahead of us.
As we wait, Emma leans over the wood railing — cautiously. “How high up do you think we are?” she asks me.
I look down and contemplate. “Not sure. I didn’t check on the elevation of this site, but I know Teotihuacan is nearly seventy four hundred feet above sea level. We have to be at least half that right now.”
Her glance skitters sideways at me. “And how far does this thing go? I can’t see the end.”
I smile at the nervousness in her voice and how it instantly makes me feel protective of her.
“Oh, we aren’t going that far. I mean,” I correct myself, “it’s nearly two thousand feet, but you’re going to build up speed pretty quickly. You’ll be at the bottom in less than a minute.”
Now she only looks more concerned. She spots one of the zipline attendants doubling up in-harness with an older woman. She points at them discreetly. “Can we do that? Ride tandem?”
“You want to go down with an attendant?” I ask.
She playfully scowls, intertwining her fingers with mine. “No. I want to go down with you. It’ll make me feel safe. I’ve never been on one of these before. I’d feel better if we can go together.”
I let out a laugh at the request, because there’s no question about it — I’ll buckle in with her any day, any time. “Of course, love. There’s nothing I’d like more.”
When it comes our turn, Gunner jumps on the chance to be the first one of us to fly down the mountainside. His hoots of glee as he sails away on the zipline make Emma smile, and I can sense some of her tension ebbing.
The guys ask if she’d like to go next, and she squeezes my hand as she nods, pulling me up to the harness station with her.
The harnesses are setup so we can remain upright, in a semi-seated position, instead of a superman-style, making for a pretty comfortable ride down. Emma is strapped in first, then my harness is brought up, and I’m securely fastened to her backside.
We step up to the ledge in unison, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight. The view is gorgeous. Green expanses of lush forest stretch out to all sides, and the zipline disappears into the tropical canopy.
The attendant radios ahead that there’s a double on the way down and then taps me on the shoulder. I look back, and he gives me the universal thumbs-up sign.
“Ready?” I whisper into Emma’s ear.
“Yes?” It’s more a question than anything, but I’ll take it.
“I’m right here,” I tell her. “On the count of three, step out with your left leg, then push off wit
h your right. I’ll do it with you, okay?”
She takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay.”
“One,” I count, “two... three!”
Without hesitation, I feel her move, and I follow. Left foot forward, then a push with the right, and we’re airborne. Emma’s gasp is instantaneous, and she squeezes down on my arms as I hold her. The air licks past, our clothing snapping in the wind as we pick up speed.
She pushes her head against my shoulder, my cheek now on hers as we soar down the line. The whir of metal on wire is the only sound breaking the rush of air as the green canopy approaches fast.
Emma lets out a startled yet victorious cry as we rush from bright blue skies into the rich, green jungle. The foliage whips by at startling speed, but we slow as the zipline evens out from its headlong decline.
The landing station comes into view, along with the large bulk of Gunner, whose arms are lifted in the air as he greets us with a triumphant whoop.
As we near, we slow enough for us to catch our breath, and Emma lets out an exhilarated giggle. “Oh my God, that was amazing!”
10
MY ARMS FEEL LIKE JELLY as I dump my bags on the foot of my bed with a sigh of relief. I had no idea I’d be coming back from my first round of training with so much stuff. I leave them sitting where they landed, because I can unpack later.
Right now, I want a big glass of wine.
I turn my back on the pile of bags and make my way out of the room I share with Cora. Even though she’s the younger sister, Callie was elected to be the one who gets her own room, since she’s currently also the only one with a man who occasionally joins her.
But I have a feeling that might be changing soon, given how taken Cora was with her bartender at the resort. Which is another good reason for me to be heading out this fall.
My acceptance into the program didn’t feel real until I finally told Emma, and now that I’m back from my first training session, the reality is really kicking in. I’m doing this.
I’m actually going to be part of the Pegasus program.
Even though my muscles ache and my brain is flooded with new information I need to digest and commit to memory, I’m ecstatic.
Moving back to the front door, I lift the box of wine from the hallway floor and set it on the counter in the small kitchen. Daniel still has the girls signed up to a couple wine-of-the-month clubs, and this one had been delivered to the apartment while we were all gone.
Speaking of, I check over my shoulder and glance at the clock on the stove. Yup, any time now. The sisters texted me when they landed, asking if I was home yet. I messaged that I was about forty minutes away from the apartment.
The drive from the airport takes about an hour in rush hour traffic, so I’ve only beaten them here by a few minutes. Probably just about enough time for me to wrangle this box open and fill three glasses. The girls have a lot to fill me in on about the past week at the island, and I know they’ll want to hear all about my five day intensive training session.
I finally resort to using a sharp knife to crack open the well-sealed and packed box, and I pull out a bottle, holding the label at a comfortable reading distance.
An award-winning Riesling from Mosel.
I shrug. I have no idea where Mosel is. Maybe that’s the name of the winery, not the location. I’ve never paid much attention to wine — I usually just poured myself a glass of whatever Emma had.
I should really learn my wines if I want to truly appreciate these monthly deliveries. Well, at least once I get back from my deployment.
Deployment. I roll the word around in my head for a moment. Makes it sound like I’m joining the Navy, but it’s what they call it.
Second drawer to the left, I snatch the wine cork and work on opening the bottle. I could really use a nice, tall glass right about now. The sheer amount of information jammed into my head over this past week — I’m not sure how well I’m going to retain it, but I have three binders in my bag to pore over between now and when I need to report down in Galveston for my next training course.
There’s so much that’s unfamiliar.
I have the basics of nursing down pat, as well as plenty of experience in emergency medicine, too, from all my shifts in the ER and the continuing-education workshops I’ve taken. But the environment we’ll be in is totally new to me. New diseases, new risks of infections, new dangers the clients will be exposed to — from foreign strains of bacteria to poisonous animals.
And then, on top of that, all the nautical terms and procedures I have to know. Oh, and I need to become a wiz kid at knowing the ins and outs of hyperbaric chambers. Plus, how to treat a multitude of seafaring and dive related injuries and illnesses. Things I’ve never seen working in a landlocked hospital.
The cork pops free, and I fill my own glass first, barely pausing to give the fine Riesling proper consideration of its merits before downing a decent swig.
I have so much to do before I leave.
There’s all the paperwork to fill out so I can take an extended leave from work. The media packet I need to pull together, including photos and a short biography, for the crew directory, brochures, and website staff page. And the hospital wants to do a showcase about me, too — it’s a good PR opportunity for them, having one of their staff setting sail with the illustrious Pegasus Fleet.
I also need to shop for some personal items — things that will fit in an itty bitty living space for months. The more compact and multi-functional, the better.
And there’s the fundraiser for the free clinic that’s happening in a few months. I can’t drop the ball on it. It’s my baby, and I’m pulling out all the stops for this one, since it’ll be my last.
Plus... All. The. Studying.
Three binders to memorize by heart, and I know I’ll be coming home with more after my next training.
I take another sip of my wine then pour Callie and Cora each a glass. Just in time. I can hear a key rasping in the lock, and then the apartment door bursts open.
“Hi!” I call out. “I’m in here.”
The door shuts with a bang, and Cora lets out a loud sigh. “Thank God we’re home.”
I balance their wine glasses in one hand and step out of the kitchen to greet them. “What, got tired of the tropics?”
“Hey, you!” Callie reaches out for the wine glasses and passes one to her sister before downing half her glass. “Bless your ever-loving heart,” she says when she comes up for air.
Cora shakes her head. “It’s not the islands — we didn’t want to leave, actually. It was the airports, and the three layovers, and delayed planes because of storms, and then the fucking traffic.”
“We were supposed to be home six hours ago,” Callie adds. “It was one clusterfuck after another.”
“Sounds like it,” I say, giving them a sympathetic look. “You two were supposed to beat me home.”
Callie nudges me. “Look at you, calling this place home. I like it.”
It’s true. Though I’ve lived with Emma practically my entire adult life, I’ve fallen together with the girls pretty quickly. We’ve bonded really well, and it’s nice to have good friends to come home to — although Cora and I have a little bet going on how soon Don will whisk Callie away and leave the two of us to grow into old spinsters together.
“Come on,” I prompt, ushering them into the living room, “leave your stuff there. I’ll help you unpack later. Tell me about what I missed.”
We move toward the little cluster of furniture as I fire questions at them. “How did Don like it, Callie? Did you two have fun? And Cora, what happened with your bartender?”
Cora drops her carry-on and purse to the floor then flops onto the couch. “Oh no. What happens on the island stays on the island.”
Her sister plops down next to her. “We’ll see about that. Enough of this—” she says, lifting her wine glass, “—and we’ll get all the sordid details of your cabana boy sandwich out of you yet.”
“San
dwich?” I say in surprise, both my eyebrows going up.
“Oh yeah. The bartender had a friend. A very gorgeous male friend. Who had the hots for him — and Cora.”
“What? Really?” My mouth falls open as I stare at Cora, but she just shakes her head and puts a hand up to her face.
“Yes,” Callie nods, then jerks a thumb at her sister, “but Fort Knox over here won’t tell me the good stuff.”
“I’m with Callie, I think I need to hear about this.”
“Nope, not saying a word.” Cora blushes as she sinks further into the couch, and she lifts her wine glass to her lips to conceal her smile.
I study her for a minute, but I can’t read her like I can Emma, not yet at least, so I turn to Callie. “And Don?”
Callie bolts upright in excitement, clapping her hands together with joy. “Ahh! It was so amazing. We parasailed and went snorkeling and watched every sunset together. And the sex, oh my God, we haven’t screwed like that since we first hooked up.”
Cora and I giggle at her exuberance.
“So... pretty good?”
Cora points an accusatory finger at her sister. “I had to shoo those two lovebirds off to their room multiple times. If I hadn’t stopped them, everyone on the island would have been privy to their antics.”
“Oh, shush, we weren’t that bad,” Callie says with a snort and a roll of her eyes.
“My ass. You would have done Gunner proud with how many times you guys got hot and heavy in public.”
“Whatever.” Callie waves a hand at her sister dismissively before turning to me. “What about your training, Zoey? How’d that go?”
“Really well,” I say. “It was a lot. I mean, there was so much stuff they covered. But I’m really excited.”
“Well, tell us about it,” Cora prompts. “What sort of stuff?”
I nearly spit my wine out. “God, no. Let’s not talk about that yet. My head might explode. And I’d bore you to sleep. It was just an introductory training, so nothing thrilling yet. Besides, I want to know more about this bartender of yours and his friend. I need to hear about some sexcapades, okay, ladies? Come on. I don’t have Emma to live vicariously through anymore. So spill it.”
Tempting Offer: A Reverse Harem Romance (The Code Book 6) Page 10
