“What?” Riley asked in a choked voice as she began to unbuckle his belt with provocative deliberation.
“You.”
With his belt undone, she made quick work of the snap, then tugged slowly, very slowly on his zipper. When her fingers skimmed over the hard length of his arousal, Riley nearly bucked off the bed. “Are you sure you don’t know what you’re doing?”
“Oh, I have a pretty good idea,” she admitted. At the lift of his eyebrow, she added, “I always did read a lot. Those romance novels you always made fun of are quite educational.”
“Believe me, I will never question your reading material again.” A sigh shuddered through him as he gazed into her eyes and saw the longing, the trust and the radiant joy reflected there.
All at once he couldn’t wait to make her totally and completely his, couldn’t wait to experience the kind of joy that came from loving without reservations, without fears.
With hands that trembled, he stroked and teased and caressed until she was moaning softly, her gaze fixed on his. The pale peach gown made her skin glow. Or perhaps that delicate radiance was the sheen of perspiration aroused by his touches.
Whatever the cause, she was more beautiful than ever as she responded to every seductive command, every persuasive stroke. His own muscles were taut with the strain of holding back, his own heart thumping unsteadily as excitement pounded through him. He wanted desperately to make her his, to bury himself deep inside her and know the sense of union he had believed for so long was never to be for him.
“Riley,” she murmured, sounding anxious as if she couldn’t wait for the exquisite ride that was to come. “Please.”
Need tore through him, but still he was gentle as he lifted her hips. He was sure he would lose it completely at the first contact with that gloriously inviting heat and moistness. He stilled for the space of a heartbeat, but apparently even that was too long for Abby. She arched her back, demanding more, until there was no longer any way of holding back for either of them.
Slowly, so slowly that he thought his muscles would snap from the tension of it, he thrust into her, claiming her, possessing her and recognizing as he did that she, in turn, owned his heart.
Time stood still for one sweet, tormenting moment. And then they were riding the waves of sensation, ever higher and higher, until, Riley was convinced, they landed in what surely must be heaven.
* * *
The honeymoon lasted less than twenty-four hours during which Abby and Riley rarely left their bed. They had both waited far too long for the measure of peace and union they found in making love with such total abandon.
When the phone rang at dawn, Riley grumbled a complaint and reached across Abby to grab it. She moaned softly and curled closer. He almost cut off the call and left the receiver dangling, but too few people knew where they were. The few who did wouldn’t be calling unless it was important.
“Yes,” he snapped curtly.
“Higgins was behind the attack,” Jared announced without ceremony.
His expression suddenly fierce, Riley muttered a succinct comment, then asked, “Where is he now?”
“About ten miles outside of Palenque. Hopefully on the wrong side of town. My hunch is we’re getting much closer to the ruin. He’s been boasting all over town that he and those disreputable brothers of his are about to get rich.”
“We’ll be there in a few hours,” Riley said. “Don’t do anything until we show up. I want the pleasure of taking him apart personally. Just keep an eye on him for me.”
“Don’t worry. Manuel hasn’t taken his eyes off him since we spotted him. He’s out there, even as we speak.”
When he’d hung up, Abby was sitting up in bed. “Trouble?”
“Jared and Manuel have found the men who attacked you.”
“And you plan to kill them,” she said flatly.
“Believe me, I’d like to, but no. I may get in one or two good shots, but my intention is to turn them over to the authorities.”
“How long do you think they’ll be held in jail down here?”
“Long enough, when the government learns they intend to steal those Mayan artifacts.”
“Have they found them?”
“Jared says they’re in the right vicinity, but he’s convinced they’re a few miles away from the likeliest spot for the ruin.”
Her eyes glittered with anticipation. He guessed it wasn’t at the prospect of revenge.
“So we can still find it first,” she said, that gleam in her eyes intensifying.
“You don’t seem to much care what happens to Higgins and his brothers.”
She waved it off. “You’ll take care of them. I want to find those ruins.”
“Have I mentioned that you have a one-track mind?”
“I did,” she conceded, gesturing toward the bed. “As of today, though, I’m broadening my horizons.”
* * *
The Mayan tablet with its centuries-old images rubbed almost smooth by time made Abby’s breath catch in her throat. She touched it reverently, then turned her gaze on Riley. He seemed more fascinated by her than by their incredible discovery, made only a few days after they had joined Jared and Manuel outside of Palenque, captured Higgins and his thugs without much of a fight and turned them over to the very grateful Mexican authorities.
Abby had practically tripped over the ruin when she’d gotten separated from the others. At first she hadn’t been able to believe her eyes. When she’d realized that the massive stone she’d bumped her shin on was part of something much larger, she still hadn’t realized it was the ruin. Not until she had rubbed away the covering of grass and tropical foliage had she begun to get a sense of what was before her.
Her shouts had brought
