instruction on archeological methods and a lecture on the history of the Negev.
After lunch, Maddie led her group of three teenagers to their assigned area. As luck would have it, the section was on the eastern edge of the site, very close to where Cade was clearing the new quadrant. As she descended the ladder into the shoulder-deep pit, she caught a glimpse of the brawny Welshman in the act of vanquishing yet another boulder.
The rock didn’t stand a chance. Maddie was very much afraid she didn’t, either.
Another headache.
A throb sprang up behind Maddie’s right eye, a small pain, one she wouldn’t have even noticed before her diagnosis, and she tried to blame it on the glare of the desert sun. The brilliant rays spilled past the edge of the shade canopy, striking her in the eye whenever she snuck a glance at Cade.
He must have cleared twice as many rocks as the two Israeli laborers working with him. His bare torso gleamed with sweat. His midnight-sexy voice whispered in her memory. She knew he’d seen her staring. Every time she accidently caught his eye and hastily looked away she could feel his amusement. Still, she couldn’t seem to stop her eyes from sliding back to him.
Didn’t the man care about sunburn? Skin cancer? No one went shirtless under the desert sun, especially not a fair-skinned Welshman. But the relentless rays didn’t seem to faze him. He worked steadily, hardly stopping for a breath or a drink.
The throbbing pressure in her temple increased. Her vision blurred. She took off her glasses, cleaned them on her shirt, and readjusted the sides.
With effort, she refocused her attention on her charges: three boys, ranging in age from thirteen to sixteen. Two ofthem—Josh and Jake—were brothers. Not twins, but alike enough to keep Maddie guessing. The third boy, Ben, was skinny and awkward.
Armed with trowels and stiff-bristled brushes, the three teens had spent the last few hours diligently scraping layers of dirt and gravel into shallow buckets. At regular intervals, they’d climbed out of the pit to sift the scrapings through a sieve. But Maddie could tell the drudge work was already getting old.
She sighed. It was only Day One. And they were lucky enough to be working in the pit that housed the dig’s most exciting find, the rock-lined foundation of an early Canaanite well. Other relics had been unearthed in the pit as well: pottery shards, a charcoal pit, a bronze taper with a chiseled end, a small cache of bronze blades. Nearby, they had discovered an oblong stone Simon was sure was a primitive anvil. Ben-Meir theorized an ancient forge had once been located near the well. He was eager to discover more, to find some proof that the settlement had belonged to the Watchers.
Maddie glanced again in Cade’s direction, then muttered a curse and looked away when she realized he and his loaded wheelbarrow were headed in her direction. The path to the rubble pile ran along the edge of Maddie’s pit.
She held her breath as he passed, his knees level with her eyes. The snake tattoo winding his left calf was so lifelike, it looked as if it might slide down his leg and slither away. The creature reminded her of the snake she’d shooed out of the hut the night before. She made a mental note to be sure that tonight the door remained firmly closed and latched.
Cade dumped the wheelbarrow’s contents. The axle creaked as he retraced his steps. His eyes caught hers as he passed. The subtle flare of his nostrils, and the challenging shift in his stance as he eyed her, caused Maddie’s stomach to flip. The reaction was part sexual awareness, part fear. It wasn’t a farreach at all to imagine Cade Leucetius as predator, herself as prey.
At the moment, however, Cade’s only attack was his slow, wicked grin. A direct hit. Raw desire stabbed downward from her breasts to her womb. Her thighs contracted. Her knees actually wobbled. He tossed her a smug look.
Blue, she realized. His eyes were
After lunch, Maddie led her group of three teenagers to their assigned area. As luck would have it, the section was on the eastern edge of the site, very close to where Cade was clearing the new quadrant. As she descended the ladder into the shoulder-deep pit, she caught a glimpse of the brawny Welshman in the act of vanquishing yet another boulder.
The rock didn’t stand a chance. Maddie was very much afraid she didn’t, either.
Another headache.
A throb sprang up behind Maddie’s right eye, a small pain, one she wouldn’t have even noticed before her diagnosis, and she tried to blame it on the glare of the desert sun. The brilliant rays spilled past the edge of the shade canopy, striking her in the eye whenever she snuck a glance at Cade.
He must have cleared twice as many rocks as the two Israeli laborers working with him. His bare torso gleamed with sweat. His midnight-sexy voice whispered in her memory. She knew he’d seen her staring. Every time she accidently caught his eye and hastily looked away she could feel his amusement. Still, she couldn’t seem to stop her eyes from sliding back to him.
Didn’t the man care about sunburn? Skin cancer? No one went shirtless under the desert sun, especially not a fair-skinned Welshman. But the relentless rays didn’t seem to faze him. He worked steadily, hardly stopping for a breath or a drink.
The throbbing pressure in her temple increased. Her vision blurred. She took off her glasses, cleaned them on her shirt, and readjusted the sides.
With effort, she refocused her attention on her charges: three boys, ranging in age from thirteen to sixteen. Two ofthem—Josh and Jake—were brothers. Not twins, but alike enough to keep Maddie guessing. The third boy, Ben, was skinny and awkward.
Armed with trowels and stiff-bristled brushes, the three teens had spent the last few hours diligently scraping layers of dirt and gravel into shallow buckets. At regular intervals, they’d climbed out of the pit to sift the scrapings through a sieve. But Maddie could tell the drudge work was already getting old.
She sighed. It was only Day One. And they were lucky enough to be working in the pit that housed the dig’s most exciting find, the rock-lined foundation of an early Canaanite well. Other relics had been unearthed in the pit as well: pottery shards, a charcoal pit, a bronze taper with a chiseled end, a small cache of bronze blades. Nearby, they had discovered an oblong stone Simon was sure was a primitive anvil. Ben-Meir theorized an ancient forge had once been located near the well. He was eager to discover more, to find some proof that the settlement had belonged to the Watchers.
Maddie glanced again in Cade’s direction, then muttered a curse and looked away when she realized he and his loaded wheelbarrow were headed in her direction. The path to the rubble pile ran along the edge of Maddie’s pit.
She held her breath as he passed, his knees level with her eyes. The snake tattoo winding his left calf was so lifelike, it looked as if it might slide down his leg and slither away. The creature reminded her of the snake she’d shooed out of the hut the night before. She made a mental note to be sure that tonight the door remained firmly closed and latched.
Cade dumped the wheelbarrow’s contents. The axle creaked as he retraced his steps. His eyes caught hers as he passed. The subtle flare of his nostrils, and the challenging shift in his stance as he eyed her, caused Maddie’s stomach to flip. The reaction was part sexual awareness, part fear. It wasn’t a farreach at all to imagine Cade Leucetius as predator, herself as prey.
At the moment, however, Cade’s only attack was his slow, wicked grin. A direct hit. Raw desire stabbed downward from her breasts to her womb. Her thighs contracted. Her knees actually wobbled. He tossed her a smug look.
Blue, she realized. His eyes were
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