Mya hissed and leaned back enough to gently whack him on the chest before pushing away completely. “Jerk.” She started to swim again, and Sydney found herself exchanging a quick eye roll with Beckett as though they were the only two adults down there.
Once Oliver and Mya were ahead of them, Beckett swam next to Sydney and whispered, “Were those two ever . . . a thing?”
“No, but I think they’re attracted to each other,” Sydney stated what felt like the obvious.
“That’s your definition of attraction, huh?” A light laugh from this growly-grumpish man, while in a cave and running for their lives, was the last thing she’d expected.
“It’s not the kind I’m used to, but I think it’s Mya’s style. The love-hate thing.” She took a moment to shake out her arm, tired from holding the bow while swimming, and before she could continue moving, Beckett snatched it from her hand.
“If you insist on keeping this with you, then it’s my turn to carry it.” He lifted his chin, a silent directive to keep swimming and not argue.
Sydney didn’t usually tolerate men bossing her around, nor did it often happen, but for whatever reason, she kept her mouth shut. Because her arm really was fatigued, and her fingers were cramping.
“How’d you become so proficient with the bow, anyway?” Beckett peeked back at her while swimming. “Last I checked, they’re not standard issue in the Army.”
She thought back to the first time she’d held a bow at the age of nine, and how she’d been a fan from the moment her first arrow struck the target. “My ancestors were, well . . . I come from a long line of archers. My grandfather wanted to ensure he passed along the skill to me before he,” she said around a swallow, “died.”
Beckett stopped swimming for a moment to peer back at her and frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. He lived a long life.” She smiled at the memory of her grandfather. She’d give anything for him to have seen Levi grow up. He’d been a hardworking and energetic man. Always saw the good in people. Looked for the silver linings in all aspects of life. He would’ve made a great role model for Levi. Not that Seth was a bad father, but . . .
Shit, were there tears in her eyes? She dove under the water to hide the emotions that had pushed through at such an inopportune time, and when she rose to the surface, she motioned for him to continue swimming.
Beckett hesitated as though waiting for her to add more to the story, so she swam up alongside him and added, “My grandfather didn’t come from money. Not like me, I should say. But if it weren’t for his influence and how he raised my father, I highly doubt my dad would’ve turned an idea into a multi-billion-dollar business.”
“Your grandfather sounds like he was a good man.”
“He was,” she softly said.
“Hey, I see light.” Mya’s words had Sydney tucking away her memories so she could focus again.
“As long as you don’t mean the light, as in the staircase to Heaven, then we’re good,” Oliver joked. He was a battle-hardened paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne, but right now, he reminded her of her son.
Boys.
“You think these vines can be used as a rope to climb out?” Mya asked.
“Tug on them and see. If you fall, I’ll catch you. Promise.” Oliver swam beneath the beam of light pouring in from the large hole above. No visible ladder, so she doubted this was one of the cenotes visited by tourists.
“Smartass.” Mya grabbed a handful of vines and tugged. “Seems secure, but you may want to check, Syd.”
“That can be our way out, then.” Sydney swam over to check the vines. It appeared to be about a twenty-five-foot climb up the wall. “We can wait here until Gray texts. He should be able to reach us, but I’ll message him to double-check.”
“We can wait on that dry ground over there,” Beckett announced as Sydney grabbed on to a handful of vines and braced the soles of her sandals against the rock wall. Hoisting herself up, she channeled her rock-climbing know-how.
With multiple vines clutched in both hands and a firm grip, she ascended the wall despite the less-than-ideal slippery footing, lifting her chin toward the light overhead. The jungle wasn’t nearly as dense around this cenote, so she didn’t want to remain visible much longer and risk being seen.
“This should work.” Sydney faced the wall again, realizing something was wrong. Felt wrong, at least. And it wasn’t the cramping in her fingers from carrying the bow. A shiver rolled over her spine at the realization red ants—fire ants—were currently crawling from the vines to her right hand, and when she dropped her focus to her tank top, she saw that a few had already made their way to her chest. How the hell did they get there so fast? “Just great,” she grumbled, ignoring the stinging sensations on her hands.
She quickly let go of one fistful of vines and freed the quiver from her body.
“What’s wrong?” Mya called out from below, an undercurrent of panic in her tone.
“I’m about to fall. Move,” Sydney warned just before letting go with her other hand and falling backward into the cenote.
Once fully submerged by the water, Sydney quickly peeled her tank top off before rising to the surface. “Are they gone?” She tossed her top out of the way and brushed a palm over her exposed skin to rid herself of any stragglers.
“What the hell happened?” Mya asked as she swam over.
“Fire ants,” Sydney answered once she confirmed all the stinging bastards were gone. “Fastest way to get them off me.”
With that issue solved, she began looking for her discarded tank top and realized that her breasts were on full display, her sheer, nude-colored bra offering absolutely zero coverage since she was soaking wet.
Let’s just not make it a habit of you seeing me partially clothed. Her words from only hours ago rang through her mind as she spotted Beckett crouched on the dry ground, forearms resting on his muscular thighs and her top dangling from his fisted hands. A slow, sexy smirk lit up his face, and she knew exactly what was on that man’s mind.
In a nearly husky voice, his eyes wandered to her chest as he said, “It seems we’ve come full circle.”
CHAPTER TEN
“This is becoming a habit with you, Miss Archer.” During the past few hours, Beckett had seen this woman topless, in a silky robe with nothing beneath, and now in a nude see-through bra. What would happen if they spent any significant amount of time together?
Sydney didn’t bother to respond as she quietly swam toward where he stood. Once she reached the ledge, he extended his arm to offer an assist.
Instead of taking his hand, she reached for the ledge off to his side, attempting to hoist herself up the slippery rock wall.
He didn’t budge, curious how many times she’d keep at it before finally accepting his help. Stubborn.
A battle of frustration warred in her eyes after each failed attempt. Not only was she headstrong, but she was clearly not used to failing.
Beckett pulled his focus away from the struggling blonde beauty cursing under her breath to where Oliver propelled himself up the steep ledge on the second try, and surprisingly, Mya allowed him to help her up.