Mexican Nights by Jeanne Stephens Read Free Book Online

been all Derek's doing. He would
have
to bring her back to the hotel at dark, when it was no longer possible to take pictures; and she had a feeling that, after a day with the arrogant, volatile writer, she would welcome an evening with someone as soothing and safe as Jack Ledbetter. If Derek thought he could keep her and Jack apart for the entire four weeks by working them unmercifully, he was very much mistaken. Unless he planned to watch them every waking minute like a hawk, and he couldn't do that and attend to his beautiful Mexican actress. Granted, the pompous, egotistical Dr. Storm was very resourceful and clever, but he couldn't be in two places at the same time!
    At last, Terri slipped the strap of her bulging camera bag over her shoulder and headed for the elevator. It was exactly an hour since Derek had left her room.
    When she stepped off the elevator in the lobby, Derek was lounging against the nearest wall, his weight on one foot, the other foot crossed over with the toe of the shoe resting on the carpet. His hands were plunged deeply into his denim trousers' pockets. His posture could not have been more relaxed and calm, but the scowl on his face indicated that inside he was boiling. When he saw her, his careless pose abruptly vanished as he jerked upright and strode deliberately toward her.
    "What, in the name of heaven, took you so long?"
    She lifted cool gray-blue eyes to his angry face. "I told you I couldn't be ready in half an hour. I am not a robot equipped with a timer." She thought her tone contained just the right shading of poised aloofness.
    He glared down at her with suspicious scrutiny for a moment. "If you were trying to irritate me, you succeeded. Are you happy?"
    "Why should I want to irritate you, Derek?" she inquired sweetly. "You really should learn to control your temper a little better. I'm told a state of constant agitation causes ulcers and all kinds of unpleasant physical maladies. Besides, it's so immature to get mad every time your plans are upset. The whole world can't move according to your personal schedule."
    "Don't push me too far, you little vixen!" he snarled, and then he grabbed her arm and propelled her rudely toward the sidewalk, the hard angles of his face set in rigid fury.
    Terri decided it would be wise to keep silent for the moment, but a smug smile played at the corners of her soft mouth. She had managed to unsettle
him
for a change. Wonderful!
    In the car they headed out Insurgentes Norte, following the Cuota highway. The archaeological site was twenty-eight miles away.
    After a few minutes of strained silence, which Terri was determined not to break, even if it meant she uttered not a word for the rest of the day, Derek spoke.
    "The complex at Teotihuacán is ancient. The original structures predate the Aztecs and were probably built by the Toltecs, who held sway in this area beginning about eight fifty A.D."
    The cool, pedantic tone was back. Evidently he had decided to stick to business today, which was exactly what Terri wanted. Wasn't it? She relaxed a little, determined to be as professional as he. "Did the Aztecs take the city away from the Toltecs?"
    "It's thought the site was already abandoned before the Aztecs arrived on the scene."
    "Where did the Aztecs come from?"
    "No one knows for certain. One of the Aztec codices records a pilgrimage of the tribe from a place called Aztlán in the north around the year eleven sixteen. The location of Aztlán is unknown. According to the story, they were searching for a land promised to them by their gods. Their new capital city was to be built upon the place where they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus and devouring a snake. Legend has it they saw the eagle where Mexico City is now located. Since the eagle was on a tiny spot of land in the middle of a lake, they undertook the enormous job of hauling earth to fill in the lake bed. The city they built was surrounded by water and there were three connecting causeways to the