When we got up to leave, Sam waited for me to come around the table, then took my hand, lacing her fingers inside mine as if we’d done it a thousand times before.
Her skin was soft and warm, her smile easy and sure. I could fall for Samantha Monroe… if I let it happen.
“Ready?” she asked, smiling up at me while she squeezed my hand softly.
My stomach fluttered, and I returned her squeeze with one of my own. “The boats messy. I’m warning you. It’s not too late if you want me to take you home.” Was I fucking crazy? One of the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on was asking to come back to my boat and I was offering an out. When did I turn into a white knight?
She pulled me in tight and pressed her arm up against mine. Then she squeezed my hand, deepening the connection of our interlaced fingers. “I’ll take my chances.”
Chapter 13
Back on the boat, I opened another bottle of wine, this one a sparkling bottle of chilled rosé. Normally I didn’t drink the wine. It was way too fruity and sweet for me, but women liked it, and I kept a cold bottle on hand for just such occasions.
After taking Sam on a brief tour of my boat, I brought the bottle and two glasses up on deck where Sam and I relaxed beneath the moon drenched sky.
“This is the life,” Sam said, stretching out on the deck chair while I poured her a chilled glass.
“It’s a great life,” I said, “but these stunning views aside, it’s not as glamorous as you may think.”
Sam sipped the wine and turned her gaze on me. “What’s not to love? You sleep under the stars and whenever the sea calls, you have the wind at your back. I would take this life in a heartbeat.”
I raised an eyebrow and soaked her in. “The shower and bathroom I have on board are cramped and only work when they feel like it. My refrigerator is so small it can only hold the essentials and routinely blows fuses. And when storms roll in, the boat tosses and turns even when I’m docked.”
The moonlight glistened off her full, glossy lips, and her skin seemed to glow under the blanket of stars. She stretched out her long legs and slipped off her sandals, going barefoot before turning her beautiful smile on me.
“She shrugged. Those are minor inconveniences.” She sipped her wine and smiled, staring out across the sea. “I can easily see myself living this life.” She turned back to face me, then leaned forward, searching my face with her eyes. “Trap, what do you love most about your life?”
The question caught me off-guard. “What do I love most?” I pondered the question while I gazed into her clear, confident, ice-blue eyes. “It’s got to be the freedom,” I said, nodding. “I’m not chained to a desk. I can go anywhere I want, anytime I want, and I love the sea. It’s the freedom — no doubt about.” I breathed in the fresh air and savored the cool wind whipping over my face. “That smell never gets old.”
She stared at me with rapt attention and nodded. “That’s what I thought.” She took another sip of wine and let out a small, satisfied sigh. “Butch told me all about your adventures.”
Now we were getting down to brass tacks. I settled back in my chair and set my wineglass on the arm of my chair. “That’s what’s confusing me,” I said. “I didn’t know you and my father had grown so close. He never mentioned it to me.”
“He told me as much,” she said. “I used to ask him if I could tag along with you two to learn the business. He told me he had a plan, and I should trust him.”
I frowned. What role had the journal played in his plan? Something told me we were on a Butch Ashford exclusive treasure hunt. It was a game of his making with us as the players. “That’s odd. What plan?”
“I asked him all the time, but he wouldn’t tell me. Anytime I did, he spoke of you.”
“Me? What did he say?”
“How proud he was of you and how much he loved you. He said it a lot, especially so at the end. He could barely get the words without turning misty eyed.”
“Butch was a crusty old geezer,” I said. “But he softened in the end.”
“Butch taught me so much,” Sam said. “He taught me about history and treasure diving. He even taught me how to scuba dive and certified me as well.”
“Did he?” What in the hell was Butch up to? “Tell me about the last time you saw him.”
Sam nodded, and her eyes welled with tears. She took a minute to compose herself and dabbed her eyes with the back of her hand. “I told him I couldn’t see him ravaged by cancer and that I wanted to remember him whole. Two months before he died was the last time I saw him.”
I leaned forward. “Did he mention anything about writing in his journal?”
She frowned. “He said nothing about a journal.” She sniffled and sipped her wine before she continued. “He told me he wanted to give me a tattoo.”
I raised an eyebrow. Unlike her mother, I hadn’t seen a single tattoo anywhere on Sam’s body. Then again, I hadn’t seen the more exclusive, member-only areas of her incredible body. “That’s strange.”
“I’m an enormous baby when it comes to pain,” she said. “That’s why I never got a tattoo. Butch told me he would put me under long enough that I wouldn’t feel any pain.”
That really surprised me. Putting someone under general anesthesia was a huge no-no in the world of ink. It was very risky and ill advised. Butch wasn’t a physician and had no business making such a reckless move. “And you let him?” I asked, my tone incredulous.
She nodded. He had it all worked out. She pulled aside her long hair and showed me the back of her neck. This is the tattoo he gave me.
It was an exquisite pink and purple iris with vivid color and intricate detail. The tattoo was small, easily hidden beneath Sam’s long thick hair and tastefully done. Apparently, he had come out of retirement for one final ink job.
“It’s lovely,” I said.
Sam tossed her hair back over her shoulders and smiled warmly. “Thanks. I’m so glad I have it. After I woke up, he took me home and then told me something… strange.”
“What did he tell you?” I leaned forward, hanging on her words.
“It’s the reason I wanted to speak with you alone,” she said.
“I’m listening.” I picked up the bottle and filled her glass before refilling mine.
Sam took a long sip and held my gaze. “He told me that in the months following his death that you would call me. Then he gave me information. I think it’s a clue.”
I leaned so far forward I nearly fell off my chair. “What clue?”
“He was very clear on the next point,” she said. “Butch told me I shouldn’t give you the clue unless you brought me along to dig it up.”
“Brought you along where?” I asked.
She shook her head. “He didn’t tell me. He said you would know where to go, and when we arrived, I should turn over the notes he gave me to you.”
Butch couldn’t possibly have known about the map on the Lady Dancer. Could he? Had he unearthed more clues that he withheld from me? At this point, everything was on the table. “Is that right?” I said in a near whisper, my mind now churning over every interaction I had with my father during the last two months of his life.
She nodded. “He told me not to take no for an answer. In fact, he made me promise.”
The old man was pulling the strings from the grave. I chuckled softly and shook my head. “That’s sounds like him.”
“Was Butch right? Do you know where to go?” she asked, locking those killer eyes on me.
I nodded. “I do.”
“That means I should go with you,” she said, her voice tentative.
“That’s the problem,” I said. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning. The trip could take a few days.”
“I’ll be ready,” she said.
I frowned. “What about school? Don’t you have classes?”
“I can keep up with my work virtually. Besides, I’m an anthropology major. This is real world stuff.”
“Anthropology?
I guess Butch left his mark on you. But I’m not sure you should go. My dad had a flair for the dramatic. You could just give me the information he left you and save yourself a long trip across the sea.”
She smiled, set aside her wineglass, and reached for my hands before gently squeezing them in hers. “I don’t know what Butch planned, but he clearly meant for us to come together. I’m coming with you. End of story.”
I sighed and nodded. “You’re sure you want to spend your days and nights alone with an old man?”
“Stop saying that,” she said. “You’re not old, and I think you’re extremely handsome.”
“So says the pretty lady.” I grinned. “If you’re coming, I need to get you home so you can pack. I’ll pick you up bright and early.”
Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “It’s my first real treasure hunt.” She let go of my hands and clapped. “What should I bring?”
On the way back to the sorority, I brought Sam up to speed on how to pack and what to expect. She asked a dozen questions, which I answered one by one until I pulled up outside her sorority house.
I turned to her and smiled. “Seven am. Don’t be late.”
Sam slid across the bench of my truck and in one deft move, wrapped her arms around my neck. “I had an amazing night with you.”
Her scent, warm vanilla tinged with strawberry, washed over me and my stomach pitched sideways. Normally, it was me making the moves, but given our age gap, I didn’t feel comfortable. Not yet anyway. But I found her irresistible, and I wasn’t far from kicking my hang-ups to the curb and just going for it. I licked the dryness from my lips while I searched her exquisite face. “That makes two of us.”
Sam leaned in and kissed me, slow at first, then she parted her lips, and our tongues swam together. She ran her fingers along the base of my neck and inched closer, mashing her firm tits against my chest.
My head swam, dizzy with lust, and I kissed her back, exploring her mouth with my tongue and savoring the taste of the sweet rosé lingering on her lips. I slipped one hand around her waist and drew her in close.
The kiss lasted for a solid minute before Sam broke it off, kissing me softly again. She drew back and gazed up at me, her eyes alive and twinkling. “I’m not a kid, Trap.” She kissed me again and licked her lips. “I can’t way until tomorrow.”
I leaned in and kissed her one last time. “So says the pretty lady.” I grinned and watched as Sam slid across the seat and opened the door.
She gave me one last look of longing and smiled. “I’ll be the best first mate you’ve ever had. You’ll see.”
I sighed and nodded with reluctance, imagining how Brooke would take to that comment. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Chapter 14
The sea slapped the hull of the Topless Mermaid while the wind whipped through my hair. I bounced in time with the boat as it skipped across the waves. The blazing sun warmed my shirtless chest, and I glanced to my right, flashing an amiable smile at the prettiest first mate I had ever seen.
Miss Samantha Monroe, decked out in a skimpy red bikini, proved to be as much distraction as she was a helper. But Sam was eager to learn and willing to pitch in and do whatever I told her. She asked a hundred questions about the boat, navigating the sea, reading maps, tying knots, and if I ever got seasick.
I loved every second. I sat in the captain’s chair gazing over the ship’s bow where white caps tipped the tops of the swollen waves and the sea stretched out for an eternity.
Sam sat beside me, her tits jiggling and bouncing, barely contained in her skimpy top as the boat lurched and swayed. She wore her golden hair back in a crisp ponytail and donned a pair of mirrored Ray Ban’s that made her look even hotter. Her bikini bottoms were cut high on her hips and hugged an ass so tight that even the waves had a hard time making it jiggle. Her stomach was flat and smooth, and her legs stretched out for a mile. Sam was right — she was made for this life.
I spent the first three hours of the trip with a perpetual hard-on and my cock throbbed with the genuine possibility of exploring every curve and angle of a legendary body so rare it looked hand-crafted by Mother Nature herself.
Sam had spent the trip attached to me at the hip and currently sat in the chair beside me, gazing out across the bow, her attention focused on the horizon. “How long is the trip?”
“It should take us most of the day, including a fuel stop at Key West,” I shouted over the whipping wind and pounding waves. “We’re headed for a little island that doesn’t even have a name. It’s near the Marquesas Keys.”
“Can I drive the boat?” Sam asked, flashing me her white teeth, and grinning broadly. “Please?” She clasped her hands together, forcing her tits to form a deep valley of jaw-dropping cleavage.
Truthfully, I didn’t care. We were on a straight course, completely alone on the sea, and there wasn’t much she could do wrong. “Sure,” I said, and started to get up.
“Yay.” Sam clapped her hands together and popped up from the seat beside me. I didn’t get halfway out of the captain’s chair before she pushed me back down and pressed in tight, her tits brushing against my shoulder blades. “Before I do it myself, can you make sure I’m doing it right?”
I frowned. “What do you have in mind?” I gazed up at her, confused.
“Scoot back,” she said, dragging her fingertips along my bare shoulder.
I did as she asked and inched back onto the seat, while Sam came around and wriggled onto the thin slip of the captain’s chair positioned between my parted legs. She pressed her ass tightly against my already raging cock and grabbed hold of the wheel, placing her hands just below mine. “Just hold the wheel like this?” Sam asked, stealing a glance back at me over her shoulder.
The wind whipped her hair, and the scent of her coconut and aloe sunscreen washed over me. Her firm ass snuggled tightly against my raging cock, her body warm and supple. She wriggled her hips and the tip of my cock slid forward, nestling firmly inside her ass crack.
“You’re doing great,” I croaked while my head spun dizzily with lust.
She held onto the wheel, and the boat powered ahead, crashing through waves while Sam grinned broadly. She flexed and squeezed her ass, pushing my cock to the brink.
Pre-cum oozed from swollen cock soaking the front of my briefs beneath my shorts. My heart thundered in my chest, and I found it impossible to concentrate on anything but resisting the urge to pump my cock in her tight ass.
“Let me try it alone,” she said above the whipping wind, pushing away my hands while she assumed total control over the Topless Mermaid.
I fought a nearly overwhelming urge to pull down her bikini bottoms and slide my cock deep inside her. With nowhere to put my hands, I wrapped them around Sam’s waist and rubbed the top of her creamy smooth thighs, brushing my thumbs dangerously close to her pussy. “You’re doing great.”
“Thanks,” she said, seeming not to care where I put my hands or what I did with them. “This is so much fun.”
I continued gently caressing her legs before I ran one palm over her tummy, coming dangerously close to her bouncing tits. “Keep it up.”
Sam leaned into me, resting her back against my chest, then glanced over her shoulder and found me waiting. Our lips touched and our tongues met, hot and urgent. She writhed her hips in a twerking motion, sliding her ass up and down my rigid cock.
No longer able to resist, I slid my hand up and over her tit, cupping it in my hand and squeezing, savoring the feeling of her bikini-covered nipple hardening against my palm.
We deepened our kiss, widening our mouths as our tongues twirled and meshed. Sam moaned softly and reached behind her, working frantically to unfasten the button securing my shorts.
That’s when our speeding boat that nobody was steering hit a crashing wave and bucked Sam high off my lap.
She let out a shriek before landing softly on my lap.
I reached around her and grabbed hold of the wheel, securing the rudde
r while I gazed out over the bow.
A tiny sandbar appeared before us where the waves broke against it and the Topless Mermaid would soon do the same unless I steered her back into deeper water.
“Hang on,” I said, and spun the wheel starboard.
The boat careened at a sharp angle and Sam slid across my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck, and hanging while we narrowly avoided disaster.
My heart pounded as I guided the boat back into deeper water and slowed the engine.
Sam sat on my lap sideways with her legs dangling over the chair. Her breaths came short and fast, and she clung to me, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her body trembling. “I’m sorry,” she said, speaking into my chest.
“It’s my fault, not yours,” I said and wrapped one arm around her waist, drawing her in tight.
“I couldn’t resist,” she said. “I’m so drawn to you.”
“Believe me,” I said. “The feeling is more than mutual.”
“Can I sit here like this for a while on your lap? I promise to behave,” she said before she kissed me softly on the chest.
I glided my fingers up and down her back while I righted the boat and pushed the throttle forward. “You can sit here all the way to Key West if that’s what you want.”
She lifted her face until it was even with mine and smiled sweetly at me while she brushed a lock of my hair out of my eye. “I feel safe with you, and I love being way out here on the ocean completely alone with just me and you.”
I kissed her softly on the lips and backed off. “Why do you like me so much?”
“Other than how hot you are?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Yes. Besides that.”
“The way you live your life with such freedom excites me. It’s like you don’t need anyone else, and you go where the wind takes you. You’re a free spirit, just like me. You don’t work to impress anyone by boasting or bragging. That humble sincerity really turns me on.”
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