“Go check out that crater behind us, Travis. Tell me what you think,” asked Ned.
On his way past them, Madison heard Travis say, “Make sure you take pictures of that wall of debris, Madison. See if you can find an inscription on either piece. Noonan is going to blow his mind when he sees this.”
“I’m on it.” She dove closer. Ned’s light made a wide arc as her hands smoothed over the pitted surface of the cannon. She spotted a reddish pile knee-high to one side. She asked for light, then took pictures of all of it.
“You see anything?” Ned asked.
“No, but Noonan will look these up. I don’t think he expected our barge to be anywhere close to another ship. Maybe it crashed on top of it.”
“And that pile looks like cannonballs.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Red means iron, right?” she asked.
“Yup. Noonan said a year later someone came in to recover what they could from the barge. They would have seen this stuff too. It must have moved during storm seasons.”
“It does look like something had been dragged through this area. See the shape?”
She pointed out to him.
Ned nodded, giving her another thumbs-up.
“Let’s look at the cannon,” Madison said as they heard Travis behind them.
“Hey, guys, you got pictures of the insides of that thing?” he asked, meaning the crater.
Madison nodded.
“That’s not a blast. That’s a salvage suck. Somebody’s been working on this site, or tried to. Some of these commercial salvage operations use those power vacuums. I think that’s what was started there.”
“You see anything small enough we can bring to the surface?” asked Ned.
“I wanna come back down with the nets,” said Travis. “Over there, I picked up metal. You could bring up one or two of those smaller stones, and we can have a look.”
Madison tried to pry loose a couple of the tiny mounds no larger than the size of an orange, choosing the darker colored ones, but couldn’t dislodge it. Ned assisted with his knife until they broke one free. He pointed to the surface, and everyone nodded agreement. They tugged on the dive line three times, indicating they were ascending. Noonan tugged back his acknowledgement.
Slowly, the three of them ascended, taking turns to examine the small rock. Madison carefully peeled off soft debris then handed it back to Travis.
“You want to be careful, Maddie. Some of these attached sea skeletons can be sharp,” Ned informed her.
In their hand-over hand maneuvers up the line, her arm got hooked inside Ned’s left. One of his hands accidentally brushed her backside. One pink fin swished the side of his thigh. She felt his hand on the back of her waist when they neared the surface. The gesture was more than telling her she could go up first.
As she reached the ladder, Ned began removing her fins, one by one, his gentle fingers gliding around and under her heel to release her foot from the plastic form. He was careful, measured, and very, very slow, much slower than he needed to be, going out of his way not to cause her any pain or discomfort at all. With her heart racing, she watched his dedication to her safety and noted his huge hands tenderly gripping her ankle. When he was done, he looked up at her and gave her feet a squeeze. He tucked the fins beneath his arm and then removed his own and climbed the ladder behind her.
Up top, Travis was describing to Noonan what they’d seen. Madison was barely paying attention. She felt her backside warmed by the heat of a very powerful man standing behind her, barely touching, but pressing a towel to her neck and shoulders. She unzipped the front of her suit several inches, as if needing to breathe. Ned’s hand grazed her hip as he turned over control of the towel to her, squeezing her shoulder through the cotton. He set down the fins and pulled off his facemask.
Still with her back turned to him, she had difficulty removing her mask. Part of her braid on one side had gotten entangled in the rubberized collar. Ned’s fingers slid up her neck, pulling the material away from her skin, stretching it and pulling it off her skull smoothly until she was free.
She turned to say thank you, but he’d already started hosing off both their masks and fins with fresh water. His suit was unzipped nearly to his waist. His rippled abs were difficult not to notice. When he peeled down the upper layer of the suit, his huge bare shoulders dwarfed her. His sculpted and tanned torso took her breath away as she followed the lines of his magnificent body to where the suit remained just below his waist.
She put the towel to her face, inhaling deeply, and then squeeze-dryed her braids one by one.
Noonan was ecstatic. “Madison! Show me the pictures, girl!”
Ned leaned across her, his arm touching her frontside, picked up the camera and tossed it to the captain.
“You good?” he said as he smiled down at her. “Everything okay now?”
“Yes, thank you. I get that sometimes. So anxious to get that mask off my face, I sometimes get my hair caught.”
“We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” he said, his palm brushing down the braid behind her right ear.
She was putty in his hands and tried desperately not to show it.
“I think it’s a panic thing.” She shrugged and tried to be casual, but she knew he saw right through it.
Noonan was having kittens. “I can’t believe it. Oh my God! Oh my God!” he said over and over again.
“So what do you think about the suck hole?” Travis asked him.
“That hole’s at least a year old. You’d see some sharp lines in the sand if it was this season. This whole place has been rocked by the weather, most of it for decades. But I’m going to have to do a little research to make sure no one’s made a claim. I don’t want to get myself or the estate into trouble.”
“What does that mean?” asked Ned.
“Means I have to inquire about the claims in this area. I didn’t look for a salvage claim. I was mainly worried about some of this being a registered historical site, since the barge was well known and had already been salvaged and left with no value declared. But no one filed anything for it since way back in the 1880s. I’m going to have to dig around for a day and see what I can find back in Tampa.”
“Can we go back down?” Travis asked.
“Let’s not draw attention to it. I’m pulling the buoy, too. We don’t want to say anything until I get my research done.”
“Damn it,” said Travis.
“And you make sure to keep your mouth shut, too, son. No barking off your mouth to any of your friends I tried to hire. Understood?”
“I got it! You can trust me!” Travis said, holding his hand over his heart.
“So now what?” Madison wanted to know. She was standing perpendicular to Ned and could still feel the warmth from his body. He could have distanced himself, sat down, or started to put away the equipment, but he remained there.
“We can grab a bite. I got some breakfast burritos I’ll microwave up and let’s talk. Then I’m going to head back in. You guys can stay, if you want!” Noonan said with a grin.
Everyone chuckled.
“Ned, would you wind up the dive line and Travis, will you kill that buoy?”
“Yessir,” they both said.
“Madison, help me in the kitchen, would you?”
She followed Noonan down the ladder, at the last minute looking up to watch Ned winding the plastic dive line around from his elbow to up over his wrist and into his hand with the other one leading the way. He was staring right back down on her without a smile, and again, her heart raced.
The small space made it impossible not to rub up against everyone. Madison was used to this on many of the dives she’d been on, but this time, with the presence of this one big guy who she guessed was about six-five, the space seemed half the size.
As directed, she sliced fresh fruit and lay down a platter in front of Travis and Ned, who were waiting. Noonan asked her to slip in across from Ned, and he brought beers and a couple
sodas, sliding in next to her. When the microwave went off, he added half a dozen breakfast burritos and a tamale, which he chose. He returned with plastic forks and paper towels.
The food was good. But distracting was the fact that her knees touched the front of Ned’s, and he wasn’t moving. Neither made eye contact, but from the side, she knew he was having a hard time containing a grin. The frown creasing the bridge of his nose was artificial, self-made. When he spread his knees to the sides, it allowed her more room, until he closed his legs against hers, trapping her gently. He was messing with her again. She had not picked up any of this in the brief time she’d gotten to know him.
Noonan was scanning through the pictures she’d taken. “See that?”
Travis spoke up. “We did. We’re thinking iron? Like cannon balls?”
“Looks like it to me.” He enlarged the picture of the anchor and then the cannon. “No forge marks?”
“I didn’t find any weld marks either. Just a couple feet of it sticking out of the floor. That would give some indication of age, right?”
“A mark would be best, but based on what I’ve seen, the shape of this tip could have come from a smaller anchor. Sometimes the galleons had several, depending on the depth and the weather.”
“This is way more exciting than a dog collar,” said Travis, his mouth full of beans and eggs.
“You be sure to watch your mouth, kid. I mean it.” Noonan pointed directly at the young man’s nose. “I’ll kick your butt if you breathe a word.”
“Hey, I got it. No problem here. How long before you know?”
“That depends on what I find,” Noonan blurted out.
The ride back was longer. Noonan didn’t want to retrace his exact same course in case he was being tracked. They stopped several times for a quick swim in the warm water. Madison stripped down to the tank suit she had on under her wetsuit. It wasn’t brand new, but it was a lovely shade of rose-red and knew it showed off every curve of her body. She did water wheels in the warm water, swam several long strokes back and forth, and enjoyed the sun. Ned swam along next to her and back, never far away. Noonan and Travis watched from the boat, in a private conversation.
At last, Noonan made a hard turn east and back to the boatyard.
The awkward moment finally came upon them as Noonan slowed the Bones and turned over the bumpers while Travis and Ned allowed the graceful insertion, tying her off.
Noonan placed Madison’s camera in his duffel added the object, which was staining everything red and muddy despite being wrapped in a towel. He wiped down the bridge and then connected the electronics from the pier.
Ned walked alongside her as she held her wet suit over one arm, swinging her pink flippers back and forth as they traversed the gardens of the club in silence. Noonan had told them not to expect to go out tomorrow, so that left the calendar wide open. She had three glorious days off where no one expected her. Ned was here on vacation, at Noonan’s beck and call. It was all lining up to be something more than a treasure dive.
At the edge of the parking lot, Ned placed his palm at the side of her face.
“I had a good time. I’d like to take this a little farther if you’re willing, Madison.”
That was a good line. Not cheesy. Not practiced. Could Ned be one of the last really good guys? Could she ever live with herself if she didn’t give whatever it was he was offering a try?
The answer to that was no.
She dropped her fins and pack the same time his other hand came up to her face. She held her breath while he slowly arched down, touched her lips gently with his and then pulled back. She didn’t discourage him, instead wrapping one arm around his waist and letting her fingers search up his back to pull him down to her. He exhaled and pressed against her mouth in a deep, exploratory kiss.
She was glad she’d taken hold of his waist or else she would have been washed out to sea.
Chapter 13
It had been years since Ned had felt the kind of urgency he had this afternoon. It just wasn’t his style. He was good at going slow, taking his time, showing respect for the lady if he had designs on her. But the truth was, he’d never met that many women he urgently wanted to be with. Not like Madison. Not the way he felt today. Something pulled at him in ways he’d never felt before. Sex was never just sex for Ned, and that’s why it hadn’t come up that often during his first years in the Navy, even when everyone else was going out getting laid just to be doing it. Intimacy was about sharing something special with someone else, not blindly slapping thighs and getting it on like an animal.
But today, he wanted all of it—the sex, the talking with his fingers, exploring with his body in non-verbal ways he’d never done before.
The attraction he felt for Madison came clear out of the blue, taking over. He watched her drive, watched as the wind blew her blonde hair off her face. He couldn’t focus on anything else.
He toyed with her hair, interfering with her driving and making her laugh. With that bit of encouragement, he separated her long braids and combed her long locks with his fingers. He slid as close to her as he could, then kissed her ear, pressing her hair behind, then delicately kissed her neck. Her soft moan urged him on. He felt her pulse quicken where he kissed her. She gripped the steering wheel tightly.
By the time they arrived at her cottage, her shorts were unzipped and hanging off one hip. His pants were sliding so much he was practically bunny hopping the few steps to her front door. He kicked off his canvas slip-ons and tore off his shirt, watching her slide those shorts down slowly in a tease. She slipped her shirt over her head and walked slowly, one foot in front of the other, to where he was pinned on the couch, desperately trying to get his khakis off without showing her his red, white and blue shorts.
She kneeled over him, her breasts ripe and tasting sweet, all puckered and full as he played with her. His hands gripped her ass and squeezed, causing her to moan and lean into him as he buried his face in her chest.
“Do we have anything?” he asked. “I didn’t—”
She slowly shook her head. “Sorry, but I’m on the pill.”
“Should we wait?”
She slowly shook her head again.
His fingers slipped under her lap, rimming her opening. She raised one hip, stared at him with her azure blue eyes, balanced herself on his tip, and then pulled herself down on him.
The feeling of joining with her was exquisite. With her hands braced on his shoulders, she bounced up and down on him, sometimes looking down and touching his shaft where he entered her. Her breathing grew heavy as he stretched and slid along the sides of her sex, pushing in places, rubbing in others. Between each thrust, they watched each other, registering how right and beautiful it felt, their bodies mated as one.
He adjusted his hips to soar up and into her, sending her higher on his lap, deepening his penetration of her channel, driving her into little ripples of pleasure. She answered his thrusts by squeezing her internal muscles, and each time, he grew bigger, wanted her harder and faster.
She clutched her breasts, arched back, and begged for him to take her again. She lifted her right knee, and he helped her rise up, only for her to come crashing down on him. Up and down she used her leg to give traction, riding him, sheathing him in her warm juices, all the while asking for more. Her pink lips sucked his. Her little mewling sounds whispered into his ear nearly drove him over the edge. His hands explored the soft moistness beneath her breasts, squeezing her nipples and then hungrily plunged his tongue into her mouth.
He felt her heart beating frantically as their undulations continued, and then she started to shatter. He removed his hands from her backside and held her face watching the ecstasy fall like a wave across her cheeks and lips. Her eyes fluttered. She inhaled, her body burning with her desire. He stilled so she could feel the full force and power of her beautiful orgasm and kissed her neck until her breathing slowed and she opened her eyes.
Those blue eyes hooked everything he had
inside. He was far from done with her. The edges of her lips curled. Her pink lips pouted again as she kissed him.
“Nice,” he whispered. “This is so nice. I could do this all night.”
Her smile got crooked as she continued her undulations. Her fingers ringed his shaft and they both looked down at their joining. She leaned into him, and then leaned back as he held on, squeezing her buttocks.
He was frustrated he couldn’t get deep enough. She rode his groin as he thrust, pumping furiously, then holding her hips tight against him as he rammed himself deep with quick motions.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs wide at the sides, so he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, still fully seated inside her.
Her bed was covered with pillows like a field of flowers. With one sweep of his arm he sent the pillows flying except one pink heart. He lay her down tenderly and tucked it under that beautiful ass of hers, propping her pelvis up until fully available to him. The pink lips of her sex opened before him like petals as he played with her bud and got her writhing on the bed. He bit the inside of her thigh, traced her opening with his thumb, and then pressed her nub before slipping two fingers inside her. She moaned, arching backward. He moved her knee over in front of her, spread her cheeks and entered her from the side, holding her belly with his palm and pressing her against him. He thrust deep, pressing hard.
Her breathing became ragged. Her hands flew up, covering her face as her sweet lips called to him.
“Yes. Oh please.”
He felt her loss of control as she began to shudder. He quickened his movements, expanding the crescendo overtaking her body. He added to the fire of her climax by pulling out and lapping her juices. Her fingers gripped his shoulders as he drank from her, flicked her bud with his tongue back and forth, and lazily inserted two fingers. She went wild, gripping the sheets at her sides and rocking up and down into his face.
He was getting close to orgasm himself. She spread her lips, massaging her own nub, then brought his face down on her, before drawing him up to her and locking him in a deep kiss. She angled her pelvis until his shaft was snagged on her opening again, and with one more thrust, he was inside again furiously pumping.
Treasure Island SEAL: Pirate SEAL Rescues his Mermaid (Sunset SEALs Book 3) Page 9