“Good idea.” Madison swam around the body of the statue, entangling the dive line around her arms and her torso, being careful to avoid her neck area, which was the narrowest part.
Noonan must have sensed something was wrong and began pulling up as they pushed. Ned wished he could see the pirate’s face when the body of a goddess popped up out of the water at him.
A net was thrown into the water, and he and Madison wrapped the lovely lady in it. They both watched as she was hauled up and out of the water with Noonan’s winch.
“I’m going back to get the basket,” he said.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No—”
“Nonsense. It’s the rules. Pairs. Never dive alone, Ned, you know that. Even for a quick dive to the bottom.”
The dive line was thrown back into the water. He encircled Madison’s waist as her arms held him around the shoulders and they pulled themselves down hand-over-hand using the line to descend.
“You are a mermaid. You belong under water, Madison.”
“But I’m much better on land.”
“I like you both ways.” He pressed his faceplate against hers. “Kissing you.”
“Right back,” she said.
She pulled the basket up. He used an oversized toggle clip to attach it to his belt. “You go first.”
She scrambled and gripped the line, using her shapely legs in those ridiculous pink flippers to propel herself up slowly, with the line as her guide. He was right beneath her.
Enjoying the view.
Noonan was babbling. He was dancing around the boat, stepping on things he was so excited. “Tell me what else you saw!”
Travis was drying off the lady of the ocean. “She’s made of stone. Not wood. Stone.”
“I know,” said Noonan. “Listen, let’s get her ashore. Travis, pull up the anchor, please.”
Noonan began retracting the heavy anchor with the winch then checked with everyone. Ned was sorting through the rounded pieces of debris in the basket. He’d forgotten to remove his mask.
Madison tapped on the glass and then helped him remove it. “Now who’s the fish, huh?”
“I remember once when I got a snorkel for my birthday. I slept with it on for a week,” he said. “Funny, I’d forgotten that.”
“Are we good to go?” Noonan shouted.
Ned gave him the thumbs-up. Then he pushed Travis back as he bent to examine the basket.
“No, son. You’ve already got a lot more to answer for first. We’ll be fair, if there’s anything. But you stay away now. You’ve breached the trust of the group.”
Travis fell back into the seat and wrapped his arms around his torso again, without saying a word. Ned knew he was going to be a problem. He hoped that Noonan’s friend had figured out a way they could go back and mine that wreck, but it wouldn’t be with Travis.
The engines kicked in. Madison shared the pictures with Noonan as he piloted the boat down the coastline before he doubled back and headed North to Treasure Island.
It was still early afternoon, and Ned had searched the waters the whole way, not seeing another vessel until close to the pier. At the dock, Noonan ran to get a wagon they used to haul in catch on their fishing trips.
They loaded the lady, who was now wrapped in a blue tarp, onto the wagon. Ned carried the blackened pieces in his dive bag which he slung over his shoulders, leaving the basket behind on the boat. They greeted several older gentlemen sitting at the bar watching a baseball game. They passed through the outside of the club restaurant and into the parking lot. It took all four of them to load her into the back of Noonan’s truck and closed the tailgate.
“No quick stops, Noonan, or she’ll come flying out and take your tailgate with her.” Ned laughed at how much it did look like he was hauling a dead body around.
“Okay, I’m off. I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I hear from my friend. Can you take Travis back?”
“Sure,” said Madison. “You’ve earned a nice dinner, Travis. Thanks for your help.”
“Nah, just drop me off on Gulf Boulevard. I’ve got plans.”
Ned and Madison watched the young man walk sullenly down the road.
“Something doesn’t feel right about that boy,” Ned whispered.
“It’s going to be a problem. But hey, you’ve got the pieces?”
“Oh fuck yes. I forgot all about them.”
“Well, I’d say Noonan has all he can handle tonight. We’ll return them to him tomorrow. I’m up for a nice dinner and a margarita. How about you?”
“Me too.”
As she was pulling back onto Gulf Boulevard, he was thinking about that gallon of ice cream. It was going to taste very sweet tonight.
Chapter 18
Madison ordered the house especial margarita that was nearly as wide at the top as her fingers could spread. The frozen mixture gave her a brain freeze. She held her nose while Ned sat back in his seat, sipping his beer, laughing at her.
“For being a bartender, you don’t seem to be able to deal with your liquor,” he said playfully.
“I’m used to pouring drinks, not drinking them. Besides, it’s an occupational hazard, and I tend to give alcohol a wide berth. Otherwise, I’d fall overboard like so many other bartenders who get hooked by the demon. And then they get fired. They’re worthless.”
“I’ve known one or two of those,” he nodded.
She leaned into the table, knowing that the top of her tank gaped open for his benefit. It only took seconds before he noticed.
“You know, one thing is a mystery to me,” she started.
“Mystery? What mystery?” His steady eyes bored into hers between their slow scanning.
The several sips of margarita began making her head fuzzy and hoped their food arrived soon. “You hung out with some pretty crusty dudes. You have seen so much in the world—more than I ever will.”
“That’s a fact, and I hope it will always stay that way, Madison.”
“But how come it didn’t taint you?”
He shook his head and then shrugged. “No idea. I haven’t a fuckin’ clue.”
“When I first met you, I thought you were too much of a Boy Scout,” she added.
He leaned into her, his lips inches from hers. “I am a Boy Scout. Through and through. I’m a force for good. I save the day. But I’m completely smitten by a mermaid.” He kissed her.
She explored his face, the crease at the side of his full, sexy lips and the way his hair curled a little too long over his ears. His long lashes and warm brown eyes made her heart race.
“You’re quite a package, I’ll admit.” After another kiss, she said, “I always liked the bad boys, the ones that were rough around the edges, maybe a little unfair, or didn’t always do the right things. I liked finding their good parts, their soft parts. That was always the fun of it, because I feel deep inside everyone wants to be good and whole and to be honorable.”
“You’ve found my soft parts, Maddie.”
“Yes.” She felt her cheeks turn pink.
He picked up her hand and kissed her palm. She loved that he did this often. It wasn’t the back of her hand or her fingers. It was her palm, the warm underside of her heart that he kissed. “I was in hiding until you came along. Getting too close was something I always feared, in the romantic sense, that is. I loved my mother, and I guess I loved my dad, and they loved me back, or did the best they could. But I don’t think I ever saw this.”
“What?”
“What we have. I never saw my parents look at each other the way you and I do. I guess I thought it was all fake, something you’d see in the movies. My Operator Brain, as they call it on the Teams, was dominant. It would survive even though I would see unspeakable horror and disappointment. Like I was floating above it. Waiting. For you.”
“So I did recover something inside you.”
“Oh you definitely did that, Madison.”
She laid her palms against his cheeks. “Damn
you, Ned Silver, now I’ll never be able to kiss another man again. You better not break my heart, because then I’d have to kill you!” she said between her tears.
He slipped off his chair and came to a kneel, holding her with his big arms wrapped around her waist and back, letting her head rest on the concrete that was his right shoulder.
When he released her, he said, “I don’t want you to ever kiss another man, to ever look at another man for the rest of your life.” He lowered his forehead, pointed two fingers in her direction, and then aimed at his own eyes. “You and me, together. You’ll never be safer, Maddie. You let me fight the wars, and you keep stoking the fires when I come home. That’s the way it’s supposed to work.”
“Is that fifty-fifty?”
He sat back in his chair. “You do remember that little thing I told you the other night. The part about lying back and letting a slow quiet man rock your world? I am that man, Maddie. That’s all I want to do. It’s dumb. There are lots of logical reasons why I shouldn’t feel this way, but I do.”
“I thought you were being overbearing.”
“Because you knew I was right, didn’t you?”
She glanced down at her toes. “No.” But she started to smile anyway.
He laughed. “I watched your expression, and do you know what I saw?”
“I couldn’t possibly imagine. Humor me.” She put her chin in her palm, elbow on the table.
“I saw fear at first, because I figured you’d never had that. And that’s when I knew I could be that man for you. I just knew I’d have to bide my time, but you would belong to me one day.”
He was right.
He slid his chair over. “Here, let me help you finish your drink, and then let’s get the hell out of here.”
“No dinner?”
“We have ice cream, remember?”
Her ears buzzed as he helped her into her car and prepared to take over the driving. Their waitress ran after them with their dinner order wrapped in a white plastic bag. Ned took the order, passing it over to her to hold, and handed the waitress some cash.
“Gracias, senor. Have a good evening,” she said in her clipped English.
At Ned’s door sat the stray dog, who barked at them when they drove up.
“Hey there, buddy,” he said, as he knelt down and extended his hand. The dog was hesitant at first but finally got close enough to make a lunge, quickly licked his hand, and then sit back down.
“Speaking of being claimed, I think you’ve made a lifelong friend,” she said. It touched her how tender Ned had been to this stray. “You should give him a bath when he’s ready for it, and let him sleep inside. I don’t mind dogs at all.”
“He’s not quite ready, I don’t think. But let’s see if he’ll come inside. I’ll get his food.”
Once he opened the door and stepped back, the dog slipped past him and then sat by the outside door across the living room.
Madison put the food on the small table, lighting the candle there. Ned fixed some mixture of kibbles and wet food, opened the door, letting the dog out, and placed it down on the patio for him. The animal gulped it down like he had done before.
“That’s amazing,” Ned said to the glass, watching him eat.
Madison came up behind him, covering his backside with her front side. “They say strays always pick the best humans. I think he’s a very smart dog. What are you going to call him?”
Ned inhaled sharply. He turned, holding his arm around her waist. “Otis. I think I’ll call him Otis.”
The food went largely untouched. They took turns feeding each other until the passion of their bodies took over, making concentrating on anything else an impossibility. As was his custom, he picked her up and brought her into the bedroom. He shed her clothes, peeling them off carefully, until she was left naked on the bed.
“I’ll be right back!” he said as he removed his clothes and left the room.
Maddie quickly got the pendant from the tiny pouch she kept in her purse and put it around her neck. She lay back down on the pillow, waiting for him.
Light showed from the kitchen and then got closer as she saw him at the doorway with the lit candle in one hand and the ice cream in the other. Out of the top of the carton was one large spoon.
Placing the candle on the bedside table, he lit the second candle. His eyes flashed in the warm light of the flame. Her breathing was hitched as she mused what he was up to.
“I want to see all of you,” he whispered.
She sat up, leaning against his pillows as he climbed on the bed with the ice cream.
“Look what she put on for me,” he said, fingering the pendant and then squeezing one breast.
“I thought you’d like it.”
“I do, sweetheart. I surely do.”
She followed his deliberate scoop, the muscles in his arm flexing deliciously. He held the spoon to her mouth, and she licked the tasty cream. He rubbed the back of the spoon over her lips as he licked his. She watched his eyes intently as he followed the rise and fall of her belly. She felt her body begin to flutter away, nearly on the edge of orgasm, without him doing anything but feed her ice cream.
The cool back of the spoon smoothed over her nipples, first the right one and then the left.
She closed her eyes and moaned. She felt the spoon travel down her abdomen, linger on her bellybutton, and then travel farther, leaving a trail of melted ice cream. She kept her eyes closed as he journeyed to the lips of her sex and rubbed the spoon against her, drenching them in the cold cream.
Next she felt his warm lips and tongue drinking the juices, sucking and lapping the ice cream off her tender parts, kissing her bellybutton, laving over both nipples. And then, slowly, she heard the spoon and the carton drop to the side on the floor as he mounted her, rubbed his cock up and down her dripping sex, and then thrust deep inside.
Her eyes flashed open. His face showed exactly what she was feeling, the ecstasy of their joining. The gentle rocking motion of his hips back and forth began a slow ride she never would tire of. The more he gave her, the more she wanted of him.
He’d talked about a quiet, slow man who could take control and rock her world. His sweet lovemaking melted whatever resistance and doubt she had. She had found her lifeline—her dive line. The way to Heaven itself.
Chapter 19
In the morning, Ned cleaned up the spilled ice cream quietly, letting Madison sleep. He slipped on his American flag boxers and made coffee then went outside to watch the sunrise. Starting his day by staring out at the ocean over a deserted white sand beach definitely changed his whole focus. Even in San Diego, where the beaches and blue sky and weather were all beautiful, there was traffic. It was a city. In Coronado, where they’d worked out, tourists watched as they phased through parts of BUD/S. His condo was above the skyline, but it took a half hour before he’d see any real big patch of blue water or beach.
This really was like paradise. He understood how it had changed his father. He understood why, when his dad went back to California that he could never quite get back here, and Ned understood more than ever why his father was so angry and sullen. He hadn’t belonged there. He’d belonged here.
Ned wondered if he’d never met Madison if he would feel the same way, and he guessed he would. It was that one slice of Heaven he’d never allowed himself to taste. Everything about being alive was sweeter. He was tired of the gritty, dusty, and dirty parts of the world.
He was thinking about Madison’s offer to have him move in with her. Caressing her nude body all night long, not being able to keep his hands off her, and waking up so damned sleep-deprived and ragged were exactly how he wanted to feel all the time. It was the kind of excess that was natural and right. It was truth and beauty. Once this whole thing with Noonan was put to bed, he’d sit down and talk with Madison, and if he didn’t get so damned distracted with how her lips moved, how she ate ice cream, how she drank her coffee, and how she felt in the warm shower beneath his finger
s, he could design a life the two of them could share.
It’s a fuckin’ good problem to have.
Within minutes, Otis found his way from wherever he’d been sleeping and curled up at his feet. Ned leaned over and was able to pet the dog.
“You want some breakfast, Otis?”
The dog cracked his head, one ear arching up, indicating he knew what the word food meant.
Ned made him another mixture, leaving the door ajar. Otis sat quietly on the other side, waiting. He grabbed the bowl and was headed outside when his cell buzzed, nearly bouncing off the kitchen counter. It was his mom. He picked it up, cupped it between his ear and shoulder, poured himself another cup of coffee, and took the food out to Otis, closing the door behind him.
“Hello, Mom. How is everything? How’d it go with Flo?”
“Better than I expected. She seems to have calmed down. It’s less upsetting to have her in one place, for her, as well as everyone else. I think she’ll like it there.”
“That’s good news. I’ve been thinking about you and hoping it was going okay. And you? You holding up?” Ned knew she would still hold a bit of guilt about sending her sister to the home.
“I’m adjusting to being alone now. Didn’t realize how much of my time it took to take care of your dad and to shuttle Flo around everywhere. Haven’t gotten used to it yet.”
The slight negativity in her voice worried him.
“Nobody expects this to be easy. Such big changes. I think you’re doing a way better job than you give yourself credit for.” He hesitated but then added, “And I know how you loved dad. I can see that now.”
“Thank you, Ned.” He could tell she was beginning to cry.
“I shouldn’t have said it. I made you sad.”
“No, it’s just nice to hear it. I never wanted the two of you to be so distant. You weren’t when you were young.”
“Funny you should say that. I was just telling Mad—I was just talking yesterday about him. Remember when you bought that snorkel mask and I wouldn’t sleep without it for a week?”
Treasure Island SEAL: Pirate SEAL Rescues his Mermaid (Sunset SEALs Book 3) Page 13