The Treasure Hunters

by Beth D. Carter

  Sin bent over it to inspect it, and Ruby got a sniff of his masculine scent. Fresh. Salty. This was a man who spent his life on a boat. It aroused her, made the flutters in her body go haywire, and her pussy clenched. She shifted her weight, letting her nether lips rub together and press a little against her sensitive nub. It did nothing to quell the excitement fluttering through her.

  Suddenly, he looked up and pierced her with a hard stare. “Is this what I think it is?”

  Ruby nodded. “We’re going after it, if that answers your question.”

  “Not really. But you have my curiosity.”

  Eden reached out and fingered the map. “What kind of paper is this? Almost looks like leather.”

  “Well, it’s not human skin, but it is leather,” Sin answered.

  Eden snatched her hand back, her face twisting with disgust.

  “Ew!” Merridie squealed.

  “It’s probably only pig or––”

  “Yes, I think we get it,” Ruby interrupted.

  “This map is the first bit of evidence I’ve seen acknowledging Vouleigh’s legendary treasure,” Sin said. “If it’s real.”

  “I think it’s real,” Ruby said.

  “Where’d you come across this interesting tidbit?”

  “I work, er, worked in a shipping warehouse of unclaimed merchandise. Two men tried stealing it tonight. So I stole it from them.”

  He crossed his arms and studied her, although she had a hard time lifting her gaze from his muscular forearms.

  “Should I ask what you did to them?”

  Ruby shrugged.

  His lips pursed. One minute went by, then two. Merridie fidgeted next to her as the captain silently contemplated the map.

  He took a deep breath. “Okay. Count the Paradise in.”

  Ruby felt her mouth drop open right before elation swept through her.

  “Wait,” Merridie said. “What’s your take in this?”

  “Divided fifty-fifty, of whatever we find,” he said.

  “There’s three of us and one of you,” Merridie stated, putting her hands on her hips. Trust Merridie to be a shrewd negotiator.

  “It’s my boat,” he replied. “Plus, I have Asia.”

  “That’s a pretty big continent,” Eden stated.

  “I meant my partner upstairs, the one standing guard,” Sin replied.

  “So,” Merridie said. “If we find nothing, you receive nothing.”

  Sin’s eyes darted toward Ruby, and she saw something dark and carnal flash across his face. Her palms turned sweaty as her heart began to pound in her chest.

  “Understandable,” he finally murmured.

  “Why…” Ruby cleared her throat and tried again. “Why would you take those odds?”

  “Questioning me now?” he asked, amused for a moment. And then he lost the levity in his voice. “Talcott, as in Talcott Shipping? I’m guessing you’ve come to England in hopes of finding something better after the crash. Am I right?”

  Ruby reluctantly nodded. His words made her sound desperate.

  “You’re not the only ones who lost everything. It’s called trickle-down economics. English businesses invested in American trade were the first to slide, and I didn’t stop until I hit the bottom.”

  “Why should we trust you?” Merridie asked.

  Sin didn’t seem to take offense at her abrupt question. “I’ve got the boat and you’ve got the map. I have to trust that you’re not wasting my time.”

  The girls stared at him and all Sin did was lean back casually, folding his arms as he waited. It was a standoff, until Eden began to giggle.

  “I like the name of your boat,” she said airily.

  Sin cocked his head, as if not quite understanding what she meant. Yes, it took a while to understand Eden’s simplistic look on life.

  “Eden in Paradise,” she clarified, waving around.

  Ruby and Merridie tried to fight a grin but the air had been so thick with tension that the giggles escaped before they could help it. Luckily, Captain Sinclair Dardon did the same. One good thing about Eden was her ability to break the ice.

  “We leave when the tide comes in,” he announced.

  ****

  Ruby stood on deck as the early morning light began to trickle through the clouds, chasing away the night. Merridie and Eden had collapsed hours earlier and still slept, but she’d been too restless to relax. She hoped to God she wasn’t making a mistake trusting Sinclair Dardon. Merridie’s words rang through her head, that she was the cause of their misery by bringing them to England with her. But what could they’ve done? Wallowed in New York, where the memories were overwhelming? Merridie didn’t need reminders of Robert and Eden sure as hell didn’t need to remember her father killing himself in front of her. She hadn’t worn white since that awful day.

  “Can’t sleep?”

  Ruby jumped and turned to face him, placing a hand over her speeding heart. After a few seconds, however, it still hadn’t slowed down and once again she was wondering why.

  “No,” she murmured.

  Sin walked closer to her and she saw that his eyes were, in fact, hazel––a beautiful brownish-green color, startling against his tan face. He still hadn’t shaved that layer of scruff on his jaw and cheeks yet, and his raven black hair brushed the edge of his collar. A tad too long perhaps, but it only enhanced his rugged good looks.

  He held out a blanket. “You’ll catch your death.”

  “Thank you,” she said, taking it from him. “But I’m used to the cold. New York City is frozen in the winter.”

  Still, despite her words, she draped the wool over her shoulders.

  “This is a beautiful boat,” she commented. “A ’28 schooner, twin masts, polished deck. I loved seeing her sails unfurl to catch the wind.”

  “I’m impressed you know what a schooner is. The Paradise is the last thing I own,” he said looking around his boat with a sad smile. “I won her, you know. A game of chance that went my way.”

  “I grew up around the dock yard,” she murmured. “My father didn’t have a son so he taught me what he knew. Boats, sailing, shipping––you name it.”

  “Days in deportment, evenings hauling in the fish?”

  “Something like that. Now it’s just staying afloat until we find that treasure.”

  “We’ve got a good breeze now, so barring anything unfortunate, it shouldn’t take us that long to reach the Sweeny Islands,” he said. His beautiful eyes still watched her, perhaps a bit too long. A bit too caressing. Her mouth was bone dry and she licked her suddenly parched lips, which had his gaze lingering on her mouth. “Of course, the treasure might not be there anymore.”

  “It has to be.”

  He cocked his head. “You’re driven. An adventurer at heart.”

  “Not really,” she said. “I’m going to show those morons who sold my company that a woman can make it.”

  “I invested in your company,” he stated, shocking her out of her dazed euphoria.

  Ruby blinked. “Excuse me?”

  “Talcott Shipping. All my investments were tied up in it.”

  “Oh.” Her shoulder sagged and for a moment the past month and a half crashed down upon her. “When my father died, he left the majority of the shares to the share holders. I had an insignificant amount because I’m a woman. The president, Mr. Densey basically sold the company in a panic.”

  He nodded in understanding. “The company folded three weeks after that.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “It was dismantled and sold off. Even if I wanted to salvage my father’s company, there’s really nothing left.”

  “Then why go on this treasure hunt? For money?”

  She glanced to the area where she knew Merridie and Eden were sleeping. “For them. My father gave me a trade, but them? They don’t know anything except the life they had. If we come back empty-handed the girls have nowhere to go. We can’t go back to my family now and they have none.”

  “Th
ey don’t seem like weaklings to me,” he stated. “Well, maybe the blonde.”

  “Eden sees the world in an innocent light,” she told him. “She watched her father blow his brains out. Merridie’s fiancé decided the engagement ring was better pawned than on her finger. They’re resourceful girls, but completely out of their league without the comfort they were born to.”

  “Do you think bringing that wealth back is going to make all the hurt go away?”

  “Yes,” she said firmly.

  “And what about you, Ruby?” he asked softly. “What are you looking for?”

  “I told you,” she answered. “I want to prove that a woman can run a business. That I’m just as capable as any man.”

  “Listen, I was born in a shanty on the lower east side of London,” he said. “I watched my mother slowly die from god-knows what disease she acquired off the rats that lived with us. Having wealth after having nothing made life easier, but it never erased my memories.”

  “Then you simply didn’t have enough money.”

  His lips compressed together at her words, but a second later he raised one hand and brushed his knuckles lightly down her cheek. Goose bumps danced across her skin and her nipples tightened into hard little buds. She felt her sex grow damp again. What was it about this man that pulled at her senses? He was handsome and masculine and yes, he appealed to all her feminine fantasies. But it was like her body came alive whenever he was near, and that’d never happened to her before.

  “You’re very beautiful.”

  “So are you,” she replied and then bit her lip.

  She was locked into his gaze, into a fathomless world that promised heaven. It called to that part of her that was crying out for her to be brave, the part that was pushing her forward into this crazy idea of looking for some long-lost treasure. She wanted to kiss him, to see how he tasted. Would he be shocked? Would he push her away? Somehow she didn’t think he would.

  Gathering her courage, she reached up to curl her fingers into his cotton shirt and pulled him close. Caught off guard, his eyes widened in shock before she stood up on her toes and crashed her lips against his.

  She was no stranger to kissing. She was twenty-two after all, and had wanted to see what all the hype had been about. Kisses had always been pleasant, but this? This stole her breath and turned her world upside down.

  Ruby pulled back and they looked at each other wide-eyed. She knew he had felt it too, that strange electricity that arced between them whenever they were close. The kiss had only intensified it. She let go of him and turned away, hurrying to where Merridie and Eden slept, beyond skittish from the feelings coursing through her body.

  ****

  Sin watched her leave, grimacing as he reached down to adjust his hard-on. Bloody hell, the last thing he ever expected was to get a perpetual stiffy for a Yank, although she was so beautiful he could barely take his eyes off her. She had guts, gumption, and brains, which made for a lethal combination on his sanity.

  Asia stepped next to him, and he dragged his attention from the door she’d just gone through.

  “I know,” he said to the big man. “This is, perhaps, the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Asia shrugged.

  “Listen, I completely understand your hesitation in going along with this harebrained treasure hunt,” he continued. “My cock might have been doing the talking for me when I agreed.”

  Asia gave him a no shit look.

  “But if we do find a treasure? Well, that changes everything, Asia. We’ve got nothing to lose.”

  Chapter Six

  Ruby must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Merridie and Eden were banging the galley cupboards.

  “Morning,” Eden greeted cheerfully. “Or I should say, afternoon.”

  Ruby glanced out the cabin windows trying to gauge the position of the sun. “What time is it?”

  “Almost two,” Merridie answered. “We just woke up, as well. Now we’re trying to find something to eat.”

  The door opened and Sin stepped in, followed by the big black man from last night. For a moment, the five of them simply stared at one another. Ruby’s eyes met Sin’s briefly, before sliding away as heat engulfed her face.

  “I hope you don’t mind we’re in your kitchen,” Eden said.

  “Galley,” Ruby and Sin said at the same time. They glanced at each other again. When their gazes met she had the feeling of falling, although she knew she hadn’t moved a muscle.

  “If you know how to cook then the galley is yours,” Sin replied, turning to smile at Eden. “Partners, I would like to introduce you to Asia, my crew and only friend. Asia, this is Merridie, Eden and Ruby.”

  Asia inclined his head in greeting but he didn’t say anything. Ruby didn’t know quite what to make of him, and it seemed like Merridie didn’t either. He was really, really big and the lack of any softness in his face made him seem even fiercer. Eden, however, walked right up to him and smiled.

  “What part of Asia are you from?” she asked with wide blue eyes.

  Asia stared down at her. He stood at least a foot taller and looked like he could stomp her like a bug. Ruby didn’t think he was going to answer when, much to her surprise, he said in a clear, strong voice: “Brooklyn.”

  “So Asia and I have been talking, and he wants to give any one of you of his bunk. It’s the second door on the right. He’s volunteered to be night helmsman, so he’ll be sleeping through the day.”

  “Thank you, Asia,” Ruby said.

  The man only nodded to her and then headed to his room. Ruby realized he must need to get some sleep now if he was going to be up and about all night.

  “So let’s take another look at that map,” Sin replied.

  Merridie pulled it out of the bag and rolled it out. Sin disappeared for a moment and came back out with a journal and a pencil and handed them over to her.

  “The Sweenys are made up of three islands,” Sin said as he bent over the piece of leather. “This map shows only one. So which one do you think it is?”

  Merridie tapped an almost indecipherable scrawl in the corner. “You’re the captain. What longitude and latitude does this tell you?”

  Sin went back to his bedroom and came back with a modern map and began to draw the coordinates. “Looks like the middle island. Shit.”

  Ruby’s eyebrows shot up. “What’s wrong?”

  “That passageway is hell,” he said. “Very rocky. I don’t know if I want to chance the Paradise going through it.”

  “Can we bypass the channel?” Ruby asked.

  “We can swing around the first island. Might take us an extra day.”

  “Okay,” Ruby agreed. “We can take an extra day. I’d rather do that then hurt your boat.”

  “Then our course is set,” he said with a smile.

  ****

  That night Eden and Merridie made dinner for them and Ruby volunteered to clean up. Asia went topside to be the night helmsman and Sin sat with the girls, playing cards. She could’ve warned him against sitting next to Eden, but decided it would be more entertaining when he realized his wallet was gone.

  Eden and Merridie laughed, and it was a much-missed sound. It felt a like a long time since Joyce’s party, the last time where they had really let loose and had fun. So much had changed in the past two months. Somehow, it didn’t feel a bit like Christmas. New York City would be a blanket of snow and ice and here they were, near the equator feeling the warmth.

  “Okay, everyone ante up,” Merridie said as she shuffled the deck.

  Eden promptly laid a leather wallet on the table. Ruby saw Sin’s eyes narrow right before he touched his pocket. Finding it empty, he snatched it up and looked at it.

  Ruby couldn’t help but snicker.

  ****

  Logic told her that it was stupid to trust Captain Sinclair Dardon. They were strangers thrown together by fate, and yet, Ruby found herself relaxing in his presence. He would smile, or laugh, and she’d
find herself grinning right along with him, each hour on the boat cementing their own little world. It almost made her forget the reason why they were on the Paradise.

  But she’d see him watching the horizon behind them, looking over the ocean as if he was waiting for someone. It made her nervous as well as reminded her that Sin was a man they didn’t really know.

  At night they’d play cards, or charades, or something else that had him rolling his eyes. But as much as he’d groan, he’d play along with whatever game they chose. After that first night, he always sat next to her, and Ruby couldn’t help but be hyper-aware of his knee touching hers. Of his body heat, warming up her own. . . the brush of his fingers against her arm. The touches drove her crazy, and yet, she craved more. Sin was fast becoming an addiction.

  ****

  The next day they were due to arrive at the Sweeny Islands, but Ruby awoke to dark skies and a rocking boat. Through the day, she helped on deck. When Asia appeared for his shift, she went down into the cabin and found Merridie swinging in his hammock. She was studying the map.

  “I was checking to see if you were sill alive in here,” Ruby said.

  “I’ve made a lot of progress on decoding this thing,” Merridie answered. “There are some parts that are just a jumble of gibberish. Some of this I won’t understand until we’re right there looking at it.”

  She held out the journal and Ruby read through the notes quickly. Merridie rubbed her tired eyes.

  “The map gives solutions to tasks we’ll have to face, the first being the protectors followed by flying through the eye,” she said through a yawn.

  “I don’t get it,” Ruby replied as she shut the journal and handed it back to Merridie, who slipped it and the map back into her bag.

  “Well, I’m hoping that’s one thing that becomes clearer when we get there.”

  “We’re almost to the island,” Ruby said. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

  “Okay,” Merridie replied. She lay back in the hammock. The rocking of the boat made the hammock sway like a cradle and she instantly relaxed in slumber.

  Ruby pulled a blanket over her and exited out of the room. Eden was asleep on the cushioned bench, making cute little snoring noises. When she stepped outside on deck, the boat pitched sharply to the left and she caught herself.