Tuck's Treasure (8 page)

His grin made her frown deeper. “What did you do?”

“Me? Well, we took a roundabout way because I knew our friends would follow us. Then we stopped for a few hours, remember?”

Oh yes, she remembered. She should have known that nothing out here was very far away. After all, their followers had probably gone back to the Keys, then come out and found the island this morning. She had a lot to learn about this area.

“Lay down and rest,” Dylan said, winking at her. “We’ll be there before you know it.”

She thought about it, but being on the ocean was intoxicating. She glanced out at the water as Dylan expertly piloted the boat. She could see why her uncle loved this area so much. She felt free out here, with nothing to box her in. She imagined that’s how her uncle felt all these years, and it was one of the reasons he and her mother never really got along.

Her mother craved the city, stores and restaurants and crowds of people. Out here there was none of that, and that was obviously what Tuck loved so much about it. Something told her she could learn to love it, too.

But just because they were that different, that didn’t mean they had to spend their lives apart, did it? She thought about how quickly life seemed to go, and how horrible it was to let petty things get in the way relationships. But then again it might not have been a petty thing. Her mother would never tell her, she knew that.

And Tuck wasn’t around anymore to let her know. The idea brought tears to her eyes but she brushed them away quickly. She realized the boat was slowing down and she glanced over at Dylan, who was looking at her with obvious hunger in his eyes.

There was a large part of her that wanted to go to him, put her arms around him and wrestle him to the deck. She wasn’t the type to sleep with guys she’d just met, but she was pretty sure in Dylan’s case she would make an exception.

For a few moments she thought he might cut the engines and cross over to her. Instead he winked, that one little expression giving a promise of what was to come, and then he throttled back up. To her, they couldn’t get to Florida fast enough.

*
*
*

“Open it! Open it! Open it!” Charlene bounced on the balls of her feet, staring down at the box that sat on the table in front of them. They were back in Florida now, the boat safely moored in its slip.

She’s started to pen the box when she’d taken it out of the freezer. But then she decided not to, putting it on the table and indicating that Dylan should do so. Sure it was “her treasure,” according to the will. But right now she thought that Tuck left it to both of them, and since Dylan had really known him, he should get the honors of opening the box.

Only he wasn’t doing it fast enough for her. “Will you hurry up?” They were standing side by side and when he reached over and slapped her bottom she wasn’t surprised. He smacked it again and instead of getting angry she laughed.

“If you don’t hurry up I’m going to…” He gave her one more, hard little smack, then stood there, looking down at her. “Are you done?”

“I don’t know? Am I?”

“You act like I should know. If you’re done spanking my ass, we can open the box and see what’s inside.”

“I’d rather spank your ass,” he said. “I didn’t know there was a choice.”

Before she could respond he picked her up and carried her toward the master berth.

“Wait!” She didn’t fight him. As a matter of fact she was laughing. Things like this didn’t happen to her, but she was thrilled that, at this moment in time, it was. They needed to talk about it first, though; to discuss what was about to happen.

She opened her mouth to say so but Dylan had other plans. He placed his mouth over hers, capturing any words that might have escaped with a deep, passionate kiss. If the one he’d given her yesterday had made her toes tingle, this one caught them on fire.

Her insides felt as if they would melt, and when they reached the bed he lay down, pulling her on top of him. She straddled his body, then tried to push back. His hand came down on her ass again, increasing the feelings of desire that were already running through her.

“What are you doing?” She tried to struggle away but he slapped her ass a few more times. Her mind told her this should make her angry, but her body said it was more stimulation, and more fun, than anything she’d had happen in a long, long time. She was telling herself this was wrong on so many levels. But it wasn’t a convincing argument.

He slapped her ass again and she focused on his face. “You’re hard on my ego,” he said, delivering another slap. “I’m lying under you, fully aroused, and you’re obviously still thinking about the box on the table.”

“That’s not what I was thinking.” Was that low, sultry voice hers? “I was wondering why I’m allowing you to smack my ass.”

“Because you like it.” She knew he was right, but that didn’t stop the turmoil that was going on inside her mind. She shouldn’t like it.

“We need to go and check out the box, don’t we?”

He smacked her bottom again and she groaned. “Stop that.”

“Make me.” She giggled at his words, then tried to grab his hands. He was much faster than she was, though, grabbing them and tossing her onto the bed, which ran from wall to wall in the narrow space.

Within second he had her on her stomach and he was straddling her legs. His hand came down on her bottom, which was covered in nothing more than a bathing suit, over and over.

And instead of screaming in outrage and crying she was laughing and trying to push him away. What had happened to her? It was almost as if he had cast some sort of spell on her and she had gone willingly into it, letting herself enjoy something she’d never dreamed possible before.

“Are you trying to distract me from the treasure?”

He smacked her bottom again, the feeling spreading through her like wildfire. She wanted to yell that maybe it was time to stop the spanking and move on to the main course. But then she reminded herself that she hardly knew him.

Physically she was ready to take it to another level. Mentally she knew it was much, much too soon for that.

He smacked her bottom again, then pulled her down for another kiss. His deep groan let her know he was thinking the same thing she was.

“We need to open the box before we open a can of worms that could prove problematic,” she said. “Not that I’m not attracted to you, but I just don’t…it’s too…”

“Soon,” he finished. “I get it.” He smacked her ass a few more times and she didn’t move, closing her eyes and allowing the delicious sensation of the slap to spread through her bottom. Damn but she could get to enjoy this activity way, way too much.

He flipped her over and covered her body with his, kissing her deeply, his tongue dancing inside her mouth until she groaned in pleasure. Then he stood and held out his hand.

“Let’s do it.”

“If we’re doing that shouldn’t we stay here?” She giggled then shot past him, which wasn’t easy considering the small amount of space in the boat. It was tight, true, but she was pretty sure she could get used to living in this small area, as long as Dylan was with her.

The two of them stepped up next to the box, both of them running their hands over the top. They looked at each other, their eyes locking for a few, brief moments.

“Whatever is in here could change things, a lot,” Dylan said. “For the both of us.”

“You’re right.” She put her hand on top of his. “It could. We’re so different, you and I.”

“Yes, we are. But is that a bad thing?”

“No.” Her voice trembled just a little. “Maybe the real treasure Tuck wanted us to discover was…”

“Us, together.”

She wanted to tell him to stop doing that. He’d completed her sentences quite a bit since they’d met. It was strange to her how he could come up with just the words she was going to say. Was he a mind reader? Or was there some sort of connection between them. Did Tuck know it, even though they’d never been introduced? Or was it just a hopeful thing on his part, to hook the two of them together and see what would happen?

What would happen, she wondered. There was so much they needed to work out if they were going to take this anywhere past where it was right now. He moved his hand slightly, clasping hers in it and squeezing it ever so slightly. Sensation shot through her and she knew that, despite their differences and the fact that she lived in Atlanta and he lived on a boat in Florida, she wanted something with this man, wanted him in her life.

He gave her another gentle squeeze, then winked. “You ready?”

“Yes, let’s do it.”

And then they opened the box, together.

*
*
*

One year later

“We’re so glad you had a good time.” Charlene leaned against the side of the boat, smiling at the family who was just leaving. Another successful tour over and done with. Another successful fishing trip for the men, and a “treasure” hunt for the women and children.

Life didn’t seem to get any better than it was right now.

She couldn’t believe how her situation had changed these last few months. It was wonderful and exciting at the same time. Every day was a new adventure.

The box had contained nothing more than a key, and a piece of paper. They’d sat down and read the note together, both of them laughing at Tuck’s words about how they’d managed to find what he’d left.

The key went to a safety deposit box that was in Tuck’s name. Dylan was listed as a secondary on it, and after they’d produced a death certificate they’d opened it. To find a nice little stash of Spanish Doubloons.

They’d both stared at the box in surprise, their hands drifting over the thin coins as if to make sure they were really there.

There was another letter from Tuck inside, telling him how he’d found the coins during diving expeditions over the years. He’d found one big hoard several years ago, and that was the bulk of what was before them. But lots of the others had been located here and there, scattered in several different places.

When they’d counted they found there were one hundred and two coins, which was a nice amount, according to Charlene’s calculations.

Dylan gave her a lesson in Doubloons, although she didn’t really need them. They were made from solid gold, almost in its purest form. That meant the coins they’d held in their hands were very valuable.

But instead of taking them out of the bank they’d locked them back up, walking out onto the street empty handed. Their idea had been to discuss what they would do with them, in the long run.

When they’d stepped out onto the street, Charlene had been very happy they’d left the coins behind. Two men were leaning up against a car, watching them. She was pretty sure they were Ives’ men. Why he thought he had the right to the treasure she would never know.

After going to the bank they’d gone to the boat and discussed things. They would share in the treasure 50/50, and they would do nothing right away. Charlene would go to her teaching job and Dylan would stay in Florida.

That idea lasted until December, when, after several visits back and forth, with their feelings for each other growing with each trip, Charlene quit her job at the end of term and moved to Florida.

By that time they’d decided to take forty pieces of treasure and sell it to a collector. They’d made some necessary repairs on the boat, and then they’d done the one thing that had made Charlene’s toes tingle yet again.

They’d gotten married on Jan. 1, something that made Charlene’s mother scream at her until Charlene thought she would lose her mind. The repeated words were she was “throwing her life away, just like Tuck had!”

Charlene had calmly told her that she wasn’t throwing her life away. She was doing what she wanted with her life, which was exactly what Tuck had done. Now that she was doing it she could see exactly how wonderful it was to live your life for yourself, and not live it as someone else wanted you to do.

Her mother was still not talking to her, not all the time. There had been a few terse phone calls but nothing more than that. It was Charlene’s greatest wish that, as the time passed, that her mother would realize that nothing was worth losing the relationship between relatives and loved ones. Life was too short to allow differences to get in between you. The best thing you could do was work to find a peace between what you wanted, and what the other person wanted, and not try to interfere in their life.

“Well, Mrs. Cray, how did your hunt go?” Dylan’s deep voice sounded right in her ear, making her shiver.

“It went just fine, Mr. Cray, thank you very much. The mother and her kids found every little piece of treasure that we’d hidden for them. And, I think they had a great time doing it, too. They laughed and laughed and in turn, I laughed. All in all it was a great day. Did you manage to catch a fish or two, or am I going to hear the story about the one that got away?”

He pressed himself against her back, putting his hands in front of her in a measurement of about four feet. “It was this long.”

She burst into laughter, then turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You’re a terrible liar.”