11
W e stayed on Intrepid for another two days, then flew back to St. William’s. I’d been hesitant to see the damage the storm left behind and was relieved to see it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Thankfully.
I stood on Cork’s hotel balcony. He asked me to stay with him and while I wanted to, I still needed to maintain my independence. I loved being with him, so I was torn. There was no doubt we enjoyed our time together, but I was a little cautious not to get used to it. In case, you know, he left and went back to his life leaving behind me, the museum, hunting. I pushed those thoughts away and lifted my face to the sun, enjoying the heat it shone down on the island.
Oh how I’d missed the tropical scent of the island, flowers, spindrift, hot sun, and sand. Even if I’d only been gone a few days. It was a balm for me here. Like I’d come home to the familiar. Leaving St. Williams for good would never happen. I belonged here; my family ancestry was rooted here.
I gazed out over the turquoise water. The sky was clear and Gilbert’s clouds were long gone. The sun shone as if promising to make up for the chaos the storm had left behind. But no amount of sunshine could mask the excitement and exhaustion coiled in my chest.
I was eager to get back to the dive site where I’d found the coins. It seemed ages ago now, when, in fact, it hadn’t been that long at all. Now with Beck’s generous financial contribution, I had so much to plan and organize and had to be careful I didn’t overwhelm myself trying to do it all.
The familiar sound of Cork’s footfalls came up behind me and I leaned back into him when he slid his arms around me.
“Are you as worn out as I feel?” I asked him and rested my head on his shoulder.
“I am. It must be all our extracurricular activities,” he whispered in my ear, sending a delightful shiver through me.
“It must be. But I’m not complaining.” I turned, wanting a kiss.
“Ready to see what damage Gilbert left us with?” he said against my lips.
I gave a small nod, and our eyes met. “Yup. It’s a little late in the day to dive, but we could take a drive to a beach to check out the situation.”
“I’ve booked a boat for tomorrow, so we can get an early start.” He smiled down at me. “Of course, after a good night’s sleep.”
I gave a little laugh. “Since when have we slept all the way through the night?” I teased. “However, it’s best we have an early night, you know, before it’s time to sleep.”
He let out a hoot. “Why, madam, are you planning something I should prepare for?”
“Oh, maybe,” I said coyly. I was definitely ready for a night of passion with this sexy man, regardless of how tired I was. “Come on, let’s get cracking.”
A short while later, we drove through town.
“Oh, my,” I whispered. “I don’t think you can ever get used to seeing the aftermath of hurricanes.”
“Yeah. I can’t see how you could,” Cork said as we drove around a downed palm tree and patio furniture blown into the street. “It could have been a lot worse.”
He was right, and the damage from the hurricane wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been. I looked out the window at the people beginning the cleanup of their homes and businesses. This wasn’t the first time for them or me, and wouldn’t be the last. Events like this brought the community together.
“Maybe we could drive by the museum?” I suggested.
“Sure, No problem. I’d like to get out and help the cleanup as well.”
“Me too.”
Moments later we stopped in front of the museum. I breathed a sigh of relief. The storm shutters were intact and the building stood staunchly, unscathed apart from stuff blown around by the wind and scattered. “Solid old thing.”
“Thankfully. It’ll be quick to get organized.” Cork drove away and followed the directions I gave him.
The wind blowing in the window was wonderfully refreshing and the closer we got to the beach, the tangier the air was. Glimpses of the water flashed between the trees and brush. It still seemed churned up with white caps. When we turned off the main road and drove over a dune, I realized how different everything looked.
“Visibility is poor. I hope it’s better for our dive tomorrow. Just look at that,” Cork said and pointed to the water and beach.
“Me too.” My breath caught. The familiar crescent stretch of white sand lined with palm trees and tropical flowers thankfully hadn’t been too impacted, but sand was pushed up to the base of the trees; seaweed and driftwood dotted the beach which was wider now and with a distinct ridge that ran parallel to the water until a new spit of sand jutted out under the waves splitting the beach in half. The coral reef was barely a smudge under the waves that lapped at the shoreline.
“Oh no.”
“What’s wrong?” Cork got out of the vehicle as did I, but grabbed the throw blanket from the back seat. Just in case we wanted to watch the sunset.
“I have a bad feeling that the ocean has reshuffled herself. That can happen in the wake of a storm. Hiding things once in plain sight.” I walked down to the edge of the of the water.
“It’s possible sand shifted and some coral heads got knocked about,” Cork agreed, his voice remaining cautious. “We won’t know how much it’s changed until we’re down there. Tomorrow will be fine and if the sea floor has changed, maybe it revealed something you haven’t seen before. Something hidden for centuries.” He put his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I hope so.” I let out a sigh. “Then I want to be here first thing in the morning. How early can you get the boat?”
“I already have the keys.” He gave me a squeeze. “How about we take off just before sunrise?”
I looked at him, and a burst of a new emotion bloomed within me. This man. He was so upbeat, supportive, devilishly sexy, and I was falling for him. Hard. I reached up and pulled his head down. Needing his lips on mine. He was an amazing kisser too, stealing my breath, leaving me limp in his arms. I clung to him. He held me tight, and pushed his fingers into my hair, gently tugging my head back and found his way to my erotically sensitive spot just behind my ear lobe. I trembled.
“Shall we?” I murmured.
“Shall we what?” He trailed a hot path back to my mouth and paused. His gaze caught mine.
“I have a blanket. The beach is empty. There’s no boats out there. Kinda like it was before… when…our first time together.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “Ah, you’d like to recreate our first intimate experience.”
I swallowed and whispered, “yes.”
“Anything, my beautiful siren of the sea.” He took the blanket and shook it out.
“What? Who me? A siren? Never!” I teased him.
“Yes, you.” Cork swooped me up and lay me down on the blanket. “This is a fabulous idea.”
We moved together under the ruby glow of the setting sun with a cadence that matched the ebb and flow of the waves, as nature’s music serenaded us. He swept me away into my own stormy passion where shipwrecks, treasure, and shifting sands fled my thoughts as the most beautiful feeling embraced us. We gave and received pleasure until we lay spent in each other’s arms under the darkening sky as the stars began to reveal themselves against the velvety blackness.
Could anything be more perfect?
Cork sat on the balcony, his feet propped on the railing nursing a whiskey. Daisy was poring over the research Beck had given her; she had everything spread out on the dining table of the suite. He was happy she’d agreed to stay with him.He wasn’t sure if it was permanent and he wouldn’t push her. All he knew was how much he liked her near him.
Did he want them to be permanent? He didn’t know. So much had happened in a short span of time. How could anyone know what they wanted? What he did know, was how he felt around her and how he felt when they were apart. He much preferred the feeling when they were together.
She was intelligent, challenging, fun, and so very sensual. She was also quite independent, and he loved—loved?—that about her. The love ’em and leave ’em Cork was getting a taste of his own medicine. And he wasn’t so sure he wanted to do any of the leaving part.
But things were about to get complicated. If they were successful on the dive tomorrow, how would he handle it? How would she handle it? He was a collector and Beck almost outed him that evening on Intrepid . It would be a battle to try to keep any of the salvage for himself, if you wanted to call the treasure salvage. He knew Daisy’s firm stance on the subject.
Drawing on the cigar, he looked out over the water and ship lights sparkled on the horizon. What would they find beneath the waves?
Cork’s chest tightened, and he threw back the rest of the whiskey, then dropped the unfinished cigar into the glass. He had some thinking to do, and he needed to do it quick. It was all going to come to a head tomorrow.
I organized the research from Beck as best I could. Going over the multitude of notes repeatedly and separating them into some semblance of order. Cork was on the balcony, and I was looking forward to later. The beach lovemaking had been wonderful, but sand got in places it shouldn’t be and I planned to entice him into the shower.
Right now, I enjoyed a cup of tea and refocused on the papers. I pushed them around on the table looking for links. A pile of sticky notes, smudged with water droplets and almost illegible scribbles needed deciphering. The sheet protected notes were easier to read even if the paper seemed much, much older.
An old map crackled when I opened it, and more sticky notes fell out. I squinted, trying to read them and sighed with frustration. I picked one up and held it close, then my blood ran cold. Cork’s name was on it. The water stain made it difficult to see the rest of the words other than what looked like treasure and collector.
A little alarm bell went off. I knew he was a collector, but what did thismean? Suddenly, the suspicion I had when we’d first met came roaring back. Was he being honest with me about keeping the discovery for the public, or was he planning to wrest it away for himself?
My heart sank. How could I have been so gullible to believe he was on my side? Wanting to preserve the antiquities and not hide them away in a private collection. His private collection. I sat back in the chair and my mind whirled. What now? Would this affect the grant from Beck? Was he in on it as well and attempting to buy me into helping him find treasure?
These thoughts devastated me, which of course ran to catastrophizing. I couldn’t help myself having once been betrayed by a former dive partner and of course the way my father had driven into me to trust no one.
I didn’t know what to do and gathered up the research. Seeing his name on that piece of paper set off all my bells, and I couldn’t help it. I went to the bedroom to throw my stuff in my bag. I needed to go home. To think. To figure this out.
What did this mean for the dive tomorrow? I’d just do it alone. That’s what. Tears filled my eyes, and I rushed back into the bedroom, made sure I had everything, and closed my bag.
“What are you doing?” I spun around.
Cork stood in the doorway, a concerned expression on his face. Standing tall, not about to be intimidated, I carefully arranged my features not to show any emotion.
“Leaving.”