Chapter Twenty-Six
Samantha pressed a finger to Christian’s lips.
“Later.”
His breath rattled out and she forced herself to turn away. Before she kissed him again.
With tingling lips, she bent to unlatch a small chest. A cluster of jewels nestled inside, sparkling in the dim light. Her hand shook as she plucked one free and hefted its solid weight.
The corners of her eyes went damp as she imagined her parents and how much they’d wanted to find this. She’d done it. Somehow, against all odds, she was here.
A creak came from behind her and she turned to find Christian lifting the lid from a barrel. He blew a layer of dust away and picked up something tiny and round. She stood and leaned over. Buttons. Intricately painted porcelain buttons.
Another chest held glass bottles packed in sawdust. She popped the cork from one and the fragrant scent of jasmine drifted over her.
Christian pointed to a dozen casks stacked atop one another and she grinned. If it was rum, her crew would be in heaven.
A crate lay broken on the ground and he picked up a carved spinning top, its once-vibrant paint peeling away in flakes. “Looks like there’s a treasure here for every age, every taste.”
Warmth radiated through her body as they ventured deeper into the cavern. So many delights. Hers for the taking.
The crew would be able to buy whatever they wanted. Homes. Ships. Their families would never go hungry for the rest of their lives. And her uncle, perhaps he would retire.
She stumbled and Christian caught her elbow. If her uncle retired, that meant no more pirating. No more adventures. Her heart clenched, a dull pain radiating outward.
“Careful there.”
Christian’s voice snapped her back and she tugged her arm from his clasp. She ran a finger along the little cut on her side, scabbed over now. The euphoria of finding the treasure—of kissing Christian—had worn off, leaving a thousand aches behind.
She tripped again and this time, Christian swiveled her to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything hurts.” Saying the words aloud unleashed a torrent of pain through her muscles and she sank onto the nearest crate. Turning her hand palm up, she opened and closed it, blinking at the sharp ache the movement brought.
Christian stepped behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. Long fingers pressed into her flesh and she let out a soft hiss.
“When’s the last time you slept?”
Her eyes drifted shut as pain and pleasure twined together beneath his touch. “Two days ago. I think.”
Silence fell around them as his hands moved down her back and up again. When he squeezed her upper arms, she let out a yelp and jumped up. Too much.
“You should get back to your ship. Rest. You overexerted yourself.”
Back to the ship.
“Oh no.”
He frowned. “What?”
She grabbed the torch from him and raced across the room, ignoring the burning in her calves. Darting through the corridor, she nearly forgot about the tripwire and jumped over it at the last moment. Christian’s footsteps thundered behind her.
“Red, what’s going on?”
She handed Christian the torch when he caught up and jumped into the water. As she splashed toward the wall, he let out a soft curse.
Groping along the slick rocks, she felt for the opening. A moment later, she banged her forehead against the stone and echoed Christian’s curse. The water had risen. Significantly.
“Can we get out?”
She shook her head. Though she could swim far on one breath, it was too dangerous. Too dark. Too many unknowns. He blew out a breath and she paddled back to the ledge.
His hand clasped around hers, lifting her from the water with ease. “I had Tommy tell the men to stand by. Will your crew wait until the next low tide?”
She walked into the tunnel and stared at the skeleton. “Of course. But they will worry.”
He lowered the torch to the dirt and twisted it, snuffing the flame. Darkness curled around them and she instinctively took a step closer to him, away from the bones.
“What’d you do that for?”
“We need to conserve it. No way it’ll last another twelve hours.”
Her eyes adjusted to the muted grey light and she blinked a few times. “Christian?”
He brushed his fingers across her shoulder, sending a little thrill up her spine. It would be so easy to turn into him. To kiss him again.
Instead, she stepped away, following the faint light. “We might not have to wait.”
She hurried back to the big cavern. A single shaft of light came from overhead, where the wall met the ceiling and she pointed.
“It has to lead outside.”
Christian frowned and navigated to the wall, weaving around crates and boxes until he stood below the spot.
“It’s much too small to climb through. Barely bigger than the width of my arm.”
Samantha joined him and peered up at the smidge of pale blue sky. Pulling her lip between her teeth, she grabbed hold of a layer of limestone and boosted herself up. Wedging the toe of her boot into a crevice, she got herself a little higher.
“Find something that we can stick through the hole.”
His eyes lit with understanding and he held up the torch. “Will this work?”
Of course.
“Tie your shirt to it.”
She focused on getting up to the small opening and when she twisted to take the torch from him, the ray of light glanced off honed muscles. She snatched it and turned back to her task before her eyes could wander.
Taking a deep breath, she angled her face toward the opening and brought her fingers to her lips after propping the wood between her and the wall. When she whistled, the shrill sound echoed through the chamber. Another breath. Another whistle. One more.
They couldn’t be too far from the sinkhole, and she willed Griff or any of the men to hear her signal.
Now to get the makeshift flag out in the open. She shoved the torch into the hole and wiggled it. With Christian’s shirt, it filled the entire space. Darkness surrounded her as she forced it through, inch by inch. With one big push, it broke free and light splintered through the cavern once more.
If she could only get it a little higher. She shifted, stretching out to pull herself up.
The rock began to crumble beneath her fingertips and she scrambled for a new handhold.
“Careful.” Christian’s hands closed around her waist and she nearly let go at the jolt of energy his touch brought forth. He must have dragged a crate over.
Goosebumps tingled up her back and she scowled. Damn her body for reacting. She shook her braid over her shoulder and reached up for the torch once more. Her fingers brushed something soft. Something alive.
A long, thin, form materialized out of the shadows with a hiss, cool scales pressing against her skin. With a yelp, she yanked her hand back and lost her footing. Her arms flailed and one hand smacked Christian directly in the face.
“Oof!”
His grip tightened as she tumbled onto him. The momentum threw them backward and a loud crunch filled the air moments before they crashed to the ground.
She lay still, sprawled across his body. “Christian?”
Twisting, she tried to find his face, but her leg tangled with his. He closed his arms tighter around her waist. “Don’t move.”
His voice came out strangled and she froze, imagining the snake coiled on her belly. After a few tense seconds, she relaxed. No snake.
The rise and fall of his chest beneath her brought her senses into full force. Hot breath puffed against her neck and the beat of his heart thumped into her back. Don’t think about it. Don’t . . .
His bare skin fairly singed a hole through the damp fabric of her blouse. And then she felt it. She was not the only one affected by their close proximity.
Heat flooded through her body. Up to her cheeks. Right back down to coil at her core.
Two choices. Roll off him as gracefully as possible and pretend she hadn’t noticed. Or . . .
She pressed her eyes closed and remembered how her movements had driven him wild in the sea. Unbidden, her hips clenched, brushing her bottom against his hard length.
“Red.” His voice rumbled in her ear.
Again. A little more deliberate.
This time, he sucked in a sharp breath. “You’ll drive me mad.”
Madness certainly explained her actions. She shouldn’t want this—want him. But she did. If only they could mend the rift between them, they . . . she bit her lip. No sense hoping for the future, not right now.
But the present? Her lips curved and she dropped her hand to his bare side, trailing her fingers across blazing skin.
He let loose a growl and rocked his hips against her. Before she could blink, his thumbs hooked into her blouse and peeled it up, baring her belly. Her rib cage. Until it bunched over her breasts, trembling in his hands, and the warmth at her core grew into a pressure between her legs.
When he gave one final jerk of fabric, a gasp caught in her throat. She arched her back, trying to press into his touch. Still, his hands hovered over her, just beyond reach. If he didn’t touch her, she would die.
She pressed her bottom against him once more.
And blessedly, the touch she craved came. First, a feather-soft graze of his palms over her nipples. She whimpered, her breaths already ragged.
“Please.”
His fingers closed over her and her head fell back against his shoulder. Every ache, every pain, dulled as her pulse thrummed. And when his teeth closed on the tender skin behind her ear, a happy sigh escaped her.
He moved beneath her, dragging his hands down her sides to rest at her hips. She writhed atop him, twisting her foot beneath a solid calf, and one of his palms crept over her breeches. He splayed it directly over her sex, pressed into her heat.
When she let out a soft moan, he rolled them over. Gold coins tinkled around them as he lowered his face. Full lips brushed hers, and she opened to him, their tongues colliding in a desperate dance.
“Lieutenant?”
The voice echoed around them and Christian froze.
“Are you down there?”
He caught her mouth with one last kiss and a muffled curse before jerking away and scrambling to his feet.