The Treasure Hunters (7 page)

“Stay here.”

“I’ll be right back.”

The wind almost blew her away but
she found purchase and looked around, seeing if there was anything she could
do. Sin and Asia were doing all they could to keep the ship steady in the rapid
wind and torrential rain. She saw a sail flapping and hurried to tie it off. When
she looked over at Sin it was to see a wave crash over the side of the ship,
bathing him and knocking him off his feet. He regained his hold on the wheel.

“We’re too close to the rocks!”
Asia cried.

They both cut the wheel but the
ship spun under the force of the next wave. Ruby, who hadn’t been holding on,
pitched forward. She was knocked into the side and the next instant fell
overboard. She tried to scream, but the ocean cut her off abruptly as water
flooded in her mouth. Frantically, she kicked upward and thanked god she’d put
on her life jacket, because it helped buoy her upwards. She broke the surface
and heard Sin crying out her name above the thunderous roar of the storm.

“Ruby!
Ruby!”

She began swimming toward the sound
but she wasn’t even sure if that was effective against the raging waves.

“Grab the rope!”

But then she heard something else,
something terrifying.

“The
Paradise
is going down!” Asia yelled at Sin. “She’s buckled out the
bottom.”

Ruby knew what that meant. Her
belly had been torn open.

Eden!
Merridie!

“Come on, grab a girl!”

Ruby tried to see what was going on
but could barely make out what was happening around her, let alone what was
going on the ship. Then she saw Eden and Merridie standing at the side.

“Where’s Ruby?” Eden screamed out.

Ruby wanted to call out she was
there, right there, but she’d swallowed some seawater and her throat burned.

“She already went over.”

“We have to find her,” Merridie
sobbed.

“Ruby will know to swim toward
shore. Come on, hold onto me!”

Of course she needed to swim toward
shore. All she could do now was pray that Sin and Asia took care of her
friends. She didn’t know what she’d do if she lost them. Concentrating on not
drowning, she forced her aching muscles to swim, push past the dying ship and
head toward the shore. She was close and several times she saw looming boulders
popping through the waves. More than likely, it was one of those that had
crippled the
Paradise
.

Finally, after what felt like a
million years, her foot touched bottom and she forced herself to stagger up the
beach. She was panting, and her lungs hurt. A stitch gnawed at her side and she
vomited up whatever salt water she had swallowed.

For long minutes she just lay
there, letting the rain beat down upon her as her body rejoiced that it didn’t
have to work so hard anymore. She turned her head and saw four other shapes
against the sand and pushed wearily to her feet. The first two were Eden and
Merridie, who were breathing. Then she saw Asia and Sin moving, looking at her,
and she slumped down in relief.

Chapter Seven

The ferocity of the storm eased up
with the appearance of the sun. Ruby sat upon the sand, her arms curved around
her drawn-up knees. Her clothes were stiff and scratchy, but at least she was
alive. At least they were
all
alive.

She stared at the heartbreaking
silhouette of Sin
Dardon
. Not too far in front of
him, in the shallow breakers of the sand and ocean, the
Paradise
lay on her side, a huge gash along her keel. Sin stood in ankle-deep
water, hands on his hips, staring at the remains of his boat. Her watery grave might
be depthless but it was still a grave, nonetheless. Ruby rose, dusted the seat
of her pants, and walked out to him, touching his shoulder lightly in comfort.

“The
Paradise
was all I had left,” he said, voice monotone.

“You’ll be able to buy a new boat
soon.”

Sin shook his head and spun around,
angry. “This isn’t about money anymore. Are you too blind to see that? Tell me
one reason why I should leave this beach to help a spoiled rich girl, who can’t
get through a day without dreaming of materialistic things!”

Ruby was shocked by his verbal
attack. That hadn’t been what she meant at all, and damn if she was going to
let him get away with talking to her like that.

“This isn’t about acquiring
materialistic things!” she shouted back.

Sin gave her a disbelieving huff
and turned to walk away.

Ruby rushed after him. “It’s the
simple desire everyone has in life.”

He paused at that and turned to
face her, hazel eyes blazing green fire. “You just want more than most.”

“You don’t know anything! Comfort,
yes. What we had, maybe. But that is what everyone dreams of, Captain
Dardon
.” She waved her hand out to his sinking boat.
“Including you.
Don’t judge us by what we want or who we are
without judging yourself.”

She spun and marched away. If
anyone were leaving first, it would be Ruby. Damn him. She wiped angrily at the
tears on her cheeks. She’d been so foolish to fantasize about him because
clearly, he wasn’t worth her time or her tears.

She stayed away from the group
until Asia got a fire going. Ruby knew they were going to have to plan, figure
things out, and they would have to do it as a group, but it hurt to look at
Sin. She thought he had felt a connection between them as well, but clearly
she’d been wrong.

Well, it wasn’t the first time. She’d
also thought her father’s company had been safe. She thought her father had
trusted her enough to run the company. When would she stop being surprised when
the rug was pulled from under her feet?

“So, what was that about?” Merridie
asked sometime later, after a lunch consisting of fish that Asia had caught and
bananas that Eden had managed to gather, although Ruby didn’t want to think
how
Eden had gotten them.

Against her better judgment, as if
her eyes had a will
all their own,
she sought out Sin,
who sat on a big jagged rock and stared at his boat. The
Paradise
was almost gone, slowly being dragged with the outgoing
tide. She wanted to pull her gaze away but found it extremely hard not to stare
at him.

“Did you get the map?” she asked
instead.

“Yes. When Asia went fishing he was
able to get into the cabin and find it. Had that boat been any deeper we’d be
going by my memory, which wouldn’t be good. By the way, you’re drooling.”

Surprised, Ruby reached up and
wiped at the corners of her mouth. “Not funny,” she said, glaring at her
friend.

“I thought it was.”

“Yeah, well, he obviously has
issues.”

“Ruby, don’t you recognize us in
him? We lost everything months ago, and have acclimated as well as we could,
but he––he
just
lost his everything. Was
I any different when I lost Robert and my fortune? Wasn’t I going to keep all
that money strapped to my leg because I was selfish and a bitch?”

“You’re not a bitch,” Ruby mumbled.

“Yes, Ruby, I am.” Merridie waved
to Sin. “And he’s hurting.”

Ruby watched Merridie walk away. Out
of the three of them, she acted the fiercest, but Ruby knew how fragile she
really was. When she glanced back at Sin, she saw that he now stared at her, and
a thrill shot through her. Merridie was right. She rose and headed over to his
rock. He watched her the whole time, and only when she was closer did she
realize his eyes were bright with unshed tears. Her heart broke for him all
over again, so she climbed up on his rock to be with him.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he pulled
her into his arms.

“
Shh
. I’m
sorry too.”

They simply sat there, holding onto
each other, as they watched his boat finally sink under the water.

****

The fire blazed, providing warmth
and a chance to recuperate after a turbulent day. Asia and Sin volunteered to
keep watch through the night, but Ruby was anything but tired. They had all
decided to go after the treasure. If they didn’t, then the
Paradise
had been lost for no reason.

Her bladder ached and she knew she
was going to have to make a trip away from the fire, although her body was
already missing the heat. It wasn’t really cold on the island, but the cool
breeze felt uncomfortable without blankets. And since all the blankets were now
underwater, the fire was the next best thing. But her bladder was screaming at
her that it needed to be emptied, and Ruby was afraid if she didn’t answer the
call she’d pee herself.

Pushing to her feet, she hurried
into the grove of trees that separated the beach from the jungle and found a
nice spot to squat. Yuck. Peeing in the wilderness wasn’t that sanitary, but at
least her bladder thanked her. She pulled up her pants and began to make her
way back to the fire when a hand curled around her arm. She gave a yelp, but
Sin’s hand slapped over her mouth and it took a moment for her brain to
register his features.

When her body relaxed, he removed
his hand.

“Sorry,” he said, although he
didn’t sound sorry.

“It’s okay,” she told him.
“Although, for future reference girls don’t like to be captured in
dark spooky places.”

“Is the jungle dark and spooky?”

“Extremely.
I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m pretty much a city girl. A jungle is a new
experience for me.”

“Happy to provide
you with a vacation of a lifetime.”

He tried to make his words light,
but the undertone was too solemn. She picked up his hand and linked their
fingers. “Why did you follow me, Sin?”

“I was worried about you coming
into this dark, spooky jungle by yourself.”

“I saw Asia on guard duty. Couldn’t
sleep?”

He shook his head, his ebony locks
gleaming in the moonlight. “Every time I close my eyes I see my boat on her
side. Damn it.”

“Come on,” she said, standing and
tugging on his hand. He stood and she walked away from the tree line, away from
the bodies around the fire pit, to a grove of rocks that jutted against a stone
wall. The area provided a respite from the cool wind.

Ruby sat down and patted the area
next to her. He raised an eyebrow, but did as she bade, lying back in the sand.
They stared up into the moonlight.

“I used to think the world was very
small,” she said. “The days went by in a blur but I never had a sense of time. Maybe
that’s why my father didn’t leave me his company. I do a lot of self-doubting,
especially when it comes to Eden and Merridie, but right now, this very moment?
I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with you.”

Sin slid his arm around her
shoulders and rolled her until her head rested on his chest. Ruby felt his
breath against her shoulder, felt Sin’s salt-encrusted clothing rub against her
cheek. Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest. All her senses came awake and
honed in on his breathing.
In, out, in.
Excitement
gripped her and her world narrowed down to this
moment,
and how alive he made her feel.

They seemed to hold each other
forever. Sin nuzzled into the top of her hair and she wished she had proper
soap and shampoo, something to make her skin soft and leave her smelling
delicious. His finger traced up her arm, to her chin, so he could tip her head
up. Their gazes met, held. Nothing else existed.

"Thank you,
Ruby, for understanding.”

They seemed to stay transfixed,
staring into each other’s eyes. Then as if by mutual consent, their heads moved
toward each other. Not a deep passionate kiss, but not a friendly peck either.
Their lips met and parted just slightly. His tongue slipped into her mouth,
dancing with hers. Sin slowly took over, using his body to push her onto her
back. They sank into the deep sand, locked in the embrace, his body covering
hers completely. Her fingers slipped into his hair to grip him tightly and hold
him in place. She didn’t want him to leave her.

"
Ohhh
,
Ruby,” Sin moaned as the kiss ended. They lay together looking into each other’s
eyes. She saw the same mixed confusion she was experiencing. Ruby let her hand
trace across his shoulders, feeling their muscular shape under the stiff shirt.

“This is crazy.”

"I know," Sin said,
kissing her cheek and letting his lips trail across her face.

One of his hands brushed along the
swell of her breast and a tingle went through Ruby. Her nipples hardened,
scraping along the lace of her camisole, and she couldn’t stop the arch of her
body as bolts of electricity shot through her. Her head spun and a strange warm
feeling passed through her body, causing an ache between her thighs.

“I want you,” she whispered.

“I want you too,” he whispered
back. He emphasized the words by pressing his hips forward. His hard cock
nestled against where she needed him most. “But I don’t want to take you like
this. Don’t get me wrong, Ruby. I want nothing more than to peel our clothes
off and to sink into your wet heat. But I like my sex hard, hot and often. I’m
a little out of it right now, so I’m afraid I’d hurt you.”

“But I ache.”

“Are you a virgin, Ruby?”

She didn’t want to answer. Her gaze
slid away.

“Look at me,” he commanded and she
obeyed. It was slightly hard to make out his full expression because he was
still on top of her and the moon shone down on him, bathing his face in
shadows. “Are you a virgin?”

“Yes,” she admitted. Heat filled
her cheeks and she tried pushing him off, but he wouldn’t budge.

“There’s no shame in that.”

“I’m not ashamed of that.”