“Upstairs?” he asked in that deliciously gravelly snarl she’d come to recognize as his I’m hard and achy and I need you voice.
“Yes, please.” She nodded enthusiastically and then squeaked when he hoisted her into his arms and raced inside to take the stairs two at a time.
Once they were in his bedroom, he tossed her atop the coverlet. She would have bounced except he immediately threw himself over her, pinning her to the mattress.
When he reclaimed her lips, she had a vision of their future. Of adventures and arguments. Of amazing moments sprinkled in with the mundane. And through it all, she was falling in love with him.
Was that possible? To continue to fall in love with one man for an entire lifetime?
By god, she was going to give it her best shot.
* * *
10:27 a.m.
Mason had said it before; he would say it again. Alexandra Merriweather was a damned prodigy.
He’d never really been a fan of the sixty-nine position. Had always felt it was too difficult to concentrate on two things at once, what his mouth was doing and what her mouth was doing. But somehow, Alex had set up a give-and-take rhythm that’d made the act so fucking hot he’d lost his damn mind.
Thankfully, if her squeals and squirms were anything to go by, she’d lost hers too. And now they lay side by side, sweaty and replete.
“So?” She twirled her fingers in his chest hair. “Are you going to say them or not?”
“Huh?” His brow furrowed as he once again proved how articulate he was not.
“You know, those three little words.”
He ducked his chin so he could look at her. Her green eyes sparked with mischief. But there was also a hint of uncertainty there.
“If memory serves, I wasn’t done talking outside on the front porch,” he informed her. “But you attacked me. Couldn’t keep your hands off me a second longer.”
“True.” She nodded, and he loved the silky slide of her hair against his shoulder. “But now I’m all ears.”
He opened his mouth, but to his great annoyance, nothing came out. He realized that was because the words were so big in his heart, he was struggling to get them past his throat.
After swallowing, coughing, and rubbing a hand over his chest, he managed, “I love you, Alex.”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners. She could see how much it cost him to say the words aloud. But they were all the more meaningful because of it. “I love you too, Mason,” she assured him in a whisper.
With his heart full, his head turned to other matters. “It occurs to me that I’ve never even taken you on a proper date.”
“True.” She frowned. “We seem to have skipped that part. Unless you count the picnic.”
“Do you count the picnic?”
She shrugged. “Seems in order to be counted as a true date, we should have more than BLTs and brownies. I’m thinking candlelight, fresh caviar, and expensive French wine.”
His chin jerked back. He wasn’t a fancy guy. Never had been, never would be. She knew that, didn’t she? “Are you serious?”
Her grin was impish. “No. What I seriously want the next time we’re on Key West is chicken wings, a cold beer, and not less than four orgasms.”
His smile stretched his lips tight. “That’s my girl.”
Her smile was just as wide. “And you’re my guy. Forever. Has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?”
He couldn’t stand it a second longer. He had to claim her Kewpie-doll lips. She welcomed his kiss with the same enthusiasm she’d welcomed his love. With open arms and a heart so fierce and sweet that he knew he would spend the rest of his life proving himself worthy of her.
Just when things were turning from romantic to erotic, a hard knock sounded at the door. “Cover yourselves!” Romeo’s voice boomed through the solid wood. “I’m coming in!”
Alex scrambled to lift the sheet to her chin before the door burst open and revealed Romeo on the threshold. His dark eyes sparkled so feverishly that alarm instantly filled Mason. “What the fuck’s happened now?” he demanded.
“It’s a cannon.” Romeo’s voice was hoarse.
“What is?” Mason blinked in confusion when, from the corner of his eye, he saw Alex scramble for her glasses on the bedside table.
After she slipped them on, she stared hard at Romeo. “And?”
Romeo nodded jerkily. “Verified against the log books.”
“Oh my god!” Both Alex’s hands flew to cover her mouth. She shook her head in disbelief.
“What?” Mason looked between them. “What am I missing?”
“I uncovered a cannon on my dive earlier.” Alex’s voice was so breathless she could barely get the words out. “It’s from the Santa Cristina. Oh my god, Mason! We’ve found her!”
With a shout, she tackled him back onto the mattress and covered his face and jaw with biting little kisses.
He’d like to say he was thrilled about the prospect of the ghost galleon’s riches. But the truth was, with his woman all warm and willing and gloriously naked atop him, all he could manage to think about was the blood pooling in his cock.
“I’ll…uh…leave you to it, eh?” Romeo quietly closed the door behind him.
Mason flipped Alex onto her back and settled himself between her legs. Claiming her mouth, he was once again hit by the image of a little girl with red hair and laughing blue eyes. Only this time, the vision didn’t frighten him.
Thanks to Alex. Who had freed him from his past. Freed him from fear of the present. Freed his soul while making him long for all that would be in their future.
“Wait, wait.” She grabbed his face so he was forced to release her lips. “What kind of breakfast cereal do you like?”
He blinked at her in confusion. “Um…Raisin Bran?”
Her grin was secretive. “Oh, good. Mine’s Rice Krispies.”
Before he could wonder what breakfast cereal had to do with anything, she sealed their lips and kissed every thought from his head.
Epilogue
June 23, 1624
Bartolome Vargas scanned the ocean beyond the reef. The black water was unbroken, save for the silvery moonlight reflecting over the tops of the waves.
No prying enemy eyes. No one around to know their secrets.
Good, he thought and dropped his spyglass so he could check on his men.
After liberating the Santa Cristina of her precious riches, they had waited nearly a week for an ultra-low tide. But even with the water pulled away from the reef by the magnetic force of the Mother Moon, the crew still struggled against the waves as they worked tirelessly to secure the treasure in its new home.