Hot, Wet, Smooth, and Hard (Craving Cove Book 1)

by Blue,Marina

  Chapter 7

  “Scudder!” Knox yelled from behind the captain’s wheel. “Get that anchor prepped, I don’t want us floating away overnight.”

  “Right away, cap.” The young, handsome roughneck nodded his assent, and ran to the front of the boat.

  Knox looked over the starboard side of his ship, the Sea Snake. The coast was still visible, but the half mile of ocean between his ship and it was black, deep, and mysterious. It was always those things, but for some reason it all seemed… more so. “Will you give up your secrets tonight?” he asked.

  “What’s that, chief?” It was Gunner, the first mate. He was shorter than Knox, though most men were, and blond besides. But his shoulders and arms were just as wide, though unlike his captain, Gunner had green eye that sparkled like polished jade, and a perpetual wolfish grin. “You say something?”

  “Huh?” Knox said. “No. It’s nothing. I was talking to myself.”

  “Oh. Were you discussing the reason we’re pushing off so late? I don’t think we’ve ever been this close to land after sundown.”

  “No reason.” Knox stared back at the land. “Just running tardy.”

  Gunner sidled up next to him. “You share beers with a friend, not lies.”

  Knox snapped to his first mate, his face twisted in anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means what you just said wasn’t true. Now holster that growl, I’m not one of your new crewmen, I’m your oldest.”

  Knox softened some. “Fair enough. But if you want to avoid me boxing your ears, tell me what I’m lying about.”

  “That’s easy. You don’t want to set sail tonight,” Gunner said. “Is it the hurricane? The weather service said it already turned out towards the sea. I mean, there can always be another one, but we should be fine.”

  “It’s not the storms. I always want to set sail.”

  “Yeah,” Gunner said. “Before. But something’s changed. It’s almost like you got, what’s that term? Oh yeah…” His grin got even bigger. “A song in your heart.”

  Knox looked over. “If that’s you trying to be clever, you’re failing.”

  “I’m always clever.”

  “You think you are.”

  “You know, if you wanted to, you could sit this one out.” Gunner put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Get your head out of the clouds, and into Melody. Word around this tiny town is that she’s single, or soon will be.”

  “I’m aware. But sit out a pass at the Grouse for a woman who spurned me fifteen years ago? No, I want to find that treasure.”

  “I understand. A broken heart’s a hard thing to trust with.”

  “My heart’s not broken, and if I want to talk about my love life, I’ll initiate it.”

  “Ha ha ha, I know you, cap. And while you’re the original model the stoic type’s based on, you need to spill your guts. There’s a storm brewing in you. Better to let it blow itself out, than bottle it up.”

  Knox grit his teeth. And turned to his first mate, and was ready to loose a hurricane of insults. But instead, he sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  Gunner smacked his boss’s back. “The first mate’s always right.” He looked around. “So long as the crew’s not listening. So, Melody Song. She’s back.”

  “She is.”

  “Happy?”

  “No.” Knox stared at the shore. “I’m not happy.”

  “Yeah. I guess ecstatic’s a better word. Giddy even.”

  Again, Knox glared at his friend.

  Gunner laughed deeply. “Actually, I can see it. You’re almost glowing.”

  “Shut up. That woman ripped out my heart. I’m not sure I can forgive her.”

  “Of course you can. Destiny’s a bitch. So is the sea. But both of them are ladies, and ladies have the prerogative to bluster and blow as they wish. We just hold on, and hope we make it through. Besides, she’s your soul mate. You know that as well as I do.”

  Knox slipped a rope around the wheel to prevent it from turning off course. Then he grabbed Gunner's arm and flung him over his body. The first mate landed flat on the deck.

  “Say that again, and I’ll kill you!” Knox said.

  Gunner looked up at his friend, and weighed the possibilities. Then he said, “You’re soul mates.”

  Knox made a fist. Held it high, ready to pound his first mate unconscious. But then relaxed. “I know. And I feel that old pull, like destiny, ripping me towards her. But that doesn’t mean things will end happily for us.”

  “Who knows how anything will end?” Gunner got back to his feet, and both men sidled up to the railing. “When you saw her, what did you feel?”

  “Rage. I’m furious with her. I don’t know if I can ever forgive the fact that she was here one day, and gone the next. And yet, believe me when I say this, the very moment I laid eyes on that body I wanted to bend her over that suburban sedan and fuck her right through it.”

  “Holy shit.” Gunner's jaw dropped. “I can’t believe I almost blushed. So what’re you going to do?”

  “I’m going to drink some rum and fall asleep. Then, I’m going to spend the next few days trawling the ocean, looking for my fortune.”

  “A good plan.” Gunner smiled. “But let me ask, what would you do if she called out…” Gunner raised his voice a few octaves, “Oh Knox, come back to land, I think I have a fever. Quick, take my core temperature with your cock!”

  Knox thought about it. “I wouldn’t. I need to put some space between us, and I’m not that stupid.”

  “Nah,” Gunner said. “I bet if she called to you right now, you’d jump over this railing and swim back.”

  “I doubt it.” Knox thought some more. Then he pounded the railing. “But that’s enough of the morose tale of the broken hearted rough waterman, and his sad Melody Song. Do we have everything ready for the search?”

  “The men are prepped. Well rested. Focused,” Gunner said. “Unlike us.”

  “We’ll be fine.” Knox looked at the water’s surface. “That treasure’s down there. Somewhere. Sure, there’s three hundred years of time and ocean currents and silt and sand between us, but she’s there. Ready to be taken.”

  “Reminds me of someone else. But since we’re…” Gunner trailed off and stared at the coast. “Do you hear that? It sounds like singing.” Gunner turned to Knox and paused.

  Because Knox’s eyes were as wide as a man’s could be, staring at the shore in amazement. “Son of a bitch… It’s her. And she’s singing… Our song. Gunner, take command. Come back in five days no matter what you find.”

  “I guess you’ll sit this one out?”

  But Knox didn’t answer. Instead he tore off his shirt. The buttons popped off and skittered across the floor. His chest was rising up and down. Then he unbuckled his pants, kicked off his boots, and both fell onto the deck. Knox got up on the railing. The cold wind wrapped him tightly, as he stood in only a pair of tight, blue speedos that made him streamlined, except for one, certain part. Then he dove into the sea without a second thought.

  “Impetuous idiot.” Gunner walked back to the wheel, removed the rope that bound it, and held it tight. Then he smiled his wolfish grin and said, “I told him so.”

  Chapter 8

  The three criminals had smiles on their faces.

  “Come on, give me the cash,” the leader with the bird tattoos said.

  “Just cut her, Sparrow,” the guy on the left said.

  Melody looked at the man with the knife. There was something about him. It wasn’t his face. Or his body. But that voice was familiar. It sounded just like her husband, William. Which is probably why instead of handing over her belongings, she said, “You can help yourself to a big glass of fuck off.”

  “What?” Sparrow said. “How was that again?”

  Melody's mind raced a mile a minute. What’re you doing? Just hand over the purse! Lipstick and a few credit cards aren’t worth getting stabbed or raped over! But again, instead of submitti
ng, she said, “Go jump in the ocean. It’s close enough.”

  Sparrow laughed. “I’d prefer the glass of fuck off. Or better yet, just fuck-ing. Guys, grab her.”

  His two henchmen moved forward.

  Melody took a good step back. In one hand she had a purse, in the other, her shoes. But in her heart, she’d had enough.

  Maybe it was William’s cheating. Or maybe it was the callous care for her own soul. But whatever it was, she’d taken her fill of men taking from her. Maybe they’d get what they wanted. Her purse. Her car keys.

  Maybe they’d get more. Maybe.

  But one thing Melody was certain of, they’d pay dearly for every bit of it.

  As they moved in, the guy on the left reached for Melody’s wrist.

  But at the last second she yanked it away, and stepped back.

  Right into the reach of the second man. He grabbed her purse. “Give it, bitch.”

  “Then take it,” she said, “bitch.” With one hand Melody held on to her purse, but with the other she swung her high heels hard and fast. The tip of one of the heels struck the man in his cheek. He spun backwards and clamped down on the wound on his face. Blood squeezed through his fingers. “Son of a bitch!”

  “God damn,” the first guy said. He lunged at Melody, trying to put her in a bear hug.

  But Melody spun like a ballerina, and he tumbled past her. But as he went, Melody swung her shoe at the back of his head. The heel caught the base of his skull, and he spilled forwards onto the sand, landing flat. He groaned, but didn’t get back up.

  That only left Sparrow.

  Melody turned to him. “Do I got to knock some sense into you, too?”

  Sparrow said, “Just give up the goods.”

  Melody tightened her grip. On her purse. On her shoe. And on her life. “Come and get it.”

  “Have it your way,” Sparrow said. “I’m happy to come and get it. Sweetheart.”

  Melody's body froze. But her blood was at a boil. “Sweetheart? I’m nobody’s sweetheart, asshole!” Melody didn’t wait for the guy to come to her. This time, she lunged first. Throwing everything into her strike, she swung her heel.

  Sparrow moved back.

  But not far enough, and Melody’s heel struck his forehead.

  He grabbed his head. “Damn it!”

  Melody didn’t slow down. She shuffled closer and drove a knee into his groin, dead center. Sparrow dropped the knife, and grabbed his dick. He meekly cried, “Bitch…”

  “You don’t know the half of it.” Melody cocked her leg back, and prepared to throw one last kick.

  But the sand beneath her foot shifted, and she tumbled sideways. Rolling onto her stomach, she scrambled to get both hands and knees beneath her. Not easy, with a shifting beach beneath, but she managed to lift her body up. Then she rose to one knee.

  And Sparrow attacked from behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly. His squeeze was powerful, and he lifted Melody off the ground.

  She tried to scream. But Sparrow’s grip had her so tight she couldn’t get any air.

  Melody struggled, twisting in his arms. She didn’t go anywhere. But the strap on her dress broke, and the cotton it held folded over, exposing her bra.

  “You’re a feisty one,” Sparrow said. “I hate that.”

  Melody fought more. But she knew it was futile. The young thief held her too firmly. She had no way out.

  “What’s the matter?” Sparrow said. “No more fancy talk? That’s the thing with you bitches, you all think you’re so hot, but when I get you one-on-one you shut right up and know your place, because the fact is, there’s no one to save you.”

  “There’s me.” This voice was deep, powerful, more growl than speech.

  Melody Song knew it instantly.

  Both she and Sparrow looked towards the ocean, and there stood Knox in nothing but a dark speedo. The tight beard on his chin glistened as water ran down it, and dripped onto his hard, wet chest. There it flowed over his tight, segmented abs, before falling drop-by-drop back into the sea, far warmer for the trip it had just taken.

  Knox exited the water, exposing thighs that were even larger, and more defined, than Melody remembered. And when he was on dry land, Melody forgot for a moment about Sparrow, and stared at the near naked man before her.

  But Sparrow didn’t freeze. Instead, he dropped Melody, and took a step back. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Her man.” Knox sprinted from the water, and threw a fast right hand at Sparrow. The punch connected. Sparrow’s head jerked to the side and he fell to the ground.

  “Hey partner, try this on for size.” One of the men Melody had beaten was back on his feet and running towards Knox, and he threw a punch at the giant man’s chin.

  Quick as a cat, Knox ducked it, and threw one of his own. It connected with the man’s solar plexus.

  He huffed, and then fell to the sand like a marionette with its strings cut.

  The third man rose, saw he was outnumbered, and sprinted away.

  Knox ignored him, grabbed Melody, and pulled her into his arms. “Are you alright?”

  “How did you… get back so fast?” she said.

  “It doesn’t matter…” He looked into Melody’s brown eyes. And was so lost the words didn’t come. It was like drowning. “I… It’s not… I didn’t… Just tell me, are you alright? Did they hurt you?”

  “No.” Melody's breathing was under control, but her heart hammered away. “I’m fine. They barely touched me. How’d you know to come?”

  “I heard you singing our song, and…”

  Melody was staring up at Knox.

  He looked at her. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her. How much he needed her. How angry he was she’d left. He wanted to scream about the agony she’d caused and the hole that was left in his heart.

  Instead, he pulled her in tight, and laid his lips upon hers.

  Melody froze. Then melted. Knox was soft. But firm. His mouth was hot. And wet. And every inch of his hard body felt amazingly smooth.

  Melody pressed her tongue into his. It was like biting into a ripe pear. His sweet juices flowed over her lips. She reveled in its taste. And something stirred inside her. Something primal. Visceral. Like a song of the sea, it echoed deep within her, loud and clear and true. She could’ve stayed there, listening to it forever.

  But Knox pulled away, yet he still kept her in his hold. He still had so much to say.

  Melody's head swam and spun. She stroked his cheek. “Knox, is there-”

  “Come on!” Sparrow yelled.

  Melody and Knox looked over.

  Sparrow and his man were on their feet, and stumbling away.

  Knox moved to intercept.

  But Melody grabbed his wrist tight. “Forget them. We’ll call the police later.”

  Knox stood firm between Melody and the fleeing criminals. A few seconds and they were on the boardwalk, and a few more before they vanished into the night. Then he turned back to Melody.

  She was breathing lightly. Her half-exposed chest rising and falling like the sea. And her brown hair cascaded down, an untamed waterfall that crashed on her shoulders.

  Knox reached out, and grabbed the broken strap on her dress. “You’re sure you’re ok?”

  Melody grabbed his hand. It was hard. Like iron. She held it tight. “I’m fine. Now.”

  They stood there, hand-in-hand, for a moment. Their eyes were locked on one another. Lost in one another.

  It was Knox who moved first. Stepping forward, he again took Melody in his arms.

  She looked up at him. He was so powerful, but it was obvious, even as he overwhelmed her, he was helpless in her thrall. “Knox…” she whispered.

  Without a word, Knox crashed down upon her like a wave on a reef. Overpowering. All-encompassing. He consumed her, and they tumbled to the sand. His mouth was everywhere. On her lips. Her neck, then onto her shoulder. Lingering there, he bit and nibbled, his rough beard scratching her soft skin. />
  Then he moved lower. With one of the dress straps already snapped, Knox moved the cloth aside easily, and slipped her right breast from the bra that held it. Cupping it with his powerful, calloused hands, he kissed around the nipple, and gently took her soft flesh in his mouth.

  Melody moaned, “Please… Don’t…”

  Knox paused. “Don’t what?”

  Melody grabbed a handful of his thick, black hair, and pulled him close. “Stop. Please don’t stop.”

  Taking his order, Knox started tonguing her nipple. It stiffened as he rolled it around his mouth, and Melody savored the electric pleasure that pulsed through it. Between her legs, a hot wetness built, as her pussy screamed for attention it hadn’t gotten in months. It was like her engine was starting. His tongue was bringing her to a boil. Putting both hands on Knox’s hard, wet shoulders, she pushed him down.

  And despite his incredible mass, he went with ease. Gliding down her body, he lay small kisses on her stomach as he went, while his hands ran up Melody's thighs, and pushed the hem of her yellow dress up, exposing the red, lacy panties beneath. With a gentle finger, Knox moved the sheer fabric aside. And stared at his prize.

  Melody looked down. “What is it?”

  “Your pussy, I forgot how beautiful it is,” he said, not breaking his gaze.

  Melody smiled. “Really?”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Knox said. Then he licked his lips. And buried his face between her legs.

  Sometimes, when a man, especially one with a beard, would go down on Melody, she’d find the initial touch to be tickling. A small bit of discomfort before the pleasure began.

  This was not one of those times.

  Knox’s beard may’ve felt rough against the inside of her thighs, but his tongue was soft as it danced across her clit. The thick, hot muscle swept back and forth slowly, never breaking contact.