Devil and the Deep (The Ceruleans Book 4) - Julie Ann Walker Page 0,119

becoming something he would never become. But she was happy too. Happy because—

He loves me! He loves me! He loves me!

Her heart had been crying the refrain since the words first formed in his mouth.

“And we’re goin’ to prove it,” she promised. “Month after month, year after year, you and me. We’re goin’ to prove that blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t thicker than love.”

He made a strangled sound at the back of his throat. Then his lips were on hers. And just like always, once they started, they couldn’t stop.

* * *

“How goes the search for the Santa Cristina?” Maddy asked, feathering her fingers through his chest hair.

They’d spread her robe on the tiles of her kitchen floor and made love. Twice. The first time was fast and hard and desperate. The second time was soft and slow and delicious. Now they were both lazy and sated.

At least for the time being…

Bran knew it wouldn’t take much to get him going again. Everything about Maddy turned him on. He ran his fingers down the supple arch of her back and blew out a breath. “Slowly,” he admitted.

“What does that mean?” she asked, wiggling closer. Such a warm, wiggling, wonderful woman. His woman.

He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea. Still terrified that loving her so much would make him become the thing he hated most. But she was sure of him, sure of them. And her certainty was proving wonderfully contagious. He was beginning to believe. Beginning to consider the possibility that he could be more, be better than he’d ever hoped. And with that belief came a peace that ate away at his fear, little by little, bite by bite. One day, he prayed one day soon, it would be gone from him completely.

“It means we haven’t found anything else that definitively points to the wreck,” he admitted. “There have been some debris and a few pieces of iron that look like they might have been the ties on the ship. But nothing else.”

She pushed up on her elbow and cupped her chin in her hand. Her eyes melted him when she asked, “Are you worried?”

“Nah,” he assured her, dipping his fingers into one of the little dimples above her plump ass. “It’s early yet. And the seabed shifts every day, not to mention what it’s done over the past four hundred years. She’s down there. She’s just gonna make us work for it.”

Maddy pursed her lips. When he saw the top one plump, his dick flexed against his thigh. “The best ones always do.” She winked.

“So I’ve been told.” Round three of lovemaking was just around the corner, and this time he planned to bend her over the kitchen table. He’d love her and watch her flesh pinken in the morning light filtering in through the plantation-style shutters. “Doc thinks we should let Chrissy Szarek bring her customers out for treasure-hunting excursions. He thinks having more fins and tanks in the water will cut down on our search time.”

“Chrissy Szarek?” Maddy lifted a brow.

“She’s this leggy blond who runs a dive shop in Key West,” Bran explained. “She and LT go way back. Their dads were friends or something. Anyway, she thinks people will pay a pretty penny for a chance to spend an afternoon diving for sunken treasure.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Maddy mused. “More eyes in the water coverin’ more ground. But I’m not likin’ the sound of a leggy blond hangin’ out with you every day.”

She was jealous. And it was adorable. “I only have eyes for blonds with banging booties,” he assured her, grabbing a substantial handful of her ass.

She narrowed her eyes. “You better make that a blond with a bangin’ booty. Singular.”

“That’s a given.” He grinned. He’d been grinning for so long now his face hurt. But he couldn’t stop. He was…happy. In love. And it was amazing. And horny-making. That kitchen table seemed to be calling his name. “Anyway, LT isn’t completely sold on the idea. He thinks the divers won’t stick to the grid pattern needed to make sure every inch of the bottom gets searched. It’s tedious work, and he’s afraid they’ll get bored. And then Wolf objects to the whole thing because he and Chrissy don’t get along.”

“Wolf doesn’t get along with someone?” Both of her eyebrows reached for her hairline.

“I know,” he agreed. “Weird, right? Wolf gets along with everyone.” Bran had his suspicions about what the problem