The Aurelia

5. Finding the Aurelia

Lucy leapt into Tim's arms the second she read the name on the cannon, and he pushed them up to the water's surface while feeling her limbs wrap around him tightly.

"We found the Aurelia!" She screamed directly into his ear.

"You found the Aurelia," he replied. "It was your idea to consider the reef as a reason for changing courses. You did good, Lucy."

She was beaming when she pulled back just enough to see his eyes. "We both did. You and me together got this far," Lucy insisted.

Tim wanted to keep her in his arms and see her smiling at him all night, and he would have if Jackson had not interrupted.

"Did you guys find something?" Jackson called over to them.

"We found it! We found the Aurelia!" Lucy shouted back, her body still draped around Tim's.

"Did you find the treasure, too?"

"Not as far as we can tell, but we'll keep looking in the morning," Tim replied.

Lucy finally detached and swam back to the yacht. With the diving equipment safely stowed away again, she pulled him to her for another hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Tim had not stopped thinking about the way they almost kissed in the cave or how she was holding onto him tightly now, plus the excitement of proving that the sunken ship was found. And perhaps it would be forward or it had been a long time coming, but he rocked back to look into her eyes and soak up all of the joy radiating off of her body. Then, he put a hand under her chin and slowly angled her face up to his. "Lucy," he breathed right against her lips and dropped his hand away; if they were going to kiss, he wanted her to be the one to bridge the minuscule gap.

"This is a bad idea," she replied quietly.

"I don't really care," he smirked but stayed perfectly still.

She pressed her lips gently to his, said "Good night, Bradford," and left him alone in the dark. He was not going to let her go, so he chased after her, still dripping wet from their dive and pulled at her arm to spin her around. Lucy looked up at him curiously but only for a second.

Tim did not waste any time hunching low to kiss her again. REALLY kiss her with heat and passion and every single feeling he had never felt before for another person until Lucy. She gasped when his tongue found hers, and he thought he might have pushed too far. He thought that maybe he had overstepped.

But, she slammed him into the nearby wall, pinning him right against her body as she took control of the kiss. Just as he thought he only ever wanted to live sharing the same breath as her and tasting her lips, she pulled back. "Tim, we can't. I can't. We have a treasure to find."

"I don't care about the treasure," his voice was desperate, and he gripped tighter where he realized his hands had been holding her hips.

"Well, I do. I'm sorry," she apologized and walked away.

It was not an outright rejection; she just made her priorities clear, he thought, and besides, a kiss like that could never be explained away...right?

~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning of diving with metal detectors yielded SOME results- old remnants of the Aurelia were found, but no sign of the treasure. Their discoveries were historical in nature, and they would definitely still be donated to a museum, but Lucy wanted to find the Queen's Dowry. She could practically imagine the sight of the wooden chests bursting with gold and jewels, and she KNEW she could find it.

Tim saw Lucy's look of excitement, and he knew she had not given up hope. He was about to say something encouraging when he felt goosebumps form on the back of his neck. He felt like he was being watched, and he did not know why. His suspicions and worry were overtaken by Lucy's voice.