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He set her on the ledge with her legs in the water. “They won’t get in the way?”
“No. If they do, I will take them off for you.” His eyebrows waggled. He slid the loose shirt from his shoulders and removed his trousers.
Her breath left her lungs. “You look lovely naked.”
He looked pleased but said, “Lovely?”
“Yes, and a little tense, but I am in no shape to help you with that.”
He hopped into the water and reached up to grip her waist. “One more reason to get you back into full health.”
She laughed as he pulled her toward him, and there was a splash when they came together. The area was large, and there would be room to learn to move herself in the water. “This is manmade.”
“It is. My father built it. He wanted a place where he could take us and teach us without throwing us straight into the waves. So, he built us a pool, and all the locals are free to use it.” He smiled. “Now, the first thing we will teach you is to float on your back.”
He eased her to her back and held her. “Relax and don’t tense up. When you are limp, you will start to feel the pulse in the ocean.”
“It has a pulse?” She focused on his hands in the cool water. She tried to remain relaxed, and slowly, he started to lower his hands.
“Of course.”
She found herself swaying, but the water was holding her up. No horse. No armour. She was swaying with the water that came through the piled stones and exhaled. “Okay. Not sinking. What next?”
“Good girl.”
She shuddered and glared at him. “Are you trying to drown me?”
“No, but the water level just rose.” He laughed. “You might be trying to drown me.”
“Oh, shut up.”
He laughed and moved next to her. “Put your arms down by your hips, keep your fingers together, and fan your way through the water. A slight figure eight should get you on your way.”
He continued to coach her as she learned how to move around on the surface, and when she had gained competence, it was time to learn to tread water.
He was encouraging and helpful, and when she began to hold her breath underwater, he kept a watchful eye on her. After a minute, he gestured for her to rise, and when she flipped him the bird, he grabbed her and hauled her upward.
She gasped, and he held her above the water. “Xeva, this is serious. Next is a front crawl. You are going to propel yourself forward, and that is the means you will use to get yourself through the water.” He chuckled. “This will be it for today, and tomorrow, we will try the ocean. It is different from swimming in a pool.”
She sighed. “Fine. What does a crawl look like?”
He demonstrated while she trod water, and when it was her turn, she worked her way across the pool and back again.
She grabbed the stones and felt her arms shaking. “Okay, so that explains your shoulders.”
He pinned her to the wall. “It is an effort to keep up the muscles to make the ocean fun. You are in good shape, but you used to have a lot more muscle. It will return.”
She looked up at him, looping her hands around his neck. “You didn’t mind the muscle?”
He laughed. “I benefited from it on many occasions, and I do enjoy the line of your spine from neck to tailbone.”
She didn’t need to look to see that her nipples had hardened. “Sorry. It has been a while.”
Jeron kissed her slowly. “For me, too, though the dates where sex was off the table were nice, too.”
She blushed. “Not being allowed to get excited was torture.”
“I don’t even want to imagine. I am sorrier than I can express that you were injured.” He looked morose.
