His shoulders bunch. "I couldn’t stay longer. I’ve never managed to stay underwater for more than four-and-a-half minutes."
"That’s a lot. I don’t know anyone else who can stay underwater for that long."
"Thanks. I’d hoped to beat my past record. But I seem to have hit a wall." The veins stand out on his neck. Damn, this man is constantly trying to compete with himself. Another thing which turns me on.
"How deep did you go?" I clear my throat.
"To the bottom. About three meters. In a pool this size, it’s not about the depth as much as it is learning to hold your breath underwater for longer periods of time."
"Of course." I feel a little foolish that I thought it was about how deep he could go in the pool.
As if reading the expression on my face, his own features soften. "It is about how far you can go. But that’s when I go diving in the sea."
"And you do that often?”
"Whenever I can get away. There’s a place on the South Coast of the country where I can dive to a depth of fifty meters."
I gape at him. "That sounds dangerous."
"I never go alone. I have a free-diving instructor and a team standing by to get me, if needed."
"Has that happened?"
His jaw hardens. "I’ve never managed to go beyond twenty meters. The last few times I tried, I had to turn back."
James Hamilton, had to turn back from something? Wow.
"What happened that you had to turn back?"
A vein pops at his temple. "I ran out of air." He says it without sentiment.But the expression on his face tells me this is his personal nightmare.
"Not something you’re accustomed to?"
He gives me a strange look. "I’m not so egoistical to think I don’t have limits."
"But becoming a Marine was all about pushing limits," I prompt him.
Some of the tension leaves his big frame. "Precisely. It makes you aware that there is always another limit to be crossed."
"Is that why you dive? To cross another limit?"
He runs his fingers through his hair; water drips down his throat, his shoulders, and his chest. It’s like I’m gazing at my own personal Poseidon. All water and muscle and masculine beauty that makes my mouth go dry and my pussy get wet, which is definitely not from the chlorinated water surrounding us.
"I dive because when I’m deep enough in the open sea, it’s dark. And quiet. And I can finally hear myself think."
"Oh." That’s a different way of looking at it. It’s also a very interesting insight into this very complex man, who’s my husband. Who I’m beginning to fall for more every day.
"Show me."
The words are out before I think them through.
He looks at me. "What?"
"What it feels like to hold my breath that long."
Something shifts in his eyes, then he banks it.
"Why?" His face is expressionless. But there’s an edge of excitement to his voice he can’t hide.
