I jump—
The moment I submerge, my mind catches up.
Shit. This is a horrible plan.
I break the surface right as she does.
She rips her goggles off, chest heaving as she sucks in air. Droplets stream down her face, hair clinging to her head like she just walked out of a storm. Her lashes are dark and spiked, her lips parted, slick and tempting as hell.
Jesus. She’s a goddamn revelation.
So gorgeous it hurts.
Her gaze locks onto mine. The shock lasts for barely a heartbeat before she’s doing that familiar, sharp narrowing.
“Seriously?” she pants, treading in place.
I’ve got a thousand things trying to come out at once.Thank you. I’m fine. You saved me.
The truth gets caught somewhere in my throat, wires crossing.
“THHHGGGLLLOOUURRRPPPP.”
I clamp my jaw shut.
Fuck.
Her expression shifts for a moment. Concern. Real concern.
“Hey. Are you okay?” she asks, moving a little closer.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just—” I try to grind the gravel out of my throat. “Just the aftermath of adrenaline. Vocal cords pissed off. Standard shit.”
“You’re not fine. You almost died. And now you sound like a garbage disposal chewing on a fork.”
There she is.
“Funny, Stopwatch. Last time I checked, you weren’t a doctor.”
She splashes toward me, frustration flashing now that she’s decided I’m not actively dying. “You scared the absolute hell out of everyone today.”
“Everyone?” I lean in, the water swirling between our chests. “Or you?”
“You waded into the ocean after I told you to stay put,” she snaps, her voice pitching higher. “Again! Let me guess, you didn’t hear me?”
“I heard you, Ivy.”
“Great. So you admit you were being reckless. Ya know, I spent half the night filing incident reports because of you. My hand still hurts from documenting your stupidity.”
“I got the shot, didn’t I?”
Her stare goes flat.
“You almost got dead.”
She kicks a slow rhythm, chin tipped up in that defiant way that usually makes me want to argue her into a corner and then kiss her senseless.
“You’re impossible.” She drags a hand through her wet hair and breaks eye contact.
