Caiden and Shane stood on the shore, watching. Shane was already texting Sabrina, rolling his eyes as she made faces at him from the water.
But Caiden’s gaze was trapped on me. Caged. Like he didn’t trust himself to move any closer. Like if he did, he might break something.
Maybe me. Maybe himself.
I tried not to care. I tried to let the cold and the salt and the weight of Alex’s hand ground me.
But the ache was still there.
The wanting.
The terror and the hope.
Every moment, I wondered when the calm would snap. When the storm would break. When one of us would finally stop pretending.
But for now, I laughed too loud at Alex’s joke. I let him keep his arm pressed to my spine. I turned my back on the shore, on the relentless eyes tracking my every move.
Let him watch.
Let him suffer for once.
But even as I thought it, I knew the truth.
I was still his. No matter how many times I tried to swim away.
If I closed my eyes, I could almost see the cage again. Could almost feel Blake’s hand at my throat, or the beat of Caiden’s heart as he tried to keep me alive.
But I was here.I was still here.
On the shore, Caiden and Shane had barely moved.
Alex splashed water at my knees, bright and silly. “Bet you can’t hit me,” he said, all challenge.
I smirked, bent, and threw a fistful of cold water into his chest. The droplets splattered up his shirt, making him hiss.
“That’s how it is?” he grinned, and before I knew it, I was tackled, spinning, his arms around my waist as he lifted me half off my feet. Water everywhere, my breath torn from my lungs, the laughter raw and real for a second.
The world went dizzy, sunlight flashing off the surface, the taste of salt and adrenaline in my mouth.
He set me down, steadied me when my legs nearly gave out. Our faces close, breath mixing, his eyes so blue it hurt to look.
He wanted to kiss me. I saw the thought, bright and quick, but he hesitated. “You okay?” he whispered. “You look?—”
“Fine,” I cut in, too fast. My heart stuttered, panic and want tangled tight.
He didn’t push. Just let his hands linger, not quite letting go.
But in the space between us, I could feel Caiden’s hunger like a storm barreling down the sand. I didn’t have to check, I could feel it in my bones. Possessive. Ache so strong it bordered on violence.
Sydney screamed again, and the moment snapped.
Sabrina waved us over. “Come help! He’s too strong—” Shane had Sydney in a half-dunk, both of them howling, Sabrina futilely splashing water at his legs.
Alex loosened his grip on me and offered a hand. “Should we rescue the damsels in distress?”
I barked out a laugh. “They’ll probably drown us first.”
Another wave crashed at my knees, cold all the way to my spine. But the panic was duller now. My body, for all its alarms, wasn’t running.
