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Panting hard, I curled myself around his bicep and wrapped my arms around his neck tight enough to pull up from the water.
“Darling, relax. Just breathe and relax.”
Still barnacled to his body, I rested my forehead on his shoulder and attempted to breathe, as he said.
“Close your eyes. We’re going to play a little game.”
“What game?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“You’re going to lie back, head beneath the water’s surface.”
Wordless, I shook my head, and if my fingers could’ve possibly dug any deeper, I was certain I’d have been clutching his bones.
“You’re not relaxed, Tu Nazhja. If you’re not relaxed, this isn’t going to work, and it has to. The line between life and death is far too fragile for panic. You’re stronger than this.”
Tears welled in my eyes, frustration and terror battling inside my head.
“Focus on my voice. Can you do that?”
I gave a small nod, ignoring the way my chest expanded and filled with cold panic.
“I want you to lie back a little. You can hang onto me, but lie back.”
Muscles burning with hesitation, I reluctantly leaned back, and he leaned with me until the cold porcelain pressed into my spine, the edge of the tub resting against my nape.
“Good girl,” he whispered, stroking my hair back, before he planted a kiss on my forehead. “Now close your eyes.”
I licked my bone-dry lips and did as he asked, shutting out the sight of the water at my breasts.
“Breathe.”
Drawing in a long breath, I felt his hand stroke my hair again.
“I’m going to make you relax, and I want you to focus on me. My words. My touch. It’s all I want you to think about. Nothing else. Understand?”
“I’ll try.”
“Not good enough. There is only me and nothing else. Say it.”
“There is only you and nothing else.”
“Good. Just breathe.”
As my mind took in his words, swallowed them like a lifeline, he shifted, jostling the water, and on a gasp, I clutched him tighter. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see the frustration on his face.
“Relax, Farryn. Picture yourself floating above this water. Into the air. Safe.”
“I’ll feelreals-s-s-safe if you l-l-l-lift me out of here.”
His dark chuckle offered only a minor distraction from the distressed gurgling of my stomach. “The way you’re clutching to me, I’d be inclined to, but that isn’t going to save you. Now focus. Picture yourself through my eyes. Naked. Perfect. Wet.”
A sudden warmth pulsed beneath my skin, and not just because of his words. The feeling hooked itself inside my muscles, stirring an ache between my thighs. I’d felt it before, that day in his office when I could hardly sit still as he’d interrogated me.
“Y-y-you’re glamouring me right now?”
“I take offense to that word.”
“I … I c-c-c-can’t.”
