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Collin started to lean over again, then stopped and stood.
Oh, God. I’d pushed him too far.
He stripped his T-shirt over his head and tossed it down, then unfastened his jeans, dropping them to his feet.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed.
Collin stepped off the edge of the boat and into the water. He disappeared with a splash, and his head popped up in front of me a few seconds later. “I’m making sure you don’t drown, although I’m not sure why. You are the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever known.” He spread my legs apart and grabbed the end of the metal ladder, pulling himself up so that he was almost level with my face.
I gaped, surprised by his sudden intrusion into my personal space.
He saw my shock and gave me his shit-eating grin. “I said we’d do this my way.”
But I knew it had been a spur of the moment decision. I swallowed, my body already reacting to his nearness. “Okay.”
His smile fell, and his gaze landed on my lips. “Loop your arms through the ladder.”
I struggled to breathe. “What?”
He released his hold, dropping into the water again, and reached up and threaded my right arm and then the left around the ladder so that the crook of my elbows caught on the support. He grabbed the ladder and pulled himself up again, weaving his arms above mine. “Lift both your hands and hold on with your left.”
I did as he asked and looked into his face, expecting to see his usual arrogance there. Instead, I saw desperation and longing.
He reached up and grabbed the bar with his left hand before reaching his right across his chest to mine.
“Don’t let us drown,” I whispered.
“I’m already drowning, Ellie.”
His mouth lowered to mine, and my breath caught in my chest as fire shot through my body. I started to turn my head, but then his hand grabbed mine, and my senses were jolted by the manitou. The life force of millions and millions of beings poured through me at once. The sensations flooded every part of my being. I leaned my head back and gasped, staring up into the now darkening sky. A star shone brightly overheard.
Collin’s feelings washed through me in thick waves of desire and sadness, guilt and stubbornness. His pulse quickened. He wanted me more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, but something was holding him back. Something that frightened him.
His breath became more rapid, and the star overhead began to pulse, expanding and contracting over and over again until it swallowed me whole.
I found myself standing in a field that was flooded with bright white light. It should have been blinding but wasn’t. The colors of the grass and flowers, the stream that gurgled nearby, the mountains in the distance, and the blue sky full of puffy clouds were vibrant, but they seemed washed out at the same time.
“Ellie?”
I spun around and gasped. Daddy was standing in front of me. I stumbled backward, splashing into the stream. “No. You’re not Daddy.”
His face softened, a warm smile lighting up his face. “Yes, Elliphant, it’s me.”
Tears stung my eyes, and my breath came in pants in my attempt to keep control. “No.” I shook my head. “Okeus tricked me before.”
“Ellie, it’s me.” He took my hand and smiled. His was warm and soft. “I can’t come back to you in the earthly world, but Ahone has allowed me to see you.”
I threw my arms around his neck and he held me tight. His familiar smell surrounded me. It was the right one this time.
“Ellie, I’m so proud of you. And so is your mother.”
I pulled back to look into his loving face. “Momma?”
“She’s with me. We’re together.”
My heart shattered, and my voice broke. “She’s in hell too?”
He shook his head, tenderness washing over his face. “No, baby. We’re not in hell. We’re in heaven.”
