AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He saw me. He’s coming for me.
Or perhaps I’m imagining it.
Perhaps I just want to hear it?
“Fuck it,” Roger rumbles and I feel his shoulder in my stomach as the tilting ship starts to right itself.
Before I can even think about grabbing a hold of anything, gravity starts to take me towards the black water and a coldness like none I’ve ever felt hits me. It felt like I was falling forever before the wind escaped my lungs and, in its place, came salty water so cold I can’t move a muscle.
Roger vanishes into the water, releasing me the second it hit us both. I can still hear his maniacal laughter in my ear. It’ll be the last thing I hear before I die.
But then…. Then I remember the life jacket as the water stirs around me.
My frozen hand slowly moves in the water, reaching for the cord.
I yank it twice and feel pressure around my face and chest as I start to rise in a cloud of bubbles.
The second my face feels the air I try to gasp for oxygen but my chest burns and aches.
I can’t breathe, at all.
Voices yell from above as an arm wraps around my stomach. At first, I think it’s Roger and panic, ready to kick and thrash, but then I hear his voice in my ear.
“Breathe. I’ve got you.”
I turn, wrapping my arms around his neck as he extends his arm, gripping a rope tight. We leave the water slowly, hitting the side of the ship though he turns us so his side takes the brunt of it.
“PULL!” somebody cries. “PULL!”
With every pull, we rise a metre more until finally, hands grasp at us both and we drop to the deck, panting, spluttering and breathing heavy. My body is a fleshy rock, too heavy for my lack of energy.
“Get her up,” somebody shouts. “Get her moving.”
Captain stands, shaking his limbs and hopping around as I’m yanked to my feet which are boneless. I can hardly stand my body is full of tiny pins and needles.
They tear the life jacket from my body and toss it away.
The rain still pours but like a moment of magic, the air settles and the sound of the waves crashing suddenly stills as though they were never rioting in the first place. Captain presses me into his body, rocking us, moving us as the rising sun gifts us its warmth. The men around us, themselves damp, join in and I realise they’re using body heat to help our temperatures rise.
“You’re okay,” he whispers into my hair, trembling and breathing heavily.
“You jumped in after me, are you crazy?”
He pulls back and smiles but I miss his heat and immediately bury my face in his neck. “Back to work, men. We’re good.”
“Speak for yourself.” My teeth chatter as I cling to him for dear life. The heat leaves my back and a blanket replaces it. “This is going to get soaked.”
“It’s a foil quilt, it’ll be fine,” Captain whispers ripping off his bandana when it falls over his eyes.
“You dove in after me,” I repeat as another storm cloud covers the sun, shrouding us in shadows. Rain continues to pour so he walks us backwards, standing us under a flap of metal that overhangs a square container that’s just bigger than him. The rain is at an angle so it continues pelting us but at least we can get our body temperatures back in private. “You saved me.”
He lets his head fall back and once again the sun appears, casting an orange glow over his handsome features.
“Is the information that important to you?” I’m fishing, trying to figure out his motives. “Is that why you put yourself at risk?”
His eyes flash back to mine, the green glows and smoulders with an intensity I can’t place. “No.”
They flicker to my lips as he dips his head and I raise mine to meet him. I don’t care about anything else right now. How can I?
But then I see Niall, I see how scared he must be, his love for me causing his desperation. Could I do this to him? Willingly kiss the man who is the cause of all of this?
I step away, regretting my own lack of strength instantly. “I should go inside.”
He doesn’t protest and I’m grateful for that.
Back in his room, I remove my sodden clothing, letting it drop to the floor. I don’t know if I’m allowed a shower yet but I need to. It’s funny after spending time in the freezing sea I need a cold shower.
I turn it on, keeping a fluffy towel wrapped around my body as I wait for it to heat.
He jumped in after me without hesitation. He could have hit the water wrong, or winded himself and drowned, or basically anything else.
What am I doing?
