“Your face,” he said, still laughing as he treaded water. “You should have seen your face!”
“I thought you’d drowned!”
“In twelve feet of water?”
“I thought you’d hit your head, or—or—” She couldn’t finish, torn between relief and fury. “That was cruel.”
“That wasfun.” He swam closer, catching the side of the boat. Water streamed from his hair, droplets clinging to his lashes. “Come in.”
“Absolutelynot.”
“Cecilia...”
“No.”
“The water’s perfect. Warm as a bath.”
She crossed her arms. “You just terrified me. Why in heavens would I—”
He splashed her.
The water hit her square in the face, shockingly cold despite his lies about it being warm. She sputtered, shoving wet hair from her eyes.
“Now you’re already wet,” he pointed out reasonably.
She gasped at his audacity with a hand to her chest as she snapped, “I’m going to push you under and hold you there.”
“Empty threats.” But his grin gentled into something softer. Extending a hand, he said, “Come on. Trust me.”
Shewantedto stay angry. Really, she did. But the sunlight on the water and the boyishness in his eyes and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation made her lips twitch.
“If I drown—” she warned, already unlacing her half boots.
“I won’t let you drown. I love you, remember?”
She giggled as she shrugged out of her spencer, then her dress, until she was down to her chemise and stays. Even that felt scandalous, but there was no one for miles. Just them and the sea and the endless blue sky.
Perched on the edge of the boat, she looked down at the water. It seemed much farther now. “I… I don’t know how to swim,” she confessed, blushing a deep crimson.
“I know. That’s why I’m here.” He held out both hands. “Jump. I’ll catch you. Or at least I’ll try,” he grimaced teasingly.
She shot him a cutting glare. Taking a breath, Cecilia jumped.
The water closed over her head, cool and silencing, and for one panicked heartbeat, she was sure she’d sink straight to the bottom. Then Cassian’s hands were there, solid and sure, pulling her up. She broke the surface, gasping, clinging to his shoulders like a feral cat.
“There,” he said quietly. “See? I’ve got you.”
Her feet couldn’t touch the bottom. She was completely dependent on him, on the strength of his arms around her waist, and somehow... that didn’t frighten her at all.
“Now what?” she asked as her teeth chattered in the cold.
“Now we float.”
He talked her through it patiently. How to lie back, how to let the water take her weight, how to trust that it would hold her. The first few tries, she panicked and flailed, but eventually she managed it. Cassian’s hand stayed beneath her back, barely touching, just enough to remind her he was there.
The sun warmed her face. The water lapped gently at her ears, muffling sound. Above her, the sky stretched vast and blue, and she felt absurdly, impossiblyfree.
“I’m doing it,” she said, and couldn’t help her delighted laugh. “I’m floating.”
