“Jump?”
“Jump.”
I closed my eyes and jumped.
Chapter
Eleven
Water swallowed me completely, and the shock of cold jolted my senses. I waved my arms around wildly, Donovan tugged one hand, squeezing my fingers.
“Open your eyes.” His voice sounded muffled. Oh, shit, we were underwater, deep underwater; I couldn’t feel anything below me. I opened my eyes, bracing myself for the sting of salt and frantically looked up.
Blue. Just endless blue. I couldn’t see the surface.
Panic gripped me, and Donovan tugged me back down to face him. Something was covering his face; a bubble of air was suspended over his mouth and nose.
“Just breathe,” he ordered.
I shook my head frantically. Where the hell wasmyportable oxygen bubble? My chest was getting tight.
I started kicking. I had to find the surface, or I was going to drown any second. But… Where was the surface?
Donovan let out a growl, let go of my hand, and clamped both of his hands over my face, pulling me down to face him directly. To my surprise, I realized I could see as clearly as if I was wearing goggles; my vision wasn’treduced by the water surrounding me. I could see every detail of his shockingly handsome face, the rigid lines of his hard jaw, his sculpted cheekbones, his furious, blazing green eyes.
“Breathe,” he ordered, shaking me gently. “You have mer blood. Reach into yourself, find your magic, and let yourself breathe.”
I shook my head again, too scared to waste any of the oxygen in my lungs to reply.I can’t, I mouthed.I’ll drown.
My head started to spin. Oh, God, my chest was too tight. I kicked out, trying to break free, but Donovan held me in an iron grip. He wouldn’t let me go.
“Breathe,” he growled, clamping his hands tighter on my face. “Now.”
Panic overwhelmed me. I had to get away. I had to find the surface, now. Without thinking about what I was doing, I sank down a little, reached out, grabbed Donovan by the hips, and kneed him in the groin as hard as I could.
“Oof.” Shock blazed over his hard expression, and he let me go. I took the opportunity to kick out, trying to head to the surface. I had no idea where it was, though. There was only endless blue as far as my eyes could see.
A hand caught my foot; I squeaked. It dragged me back down, pulling me through the water almost effortlessly. Donovan turned me to face him again, his expression furious.
“Are you completely incompetent?” he shouted through his air bubble. “You think thatI’ma terrible leader? I’m communicating to you, but you have no idea how to follow instructions!” He shook me again. “Breathe, you incompetent, foolish woman!”
What did he just call me?
A fire lit up my belly, going from a tiny spark to an inferno in just a millisecond. It felt like I was no longer awoman—I was a volcano, and I was about to erupt. It was too late, too late to stop the explosion, I couldn’t take deep, slow breaths and calm down, there was no time to repeat mantras or call Bronwyn or take one of my pills…
My whole body pulsed; an electric current burst through me, sending a shock of intense, blistering outrage through me. I poked Donovan in his ridiculously hard chest. “Listen here, you arrogant bastard,” I snapped back. “You don’t throw someone into a project without preparing them properly first. You have given me zero instructions.”
“I have told you exactly what you must do, and you are fighting me.” His eyes narrowed, burning into mine with a blazing intensity. “You know what you are? You are difficult to work with.”
I gasped; he’d hit me right where it hurt. As far as I was concerned, that was the worst insult he could have come up with. “Donovan, I amnotdifficult to work with. I am a professional. You haveliterallythrown me into the deep end. How am I supposed to?—”
One corner of his lip twitched just a fraction. A smug light sparked in his eyes.
“Oh.”
I could breathe. Huh.
Donovan didn’t smile, but a definite lightness lifted the hard lines in his face. Bastard.
