I have just enough room to fit between his thighs, though half my ass is hanging off the edge. He’s pressed tightly into me, body heat emanating from him in waves.
It’s awful how grounding it feels. Howsafe. It’s absolutely terrible that the residual anxiety ebbs beneath the press of his bare skin against my back.
It doesn’t dissipate completely, leaving me tense and on edge, but I’m no longer wanting to claw at my throat in desperation for air.
I release a shaky breath, embarrassment stinging my cheeks now that clarity is settling back in.
This is a much different approach than when Dread threw me in the pool. Him kissing me had only kept me temporarily distracted, but the second I climbed out of the pool, all I could feel was the weight of the water engulfing my body. The memories flooded my brain by the time I locked myself in my dorm room, and it took hours before I could take a full breath again.
At least then, I could break down in the safety of my room—alone. Dread seeing me freak out is akin to slime coating every inch of my skin. It’s suffocating and uncomfortable.
Silently, Dread reaches past me, scoops up a handful of water, and pours it over my thigh. Goosebumps instantly break out across my entire body, and the little hairs coating my arms stand on end. I shiver, though it isn’t the temperature of the water cooling my blood.
“When you move through water, it separates to allow you inside it,” he says softly. “It yields toyou.”
I inhale sharply when he lifts another palm full and pours it over my thigh again. I’m both riveted and sickened by the sight of the droplets splashing over my skin before sliding down my leg in rivulets.
“Water in itself isn’t dangerous. It’s just a tool, something easy tomanipulate. It’s what wields power over it that turns it into a monster. The wind creates waves in the ocean. Those waves can turn into riptides when something obstructs its flow. Storms, volcanoes, earthquakes… all powerful forces that turn the ocean into a weapon.”
A shudder works through me as his deep, soft voice rolls against my nerves. It’s as soothing as it is electrifying.
“Be the storm, darling,” he rasps quietly, eliciting another tremor as he pours more water over my trembling thighs. “Command the water, wield it like a weapon. In here,youare the force to be reckoned with, not it.”
Releasing a shaky breath, I nod.
“Move down one step.”
The order has my chest tightening with anxiety, but I force myself to scoot forward and sink onto the first step between his legs, my feet moving down to the second. Yet another shiver works through me as the cool water engulfs my bottom half.
I close my eyes and try to picture myself in the bathtub instead, but the overwhelming smell of chlorine keeps the fantasy at bay. No matter how hard I try to imagine otherwise, I’m not in a safe place, and my brain refuses to let me forget it.
As if sensing my turmoil, Dread pushes me forward until I’m at the edge and then drops onto the step behind me. Instantly, the heat at my back and his strong presence soothe the panic like ointment over a burn.
I’m too panicky to consider what that means. All I can think about is how oppressive the water feels around me, like I’m submerged in thick goo rather than fluid liquid.
“Sit as still as you can,” he orders, grabbing my hands and resting them on each of my thighs. I deliberately ignore how his massive hands feel wrapped around mine, instead focusing on his words.
I try to still the trembling in my body as best I can, and for several long moments, we sit there in silence.
“You see how the water doesn’t move on its own? It can’t climb up your body and suffocate you. It only moves when you do.”
I nod, the movement aggressive and choppy, like I’m trying to convince myself of it. Maybe because I’m not fully confident it can’t become sentient and grow arms to choke me out yet.
“Will you sit on the second step for me?”
The request has my stomach bottoming out. He squeezesmy hands, a reminder he’s here. With me. For whatever fucking reason.
Tightening my lips, I nod again.
“Good girl,” he whispers, the sound sensual and full of pride. It completely decimates my control over my body and opens the gates for another shiver to tumble down my spine.
My heart flutters, and a burning heat stirs low in my stomach. His voice is a sickness, the symptoms detrimental to my mental well-being. In a desperate attempt to rid myself of them, I scoot forward and drop to the second step as my feet move to the third, the water rising to my midsection.
The goosebumps return with a vengeance, and this time, when I shiver, it’s from the chilly temperature.
“Why don’t they heat these damn pools?” I bite out through gritted teeth.
He snorts. “That would be too kind. Try swimming with the pool full of ice.”
