Page 30 of Adoring Ink

Only she couldn’t control her heart, that much she knew.

Damn it.

Once again, she raised her chin and settled into the boat, oar in hand. She was in the middle on the left-hand side, while Brody was out in front and diagonal to her. That meant throughout the entire thing, she’d be able to see him work, see the way his muscles moved, and just see him.

Well, crap.

Before she could pull her gaze away from him, however, they were off. Her body was on fire, but in the best way, since she’d never felt anything like this. She bounced and moved with the water, doing her best to keep up, though she wasn’t as strong as anyone else in the boat. They weren’t going down crazy rapids today, but they would be doing the slow ones eventually. Water splashed at her as they hit a wave, and she laughed, enjoying herself.

When they turned a hard left, Brody looked over at her and winked. She smiled back because she couldn’t help it. It was exhilarating to go with the flow of the river but still try to have some semblance of control. Her guide knew what he was doing, and she was grateful.

“We’re coming up on the small rapids, so hold tight,” the man behind her yelled out over the sound of water rushing over rock. “You can do this!”

Only she wasn’t sure they could. Though it was a small rapid, they were now going far faster than they had been before. She paddled with the others, doing her best to ride it out, but now the fear that she’d tried to ignore outweighed the adrenaline coursing through her body.

“Heather, Anton, veer left!” the guide, Sam, called behind them.

Only the two people in front of her either mixed up their directions or they weren’t strong enough for the current. She screamed as the boat slammed into the rock ahead of them, her teeth jarring within her head.

She called out, heard Brody’s voice in her head as he yelled for her…then it all went blank.

Water rushed over her head as the boat flipped and she was forced underwater. She’d lost the oar, but she kicked upward, at least she hoped it was upward. Between her kick and the life vest, she breached the top of the water and took a gasping breath, trying to stop the burning in her lungs and take in her surroundings.

The bright red colors of the vests and yellow helmets met her gaze first, and she almost sighed when she realized she could count all eight people from the raft. No one was underwater, but that didn’t mean anyone was truly safe yet.

She tried to swim to shore, but the current was so strong she was having trouble even moving her arms. The vest and her jacket underneath were uncomfortable, and each time a wave hit her, she was sucked under, but she kept coming right back up. The lot of them were moving too far down the river and far too fast. She just prayed everyone would get out safely. Somehow, she’d so far avoided slamming into rocks, but when Heather hit one in front of her, Holly wasn’t sure if the loud snap she heard was the impact of the other woman hitting or a bone breaking.

Somehow, she reached Sam first, and the guide tugged on her arm, pulling her toward him. “Get to the shore!” he yelled. “Swim as hard as you can. Soon, you’ll be able to touch bottom. These rapids won’t last for much longer. I promise.”

She nodded, her voice too raw to say actual words, and kicked out her legs, doing her best to get to shore. Brody was about four feet in front of her, his face pale and blood oozing from a cut on his temple.

Shock slammed into her again, and she turned to swim to him. He looked over and cursed, going against the current somehow to make it to her side in five quick strokes.

He gripped her to him and forced her to change directions. “Damn it. Swim to the shore.”

She kicked again and wrapped an arm around his side. “Together. We do this together.”

He gave her a fierce look. “Together.”

Somehow, they made it to the shore as a unit, their legs tangled, their bodies heaving. They lay on the pebbled rocks, cold, sweaty, and definitely in some form of shock.

Holly reached up to Brody’s temple. “You’re blee-eeding.” Her teeth were chattering so hard, she was surprised she could even get the words out.

“I’m fine,” Brody grunted and forced himself to sit up. He pulled her so she was in his lap, and he was hugging her tightly. “I was so fucking scared, baby. I’m going to close my eyes, and I’m always going to see you go under like you did. I never want to picture that again, but damn it, it’s all I see.”

She twisted in his hold, aware the others were getting out of the river around them, checking each other for wounds as Sam made a call on his waterproof emergency radio for help.

“I was so scared I was going to lose you,” she whispered. “But you’re bleeding, Brody. What happened?”

She looked around for something to press against his temple but couldn’t find anything. It didn’t look that bad now that she got a closer look, but head wounds always bled copiously.

“I hit a rock,” he said with a groan. “I think I bruised a rib or two in the process.”

Her eyes widened, and she tried to wiggle away. He let out a harsh breath and tugged her closer.

“Don’t move. You’ll jostle me.”

“Then I shouldn’t be on your lap at all.”