Going Deep (Divemasters Book 2) (9 page)

One moment they’d been alone.

And then they’d met.

Ever since, it’d been like this. Complete, bursting with passion and laughter and pleasure. Even during some of the darkest times she’d experienced. That she could open herself to him, allow him to connect with her despite the darkness, made him work harder to deserve her affection.

That was a gift he never would have been bold enough to ask for. Or even to dare wish for.

Miguel began to move, withdrawing completely before plunging balls-deep within her.

Sabine’s gaze winged from his face to Tosin’s hand, which flew along the length of his cock as he perched on his seat as if it were a throne and he a king watching his servants perform for his delight. Then she’d glance back at the intersection of their bodies. She was so busy observing that she had started to lift out of the trance-like state he’d worked so hard to put her in.

That would not do. It was more important for her to feel and be honest with herself about her emotions in the moment. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to stop fucking her long enough to fix the problem.

“Tosin,” he grunted.

“Yeah?” His friend seemed startled when addressed. His steady jerking hitched.

“Blindfold my beautiful pet.”

She shook her head violently, so he put his hand carefully around her neck, keeping her still. All the while he drove into her, addicted to the feel of her body trying to pull him in farther. When she could, she explained, “I like to see you. Him.”

“Not this time,” Miguel refused, knowing better than her what she needed at the moment. “Feel instead. Feel me. More important, feel what’s coming from within you. Go ahead, close your eyes.”

She did.

Tosin was there to wrap a scrap of black silk around her face to keep her from disobeying even as the ecstasy he gave her mounted. Her pussy began to hug him tighter, sucking him deeper into her body.

“
Lindeza
, you’ve never been more stunning to me than you are right now,” he promised as he plowed into her, his feet still planted on the ground giving him enough leverage to shake the fuck net violently. Hell, their exchange felt momentous enough to rock the entire ship. “The only thing that will make you more gorgeous is your release. I can’t wait to see you come for me. On me.”

“Miguel!” she screamed. “Please!”

As he’d expected, the lack of sight had turned her concentration inward, magnifying her own feelings.

“That’s so good.” He couldn’t wait to reward her. “Go ahead. Come for me.”

Sabine threatened to smother his cock in velvety warmth. Her body simultaneously drew him in and nearly squeezed him out. Oh no, he wasn’t going anywhere.

Miguel fucked deeper. Harder.

He embedded himself as far inside her as he could get while she quaked and came.

And when she relaxed the slightest bit, he pumped into her mercilessly, only then freeing his restraint on his own pent up desire. His balls drew tight to his body and he swore he shot so hard he might have broken something.

As he pumped jet after jet of come into her depths, she cried out again, her climax rejuvenating as he flooded her pussy.

Far in the background of his awareness, he heard Tosin finding his own relief.

How could he watch Sabine unravel like that and not be affected?

Miguel didn’t blame his friend in the least.

For a while, he added his weight to the fuck net, sprawled on top of Sabine, crushing her at least a little. She didn’t seem to mind though, as she moaned softly on occasion. Her pussy massaged him with periodic aftershocks that extended their bliss. A particularly strong one rolled through her when he unfastened the clamps on her breasts before sucking each nipple lightly, soothing it.

When he could manage to lift his head, he kissed her as gently and sweetly as he knew how.

She deserved his reverence.

Tranquil in the aftermath of their tempestuous emotions and the outlet he’d provided, it jolted him when she gasped a few minutes later.

“Miguel!” she shrieked. “Miguel, it’s like I’m blind!”

“It’s only silk,
lindeza
.” He shushed her with feather-light kisses as he worked quickly to untie the knot. While he did that, Tosin rushed to her and unfastened her restraints, freeing her almost instantly. “You’re fine, I promise. I’m right here.”

“I know.” She stilled then. “I’m not afraid.”

“Then what’s wrong?” he wondered as he slipped the blindfold over her hair, marveling at the contrast of her nearly platinum waves against the midnight silk. Other women might consider it unruly or in need of a cut. He liked that she left it natural, untamed, and slightly uneven. When the wind blew through it on deck, she reminded him of a cross between a gypsy sailor and a super sexy pirate. Especially when he took in the sea glass necklace of his, wrapped around her throat.

“The darkness.” She blinked furiously as she returned to her senses. She tried to sit up, so he helped her into position, hanging onto her so she couldn’t tumble out of the net while he looked to Tosin for help. Had his orgasm addled his brains or was she not making any sense?

His friend only shrugged.

“It’s the darkness, Miguel. It blinds you.” Sabine squirmed until he lifted her and set her on her feet. She began to pace, freaking him out just a little. He’d unlocked something within her. It was his job as a dominant to help her work through it, but he’d never seen something like this before.

Didn’t know how to support her other than to assure her he would take care of her and give her anything she needed. “We don’t have to do that again,
lindeza
. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Had he judged everything wrong?

“No! It was perfect. Exactly right.” She waved her hands at him, making her breasts bounce as she turned to him with the most brilliant smile he’d ever seen. “Don’t you understand?”

“Not a clue here, honey,” Tosin answered for him as he cleaned up the massive load he’d shot across his chest and abs. “Can you break it down for us non-geniuses in the room?”

“Heinrich said we had to blind ourselves or we might never look at the answer in a way that allowed us to see it.” She practically buzzed with excitement.

“So you think…” He started to see where she was coming from.

“We’re going night diving, Miguel.” Sabine’s enormous smile dazzled him with its brilliance.

“I’ll get the UV torches and see how much bottom time Archer has left today.” Tosin already headed for the door.

“You should probably put some clothes on!” Miguel shouted after him. “Safety first—wouldn’t want an eel to bite that thing off, would you?”

Tosin jogged back into the clubroom and hopped into his trunks. “Good looking out, man.”

“That’s what friends are for.” He clapped Tosin on the back, hoping the other man knew how grateful he was for his participation that evening. If nothing else, he’d have someone to relive the night with, someone who could vouch for the intensity of the experience when he began to doubt it could have been as incredible as he remembered.

If Sabine left him, at least he’d have that memory. Forever.

“Anytime,” Tosin muttered, too quietly for Sabine to hear. “No, seriously.
Anytime
. Lucky bastard.”

S
abine’s heart
raced as they skimmed the moonlit waves toward the silhouette of Molokini. Other than the whir of the outboard engine on the rigid hull inflatable tender and the slap of waves against its side, there were no sounds. Even the army of nesting seabirds that made the scrap of land their sanctuary had hunkered down for the night.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Miguel asked. “You’ve already had a crazy day. Going under at night can be challenging, especially if you’ve never done it before.”

Honestly, she was scared shitless.

But if she had trusted the man to take her on the intimate journey he had earlier, holding her life in his hands wasn’t much more of a stretch. The things he’d done to her—not the physical ones, but the emotional ones—caused her to shiver despite the balmy overnight temperature.

Miguel drew her closer to his side and rubbed her arm, transfusing his heat and confidence into her. The three men onboard looked between each other, silently communicating.

“Tosin and I are more than happy to do this dive for you,” Archer offered. “You two can chill up here and man the boat while we collect samples. Tomorrow night, when you’re better prepared, we can dive in two teams.”

“No, no.” Sabine waved them off despite the temptation. Following in Heinrich’s footsteps, or flipper kicks, had become an obsession. She had to see this through.

They slowed as they approached a mooring ball and Tosin began to tie the boat off.

“If at any time you want to call the dive, just give me the thumbs-up signal and we’ll make a controlled ascent immediately,” Miguel promised. “I know this area super well now. I promise you I can get us back to the boat from anywhere within the crater.”

“Which site are we at?” She tried to orient herself against the islet. Everything looked different at night. Further apart.

“This is Middle Reef,” Tosin told her. “It bottoms out between fifty and sixty feet, so you don’t have to worry about dropping too far or narcing yourself by accident. Not that Miguel would let that happen even if you could.”

Sabine nodded. Nitrogen narcosis referred to disorientation suffered by divers breathing certain gases at high pressure. In less than ninety feet of water, the risk decreased drastically. The chemistry of the phenomenon fascinated her. That didn’t mean she felt the need to experience it herself. Although it was easy to cure by rising until the pressure decreased and symptoms abated, once in an altered state of consciousness—confused and numb—it could be difficult to remember how to react properly.

Many unfortunate sufferers had mistaken up for down and only made the situation worse, or drifted off until they ran out of air. In the inky darkness below, it would be even more difficult to know which direction the surface was if you weren’t alert enough to monitor your own bubbles for clues.

She shivered.

“If we sit around talking long enough, I’m going to chicken out.” She clipped her buoyancy control vest into place and fastened the cummerbund so that her tanks were secure, then double-checked her fins and pulled on her mask.

“Don’t do something you’re not comfortable with.” Miguel gave her one last out.

“Sometimes pushing your limits can be terrifying. It’s also extraordinarily rewarding.” She took his hand then, hoping he realized she’d enjoyed the hell out of the rush he’d given her earlier and wanted to go two for two tonight. “I need to do this.”

“Then I’m with you. And I’m not letting go.” He kept his word, holding her fingers tight as Archer and Tosin helped them get situated on the rounded sidewall of the tender. Tosin flicked on a torch that she would swear could be seen from space considering how it sliced through the darkness. He also pressed a plastic bubble on her tank, which began to glow so Miguel could spot her if they were separated, she guessed.

Thinking about that possibility didn’t alleviate her anxiety any.

“I had an idea,” Miguel said to her, just before they were set to go. “You know how Heinrich’s message to you said we needed to look at things differently?”

She nodded.

“We sometimes dive with UV lights instead of these super bright full spectrum ones. It allows you to detect the florescence in coral polyps. It’s really awesome-looking, but I never thought about the fact that it might let you see different things than you would with the standard torch,” he explained.

“Can you see well enough to collect samples with the UV light?” she wondered.

“Definitely.”

“Then let’s try it.” She held her lamp out to Tosin and he exchanged it for one of the UV variety. Miguel’s too. “If nothing else, it’ll be pretty, right?”

“Nowhere near as beautiful as you,
lindeza
.” Miguel snuck in a quick kiss then put his regulator in his mouth. She followed his lead.

On his count of three, they did a backward roll. Tumbling through the water, she panicked. Her breaths came in and out faster, filling her vision with a riot of bubbles.

Miguel’s firm squeeze on her fingers reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

She calmed her respiration and opened her eyes, which had been squeezed shut.

Staring at her from less than a foot away, Miguel used his thumb and forefinger to make a circle while his other three fingers were extended. The universal signal for okay.

She flashed it back.

With him, she was.

He nodded then changed his gesture to a thumbs-down, indicating they should begin their descent. As she lay flat and aimed the ultraviolet beam of her light toward the reef, she gasped.

It wasn’t dark or eerie as she had expected. The sea floor teemed with life. Typical daytime fish were nowhere to be seen, hiding from nocturnal predators while they rested. In their place, a cluster of ctenophores—some sort of comb jelly, she thought—drifted by like a fleet of mini UFOs. Lights twinkled from inside the organisms as they propelled themselves through the currents.

The hard corals she’d spent so much time staring at the past few weeks had also been altered. Instead of their calcium carbonate skeletons, which were typically the only visible part of the animal, the polyps themselves had emerged and the coral heads were unrecognizable. Animated, instead of rocklike. Their tentacles swayed in the surge and waved around as they caught zooplankton that drifted past. Neon colors reflected by the UV rippled in a mesmerizing light show caused by the undulating motion.

It was like visiting the same reef in an alternate universe. How had she never done this before?

They closed in on a mound of cauliflower coral. While Miguel carefully took a sample, she peered around, transfixed by their surroundings. Though she’d seen pictures of these phenomena before, witnessing it firsthand was something else entirely.

Sabine turned to Miguel, her eyes wide. He flashed her the okay hand signal, a question.

She nodded vigorously.

With his fingers and palm now flat in a blade, he held his arm out straight, indicating the direction to swim for their next collection. Again, she wanted to kick herself for taking time to enjoy the view before getting down to business. How could you not be awed by this scenery, though?

They worked as efficiently as possible. Given the other dives they’d done that day, they couldn’t afford to stay down at sixty feet more than thirty minutes without requiring a decompression stop. The time flew by as quickly. Too soon, they were preparing to ascend.

Not before she’d spotted an octopus hunting and took a few moments to admire a free-swimming Javanese eel that was even longer than Miguel. With a reluctant sigh, she took one final look around.

Which was when she thought she saw the flicker of a white beam of light, brighter than the UV variety she and Miguel carried. She shook the metal cylinder hanging from her BC to get her divemaster’s attention. He whipped his head around. But when she tried to point to what she’d seen, it had vanished.

She shrugged and shook her head.

Maybe it had only been the shimmering of another of these wondrous night dwellers.

Miguel tapped his dive computer, reminding her of their deadline, then ascended slowly along the mooring line she hadn’t even noticed until they were within an arm’s length of the cord. They went up it until they hovered fifteen feet below the surface. After a ninety-second safety stop, they were back on the surface.

Archer and Tosin reached down to lift her into the boat.

Due to the nitrogen load they’d taken on during their regular daily dives, they had even less bottom time available. Especially since they were picking up Miguel’s divemaster slack, though they’d never once complained.

“What’d you see down there?” Miguel asked when he’d joined her in the boat.

“I’m not sure. Maybe just a funny reflection. For a second, I thought it was another dive light. A white one. But since the guys are already up here, I guess it wasn’t that.” She shrugged as she began to break down her gear while Archer got them underway, returning to the
Divemaster
with some more work for her to do.

“We used UV lights, too,” Tosin said. “Not full spectrum.”

The guys exchanged another one of those infamous stares, probably saying she was clearly nuts, so she changed the subject. “How many samples did we get? I hope I can process them all before tomorrow night so we know what to concentrate on next…if we don’t already have the winner.”

She grinned at that. They had to be closing in on Heinrich’s secret.

“
Lindeza
, you need to sleep first.” Miguel didn’t seem like he was going to listen to her arguments about how she could power through with the help of a gallon or so of black coffee. It might be hard for him to take her seriously when a huge yawn escaped her at the reminder.

Even harder would have been for her to persuade him in any fashion when she was unconscious, which she was by the time they arrived back at the ship. The ups and downs of the day had sapped her energy.

It was a good thing she rested before tackling her next round of experiments, because none of them panned out. On the bright side, she got to experience the gorgeous nightly display over and over with Miguel by her side. It never grew old, though she had to keep reminding herself that it would be better if they had achieved their goal even if it meant the end of her quality time with her favorite divemaster.

Nearly two weeks after her first night dive, Sabine stumbled from her laboratory and plopped onto the dive platform, dangling her legs behind the
Divemaster
as she watched the waves roll by endlessly.

Her renewed optimism had suffered the same fate as her original bout of worthless enthusiasm following more than a dozen fruitless collecting expeditions. Everyone was feeling the strain of their pointless trips.

They’d all agreed to take a night off and regroup.

A month into her research, she wasn’t a single step closer to figuring out exactly what Heinrich had uncovered. If she didn’t stumble across it soon, she’d have to admit it wasn’t here to find. Then pick a different approach. She’d already inconvenienced Archer, Tosin, and
especially
Miguel long enough.

It would be nearly impossible to find someone who’d fund continuing research with this mammoth failure under her belt, even if she could figure out where to look next. Maybe another Indo-Pacific location that had been on Heinrich’s route. Hell, she might have to return to Germany to regroup. Sabine would see if she could salvage anything from Heinrich’s home computer or the rubble of his laboratory.

The odds of that tactic being productive were even worse than those of the Molokini Crater divulging its secrets to her at this point.

Worse, it would mean saying goodbye to Miguel.

How many blows could she take before they crushed her?