“
Not only are you gorgeous, but you also have the most beautiful smile.” He pushed a stray lock from my forehead.
I felt myself blush, and hot waves washed over me.
“
I’ve been dreaming of the day I could hold you again,” he said.
My heart soared when those words left his lips, because I’d been feeling the exact same way, at least over the last twenty-four hours. “Do you believe in fate?”
“
I’m not sure, but I don’t believe in coincidence.”
“
Me neither.”
Our eyes locked, and everything around me disappeared. An electric shock shot through my body when he slipped one of his strong but gentle hands to the nape of my neck and pulled me close, my skin grazing against his in an embrace.
He skimmed his fingers through my hair and wrapped his arms around my shivering body. I stared up, barely able to hold his gaze, as his lips lowered ever so gently against me in a soft touch, growing stronger as sparks flew. His breath felt hot on my skin, and heat rushed to my cheeks. I still couldn’t fathom how anyone could be so irresistible. Somewhere inside my mind, a voice yelled to warn me to keep my composure, but my heart told me to just relax and enjoy Jake’s company. Tilting my head, I closed my eyes, ready to melt into his embrace as I parted my lips against his. I tugged at his shirt, inviting him to deepen our kiss. His strong hands cupped the back of my head as his soft tongue swirled around mine in circles. It grew bolder, turning into something so passionate, so intense, so wild and crazy—everything Jake represented. Minutes passed, the best minutes of my entire life.
A surge of water crashed against my legs. My stomach knotted as something gritty, like sandpaper, brushed across my ankles. I instinctively jerked back and swallowed hard, hoping it was harmless, perhaps a sea turtle. “I felt something.”
Jake was treading water a few feet behind me. “You mean like a fish?”
“
I-I don’t know. The water’s too dark to see.”
“
It’s probably a sea turtle.”
I wasn’t about to find out. The beach was still about 400 feet away, but at least land was in sight. I blew out a half-breath as I flung one arm out to try and swim for the kayak. I took off with a vertical kick and a fast-paced, hand-over-hand stroke.
A dark shape headed straight for us at a slow, careful, deliberate place, and a triangular gray fin broke the surface about fifteen feet away.
Chapter 11
I froze and tried to hold my breath, but the sound of my breathing carrying through the eerie silence. I was certain that the shark would attack, but instead, the shape disappeared. My gaze darted back and forth, but the ocean was calm, without a ripple in sight. “It’s gone. Swim!”
“
No, wait! It’s back,” Jake said, “and it’s coming right for us!”
The fin approached. When the creature swam within a few feet of us, I screamed. With visions of all those sci-fi horror films running through my head, I wondered if I was going to be a meal for those gnashing, serrated teeth. As if to taunt us, the fearsome swimmer slowed down and submerged like a submarine. A shudder ran through me, and I watched in disbelief as the menacing shadow glided beneath us
.
I clutched Jake’s arm and gasped. Pulling my legs up as high as I could, I blinked.
“
Keep swimming!” Jake said. “Get to the kayak.”
A large dorsal fin passed just inches from my feet. I shuddered as the shark glided through the water like a torpedo.
SMACK!
When the shark hit, I felt a crushing blow to my chest, like getting sacked when I played football with the guys. I sank a few feet beneath the surface. Sharp pain radiated through my body, and it wasn’t until a salty rush of water gushed into my mouth that I jerked back to reality and began kicking and flailing my arms. I emerged, sputtering water.
“
Ashly!” Jake shouted, his lips pressed together in a hard line.
My chest heaved, and I sucked in giant gulps of air. I touched Jake’s chest gingerly. “I-I think I’m okay,” I said, still stunned.
With a giant kick, I took off through the water. As I did, the shark rose out of the water and swam toward me, filling my vision with its beady, black eyes, huge fin, and flared gills. Its giant tail sliced the water with slow, side-to-side strokes. I had planned on getting up close and personal with numerous sea creatures on our vacation, but a close encounter with nature’s most efficient killing machine wasn’t exactly on my ten most wanted list.
Terrifying jaws stretched open, revealing three rows of razor-sharp teeth. My heartbeat doubled, maybe even tripled, as I stared helplessly, right into the creature’s jaws. My eyes widened as I let out a long, piercing scream. The beast’s body arched upward, then slammed fiercely back down into the ocean. Spirals of water shot high in the air, then rained down over me. The deluge of water created intense waves that rocked me back and forth. I gasped as the monster disappeared into the ocean depths.
A blue-gray flash glided under me. I leaned forward in the water, scanning the depths. With great speed, a massive and distorted image shot toward me. My heart lurched. Death was imminent.
This is it!
The shark’s huge mouth was agape, exposing those terrifying, sharp, fatal teeth. Its mouth was so big that it wouldn’t even have to chew; I’d be eaten in one gulp.
Suddenly, a blue-gray creature popped its head out of the water, sprinkling droplets on my face. It opened its great mouth and emitted a
squeak
and a series of rattling sounds, like someone clicking their tongue. Instantly recognizing the beast as a friendly one, I let out the breath that had frozen in my lungs. “A dolphin!” I screamed. “A bottlenose!”
I smiled as more of the beautiful, brave creatures breached, jumping high out of the water like acrobats performing a show. A large adult dolphin squeaked louder than the rest. It slapped the water with its tail and urgently nudged us. I felt a shove on my arm, as if I’d bumped into a wet inner tube, followed by a gentle poke in the side. The dolphin seemed to be smiling at me, trying to get my attention. Unlike the mouthful of menacing teeth on the shark, the dolphin donned a big, goofy grin. It was as if the friendly dolphins knew we were in trouble and needed help. Several of them drew closer, pushing us toward one another. Slapping their tail flukes against the surface of the water, the creatures swam in tight circles, closing us off from the shark and creating a defensive barrier, like
offensive
linemen protecting their quarterback. The sea bubbled and splashed as more clicks, whistles, and squeals filled the air. I threw up an arm to shield my face from the spray of saltwater.
My mouth dropped as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes. Other dolphins made clapping sounds with their jaws and ganged up on the shark. Repeatedly, they used their long, pointed snouts to ram the shark, poking them in their gray gills and massive, white bellies. A wave of relief swept over me as the shark turned and swam out of sight. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart.
Without a second thought, we swam for the kayak, which wasn’t too far away. Jake hopped in, then pulled me up. The boat wobbled, but I made it safely aboard. The dolphins squeaked and leapt high in the air, then somersaulted and dived back into the sea, splashing the warm, salty water over my entire body, as if I had a front-row seat at Sea World. As beautiful as they were, we didn’t stick around; we quickly started paddling toward shore. I was a little uneasy that we’d see more sharks swimming beneath our transparent boat, but I couldn’t help but smile as the dolphins swam circles around us like sentries, making sure we were safe before then vanished beneath the surface of the water with a few farewell squeaks and squeals before vanishing into the distance.
When I turned to face Jake, his smile said it all: Against all odds, we’d survived—again. He gave me a hug and kissed me.
Relief flooded through me. “I owe Flipper a huge debt, because gazing down his nasty Uncle Jaws’s throat wasn’t on my to-do list for this trip, that’s for sure.”
Jake frantically paddled us to shore. “You know, there are stories of dolphins rescuing humans going clear back to the times of ancient Greece. No one knows why they protect us, but for some reason, they do.”
* * *
When we got back to the hotel room, I took a hot shower. As the hot water beat down on me, I thought about the shark and shook away the memory. Then a new memory quickly took its place: Jake’s mind-blowing, intoxicating, awesome kiss. I smiled as I thought about our wonderful kiss in the bioluminescent water.
Wow
! I slipped into a nightgown, closed the drapes, and shut out the lights. I climbed into bed and crawled into Jake’s strong arms. He kissed my head and embraced me tightly. I felt so secure, so safe.
“
Some adventure, huh?” he joked, trying to calm my nerves.
“
All adrenaline,” I said.
“
I don’t know about the rest of it, but my adrenaline is still pumping from that mind-blowing kiss.”
“
It was just as good as I remembered it,” I said. The truth was, it was the moment I’d been waiting for my entire life, like the most romantic moment in a movie, a kiss in the rain or a blizzard or under some giant, towering waterfall on a tropical island. It was that kind of awesome
He captured my lips in a soft kiss. “Goodnight, Ashly,” he said, then got up to go to his bed on the floor.
“
Hey,” I said, “we just survived a shark attack. I might have a nightmare or something. I think you should sleep up here.”
“
So it takes a close encounter with an aqua demon before I’m allowed to sleep next to you?” he said, quite amused.
I chuckled as I met his gaze. “C’mon.”
He climbed in the bed and turned the other way. “Goodnight.”
“
Jake?”
“
Yeah?”
“
I won’t get mad if you decide to hold me tonight. I mean…if you want to.” Instantly, I felt his chest against my back, and he flung his strong arm over my waist. It felt so good to be held by him, and he made me feel safe. I’d never felt like that before about anybody. When he kissed me, the world stopped. The kiss and everything about him seemed perfect in every way—everything except what he’d done to me in the past. When we looked at each other, we couldn’t help wearing dopey smiles. I was safe and comfortable in my ex’s arms.
* * *
The next morning, my lawyer called to inform me that he’d made a mistake. We were supposed to be going to Provo, an island in the Turks and Caicos, but something about our itinerary was screwed up, and we had to hurry back to the States in time for Mardi Gras.
“
That doesn’t make sense,” I complained to Jake. “We’re way closer to Provo than to New Orleans.”
“
Does it really matter?” he asked.
“
Yes! How can things be so out of whack? What was he thinking? I could’ve planned this trip perfectly, but he wouldn’t let me help. I would’ve done everything in order.”
“
It had to be hard to organize the trip and make all the reservations and order plane tickets. You should give the guy some credit.”
“
I like order,” I said.
Jake met my gaze straight on. “No, what you like is to be in control, and you can’t stand the fact that you’re not.”
“
Fine. So my perfectionist side is kicking in…and now I’m trying to pick a fight with you, because I don’t like feeling out of control.”
“
Take a deep breath, Ashly. Everything is gonna work out fine.”
I sighed. “I can’t stand being told where to go and what to do,” I admitted. “It’s driving me crazy. Even after she’s gone, my mother’s still calling the plays.”
“
We’ll be fine,” he said, gripping my hands.
I placed a slow, passionate kiss on his lips. “You’re right. I’ll just let it go. As long as I’m with you, I don’t mind.”
* * *
While Jake took a shower, I decided to call Nadia.
“
Hi, Ashly!”