Page 46 of Try Easy

As the last of the air in her lungs trickled away, Lou kicked desperately for the surface. She was too disoriented to know for sure if she was heading in the right direction, but she had to try. Down to her last breath, she would try.

A thin trickle of light filtered through the blackness, and she swam toward it with every last ounce of will in her body. A hand shot through the light, and strong fingers grasped her wrist. Lou was yanked through the water with enough force to pull her arm from the socket, but pain was the least of her worries. She needed air.

A moment later, she had it. At the surface of the water, Lou opened her mouth and gulped down the fresh, fragrant air.

“Hold on,” Keoni yelled over the noise of the waves.

Lou didn’t need to be told twice. She was too spent to do anything but cling to Keoni, and he had to drag her dead weight through the waves on his own. He swam through the current with the strength of several men, quickly stroking to safety. He fought through the shore-break, then half carried, half dragged Lou to shore.

When they made it through the waves, they collapsed on the sand in a heap. Their arms and legs were entangled, and Lou’s long hair snaked around Keoni’s chest and back, binding them together. Lou was crushed under the heavy weight of Keoni’s body, making it hard to breathe. When he tried to roll off her, she clung to him, burying her face in his shoulder.

“Don’t leave me,” she said, her voice coming out hoarse and desperate.

Their chests heaved together as they fought to catch their breath. Keoni pushed back enough to examine her face. His hand splayed over her cheek, and he stared down at her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his breath coming in short pants.

The adrenaline that had flooded Lou’s body moments ago disappeared, and she began to shake. She was too shocked to answer, and she was suddenly freezing cold.

Keoni rolled off her and pulled her into his lap, rocking her like a small child. He stroked her hair and whispered in her ear, his voice sounding just as scared as she felt.

“You’re fine, Lou. Just breathe,” he said. “Can you do that for me, nani? Just breathe?”

Lou nodded into Keoni’s shoulder and sucked in a deep breath. She smelled the tangy scent of the ocean on Keoni’s skin and felt the puff of his breath on her neck. His body was warm and solid, his hands firm as they held her tightly.

“You’re okay.”

Keoni kept repeating the words until they finally sunk in, but still, it was a long time before Lou wanted to move.

She clearly remembered the last thing she had thought of before she had almost given up on life. It had been the details of Keoni’s face. The deep-set, coffee-colored eyes that crinkled in the corners when he smiled. The mouth that, even damaged, was so sensual that she couldn’t stop thinking about kissing it. The proud nose. The high, noble cheekbones. The dimple that winked in his cheek when he flashed his crooked smile. Lou recalled everything about Keoni’s face as if she had been looking at him for years.

A seagull cried in the distance, and the waves smashed into the shore.

Keoni threaded his fingers through Lou’s hair, massaging her scalp and gently releasing the tangles. His quiet strength seeped into her bones.

Keoni had saved her. He was her hero.

A shiver of longing raced down Lou’s spine, and before she could change her mind, she lifted her face and brushed her lips over Keoni’s injured mouth.

The contact was brief but electrifying.

Lou started to pull away, but Keoni didn’t let her. His hand tightened at the back of Lou’s neck, and he lowered his mouth to hers. Lou froze for a moment as a burst of white stars exploded behind her eyes. Then she kissed him back.

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