Page 67 of Unmoored

You never think. You need someone to look out for you.

George’s words are like poison in my lungs, stealing the last breath of air before?—

There’s a splashing noise from close by. A voice I know well. Strong arms close around me, and the world pivots. Suddenly I’m on the surface of the water, floating on top of a warm, hard body.

Murph.

I’m safe. I’m finally—finally, finally—safe. But my body doesn’t know it yet.

I’m still thrashing like I’m trying to tread water, pushing at thin air with my hands. Murph holds me tighter, keeps me on the surface, says something to me. I can’t hear it, but Icanbreathe. Not just once. Again, and again. Something my chest is unlocking.

I’m in control again. Of everything. My limbs, my lungs, my own survival. So the first thing I do is give it all up and collapse into Murph’s arms, right here on the water’s surface. He holds on tight and floats with me, and I cling to him and trust him to catch my fall.

My lips move, even though my voice can’t come out. “You’re here,” I’m trying to say, but my voice doesn’t work. My throat burns too much, and I’m still gulping for air.

The world tips around a little, and I can feel from the way Murph moves that he’s just grabbed hold of a boat. And he’s trying to tell me something. I can’t hear him over the rush of my pulse, but it’s finally fading as I catch my breath.

“I’ve got you,” Murph rumbles, over and over. “I’ve got you, Eden.” And, “I’m here.”

He is. He’s here—yet again—to save me.

And in all my surprise-filled wonder… suddenly, I think I know what real love feels like. It feels like the safety I always find in Murph’s arms, even while we’re still down here in the waves.

ChapterTwenty-Five

EDEN

Hands close around us,pulling us roughly up onto a boat deck. Murph helps them grab hold of me and roll me over the side. Then he grabs hold too, hauling himself out and grabbing hold of me again as we collapse together on the dec.

I’ve never been so close to rolling over and kissing the ground I’m on. And now that I’m safe at last, the real terror hits.

I actually almost drowned, right here in the sunshine.

As much as my burning lungs are working overtime, I can’t help a strangled sob into Murph’s bare chest. He wraps those huge, muscled arms around me and holds on so tight that it almost hurts to breathe again. But this time it’s okay, because moments ago, I was so fucking scared that I was never going to feel it again.

All I can manage to choke out is one word. “I—” My voice cuts out again.

“Shhh,” Murph whispers, pressing his lips into my hair. “You’re safe, my love. I’ve got you, Eden. You’re safe.”

My love. He called me his love.

My panic seems to hit a brick wall and stop short. For just a second, joy lifts me up until I’m floating way above all that fear… and then that stops short, too, as I remember where we are.

It’s all coming back to me in one dizzying rush. The sound of live violinists. Everyone telling me to stay inside. Thehideouslydecorated barge. George in his favourite white suit, looking like a multi-level-marketing cult leader, holding a megaphone. There’s not a single doubt in my mind that George was about to propose to me.

But I have a fuckton of other questions.

Why in the world—and I mean thewholefucking Earth, from our moon to the Mariana Trench—did Murph help George do this? After all his promises to keep me safe… he just helped my ex step straight out of my nightmares and humiliate me in front of the whole fucking city.

I swipe my hand across my eyes, finally peeling them open despite the sting of salt water. We’re on the barge deck. That makes sense. We couldn’t have hauled ourselves out of the water onto Dawn’s Embrace this easily.

Not even the sight of a soaking wet and half-naked Murph underneath me can stop me from getting into my feelings. This white-hot fire flashes through me, making all the muscles in my body coil up until I’m stiff as a board. And I can’t help remembering what Kieran said earlier this afternoon.

Let yourself be mad when you need to be mad.

And I do. I’m mad as hell—and for the first time in my life, I’m not going to just swallow it.

Murph’s face is creased with concern. His hand slides up my back toward my forehead, like he’s about to push my hair out of my eyes. “Sweetheart?—”

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