Page 28 of Rush and Ruin

“What the fuck is that?”

“The opposite of chaos!”

I hear him scoffing loudly at this. “No wonder I don’t know what it is.”

Tearing the pins from my chignon, I lay back in the water, allowing the current to lift my feet from the ocean floor until I’m floating on the surface, with my loose hair twisting in ethereal shapes around me.

“Maybe you don’t hate me so much, after all,” I whisper to my body, brushing a hand over my stomach as I’m carried out a little further to sea. “You’ve got me this far without killing me, and now you’re making me feel invincible.”

Up above, the stars are swirling ribbons of white dots on black. As I stare at them, sculling my hands by my sides to keep myself afloat, I think of the first time I met Edier, and our conversation rushes back to me. That day, he’d told me that the sun was special, and a galaxy was a place beyond heaven. He’d said the sun would be okay, but only if he kept running and forgetting…

Running from what? Forgetting—

Just then, a freak wave hits me out of nowhere, covering my face like a salty-wet rag and stealing out my poise from under me. I lose my buoyancy too—sinking fast as I struggle to stay upright.

In a panic, I kick out with my feet but there’s no ocean floor beneath me anymore. I must have drifted out further than I thought.My fingers rake blindly at the water, clawing for purchase, but there’s only darkness down there—deceptive and weightless.

Oh my God, I’m drowning.

By now, my chest is bursting for air, and there’s a myriad of stars behind my eyelids too. Even so, there’s a strange sense of calm settling over me. It’s making me think of dark eyes and lost moments…

A beat later, a strong arm is circling around my waist, hauling me skyward, and propelling me up through the surface.

Spluttering and gasping, I swipe my eyes free of water, but I’m still blind to the world as I curl my arms around my savior’s neck and lock my legs around his waist. It’s only when my head stops spinning that I finally register the scent of hot spice and fury.

“What the hell are you doing?” roars Edier, bringing me in so close we’re face-to-face.Mouth-to-mouth.“Next time you decide to go night swimming, use a fucking life preserver! Jesusfuck!I’m going to murder Sam for this!”

I stare at his dripping black hair, his eyelashes divided like starfish, his clenched jaw, and those murderous dark eyes.

God he’s so beautiful.

Too beautiful.

Suddenly, it doesn’t matter about the last six years of silence. Him being here now is twice as loud.

“Sam didn’t make me do anything,” I croak, feeling clothes beneath my fingertips. His white shirt is completely see-through and stretched to breaking point across his massive chest. He’s lost his jacket somewhere along the way, but not his gun holster or his pants. He must have dived in the second I went under. “It was my idea to come.”

“I don’t give a fuck whose idea it was. You never should have left the party.”

“You’re standing up,” I mutter.

“I’m taller than you. Look how far you drifted. Another couple of meters and even I’d be out of my depth.”

I glance over his shoulder. He’s right. Thalia and Sam are just specks in the distance.

“Were you watching me from the beach this whole time?”

“!Dios Mio!I’ve been watching you all evening, Ella. Never took my damn eyes off you. Couldn’t even when I tried.”

I’m aware that my naked breasts are superglued to his pecs now, and my core is pressing against something rock-solid and burning-hot.

Instead of shifting backward, I press harder, and he snarls out another curse.

“Don’t.”

“Why were you watching me?”

Our mouths are a heartbeat apart. I can smell his whiskey breath. His hand detours from my waist, inching lower before it changes direction sharply.

---