Free Caprice by Amanda Carpenter Page B

for a
    little while. She'll feel better when she's warmer.' His utterly calm
    manner eased the atmosphere considerably, and he was rewarded by
    her muscles unclenching. He turned her in his arms, until she was
    facing away from the others, and as he felt her legs slowly,
    sluggishly begin to take her weight, he withdrew one arm, keeping
    the other tight and secure around her waist. Her head was turned to
    him, cheek pressed against his shoulder. The others saw his head
    bend until his cheek rested on her wet hair.
    Coming out of the water was hard, for her legs felt ridiculously weak,
    and her body felt heavier in comparison to the buoyancy from
    swimming. They went slow and easy, her thigh muscles quivering,
    and when they had reached his lounge chair, he pushed her
    unresistingly into it, and then draped a large beach towel over her
    shoulders. She shivered as though she had a high fever, and he came
    down beside her to take her into his arms.
    From time to time, the now subdued group in the water glanced their
    way but could only guess at the tew conversation being held, her
    head ducked low, Pierce's head quite near. Jeffrey was the target of
    many accusing glances and looked more miserable than Roxanne had
    ever seen him.
    At the lounge chair, after a long silence when warmth finally began
    to creep back into her chilled limbs, Caprice said, soft and bitter, 'I
    feel like a fool.'
    His hand went to the back of her neck, rubbing gently at the tense
    muscles. 'I don't think I've ever seen such terror as I saw on your face
    when you broke the surface. You can't dictate to emotions or fears.'
    She turned her head away. Pierce touched at her braid, then moved
    his hand to slide it up and down her shoulder bracingly. His bare
    thigh was pressed hard on hers, and his greater body heat seared her
    skin. She wished she Could get closer to him and that marvellous
    warmth.
    'I couldn't think,' she whispered. 'I couldn't breathe.'
    His voice was gentle. 'How long have you been that way?'
    'All my life, isn't it stupid? I've tried to overcome it, even tried to
    jump off a diving board once. I got out to the end of it, and couldn't
    move. My brother had to pull me off again. It's dumb and irrational.'
    She rocked forward, and put her head on her knee. 'It takes over my
    mind, and I just—freeze.'
    She turned her face to one side, and while he continued to stroke at
    her back, she began to feel relaxed and very tired. Her eyes fell on a
    scattered pile of papers on the grass, and then she remembered.
    'Weren't you sitting here, before?'
    He replied drily, 'Yes, until I heard you give a kind of strangled
    croak, and saw how real Roxanne's worry was. Nobody else seemed
    to know what was happening, except Roxanne and I, of course, so I
    dived in and grabbed a handful of Jeff's hair to yank him back. He let
    go, I came up, and you popped up like a floating ice cube, doubled
    over and unmoving. I must admit, that gave me a bad turn. For a
    moment, I thought you'd gone unconscious.'
    'I almost had. I'd started to black out when you grabbed me.'
    Unexpectedly, she started to cry. He bent over her curved back, and
    she felt the weight and warmth of him as he pressed his lips to the
    nape of her neck.
    'Ssh. Come on now, it was bad, but it was only for a few seconds, and
    now it's all over with. Dry your tears. We'll go inside and you can
    shower and get dressed, all right?'
    'All right. I just feel so mortified.'
    'Sit up and look at me.' She did, and his eyes were stern, his face
    hard. 'Stop it. Do you hear?
    Phobias are something out of a person's control. You couldn't help it.
    If Jeff hadn't acted like the fool he is, it wouldn't have happened. Are
    you ready to go indoors?'
    She remembered his work, and looked at the papers. 'You don't have
    to come with me. I'm all right.'
    'I want to,' he said, and that was all there was to it.

CHAPTER FIVE
    PIERCE saw her to her room, after they had walked into the house
    slowly, his arm still