Free Alive (The Crave) by Megan D. Martin

shore.
    He didn’t.
    He took a deep breath and swam slowly, doing a simple doggy paddle toward her, forcing himself to breathe as she ran her fingers over the smooth fabric. Fabric that had been pressed against the hot core of her body. His mouth watered at the thought of it. He realized now that he hadn’t gotten to taste her hot cunt on his lips in the before.
    It seemed like it took an hour to reach the shore, though he knew it was only a minute or less. She looked up as he approached. Her round blue-green eyes focused on him.
    “Are you—”
    Gage jumped onto the shore, wrapped his arms around Eve, and pulled her into the dark water.

Chapter Eight
    “Take me back to the shore Gage! Now! Now! Now!” Eve panicked. Pushing against Gage’s shoulders.
    “What the hell? Chill, Eve.”
    She couldn’t. Wouldn’t. The water was all around her. He was moving farther away from the shore. How will I get back? Die. I’m going to die! “Take me back! Take me back!” She flailed in his arms like a wildcat, desperate to break free of his hold.
    “Dammit, Eve. Chill the fuck out! You’re gonna attract gurghs!”
    Eve shut her mouth, but she didn’t stop her movement.
    “Eve. Stop.” Gage gripped her hair and forced her to look into his gray eyes. There were flecks of black throughout the irises, making them look like a storm cloud, framed by long black lashes. His eyes alone were almost enough to calm her. Almost. “There aren’t any swimmer gurghs in here. I’ve never seen one that can swim and I always swim when I get the chance. No matter where I go.”
    Eve pushed at his shoulders with her hands. “It’s not that.” She spoke through clenched teeth.
    “Then what is—Oh!” He said the word like a light bulb went off in his head. “You mean, you don’t know how to swim?” He seemed shocked. Eve would have felt embarrassed if she wasn’t swimming in terror. Literally.
    “Take me back to shore. Now.”
    “You need to face your fear.”
    “Fuck you!” Eve kicked her legs and twisted her body, thrashing about wildly.
    “Holy shit, if you keep doing that we are both going to drown, seriously.”
    The D-word hit her like a punch to the gut, effectively ending her thrashing and forcing her to cling to his muscular shoulders. “I hate you.” She was on the verge of tears. Could feel them stuck in the back of her throat, ready to spill out onto her cheeks.
    “You have to face your fear, it’s the only way you can learn how to swim.”
    “Learn how ?” Oh heck no.
    “Don’t sound so panicked. I’m not going to let go of you.”
    “Just take me back to shore please. Please.” She hated how pathetic she sounded. She didn’t want to sound that way in front of him, like some sort of weak baby. She had been like this before. Putty in his hands.
    “Trust me, Eve. Please.” In the process of their conversation he had released his death-grip on her hair. She sucked in a deep breath.
    Her parents had never let her or Olive learn how to swim. The pastime was forbidden to them, like most things other kids enjoyed, including television and friends. “No daughter of mine will be caught half-ass naked in front of the world. That is blasphemy! A sin!” She could still hear his shouting when she was eight years old and had been invited to a pool party by another girl at school.
    “I can’t Gage. Just take me back to the fucking shore.”
    “Did you know that sixty-four percent of the American population is afraid of deep open water? You’re not alone in your fear.”
    “Deep. Open. Water.” Eve swallowed a lump in her throat. “Take me back to shore. Fucking now.” She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, trying to calm her rioting emotions.
    “No. Tell me something.”
    “What?” She opened her eyes. A wave of nausea hit her as she took in the dark water surrounding her.
    “Don’t look at the water. Look at me. Tell me something about yourself.”
    “Like what?” She realized that she was