Free Jewel of Atlantis by Gena Showalter Page A

soon, he drifted a few inches away and met her gaze. Better?
    Better.
    You can do this. I know you can.
    She nodded, praying he spoke true.

CHAPTER FIVE
    J EWEL’S HEAD BROKE the water’s surface, her lungs screaming in pain. She gulped in great gasps of oxygen, her arms and legs flailing to keep her afloat. Pitch-black greeted her eyes, an unholy darkness filled only with phantomous shadows. Every inch of her burned for more air, and the burning eased only slightly with each intake. In, out, she breathed, as fast as her lungs would allow.
    The choppy, frantic sounds must have disturbed nearby wildlife, because the clatter of snapping limbs, rustling bushes and pitter-pattering hoofbeats rang in her ears.
    “Gr—Gray,” she called between pants, swallowing a mouthful of water. The liquid slid down her throat, cool and sweet, but it was too much, too fast. She choked and coughed.
    “Don’t,” he said, his voice labored and hoarse as it sliced through the void. “Don’t try to talk. Just breathe. Slowly.”
    Where was he? She’d lost her grip on him somewhere along the way. The darkness around them wasn’t thinning and she couldn’t feel him near her. “Tr-trying.”
    “You’re talking again. Stop,” he demanded.
    “I need you,” she croaked. “Where are you?”
    He must have followed the drum of her voice, silently treading through the restless water until he found her. His arm brushed her stomach, and she shivered, resisting the urge to grab onto him and ascertain he truly was there.
    “You okay? Since you won’t obey a direct order, you might as well give me the info I crave.”
    “Yes.” The sound of lapping water beat between each syllable. “You?”
    “I can’t see shit, but I’m fine.” He sounded relieved, concerned and angry all at once. “Think you can make it to shore? Wherever the hell the shore is,” he added darkly.
    “Of course.” Determination rode her hard, and she said, “I can make it.” The words were for her benefit rather than his.
    She must not have sounded convincing. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her into the curve of his body. “Just keep breathing, and I’ll do the rest.”
    “No, I—”
    “Save your strength for an argument you can actually win.”
    The feel of him holding her, his strength surrounding her, was a heady thing, but the thought of lying back and allowing him to do all the work… No! She might love the feel of his arms around her, and she might teeter on the brink of total exhaustion, but she kicked and paddled with him, adding to their speed.
    “Sometimes,” she said between breaths, “an argument…can be won…without words.”
    “Smart ass. Don’t you know you’re making me look bad? I, man, do the rescuing. You, woman, do the eager accepting.”
    Jewel grinned, loving the way he teased her. It made her feel normal, accepted. As if she was his friend, not just a woman watching him from afar, wishing she were part of his life. Besides, set apart from the Atlantean races as she was, she’d never had a true friend before. But she’d wanted one. Gods, she’d wanted one. At times, the ache had been so fierce, it had almost been a living entity.
    “That is not how our rela—” Sharp pains shot through her calf like a thousand knives cutting through bone. She jerked and cried out.
    Gray’s arm tightened around her, and they ceased moving forward, his leg movements the only thing keeping them above water. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, concern in the undercurrents of his voice.
    “Just a cramp,” she gritted out, her leg already relaxing.
    Expelling a relieved breath, he jolted back into motion, his muscles bunching and straining. “You’re doing great. But listen to me this time, and stay still.” He spit out a mouthful of water. “I’ve done this kind of rescue before, and with a two-hundred-pound man no less. Featherweight that you are, I can get you to shore, no problem.”
    “I will help.”
    “Damn it,