Free Touching Paradise by Cleo Peitsche Page B

almost immediately drowned in the water. She clamped her mouth shut—he sensed it—and scratched at his arm to get his attention, exactly like he’d instructed.  
    It didn’t matter how long they’d been down there. She was completely out of air, and there was no way to get her to the surface fast enough. Only one thing to do, and he didn’t hesitate. He turned her, wrapped his legs around hers, locking her knees to keep her steady. Her brown eyes were open wide, and she’d gone completely stiff in panic. Her heart felt like a trapped hummingbird trying to break free of her chest.
    He nodded, hoping she’d realize he was telling her it was ok. Then he pressed his mouth on hers and forced breathable air into her lungs.
    After a moment of resistance, her body greedily took it. “Exhale,” he said, even though he wasn’t any better at speaking underwater than any human. “Relax. You won’t drown.”
    She exhaled, and he cupped his mouth over hers and fed her more air. Then again and again, until he was reassured that she was out of the danger zone.
    “Can you hold that one?” He held his nose and raised his eyebrows questioningly, hoping she’d understand.  
    She nodded and looked up, her brow creased with worry… for him. In her confusion, she seemed to think his lungs were the size of a whale’s. When the panic wore off, when they were on land again, her rational mind was going to take over and demand explanations for the unexplainable.  
    “I’m fine,” he said, miming, giving a thumbs up. He pointed to her. “Are you ok?”
    She nodded, and he took her in his arms again, and before he could talk himself out of this folly, he dove deeper, heading for the tunnel’s mouth. She was yielding and compliant in his arms. In shock, perhaps.
    He gave her air again when they reached the opening, then they pushed into it together. To his relief, she stayed calm.  
    They passed through the long tunnel. It would seem pitch black in there, for her, so he squeezed her tight. She had handed all of her trust to him, and he refused to let her down.
    Revealing himself like this was something he’d never done before. It wasn’t technically forbidden because it didn’t need to be. Shifters were naturally secretive. No human knew what he was, and he didn’t know if he was prepared for that to change.  
    Now it didn’t matter if he was prepared.  
    It had been selfish of him to take her deeper. He could have brought her to the surface. He could have told her that she’d passed out or something.
    But so far, he hadn’t lied to her about who he was, and he didn’t want to start. That felt important to him for reasons he didn’t understand. Assuming she didn’t plug her ears and demand to be taken home, she was going to have a lot of questions. He just hoped she could accept his answers.
    They came through the tunnel and into a second, smaller pool. He gave her air several times until she was relaxed, then he pulled her up toward a smaller tunnel that led to the surface—the ocean—which he knew would be choppy.  
    They emerged in a rocky area. Waves pounded at them. It wasn’t the easiest bit of water to navigate, but he needed to get her into the air and didn’t have time to swim underneath the activity, not with the tide coming in and a strong whirlpool just on the other side of the rocks.
    He protected her with his body, ignoring the sharp rocks scraping at his skin. They wouldn’t hurt him. When he swam alone, it wasn’t a problem. How fragile the human form was, he realized. So easily torn, so easily broken.
    Just a little higher and they were in the spray of the air. Monroe gasped, and the spell seemed to have broken. She grabbed at him, panicking.
    “Hold your breath,” he yelled. He hoped she’d heard. There was a large wave coming, and he dragged her underneath so it wouldn’t dash them both against the rocks.  
    Now things were calmer, and he surfaced. Monroe was sputtering, coughing. He