Page 193 of A Vicious Love

No.

I kicked down hard, every part of me turning savage. The burn in my lungs meant nothing. Sienna was beneath me, eyes closed, limbs loose for one awful second that almost broke something permanent inside my skull.

I reached her and grabbed whatever I could.

Her waist.

The slick fabric of her bikini top slipped under my fingers, and I jerked her toward me with too much force. The fabric tore against my hand. I hooked an arm around her ribs and kicked up.

The surface seemed miles away.

My lungs started to burn. Her body was limp against mine. Too still. My mind went white around a single command.

Up.

Up.

Fucking up.

We broke through the surface.

I dragged in a breath so harsh it tore my throat. Sienna choked beside me, coughing weakly, and the sound went straight through my chest.

Coughing meant I had not watched her fall to her death because I said her name.

“Baby,” I rasped, hauling her higher against me. “That’s it. Cough for me. Come on. There you are.”

Her hands scrambled at my shirt, panicked. The torn remains of her bikini top floated half-off her, one strap snapped, the fabric useless.

I pulled her into me instantly, shielding her with my body from the entire fucking world.

My arm locked around her back.

“Easy,” I said, voice rough. “I’ve got you.”

She coughed again, harder this time.

“Good girl,” I breathed before I could stop myself. “Good. Breathe, Sienna. Breathe for me.”

Her fingers dug into my shoulders. She was shaking, hair plastered to her face. I kicked us toward the nearest flat rock, one arm around her, the other cutting through the pool.

The waterfall roared behind us.

The sun flashed off wet stone.

The whole world had the audacity to keep existing after nearly taking her from me.

I shoved one hand onto the rock and lifted.

My clothes clung heavy, trying to drag us back down. Sienna whimpered when I moved her.

“I know,” I muttered. “I know, baby. One second.”

I got myself halfway onto the shelf first, then dragged her up with me, keeping her pressed to my chest.

She was coughing less now, but trembling violently. Her knees slipped on the wet rock, and I pulled her straight over me. She ended up straddling me, shaking in my lap, both arms caught between us.

Too fucking precious for the way my hands had handled her before.