her feet but the waves had grown and washed over her before she could catch her breath.
With those things on her feet she had no way of keeping herself above water when the waves rushed out underneath her. This time her head hit the bottom of the ocean several feet below her and knocked the goggles, flooding them with seawater, which made it impossible to see.
She ripped them off, wincing as the salt water stung her eyes. Her lungs burned. She wasn’t able to suck enough air into her lungs before she was dragged under yet again. Pain seared through her foot and she saw the denser coral reef getting closer. If the waves pulled her onto that, it would tear her apart.
Carl had warned her not to go beyond the reef because the ocean on the other side was much deeper, wilder. If she wanted to dive out there, she’d need a boat and scuba gear.
But now, she couldn’t even see the beach and there was no one to hear her cries.
For the first time since the wave had pulled her under, Harper wasn’t sure she was going to be able to free herself. Her limbs were already tired from snorkeling and every time she fought against them underwater, she grew more tired.
The waves broke over the reef and immediately yanked her under, again and again.
Closer and closer to the razor sharp coral.
Yet she couldn’t fight it. Her arms screamed. She could barely kick her legs.
Damn it, fight Harper.
But she realized that the ocean was quickly taking the fight out of her, and now real panic stirred in her chest.
I could die out here.
I might be drowning.
Adrenaline surged through her body and she cried out again, fighting with the last of her strength.
The current was pulling more strongly now, and she was screaming so hard that her throat was raw from it.
Before she could be sucked back under, a pair of hands grabbed onto her arms and dragged her up and over a thick white board.
Harper lay with the hard surface pressing into her stomach staring at the very chiseled chest of a guy. He was leaning over, using strong arms to cut through the water, pulling them away from the reef.
She grabbed the edge of the board and kicked, trying to help him. The salt water stung the cut on her ankle but as the beach got closer, she felt it less. By the time the guy slid off the board and pulled it and her to the shore, she didn’t feel it at all.
“Are you okay?” a deep honeyed voice asked. His strong arms once again slid around her, lifting her off the board and helping her to her feet. With his help, she walked the rest of the way until she could sink down to sit on the sand.
The sun was bright behind him and all she could see was an outline. She shaded her eyes and squinted. The guy knelt down and slid her fins off, then pushed his hair back again. Now at eye level she finally got to see him.
And holy fuck, if sand weren’t creeping into her bikini bottom, she would have thought she died and he was an angel. Dark brown hair hung over his face and when he shoved it back, she met startling blue eyes. The bottom half of his face was covered in a couple of weeks worth of growth but she didn’t miss the fullness of his lips. If she leaned forward enough she could take the bottom one between her teeth and…
His eyebrows were drawn down and concern shone from them.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His gaze moved over her body and despite the warmth of the sun, she erupted in goose bumps. When he cupped her calf to take a look at her ankle, heat radiated from his touch. Maybe she hadn’t come to Te Tiare to hook up with anyone, but she was definitely considering it right that second.
“You’re hurt,” he said.
“It’s just a cut,” she finally managed to say, but her voice was all throaty and low. Hopefully he thought it was from all the ocean water she’d ingested and not because she was thinking about the ridges of his stomach and what they’d feel like under her fingers.
Before she could react, he slipped his arms under her knees and shoulders and lifted her. She slid her hands behind his head, more to hold on than anything, and the edges of his hair