When You're Mine (The Gallaghers #2) - Layla Hagen Page 0,44

a few minutes later, and Joseph wasn’t in sight.

"Let’s wait for Joseph to come and stabilize the boat before we get out."

"Sure." She rose to her feet, looking around. “Where did I put my bag? Oh, here it is.”

She walked to the back of the boat, picking it up from the bench, but then it slid between her fingers, falling on the edge with a thud before slipping down in the water.

“Shit.” She leaned overboard.

"Mel, careful. Don't bend too—”

Splash.

She fell into the water.

I dove in after her, instantly feeling the cold water engulf my skin. One second later, my lungs started protesting.

“Holy shit," Mel exclaimed.

"Mel, are you okay? Do you know how to swim?"

We both had life vests on, but seawater was tricky.

"Yeah, I know how to swim, but the water is cold." Her teeth started to chatter.

"Are you two okay?" Joseph asked, sounding bored. I guess we weren't the only idiots to fall into the water.

"We're just cold,” I replied. “Help her out, okay, man?"

“There’s a staircase on this side of the dock.” He pointed to the right, and we both swam in that direction.

At the staircase, Joseph took Mel’s hand, pulling her out of the water while I pushed myself up on my own. I immediately got to my feet, inspecting Mel.

“I’ll go fish out your suit jacket,” Joseph said, heading back to the boat.

Mel laughed. "Well, this is unexpected."

"Come on. We’ll feel better after a hot shower."

"If I didn’t know better, I'd think you did this on purpose to make sure I come with you."

"You’re the one who lost her balance looking for your bag," I reminded her.

She groaned. "Oh, my bag." She looked out at the water. “I'm guessing it's at the bottom. Or it’ll wash out of the city tomorrow."

“Let’s see if Joseph fished it out of the water along with my suit jacket.”

She was shivering, so I put an arm around her shoulders. Not that it helped much since I was drenched too.

“Joseph, did you find a bag too?” she asked.

He shook his head, holding up my jacket. “Nah, this is all. Bags usually sink right away. They’re heavier.”

I took the jacket, checking the pockets. My phone was in there—probably dead. My wallet was also still inside—ruined too, I was sure of it.

"Did you have anything valuable in your bag?"

"Only my phone and my wallet with my ID. Oh, and the keys to my apartment, but I keep another set of keys at the gym in case I lock myself out. Nothing that can't be replaced, I guess."

“Looks like I’ll have to replace everything too,” I said.

She laughed again but was shivering even more now.

“Come on. Let's go before you catch a cold. Can you break into a run?”

“In these shoes? Not really. But I’ll try.”

Chapter Sixteen

Dylan

We ran as fast as possible to my building. The doorman’s eyes bulged when he saw us.

I led Mel to the elevator. Holding a hand to the small of her back, I ushered her in, where we met two neighbors. They stared at us with their mouths wide open. No wonder, since we were dripping with water. Mel was pressing her lips together, clearly trying to hold back a smile. I was trying too, because the whole situation was hilarious.

When we reached the seventh floor, I noticed the puddle we’d left in the elevator when we got out. Our shoes were squeaking as we approached my unit, where I unlocked my door.

"Come on, let's go straight to the bathroom," I said as we took off our shoes in the foyer.

"Yes, please." Even though the guest bathroom was closer, I wanted us to go to the one in the master bedroom. It was bigger.

Opening the door to the bathroom, I started undoing the buttons of my shirt. Mel began to disrobe as well. She took off her shirt, then pushed down her skirt. The teeth chattering was worse, so I started the hot water, and we stood under it without saying anything. It was scalding hot, but it still took us a few minutes to warm up. Only when the bathroom was full of steam did I turn it off.

"Now that's better," Mel said. Her lips had been blue before, but now they were back to that delicious tempting pink.

I couldn't help but drink her in. Fuck, she was beautiful, and I was the luckiest guy in the world that she was here with me. I pulled her flat against me, kissing her hard, pressing her against the tiles.