Page 23 of Claimed by the Savage Dragons

I paddle with my hands, keeping my fingers together like he told me, and trying to keep my movements flowing, my natural panic at bay.

‘Be one with the water,’ I say to myself, and he chuckles.

‘Good job, Grasshopper.’

‘Grasshopper?’ I ask, grabbing onto his arm and immediately feeling like I’m being wrapped in a blanket of safety.

‘TV reference. Have you heard of TV?’

I nod. ‘The moving pictures, right? Sometimes the Town Hall would do a screen night if there was enough juice in the auxiliary generator. I didn’t get to go much though. Only once or twice.’

‘Why not?’

I shrug. ‘My mom was the town whore. She was only welcome in their beds, not where their wives and kids were.’

‘I see.’

‘Thanks for showing me that,’ I say. ‘Never know. Maybe one day if I fall in a lake and don’t get immediately eaten, I won’t drown.’

‘Glad I could be of some assistance,’ he says a bit sardonically. ‘Maybe I’ll teach you to swim a little next time.’

‘Will there be a next time?’ I snort.

He sobers. ‘I suppose not.’

We stay like that in the water for several more seconds, neither of us sure what to say, I think.

I sigh and look away. ‘So, how are you going to do it?’

‘Do it?’ he asks.

‘You know... Fuck me. Will you do it fast like rabbits the way I saw Rob Mullany giving it to Steph Mires behind the old library or slow and languid, like you’re one with the water? I’ve seen it like that too.’

He raises a brow. ‘Do you make it a point to watch people often?’

I shift in the water a little. ‘I’m not a peeping Tom or anything like that. It’s just that, well, everyone fucks.’

‘Except you.’

I wince a little. ‘Yeah, except me.’

‘How would you like it?’

Is it just me or has his voice lowered an octave or two? It sounds deeper, gruffer. Did I just see his eyes flash?

I look at him a little worriedly, but he doesn’t do anything scary. He’s just treading water and letting me rest my hand on his arm, so I don’t sink.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well, which type looked more fun for the woman?’

I shrug. ‘Well, Steph was panting pretty hard and making these moaning sounds. So maybe that one. Anyway, what do you care if it’s fun for me, or not?’

He snorts. ‘I don’t, female. In fact, let’s get it over with now, shall we?’

‘Works for me, yeah.’ I say as nonchalantly as possible, hoping he doesn’t hear my heart speeding up.

He pulls me over to the side where there are some huge steps. He puts me on the deepest one that I can actually stand on with my head above the water and ascends them, beckoning me to the top.