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The water wasn't the only danger as she kicked and used her arms to try to find a way out and back to the surface, burning bits of debris from the boat were everywhere.

They plowed through the water, and something slammed into her, knocking her about more and causing her to become even more disoriented.

Which way was up?

If she swam too far in the wrong direction, she’d get lost and drown in the depths of the ocean.

Unprepared as she’d been for the explosion to come when they were still so close to the boat, Alannah hadn't taken a deep breath of air before she was shoved down deep below the surface, and already her lungs were screaming at her for air.

For oxygen.

For life.

Only she didn't have any to give them.

Desperately she swam, trying to find something to guide her. Then she saw it. Fire. It had to be whatever was left of the boat that hadn't been torn to shreds and littered throughout the ocean.

That was where the surface had to be.

Focusing all her energy on swimming toward the fire, which in some ways seemed counterproductive considering someone was trying to kill her with fire, Alannah gave it everything she had.

If she couldn’t get up there in time …

Then whoever this final man was involved in the plot to cover up their crimes would get what he wanted.

She’d be dead.

Jake could be, too.

An arrow of pain shot straight through her heart at the thought of the explosion killing Jake.

What would she do without him? Not just right now, alone out there in the middle of the ocean, at night, with no boat and nothing solid to hold onto, but for the rest of her life.

She needed Jake. Needed his steady, protective, no nonsense, tell it like it is presence in her life.

Needed him.

Not a want, definitely a need.

With lungs feeling like they were about to burst, right when Alannah thought she wasn't going to be able to hold her breath for a second longer and would be forced to take in a lungful of sea water, her head breached the surface.

Fresh air finally available, she dragged in a deep breath, then another and another, until her brain began to process the fact that it was no longer starving for oxygen.

She’d come up about ten yards or so away from the remainder of the yacht. Close enough that she could still feel the heat, but not close enough that she was in danger. Smaller pieces of debris floated around, but as she treaded water, she scanned the ocean searching for something else.

Someone else.

For Jake.

Had he been injured in the explosion? Was she already too late? It didn't take long to drown, especially if you'd been knocked unconscious and could do nothing to save yourself.

Tears burned her eyes, and a sob worked its way up through her chest. When it left her lips, she was struck by what a pitiful, painful, soul-crushing sound it was.

But that’s what it felt like not knowing if Jake was dead or alive.

It felt like someone had grabbed hold of her soul and was trying to physically rip it out of her body.

“Alannah?”

Lost to her terror as she was, it took her a second to realize that the sound wasn't the ocean, wasn't the crackling fire, and hadn't come from herself.

Someone had called her name.

Relief hit her so hard it stole her breath and almost her ability to keep her head above the water.

As it closed around her again, she quickly snapped to her senses. “Jake!”

There was a beat of silence. “Alannah?”

“I'm here. Over here.” She waved her arms about even though she knew the chances of him spotting her had to be slim. It was dark, and the fire seemed to dominate the landscape, making it hard to see anything else.

“Call out again, sunshine. I’ll find you.”

“Here, I'm here.” As she yelled, she continued to wave her arms around thinking it couldn’t hurt even if it didn't help much.

Then finally she saw him.

Jake.

Her fierce, grumpy protector.

Swimming with smooth, determined strokes through the water heading right toward her.

The relief of seeing him, knowing he’d survived, that he hadn't left her, almost sapped the last of her energy. She’d already been running low given the trauma of the last week, but the explosion, believing they were going to die, and then the fear of losing Jake had stolen most of what she had left.

Not a good thing.

They might both be alive, but they weren't out of danger.

To survive, she was going to need every drop of stamina she had left.

“You're alive,” she said on a sob when he stopped beside her. Not content to allow her eyes to be the only thing to convince her, she reached out and grabbed hold of him, running her hands all over his face and shoulders, needing to feel him beneath her fingertips to believe she hadn't lost him.

“I'm alive. Damn, Alannah, I thought … I couldn’t find you and you weren't answering.”

The fear in his tone echoed what she felt inside and she curled her fingers into his life jacket, clinging to him, unwilling to let anything separate them.

“I went under,” she explained.

“You went under? Your life jacket should have kept you afloat.”

That was something that hadn't even occurred to her, although he was right. Even tossed about as she was when the boat exploded, she shouldn’t have been knocked down so deep into the ocean.

“Something hit me, maybe …” Running her hands over the life jacket, she found it had been torn to shreds, no longer anything that was going to be useful in keeping her alive. “It’s ruined, Jake. All torn up.”

Jake muttered a curse. His hands grabbed her life jacket, removing the useless material from her body, then he was taking off his own life jacket and trying to put it on her.

No.

She couldn’t let him do that.

“You need it,” she protested, attempting to stop him.

“You need it,” he shot back.

“It’s yours, keep it.”

“No way in hell am I wearing this while you have nothing.”

That was a tone she recognized all too well. It was Jake’s don’t bother arguing with me, I’ve already made up my mind and it won't be changed, voice.

Allowing him to slip on the life jacket, as soon as it was snapped into place, Alannah realized how much it helped keep her afloat.

It wasn't necessarily going to save her life, but it took some of the pressure off, allowing her to keep a little of her energy rather than expending it all on just trying to keep her head above water.

But now Jake didn't have anything to help him.

He was big and strong and highly trained, but he was still human.

“We take it in turns to wear it,” she said, making her tone imitate the one Jake had just used. As far as she was concerned, that wasn't up for debate.

“We’ll see,” Jake said, and she knew he wouldn't make it easy for her. But they were a team, and they were in this together. They needed to work as one if they wanted to try to make it out of this ocean alive.

A distracted note to his voice set her on edge, and she noticed that he wasn't looking at her. Instead, his gaze was focused on the sky above them.

With dread pooling in her stomach, Alannah tipped her head back to follow his gaze.

Immediately, she saw what had captured his attention and what had tension rolling off him in waves she could feel.

The sky was no longer a clear black canvas dotted with millions of twinkling stars.

Now it was a mass of dark black clouds.

Storm clouds.

Because life couldn’t give them a break. Not even a teeny, tiny, little one.

Trapped in the ocean, with nothing to keep them secure, and only one life jacket between them, there was no way they could survive the raw power of a storm.

“A storm,” she said, surprised when her voice came out even, not betraying the raging terror inside her. Already feeling the change in the air, the storm would be there any moment. “We’re going to die, and I'm never going to get to experience an orgasm and what all the fuss is about.”