[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Morning, Will mumbled.
Imo s struggling, Liz said, nodding to the quay.
Will you do the honors? Stefan asked Will.
No.
You fucking idiot, Stefan whispered.
65
Barbara Elsborg
Will turned away from Imo and faced the bow. He d slept badly last night. He
hadn t even managed a wank. His cock refused to cooperate, which was a distressing
first. Everything and everyone annoyed him. Liz and Karen s perky grins annoyed him.
Stefan s quiet anger annoyed him. Will turned to look at Imo just to complete the circle
of annoyance. She stood on the quay in those tiny shorts and just her bikini top and
yep she annoyed him. Will s cock swelled. Fuck it. Fuck it. Fuck it.
Hold onto the boat and walk up the rope, Will shouted.
She looped her bag across her body and as the yacht next to them motored out, Will
sensed disaster looming. As Imo put her foot on the rope, their boat rocked. Will leapt
up and dashed along the gunwales.
In the second it took him to get there, Imo managed to sprawl the length of the
rope. She clung on desperately as she twisted to hang beneath it like a hyperactive
sloth, wobbling frantically, her bag trailing below. Stefan appeared at Will s side and
laughed.
Not funny, Imo squeaked.
One arm each, Stefan said.
Will sighed. Or we could let her fall in.
I ve got my passport in my bag, she gasped out.
Stefan laughed. Okay. I ll take one arm and Will the other. Then you ll have to let
go of the rope so we can pull you on board. When I say now. Now.
As they hoisted her onto the boat, it was Will who Imo ended up plastered against.
Now he had her, he wanted to keep hold of her but she pulled away and carefully
clambered to the cockpit. She mumbled her thanks for the second cap he gave her but
didn t meet his gaze. He really had fucked this up.
Will said little but he watched her. He couldn t help himself. He watched Stefan
too. Too much watching, too much thinking and not enough talking. Karen and Liz
were all over Stefan while Imo said hardly a word. Was she waiting her turn?
Stefan made them practice tacking. No problem for the dinghy sailors once they d
done the first couple of direction changes and adjusted to the size of the boat. Imo
struggled. Then at Karen s insistence, Stefan showed them how to jibe. Imo looked as
though she d been asked to perform brain surgery. Will tried to help her but she
insisted on doing it herself.
God, you re making me seasick, Karen groaned as Imo fought to get the boat
back under control.
Okay, that s enough for now, Stefan said. We ll head downwind for Nidistri
Island. That one dead ahead, Imo. You okay on the tiller?
Will could see she wanted to say no, but she nodded. Karen slid her hands over
Stefan s shoulders and began to massage his muscles.
Oooh, that feels good, Stefan mumbled.
66
Finding the Right One
Liz sat behind Karen and circled her thumbs at the bottom of her friend s neck. The
bulge in Stefan s shorts grew larger. And larger.
I need to sort a couple of things out below deck. Stefan got to his feet.
Need some help? Liz asked.
Oh yeah. Stefan laughed.
Karen and Liz followed him down the companionway.
The groans and moans that followed made it clear what was happening. Will
thought again about what Imo had done in the garden. And what he d done afterward.
Dashed off without a word. If he d just told her where he was going, he wouldn t have
pushed her into the arms of Stefan. Only, maybe he hadn t. Was he so insecure he
couldn t see the truth? What had Stefan said, that they were just fooling around? She
had turned the hose on him. Why would she do that if she were into Stefan? Was Stefan
telling the truth? He wasn t coming on to her? That would be a first.
Shit. One word. Sorry. He could manage that, surely? Will stood at the precise
moment the wind caught the leeward side of the sail and the boat accidentally jibed.
Even as he told himself to duck, the boom smacked him on the head.
One moment Will stood in front of her and the next he wasn t there. Oh Christ, what
have I done?
Man overboard, Imo screamed.
She struggled to remember everything she had to do. Point at the person in the sea.
Release sails. Don t take your eyes off the guy in the water. She couldn t do all that at
once and seconds counted. Imo tossed her new cap after Will as a marker, and then
threw herself in after it. Whether it was the right or wrong thing to do didn t matter. But
when she surfaced, Will wasn t there.
Imo, what the fuck are you doing? Stefan yelled.
Her heart pounding, Imo tore after the cap and dived below the surface. Several
yards away, to her absolute horror, she saw Will sinking through the sun-dappled sea.
Not stopping to take a breath, Imo swam straight for him. Fueled by adrenaline, she
powered through the water and caught him under the arms. She kicked to bring them
up but for a while they hung in limbo as she struggled against the momentum of his
falling body. Then gradually they rose to the surface.
Imo gulped air in noisy gasps. Where was the boat? Oh fuck. It was miles away.
Well, not miles but it might as well have been. Trying to keep both of them afloat was
almost impossible. Why wasn t Will taking noisy breaths too? Imo kept one arm around
his chest, tipped his head back on her shoulder and stuck a finger in his mouth. Water
spewed out. Oh God, how was she supposed to do CPR when she couldn t put her feet
down? Somehow she managed to pinch his nose and land one breath in his mouth.
Hang on, we re coming, Stefan shouted.
Another breath, another kick to keep them afloat but he was so heavy.
67
Barbara Elsborg
Catch hold of this, Karen yelled.
The yellow life belt hit Imo on the back of the head. She twisted around and forced
Will s arm onto the plastic. His face was so pale, Imo thought he was dead. Then his
eyelids fluttered and she almost burst into tears.
Will, wake up, she pleaded.
Imo kept one hand tight around him to stop him slipping off the support and
kicked her legs as hard as she could.
If you die, I ll never forgive you, she choked out. Bloody well wake up and help
me. Will, please.
It s okay, Imo. We re here. Get him to the back of the boat and I can pull him on
board, Stefan called.
Imo could feel her strength draining fast like the last grains of sand in a timer. Her
limbs were shaking and her teeth chattered. She hauled Will to the back where Stefan
waited on the low diving platform. He tucked his arms under Will s and lifted. Imo did
her best to help, but pushing Will up sent her under.
When she surfaced, she brushed water from her eyes and saw to her relief that Will
sat coughing on the ledge. Stefan held out his hand to her, his sun-creased face full of
concern. Imo reached up and he yanked her out of the water. Karen hauled her into the
cockpit, wrapped a towel around her and gave her a hug.
You okay? Karen asked.
Imo nodded, grateful for the concern. A moment or two later, Will and Stefan
joined them.
I m sorry, Imo whispered.
How many times did we do the man overboard drill? Stefan asked. It s not that
hard to remember. When did I say throw yourself over the side? Throw a flotation
device, but not yourself. Fucking hell. I could have lost both of you. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
Morning, Will mumbled.
Imo s struggling, Liz said, nodding to the quay.
Will you do the honors? Stefan asked Will.
No.
You fucking idiot, Stefan whispered.
65
Barbara Elsborg
Will turned away from Imo and faced the bow. He d slept badly last night. He
hadn t even managed a wank. His cock refused to cooperate, which was a distressing
first. Everything and everyone annoyed him. Liz and Karen s perky grins annoyed him.
Stefan s quiet anger annoyed him. Will turned to look at Imo just to complete the circle
of annoyance. She stood on the quay in those tiny shorts and just her bikini top and
yep she annoyed him. Will s cock swelled. Fuck it. Fuck it. Fuck it.
Hold onto the boat and walk up the rope, Will shouted.
She looped her bag across her body and as the yacht next to them motored out, Will
sensed disaster looming. As Imo put her foot on the rope, their boat rocked. Will leapt
up and dashed along the gunwales.
In the second it took him to get there, Imo managed to sprawl the length of the
rope. She clung on desperately as she twisted to hang beneath it like a hyperactive
sloth, wobbling frantically, her bag trailing below. Stefan appeared at Will s side and
laughed.
Not funny, Imo squeaked.
One arm each, Stefan said.
Will sighed. Or we could let her fall in.
I ve got my passport in my bag, she gasped out.
Stefan laughed. Okay. I ll take one arm and Will the other. Then you ll have to let
go of the rope so we can pull you on board. When I say now. Now.
As they hoisted her onto the boat, it was Will who Imo ended up plastered against.
Now he had her, he wanted to keep hold of her but she pulled away and carefully
clambered to the cockpit. She mumbled her thanks for the second cap he gave her but
didn t meet his gaze. He really had fucked this up.
Will said little but he watched her. He couldn t help himself. He watched Stefan
too. Too much watching, too much thinking and not enough talking. Karen and Liz
were all over Stefan while Imo said hardly a word. Was she waiting her turn?
Stefan made them practice tacking. No problem for the dinghy sailors once they d
done the first couple of direction changes and adjusted to the size of the boat. Imo
struggled. Then at Karen s insistence, Stefan showed them how to jibe. Imo looked as
though she d been asked to perform brain surgery. Will tried to help her but she
insisted on doing it herself.
God, you re making me seasick, Karen groaned as Imo fought to get the boat
back under control.
Okay, that s enough for now, Stefan said. We ll head downwind for Nidistri
Island. That one dead ahead, Imo. You okay on the tiller?
Will could see she wanted to say no, but she nodded. Karen slid her hands over
Stefan s shoulders and began to massage his muscles.
Oooh, that feels good, Stefan mumbled.
66
Finding the Right One
Liz sat behind Karen and circled her thumbs at the bottom of her friend s neck. The
bulge in Stefan s shorts grew larger. And larger.
I need to sort a couple of things out below deck. Stefan got to his feet.
Need some help? Liz asked.
Oh yeah. Stefan laughed.
Karen and Liz followed him down the companionway.
The groans and moans that followed made it clear what was happening. Will
thought again about what Imo had done in the garden. And what he d done afterward.
Dashed off without a word. If he d just told her where he was going, he wouldn t have
pushed her into the arms of Stefan. Only, maybe he hadn t. Was he so insecure he
couldn t see the truth? What had Stefan said, that they were just fooling around? She
had turned the hose on him. Why would she do that if she were into Stefan? Was Stefan
telling the truth? He wasn t coming on to her? That would be a first.
Shit. One word. Sorry. He could manage that, surely? Will stood at the precise
moment the wind caught the leeward side of the sail and the boat accidentally jibed.
Even as he told himself to duck, the boom smacked him on the head.
One moment Will stood in front of her and the next he wasn t there. Oh Christ, what
have I done?
Man overboard, Imo screamed.
She struggled to remember everything she had to do. Point at the person in the sea.
Release sails. Don t take your eyes off the guy in the water. She couldn t do all that at
once and seconds counted. Imo tossed her new cap after Will as a marker, and then
threw herself in after it. Whether it was the right or wrong thing to do didn t matter. But
when she surfaced, Will wasn t there.
Imo, what the fuck are you doing? Stefan yelled.
Her heart pounding, Imo tore after the cap and dived below the surface. Several
yards away, to her absolute horror, she saw Will sinking through the sun-dappled sea.
Not stopping to take a breath, Imo swam straight for him. Fueled by adrenaline, she
powered through the water and caught him under the arms. She kicked to bring them
up but for a while they hung in limbo as she struggled against the momentum of his
falling body. Then gradually they rose to the surface.
Imo gulped air in noisy gasps. Where was the boat? Oh fuck. It was miles away.
Well, not miles but it might as well have been. Trying to keep both of them afloat was
almost impossible. Why wasn t Will taking noisy breaths too? Imo kept one arm around
his chest, tipped his head back on her shoulder and stuck a finger in his mouth. Water
spewed out. Oh God, how was she supposed to do CPR when she couldn t put her feet
down? Somehow she managed to pinch his nose and land one breath in his mouth.
Hang on, we re coming, Stefan shouted.
Another breath, another kick to keep them afloat but he was so heavy.
67
Barbara Elsborg
Catch hold of this, Karen yelled.
The yellow life belt hit Imo on the back of the head. She twisted around and forced
Will s arm onto the plastic. His face was so pale, Imo thought he was dead. Then his
eyelids fluttered and she almost burst into tears.
Will, wake up, she pleaded.
Imo kept one hand tight around him to stop him slipping off the support and
kicked her legs as hard as she could.
If you die, I ll never forgive you, she choked out. Bloody well wake up and help
me. Will, please.
It s okay, Imo. We re here. Get him to the back of the boat and I can pull him on
board, Stefan called.
Imo could feel her strength draining fast like the last grains of sand in a timer. Her
limbs were shaking and her teeth chattered. She hauled Will to the back where Stefan
waited on the low diving platform. He tucked his arms under Will s and lifted. Imo did
her best to help, but pushing Will up sent her under.
When she surfaced, she brushed water from her eyes and saw to her relief that Will
sat coughing on the ledge. Stefan held out his hand to her, his sun-creased face full of
concern. Imo reached up and he yanked her out of the water. Karen hauled her into the
cockpit, wrapped a towel around her and gave her a hug.
You okay? Karen asked.
Imo nodded, grateful for the concern. A moment or two later, Will and Stefan
joined them.
I m sorry, Imo whispered.
How many times did we do the man overboard drill? Stefan asked. It s not that
hard to remember. When did I say throw yourself over the side? Throw a flotation
device, but not yourself. Fucking hell. I could have lost both of you. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]