Intercepted by J Q Anderson Read Free Book Online

her body pressed so
tight against mine. She ’ s breathing
hard, and I slowly ease her toward the steps again.
    “You are okay. It is just another swimmer. See?” I coerce her to open her
eyes. She does and relaxes a fraction, nodding.
    “Right.” She breathes in and out. “I am sorry, Jake. Maybe this was not a
good idea.”
    I can tell she ’ s
embarrassed. I hold her face in my hand and her eyes dart to my mouth. Christ .
I lift her chin up a little so our eyes meet. “You are doing great. It takes
time, but look at how far you ’ ve come. This
is only the first lesson.” I smile. And I mean it. I am so impressed at how
brave she ’ s been. I can see how difficult
this is for her, and yet, she is still willing to try. It makes me want to see
her succeed even more.
    “Come on. We can take a break and try again.” She looks relieved as I say
this. When we reach the shallow end she lets go. My body protests at the
distance with hers. Having her wrapped in my arms felt a lot better than I am
willing to admit.
    Our second attempt is a little easier. She lets me lure her in all the
way to her shoulders. She is still tense, but seems a bit more at ease and it
gives me hope. On our third attempt, I hold her body up parallel to the surface
so she is almost floating. It takes a few tries, but she starts to relax. I
think she trusts me a little more and that helps. I sway her back and forth
gently and tell her to let go. It is not easy, but she is trying. She really
wants this to work. With her eyes closed and her hair fanned out into the
water, she looks like a mermaid. Her hair tie is lost somewhere, but she doesn ’ t seem to have noticed and I am liking the sight
of her hair swaying in the water way too much, so I stay quiet. As I get
distracted water trickles in through her half-parted lips and she jerks up,
coughing. Her arms are death-gripping my neck again and I laugh. She asks me if
we can take a break. She looks drained from the tension, and she also has to
get ready for her shift. I reassure her she has done great and tell her I am
proud. She smirks, but she knows she ’ s done
well.
    “I will meet you here again this afternoon?” I smile. I ’ m invaded by a sudden sense of hollowness for
having to say goodbye to her. “What time?”
    She thinks for a moment. “Um, I ’ m done
at two. So maybe four? Or later if you are busy.”
    “Four works. I have a few things to do and it will give me enough time to
hit the slopes.”
    She smiles, looking genuinely pleased. “Thank you, Jake.” And it fills my
chest completely.
    “You are welcome. You did well.” I nod, leaning on the edge as she goes.
Then I reach for my goggles and sprint into a butterfly stroke to rid my body
of the sudden exhilaration that surges through me.

Chapter 9: Natalia :

 
    Dani and Zack have already set up our station when I barge into the
lounge. Zack raises his eyebrows. I am never late. Dani gives me a wicked grin
and nods.
    “You look a bit ruffled up. Was he good?” She winks.
    I ignore her and pull my hair up in a ponytail, catching my breath. “I ’ m pooped. Who knew learning how to swim could be
this exhausting.”
    “ Well. ” Dani chuckles. “You were probably distracted by your instructor ’ s yummy looks. How did you get the hottest guy in
the lodge to give you private swimming lessons?”
    “I did not get him to do anything. He offered.” I frown.
    “Right. Lucky you.” She laughs. Zack shakes his head and says nothing. I am lucky last night resulted in big winnings for both of us, so I ’ m hoping he ’ ll give
me a pass for being late.
    The lounge is packed with the morning skiers. Even though it ’ s only Wednesday, the lodge is filling up quickly
with the weekend crowd. This means good tips, so everyone ’ s mood is up. Dani and I attend to our respective
stations. As we wait for Zack to fill our drink orders, she quizzes me about my
morning lesson with Jake. I keep it vague, but she is