Page 11 of Whispering Waves

Everything was businesslike until he showed her how to use the regulator and demonstrated it on himself first. Putting the mouthpiece in tasting like him was severely distracting. She closed her eyes and focused on ignoring the small bloom of arousal that threatened to roar to life if she let it.

Nina focused and went through the valves and practiced sucking air in through the mouthpiece, knowing that when the water was pressing on her, it wouldn’t come easily. She was going to have to suck hard.

She gave him a dark look when he said that, and he laughed. She checked the gauges and practiced again.

Kimo nodded. “Right. Let’s go practice in actual water.”

She got to her feet and went to pick up the tanks. Kimo moved ahead of her and snagged the tanks, leaving her nothing to carry but the flippers and masks.

“Where are we going?”

“A sheltered pool. I was going to take you to one of the freshwater lakes, but buoyancy is different.”

They walked to a jeep and tossed the equipment in. She had to pull herself up because the vehicle was lifted.

She buckled in, and he grinned. “Ready to go play?”

“I am probably going to get in the water and then have to crawl out from exhaustion.”

“I am counting on you having a bit more stamina.”

“Time will tell.” She shrugged as he drove fast through back trails, and some of the most breathtaking views flew past the open doors of the vehicle.

When they moved down a path, she saw rock walls, and the open water was ahead of them. “Oh. Wow.”

He smiled at the admiration. He parked above the high-tide mark and looked at her. She turned her head toward him and blinked when he gave her a quick kiss.

She touched her lips, and he was already out of the vehicle and getting the equipment, even the flippers.

She unbuckled slowly and walked down the path after him, and the sun was beating on her shoulders.

Kimo helped her fit the tank rigging to her, showed her how to check her tank and adjust her buoyancy, and then geared up and led her into the water.

Nina hung upside down a few times but eventually got the hang of propulsion with her flippers. When she managed to get a few feet below the surface, the world around her changed. Kimo signalled to dive deeper, and she made adjustments and went further down. He was at her side the whole way, and when they were near the floor, he straightened and floated leisurely.

Nina was busy trying to remember to breathe, accept the pressure, and keep track of her computer and gauges. He tapped her arm and gestured for her to look. She glanced up and paused, exhaling hard. They were in a hoard. Treasure, cascades of pearls, and thick chains of gold were on the walls.

She pointed at him and then gestured with her fingers in a swirl that took in the walls around them.

He nodded and inclined his head.

She gave him a thumbs-up. It was very pretty.

He swam to the side and stopped by a shelf covered with pearls. He waved at them and picked up a strand of heavy pink ones.

She carefully moved over and shook her hand negatively. She gestured to the strand of black pearls, and he nodded and took them off the shelf to stow in the mesh bag at his hip.

To her astonishment, he plucked more of the black and iridescent pearl strands from the wall.

Nina reached out and stopped him from continuing his collection. He looked at her and cocked his head.

Her hand was on his bicep, and his skin was warm even under the water. She pulled her hand back and casually tried to swim around the confines of the deep tidal pool.

He shadowed her, and when she checked her oxygen, she signalled that she was going to start rising. He nodded, and together, they slowly cruised upward until they broke the surface, and she lifted her mask and removed her regulator.

She swam toward the spot where they had entered the water and scooted backward when she got to the stone shelf. Nina pulled off her fins and tossed them to the dry rock, and then her numb hands worked to unzip the vest attached to the tank. All buckles holding it onto her were released as well.

The tank was lifted away from her, and she pulled her mask off her head.