Page 30 of Mine To Possess

I debate calling to him, letting him know it’s there, but I decide against it.

If I wasn’t into him, I wouldn’t call to him while he was swimming just to tell him his drink was here. I’d leave it here and expect him to see it when he got out of the pool. That’s it then. That’s where this little situation ends, I think as I turn around to head back to the house. Maybe he will call out to me…

I slow my steps.

But he doesn’t.

Then disaster strikes. My shoe slips on a wet tile and the ground flies away beneath me. My arms pinwheel and an involuntary scream escapes my lips. Even as I am falling, I don’t think of the harm my body is in. Instead, my first crazy thought is: boy, am I glad Viktor is in the pool now. The thought of him seeing me falling clumsily on my ass isn’t the look I’m aiming for.

Thank God, I manage to catch my footing before I land on my ass, but my humiliation isn’t over. My foot slips again and I tumble forwards instead, heading straight for the pool. I try to stop myself, but there’s nothing to catch onto, and my foot steps out into the air above the water.

I feel myself plummeting through the air and landing in the cold water with a loud splash and a strangled cry of help. Panic sets in as the water closes over my head and my feet don’t hit the bottom of the pool. I can’t swim and I’m in the deep end.

I kick desperately, managing to break the surface of the water long enough to snatch in a quick breath, but then I’m going down again, and when I kick my legs this time, I don’t come back up high enough to break the surface.

I’m sinking lower into the water. My lungs are burning as I hold my breath and the chlorine stings my eyes. I want to scream, but I hold my breath instead. Bubbles float from my mouth as my body fights me, wanting more oxygen.

I’m going to die here.

16

VIKTOR

Iswim with my head down, my face in the water, pushing myself; harder, faster.

I’m actually rather pleased with myself. The meeting I’ve just had has just resulted in me getting rid of my unwanted loan shark business and I managed to do it without incurring any loss. Not bad for a day’s work.

I hear a loud splash and I stop and tread water for a moment. There’s no sign of anyone around. My drink is on the table now though. Did she just deposit the drink and leave without saying goodbye? I fight off the disappointment.

But as I turn and start swimming towards the side to get out of the pool a blonde head breaks the surface of the water at the other end of the pool then disappears back under.

Fuck! She’s in the water. All kinds of crazy thoughts start flooding into my brain. Each one is lustier than the previous one. All the staff are gone by now. Is she fucking naked? An image crashes into my brain. I’ve placed her nude body on the side of the pool, opened her legs wide and I’m greedily eating her out. The afternoon air is full of her moans of pleasure.

I watch the water around me, waiting to see her swimming over to me beneath the surface, but she doesn’t appear. Bubbles float lazily to the surface of the water where she went under it. The bubbles get bigger and come faster and it hits me then. She didn’t jump into the pool; she fell in.

Holy fuck, she’s drowning.

Instantly, I lunge in her direction and start swimming towards her, pushing myself harder than I ever have before. How long has she been under? It can’t have been more than thirty seconds, but that must feel like a lifetime to the drowning person. I see the black of Amelia’s uniform through the water. She’s almost at the bottom of the pool.

Quickly I dive beneath the surface of the water, grab her under the armpits, and kick back to the surface. I push her head up out of the water and turn onto my back, holding her with one arm and pulling myself along with the other. I swim to the nearest ladder and clamber up it with Amelia pinned to my side with one arm.

I lay her on the ground beside the pool. She’s not breathing.

Memories of Lisa dying in my arms rush into my head. I kneel beside her and give her the basic CPR training I learned in school.

Amelia coughs suddenly, a violent spasm that wracks her whole body. Droplets of water fly from her mouth and I immediately turn her onto her side. She coughs again, though not as violently and retches out a flood of water.

She draws her knees up to her chest as she gasps and coughs frantically. Tears stream down her face and her body trembles, whether from the cold or from panic I don’t know.

“It’s ok, Amelia. You’re ok,” I whisper.

I go get my towel and wrap her in it. She sits up and looks at me. Her hair is plastered to her face and she’s still half crying with shock. Mascara trails leave black streaks down her face and her skin is pasty white.

“You don’t have to go that far to get my attention,” I say.

She looks at me blankly for a moment, then she laughs softly. It’s music to my ears. She must be feeling better if she’s laughing.

“Come on,” I say. “Let’s get you to my car. I’m taking you to the emergency room.”