Love on the Rocks Read Free Page B

heart lodged in her throat. Then she dove into the water and swam as hard as she’d ever swum toward the spot she’d last seen him. She pushed back all of the warnings Frank and her mother had drilled into her head as she rose on the swell of a small wave and scanned ahead.
    There. A hundred yards ahead, she spied Decker’s dark head, drifting south, carried by the current.
    Otis barked from the shoreline, the sound carrying out to where Roxi paused to breathe, her lungs burning with the need for oxygen. She drew in a deep breath and yelled, “Decker!” A wave slapped her in the face, and she sucked salt water into her lungs. For a moment she sputtered, coughing and fighting to keep her head above the water as she cleared her lungs. When she could breathe again, she searched for Decker’s dark head on the water’s surface.
    The swells had increased, and she couldn’t see him. Treading water, she turned toward the shore where Otis danced along the water’s edge, barking furiously. Once again, she turned toward the open sea, but couldn’t find Decker. The tide was pulling her south, past the pier. If she didn’t start angling toward the shore, she might not make it back. Now the fight to find Decker became a struggle to save herself. If she could get to shore, she would send out a rescue boat to find Decker, which she should have done in the first place.
    Forcing herself to remain calm she struck out toward shore, swimming with the current while cutting at a diagonal toward the shore. The tide pulled at her like hands gripping her legs, dragging her toward the open sea. She fought against its clutches, kicking as hard as she could to break away. It seemed that for every inch forward, she lost two, hauling her backward.
    Her arms ached and the muscles in her legs burned. Roxi slowed and treaded water long enough to rest and catch her breath.
    A figure surfaced beside her, startling her, but she was too tired to scream.
    When she realized it was Decker, she almost cried in relief. Moonlight glistened off his wet hair, making it appear blue-black. His powerful shoulders rose above the surface as they bobbed with each swell.
    “Don’t give up.” Decker grabbed her hand and pulled her against him with one arm, his free one stroking the water to keep them both afloat.
    “I’m okay,” she insisted, not feeling okay, but unwilling to let him take on the burden of her, when she shouldn’t have swum after him in the first place. What had she been thinking? “I’m just resting before I swim again.”
    “Let me know when you’re ready.” A wave splashed over them before he could continue. “We’ll make it to shore together.”
    She nodded, the salty tang of water on her lips, a surge of hope fueling her tired muscles. Roxi kicked hard headed toward the sandy beach.
    Decker paced her, silently swimming at her side, occasionally reaching out to pull her along.
    Slowly, they edged toward land, and finally, Roxi’s toes encountered sand. She laughed as she staggered to her feet and slogged through knee-deep water toward a frantic Otis.
    A strong arm slipped around her waist adding strength to her flagging reserves.
    When they reached dry land, Roxi dropped to her knees on the gritty sand and rolled onto her back, completely drained of energy.
    Otis licked her face, whining and shaking all over.
    “Are you okay?” Decker knelt and leaned over her, peering into her face.
    She forced her lips to curve upward. “I will be.”
    “Good.” His brows dipped into a V and moonlight reflected off his eyes. “Then why the hell were you swimming alone this late at night?”

Chapter Three
    D ECKER COULDN’T STOP the surge of anger radiating through his body. Yeah, he didn’t know what he’d been thinking, swimming at midnight when riptide warnings had been all over the radio earlier that day and the colored flag had been flown on the lifeguard stands. But he couldn’t sit around his beach cottage, wide awake,