The Sanctuary (Playa Luna Beach Romance) Read Free Page A

couldn’t stop herself, and diving down to double check, she saw the telltale black and white pattern of a murex shell, a big one. It looked like it was intact, not like some of the others she’d collected on the shore. They’d been beaten down by the tide and the rocks, and this was a great find.
    She surfaced, took a deep breath and dove back down. She grabbed the shell and pushed off from the bottom toward the surface. In an instant, she realized she wasn’t moving anywhere. She kicked her feet and tried to push off again, a searing pain shooting up her right leg.
    Dropping the shell, she grabbed the knife she always carried in the water from her waistband, cutting through the net that had captured her. Pulling it away from her feet, she saw the big, rusty fish hook hanging from her thigh, and it ripped in further as she pulled the net away.
    She screamed underwater at the shock, salty water filling her mouth. Desperate, she clawed for the surface, trying to get to air. Her head broke the surface, but her leg was no use to her, and all she could do was cough and flail.
    As she coughed, blinded by the intense pain, she struggled to stay afloat. She thrashed about in the water, trying to find her balance in both her body and her mind, but some part of her brain realized it was a losing battle. As she willed her body to be still, tendrils of blood wisped in the water around her, and she knew it was hers. She couldn’t catch her breath, and was just about ready to give in to the pain and panic.
    Dimly, she heard a voice from behind her. “Be as still as you can.” She tried, but felt her body pulsating with pain. One arm shot out and grabbed her around the waist, holding her head above water and moving along quickly. “Don’t fight me. Just try to breathe until I get you to shore,” she heard him say.
    With panic taking over her mind, it was all she could do to remain as limp as possible and let him pull her in with the waves. She felt herself on dry land, on the sand, and struggled to get air into her lungs while getting water out. Coughing wildly, what seemed like a gallon of water gushed out of her, onto the sand.
    A voice again broke through the fog of fear in Cassie’s mind. “Easy, I’ve got you. Just breathe. Don’t fight me, just breathe.” Over and over his voice commanded her to relax and br eathe. Her breath came back to her, and her panic began to subside. Suddenly, with a swoosh, Cassie felt herself being carried back to the beach chairs by the handsome, dark man she had seen before. She realized she couldn’t walk, and was grateful he was holding her. Surprised, she realized she was shaking.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    As he set her carefully on the chair, Taylor arrived on the quad, skidding to a stop right before them. “Cassie, are you all right? I saw from the house you were struggling in the water. What happened?”
    Cassie was still not able to speak, and the man directed Taylor to find some alcohol or hydrogen peroxide and bandages as fast as she could, along with some pliers. Normally, Taylor would have said something to the tune of, “Well, who the hell are you?” Mercifully, this time she didn’t.
    She hopped on the quad and headed back to the house as fast as it would go. Cassie felt as if time had stopped completely, the pain searing her leg and feeling as if it were pulsing through her entire body. She clutched the stranger’s arm as pain ripped up and down her leg.
    Taylor appeared with what the stranger had asked for. She pulled Cassie’s blond hair away from her face and stroked her forehead with concern. “What the hell happened?” she said to the stranger, not taking her eyes off Cassie.
    “Your friend has a fishing hook stuck in her leg. We need to get it out as quickly as possible. I’ll need you to get some ocean water over here,” the man said, still holding Cassie’s leg and reminding her to breathe.
    Taylor quickly grabbed the only thing handy to transport water, the