Chapter 34
Tink
The sea dragged her into a cold and dark oblivion.
Water invaded her mouth, consumed her scream. Salt seared her wounds. Tink bucked and thrashed, but everything was the same. Up was down, and down was up.
This was it. The end.
He loved her, and she hadn’t been able to say it back. Oh, how she wanted to. It’d been on the tip of her tongue the night before, lingering right there. Why hadn’t she told him? I love that stupid, filthy pirate.
Tears didn’t come, or maybe they did. The water burned her eyes and choked her lungs. Pain stabbed her everywhere.
A light? The sun?
Something brushed against her. Maybe. Something hard pressed against her chest and her back.
Water rushed around her.
And then she saw James staring down at her. He smiled and touched her face. She wasn’t in pain anymore. Everything was warm, happy. He pressed his lips to hers.
Darkness crept in around her, but she wasn’t scared anymore.
I love you.