Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sleep is hopeless in this heat.
Stassia was right, a heat wave was on its way, and I was not prepared for it. At least on deck there was a breeze off the water making the heat tolerable, but the captain’s quarters are hot and stifling, and I cannot relax.
Laying under the bedding is out of the question, so instead, I’m sprawled out on top, the sleep shirt sticking to my skin.
Sweat dampens my scalp and my waves are wild as I toss them off of my neck.
Staying still is impossible, and I’m constantly having to readjust my limbs, seeking a cool spot on the sheets.
Nothing is comfortable.
I roll onto my back and let out a frustrated sigh into the quiet dark before jolting to attention when the silence is interrupted.
“You’re going to rock the entire ship and wake the crew if you don’t stop tossing and turning,” Weston grumbles from his side of the bed.
“It’s too hot,” I groan. He hadn’t moved for a while, so I didn’t think he was awake, yet it wasn’t implausible that he was awake too. He must be suffering as much as me in this humid room.
“Maybe if you try not moving, you won’t be as hot,” he says.
“I tried that. Doesn’t work.”
He rolls onto his back and it’s then I notice he isn’t sleeping under the bedding either. The pants he normally wears to sleep are gone, replaced with some that are cut off at the knees. Otherwise, he’s unclothed, and it’s easy to see the sweat on his skin glistening in the moonlight.
He lets out a deep sigh. “I have an idea, but you don’t have to agree.”
“If this involves me taking my clothes off, that’s never going to happen.”
He chuckles. “Good to know, princess. But that wasn’t what I was going to suggest.”
“What then?” I ask.
He throws his feet over the side of the bed and stands before turning to face me. “I could teach you how to swim.”
“Now?” I say, sitting up.
He shrugs his shoulders. “What better time than when it’s too fucking hot to function?”
“I’m terrified of the water.”
“That’s the entire point,” he says. “If you learn how to swim, you won’t be scared anymore. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll keep you safe, princess.”
My belly stirs and I blame the heat.
“But it’s dark. We won’t be able to see.”
He nods at the line of windows above the bed. “There’s a lot of moonlight tonight, and it’s not like we can do it during the day.”
I slide off the bed and bite my lip. Learning to swim is a skill I should have, especially living on a ship, but do I really want Weston teaching me? I’m sure Sig would, if I asked her, but he’s offering now. He already spent the day teaching me how to disarm someone, so what is another lesson?
And it’s so fucking hot.
All I can think about is cooling down, and that outweighs any negative arguments about being alone with him again so soon.
“Alright. What do I wear?”
He grabs a loose shirt and slides it over his head. “What you have on is fine.”
“But I sleep in this. And I need pants.”
“I have more shirts you can sleep in, and if you want to force yourself into pants, be my guest.”
He pads to the door on bare feet, grabbing his belt with his sword as he passes the chair.
My pants stick as I try to yank them on, and I curse him under my breath. It takes a few minutes of tugging before I get them up, and once I do, I immediately regret it. The heat is amplified. They pull with every step, and all I can think about is getting them off again.
I grab my dagger and follow Weston, our bare footsteps silent on the wooden floor.
The night is still, and the ship is quiet.
The only sound is the rustle of sails and the creak of the boards, indicating no one else is awake.
Rumbling fills the air as the gangway extends from the edge of the ship, and we bound down it quickly.
The jagged rock on my bare feet slows me down. The softness of my soles is not acclimated to the points that poke into my skin and throw off my balance. Weston extends his arm to me as I wobble, and I reluctantly grab hold of it.
He keeps me steady as I slowly amble along, gaze trained on the rock in front of me to dodge holes. As soon as my toes hit the sand, I release him and step away. I don’t need to touch him any more than necessary, and I deem preventing myself from falling into the sharp rock of the cove necessary.
“Where do we go now?” I ask, looking around at the empty beach and scanning the cliff above.
After seeing the way Storm patrolled yesterday and knowing he isn’t afraid of being out at night with Dane, I’m a little wary of being beyond the safety of the ship, even though I still don’t believe he would hurt me.
“This way,” he says. “We should walk in the surf so our footprints get washed away. Are you alright with that?”
I nod and swallow the lump in my throat.
I have never willingly been this close to water, but I know I am about to get a lot closer.
Learning to swim has been in the back of my mind for a while now, and I feel relieved finally being able to get it over with.
I’m ready. And because it was Weston’s idea, I don’t have to deal with the consequences of asking and having him think it is so I could safely escape.
Foam covers the sand as we step into the surf, the water lapping at our ankles while Weston positions himself between me and the waves rolling in.
The moon is bright tonight, and reflects off the surface of the glowing water, making it easy to see where we are going.
We follow the curve of the beach, the water on my feet already cooling me down, but making these dreaded pants stick to my legs even more than before.
Large boulders form the other side of the cove, and I follow behind Weston as he climbs over and weaves through spaces between them.
The cove behind us is completely out of view as we follow the shoreline, until another cove, much smaller than where the ship is anchored, appears before us.
The water inside it is calm, only rising and falling with the swell of distant waves that crash into large rocks that guard the space.
It’s the perfect wading pool, and I assume where he’s going to teach me to swim, outside the reach of the waves.
It’s also tucked away enough that if someone were to be out walking tonight, they wouldn’t be able to see us.
Weston sets his belt down on top of the boulder before reaching over his head and pulling off his shirt. He drops it next to his sword before sliding down the side of the boulder and landing in the water below.
My breath catches as he disappears beneath the surface, and I scan the water, waiting for him to emerge. I shouldn’t be afraid for him. He isn’t scared of the water like I am, but I can’t stop it from happening.
He breaks through the surface a moment later, his hands pushing his hair back out of his face as rivulets of water cascade down his chest and abdomen.
“I thought you said this didn’t involve taking my clothes off,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest and suddenly feeling very vulnerable.
“I lied.”
I make a sound of shock, which makes him smile. “Finally admitting you lie? What else are you going to admit to?”
He smiles and his face glows in the moonlight. He must be feeling better after being in the water, because it seems like the grumpy, overheated captain is nowhere in sight.
“I’m kidding, princess. You don’t have to take anything off. It might make it more difficult, but it’s your choice.”
I set my dagger next to his things and crouch down, scooting my body toward the edge of the rock. The water sits at Weston’s waist, but that will be significantly higher on me. My stomach rolls as I scan the water, trying to find the courage to jump in like he did.
“You’ll be able to stand just fine.”
I nod quickly, and suck in a breath, keeping my gaze on the water below.
Extending both legs out over the side of the boulder, I slide down slowly until I fall, feet first, into the water.
Somehow I remain standing, but push up on my toes so my chest stays as far out of the water as possible.
I suck in a breath, overwhelmed by the sudden change in temperature, doing exactly what Weston expected, cooling me down and making me more comfortable in this heat
But just as I expected, panic rises in my chest as my breaths shorten.
“You’re alright, just get used to it. You can walk around.” He hovers barely an arm’s length from me, I assume for reassurance and hopefully not because I’m going to drown.
Holding my arms up above the water, I take a step away from the boulder.
The water holds me upright, the slow swell from the waves making me sway back and forth as I try to move.
My clothes drag around me, heavy with the weight of the water, and I now understand why Weston took his off.
They feel like they’re tugging at me as I trudge through the pool, my stance loosening up slightly the more I move.
“What do we do now?” I ask. Addy always told me that my voice gets high pitched and squeaky when I’m scared, specifically when I found a spider or insect she always took care of in my rooms. I hope the squeak isn’t present now.
“Nothing for a few minutes. You need to feel a little more comfortable in the water first.” He sinks into the water and disappears, before resurfacing again a second later, and running his hand over his face and wiping the water away.
Dropping lower again, his body disappears until I can only see his face watching me.
“It won’t hurt you, princess. You can put your head under. Just hold your breath.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “If I die, it’s your fault.”
He chuckles. “I think I can save you again if that happens.”
I take a deep breath and lower my arms, then sink my body into the cool water, letting it surround me before panicking and pushing myself back up again.
I splutter uncontrollably, then gasp for breath.
My hair is soaked and plastered to my face, and I shove it out of the way, only to find Weston laughing, the sound filling the little cove as he watches me cough from sucking in too much salty water.
“Relax,” he croons. “You’re thinking too much. Try it again.”
I try a few more times, taking in a large breath and holding it before dropping into the pool. The more times I do it, the more in control I feel, and I can sense the unease and fear subsiding.
“Alright, what’s next?”
He glides closer and extends his arms, resting them on the surface of the water.
“Hold your arms out like this. Do you feel the water, how it holds you up, pushes your body around?”
“Yes,” I say, mimicking his movement and resting my arms on the surface.
“It will do the same when you swim, so you need to practice letting it.”
“How do I do that?”
He steps closer, eyes not leaving my face. “You have to trust it,” he says, rising so he’s at full height and towering over me. “I’ll show you,” he says and reaches out toward me. “But you have to trust me, too.”