CHAPTER 276: CHAPTER 276 STRANDED AT SEA

I froze.

A second later, the meaning of his words hit me.

Panic surged as I spun my head from side to side, scanning the endless sea.

Nothing to the left.

Nor to the right.

Ahead, nothing.

Behind, nothing.

I should’ve have known: a tiny yacht in the face of such destruction had almost no chance of surviving.

Ashton and I were stranded at sea.

The thought made me clutch the regulator in my hand.

Kicking hard, I swam towards the small island ahead.

Ashton followed swiftly.

I scrambled onto the sand, tearing off the oxygen tank and flippers, flinging them aside as I stumbled along the beach.

My eyes darted frantically, searching for something.

Ashton reached the shore a few moments later. His longer strides closed the gap between us in seconds. He caught my arm, his grip firm, his voice calm and cool.

‘Calm down.’

I didn’t even look at him. With a twist, I wrenched free and pressed forward, still searching.

Ashton moved quickly, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me tight against him before I could take another step.

I struggled hard, but his hold was unyielding. I glared down at the hands that shackled me. ‘Let go!’

Instead of loosening, his grip only tightened.

Feeling the pressure against my waist, my frustration flared. ‘I said let go!’

I clawed at his arm with my free hand, but my strength against his was nothing more than a tickle.

I stamped on his foot, hard.

He didn’t even flinch. ‘I won’t let go until you calm down.’

A gust of sea wind whipped past, tossing my hair and sending a shiver down my spine.

I was suddenly very aware of the clammy weight of my wetsuit.

Before the next wind hit, Ashton shifted, lifting me slightly and turning me to face away from the gust. His broad frame shielded me completely.

The wind roared past us, proof of its strength.

After a long minute, the heat in my head began to cool. My hands loosened slightly on his wrist.

Ashton was only trying to help me.

His voice came again, as cold as seawater. ‘Whatever it is you’re looking for, save your strength. We’ll figure out a way back tomorrow, in daylight.’

He paused, lowered his head, and spoke softly at my ear. ‘I’m with you. You’re not alone.’

His breath brushed against my skin, tickling.

After a long silence, I exhaled. ‘All right.’

Ashton gathered a few fallen branches that the tsunami had toppled and tore off several large leaves. He laid them out on the sand, fashioning a makeshift place to rest.

To call it a shelter was generous. It was really just a patchwork of leaves big enough to lie on.

When Ashton finished, he glanced up. His brows drew slightly together as he noticed me clutching my arms.

‘Take off your clothes.’

He had already tugged down his own zip. As the fabric slid open, moonlight fell across the ridges of his tanned, sculpted abdomen.

Under different circumstances, I might even have had the presence of mind to appreciate it.

I tugged lightly at my soaked wetsuit.

Seeing me hesitate, Ashton frowned, his tone turning firm. ‘Keep wearing that, and you’ll catch a chill. There’s no doctor here.’

This stern version of him was nothing like the quiet, restrained Ashton under the sea. This was the Ashton I had first met, the commanding one, the one whose words were not suggestions but orders to be obeyed without question.

It made me bristle, because he rarely spoke to me that way. I wanted to argue, to push back, but I realised it was pointless, a waste of energy.

Beneath the wetsuit I wore only a bikini, and it was more revealing than I would have liked. Still, I couldn’t afford to look weak in front of Ashton. Besides, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen me naked before.

I stripped quickly, peeling off top and bottoms in a few movements, though I instinctively held the clothes across my chest.

For a long moment, Ashton said nothing.

I looked up, confused, and found he was no longer there. On the sandy patch lay an even larger leaf, folded neatly.

I scanned the shadows until I spotted his tall figure bent near the edge of the dark forest, rummaging for something.

‘Ashton?’ I called.

He didn’t turn. ‘Use the big leaf. Wrap yourself up, the night wind is strong.’

I hurried to the makeshift bed, picked up the leaf, and held it against myself. It fit perfectly around my body.

I wrapped it around my chest and back, the ends meeting at my side. The hem reached just above my knees. The torn strip tied neatly at the side, fastening it securely.

As I knotted it, my eyes kept drifting towards Ashton.

‘Where did you go?’ I asked when he came back.

‘Collecting dry twigs.’ He sat with his back to me, fiddling with the sticks. ‘You should rest. I’ll keep watch.’

On a deserted island with no shelter, someone had to stay alert. Ashton had simply taken the task on himself.

To my ears, it sounded as though he didn’t trust me, as though I wasn’t capable. Irritation pricked. I dropped down beside him. ‘No. You can’t make all the decisions. Let me do something too.’

Ashton said nothing. He kept working with the twigs.

The silence stung. I didn’t want him to see me as dead weight. The calm I had just managed to recover unravelled again.

Anger coiled inside me, hot and restless, waiting for release. I tried to tamp it down with reason.

I didn’t even know why I was furious. Was it his indifference? Or was I lashing out to smother the guilt gnawing at me?

Because the truth was, if not for me, he wouldn’t be here at all.