Page 124 of Her Reluctant Hero
Adrian kept his attention on Mallory. “She got chilled. The suit doesn’t fit right, lets too much water in. I haven’t checked for tears.”
“My body can’t heat it fast enough,” Mallory explained, pulse thudding as she waited for Jonathan to see her clothes tossed on the wetsuit. That Adrian came to her rescue surprised her and softened her toward him. “It’ll only be for a few minutes, Adrian. You spent too much on that to abandon it, and you can’t fit in Jacob’s suit.” She said the last over her shoulder as she walked to the suit, gathered her panties and stuffed them in her pocket. She picked up the suit, held it in front of her as she inspected it for tears, her heart pounding at the near miss.
“Is it dangerous?” Jonathan asked, anxiety creeping into his voice.
She looked up and wondered if it had been a near miss, and if her own guilty conscience put that strained look on Jonathan’s face.
“She could become hypothermic,” Adrian said, through gritted teeth.
“I’ll be fine.” Her tone was just as tense as she looked around the barge for some privacy but knowing she wouldn’t find any. What would Jonathan think if she stripped here in front of them all? There was no help for it, though she moved behind the bench that held the laptops. That was some barrier as she stripped to her underwear and stepped into the suit, tugging it into position. To Jonathan, she said, “He won’t let anything happen to me.”
Adrian glared at her a moment, then motioned for her to turn around so he could help her into her tanks. He tapped the gauge to let her know he’d checked it. “You don’t have too long.”
“I don’t need much time.” She pulled the mask over her face and tumbled into the water.
Only after she was in the water did she realize she hadn’t said anything to Jonathan.
It took just a moment to dislodge the camera from the seaweed it had entangled in, but her short decompression time gave her the time, and courage, to do what she needed to do. She hated the relief that accompanied the thought that at least she wouldn’t be tying herself to staid, safe Jonathan.
