Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

Nick chafed impatiently,ready to get to Darcy and confused as heck by that kiss. What had he been thinking? It had been impulsive like he'd said, but he hadn't done it only to distract her from the stress of going underwater. He'd loved every second of that beautiful connection.

How was he going to keep any kind of emotional distance after one sweet touch of her lips had upended his entire world?

Focus.

Raoul had given them each a knife and weight. He tucked the knife up the sleeve of his wetsuit and held the weight. He preferred to dive with a weighted belt, but the producers probably wanted it to look more dramatic. He was also used to diving in the chillier waters off Long Island or Dana Point not the balmy Caribbean but the temperature wouldn't affect him much with one dive.

He glanced at Jagger. They were both perched near the edge of the boat, ready to dive. What kind of tricks would the man pull to win? Nick was growing to like Jagger and Hays. Jagger had said he felt badly taking money away from the children, but that didn't mean he wouldn't compete viciously. He was on the show for Shawn and Mercedes, and he'd fulfill the role they asked him to. Plus he was one of those men who was so fiercely competitive it just wasn't in his makeup not to win.

Aiden had beaten him. Of course Aiden had. That made Nick smile.

Light flashed from down in the water.

"Vámanos," Raoul called out.

Nick leaped out of the boat, angling his body down. He sliced into the water, the weight stretched out in front, clasped between his hands. He worried Jagger would try to shove him or grab him or some kind of trick, but the man simply angled down with strong, precise kicks, his body undulating like a merman.

That was the trick, Nick realized. Jagger had been getting in his head making him worry and be more cautious and prepared for underhanded ploys, but he just planned on being faster.

Nick kicked harder than ever and felt his lungs constrict and the pressure grow in his sinuses as they got deeper. He wiggled his jaw and swallowed, but no way was he slowing to plug his nose, blow out, and ease the pressure that way.

He could see Darcy, Hays, and Paul straight below them. He was creeping up on Jagger, almost even with him.

Jagger hip-checked him. With the water's resistance it only threw him slightly to the side, but it did slow his progress. The man darted down toward Darcy. Nick held the weight with one hand and grabbed at Jagger's foot, yanking him up.

Jagger elbowed him in the gut, and his breath rushed out too fast. He could see Darcy's eyes were wide, panicked. She was plugging her nose with one hand and holding onto her mask with the other, which made no sense.

He shoved the weight into Jagger's thigh, pushing the man away. He had a foot of space and he took it, diving straight for Darcy's ankle, dropping the weight on the ocean floor, grabbing the rope attached to the anchor and yanking his knife out. He sawed at the rope, his oxygen dangerously low. He was lightheaded, and spots appeared in his vision. His chest felt like a boa constrictor was squeezing him.

Jagger was coming at him with the weight. Was he going to knock him away from Darcy?

Darcy released her grip on her face mask and shoved Jagger away with both hands, preventing him from grabbing Nick. Jagger hadn't seen it coming, which had made the move effective. Nick almost laughed, but that would take more precious oxygen.

Jagger was coming. Like a black shark zooming toward its prey.

Nick sawed at the rope. Almost through.

Jagger grabbed his suit from behind and tried to rip him away. Nick dropped the knife and clung to the rope with both hands. Jagger's grip on him didn't relax, and no way was he letting go. The rope splintered and gave in his hands, and Jagger dragged both him and Darcy away from the ocean floor.

Darcy was flipped upside down, being dragged up by the rope around her ankle. Jagger must've seen that and realized the fight was over and Nick had reached Darcy first and mostly cut her free. He thankfully released both of them.

Hays was right there, helping Nick right Darcy. Nick was insanely low on oxygen, but he had to do the free dive completely or they wouldn't win. He couldn't take a drag from Darcy's oxygen, no matter how good that sounded. They had to ascend.

Jagger was already headed up, slowly exhaling and following his own bubbles. Hays and Paul gave Nick the thumbs up. They'd clean up and follow them. Nick should go.

Nick looked into Darcy's face mask. She was plugging her nose again and water was up to her cheeks inside her mask. That couldn't be comfortable. He motioned for her to clear her mask. She resolutely shook her head no.

Okay. He plugged his nose and closed his eyes, hoping she'd copy his motions. She did. Then he released his own nose, wrapped his arm around her, and started the ascent. The pressure in his head and lungs eased a fraction with each foot and finally, finally, they burst through the surface. He gasped a salt-tinged breath of beautifully fresh air. His head hurt, and it would take a while to recover from the lack of oxygen and pressure of the water at that depth without equalizing, but they'd made it.

Darcy yanked her face mask off, spit out her regulator, and rasped, "You did it!"

"Nice job!" Paul cheered as he burst through the surface.

Jagger was already in the boat, grinning down at them. "Good job."

Darcy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Nick was stunned and amazed. This kiss was even more impactful than the tender exchange they'd experienced before the dive. Her lips meeting his filled him with warmth, happiness, and purpose.

They sank slowly underwater. Darcy gasped out and released him from the kiss. Nick chuckled and kicked to keep them afloat. In the upright position, the scuba tank on her back wasn't doing them any favors.

Jagger extended a hand and Nick took it. Jagger tugged them to the boat and then grasped Darcy under her arms and lifted her up over the edge. Raoul helped relieve her of the scuba tank.

"You did it!" Darcy cried out again.

Nick grasped the edge of the boat and launched himself in. Paul and Hays used the ladder with the heavy tanks on their backs.

"I couldn't have done it without you," Nick told her. "Way to shove Jagger out of the way."

"Two against one," Jagger protested, rubbing at his head. "And you'd probably claim SEALs play dirty." He winked, and they all laughed. Nick was still too caught up in the kiss. Earlier, he'd claimed to kiss her for a distraction. What a lie. He was enthralled by her. Those two short kisses only made him long for more. What was he going to do?

He focused on Darcy. He'd have to figure out how to handle the issues with her drug-dealing ex later.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I tried to clear my ears, and I must've moved my mask wrong under my nose because it started leaking. It was awful, but you came and I'm okay."

"You did great," he said.

"You did!" She almost looked like she'd throw her arms around him again, but sadly she didn't. It was probably better for his state of mind.

"Good job, good job." Paul held out hands and high-fived each of them, except for Jagger.

"Hey," Jagger protested. "I was sabotaged."

"Be a good loser," Paul said.

Even Jagger laughed at that.

"Who's ready for the most beautiful scuba dive?" Paul asked. "The Palancar Reef is right here. Drift dive. Perfect."

Darcy shook her head, the light in her blue eyes dimming. "Not me. I'm not going down there again. I hated the water coming up my nose, and don't tell me I should've cleared my mask." She pointed at Hays.

He lifted both hands up. "I was just trying to help."

"I know, and I'm sorry I refused to listen, but at least we made it through. Thank you." Darcy looked at Nick, her lip trembling slightly. "Do I have to go down again?"

"No." He shook his head. "We can go back to the yacht and relax in the hot tub while they scuba." That sounded like a fabulous plan. Get her alone. Talk. Kiss again.

"I have day planned." Paul looked so disappointed. "Scuba, then shower on your yacht. Then lunch at Pancho's Backyard, then Miss Belle tell me use credit card to buy beautiful dress and jewelry for the lady and fancy shirt and hat for the men. And the gelato. You cannot miss the gelato!"

"He's right," Nick said.

Darcy's face blanched.

"We can't miss the gelato," Nick continued, "but we can skip the scuba part."

"Thank you," she breathed out, ignoring Paul's obvious disappointment.

Nick smiled at Darcy. "Did you hate being down there?"

"Well, not until the mask filled. Could we snorkel instead? I did that once with …" Her face reddened. "I really loved snorkeling. Even though I stink at swimming, I floated nicely face down. I think my spot is on top of the water."

"Oh, yes, yes, snorkel will be fine. You still see our beautiful reef." Paul clapped his hands together. "Let's do this."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked Darcy. He'd done plenty of scuba and snorkeling with the Marines. It was fine if he missed out on one, especially with the lingering headache. He would welcome the time on the yacht without Hays and Jagger. Talk with Darcy some more. Celebrate with more kissing. Maybe she'd share that she'd snorkeled with Johnny. Maybe he could find out the truth—did she know about her husband's drug dealing, or was she as innocent as she appeared? He prayed for the latter, but too much experience in the military and security ops had him leery.

"The most beautiful snorkel sounds fabulous." She looked around. "Thank you all. One event down and we beat Jagger. Woo-hoo, woo-hoo." Darcy pumped her hands and looked absolutely adorable.

"Don't rub it in," he protested.

Everybody else laughed.

Nick would enjoy the day Paul had planned with the group, but he could hardly wait to be alone with Darcy tonight. Would she finally open up to him? He couldn't simply kiss her or hold her close like he wanted. Not when he had to go back home in four days and continue monitoring and hopefully taking down her ex. He could never dream of dating Darcy. Unless he could prove she was clean and needed protection from Trattori.

When Aiden had asked him if he wanted this reality television show assignment, he'd thought it would be a fun week and a chance to earn a million dollars to put away for his future. With as well as Aiden paid him for assignments and his boss's financial advice, he was already in a better financial spot than he'd ever dreamed of as the youngest of seven children in a middle-class family. His family refused any ‘charity' from him, but he did send them loads of gifts.

This week was already so much more than he'd envisioned, confusing and thrilling at the same time. He had the feeling it might change his future's trajectory.

Darcy smiled at him.

Yes, definitely thrilling.