He gave her a sardonic look. “I thought we discussed this. Adventure, Nymph.”
“Why do you call me that?”
“Do you dislike it?”
“I am merely curious.”
Nathan was silent for a moment before he shrugged. “That day in the blasted forest maze. When I saw you sitting against the tree, I thought you looked like a nymph. The moniker stuck.”
“But I am nothing like a nymph,” she countered. “They are lithe and graceful. Calling me ‘sweetheart’ or ‘darling’ or ‘my dear’ is far more acceptable.”
“And far more clichéd. Have you ever seen a nymph?”
“Of course not; they are mythical.”
“Then how do you know what one actually looks like? If they are mythical, can I not have my own perception of how they should look?”
She considered that. “I suppose,” she allowed with hesitation. “But why would you want to think one looks like me?”
Nathan’s chest burned with hatred for her mother and every man she encountered who did not think she was worthy of notice. Keeping his voice steady, he said, “Every man has his preference. You happen to be mine. I like that you are more than a cliché.”
He watched as her skin, pale with cold, flushed a bright red. She avoided his gaze, her eyes dropping down to his chest.
He cleared his throat. “Right, time to float. Lie back and don’t worry, I will help you. I will keep my hands under you until you are ready.”
Sara took a deep breath, bring her eyes back up to his. She licked her lips and nodded.
“Right.” He placed his hands along her back. “Lie down.”
Sara lay stiffly against his hands, her eyes wide. Looking down at her, her hair swirling around her head, Nathan felt one corner of his mouth tug up. “Relax, Nymph.”
She lifted her head. “What?” She flailed, losing her balance.
Nathan caught her easily, helping her right herself. “There you are.”
“What did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
“I told you to relax. Buoyancy does not work if you are too stiff.”
“Oh. I couldn’t hear you. Everything was all muffled.”
“The water acts with the air in your ears to create a cushion. You will be able to hear things that occur underwater that make sound, but no sound created above it.”
“Truly?”
He nodded. “Back down, Nymph. This time relax. Trust me and yourself.”
His hands back in position, Sara leaned back down. She lifted her feet off the bottom, feeling his hands support her beneath her back. The water surrounded her head again and muffled her hearing as it had before. She saw his mouth move and recalled his directive. Taking a deep breath, she considered her body, realizing how stiff she was holding herself, right down to her fingertips. Another deep breath and she closed her eyes, trying to relax.
She focused on her different limbs, willing them to ease. As they did, she felt a small bubble rise up underneath her, giving her body a slight lift off his hands. They followed her, still supporting her, but she felt him move them away, bringing them back for short intervals until she realized that at one point he hadn’t moved them back at all.
Her eyes flew open. He was standing above her, his arms folded in front of him. That stomach-fluttering grin was on his face. “Oh good heavens!” Her body flailed again and she sunk below the surface.
His hands were on her in an instant, pulling her up as she righted herself. Sara regained her balance, wiping the water off her face. She sputtered, “Why did you let me go?”
Nathan shrugged. “You didn’t need me. You were floating.”
“I was floating!” Sara squealed in disbelief. She clapped her hands and squealed again, jumping in one place. He chuckled with her, adding to her delight. She jumped again, this time toward him. Nathan opened his arms, catching her and hugging her to him.
“Oh Nathan, thank you,” she said, cupping her hands around his face. She pulled him down and kissed him, pressing her open lips to his. He responded, but her excitement kept the kiss brief and she broke it. “I want to do it again.”
Nathan obliged her, his hands guiding her down again and she floated on her own easily. She looked up at him, smiling indulgently at her, his ice blue eyes reflecting the water in hue but not in temperature. His eyes were warm, full of something that she didn’t recognize but responded to out of instinct. She smiled back, the thought that she would like to see him look at her like that for the rest of her life entering her mind.