His expression was passive, tightly held in check, and that only added to the horror, until his smooth voice settled over me like a warm blanket. “Calm down. Deep breaths, Alex.”

I inhaled, drawing air into lungs that didn’t want to work right. He instructed me to do it again, and I repeated the exercise for several minutes, adding the calming ritual of counting until I no longer sounded like an asthmatic that had run a marathon.

“That’s better. Hyperventilating isn’t going to help you with this.” He pulled my hair, bringing my face toward his submerged lap. “Don’t even think of biting me.”

“No! No!” I screamed. “Stop!” The last word cracked, as did the final thread of my composure. I thrashed, hair pulling painfully at my scalp as he pushed my head down.

“Take a deep breath. You’re gonna need it.”

I did at the last second before my face broke the surface and he pushed his erection into my mouth. I couldn’t think beyond closing my lips to keep water from rushing down my throat.

He flexed his fingers in my hair and bobbed my head up and down in quick yet controlled movements that kept pace to the seconds ticking in my head. My heart beat much faster, at an insane speed that made my chest hurt, and I mentally chanted two words, over and over again.

Don’t panic.

His salty flavor hit my taste buds, but before he came, he pulled me up. With a huge gasp, I sucked in air, hoarded it as if I’d never breathe again. Water trickled down my face in rivulets, lost to the locks of hair clinging to my nose and lips, and I fell into the sea of his eyes.

“Tell me what you’re hiding.” His tone left no room for maneuvering. I was in deep water, figuratively and literally, because he wasn’t going to let this drop.

When I didn’t answer, he yanked on my hair again, bringing me toward the water, and I cried, “Wait!”

“I’m done waiting, sweetheart.”

With a violent downward thrust, he shoved me under the water once more, and I fastened my lips around his cock. He pushed against my tongue, and water forced its way down my throat. Lungs on fire, wrists burning at my back, I fought him, my whole body tense and vying for survival. Logically, I knew he wouldn’t kill me, at least, I didn’t think he would, but I was smack in the middle of fight or flight and trying to do both simultaneously.