Panicked, she latched on to him, her arms tightening around his neck as she climbed on to him.

Holy shit, Shane thought as he was sucked under water so quickly he barely had time to close his mouth before the water rushed over him. The woman had such a tight grip on him that he couldn’t do a thing to help himself—or her. Am I going to drown out here?

They went down together, the darkness surrounding him. This could not be happening… With a sudden realization that he couldn’t save himself and her, too, Shane began to fight back, pulling frantically on the arms that wrapped around his neck like a noose. His lungs began to burn for air, but he never stopped fighting until he managed to free himself.

Surging to the surface, he sucked in greedy breaths as his heart pounded and his head spun from the lack of oxygen. He looked all around him for the woman but didn’t see her. Did he dare dive down for her and risk his own life again, or should he head for shore while he had the chance?

How could he leave her and live with himself if he did? His conscience won the debate, and after taking a huge breath, he dove under the water. He spotted her floating peacefully and grabbed for her, coming back with only the top of her bikini. He swam for the surface, took another breath and went back down, this time wrapping his arm around her middle and dragging her up with him.

Either all the fight had gone out of her, or she was unconscious. He suspected the latter as he dragged her with him to the shore, which now seemed like a mile away. Every muscle in his body ached from the effort to keep his head and hers above water while pressing forward against a strong current.

After what felt like an hour of epic struggle, his feet finally made contact with the sand. He shifted the woman so he had his arms under her back and legs and carried her onto the sand, where he deposited her carefully before collapsing next to her. He needed to make sure she was breathing, but he couldn’t seem to catch his own breath.

Where the hell were all the people who were always on this beach? Rising to his knees, he glanced at her face, which was lost under a mask of blonde hair. His gaze traveled down to where her breasts were fully exposed. Summoning first aid training from years ago, he pushed the hair back, plugged her nose and opened her mouth to blow a steady stream of air into her lungs. He did that twice before she began to cough. He rolled her to her side when she began to vomit up saltwater.