Playboy Heir
Page 21
He was desperately trying to swim to shore but was out of reach. I hooked him with the tiller and began pulling him to me. I had but a few seconds to get him there.
It was futile; he was not going to make it before the next onslaught of waves. I quickly tied myself to the dock and held onto him for dear life.
The waves crashed above my head and tried to take me with them. I could feel the pull on the rope holding me into place. I remembered my knots and knew they would hold. The only question was, could I hold onto this unconscious man until the tide rolled away, hoping the undercurrent would leave us be?
It only lasted a few seconds and took even less time for me to get my bearing. I dragged King Richard up the dock. It was time to take off the encumbering lifejacket that made his already unconscious body dead weight.
I tied him to me and kept moving my end of the rope up the dock. If we got hit with another wave before I could get him to higher ground, he would have no chance in hell without that lifejacket. Again, I would congratulate myself later for the foresight to tie him to me.
The next set of waves were as colossal and unforgiving as the last. At least we would not get pulled back down the beach. Each time the waves subsided and the current relieved, I was able to move further and further up the shoreline.
I reached the end of the dock. Now I would have no way to keep the progress I had been making. The cabin was so close but I had an unconscious man to carry and my muscles were already taxed.
How much more of this could I endure?
How much more could he endure?
I at least was able to hold my breath during the assailment of wave after wave. I had no idea how much water he had taken in.
I lay my cheek against his mouth. I could feel warm breath on my skin. A very good sign; he was still alive, but for how long if I did not get him out of the elements?
For a brief moment I sat on the sand, my back against the last post of the dock. He was laying between my legs unable to respond, unable to assist. I brushed his hair from his face, and looked to the heavens.
Help me, Michael, was all that fell from my lips before exhaustion took over and I began to cry.
I had used all my energy and had no idea how I was going to save this man. I feared for our lives if we were hit one more time.
As I stared above talking to my dead husband, the clouds began to dissipate, the stars began appearing and the ocean emitted the sound of calm rolling waves.
I continued to sob, but for a different reason. My beloved, my Michael, had saved me, like he had on the first day we met.
With an infusion of adrenaline coursing through my blood, I found the strength to drag King Richard to the cabin. He was going to be very sore come morning. Between hitting the water at fleeting speed and being dragged across the rocky terrain he would be lucky to not have anything broken.
I was a veterinarian's assistant and could do some basic medical first aid. Hopefully there was no internal injuries to deal with.
I would have to get ahold of the Coast Guard and let them know he was here. Someone would be looking for him and they needed to know he was alive.
At least, for now he was alive.
If he didn’t get proper medical attention, that situation may not last.
Man Whore Heir: Chapter 3
Richard
I was drifting in and out of consciousness. There was a chill beyond anything I had experienced before. Where was I, what happened, and why did I feel burning pain throughout my entire body?
I dreamt of a light. A long beaming light with an angel on the other end. I heard shouting, I heard the roaring of the waves, I heard crying.
Right now I would do anything to wake up from the storm being recreated in my subconscious. My soul was drifting from my body. The tremendous cold was overtaking my senses. The salt stung my eyes, my lungs, which was good, pain meant life. I was alive.
But there was no waking up from my nightmare. I could taste the salty air, something that never happened when I dreamt. The cold bite of the wind had my heart pumping several times faster than it ought to.
I was exhausted but I needed to continue fighting. I wasn't alone in this fight. I wanted the onslaught of water that was taking over my body to stop. Instinctively, I held my breath when I heard the rush of water coming toward me. Another wave; how much more was my body going to be able to withstand?
The last wave came too quick. I was still recovering from the previous one. This time I did not hold my breath on time. How much would it cost me?
I awoke in a cold sweat, long enough to know I was no longer on the boat, no longer in the frigid ocean, long enough to register my surroundings. Long enough to know I was indeed alive.
My dreams took me to a time when two young men met and became friends. There was something disturbing about this dream. I was trying to understand how the blonde woman fit into this dream. Everything was jumbling into one large melting pot. I was unable to decipher the fantasies of my dreams from the reality of my actions.
I dreamt of my family. Would they miss me if I were gone? Was I in a purgatory of my own misdeeds? As hard as I tried, I could find no fault in the life I had lived. I remained loyal to my father, to my friends, to my company.
It amused me that my father came first in my thought about loyalty. A father who had not been as loyal in his lifetime. All my memories flooding back from a place in my mind buried long ago.
My brain related to the fact I was dreaming, but my body was feeling something else. The warmth was returning. I thought about how people say you feel warm when you suffer from hyperthermia.
Was I in the final stages? I may not be on the boat or in the ocean — I was alive, but for how long?
I continued to dream, continued to feel heat returning to my body. At one point I felt my arousal and began dreaming of all the blonde women I was acquainted with.
My life may not be flashing before my eyes, but my conquests were. Was I in a hell of my own making? I knew I was dreaming; my body was responding to my dreams in a most satisfying way.
I never made any apologies for my healthy sexual appetite. I never needed to. I wasn’t going to start now in my dreams.
What had triggered feelings of guilt for my promiscuity? Did I feel a need to repent with my maker if I could not follow the light out of tunnel and back into reality?
There was a distinct musty smell that triggered another memory of two young kids running on a beach.
We were friends, running into the ocean waves and running back to shore. We held hands and the sensation of the touch gave me a feeling of calm from this dream. I felt pangs of loneliness, remembering what being with her felt like.
I drifted in and out not sure what was a dream, what was real. Was I alive or was I in the space between? I refused to accept I might be dead. I was too young, had too many people depending on me.
I needed to fight, to wake up, to regain consciousness and take back my life. I liked my life. I was not ready to leave it all behind.
If it was my time I would not go quietly into that good night. I was going to fight it tooth and nail. If it was my time, I would leave knowing I may have been the heir apparent, my father's oldest son, but not his only son.
I could smell coffee. Was I remembering my last morning on the boat? How I sent my companion away with nothing more than a styrofoam cup of coffee?
No, a fresh smell of coffee was filling my nostrils. Awakening my senses, my body, my mind.
My eyes opened and did not flutter.
They remained open.
My angel was standing with her back to me. My eyes followed her long blonde hair all the way to her long slender legs. Legs that went on forever. I was aware who my Florence Nightingale was. Who my angel was. My friend from long ago.
I was enjoying the view but knew I would have to face her eventually.
She was going to have questions for me.
Questions I might not be ready to answer.
Also by Brandy Munroe
Playboy Heir (Book one in the Heir series)
Man Whore Heir (Book two in the Heir series)
Bastard Heir (Book three in the Heir series)
Womanizer Heir (Book four in the Heir series)
Rock God Heir (Book five in the Heir series)
Other books planned by this author:
Rock Gods Series
Rock Gods: Maddox
Rock Gods: Baden
Rock Gods: Bash
Rock Gods: Adam
The Steele Legacy
Braden: Cold as Steel
Liam: Smooth as Steel
Gabe: Hard as Steel