by Tracy Sharp
Now, all the guys were in, jumping and splashing, trying to get the shark’s attention. They all screamed and pounded their arms down onto the water, trying to attract the shark.
Amazingly, the huge animal headed toward them. I marveled at the length of the fish. It had to be over fifteen feet long.
Adrenaline shot through my body, making me shake so badly that I knew I’d fall into the water. After everything I’d been through. The psychos I’d dealt with. This was the single most frightening thing I’d ever faced. The fear was a primal, living thing, and I had no control over it.
I watched as the fin travelled closer to the guys. They ran through the water toward Bullfrog Beach, kicking up as much water as they could, bringing the shark farther away from me.
I had to move. But I couldn’t. I was so scared. But I had to.
I willed myself to move. Kept my eyes on the shark’s dorsal fin. Slowly, I lowered my legs into the water, and brought them up onto the board, so I was lying on my belly.
The shark was still heading toward the guys, who were now in water so shallow it only reached their knees. The fin wasn’t far from them. It moved along side of them, only a few feet away. If any of the guys were even in waist high water, that shark could take a bite out of them easily.
Painfully, slowly, I began to paddle toward the shoreline. The urge to beat my hands through the water and scream was overwhelming. But I forced myself to move slowly, carefully.
I couldn’t tear my gaze from the shark’s fin. It slowed, turned, and headed back toward me.
The guys screamed and jumped up and down in the water. Jackson ran deeper into the swell, then dove under and swam toward me.
The shark didn’t turn around. Apparently it’d had enough of their teasing and was coming back toward a sure thing.
The dorsal fin sank into the water, and I lost sight of the shark. I searched the water around me, my eyes moving wildly from one spot to the next. In one smooth motion, I sat up on the board again, gripping the sides, trying to make myself small. I hoped that if the shark took a bite, it would be the board, and not me. Fear clawed at my belly.
I looked all around the board, trying to see everywhere at once. Slightly behind me and to my left, the water bubbled, and something blasted the underside of board, an enormous pressure, and I went flying into the air.
My head hit the water first as I sank into it. I turned over, water filling my ears, and felt something strong and solid bump my shoulder, sending me spinning in the water. Terror tore through my entire being. I couldn’t tell which direction was up, down, toward shore or deeper into the depths. I forced myself to remain still, and felt myself sinking, sinking, sinking into the depths.
I opened my eyes, and caught sight of the shark swimming toward me, smooth and silent; it seemed to glide as it brushed past me. I squeezed my eyes shut again, focusing on sinking. Instinct making me remain as still as a stone. I’d float up again, if I stopped moving. Maybe I wouldn’t look like food to the shark if I stayed still.
The shark bumped me on the small of my back, and slid past me again.
Opening my eyes, I watched as the shark swam toward me, its movements smooth and steady. Strange, dark eyes seemed to look straight into mine, his mouth slightly open in a knowing smile. Jagged teeth jutted unevenly around a mouth that stretched wider than the width of my body. The need for air was urgent. My lungs were bursting. My head becoming fuzzy.
I was going to die. But this creature was awe inspiring. It was so close now, inches away. I reached out and touched its velvety smooth snout, my hand flat. And for just a couple of seconds, we gazed in each other in the eyes. I smiled at the shark in the water, completely awestruck and terrified, and utterly certain that in moments the mouth would open and the last thing I’d ever see would be teeth coming for me.
Then I sank lower, my fingers gently brushing over the sleek surface of a tooth, and a jagged scar near its mouth. And then he moved, and my fingertips brushed over cold skin as he swam above me.
I looked up, watching his tail fin move side to side as he swam away from me, into the murky depths; the most beautiful and deadly thing I’d ever seen.
Distantly I saw bubbles rise upward and away from me as I released my last breath. Then I my eyes closed again and I saw nothing.
***
My chest hurt. Something pressed on it, making it hard to breathe. I coughed, salty liquid spilling out of my mouth. Someone rolled me onto my side, and I coughed again, and then threw up.
“Jesus H. Christ, Leah. You’re going to be the death of me. You know that?” Jackson’s gravelly voice said from above me. He leaned down, placing his forehead on my shoulder, his breaths coming fast. He finally took a deep breath and let it out. “You scared the hell out of me.”
The sand was warm against my cheek. I squinted upward, looking at the figures of the guys, dark orange against the sun.
“She’s okay,” Jayden said, his voice relieved.
“Thank God,” Josh said.
“That shark came out of nowhere,” another voice, one of the other guy said.
“They usually do,” this from another voice. I couldn’t remember their names.
“I’m fine,” I croaked. A smile stretched across my lips. “He was right in front of me, Jack. He looked right in my eyes.”
“The shark?”
“Yeah. He bumped me. Kind of pushed me around a bit. Showed me who was boss, I guess. But I touched his nose. His head was just inches from mine. He looked right at me. I touched him. It was incredible.”
“Holy shit,” Josh breathed.
“You are one lucky woman,” Jayden said.
“So I’ve been told,” I struggled up.
They helped me up and Jackson tried to lead me to the beach house.
“I’m fine,” I said, though my movements were weak and unsteady.
“Take it easy, Leah.” Jackson’s arm felt tight around my waist. “You need to slow down.”
I bristled. Gritted my teeth. Jackson was treating me like a child. Again. “I’m fine.”
He leaned down, his green gaze becoming stormy. “Yeah, because I pulled your ass out of the ocean before you drowned and got eaten by a shark. Not necessarily in that order.”
I stopped, lifted my chin. Took a painful breath. My lungs squeezed and I coughed, and looked back up at him. “Thank you. Much appreciated. Now back off a little, Jax. Give me a bit of space. Let me get my feet under me again.”
He blinked slowly. Took a step back, lifting his arms, palms out.
I walked past him, found a spot on my own, and sat down on the sand. I wrapped my arms around my shins, rested my chin on my knees.
It had been a really close call. Inside, I was shaking. But I didn’t know if I was more terrified or exhilarated by what had happened to me.
I looked out at the ocean. The choppy waves were getting bigger as they moved in. White curled forward with the roll of the surf. My surfboard was drifting back toward the beach, still in one piece. My foot clearly had slipped out of the leg leash.
My heart slowed, and I took deep breaths. The guys kept their distance, making a show of gathering their gear and not looking at me.
Somewhere in all that dark water, that shark was hunting something other than me. I’d come face to face with the deadliest predator of the sea. I’d looked into his mouth, full of serrated, razor-sharp teeth, gazed into his dark, dark eyes, and was alive to tell the tale.
How lucky could I possibly get? That one would be tough to top.
***
“Maybe it was a plankton eater. Basking sharks are common in shallow waters.” Nicholas Logan said. “There are also lots of sharks in these waters that are only interested in very small prey. This shark might have recognized you as not a part of its diet. What did it look like?”
We sat outside at the Starfish, a restaurant that had a seaside porch with an incredible view of the sea. A dragonfly flew onto a silk daisy that sat in a vase in the center
of the table. Brilliant, shining jade and sapphire, and at least three inches long. This was the largest dragonfly I’d ever seen, and the most beautiful. Within seconds it flew off on the ocean breeze.
I took a long pull off my beer. Stared out at the waves. Shrugged. “Like a shark. Big, creepy grin, lots of teeth.”
Logan chuckled. “They do look like they’re grinning, don’t they?”
“Uh, yeah. Looked like I do when I see a juicy cheeseburger coming my way.”
“Speaking of which,” Jackson said as the young, dark haired waiter approached with a tray filled with plates. My bacon cheeseburger looked heavenly, and smelled even better. The sweet potato wedges looked equally delectable. I began with the dill pickle spear lying nestled on a bed of lettuce.
Dr. Logan picked up his phone, tapped at it a few times, then handed it to me. “Tell me which of these sharks looked most like yours.”
“A photo line-up of suspects,” Jackson said, popping a deep fried shrimp into his mouth. He smiled, and the late afternoon light accentuated his strong jaw-line. Sometimes, since he’d cut his long hair, his raw good looks took me by surprise. He looked like a different person.
I pulled my gaze away from him and busied myself flipping through the shark photos. “Don’t they all look the same?”
“No. Look carefully. The teeth on a Tiger Shark curve, where the teeth on say, a Great White, are straight and jagged. Flip through the pictures a few times and you’ll start to see the differences.”
He was right. Before long, I was seeing differences in color, size, shape of the snouts and head. Sharks were not all made equal.
“Here,” Logan said. “That’s a Mako.” He swiped at the screen with his finger, “There’s a Blue shark. There’s a Thresher, see the long, thin tail? They use their tails to thrash at their prey. That’s a Bull shark. They’re shore huggers. I would guess that your shark was one of these. Did it look like this?”
I squinted. “Not quite. How big is this one?”
“Probably about ten or twelve feet.”
“No. My shark was lighter and bigger. About fifteen feet. Maybe more. White belly.”
“It was bigger than that,” Jackson said. “I’d say seventeen or eighteen feet long.”
He flipped the picture. “Great white?”
I was staring straight at my shark. The Great White was facing the camera, grinning in the same way. “Yes. That is the one.”
“Like I said, they’ve been spotted more and more frequently the last few years. They’re making a come-back because of the rising seal population.”
“Why didn’t he eat me?”
“Because you’re so bad-ass,” Jackson said, grinning.
“I mean, not even a nibble.” I frowned.
“Maybe because he knew you weren’t food. Also, what were you doing at the time that he came face to face with you?”
“I was sinking. He bumped me a few times, sent me spinning. Then I just opened my eyes and there he was. I reached out and touched his nose.” I shook my head. “And he let me. I honestly thought that the next thing I’d see was the inside of his enormous mouth.”
Logan lifted a brow. “If you hit a shark on the snout, it surprises them. But you just touched it?”
“Yeah. Like this.” I reached out and gently felt the bridge of Logan’s nose.
He closed his eyes for a moment “There are some people who can put sharks to sleep by rubbing their snouts in that spot. Maybe you calmed him.” He gave me an amused look. “Strange reaction to coming face to face with a Great White. Why did you do that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I was... entranced by him. I thought I was going to die. But I wanted to touch him before he ate me.”
Logan chuckled. “You’re a brave woman, Leah.”
“Or crazy,” Jackson piped in.
“Sometimes looking a shark in the eyes will stave off an attack. Prey doesn’t act like that. They splash frantically trying to get away.”
I shrugged. “I guess that must’ve been why he didn’t chow down on me.”
“Were you above the shark when he approached you so closely under the water?”
“Below, then I swam upward. I sank again after touching him.”
He nodded. “Great whites like to take prey from the surface of the water. By sinking down and remaining still, you stopped acting like food. Though playing dead is definitely not recommended when faced with a shark. It worked for you. Also, being below a White is the power position. With dogs, it’s above. With sharks, it’s below. What were you doing before you noticed the shark?”
“Learning to surf. But I was lying on the board at that point.”
“Arms dangling out of the water?” Logan asked.
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Logan nodded. “Let me show you something.” He tapped and swiped at the screen with his finger, then showed the phone to me again. “See this?”
On his screen was a pic of three shapes, one oval with four smaller ovals jutting out, two on each side. Beneath that shape were the words, person on a surfboard, the next shape was round with two small oval shapes jutting out each side, with the words sea turtle, beneath it. The third shape was oblong with two smaller ovals on each side, with Seal beneath it.
“This is the view of a person on a surfboard. The shape is similar to a sea turtle and a seal from below. That’s the view that a shark would have when looking up.”
“Wow. So, it’s easy to confuse a person on a surfboard or a boogie board with food.”
“Exactly. People sitting on those round inner tubes look like sea turtles. Seals and sea turtles are favorites on the shark’s menu,” Logan said.
As he leaned close to me, I couldn’t help noticing the clean scent of him. I liked the heat of his body close to mine. It had been a while since I’d been close to anyone. Jax and I are close, but never sexually. That would be too strange for me. Like bedding my brother.
But sitting with Nicholas Logan so close to me made me miss having someone’s hands caressing me. I missed the feel of someone’s body pressed up against mine. I wondered what kind of kisser he was.
“So, sharks aren’t out to get people. But if you look like their favorite dish, you may get chomped on.” His eyes flicked to mine and I noticed they were grey with amber flecks. I pulled my gaze away and looked back at the screen.
“She almost did,” Jackson said. “It was close. Knocked her right off her surfboard.”
“Whites attack from below. It likely thought you were a sea lion. But you changed its mind.” Logan leaned toward me, his face turned to mine, his gaze on my face. “You’ve got good instincts. It saved your life. Maybe you’re a shark whisperer and don’t know it.”
I stared into his eyes, grinned. “Maybe.”
He grinned back. “You should explore that.”
Jackson let out a long breath.
I leaned back, turned to Jackson. His look told me that he knew what was happening between Logan and me, and he was not amused. He stood up. “I need another beer. Either of you want anything at the bar?”
Logan shook his head, the same small grin playing on his lips. “I’m good.”
“No, thanks,” I said.
Jackson waited until Logan looked back at me and tilted his head toward the bar.
“I will visit the powder room, though. Be right back.”
“’Kay,” Logan said. “I’ll wait.”
When Jackson and I had walked far enough away from the table, he said, “Do I need to find a ride home?”
“Don’t be silly,” I said. “I can drive you back, if I decide to stay out.”
“How do you know I won’t find someone else to drive me home?”
I shrugged. “Whatever. What’s your point, Jax?”
“Nothing.” He looked coolly at beer menu hanging above the bar.
“Look, why don’t you take the Jeep and I’ll have Logan drive me home?” Without waiting to find out what he had to say about it,
I spun on my heel and took off to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, I surveyed myself in the mirror. Earlier, I’d touched up my black eye-liner, after my encounter with the shark. Most of it had washed off in the ocean. My fair skin was sun-kissed from two days hanging around the beach. Even if most of it was for investigation purposes.
My hair was slightly messy, but that’s its normal state. The choppy black bob was cut to look good messy, and it was doing its job. I wasn’t one to spend much time on hair or make-up, so the eye-liner and finger combing is about as groomed as I usually get.
I headed back to the table. Jackson was leaning against the bar, talking to a small crowd of younger girls. Women love Jackson. He’s very sexy and has no problem attracting women. In fact, we’d run into a little problem with an obsessed woman not long ago, who had proven to be more on the psycho side. Although I’d almost been killed by said woman, I had been a little relieved that it had finally been because of Jackson that I’d gotten into that jam, not because of me.
Jackson looked me squarely in the eyes, then turned his attention back to the beach beauties who were giggling and preening for him. The usual way in which women react to him.
I rolled my eyes and headed back to the table.
When I got there, Logan was watching the sea. The breeze had picked up and lifted his dark hair, messing it up.
Nice.
“So,” I said, standing behind my chair. “I thought we’d get out of here. Take a walk on the beach?”
“Sure. How about a boat ride?”
“I’d love it.”
“Let’s go.”
He led me out, his hand on the small of my back. I had a flash of the shark bumping me there. I was still amazed that I hadn’t at least been bitten.
It would be a while before I tried surfing again.
Logan’s houseboat wasn’t far from the bar, so he’d walked here to meet Jackson and me. We strolled slowly along the beach, and I found the sea air so calming that I actually felt a little sleepy. Of course, almost being eaten by a shark had likely taken its toll as well. We walked in silence for a stretch, and it wasn’t uncomfortable.
