by Jayne Rylon
She noted that the edges of the glowing algae bed didn’t seem quite as vibrant as the rest. Die off seemed to have shrunk the mass of algae by as much as a third recently enough that she could tell where it had once reached. With rising ocean temperatures, increasing pollution, and the introduction of radioactivity from the Fukushima nuclear disaster not too far from here on an oceanic scale, who knew what kind of undiscovered organisms were on the verge of extinction?
If this one turned out to be some miracle cure for one of the most prevalent diseases on their planet, could they harvest enough to start growing it in a lab? What if the rest of this colony disappeared before they could figure how to maintain the conditions it needed to thrive?
To have discovered a solution to the cancer crisis only to have it slip away…that would be a catastrophe.
Sort of like if you’d fallen completely in love with a man then had to give him up.
Miguel sat still, letting her process her thoughts as if he felt as reverent as she did in this moment. After a few minutes, the machines beneath them fell quiet.
They had what they’d come for.
Finally, she turned toward Miguel. He deserved her honesty. “I’m also terrified that this might be the thing we’ve been searching for. If it is…then what? Where does that leave us?”
He shushed her. “We’ll figure it out.”
What did that even mean?
How could she be involved in the years of research and development it would take to turn a raw material into a viable drug without either leaving Miguel or forcing him to abandon his own fulfilling life’s work?
Neither of them would be happy if they sacrificed their careers for the other.
“Come here.” He released her harness and tugged until she’d landed in his lap. It was a tight squeeze, but manageable.
Miguel put his arms around her then kissed her. “For now, let’s celebrate the incredible things we’ve seen together already. Who gets a chance like this?”
“To discover something groundbreaking?” she clarified.
Is this what Jonas Salk had felt like when he cured polio? Or Louis Pasteur when he’d developed a vaccine for rabies? To think that someday people might remember Heinrich—or maybe even her and Miguel—like one of those pioneers blew her mind.
“No, lindeza. The chance to have sex in a sub.” He grinned. “If Tosin thought he was jealous before, wait until that sucker finds out we joined the mile deep club.”
Fifteen
Sabine filled their tiny space with peals of her laughter. While Miguel loved the sound of it, he hadn’t been kidding in the slightest. From the pad in front of him, he peeled off a sticky note and put it over the lens of the interior cabin camera.
“What are you doing?” Sabine asked, her eyes growing even wider than they’d been when she’d spotted the glow of the blue algae.
“I told you. I’m about to fuck you in a sub. Going deep has never sounded so good.” He winked. “So hike up that skirt and let’s see just how flexible you are. There’s not a lot of room to spare here but I think we can get the job done.”
Before she could protest, Miguel tapped the transmit button on the radio and said, “Surface control, we’re having a minor glitch. Could you take the wheel for a minute?”
“Yeah, I see we just lost a camera, too. All other systems are green light, though. I’ve got you covered. Don’t panic.” The operator’s cool, professional tone only made what they were about to do more illicit and a little risky.
If his cock hadn’t already been hard, it would have pumped up in a hurry with that added edge of rebelliousness.
He thought he might have to persuade Sabine, but he should have known better. She’d already started squeezing around instruments to orient herself properly in his lap, willing and eager to join him on yet another adventure. Hopefully, he could make it good for her.
“Sorry, we don’t have more than a couple minutes at most.” He unzipped his shorts and took out his cock.
Sabine kissed him as she put one knee on either side of his thighs, careful not to squash his balls in the process of contorting herself into a position that would allow her to ride him. Miguel put two fingers up, letting her suck on them to get them nice and wet.
When he shoved the crotch of her panties aside and rubbed them against her pussy, he found he hadn’t needed to. She was already slick.
“Damn, lindeza.” He kissed her neck alongside his necklace, which was conveniently at mouth level.
“Yeah. I guess playing explorer turns me on. Who knew?” She let her head fall back so that he could lick and nip the sensitive spot below her ear. The motion turned her hair into golden streamers, making his hands itch to twist it up and use it to tug her onto his waiting shaft.
So he did.
Unlike the long, drawn-out lovemaking they’d indulged in most nights, this was something different. Fast and hard. Kind of desperate. It was everything he felt at the moment, knowing her time with him might be drawing quickly to a close.
Sabine guided his cock, angling it so that she could take as much as possible given their cramped quarters. She fit him to her opening then dropped, burying him several inches deep in a single thrust. She cried out, and not entirely in pleasure.
“Slow down.” He held onto her waist, keeping her from impaling herself farther.
She shoved at him, bearing down and taking him bit by bit. “No. It’s fine. Kind of hurts, but I like it.”
He rewarded her honesty with a flex of his ass and abs, driving upward even as she sank some more. Sabine gasped. Her hands landed on his shoulders, clinging to him as she began to raise and lower herself, screwing him deeper within her pussy with every swing of her hips.
Having her on top, setting her free to use him to bring herself pleasure, had its perks. He settled back and enjoyed the view: Sabine, the rarely seen landscape, and the glimmering illumination provided by the algae decorating the rocks along the seabed.
It was almost otherworldly, this experience.
Miguel let his head rest against the seat and Sabine took advantage, leaning forward to kiss him. He let her have anything she wanted from him. Everything she could take.
She rode him hard enough that the sub rocked slightly. He found the motion comforting, arousing even. On the open seas or under them, with her was where he’d always like to be.
When her pussy began to tighten around him, he knew this moment couldn’t last forever.
“Rub your clit,” he rasped. “I’m not coming without you.”
Watching her manipulate herself while using his cock to get off was one of the hottest things he’d ever seen. He clenched his jaw and waited for the telltale clamp of her muscles and the soft mewling sounds she made as she got close to orgasm.
He could listen to that on constant repeat.
“That’s right, lindeza,” Miguel urged her, thrusting upward with short jabs as her own motions became jerky and erratic. “Concentrate on the pleasure. Feel me inside you.”
Sabine’s eyes flew open then. She stared right into his as she surrendered to the passion they generated together. He crushed his lips over hers as she moaned and came, slathering his cock with her release.
His body reacted in turn, feeding off of her ecstasy.
Come launched from his balls in several long, violent blasts that relieved the ache in his groin, but made him more aware of the one in his heart.
It wouldn’t matter what end of the earth he searched—how high the mountains he climbed or how deep the oceans he scanned—he’d never find another woman like Sabine.
No one else could do this to him.
Miguel kissed her softly, smiling as she recovered enough to lift off of him and resituate herself on her side of the DSV. He checked his watch. It wasn’t often he was proud of getting the job done in less than two minutes.
This was one of them.
Hey, a great fuck was a great fuck, no matter how long it took. He held his hand up to Sab
ine and she returned his high five. After zipping up, he leaned forward and pressed the radio transmit button. “Hello? Can you hear us?”
“Loud and clear,” Captain Alex answered.
“Sorry, must have had some technical difficulties there for a few minutes. We’ve got what we need and are beginning our ascent now.”
The captain coughed to cover what sounded like a chuckle. “That might be easier to believe if Sabine’s ass hadn’t been planted on the transmitter while you were nailing her, kid. Sounded like a helluva lot of fun, though. Now get back here before something really does break and we have to haul you out.”
Miguel burst out laughing. He wasn’t about to apologize. Anyone else would have done the same thing in his place. Sabine, even with her cheeks now flaming, was gorgeous and supremely fuckable.
“Thanks for the Sub Fucking 101 advice. See you on the surface.” This time Miguel was careful to take his hand completely away from the radio when he spoke privately to Sabine. “Sorry about that.”
She shrugged, surprisingly okay with being busted. “I guess the past month has made me realize that doing your job well and having fun are in no way mutually exclusive.”
“Very true. I’ve always loved being a divemaster. I’d do it for free if I had to.” Miguel practically had done it for free for years. Living simply hadn’t bothered him in the least.
“You were meant for this. You belong here.” She smiled sadly then looked out their giant bubble window.
He didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m starting to think that I belong wherever you are.”
“Don’t, Miguel.” She shook her head. “We haven’t made any promises to each other for a reason.”
“I guess.” He hated it, but she was right about that.
That didn’t mean he didn’t wish they could. Or wish that they were in a position where things would work out if they did.
“This would be a pretty baller way to propose to someone, though.” He tossed it out there casually, as if he wasn’t pissed that he didn’t have a ring in his pocket to give Sabine right then. Maybe if he had, he would’ve been able to talk her into staying before the realities waiting for them back on the surface crashed over them with the destructive force of a tsunami.
Hopefully it wouldn’t wipe out the progress they’d made or the bond they’d formed so far.
He didn’t place very good odds on that when she didn’t respond at all.
They spent the rest of the return journey holding hands, but in silence.
Sixteen
Sabine stood in her makeshift laboratory, which had never been this crowded before. Besides herself, Miguel, Tosin, Archer, Waverly, Banks, and Captain Alex, a couple people from WHOI packed like sardines into the space. Plus, her laptop was open. Marta’s head floated on the screen as she joined them remotely.
No pressure.
She’d worked in a few of the top facilities in the world, but nothing would ever replace this nook of the Divemaster as her favorite place to work. So she had mixed emotions about what she was hoping for as she watched seconds ticking by on her stopwatch.
“This is as bad as waiting on a damn pregnancy test,” Waverly muttered from beside her. “Staring at that indicator trying to convince yourself you see lines, or don’t see lines, depending. I’ll stick to flying, thanks.”
Sabine laughed and turned to her friend. “At least I didn’t pee on myself. Well, I haven’t yet anyway. We’ll see when these results—”
DING!
That simple sound nearly stopped Sabine’s heart. She froze. Everyone stared at her.
“Go ahead, lindeza.” Miguel nudged her toward the sample.
She prepped the slide and took it to the microscope. Before she looked through it, she scanned the room. Banks flashed her a thumbs-up. Optimism. Hope. Unwavering support. They radiated positivity and encouragement.
Marta especially. If she could be strong enough to do this, Sabine had to live up to that standard. She drew a deep breath then put her face against the eyepiece. It took a second to bring the specimen into focus.
When she did…
Sabine thought she might pass out. She gripped the countertop as if it were the only thing holding her upright then looked again. And a third time, just to be sure.
If she hadn’t prepared the sample herself, she wouldn’t have believed what she saw.
Not only had the cancerous cells been destroyed, but the healthy tissue appeared completely intact, something modern medicine hadn’t been able to master after decades of research. Until now.
No. Until a few months ago, when Heinrich had seen this very same thing. She was sure of it.
Sabine couldn’t hold her emotions in check another moment. She lost it. Completely. Though she wasn’t normally the kind of person to burst into tears, she did it for the second time that day.
She cried so hard she couldn’t breathe.
Miguel raced to her side and held her tight. “It’s okay, Sabine. We’ll try again. There are more samples to test.”
“No—” She couldn’t get more out than that.
“I’ll search every ocean on Earth with you if that’s what it takes. We’ll do this. Together.” He held her tighter, breaking her heart more with every amazingly kind word he spoke. Because she knew she wouldn’t be able to commit to him in the face of what she’d just seen.
“Miguel, stop,” she begged.
As if he was thinking of their time in the clubroom like she was, he didn’t say another word. Instead, he peered down at her, waiting.
“It worked.”
“What’s happening?” Marta asked from the laptop. “Is Sabine okay?”
“Are you serious?” Either Sabine was shaking hard enough to move them both or Miguel was trembling along with her.
She nodded. “It’s…incredible.”
Miguel put his hands around her ribs, his thumbs below her breasts, and lifted her high above his head. He spun her around and around, then shouted, “You did it!”
When he put her down, everyone surged forward, encapsulating them both in one giant group hug. Through the ruckus, she heard Marta thanking some nameless entity in German.
“I didn’t do it. Heinrich did.” Sabine would be diligent about making sure any credit for the discovery was correctly attributed to him.
“Don’t short yourself. You didn’t have to pursue this. You could have quit after the string of failures. But you didn’t.” Miguel took her shoulders in his hands then and stared directly into her eyes so that she couldn’t dismiss what he was saying. “I’m honored to be able to say that the woman I love did something so impressive. Something that will improve millions of lives. I’m proud of you, Sabine.”
“Wait, what did you say?” She blinked up at him.
“That I’m in awe of your accomplishments? How could you possibly doubt that?” he wondered.
“I don’t.” Her eyes were filling with tears yet again. After this she’d get her shit together, she swore.
Tosin helped out. “She’s talking about the part where you admitted that you love her. Although, it’s not exactly a secret, is it? We figured that out a while ago.”
Archer and Waverly were beaming at them and Banks nodded softly to himself, as if he wholly approved of Miguel’s choice.
“Me too.” Miguel kept dropping weights on Sabine—good and bad, good and bad—balancing the scales between elation and heartbreak. “From the moment I spotted her trudging through the airport, on her way to do what was right despite her broken heart, I knew on some level that I wanted a person like that in my life.”
“I appreciate how much you’ve given me during this time. How you kept me going even on the toughest days.” She hugged him tight.
“So what do we do now?” He asked the question she’d been dreading since they’d seen the blue shimmer in the deep. “It seems like we need to make some kind of announcement. Call CNN. Something like that. Right?”
“No!” Marta shouted at t
he same time Banks did, as if they were parents scolding a child playing too close to a busy road.
Sabine cringed. “I’m not sure that’s wise. Heinrich kept this a secret—even mostly from me since he didn’t trust communications to be secure—for a reason. He was the smartest person I’ve ever met. That explosion in his lab was no accident. I’m sure of it now. What we have here is practically priceless. I think we need to protect ourselves before making any public disclosures.”
“I think that’s best.” Marta backed Sabine up, a hint of fear in her declaration.
“Then considering how late it already is here, and that it’s the middle of the night in most of the rest of the country, maybe we should go celebrate then figure out our next steps in the morning.” Archer stirred everyone up when he announced, “Champagne is on the way!”
A few hours later, after indulging in one glass more than it took to make her dizzy, Sabine craved the quiet, softly lit interior of the cabin she shared with Miguel.
“Ready to head to bed?” he asked.
“Mmm.” She practically purred.
“Not like that.” He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “I think you’ve had a little too much to drink.”
Sabine pouted.
“Besides, I hope you don’t mind but I kind of want to enjoy some quiet time with you.”
Before you leave me.
He didn’t say that last part. They both knew it was hanging there in the air between them anyway.
“Let’s go.” Sabine took his hand. She gladly accepted hugs, kisses, and cheers from each of the remaining people in her laboratory as the party dissolved along with the exit of the guest of honor. After she’d made her rounds, they strolled to their quarters, stripped at the door, and practically fell into bed.
After a slightly awkward silence, Miguel blurted, “What if I come with you?”
“Huh?” Sabine sat up, crossing her legs.
“You’re going to need to file patents, do clinical trials, give lectures, and whatever other junk I don’t even know about. You’ll need a real lab and a home base that’s not always moving or in some remote, unreachable place. But the only thing I need is you.”
