Chapter 10 The Arm That Saved Me
Coralyn
The indoor pool area of the resort was a masterpiece of glass, marble, and filtered turquoise light.
The whole place smelled of chlorine and something similar to lilies.
To anyone else, it was the height of luxury.
But to me, it felt like a fucking trap.
The ceilings were high enough to hold a small cathedral, and the acoustics made every laugh and footsteps echo like a gunshot.
I walked a few paces behind Orion, trying to keep my posture as perfect as I had been taught at the Velvet Lantern. My back was straight, my chin was level, and my expression was a mask of polite indifference. But inside, I was shaking. This place was too bright and too perfect. I didn’t belong here, and I knew it.
Orion was mid-conversation with Phillip, the resort’s manager. They were discussing guest capacities and filtration systems, their voices humming in a steady, professional rhythm. Orion looked entirely in his element. He moved with a natural grace that made the world seem to bend around him. I stayed back, lingering near the edge of the deep end, watching the way the light danced on the surface of the water.
That’s when I felt the air change. A shadow fell over me, cold and heavy.
"Quite a view, isn't it?"
I didn't need to turn around to know that voice. It was a low, toxic hiss that made the hair on my arms stand up. Kade.
I took a breath, keeping my eyes fixed on the water. "The pool is impressive, Kade. I’m sure the guests will enjoy it."
He stepped closer, moving into my peripheral vision. He didn't look at the pool. He looked at me with a sneer that didn't reach his eyes. "The guests? Is that what we’re calling ourselves now? You’re acting like you’ve lived in places like this your whole life. It’s pathetic, Coralyn."
"I’m just doing my job," I said, my voice steady. Thank God for the Velvet Lantern training. It allowed me to keep my face neutral even when my heart was hammering against my ribs.
"Your job?" Kade laughed, a dry, unpleasant sound. "Is that what you call it? Climbing the Merrick ladder? You think because you’re standing next to Orion, you’re one of them? You’re not. You’re just a girl from the gutters, same as me. You belong in the trash, and no amount of expensive silk is going to hide that."
I finally turned to look at him. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, filled with a frantic kind of obsession that made my skin crawl. He wasn't just angry; he was unhinged.
"I don't belong to you, Kade," I said, my voice dropping an octave. "And I don't belong in the trash. I am exactly where I need to be."
"You think you’re better than me?" he snarled, stepping into my personal space. "You think because he looks at you, you’ve made it? He’s using you, Coralyn. When he’s bored, he’ll throw you back where he found you."
"Orion is a better man than you will ever be," I said firmly. I shouldn't have said it. I saw the moment his control snapped. It was like a physical shift in the air. His face contorted, his jaw locking so tight I thought his teeth might break.
"A better man?" he whispered. The rage in his eyes was psychopathic.
Before I could move, before I could scream for Orion, Kade’s hands were on my shoulders. He didn't just push me; he threw his entire weight into it.
I didn't have time to gasp. My heels slipped on the wet marble, and then the world flipped upside down. I hit the water hard.
\---
The transition from the warm, air-conditioned room to the icy depths of the pool was violent. The water slammed into my senses, a cold, blue blur that swallowed the light and the sound.
I can’t swim.
That thought was the only thing in my mind as I sank. I didn't know which way was up. I opened my mouth to scream, and the water rushed in, filling my throat and stinging my nose. Panic took over—not the kind of panic where you run, but the kind where your soul tries to crawl out through your eyeballs just to escape your body.
I flayed my arms, kicking my legs frantically, but I was only sinking deeper. The weight of my dress was like lead, pulling me down, wrapping around my legs like a shroud. Above the surface, everything was muffled. I heard a distant, distorted shout. I heard Zilla scream my name, a high-pitched sound that vibrated through the water.
My lungs began to burn. It was a searing, agonizing heat, exactly like the pain I had felt during my desperate sprint through the airport, only worse. This time, there was no air to find. There was only the heavy, oppressive blue.
I felt my consciousness starting to fray at the edges. My movements became slower, my limbs turning to jelly. I was going to die in this beautiful, expensive place. I was going to drown in a pool of filtered water while people watched.
Then, something broke the surface.
A pair of strong, certain arms wrapped around my waist. The grip was firm, pulling me upward with a force that brooked no argument. I felt the rush of water against my skin as I was hauled toward the light.
My head broke the surface, and I let out a jagged, wet sob as I gulped in the air. I choked, coughing up the water that had settled in my lungs. I was pressed against a hard chest. Orion. He was treading water, his breath coming in heavy bursts, his eyes fixed on me with a terrifying intensity.
"I've got you," he rasped. "Coralyn, look at me. Breathe. Just breathe."
I clung to him, my fingers digging into his wet shirt. I was shaking so hard I couldn't speak. He began to move toward the edge of the pool, his movements powerful even with the weight of my soaking body.
But as the water fell away and he lifted me toward the pool deck, a new horror settled in.
I felt a sudden lightness on my chest. I looked down and saw the disastrous truth. My dress, heavy with water and pulled by the struggle, had failed. The bra had come loose, the straps snapped or slipped, and the fabric had draped down.
I was bare. In front of Phillip, in front of the staff, in front of Kade.
The shock of it was like a second drowning. I felt the eyes of the gathered crowd on me. I saw the gasps, the way people quickly looked away or stared in stunned silence. The humiliation was a physical weight, heavier than the water in my lungs.
"No," I whimpered, the sound lost in the cavernous room. "No, no, no."
Orion realized it a second later. His expression shifted from pure terror to a dark, protective fury. He didn't hesitate. He pulled me flush against him, wrapping his arms around my torso to shield me from every prying eye in the room. He tucked my head into the crook of his neck, his body acting as a human shield.
"Don't look," he growled, though I didn't know if he was talking to me or the crowd. "Nobody looks at her!"
I broke. The double trauma of almost dying and then being stripped bare in public was too much for my mind to process. I began to sob, the sounds coming out as ragged, broken whimpers. I buried my face into Orion’s neck, the heat of his skin the only thing keeping me from shattering completely.
"Shh," he whispered, his voice vibrating against my ear. "I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’m not letting go."
He hauled us both out of the water and onto the marble floor. He didn't stand up; he stayed on the ground, sitting back on his heels and pulling me into his lap. He kept me hidden, his wet jacket or his arms, I couldn't tell which is covering my shame.
I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. I just sat there in the middle of the floor, soaking wet and broken, sobbing into the neck of the man who had saved me, while the world watched from a distance.
Kade was somewhere nearby. I could feel his presence, but I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about the resort, or the tour, or the Merrick ladder. I only cared about the arms holding me and the fact that I was still breathing, even if every breath felt like a lie.
Orion held me tighter, his hand cupping the back of my head, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us. He was shielding me from the world, and for the first time in my life, I let someone else carry the weight.
I stayed there, shivering and weeping, as the glamour of the resort faded into the background, leaving nothing but the cold water on the floor and the steady, racing heartbeat of the man who refused to let me sink.