Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (14 page)

I don’t want to die.

But, being the stubborn jackass

he was, instead of getting the hell out of

there like she told him to, he stopped. He

grabbed her tightly around the waist and

picked her up.

“What are you doing?” she

shrieked.

He shuffled over to the bomb

bay, where the doors lay open below

them.

“Hold on tight,” he said, and

jumped.

She screamed and clung to

Garren like a barnacle to a boat. They

free fell for what seemed like miles

before he opened the chute. Swears and

curses flew out of her mouth so vulgar a

drill sergeant would blush. Her fingers

and arms ached from clutching him so

firmly, but she held on. The wind did its

best to rip her hair out by the roots,

whipping it around her head. Terror

twisted her stomach into a massive knot.

I knew I never should’ve gotten

on that plane.

Garren squeezed her even tighter

as they jostled on the wind towards the

cold ocean below. The two pieces of the

plane landed in the ocean with a loud

splash, one after the other.

“Brace

yourself,”

he

said,

seconds before they plunged into the

water.

As soon as her head went under,

she panicked. She was a decent

swimmer, in tepid swimming pools with

lifeguards nearby, but the Pacific Ocean

was a whole other monster. Would her

heavy boots pull her to the bottom?

Would she freeze to death before

swimming to shore?

Garren broke away from her. She

flailed her arms, desperate to reach the

surface.

Time

slowed

down,

emphasizing every second she held her

breath. Her lungs burned. When she

broke though the surface and gulped in

air, a wave pounded her in the face.

Amazingly, she didn't have to

struggle to stay afloat. Other than her

head, she wasn't wet or cold. The suit

was once again doing its job.

If I make it to shore alive, I'll

never say another bad word about

magic, again.

She whipped her head around,

searching for Garren. He was swimming

as best he could over the waves a few

yards to her left. His mouth was moving

as if talking to her, but she couldn't

understand what he said. Her ears were

clogged, muting all sounds. She tried to

yawn to relive the pressure in her ear

canal, but every time she opened her

mouth, ocean water spilled in. So, she

kept her mouth shut and followed

Garren. He seemed to know what to do.

One of their packs bobbed on the

waves about ten feet away. Beyond that,

Thane swam toward land. Making a

detour, she grabbed the bag and used it

as a floatie to kick to shore.

She glanced over her shoulder to

see if any dragons were still around. A

green mass bobbed on the water about

fifty feet behind. Her heart skipped a

beat. Was it the Momma dragon coming

back for revenge like at the end of a

low-budget horror flick?

Jason?
She kicked faster.

They reached the beach about an

hour later. She staggered out of the water

and collapsed. Wet, sticky sand on her

face never felt so good.

I'm never going swimming

again in my life.
Her nose stung from

inhaling sea water and her legs felt as if

her bones were replaced with pudding.

Garren sat next to her, leaning

back on his hands as he looked out

where their plane went down. “I wonder

where we are,” he panted.

Thane plopped down on her

other side and helped remove the

remains of her parachute still strapped to

her back. “I think we're in Washington.

Almost positive. Yeah, definitely in

Washington.” Thane surveyed the forest

behind them and the rocky coastline they

sat on. “Or Canada.”

She groaned as she rolled over.

The sun was already half-way down the

sky, shining brightly in her eyes. For at

least ten minutes, nobody moved from

their spot. Not that she could if she

wanted to. Every cell in her body felt

twenty pounds heavier. The weight of

what they had narrowly escaped sank

into her heart. Someone was looking out

for them, because by all rights, they

should be dead right now. Never in her

life had she been so scared, not that

she’d ever let the guys know.

“I am a total
badass
. Did you see

how I took out that giant dragon?” she

tried to flex her arm but it still ached

from holding the slingshot steady for so

long.

“Yeah, and then you broke the

plane,” Garren said. He fell back and

stretched his body out like he was going

to make sand angels. “Good going.”

She grabbed a handful of wet

sand and tossed it at him. “Not my fault.”

“Hey.” Garren sat up and wiped

off his pants. “
So
your fault.”

“I can’t believe we defeated a

pack of dragons on our own,” Thane

said, as if trying to convince himself the

whole thing wasn’t a bad dream.

She was tempted to mention that

Thane hadn’t actually taken out any

dragons, but decided to let it pass.

“Awesome flying, by the way,” she said

instead.

The corner of his mouth tipped

up in a thankful smile as he sat in the

sand, water dripping off strands of his

blond hair. He flexed his hands open and

shut. The imprint of the leather steering

column was imbedded in his palm.

He must’ve had a death grip on

the controls the whole time.

After a few more minutes of

quiet contemplation, Thane stood. “Don't

get too comfortable. The sun's going

down in a few hours and we need fire

and water.”

She couldn't keep her eyes open

as she listened to him. “Why do we need

fire? Our suits will keep us warm.”
Just

don't make me get up.

“True,” he said. “But they won't

keep predators away or give us light,

will they?”

That got her attention. “What

predators?”

“You know. Coyotes, wolves,

bears…”

Oh my.

She didn't like the idea of being a

snack for a coyote. She glanced over at

the sprawled-out Garren and smiled.

“Isn't that why we brought him along,

protection? Let him start a fire while I

rest my lips.”

Garren didn't move, except to

raise his middle finger in a crude

gesture.

A shadow fell across her face.

Thane hovered over her, his hand out to

help her up. “Unless you want to spend

the rest of the night picking sand fleas

out of your hair, I'd get up now and

help.”

“What?” She suddenly found a

burst of energy as she jumped off the

ground and frantically ran her fingers

through her hair, shaking it out. “I better

not have fleas.”

She only stopped when Garren

laughed. “He was joking, Ivy.” He

rolled to his side and slowly stood, still

chuckling. “But it's good to know you're

afraid of bugs.”

Thane attempted to hide his

amused smile, but failed miserably.

“Sorry, Ivy. But you wouldn't have

gotten up otherwise.”

She snatched up the pack she

held onto in the water. “You know

what? Screw you both.” She tried to

stomp away but only managed a limp

because her injured hip throbbed with

pain.

“Lighten up,” Garren called out

to her retreating back.

The beach was fairly narrow

with a lot of large boulders and rocks at

the edge of the thick forest that loomed

over them. She stumbled a few times in

the bulky boots, not used to walking in

wet sand.

So much for a graceful exit.

She peeked over her shoulder to

see if they were following and ignored

the pang of disappointment when she

saw that they weren't. A large gray

boulder sat by the tree line, calling to

her. Hopping up on the rock hurt her

aching muscles, but sitting down felt so

good. She gazed out at the water,

wondering exactly where the pieces of

the plane went down. Did anyone see it?

Would they be invaded by rescuers and

the Red Cross at any moment? She drew

in a big, shaky breath. She survived.

Again. How many close calls could one

person have during one lifetime?

She was tired. Not just her body,

but her soul. Always running, always

fighting for her life. Would it ever end?

All she wanted was to do was become a

better person and put her past behind

her. She hoped Thane might be the one

person she could open up to, being

family and all, but she wasn’t sure if her

past would be too much for him to deal

with. She couldn’t take the risk, not yet.

Maybe when their quest was over, she

could sit him down and tell him

everything. Maybe.

She shrugged out of the bulky

jacket and set it next to her on the rock.

The salty sea air whipped stray curls in

her face as she inhaled deeply. The

squawks of seagulls and the bickering of

two stepbrothers drifted on the wind.

After a moment of just being, she opened

the pack she brought with her to see if

anyone bothered to pack something to

eat. Almost getting killed—multiple

times in one afternoon— created quite

the appetite.

The good news was that it was

her bag. She had a change of clothes and

some shampoo. The bad news, no food.

Of course.
She tossed it down to

the ground and sulked. Her gaze swept

along the edge of the water, watching the

tide roll up and slink back. White foam

lingered on the sand. The roar of the

waves as they crashed on the shore

reminded her too much of the battle they

just fought. She half expected to see a

dragon swoop down from the sky and

flame-broil her.

Out of the corner of her eye,

something moved under a glob of

seaweed that washed ashore. At least

she thought it was seaweed.

She hopped off the rock and

meandered her way to the mysterious

pile. Long, slimy leaves curled in a large

knot. She stood over it, waiting to see if

it would move again. Maybe she was

seeing things. She picked up a branch

and poked the green mass.

The top leaves moved and she

stumbled back.
Get a grip. It’s probably

just a crab.

Taking a step forward, she used

the stick to lift off the top layer of

seaweed to reveal what was hiding.

Two beady, red eyes stared back at her.

She gasped and held back a

scream.

It shook off the rest of the weeds

and stretched out its wings. A leaf still

clung to the top of its head, but when she

stepped forward to help remove it, the

little dragon growled at her. At least,

that’s what she assumed it did. It

sounded more like it was gargling.

She backed away with her hands

up in surrender. “All right, little guy. I’m

not going to hurt you.” She squatted

down, watching the dragon as it

observed her. Its body was the size of

the annoying Chihuahua her neighbors

had that kept barking at her whenever

she left the house. The wings were a

couple feet across from tip to tip.

Neither made a move for at least five

minutes. The sky held no sign of its

mom, or any other dragon.

The image of the big, green

dragon she turned to a partial statue

flashed in her mind. It had a baby on its

back. Maybe the one she was currently

staring at. Guilt hit her big time. She was

responsible for orphaning this poor little

creature.

“What the hell is that?” Garren’s

voice boomed from behind her.

She glanced back to see him

pointing to the baby dragon not five feet