Sweet Peril

I found myself in a chair next to Zania in the boat while the others rushed around, hollering to one another in shaky voices about blankets and heaters and wet clothes. With much effort I raised my arm across Zania’s lap and took her hand, damp and cold like a dead fish. My head fell back and my eyes closed. Multiple footsteps banged overhead on the boat’s deck as someone started the engine and a blast of heated air rushed through the room.

“We must remove our wet clothing,” said a soothing deep voice in front of us.

I tried. I really did. When it didn’t work I felt my shoes being removed. They hit the floor with a squishy thud. Next my socks were peeled off, but the hilt stayed around my ankle. Kope murmured something to Zania in Arabic, but she was unresponsive, asleep.

“Can you do the rest?” he asked me. I reached for the button of my shorts, fumbling with tingly fingers while Kope undid Z’s sandals. With great effort I got the zipper down and lifted my hips, pushing. The wet fabric stuck to my skin and I was too weak to push the shorts all the way down.

“I can’t,” I whispered. Had I been in my right mind, I would have told him to focus on Zania while I waited for Kaidan or Blake to come down. But I wasn’t thinking clearly, and under the circumstances the entire scenario of undressing was a necessity. Nothing more.

Kopano grabbed a blanket from the bed. “Here,” he said, laying it across my midsection. “I will not look. Try again.” He stared down at the floor next to me.

I whimpered and pushed my shorts farther. When they were at my knees Kope grabbed the bottoms and tugged down my calves, keeping his eyes averted. A growl of fury sounded from the doorway and my heart stopped.

“Get. Your. Bloody hands. Off her.”

Kope shut his eyes and gritted his teeth before moving away from me. My eyes flickered to the middle of the room where Kaidan and Kopano faced off in their dripping clothes. I sensed Zania awaken next to me at the sound of raised voices.

“She is in the worst condition. The wet clothing must be removed—”

“Not by you!” Kaidan yelled. “I can’t believe you’d take advantage of this situation.”

Kope’s eyes flew wide with a flash of anger and he stepped closer. “You go too far, brother!” He shook, and I knew it was from more than the cold. He wasn’t stable enough to control his wrath. His hands clenched into tight fists.

“You will never touch her again,” Kaidan said in that deadly low voice.

“G-guys,” I whispered pathetically through chattering teeth. “We’re all upset. Don’t do this.”

They ignored me, nose to nose, ready to fight. I was in no shape to try and stop them.

I mustered enough energy to call for Blake. He came flying down the steps, and I wondered how he managed to move so well. He dove between the Ks, pushing against their chests.

“Chill,” Blake told them. “I think enough damage’s been done tonight.” His body trembled from the lingering effects of cold.

Kope and Kaidan continued staring, but Kai took a step back. All three of them were shaking.

“Go,” Blake said to Kai. “Take care of Anna.”

That seemed to fully snap him from his jealous trance. With one last glare at Kope, he shouldered past them and came to me. Zania helped hold the blanket over me while we got my shirt off and Kaidan picked me up with the blanket around me, carrying me to the bed and laying me in the middle, throwing another blanket on top. Everything ached down to my bones.

The room was too quiet and the awful tension was still there. One look at Kope told us why. He stood with his eyes closed, fists like rocks, breathing hard, about to lose it. His badge was larger than I’d ever seen it. We all glanced around at one another, eyes wide. None of us was sure how to diffuse this ticking bomb.

And then Zania’s voice rang through the room, clear as a bell despite her trembling.

“Brother Kopano.”

We all stilled, surprised. Kope kept his head down, but with slow force he opened his eyes and shifted them to her. He was barely containing his rage. Nobody moved. Zania met his fearsome gaze, and in a bold voice she asked, “Warm me?”

I’d stopped breathing at that point, waiting. She had succeeded in morphing the room’s angry tension into something expectant.

Kope stared at her, a steely expression on his face. He never took his eyes from Zania as he stepped across the small space to her. I still couldn’t breathe when he stood in front of her chair and pulled the shirt over his head. I shouldn’t have stared at the two of them, but something big was happening and I was riveted. We all were.

They stared at each other, unsure, and then she began unbuttoning her blouse. Kope watched her face, really watched her with that intense, serious way of his. When she struggled to wiggle out of the wet garment, he gently pulled it from her arms. Then, without a word, he grabbed a sheet from the shelf to cover her then helped her pull off her tan slacks. I looked away when he unbuttoned his wet jeans, but I heard him tugging them off. And then he was carrying her to the bed, laying her next to me. He climbed in beside her and raised the blankets over them, spooning close behind her.

I saw him shoot one last scowl toward Kaidan, who stood at the end of the bed, but his anger vanished as he put his face in Zania’s neck and closed his eyes. She looked at me with a faint smile of disbelief and my lips rose in return.

I finally looked at the other two, who were both standing there as amazed as me. Blake shrugged, pulling off his T-shirt and dropping his shorts. He stood there in his boxers.