Hunter Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Enforcer Bears Book 2) by Zoe Chant Page B

reassuring.
    "Ready," she replied, and then they dived down.
    Cleo had never been afraid of water. She'd often made it to the ground of the lake to bring up shiny rocks or dropped toys or slimy algae to throw at a cousin.
    But diving in complete and utter darkness was the most horrifying thing she'd ever done. For one terrible moment, she couldn't tell where up and down was. In panic, she imagined that any moment, she'd hit a rock, or that she'd find herself stuck somewhere, unable to make her way back up to the air...
    Steven’s fingers squeezed around hers, and she forced the fear back.
    Only a few seconds, she reminded herself. And he's made it through before. We'll be fine.
    Now Steven gently pulled at her hand, and with another voiceless prayer, she followed. One hand remained in his grasp, with the other she felt for rocks in front of them. She used her legs to propel herself forward—and then her fingers met rock.
    The wall, she thought even as Steven's hand tugged her downward.
    Again she followed. Suddenly her hands found the opening—the wall giving way to nothing. The water slowly moved through, lazily pulling them along. With one last determined feat of willpower, she beat down the fear and followed Steven into the tunnel.
    The opening was wide. That was her first thought. It brought relief with it—she wouldn't get stuck down there. Her hand didn't even touch the side of the opening, and she could swim easily by Steven's side.
    Steven's hand was still clenched tightly around hers. In the darkness, she listened to the frightened beating of her heart.
    Thud, thud, thud , it said. She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. She felt weightless—but Steven's touch anchored her.
    She'd trusted him with her life. Even here, when she felt as terrified and helpless as never before, she didn’t doubt that she could depend on him.
    Steven wouldn't leave. He said he'd be right by my side—and he is.
    And then Steven's hand tugged on her again. She felt herself pulled upward.
    Had the seconds passed already? Had it really only been seconds? She'd lost all sense of time. But now she used her legs again, kicked them upwards, and finally they broke through the surface.
    There was air. She breathed it in greedily, and then she wrapped her arms around Steven's strong shoulders and kissed him. She was trembling. She had to hold back tears. But his mouth was hot and real beneath hers.
    He was the only thing that felt real in the darkness, and she kept clutching at him.
    He didn't leave. He stayed right by me. He's not like Walter at all.
    She felt foolish for all of her earlier fears. She should have known it. Steven had never lied to her. What promises he’d made, he’d always kept.
    What would Walter have done? Probably taken my light and left me in the darkness, she thought.
    Suddenly she was laughing through tears she hadn't even realized were running down her face.
    "This is more of an adventure than I wanted," she finally sniffled. Then she wiped her eyes and wrestled the light out of her pocket once more.
    There was another second of fear—would it still work?
    But when she pressed the button at the top, once more the small glow of the single LED lit up the cave.
    Steven's eyes were gleaming at her. His wet hair hung into his eyes, and he was still holding his wet clothes pressed against his body with one arm.
    "We've made it," he murmured, his smile widening as he looked around.
    To their left, there was a ledge of stone. It was easy to climb. A slab of rock jutted out into the lake which they could use to pull themselves up.
    Once out of the water, they rested against each other, shivering. Cleo pulled off her own wet clothes, grimacing at the way they clung to her chilled skin. Together, they tried to wring the water out of the fabric as well as they could.
    "I didn't come prepared for cave explorations," Cleo complained, her teeth chattering a little. "I wish we'd brought a blanket."
    Steven laughed softly. "That