Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
Instead of complying, Sebastian pressed my shoulder, stopping me before I could move further, and signed faster than I could. * Something’s wrong. Don’t move.”Even without sound, I felt the weight of his warning.
I froze. He wasn’t joking.
I signed back, “What is it?”He didn’t answer. Still holding me, he tilted his head upwards.
I followed his gaze. At first I saw only water shifting above us. Then I noticed the ripples spreading wider, stronger, gathering momentum.
Sebastian’s eyes lingered on the disturbance for a few seconds. Suddenly, he turned and swam deeper, clutching me tightly.
My heart pounded.
What on earth could make him react like this?
I had no time to wonder. A glance over his shoulder gave me the answer.
A wall of raging water was bearing down.
Tsunami.
The word burst into my mind, stark and undeniable.
I prided myself on staying calm in difficult situations, but faced with this, so close, I couldn’t control the tremor running through me.
Sebastian’s grip tightened. He pushed my head to his chest, shielding me from the sight of that monstrous surge.
Even here, away from the main force, the water around us convulsed with waves. They weren’t as terrifying as what loomed above, but the impact was still brutal.
The first strike hit us like being smacked by a giant fist. The current spun us around, a violent whirl that sent a shock through my chest. My lungs clenched, my vision flared, and I had no chance to orient myself before Sebastian’s arm crushed me back against him, locking me in place.
The second wave was worse, slamming us sideways. It felt like being stuffed into a washing machine, tumbled without pause, my stomach lurching with every turn. The world blurred into black water and force.
Sebastian held on, his arms unyielding at my waist.
Still, the strain showed. His hands trembled under the relentless current.
The torch was long gone, ripped from us in the confusion. Darkness closed in. There was nothing but water, wave after wave, swallowing us whole.
My gut twisted until I thought I’d be sick. But I didn’t dare move. I knew to survive, there was only one thing we could do; endure until the sea spent its fury.
In the blackness, Sebastian’s face disappeared from view. All I had was the rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my brow Thump. Thump. Thump.
It pulsed against me like a promise.
That heartbeat became my anchor, the one thing keeping me from breaking.
Instinctively, I pressed closer, wrapping my arms around his waist clutching him as tightly as he held me.
I had no idea how much time had passed.
Finally, the waves seemed to ease a little. I lifted my head to see what was happening. Even with the oxygen tank, a nagging fear gnawed at me that I would run out of air.
Just as I shifted, a faint tickle spread across my back. Sebastian was tracing letters against me.
“Don’t be afraid. It will be over soon.”My arms tightened around him. Somehow, those few words steadied me.
Maybe the force of the water had weakened, or maybe I was simply trying not to think about the devastation above us, but my attention slipped to the hands gripping my waist.
Even though Sebastian had stopped writing, the ghost of that sensation lingered, a tingling that wouldn’t fade.
I bit down on the mouthpiece, desperate to push the feeling away, desperate to escape Sebastian. Yet until the tsunami passed, escape was impossible. The torment gnawed at me like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
After what felt like ten endless centuries, the currents finally eased The dark sea sank back into its original, eerie calm.
I waited a little longer, watching carefully to be sure the water had stilled, then gently pushed Sebastian back to create some space to breathe.
He caught my wrist and tugged me upwards.
In the lightless depths, we had nothing but our hands to guide us.
Suddenly, Sebastian froze.
I jerked my wrist, puzzled at his stillness, but then he shifted, turning and pulling me to the left before continuing upwards. Time stretched unbearably. By the time I broke the surface, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed.
Moonlight shimmered on the water, perfectly still, as though nothing had happened at all.
I spat out the mouthpiece and dragged in a breath so sharp it hurt, just to convince myself I was still alive.
Beside me, Sebastian’s face was pale in the silver light. He didn’t look relieved. If anything, he looked grimmer.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“The boat is gone.”
I froze.
A second later, the meaning of his words hit me.
Panic surged as I spun my head from side to side, scanning the endless sea.
Nothing to the left.
Nor to the right.
Ahead, nothing.
Behind, nothing.
I should’ve have known: a tiny yacht in the face of such destruction had almost no chance of surviving.
Sebastian and I were stranded at sea.
The thought made me clutch the regulator in my hand.
Kicking hard, I swam towards the small island ahead.
Sebastian followed swiftly.
I scrambled onto the sand, tearing off the oxygen tank and flippers, flinging them aside as I stumbled along the beach.
My eyes darted frantically, searching for something.
Sebastian reached the shore a few moments later. His longer strides closed the gap between us in seconds. He caught my arm, his grip firm, his voice calm and cool.
‘Calm down.’
I didn’t even look at him. With a twist, I wrenched free and pressed forward, still searching.
Sebastian moved quickly, his arm snaking around my waist, pulling me tight against him before I could take another step.
I struggled hard, but his hold was unyielding. I glared down at the hands that shackled me. ‘Let go!’
Instead of loosening, his grip only tightened.
Feeling the pressure against my waist, my frustration flared. ‘I said let go!’
I clawed at his arm with my free hand, but my strength against his was nothing more than a tickle.
I stamped on his foot, hard.
He didn’t even flinch. ‘I won’t let go until you calm down.’
A gust of sea wind whipped past, tossing my hair and sending a shiver down my spine.
I was suddenly very aware of the clammy weight of my wetsuit.
Before the next wind hit, Sebastian shifted, lifting me slightly and turning me to face away from the gust. His broad frame shielded me completely.
The wind roared past us, proof of its strength.
After a long minute, the heat in my head began to cool. My hands loosened slightly on his wrist.
Sebastian was only trying to help me.
His voice came again, as cold as seawater. ‘Whatever it is you’re looking for, save your strength. We’ll figure out a way back tomorrow, in daylight.’
He paused, lowered his head, and spoke softly at my ear. ‘I’m with you. You’re not alone.’
His breath brushed against my skin, tickling.
After a long silence, I exhaled. ‘All right.’
Sebastian gathered a few fallen branches that the tsunami had toppled and tore off several large Heaves. He laid them out on the sand, fashioning a makeshift place to rest.
To call it a shelter was generous. It was really just a patchwork of leaves big enough to lie on.
When Sebastian finished, he glanced up. His brows drew slightly together as he noticed me clutching my arms.
‘Take off your clothes.’
He had already tugged down his own zip. As the fabric slid open, moonlight fell across the ridges of his tanned, sculpted abdomen.
Under different circumstances, I might even have had the presence of mind to appreciate it.
I tugged lightly at my soaked wetsuit.
Seeing me hesitate, Sebastian frowned, his tone turning firm, ‘Keep wearing that, and you’ll catch a chill. There’s no doctor here.’
This stern version of him was nothing like the quiet restrained Sebastian under the sea. This was the Sebastian I had first met, the commanding one, the one whose words were not suggestions but orders to be obeyed without question.
It made me bristle, because he rarely spoke to me that way. I wanted to argue, to push back, but I realised it was pointless, a waste of energy.
Beneath the wetsuit I wore only a bikini, and it was more revealing than I would have liked. Still, I couldn’t afford to look weak in front of Sebastian. Besles, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen me naked before.
I stripped quickly, peeling off top and bottoms in a few movements, though I instinctively held the clothes across my chest.
For a long moment, Sebastian said nothing.
I looked up, confused, and found he was no longer there. On the sandy patch lay an even larger leaf, folded neatly.
I scanned the shadows until I spotted his tall figure bent near the edge of the dark forest, rummaging for something.
‘Sebastian?’ I called.
He didn’t turn. ‘Use the big leaf. Wrap yourself up, the night wind is strong.’
I hurried to the makeshift bed, picked up the leaf, and held it against myself. It fit perfectly around my body.
I wrapped it around my chest and back, the ends meeting at my side. The hem reached just above my knees. The torn strip tied neatly at the side, fastening it securely.
As I knotted it, my eyes kept drifting towards Sebastian.
‘Where did you go?’ I asked when he came back.
‘Collecting dry twigs.’ He sat with his back to me, fiddling with the sticks. ‘You should rest. I’ll keep watch.’
On a deserted island with no shelter, someone had to stay alert. Sebastian had simply taken the task on himself.
To my ears, it sounded as though he didn’t trust me as though I wasn’t capable. Irritation pricked. I dropped down beside him. ‘No. You can’t make all the decisions. Let me do something too.’
Sebastian said nothing. He kept working with the twigs.
The silence stung. I didn’t want him to see me as dead weight. The calm I had just managed to recover unravelled again.
Anger coiled inside me, hot and restless, waiting for release. I tried to tamp it down with reason.
I didn’t even know why I was furious. Was it his indifference? Or was I lashing out to smother the guilt gnawing at me?
Because the truth was, if not for me, he wouldn’t be here at all.
My palms dampened with sweat, though my body had been chilled moments before. Irritation welled up, wave after wave.
He was silent, but his mind was clearly turning. Was he thinking the same thing? That he was stranded here because of me? Was he regretting following me?
But I hadn’t asked him to come. Why should he blame me? If we were handing out blame, wasn’t it him who had ruined my peaceful cruise, him who had paraded a new girlfriend in front of me?
The emotions twisted tighter and tighter until they strangled my reason.
I snatched the bundle of branches from his hands. Why won’t you say anything? Do you think I’m useless? A burden? That I can’t do anything? Why should you keep watch alone? I can do it too! These branches, whatever you’re trying to make, I can do it! Why won’t you let me? Why do you always decide for me?”Sweat rolled down my forehead as I glared at him, face burning red, eyes wild. I didn’t know if I was trying to prove something or to hold on to something slipping away.
Faced with my outburst, Sebastian was unnervingly calm. He didn’t answer.
My temper flared hotter at his silence. I opened my mouth, ready to unleash more, when suddenly his hand shot out, knocking the branches from my grip. In the same instant, he seized both my wrists, holding them tight.
His face came close. He gave me no room. He pressed forward, forcing me down.
With a thud, I landed on the bed of leaves.
He loomed over me, leaving no space to breathe. His body brushed mine, the strength of his thigh against the softness of mine for a fleeting moment.
My lips parted, a question forming, but no sound escaped.
His face hovered above mine, his eyes alight as if the fire within them could burn through the night.
“It’s just the two of us here. Do you really want to fight with me now?”The fire rising in me faltered.
The chill crept across my back, the damp leaves beneath me cold with dew, and I shivered. I refused to admit defeat, though, and bit my lower lip to keep quiet.
Sebastian’s hold on my thigh loosened. He rose swiftly and let me go. His eyes skimmed coolly over my head as he stooped to pick up the branches I had dropped, then turned away and went back to arranging them.
The moment he stood, I yanked the leaf dress higher until it covered me up to my collarbone.
My temper eased, and reason returned. Watching him work, guilt swept over me in place of anger.
“Sebastian, do you think we’ll ever get out of here?”His hands stilled for a beat.
“…I don’t know.”Sebastian never made promises he couldn’t keep.
I understood that, yet I had only wanted reassurance.
But Sebastian was even more rational than I was. Rational enough not to grant us even the luxury of dreaming.
I rested my head on my knees. He had told me to sleep, but after everything that had happened, I couldn’t.
If I couldn’t sleep, I might as well keep talking. But not about the cruise, or the tsunami, or Lea.
“Have you ever done survival training before?” I didn’t even know why I asked. Maybe it was the way he cleaned and stripped the branches with such skill, arranging them in a neat pile ready for a fire. It reminded me, not for the first time, how little I actually knew about his past.
Sebastian paused, then gave a slight nod.
I glanced into the darkness around us, the forest on one side and the sea on the other.
“I wonder if it’s possible to make a bow and arrows here. It’d be useful for hunting.”Sebastian didn’t answer. He kept working, focused on the branches as though they were more fascinating than the human sitting right beside him Disappointment pricked at me. My throat felt dry from talking too much.
He still didn’t respond, and irritation crept into my voice.
“Sebastian, why are you like this? You weren’t this cold to me before. You-“My words broke off when I met his gaze.
“You said it yourself. That was before.”His words struck me dumb.
Before, he and I had been husband and wife, even if only in a contract marriage. Later, we had been lovers, an engaged couple. But now… now we were nothing at all.
I shot him a glare, annoyed, and rolled over to face way from him. I refused to give him another glance.
I was woken by a tickling at my nose,
When I opened my eyes, a tiny snail was staring straight at me.
I pushed myself halfway up, careful not to crush it, and gently lifted the snail onto a damp patch of sand. Soon it began to crawl off happily, full of life, and somehow its energy cheered me as well.
I had expected sleep to evade me after such a terrifying day. Yet the moment I had laid my head on the bed of leaves, I had fallen into a deep, dreamless rest.
I wasn’t sure if it was pure exhaustion or something else.
I turned my head and looked behind me at the man who hadn’t moved an inch all night.
I couldn’t deny it. Sebastian might have been harsh with his words, but his presence alone filled me with a sense of safety.
The early morning air by the sea was far from warm As I stood, a sudden chill wind cut across me, and I instinctively pulled my shoulders in. Then I paused.
I hadn’t felt cold at all during the night.
My eyes drifted to Sebastian. His position had perfectly shielded me from the wind.
He sat up bare-chested.
He looked at me, his eyes calm and distant, the deep blue like glass, emptied of even the faint emotion I’d seen the night before.
It was as if he were looking at a stranger. (1
That thought irked me, but before I could speak, Sebastian stretched out his hand towards me. His expression was cold.
“Give me your clothes.”We trekked a good distance without finding anything else from the yacht.