When Wren, a lowly servant of a wealthy family, is kidnapped by pirates and brought before the notorious Captain Harry Styles, she's certain that her life will consist of misery. She's used to serving the snobbish Hadley Aubigné and her family, but...
Late in the afternoon, Harry surprised me by asking, "Would you like to go ashore?"
I looked at him in astonishment. "Just the two of us? Won't that be dangerous?"
"The three of us," he corrected. "I've asked Zayn to come along as a security measure. I want to show you the lagoon where I used to swim as a boy. Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I've invited Niall and Hadley as well, so I guess we'll be five in all. Niall and I were close as young boys and we both loved that lagoon. Along with Louis, but he's staying here for tonight."
I hesitated, wanting nothing more than to witness a piece of Harry's past, but still concerned about the danger.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he said, squeezing my waist. "I promise."
"Okay," I nodded, happily agreeing to go.
I got the feeling that Harry and Niall were hoping to be pre-occupied with their girls to worry much about defense, which was why Zayn was asked to come along. I was surprised at how close we were to the island. The men were experts in rowing because it seemed hardly any time passed at all before we slipped next to a hidden lagoon on the south side of the island. It turned out there was water flowing over a particularly deep section, so we rowed straight into the lagoon.
Once we safely tucked into a corner, we became deathly still, listening for any sign of other people. When we heard none, the three men let out wild whoops and hollers, tearing off their clothes down to their undergarments and diving into the crystal clear water. Hadley and I watched in glee as they acted like children, splashing and dunking each other.
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After a long while, Harry swam to the edge of the boat. "Ready?" He asked.
"For what?" I eyed him suspiciously.
"For this!" He shouted, yanking me out of the boat while Zayn held firm to the other side, preventing it from capsizing. I fell unceremoniously into his arms, suddenly weighed down by my saturated garments.
"Harry!" I whined. "I can't swim in this."
"Then let's take it off," He growled in my ear.
"Not with others around!" I snapped.
He leaned in, pressing his mouth against my ear. "Just the dress. You can keep your undergarments on - for now." A thrill surged through me as I felt myself becoming needy for his touch. "We can dry it in the rowboat for now. It's almost dusk, so no one will see anything."
I wanted to swim and splash in the water with him, especially since it was shallow. While I didn't know how to swim exactly, I had always loved playing in the ocean where the waters were shallow. I nodded a little and allowed him to untie my dress at the back. He pulled it up over my head, which seemed to be quite a feat since it was rather heavy when it was laden with water. He carefully squeezed out as much water as he could while I paddled about, enjoying the freedom I had.
