Read Online Lady Vixen by Shirlee Busbee - Free Book Online

water, she turned, thankful to see that Allen was
still alive and not more than fifty yards from the shore. But from the slow,
steady strokes he was taking and from the way he stared into the ocean depths,
she knew the shark still followed him. Desperately her eyes scanned the small
deserted beach, searching frantically for something, anything that could be
used to help Allen, but nothing met her eyes.
    Gingerly,
Allen kept swimming, his eyes never leaving for more than a second the gray
streamlined shape that followed so silently and unnervingly on his heels. It
was not a huge shark, barely ten feet in length, but even a shark half that
size was a deadly enemy to a man in the sea. The knife held tightly in his hand
gave him some comfort, as did the nearing shoreline, but Allen was familiar
with sharks and this one's actions did not deceive him.
    It
was, just now, swimming parallel to him, not five feet to his left, and once or
twice it had suddenly changed directions, swimming directly under his body, the
dorsal fin a scant few inches from his powerful kicking legs.
    They
were closer to the beach now, and Nicole could see for herself the long
destructive shape that seemed to be growing more and more daring in its
approach to Allen's brown muscled body. Oh, God, she thought with anguish, save
him! He saved me—don't let him die! Please! She took a step
forward, intent upon flinging herself into the water, but knowing Allen's
bravery could very well be for nothing if she did, she stood frozen, her body
chilled to the bone as she saw the shark swim once more under Allen. Then
turning in one sinuous motion, the creature began the same deadly rush that only moments before had
menaced her.
    Allen
sensed the shark's imminent attack, and the razor-honed blade he clenched in
his hand seemed a flimsy protection against the saw-sharp teeth and
sandpaper-rough hide of his adversary. But he knew a man could win
against such a monster, for he had seen it done once, and with a prayer he
hoped he could duplicate that feat.
    In
a tremendous surge that brought the head and shoulders from the water, the
shark came at Allen with a speed that took his breath away, but he held onto
his courage as he faced that deadly charge and the distance between them became
a matter of inches. Then only a heartbeat away from the ravaging jaws, Allen
jerked to one side, the knife held in both hands, the blade aimed toward the
tail, and drove it deeply into the underbelly, the force of the shark's
momentum causing the blade to gut the beast from gill to tail. Barely risking a
glance, Allen saw the shark, mortally wounded, guts and blood spilling from the
opened cavity, crazily swimming toward the open sea. Then swimming with an
unbearable urgency he reached the shore and stumbled into Nicole's welcoming
arms.
    They
held each other for a long moment, both shaken to the very deepest recesses of
their beings.
    "Oh,
my God, Allen! I was so frightened!" Nicole muttered, her face still pale.
    His
breath coming in deep, agonizing gulps, Allen grinned. "I, too, was just a
little uneasy!"
    Nicole
giggled then, a giggle verging on the hysterical, and a moment later they were
both laughing on the sand, glad just to be alive. But Nicole was first to
recover and soberly she said, "I owe you my life, Allen. How can I ever
repay you?"
    For
a second the blue eyes roved over her face and the slender body, the alluring
curves obvious in the wet clothes, but he merely smiled and said,
"Nonsense, young Nick! But I don't think we'll go swimming in this place
anymore, I wouldn't want to go through that again!"
    With
a shudder Nicole glanced out at the still waters of the lagoon. "No!
Certainly not!"
    Not
wishing her to dwell on how close to death they had come, he affectionately
ruffled the sea-wet head. "Come now! Forget it and just remember next time
don't swim out so far."
    Giving
a subdued smile, she nodded in quick agreement. "The shallows it is for
me, for a long