Steele took a dozen more strokes and yelled "LAURA!" one more time, treading water and spinning in a circle, looking for any sign of her on the surface of the lagoon. Seeing nothing, he took a deep breath and dove down. Fortunately the water in the lagoon was very clear and it wasn't very deep, and he could see Laura about halfway down in the water, her arms were flailing to try and bring her back up to the surface of the water, and one leg hung loosely beneath her. *Leg cramp* one part of his mind registered while the rest of his mind drove his body downward towards her. Coming up behind her, he wrapped one arm around her waist and ducking his head, started kicking his way back towards the surface, trying to avoid Laura's flailing arms. As they both broke the surface, he situated himself in a back float with Laura laying on her back on top of him. "Laura, I've got you, Laura, it's OK, nod if you're OK, please Laura, please listen to me." All he could hear was her coughing and gasping for air, but she was still conscious, and her hands were grabbing at his arm where it held her around her waist. He allowed her to slide down his body and situated his arm just under her arms and over her breasts and began to kick with his legs and stroke with the other arm back towards the beach. "Nod if you're OK Laura, please be OK, Laura." Her head bounced in a nod as she continued to cough, and she even feebly tried to kick her one good leg to help them get to the beach faster. Steele made sure he kept her head clear of the water as they slowly made their way back towards the beach. As soon as they started getting close, Steele started feeling for the ground beneath them with one of his legs. Once he felt he could stand safely, he swung Laura up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way up the beach towards the chairs and towels. He sat her in one of the chairs and grabbed a towel to throw around Laura's shoulders. He wasn't exactly sure what to do now. As she continued to cough and catch her breath, he began to run his hands up and down the leg that was dangling in the water. He felt a pretty significant leg cramp in her calf and began to massage it with her fingers. Her teeth clenched against the pain. She leaned back in the chair, gripping the arms tightly, still coughing a bit, but seeming to be calming down.
"What happened, Laura? You're such a good swimmer?" She shook her head and hoarsely said, "I have no idea, the water was perfect, I was swimming comfortably and suddenly my leg just seized up on me." He continued to rub at the the muscle until he could feel it start to loosen up. Her coughing had stopped and she was relaxing in the chair, eyes closed. He was concerned that she had passed out for a moment before a contented sigh drifted from her. He couldn't help the grin, a mixture of relief that she didn't appear to be seriously hurt and delight that she was enjoying his impromptu massage. Once he felt the muscle had completely relaxed, he switched his attention over to the other leg. As her eyes drifted open with an unspoken question in them, he said, "Well, can't risk you cramping up on the other side now, can we?" She stared at him for a moment before silently shaking her head and then letting her eyes drift closed.
Laura's heart continued to race in her chest, but for a far different reason that just a few moments ago. The near drowning had scared her to death, as Steele had said, she wasn't a bad swimmer at all, and the lack of stretching properly before running into the water shouldn't have caused such a severe leg cramp. She had no idea what had happened, but now she was just enjoying the feel of his hands on her wet legs, rubbing at the muscles and feeling them relax under his long fingers. Steele spoke softly, "Perhaps I should take you back to the bungalow and we should get a doctor to come check you out." Laura shook her head, "No, I'm fine now, I only stayed under very long that last time and you got to me quickly. I'd rather stay here and enjoy the sun." He nodded, and stood up to take a seat in the other chair, grabbing one of the towels to dry his hair. While his head was buried under the towel he allowed himself to take a gulping breath of air himself. Every time Laura had a near miss, his heart seemed to want to jump right out of his chest. He couldn't help but remember her falling off the beam when they were breaking into the Federal Reserve, or when Carl had shot her in her loft, or knowing she was in the Courtney Doll warehouse alone when he heard that gunshot. He couldn't imagine a life without Laura in it anymore, he didn't even want to try, it hurt too much. This was quite a thing for him to admit to himself, and he quietly dried himself off, lost in his thoughts, wondering if he'd ever find a way to communicate that to Laura.
"Mr. Steele, could you please help me?" Her voice registered at last, and he pulled the towel down to look over at her. She had gotten her suntan oil out and while he had been drying off and lost in his thoughts, had been covering her arms, legs, and the front of her torso with the oil. She had sat up, and was holding out the oil towards him. *She wanted him to put oil on her back.* He nodded, and reached for the oil as she swung her legs around to the other side of the chair so she was facing away from him. She took a deep breath before saying softly, "Couldyou please untie the bottom tie first, I don't want to get a tan line." Steele froze in place for just a second, then reached out with one hand and pulled on the knot, releasing the bottom of her bikini top. She held the top in place with one arm, and he poured a portion of the oil into his hands, warmed it between them, and then began to run his hands up and down Laura's back. He couldn't help but enjoy the view of Laura's naked back as it soaked up the oil. The freckles continued all the way down her back, he had enjoyed the ones visible on her shoulders so often over the years. *Who knew freckles could be such a turn-on?* It was hard to resist leaning forward to place a kiss on one of those enticing freckles. Once he had her back done, he reached up and massaged her shoulders and neck with a little more force. Her near-miss had also impacted her, as she was very tense. She said, "Why don't you let me lay down while you do that?" Steele said softly, "OK". She stood up, and kept her back to him while she laid the towel down on the beach sand next to the chairs. Her movement gave him just a glimpse of the sides of her breasts before she dropped down to her knees on the blanket and laid down on her stomach. He moved over, laid a towel of his own next to her, and took up the massage of her neck and shoulders again. Moments like these were so precious to him; for Laura to be relaxed with him and to allow him this close felt like a gift. After getting her shoulders and neck relaxed, he laid himself down on the towel next to her, carefully arranging himself as comfortably as he could. Being able to touch Laura so intimately had aroused him, and he found it difficult to lay on his stomach, but he didn't dare lay on his back until he got himself back under control. They lay silently side by side on their towels for quite awhile, just soaking in the sun and focusing on their own thoughts.
"Thanks," Laura said softly. He turned to look at her and found her brown eyes staring at him. "You saved me from disaster yet again." He smiled, "Well, if you wouldn't work so hard, you wouldn't get so tight. You should get massages more often so your muscles don't get so bad." He deliberately didn't mention the near-drowning, not wanting to ruin the moment. Laura chuckled, "That's not what I meant, and you darn well know it. Although I will take your suggestion for making time for massages in my schedule under advisement. Now, can you re-fasten my tie so I can roll over?" Steele sat up and reached over and carefully found the two ends of the bikini top and refastened them. "All done." Laura rolled over, let her hands lay down at her sides and closed her eyes. She could feel Steele's eyes roaming over her body, showcased in the little red bikini, and hoped she wouldn't blush. He had given her words, now she felt a need to give him a deed in return. She knew that he would recognize the trust she was showing him by letting him see her so exposed, so vulnerable. She could feel his gaze exploring her body, and goosebumps rose on her arms as she swore she could feel his desire for her in that gaze, even without seeing it. She heard him lay down on his towel next to her, "Don't doze off, Laura, we don't want to show up to our fantasy tonight sunburned and looking like lobsters." She laughed, "Of course not, Mr. Steele." She allowed herself to relax, reliving the conversation in the library word for word. Her mind froze as his left hand found her right hand on the sand in between them, and their fingers intertwined. Steele whispered, "I'm so glad you're all right, Laura, you gave me quite a scare." They were quiet for a few moments before Steele spoke again, "'The Camerman', Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, MGM, 1928." Laura sat up and looked over at him, "What?" Steele tilted his head to meet her eyes, "Buster rescues Sally from almost drowning in a river after a boating accident." Laura flops back down on her towel and starts to laugh, "A movie for every situation, Mr. Steele?" He sits up and lets go of her hand, "Of course, Ms. Holt, mustn't break with tradition, it wouldn't be a Remington Steele case without my cinematic insights, would it?" Laura shook her head as she lay on the towel. "Do you feel up to having some lunch?" She nodded and as he stands, he reaches a hand down to pull her to her feet. He ends up pulling a little harder than necessary, and they end up chest to chest in their bathing suits, just staring up at each other. It was the most skin-on-skin contact they'd ever experienced, and both felt the little jolts of electricity running over their skin where it touched. Laura was the first to step away and head for the cooler. Steele took a deep breath before following her. They pulled out the fruit and drinks and used the cooler as a table as they ate.
As they were finishing eating, Laura couldn't stop herself from yawning. The stress of almost drowning and the soaked up sun had made her sleepy. Steele suggested, "Why don't we head back to the bungalow and take a nap before tonight, eh?" She nodded, and reached for her sarong. Steele cleaned up the area, and as they started heading to the path back to the main bungalow, Steele let one arm curl around Laura's back and rest on her hip. She looked at him questioningly and he said, "In case your leg starts to bother you, we don't want you to fall. I'll be ready to catch you if you fall, Laura." Their eyes met again and his eyes seemed to get even more blue, if that was possible. Laura just nodded, then turned her head away to focus on the path ahead of them. When they got to the main house, they walked around and found the car waiting for them out front. Steele directed her to the passenger seat, "Let's take advantage of the car and get you off of that leg for a bit." Laura nodded and they drove back to their bungalow. Steele left the car out front and made sure Laura made it to her room safely. "I'll set my alarm to 5:30 so we can refresh ourselves before dinner." Laura nodded silently again and went into her room. Steele went into his and jumped into the shower to cool off, literally and figuratively. Grabbing his robe, he set the alarm then laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Laura was tired, but he felt far too wired to sleep now. He couldn't help but remember how it felt to run his hands on Laura's body. Thinking back on it, he could feel his body responding, yet he also felt himself drifting off to an unexpected sleep. Laura also took a quick shower to remove the oil from her body. As she washed herself, she couldn't help but remember how good it felt to have Steele's hands on her. As she threw on a nightgown and crawled into her bed, she knew that they couldn't keep dancing around the sexual tension between them. There was something to this relationship that deserved to be explored and yes, enjoyed and savored if Steele made love the same way he kissed. But how to get past their fears to take that step? It wouldn't be enough for just one of them to be ready, it could scare the other one off. Somehow both of them had to overcome their fears at the same time and both be ready to take that step. How, how how? Laura drifted off to sleep, her last thought feeling Steele's arm holding her up in the water with his long, lean body below hers, and how safe she felt in his arms.