To Win His Wayward Wife by Rose Gordon

hesitated only for a second before walking to the edge and with a small noise of excitement, jumped off straight into his waiting arms.
    “Good job,” he said with a smile. He slowly lowered her the rest of the way into the water until her feet were on the rocks. “It’s rather deep right here. Let’s move down a bit where it won’t be so deep.”
    “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I don’t like how deep it is, either. Last time I was in here, I thought I might drown.”
    “I thought you said, you hadn’t been swimming before,” Benjamin said, carrying her to a shallower spot.
    “I haven’t,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I haven’t accidentally found myself into the water. With how clear it is, I believed the water to be shallower than it was and before I knew it, I was in up to my neck because I wanted to put my feet on the rocks.”
    “Were you alone?” he asked, setting her down in a place that was no deeper than her waist.
    “Yes,” she said, nodding.
    He didn’t like the sound of that. She could have easily drowned and nobody known it. “In that case, I’m not letting you out of this water until I’m satisfied with your swimming skills.”
    She shot him a laughing smile. “We might die here, you know.”
    “Nonsense,” he said, returning her smile. “And if it does take you that long for you to learn to swim, I’ll die a happy man.”
    She looked at him curiously. “And why is that?”
    “Because I’ll die with you,” he answered, not caring he sounded like a lovesick imbecile.
    “And you claimed Andrew was the one led around by his genitals,” she teased.
    “I didn’t say that to get you to lift your skirt,” he said slowly. “You’re my wife. I like being around you. Is it so wrong for me to enjoy your company?”
    “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I rather enjoy yours just now, too.”
    He grinned. It positively thrilled him that she would even dare to admit to enjoying his company. “All right. Let’s swim. First thing, lie down on your back.” He moved to the side of her and with one arm wrapped around her shoulders, he pulled her backwards toward the water. “You’re all right. I’ve got you. Both my arms are under you, you’re not going to sink. Just relax. Now, we need to see if you sink or float.”
    “You just said you wouldn’t let me sink,” she panicked, trying desperately to put her feet back on the bottom.
    “Hold still,” he commanded gently as he held her firmly so she couldn’t get up. “I’m not going to let you drown, Madison. Trust me. Please.” He looked into her eyes to let her see he meant his words. “I’m just going to relax my hold on you a little and see if your body stays floating on top of the water, or if you start to go under. Most stay on top, but some are sinkers. If you are, you’ll have to work a little harder when you swim.”
    “Great,” she muttered, “with my luck, I’ll sink like a bag of bricks.”
    He chuckled. “Are you ready?”
    She nodded and clenched her hands into fists.
    “You’ll be all right. Just relax. Look up at the sky and study the clouds. What do you see?” he said soothingly as he relaxed his hold on her.
    “Oh, please,” she said with an abrupt laugh. “I’m not eight. I don’t study clouds in hopes of seeing bunnies and turtles.”
    “And why not?” he demanded in mock indignation. “I do that and I’m not eight.”
    She laughed. “You do not. You’re just saying that. No grown man goes around staring at clouds to figure out what they look like.”
    “I do,” he said solemnly. He looked up in the sky and scanned the clouds real quick. “That one over on the far right looks like a cat. Oh, and that one, on the left by where those trees are visible, that looks exactly like a side profile of Prinny.”
    “Oh, stop it,” she said laughingly. “It does not. Prinny isn’t that thin.”
    “No, he’s not, is he,” Benjamin mused.
    “Not by half. The last time I