Claim Me Captain! I'm Addicted to You!
Chapter 24: Don’t Let Go

Chapter 24: Don’t Let Go

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Georgia shouted, her voice cracking through the howling wind as Nick reached the liferaft.

Nick didn’t answer. His eyes immediately darted to the rope, which should’ve tethered the raft to the ship.

"You fucking cut it?!" he bellowed, his voice thunderous as he clambered aboard, not even bothering to wait for her hand.

"Yes, I did!" Georgia snapped, soaked and furious. "I was trying to protect you! I was fixing my own damn mess until you jumped in like some lunatic. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I told you to stay in your cabin while I figured this out!" Nick shot back, fury tightening every muscle in his body. "And now look at you, on a fucking liferaft in the middle of a goddamn ocean!"

Right on cue, rain exploded from the sky in sheets, mirroring their anger as if the heavens were punishing them both for their recklessness.

The ship loomed in the distance, lights blinking through the downpour. Crew members stood at the stern, shouting and scrambling to launch a rescue boat—but the storm had other plans. The wind howled, the sea raged, and the liferaft drifted farther, faster, like a leaf in a typhoon.

"Get the paddle! Now!" Nick barked.

"No!" Georgia threw her arms up, blocking his way. "I’m not going back! You want to be rescued, you jump into the water and wait for them yourself!"

"You’re insane!" Nick growled, shoving past her to search for the paddle. "I told you there’s a storm! You won’t last ten minutes out here!"

She fought him back, pushing at his chest, trying to block him from opening the raft’s storage flap. The two struggled, bodies colliding, shoving and shouting, slipping against the wet rubber floor.

Then—

*BOOM!*

A thunderclap ripped through the sky like an explosion, followed by a bolt of lightning that lit up the horizon like war had broken loose.

"Shit!" they both yelped in unison, instincts kicking in as they scrambled under the raft’s canopy, breathing heavily, soaked to the bone.

Nick whipped his head to the side, trying to find the ship through the wall of rain.

Nothing.

Just a gray blur. Ocean. Sky. Storm.

The ship was gone.

"FUUUCK!" Nick roared, slamming his fist into the floor of the raft. "This is all your fault! We lost the ship! Happy now?! You wanted to disappear—congratu-fucking-lations!"

Georgia’s voice cracked as she screamed back, "None of this would’ve happened if you didn’t follow me! You should’ve just left me alone!"

"I should’ve!" Nick thundered, pointing a furious finger in her face. "From day one—I should’ve walked away! Let you drown in the bottom of the open sea!"

The rain hammered down around them, drowning out the sound of their heavy breathing. With clenched jaws and storm-lit eyes, they sat on opposite ends of the tiny canopy, soaked, furious, and trapped in the middle of the raging sea.

Silence fell between them for a brief second... only the violent slapping of rain and the distant rumble of thunder filled the air.

They were alone. Adrift. And far from any rescue.

And there was no turning back now.

*********

Back on the London Courage, chaos gripped the control deck.

Sparks hissed from a damaged panel, and the acrid scent of burnt wiring filled the air. The thunder Nick and Georgia had heard wasn’t just the storm—it was lightning striking one of the ship’s main communication antennas, frying half their systems.

"Damn it! Not now!" Steven shouted, frantically working the emergency comms panel while barking orders. "Reroute power through the backup systems! I need partial signal now!"

Below deck, crew members scrambled across the wet floor as the storm howled outside. The vessel groaned under the force of the sea.

Evelyn stormed up beside him, her face pale. "Are you sure about contacting port authorities? The Captain was clear. No reports."

Steven didn’t hesitate. His voice cut like a blade. "Screw what he said. This isn’t just about his pride anymore. He’s gone—lost in the middle of a fucking storm! If we don’t report this, and something happens to him, his father’s not going to bury him—he’s going to bury us."

"I’m the acting Captain now," he said, slamming his fist on the controls. "And I’ll do whatever it takes to bring him back alive."

Outside, the wind screamed and rain pelted the ship in sheets. One of the crew stationed at the stern turned to him with panic in his voice. "Chief, there’s zero visibility. Even with floodlights and sonar, we can’t track them. It’s like they vanished."

Steven’s face twisted in frustration. "Goddamn it, Nick! What were you thinking?!" he shouted, the fury in his voice echoing through the steel walls of the ship.

He clenched his jaw, eyes burning as he stared into the storm through the rain-streaked windows.

’You better be alive out there,’ he thought. ’Because I’m not going down for your hero complex.’

**********

Hours dragged on.

The storm showed no signs of mercy. Rain slashed down in unrelenting sheets, and wind howled like a beast circling its prey. Inside the liferaft, Nick sat rigid, fists clenched, his jaw tight. His gaze flicked to Georgia.

She was trembling.

’She’s cold...’ he hissed silently. ’Good. Let her freeze. She wanted this, let her feel the weight of her own reckless choices. Such a stubborn and really stupid woman!’

But despite the bitterness in his mind, his eyes refused to look away. He watched her arms wrap tighter around herself, her body curling in as the chill seeped through her soaked clothes. Her lips were turning purple.

Still, when she caught him watching, she glared, full of stubborn pride, then turned her face toward the endless gray horizon.

Nick cursed under his breath. "Shit."

Against his own will, he unbuckled his life vest and stripped off his soaked uniform top. The cold bit into his skin instantly, but he didn’t hesitate. He crawled across the raft and sat beside her.

"Take off your shirt," he ordered. "Now."

Georgia’s eyes widened. "What—"

"Body heat," he growled. "Or you’ll die before the sun rises."

She knew he was right. Protocol drilled into her brain from every survival training kicked in. Silently, her shaking hands peeled off her shirt, and Nick pulled her into his arms without warning. He then covered themselves with the lifejacket.

She collapsed into him, her cold body clinging tightly to his bare chest. He wrapped himself around her like a human shield, rubbing her arms with desperate force.

"Damn it, Georgia," he muttered under his breath. "I’m going to make you pay for this. Every single second of this storm—you owe me."

Her voice was soft, muffled against his chest. "Okay, Captain... I’ll take my punishment. Just don’t let go. I-I’m scared..."

That last word was like an arrow that struck Nick’s chest, seeing a different side of Georgia.