He thought the water had already taken everything from him.He was wrong.Celina Sheppard has spent her life in motion—crossing borders, mastering languages, never staying long enough to belong anywhere. Seattle was supposed to be different. A degree. A job. A place to finally put down roots.Instead, she stumbles into the orbit of a man who watches from the shadows—and flees the moment she gets too close.Elliot Blackwood is power wrapped in restraint. A billionaire, a widower, a man whose world is ruled by control and haunted by what the water once stole from him. He does not touch what he cannot command. He does not want what he cannot survive.Until Celina.Drawn together by chance, secrecy, and a pull neither of them understands, their connection ignites something dangerous—desire tangled with grief, dominance tested by defiance, attraction sharpened by the truths he refuses to tell.As the line between protector and possession blurs, Celina must decide how much of herself she’s willing to risk for a man who is still drowning…and Elliot must face the one thing he fears more than loss—letting go.Beneath Still Water is a dark contemporary romance about obsession, consent, and the kind of love that doesn’t save you—it changes you.