A Stone in the Sea

by A. L. Jackson

  Butterfly.

  Couldn’t help but smile when I glanced down at Shea. I took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  She let her eyes travel over the massive house. “Nice place.”

  I shot her a wink. “Think so, huh? Don’t get too excited, I don’t own it.”

  With a short laugh, she shook her head. “Don’t ever think I’m going to want you for your money, Baz.”

  I brushed my lips to her temple. “Don’t think that. Not for a second.”

  That fact was liberating. Everyone wanted a piece of Sebastian Stone. But the surface pieces—the fame and the money and the bullshit that amounted to nothing.

  Shea? She wanted all the rest.

  But fuck, if I didn’t want to give all of it to her.

  Kallie waited impatiently at the door, and when I slid the key in the lock and the door swung open, she flew right in, not a shy bone in the little girl’s body.

  All the guys were inside, hanging around the kitchen, appearing antsy and ill at ease. Before I left, I’d hauled their lazy asses out of bed and ordered them to be on their best behavior.

  Kallie skidded to a stop when she saw all of them staring back at her.

  Okay, so maybe there was a shy bone or two.

  And hell, these guys could make a grown man stop dead in his tracks.

  Couldn’t imagine what they looked like to a four-year-old little girl.

  Releasing Shea’s hand, I moved to set a calming palm on Kallie’s head who was watching the guys with wide, apprehensive eyes. “Hey, Kallie, want to meet some of my friends?”

  She glanced up at me like she was asking me for the answer, then turned back to them. “Okay.”

  Almost awkwardly, I introduced her to Ash, Lyrik, and Zee, fighting a grin as I introduced her the same way as she’d introduced herself to me all those weeks ago. “Guys, this is Kallie Marie Bentley.”

  Ash and Lyrik were giving me looks that shouted, What the hell have you gotten yourself into and oh dude you are most definitely screwed. They were the same damn questions and thoughts that’d been swirling through me for weeks. Didn’t really know the answer except for that I’d gotten myself into something good. Something pure and right.

  Of course Zee was always filled with all that care, and he dropped down onto a knee and shook her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you Kallie Marie.”

  Little shoulders lifted to her ears, and she swayed, all bashful and timid. “Nice to meet you, too.”

  “And Kallie, this is my baby brother, Austin.”

  I gestured to Austin who was standing a little stiffly off to the side, eyes darting between Shea, Kallie, and me, a sly smile hinting at the corner of his mouth, but all kinds of questions in his eyes.

  Kallie giggled. “He’s not a baby.”

  Austin actually laughed. Couldn’t remember the last time he had. “Ah, yeah.” He hooked a thumb toward me. “But this big guy here sure thinks I am.”

  “No way…he’s not a baby, Baz. He’s way, way, way big, just like you.”

  And I realized I was standing there holding this kid’s hand like it belonged there while Shea hovered off to the side, taking it in.

  When I met that penetrating gaze, I stood up straighter, unable to take my eyes off her as I spoke. “Austin, come meet my girl.”

  And fuck if everyone’s heads didn’t about explode just for the fact I said it aloud.

  Shea moved forward, watching him with quiet curiosity and uncontained affection. “It’s so good to finally meet you,” she said.

  “Yeah, it’s really good to meet you, too,” he said, shaking her hand as his gaze slid my direction, like he was assessing if this was what I really wanted, if I’d lost my mind, or if I was just playing around, messing with a girl I shouldn’t be messing with.

  But this wasn’t a game.

  And if it was, Shea had me beat.

  Everyone headed outside and onto the huge wooden deck that backed the house and overlooked the sea. The entire thing was painted white—railings, floor, and steps. There were a handful of loungers facing the water and a couple round tables with big red umbrellas. A built-in barbecue and bar sat at the very end, and right off to the side were five steps leading to a long boardwalk that hovered just over the thick sand dunes and brush that dumped you right onto the beach.

  Today, the blue sky seemed to stretch on forever, the day bright and shimmering, just a few streaks of clouds pulled by the breeze giving it form and depth.

  Kallie seemed to warm right up to the guys, and she was busy filling Austin and Zee in on that bounty of information she had about butterflies after one flitted by. Without thought, she grabbed Zee’s hand. Jarred by her forwardness, Zee glanced back, clearly asking for guidance. Shea just smiled and he gave a shrug and let Kallie lead him down the walk, nodding away as she skipped along beside him.

  So maybe Kallie being here wasn’t so weird after all.

  Shea leaned that warm body into my side and peeked up at me. “This is perfect, Baz. Thank you for inviting us.”

  Turning, I framed her face in my hands, whispered close to her mouth. “Don’t want you anywhere else, baby.”

  Okay, so maybe there was one other place I wanted her.

  In my bed.

  Naked.

  Under me.

  I skimmed my mouth over hers. Once. Twice. By the third time hunger was pulsing through me, and I was wanting more. Just a brush and this girl lit me up.

  “Oh, God, seriously, spare me. Don’t tell me we’re going to be subject to this mushy bullshit all the time?” Ash shot us both a mocking smirk.

  I reached out and smacked him on the back of the head. “Watch your mouth, man.”

  Asshole just laughed. “Kid isn’t even within earshot. You getting protective or somethin’?”

  If protective meant willing to skin him alive, then yeah.

  He hooked his arm around Shea’s neck. “Come on, darlin’. Your boy here woke my ass up at the crack of dawn to hang out on the beach, and we’re going to hang out on the beach.”

  All of us traipsed down the boardwalk, our feet sinking into the warm, coarse sand. Shea unfurled a beach blanket, dumped out a bunch of sand toys for Kallie, and shed her skirt and tee.

  Apparently the girl wanted to bring me right to my knees. I knew I was staring, my gaze devouring all that tanned, toned flesh. Really, her black bikini was on the modest side, but it immediately sent my thoughts straying right toward the obscene.

  Lyrik patted me on the back of the head just as he clomped down off the steps behind me, voice dropped low and directed toward my ear. “You’re completely fucked, my friend.”

  He scratched at his temple as he eyed me over his shoulder, mumbled, “Lucky bastard,” before he shot me a grin filled with a smug You’re welcome, before he tore off his shirt, tossed it aside, and ran toward and dove into the waves behind Ash.

  Yes, lucky bastard was right.

  I plopped down next to Shea on the blanket. Kallie dug in the sand in front of us, scooping mounds into a bucket before she dumped them right back out onto the ground, the child chattering nonstop as she played.

  Both these girls just had something about them. Light. Sweet. Soft. It compelled and eased and soothed.

  For hours, we messed around on the beach like we did it every day, tossing the ball around, chasing after Kallie, the guys wrestling in the crashing waves.

  Even Austin hung tight, seeming to be just as enamored by these two as the rest of the guys.

  Guess I took some kind of satisfaction in that, knowing they approved. Because I knew by bringing these changes into my life, I was bringing it into theirs, as well.

  And they fit.

  Waist-deep in water, clowning around with Lyrik and Ash, I looked over to where Shea was watching me. It was like with that one glance, she had me tied, tugging me toward her. Slowly I made my way up the bank and toward her. Coming to a stop in front of her, I stretched out my hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”


  She squinted against the sun glinting in her eyes. “What about Kallie?”

  Zee was half buried in the sand by Kallie, grinning like he’d just discovered how to do it.

  I angled my head toward Zee. “Looks like Zee has her occupied.”

  “More like she has me occupied,” Zee corrected, trying not to laugh and guard himself when Kallie started banging the little red plastic shovel a little lower than any guy would ever be comfortable with to pack down the sand.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with us leaving her?” Shea asked, observing her daughter with all that affection.

  “I have her. No worries. Go on.”

  Shea let me pull her to stand, and I wove my fingers through hers, strolled along with her at my side. There was hardly a soul on the beach on this end. These houses were privately tucked away from the few resorts and hotels farther up the beach. We walked right at the water’s edge, Shea dipping in her toes, lifting her face to the sky, relishing the breeze.

  When we finally got out of sight of the guys and Kallie, I stopped her, quick to turn her in my arms. “I’ve been dying to get you alone.” I let my nose wander down her neck, breathing her in. “Missed you so much,” I murmured, nibbling at the tender flesh of her earlobe.

  Chills tumbled down her spine, all that hair whipping around us as a gust of wind swooped in low to fly over the pounding waves. “You keep saying that.”

  “That’s because it’s the truth.”

  She set both her hands on either side of my waist, pulled back to search my face. “I love that I’m out here with you…that you’re letting me into this part of your life that I knew you were keeping hidden away. I spent a lot of time wondering what it was you did in those days you weren’t with me.”

  A low chuckle rumbled from me and I drew her a little closer, her skin warm from the sun where it pressed against my bare chest. “Most of the time I was just thinking about you.”

  A shy smile pulled at that honeyed mouth, and I leaned in and kissed her.

  Soft.

  Soft.

  Soft.

  Shea sighed then our tongues met.

  Fire and light.

  And I was suddenly kissing her like crazy because I’d been dying to do it all day.

  Maybe for all my life.

  One hand wound in her hair, and the other hit that sweet spot at the small of her back. I dragged her close, all snug and firm and tight. I knew there was no mistaking how badly I wanted her, my cock aching, my hands greedy, and my mouth seeking what it’d been missing for too long.

  She pressed her palms to my chest like she was seeking a way to fall inside.

  My hand on her back slid around her narrow waist, traveling up the flat plane of her stomach that jerked and ticked beneath my fingertips.

  I swallowed down the little gasps that tumbled from her throat, then let my thumb slip under the bottom of one side of her bikini top. I flicked and teased at her nipple. It pebbled beneath my touch, and Shea whimpered, evoking a throaty groan from me.

  “Sebastian,” she murmured frantically at my lips, pulling away in the same second she seemed to be begging for more. “Someone might see us.”

  I grinned against her mouth. “Place is deserted, baby.”

  My entire hand dipped under that thin piece of fabric, nudging it up, palm full of that perfect round tit. My cock pressed at her stomach, seeking friction, something to alleviate the fucking insane need I had for her.

  Lust raged in her expression when she jerked her head back, lips swollen and glistening and parted just enough that I caught a glimpse of that delicious tongue. She leaned back, clinging to my shoulders, her body bowing with the pressure of her own need.

  “You can’t look at me like that, Shea,” I warned. I contemplated ripping off that suit and sinking hard and fast into her tight little body. Right here. Right now. “You gonna let me back into your bed tonight?”

  “Yes,” she almost begged, fingers burrowing into my skin.

  “Are you sure you want me there?” I needed to know. That she was all in. No reservations holding her back.

  “Yes. I see you.”

  My chest tightened with some kind of pride, and both my hands glided down to her bottom. I lifted her a couple inches from the ground, brazenly rubbing her against my dick. I leaned in close to her ear. “Maybe I’ll take this ass tonight. You know I’ve been dying to, don’t you?”

  Red burst on the skin above her breasts, racing up her neck and hitting those cheeks, heat and flames and a dash of that innocence that clung to this girl.

  Dark.

  Light.

  Heavy.

  Soft.

  She buried her face in my chest and chanced peeking up at me, her voice coated with panic and desire. “I haven’t done that before.”

  My mouth was at her temple, murmuring low, our bodies moving slowly now as I settled her feet back on the sand. Again I found myself searching inside to find the caution she deserved. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t feel it, Shea, the way your body reacts to me?”

  The flashes of fear and the shivers of pleasure.

  Wanted to give that to her, but didn’t want to send her running, either.

  “You think I don’t love that about you? How your body screams sex—” I held her closer. “—and your heart’s as guiltless as the come.”

  Caramel eyes blinked up at me, sucking me in, pulling me deeper.

  “I’m still trying to make sense of where you came from,” I said, getting lost in the depth of those eyes.

  Darkness crowded at the creases of them, a billow of her storm, and she gave me a tight smile that I was doing my best to decipher. “I’m just Shea,” she whispered, before she shook her head as if she were trying to shake off the thought. She glanced behind her. “We’d better get back.”

  I dipped my head down, eyes capturing her attention. “Hey, what was that?”

  Another shake of her head. “Nothing.”

  My thumb brushed along the sharp angle of her cheek. “Don’t tell me it’s nothin’ when I know it’s something.”

  She looked up at me, her expression filled with vulnerability. “Later?”

  Jealousy rose up in me like it was riding on her storm, because I knew whatever caused that look was brought on by whoever the asshole was who’d fathered Kallie. Didn’t matter that he was dead. That I didn’t even know his name. Hated him all the same.

  “Whatever you need, Shea.”

  She pressed my hand closer to her face and leaned into it. “I dreamed about this for such a long time…finding someone who looks at me the way you do. Someone who makes me feel the way you do. It still seems impossible.”

  Anxiety flared inside of me, because it still seemed impossible to me, too.

  I didn’t answer her, just leaned in and kissed her long.

  Slow.

  Slow.

  Slow.

  Savoring her, praying it could last.

  I pulled away, cupping her face. “Come on, let’s get back before they send out a search team.”

  Hand-in-hand, we headed back toward the house. By the time we got there, Lyrik had lit the grill and Ash had ducked inside to grab the steaks that’d been marinating in the fridge.

  Kallie jumped all around when she saw us. “Momma! Momma! Take me out in the ocean. I wanna play in the waves!”

  “Okay!” Shea sang back to her as she approached.

  I went in for a quick kiss, gave a quick swat to her awesome ass. “Go on.”

  Shea jumped and shot me a look over her shoulder that told me, you’re going to pay for that later, which I was all too anxious to accept my punishment.

  Shea took Kallie’s hand and led her out into the water. I grabbed a football and gestured to Austin. “Go out.”

  With a lift of his brow, he shrugged and trotted out away from me, the kid sporting a pair of swim trunks and shedding his hoodie for about the first time in forever, and I found myself taking satisfaction in th
at, too.

  Today was a good fucking day.

  I let the ball go, and it went sailing through the air. Austin caught it with an oomph. “You throw like a girl,” he taunted, throwing it right back.

  “Oh really?” This time I tossed it a little harder.

  “Really,” he said, laughing when it hit him hard in the chest.

  Behind me, Kallie squealed, and my attention got caught up in the sound. I looked over my shoulder. Just as I did, a wave splashed into them from behind. Both Shea and Kallie were facing the shore, Shea holding Kallie’s hands up over her head so she could jump and splash and kick.

  My chest tightened in some kind of foreign pleasure, like a warm blanket wrapped too tight. Like she was drawn, Shea looked over at me, a smile pulling at that gorgeous mouth. God, I loved the way she looked out there with the sun lighting her up, water rushing up and hugging those long legs.

  She gazed at me, meeting my eye, all that crazy intensity saturating the air.

  So full it knocked the breath from me.

  Another wave barreled up and washed into them. Shea shrieked and took a fumbled step forward. She laughed toward the heavens when Kallie tipped her head back, face wet and hair sopping, and begged, “Do it again, Momma! Do it again!”

  The next wave built up and lifted behind them. Barreling toward the shore. Bigger than before.

  Shea was smiling that unending smile while my world set to pause.

  Visions flashed.

  Black, dark, and vile.

  Vivid.

  Panic curled my stomach and my heart stalled out.

  “Shea.” Her name didn’t make it above my breath while the wave gathered strength. It rushed, the white toil of water swelling higher. Surging faster. Like evil had once again reached its fingers up from the pits of hell and stirred the waters. Cast its chaos on the sea.

  Unaware, Shea was still smiling when it hit them from behind.

  It swallowed them, knocking Shea from her feet.

  Shea thrashed wildly when she emerged. She sucked in a surprised, shocked breath, eyes wild as she searched.

  Kallie was no longer in her hands.

  And Shea was screaming.

  Screaming.

  Screaming.

  Screaming.

  I felt it all the way to my soul.