Quickly, I turned on the flashlight.
The light flickered, and I hit the side of it until a steady stream cut through the fog and beamed across the water’s surface.
Half of the jon boat was sunken and filled up with seawater. An earlier storm must’ve slammed it against the dock. The only thing keeping it up was the single rope tied to the back of my Finneuma. The rest of the rope securing it to the dock had come undone.
Panic sank inside me and spread.
I channeled it, determined to get to Stone in whichever way I could. I headed to the stern of the Finneuma and crouched down to untie the jon boat. With a held breath, I let the small boat go.
I stood, watching it sink into the black ocean.
With it, memories flooded my mind. Ones of Dad teaching me how to drive my first boat, my sisters and I drinking and laughing in the middle of the night, taking Stone to Bone Island and the way he watched me under the flapping hood, then myself sneaking away every day to see him. They were there, then gone. Until the boat hit the ocean floor.
I only allowed myself a second to grieve, then released the Finneuma’s ropes from the dock’s cleats, pulled in the bumpers, and dug into my pockets for the keys.
With frozen fingers, I turned on the ignition. It would be my first time driving the boat alone. I walked myself through Dad’s steps as if it were a silent chant, hoping there would be enough gas to get me to Bone Island and back.
With the bow pointing toward the island, I steered the wooden pirate helm. It was dark, and the moon’s light reflected off the top of each wave, making the ocean look like it was holding all the stars.
The ocean breathed too—my only adored song. And I was suddenly a girl who believed she really did belong in the water. I was suddenly a girl who believed she could one day swim away if she wanted to. If only for a moment.
Stone’s silhouette appeared on the shore.
He must have heard the boat coming.
My heart shook when I switched the gear to neutral, lowered the anchor, and turned off the ignition. He watched me from afar with a fur blanket wrapped around his shoulders, but I couldn’t see his features.
My feet wobbled on the boat’s portside before I jumped into the water.
At first, shock from the icy temperatures instantly numbed me, but I fought through it and swam to Stone. The fur blanket fell from around his shoulders as he took defeated steps closer.
The distance between us was disappearing with every free-handed stroke.
As I drew closer, I noticed disappointment carved into his face.
“Stone,” I gasped, water coming up to my chest.
I trudged against the midnight tide that was pulling me back.
Stone walked into the freezing water, splitting the fog, meeting me where the waves slapped his knees. He kept a hardened gaze on my soaked face until he was clutching both sides of it. There wasn’t time to speak. He was pulling me into him, sweeping me up in an ardent kiss.
Stone’s tongue curled around mine, and I soared from it.
But I ached too. A painful shake as if my heart detested the idea of us ever parting. This was it for us.
“Stone,” I said upon an exhale.
“No,” he said, shaking his head as if he didn’t want to hear it. Knowing that these were our last moments, his actions were hopeless. So, he was forceful, stripping off my sopping pants and discarding my sweater before almost throwing me onto my back at the shoreline.
I should have known this was how he was going to react.
Stone only had two settings: desperate and quiet. And sex was his battle cry. We didn’t have time, but Stone was eager in the way he thought he could get me to stay. If this was the last time, then so be it.
It happened gravely and all at once. In the cold, in the night, my arms and legs shivered until he came down on his elbow. He hovered me, the heat from him blanketing me, despair soaking his eyes.
I undid his trousers until my fingers wrapped around his hot and heavy cock. Stone’s kiss turned deep and fervent, his monstrous thing grinding into my hand as he rolled his hips, desperate for me, for warmth, for connection.
I stroked him, and Stone’s expression dissolved.
