Accidental Shield (Marriage Mistake #6)(58)

I miss normalcy. Not having to second-guess every single thought. Being able to enjoy a cool, breezy afternoon on the beach without a panic attack.

“C’mon. Somebody needs to keep that cat in line while he’s floating around with Bryce,” he says, nudging me playfully with his elbow.

A smile breaks loose, finally, and I nod. “Sure. Let me grab my swimsuit.”

I hurry inside, change, and go back out, refusing to let my personal hell control every aspect of my life. For the next hour, I’ll take Flint’s advice.

Forget about everything else and just be.

They’re both bobbing in the water when I return. Savanny’s back on Bryce’s paddleboard, gently flicking his tail. I swear my cat might be part dolphin.

I slowly wade into the cool ocean, loving how the soft ripple winds around my legs. Then, conjuring up my courage, I dive below and swim out to where they are, moving with the soft current.

“He’s a natural, isn’t he? I always thought cats hated water,” Flint says, smiling as he watches Bryce stroking a hand down the cat’s back.

“Not my Savanny,” I say. Right now, I’m not going to worry about whether I should know that about my cat or not.

“Some cats love the water. Don’t you guys watch YouTube?” Bryce asks, holding onto the board with his hands, kicking his feet to move past us. “There’s even cat swim races on there. Pretty crazy. Most don’t like it because it makes them feel sluggish. I guess their coats have this special oil that doesn’t let them dry off too fast.”

“He Googled that,” Flint says, leaning close to me.

“Oh, yes,” I say, laughing. “He definitely Googled that.”

We both kick our feet up and swim, catching up with Bryce, and then all three of us swim farther out.

Savanny just needs a little skipper hat to look like he’s the captain of his own little boat. We laugh at how he sprawls out on Bryce’s paddleboard, sun bathing, and meows at us when we make waves that cause the board to rock.

“Oh, stop it, you’re fine!” I tell him, flicking a few water drops his way. But Bryce swings the board around just as I splash water, and it hits him instead of Savanny.

“Hey, no fair!” He splashes water back at me, laughing.

I dodge just in time. It hits Flint instead.

Whoops.

A full blown splash war breaks out, quickly turning into a game of tag with frantic laughter. I feel like I’m hit from all sides, but I give as good as I get.

The sun drifts lower, slipping toward the horizon, making the entire surface shimmer. It’s like being in the middle of a huge glittery pool, casting pure silver light at Flint and his son every time my hand shimmies through the water. Bryce cracks up so hard he can’t even splash back.

Even Savanny gets some on his face, shaking off his big ears, his whiskers, and probably wondering why the humans have suddenly lost their ever-loving minds.

There’s no beating Flint with his swift strokes through the water and the wild range of his muscles, so I shoot Bryce a silent look. He nods, sealing our wordless pact.

We’re teaming up. We circle a little closer to Flint. I wait for his hand signal, then we both jump Big Daddy, splashing him full force.

Bryce from behind, me from the front, Savanny clinging to the board for dear life as water flies over his head.

“Ahhhh, hell, two on one?” Flint belts out a loud roar, totally the playful tiger. “Just wait, you guys, gonna make you regret not picking me for your team.”

He sends several huge swells of water crashing my way, but I duck down, swimming straight toward him. He pauses, just long enough for me to douse his face in one big swoop.

Laughing, he grabs me and pulls me in, pinning my arms against my sides in this enormous swimmer’s bear hug.

Good Lord.

The instant my body connects with his, the ocean battle couldn’t be further from my mind.

There’s just rock-hard muscle, wet skin, a curl of his lips in the whisper of distant sunlight. So sexy I wonder if it’s possible to self-combust. Yes, even while I’m eighty percent submerged in the ocean.

I know one thing—the happy, feral panther look he gives me with those sea glass eyes strikes a match, igniting my blood like a fuse winding through to my toes.

It’s a thunderbolt. A strike-me-down flash of heat. Pure, untainted desire knocking the wind out of me.

If Poseidon came up from the waves right now with eyes like heaven and a chest like a mountain, I still think Flint freaking Calum would leave Mr. Trident Face in the seaweed.

Oh, and it’s worse than I thought.

Flint feels it, too. I can tell by the flicking hunger in his eyes.

You know that old cliché about eyes that smolder?

This man’s eyes do.

His gaze, his expression, his wicked intent prowls its way up and down my body.

No, on second thought, screw smoldering.

Flint’s eyes reach up inside me, douse me in flammable honey, and make me want to come on the spot.

My grip loosens on his huge arm. I almost let go, sinking beneath the water. But Bryce breaks our moment, scoring a direct splash-hit on his dad.

He tries his best to evade the splashes Flint sends his way, so I leap up and grab the top of Flint’s head, wrapping my hands around his huge neck.

Big mistake.

The way we’re positioned face-plants him right into my boobs. That ache in my nipples goes to eleven.