14. Jesse

Chapter fourteen

Jesse

A t least our princess got a few hours of sleep before her nightmares began. It was early morning when I shifted, feeling her squirming in my arms. I woke fully when her palm slapped against my chest, panicking that maybe I had rolled over onto her and was squishing her arm or something. Her face was twisted in fear as she writhed, battling an invisible enemy. I stroked her face, sending her a calming vision, reminding her brain that she was safe once again. Eventually, her movements slowed, and her eyes blinked open, confusion etched across her brow as she tried to orient herself. I smiled, dragging my knuckles across her cheek, and she exhaled slowly, stilling against me.

“Are you okay?” I asked, and she nodded slowly, yawning and rubbing her face. I checked my watch and sighed. It was already 5 am—I only woke up this early when I wanted to… My eyes widened, and I grinned at Grace, sending her a vision of herself on a surfboard.

Her face lit up with interest, and I pressed a finger to my lips, gesturing for her to follow me out of the bed. Erik was somehow still asleep after all that, and I didn’t want to wake him. I led Grace into the shared bathroom and left her to get ready while I went to my room and grabbed my gear. I still had her bikini stowed with my gear, as well as the small wetsuit I’d picked up on a whim, excited about the prospect of having someone to finally surf with. I gave her the suits to get dressed and headed downstairs to load up the Jeep. I had a smaller board that would work for Grace, and I doubted we’d do more than float and get our balance this morning anyway.

Once the boards were secured in the Jeep, I headed back inside to get Grace. Halfway to the stairs I slammed into something solid and invisible, my hands shooting out to catch myself. Levy flickered into view, looking sheepish and signing apologies. I grinned and slapped him on the chest, too excited to wonder what he was doing wandering around the house at the crack of dawn.

“Surfing?” he asked, giving me a once-over. I’d dragged my wetsuit over my hips but had left the top half undone and hanging around my waist. I nodded, smirking at him with my eyebrow cocked.

“Want to join?” I signed, and he hesitated, looking flustered as if I’d just propositioned him. Not that I would say no to that of course, but I was a bit too gentle for him, and I think it made him nervous. His eyes flicked to the stairs, and I turned to see Grace walking toward us. Her hair was up in a messy bun like mine, her wetsuit pulled up but left open at the front, giving us an eyeful of her little red bikini. She smiled at Levy, who promptly flickered out of view, and I clapped him on the shoulder roughly, sending him a vision of him sitting on the beach while we surfed.

“Come on, man, I could use the help to keep Grace safe,” I signed, and his hands faded into view briefly, signing a quick agreement. I grinned and caught Grace around the waist, kissing her on the forehead and pulling her toward the garage. I shot Erik a quick text letting him know I was kidnapping our damaged duo, and we climbed into my Jeep, heading off toward the beach.

The conditions weren’t ideal this morning, but that only meant my spot wasn’t teeming with other surfers for once, and that was fine by me. Levy faded into view when we arrived and helped me with the surfboards, carrying Grace’s for her. Her excitement was palpable as we neared the ocean, and she zipped up her suit, staring at the small dots of movement already catching the waves. Levy set the board in the sand where the surf was lapping against the shore, and I quickly explained to Grace how we would paddle out and started practicing standing on the board. I helped her secure the leash to her ankle. She beamed up at Levy and gave him a quick kiss as he handed over her board. I smirked and mimicked her actions, catching him off guard as my lips brushed his.

“Stay close.” I grinned at him, tossing him my phone as he flickered briefly, his cheeks red. Nudging Grace with my hip, I grabbed my board and ran toward the ocean, tossing it down into the water and sliding across it on my stomach.

She followed suit, a lot more cautiously though, setting it down in the water and slipping on top of it. I demonstrated how to paddle on the board, and together we made our way out to the surf line. Grace was a little out of breath when we got there, and I helped steady her as she moved to sit up on the board so we could watch for waves. I turned to wave at Levy, who was sitting and watching us from the beach, and Grace did the same, blowing him a little kiss .

“Remember princess, you tell me when you get tired, no pushing yourself. It’s dangerous to get too tired in the ocean,” I explained, and she nodded.

“I’ll let you know,” she assured me.

My princess took to surfing as quickly as she’d taken to the ocean the first time we’d come here. We practiced kneeling on the board, then shifting up to stand, over and over until she got her sea legs, no longer wobbling like a baby deer when she stood up. Her fierce determination every time she climbed to her feet made me beam with pride, and the urge to tackle her into the water and wrap myself around her was hard to ignore. But we were here for a reason, and that reason was beginning to crest as the waves picked up.

I showed her how to spot a building wave, and we paddled further out, meeting it as it swelled and climbing to our feet to ride it out. The first few times, Grace landed in the water immediately, coming up sputtering and grabbing for her board. The eighth wave, she stayed on, her feet braced as she wobbled, riding the little crest of water with a grin from ear to ear.

I saw Levy on the beach on his feet, jumping around like an idiot, probably cheering for her. She laughed and held out her arms wide, tipping back until she fell into the water, and I couldn’t help but laugh as she came up for air, looking reborn.

The ocean cured all ails.

We kept at it for another hour, until the waves got too choppy and Grace’s legs were starting to shake from the exertion. We rode one last wave on our knees and let it propel us back into shore. Levy was there to greet us, helping Grace pull her board up into the sand. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were bright as I helped her undo the leash .

“Did you have fun?” I signed, grinning, and she launched herself into my arms, nearly toppling me over. I held her tightly, her small form trembling in my arms, and I knew it wasn’t all from exhaustion. Healing took an emotional toll, and the ocean took its tithe in tears, sweat and blood. A large presence warmed me from behind, Levy’s hand on my back steadying me as I held Grace.

When she finally pulled away, her eyes were rimmed red. She smiled sheepishly and pressed her lips to my cheek. I smiled and tweaked her nose gently, leaning back into Levy and twisting to catch his eye. He was unusually comfortable with my casual touches today, not shying back as he typically would. Maybe the ocean had a little healing for him as well.

“Breakfast?” I asked them both, and they nodded, Grace wiping her face with the back of her hand. We carried the boards back to the Jeep and grabbed our shoes out of the back seat. I tugged my wetsuit off my shoulders and grabbed a tank top out of my trunk. Grace stripped down to her bikini and pulled her cover-up out, the crocheted dress covering barely anything. When she let her hair down to air dry, I realized that both Levy and I were ogling her shamelessly. It was easy to see that our haunted friend was head over heels for the little blond we’d kidnapped, and it warmed my heart to see him this way.

When Grace bent down to tie up her sandal strap, I reached over and grabbed Levy’s ass. He jumped and I grinned at him cheekily. He shifted in a blink, and I was pinned against the side of the Jeep, Levy’s arms caging me in.

Hmm, this is new.

I toyed with my tongue piercing, letting it peak out as I smirked up at him. Levy’s eyes were a dazzling blue in the early morning light, like the ocean with their hints of green, as he tracked the movement of my tongue across my bottom lip. I sent a quick flash, no more than a second, of a pierced tongue running up the length of a cock. Levy’s cheeks flamed red, but he didn’t pull away. If anything, his hips moved closer, nearly brushing against mine. Oh, Ghost. The fun we could have together. I sent him another vision, of me asleep this time, with him hovering over me, touching me. I knew what he liked, and he needed to know that I was game if he was.

Levy’s hand dropped to my neck, cupping it as if he would drag me in for a kiss, his eyes wide and conflicted. His thumb stroked across my skin, drifting over my pulse point, and I tilted my chin up, showing how comfortable I was under his grip. It was a waiting game with Levy, and fuck, had I been waiting a long time.

His gaze finally broke away from mine, and we both looked over to see Grace smiling, her eyes lit up with interest as she watched us. Right, we were getting food. Levy pulled away from me quickly, and I grabbed Grace’s hand, lacing my fingers with hers. They followed me as I led them down the boardwalk, which was still quiet this early in the morning.

Trevor’s food truck looked closed, but I knew better. Walking up to the side door, I knocked a silly little code that he’d come up with, the door popped open, and Trevor stuck his head out, grinning at me. I held up three fingers, and he nodded, greeting Grace and Levy as someone behind him scurried around, preparing food. Trevor used the mornings for food prep only, but a few local surfers who were in good with him knew that if you came by and used the special knock, he’d have some breakfast wraps heated up and ready to go. He’d been a competitive surfer for years until a couple of compacted discs and a snapped femur had taken him out of the game.

His colleague appeared with a large paper bag that smelled like heaven, and I took it with a smile, shooting Trevor a wink and signing him a thanks. Grace took the lead this time, walking us to the public tables where we’d eaten before. Levy took a seat next to Grace as I sat across from them, handing them each a wrapped burrito and a can of cold brew, which she snatched excitedly and cracked open. I smiled at my two ocean converts, admiring how the fresh air had lightened the dark circles under Levy’s eyes, bringing him to life in the soft morning light.

Grace devoured her breakfast with a hunger that had me wishing I’d gotten her two. I forgot how taxing surfing was when you weren’t used to it. I watched as people began to filter onto the boardwalk; some were surfers like us, others were shop owners getting ready to open their businesses for the day. “How long have you been coming here?” Grace asked, crumpling up her wrapper and dropping it into our empty bag.

“Since I was a kid,” I signed back, smiling. “My mom would bring me here a lot when I was little. I started surfing when I was twelve.” She nodded thoughtfully, sipping on her cold brew.

“Have you ever tried?” Grace asked Levy, and he shook his head quickly, dimming a little until I could see the table behind him.

“I can’t swim,” he replied sheepishly, and I grimaced. This was an area of contention with us. I’d been begging him to let me teach him for years now. You couldn’t live beside an ocean and not know how to fucking swim.

“Levy! We need to teach you,” Grace admonished, and I grinned, nodding in agreement. Now that it was two against one, he’d have to give in eventually. We finished our breakfast, chatting as the tables slowly began to fill with people. When it got busy enough where Levy started to look anxious, we cleaned up our mess, and I held onto Grace’s hand as we headed back to the Jeep, Levy grinning on the other side of her.

Something prickled behind my ear, just a hint of a warning as we approached the car. I tugged Grace to a stop and motioned for Levy to stay with her as I approached alone, trying to pinpoint what was setting off the nagging feeling of worry in my bones.

The back tire looked funny. I frowned and ran my finger over the tread, finding a thin slit in the rubber where someone had stabbed it. Rage bubbled up in my chest. Who the fuck would vandalise my Jeep?! I crouched to examine the tire closer, and something caught my eye, a little red glint underneath the driver’s side. I dropped down on my hands to get a better look and saw a mess of wires and something small and black tapped to the underside.

I was on my feet faster that I could blink, flashing Levy an image of the device. He grabbed Grace’s hand and turned, running back toward the boardwalk with me right behind them. We were nearly at the store fronts when the air around us tremored, and something threw me forward, knocking the air out of my lungs.