Page 21 of Stone Deep
“I think not letting things get serious was part of my survival technique. Growing up, if I’d let things get into my head, I’m not too sure I would have made it to adulthood.” He paused as if he was thinking about what he’d just said. As if it was the first time he’d actually said it out loud.
“See, you can take things seriously,” I said quietly.
“When I feel the need to. For awhile, Colt, Hunter and I worked together doing—well—let’s just say making money. But now we’re all doing our own thing. Colt and Hunter are busy fixing up an old house to sell. For me, I love working on the water. It’s the one trait I inherited from my old man.”
“I’m going to assume that since we’re on this road trip together there is no significant girl in your life.”
“I’m the last Stone unturned or I guess the last Stone wolf. Get it? Like lone wolf.”
“Got it.”
“What about you, Tink?”
“No one special in my life.” Somehow I justified the lie by adding in the wordspecialas a qualifier. “Now that my sister is gone, I’m the only child. It’s different when you’re born with a twin. You’re never the only child, never alone. Perris and I were physically identical.” I thought about the one thing that made her look different and smiled to myself. “When she was eight, Perris burned her forehead so badly with a curling iron she had a little triangle shaped scar. I think that scar helped people tell us apart. Of course, our personalities were different, almost mirror images, in fact. She was more introverted. She liked to read and write. I was more of an athlete. I liked to play soccer and ride skateboards. Perris also had some pretty serious mood swings. Looking back now, I realize she was struggling with depression. I’m sure that’s what eventually led her to drugs.”
“Sounds like she went through the same stuff as my mom. That’s how we lost her. Guess it’s an easy escape.”
I leaned back, and, as happened so often, my thoughts drifted back to Perris. One of her favorite Nirvana songs came on the radio. “I’m not sure how I missed it.” I’d meant the words for my own head but I spoke them aloud instead. “Her depression, her spiraling out of control with addiction. As kids, I swear we could feel each other’s pain and joy even if we weren’t in the same room. Once, we were at a party, we couldn’t have been more than six, and I remember standing in the kitchen eating an ice cream. Perris was outside on the swing set. This terrible pain shotthrough my arm. My ice cream cone flopped onto the floor. Then I heard Perris crying uncontrollably outside. She’d fallen off the slide and dislocated her shoulder.”
“Wow. That is one for the science books.”
“No one believed me, of course, but I’d felt it. I’d felt Perris’s pain. It was like that all of our lives, but after we moved out this way together, she went off with Damon. I don’t understand why I didn’t know how bad things were getting.”
“Britton, you can’t blame yourself.”
I stared down at the tiny flower pattern on my dress. “Yeah, maybe not.” I thought again about the missed voicemail, the last words I had from Perris. I pushed them from my head.
I picked up Slade’s phone to check our location. There was a text. “Uh, Sherry would like to know if you want to come over for some strip poker. She said Ginny will be there too.” I looked up at him. He didn’t look the slightest bit embarrassed. Of course, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would ever be embarrassed. “How shall I reply?” I asked holding back a grin. Before he could answer, I typed a response and pressed send.
He shot me a questioning glance.
“I told Sherry that you have a date with a pair of lavender panties and that you’d talk to her later.” Slade was uncharacteristically silent, and I felt silly for sending the text. “Unless you want to turn around and head back.”
“Huh? No, I wasn’t thinking about the text. I’m back to thinking about those purple panties.”
I laughed. “You, sir, always know exactly what to sayto turn me into a loose, wanton woman.” I swiveled in my seat to face him again. “And I think you deserve a second glance at the infamous purple panties.” I spread my legs and inched my dress up my thighs.
He glanced down at my exposed panties. “Damn, they’re just as hot the second time.” His fingers gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as he reluctantly pulled his hungry gaze away from me and back to the road. He turned suddenly, and a shocked squeak shot from my mouth as I grabbed the edge of the seat to keep from being bounced off.
He pulled the car off onto a long strip of gravel and sand. “Knew that all-wheel drive was handy for something.” We were on a patch of weedy dirt overlooking the ocean, a good vista point for picture taking during the day. But it was close to midnight, and the place was deserted and just far enough off the highway to be out of the way of passing headlights.
He motioned with his thumb behind him. “Backseat, lavender panty girl. I’ve been driving a long time, and this is my kind of rest stop.”
We opened the doors. Another squeal shot from my lips, but this one was more of excited anticipation than shock. We climbed into the backseat and quickly discovered that Slade was just a little too big for the average backseat.
“Wait,” he said, “I know just what to do.” He turned to the side and stretched his long legs across the seat.
I looked at the way he’d professionally positioned himself. “Nice. I’d almost think that you had done this before.”
“Maybe once or twice but never with a freakin’ pair of lavender panties.” He paused. “Oh wait, scratch that.” Hepaused in thought again. “But never with a girl as fucking hot as you.”
I pushed up his shirt. The stitches had been removed from the gash, but the skin along it was puckered and still slightly swollen. “What about this?”
“When you are part Superman, which according to the nurses I must be, wounds like this heal fast.”
He pulled me onto his lap and I straddled him. “Kidding aside, Tink,” his voice lowered and a more serious expression crossed his face, “you’ve got my head spinning in every direction.” He pulled my face down to his and kissed me. His erection pushed against my pussy as his hands smoothed up under my dress and along my back. “Watching you sleep was making me so fucking hot for you.” He slipped the dress strap off my shoulder and exposed my naked breast. He watched from beneath heavy lids as he teased my nipple erect with his thumb and forefinger. “Every part of you is such a fucking turn on, baby.” His mouth returned to mine. His tongue ran long, lazy strokes across my lips. “Slip those purple panties off. I want to feel your hot pussy around my cock.”
His caresses and dirty talk spurred me into action. I bumped my head as I climbed up and off. With a laugh, I fell onto the opposite seat. I slipped off my sandals and braced my bare feet against his thigh to lift my bottom. He watched with his dark green eyes as I shimmied the panties off.
