Page 10 of Rock of Stages (Moonlight Siren #4)

NAIYA

“ T he best of both worlds.” I sighed deeply as I flopped onto a lounge chair in the powdery sand and faced the sea.

The tide rolled in with white-tipped waves kissing the shore.

Ah, the sun felt good, its warmth caressing my body.

Palm trees swayed around us with the breeze whispering through the leaves.

The salty ocean scent tickled my nostrils, calling me to return. Yes, soon.

“Indeed.” Caleb stretched out on a chair beside me, his long, muscular legs hanging over the edge.

The gray camouflage swim trunks weren’t fooling anyone—he was not blending in.

Not when he wore those and nothing else.

Rather, he was very, very noticeable. How could he not be with all that hard muscle, like chiseled stone?

And he was so close to me, mouthwatering and tempting…

Van strutted over with a drink in his hand, wearing tiny, leopard-print swim bottoms and matching, over-sized sunglasses. “Would you look at that? Our favorite grumpy gargoyle lounging on the beach.” He flashed a teasing smirk.

Caleb grunted. “Looks like the cat dragged himself in.” He nudged his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose and narrowed his eyes at Van. “What in the name of all-that-I-have-to-banish-from-my-mind are you wearing? A banana hammock?”

Van turned in one direction and then the other. “What a find. Matches my sunglasses.”

“You look like you’re posing for a studs-with-cats calendar,” Caleb grumbled.

Van chuckled as he sat down in his lounge chair and put his drink beside him. He motioned down the front of his chest. “I’d be a good Mr. January. Stud and big cat, all rolled into one, baby.”

Their teasing wasn’t malicious, but playful, like they were family. I admired their closeness. I’d always felt different from my pod—an outcast. Could I actually find where I belong outside of it? Above land…

With Calum…

Wait, why was I thinking this way? We’d only just met. He was land and rock, I was sea and fins. Our worlds didn’t mesh.

Van pointed at the sky and glanced at Caleb. “Careful, the sun might turn you to stone.”

“It feels good on my stone.” Caleb rolled his muscular shoulders.

I gaped at him. I’d seen him as a gray-winged gargoyle with leathery skin and in this gorgeous human form. “Can you turn to stone?”

“Same as you can shift to legs. Not much need for gargoyles to watch from stone on a ship so I don’t do so often.” He grinned at me. “Want to see?”

I nodded slowly as I continued to stare at him. Already fascinated by his body, I wondered what else he could do with it. “Of course.”

He climbed off the lounge chair, standing tall, but then his body contorted and shifted, turning slate gray as he crouched down.

In the next blink, he loomed beside me stone-hard—a gargoyle statue complete with fierce horns, wings pointing to the sky, a massive tail, and exaggerated features frozen in a grimace.

Van slow-clapped. “Very Cirque du Statuesque.”

“Excellent party trick,” the wolf shifter Rex said as he strode over with a witch with pink hair. “Naiya, this is my mate?—”

“Piper,” she finished enthusiastically. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.

” She beamed with a friendly smile, turned to the stone version of Caleb, blinked a few times, and then threw her head back with a hearty chuckle.

“Wow, he really knows how to flirt.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Kylie, you’ve gotta see this.”

A woman with dark hair under a sun hat and dark sunglasses walked over as Caleb shifted back from stone.

Caleb de-stoned with a huff, back to smoldering broodiness in his human form. “I’m not flirting,” he grumbled.

Kylie reached us, exchanged an amused glance with Piper, and said, “Talk about a rock-hard flex.” They both chuckled as if sharing a private joke.

After we were all introduced, I’d learned about their roles on the ship and their mates. Van’s mate Celeste and Kylie’s mate Damien were both absent as they were vampires who avoided the sun.

A woman with a large beach hat over silvery curls walked by. “Enjoy the beautiful day.”

“You too, Maribelle.” Van straightened and nodded, his voice oddly formal for him.

After she passed by, Caleb leaned over and explained, “That’s Maribelle, a witch who works at the spa. Van gets wary around her since she’d hexed him one night as a prank.”

“What did she do?” I asked.

“Made me look like a fool in front of my mate!” Van leaned over and explained. “Bleating like a sheep, spouting naughty limericks that night. I couldn’t even introduce myself to Celeste as I was afraid I might bray like a donkey.”

“Well, you can be an ass,” Caleb teased. “Maribelle probably did you a favor by forcing you to keep your mouth shut.” He winced as he glanced at Van. “Come on, Naiya, let’s go in the water. Drowning is better than looking at Van wearing that leopard-print abomination.”

“You? Water?” Van declared with wide-eyed amazement. “Naiya, you’re good for our grump Caleb. Getting this stone slab to swim, not sink? Amazing!”

I turned away from Van while I peeled off my sundress, a peach one that Caleb had bought for me.

I stuffed it into the beach tote with the Moonlight Siren logo.

Behind the sunglasses, I could see his gaze travel over me.

I only wore a pink bikini, which he’d also bought for me.

The way he looked at me made my skin burn with awareness, far more potent than the sun beaming down on us.

Van waved a hand. “Have fun splashing around. We’ll stand guard from here in case you start to sink, Cal.”

“What a hero,” Caleb muttered. He took my hand and we walked through the sand. I relished the soft bristle against my feet. The sea appeared and inviting, shimmering turquoise and so clear I could see tiny yellow fish swimming below.

When we reached the shore, I stepped right in, but he hesitated as water covered his toes.

“Come on, it’s warm,” I encouraged him.

He paused. “I’m not much of a beach guy. And definitely not the biggest fan of open water.”

I cocked my head. “Then why are you going in?”

He stared at me for several seconds before his lips parted. “To be with you.” His voice came out lower, sounding more vulnerable.

That admission made my heart flutter. I leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Once we waded out far enough that the waves hugged our waists, he relaxed a little. I ducked under the surface and swam around him, playfully grabbing his leg. He swooped a giant arm around me and pulled me close.

“Gotcha.”

I looped my arms around his neck as water dripped down my face and hair and teased, “Mmm, what are you planning to do with me?”

He pushed his sunglasses up on his head and glanced down at me, his blue-gray eyes darkening with heat.

“This.” He bent down slowly as he lifted me higher by the waist. He kissed me, softly at first, but then deepened it.

My body lit up as heat curled in my belly and shot through every nerve. And my brain sizzled.

When he pulled back, I blinked, dazed and breathless. My lips still tingled from the intensity of it.

“Whoo!” Shouts and hollers from the shore drew my attention to see Van pumping his fist and Piper raising a glass.

Caleb groaned. “I swear I’m going to drown those knuckleheads.”

“Go ahead back to them,” I said. “I’ll explore on my own. Check out the reef.” Get hold of myself and this powerful reaction to you.

“Okay.” He lingered for a couple of seconds before kissing my temple and heading back to shore. His muscular legs cut through the water like cliffs breaking through waves.

I dove beneath the surface, slicing through the welcoming embrace of the salty sea. My magic flowed through me and my legs reformed to a tail and my scales and fins returned. The reef ahead shimmered with bright pink coral and colorful fish. This was my element. My home. And yet…

A part of me yearned to be back on shore with Caleb.

What was going on and what was I going to do about it? While I swam, I wrestled through my conflicting emotions.

The current shifted. Something moved in my periphery. A figure swimming toward me.

A selkie.

Slick dark hair framed his angular face. He swam in an unnervingly smooth way.

“Well, well…didn’t expect to find a pearl in this tide pool,” he said with an oily smile.

I narrowed my eyes, instantly disliking his slick tone. Could this be the same selkie who’d fought Caleb?

“I’m Angus,” he said, confirming my suspicion. He bent forward in a slight bow that made his form shimmer in the water. “In case my reputation has preceded me.” He paused and stared at me. “And I know who you are.”

My heart thudded. “How?”

“Come now, you can’t seriously be interested in that piece of rock.” He ignored my question as he swam beside me.

“What do you want?”

He tsked. “I get it. You’re curious. Playing house on land.” He swam in a slow circle around me. “But sooner or later, you’ll miss the sea. And when that stone-faced statue starts cracking, you’ll want to return to it—and those who reside in it.”

“Goodbye,” I said sharply and swam.

Angus blocked me. “That giant rock will take everything from you, like he has me.” He sneered. “We’ll talk again, Naiya .” His lips curled into a smirk. “Soon.”

Not if I could help it.

I surged past him and swooshed my tail, splashing water his way. As I swam for the surface, I remained on edge, thinking this selkie would reach out and grab me at any second. He knew my name. Knew far too much about Caleb and me.

All I wanted was to rush back to Caleb and take refuge in his powerful arms.