Page 155 of Kai
Another smile came easily to her face. “I like the sound of that.”
“Will you let me give you my pledge, then?”
“Your pledge?”
“It goes like this.” I took her hands between mine. “Cece Astor. You’re a testament to strength. You’re a fighter, a survivor, and a badass. You never quit. You’re kind, strong, fiery, and passionate, and I love everything about you. You’re the rogue wave I follow, the moon to my sun, the win to my losses, and the light in the darkness, my own personal lighthouse.Aloha Aku No, Aloha Mai No.”
“Sounds pretty,” she whispered, her eyes wide and liquid. “What does it mean?”
I brushed my lips over hers. “I give my love to you, you give your love to me.”
***
Cece
The things this man said had me sighing and sniffling like a love-stricken fool. And yet if love was a disease, as I’d once believed,I’d caught it. I had no hope of recovery from such a sweet emotion. I was okay with that.
Kai’s aura was in full and glorious display. Heat licked my skin, a new sensation I might’ve missed had I not been so present in the moment. I lifted my arm and stared at my hand, blinking several times before I recognized the light that radiated… from me.
I gasped, turning my arm one way and then the other.
Kai cocked his eyebrows at me. “What is it?”
“It’s my aura!” I marveled at the sight. “My life energy! For the first time, I can see it!”
“What color is it?” Kai asked. “No, wait. Let me guess. It’s… multicolored.”
He was right, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the soft radiance. A quiet hum caressed my ears, not unlike the one that sang to me when Kai’s aura made an appearance.
“I bet it looks like a rainbow,” Kai offered. “Why do you look so surprised?”
“More like shocked.” I examined my wrists and my fingers. “I’ve been so angry for so long I thought my aura would be blah, you know, creamy brown, maybe even black.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kai said. “While Matt worked on me, I asked him if he knew anything about life energies. Turns out he took a class on alternative healing in college. If I understood him, rainbow auras are common in those who can visualize auras, light workers like you, who sense other people’s energies.”
“But I’m glowing, Kai, and the colors are beautiful!”
“Like you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I bet that the silver-blue light that shines in your eyes edges each color in your rainbow energy. The whole thing glows like a high-wattage lantern. And I bet it sparkles. Am I right?”
“Wow.” He’d described it perfectly. “Can you see it?”
“No,” he admitted. “But I can imagine it, and it’s asgorgeous and luminous as you are.”
“Oh, Kai.” My grin hurt my face as my life energy caressed me softly, illuminating me from the inside out. “After a life of denying that love exists, turns out I’m crazy about you. Shame I can’t speak pretty words like you do. Or sing you a sweet Hawaiian love song to the music of the ukulele you don’t play.”
He laughed at that. “I can always learn, you know.”
“You could.” I gave him a little shrug. “Or perhaps you can teach me a hula dance, loincloth optional?”
“You little minx.”
He lowered his face until we were nose to nose. Our eyes locked, and he nuzzled me with a gentleness that warmed my bones. Despite the clinical smells of antiseptic, his scent enveloped me—ocean breeze, fresh grass, and tropical hibiscus. Our lips drifted closer together until they merged. Lowering my eyelids, I shut out the rest of the world and allowed myself to feel him, only him.
His mouth was both commanding and gentle. His tongue rolled in and out, driving me wild. My skin tingled in all the right places. Moisture pooled between my legs. I went from being bone-tired to feeling alert and alive. I yearned to be filled, to love and be loved.
“Beware, Marine.” I brushed my lips over the corner of his mouth. “You’re reducing the probability of napping for both of us to zero percent.”
“Wanna join the mile low club with me?” he asked as his mouth slid down my neck.
