Page 23 of Kai
Another glance showed me the fire engulfing the lighthouse. Flames lapped out of the windows and danced on the roof. Tears pricked my already irritated eyes. The only true refuge I’d ever known would be gone by dawn, burned to ashes. The salt of my tears joined the sea. My life as I knew it was over.
Chapter Eight
Cece
“Looking back is only useful for educational purposes,” Kai said as we turned at the point and the burning lighthouse fell out of view. “You’re safe. The present is all that matters.”
I swallowed the sob in my throat and aimed a glare over my shoulder. Not only was he like Poseidon, god of the seas, but he was also a warrior-surfer-philosopher.
“Now that we’re out of anyone’s line of sight, let’s get you a little more comfortable,” he suggested. With a little push, he slid off the board and slipped into the water with barely a splash.
Panic swelled in my chest. “Don’t go!”
“Not going anywhere, Sorceress.”
He dipped his head in the dark water and surfaced again, his face uptilted. His wet features gleamed under the moonlight, highlighting the copper hues of his skin. His drenched hair lay perfectly back and out of his eyes, baring his face’s handsome construction. He was a gorgeous aquatic creature, beloved of the ocean. He was one with the sea, whereas I was one hell of a shipwreck in progress.
“I’m gonna hold the board,” he explained, floating beside me. “We can rearrange things a little.”
“Oh.” And here I’d thought he was going to leave me all alone. My fear made no sense. I’d been on my own for over three years, but obviously, sometime today, perhaps while I was out at sea, I’d developed abandonment issues.
“How about you pull that yellow tab on your lifejacket now?” he suggested, treading water next to me.
“You mean this one?” I tugged on the little tab. It inflatedthe straps over my shoulders, the ones that were supposed to keep me alive if I fell off the board. “Maybe I should’ve done this earlier,” I grumbled. “You know, when the waves were pounding us to hell?”
“That would’ve been a bad idea.” He perched his forearms on the board, looking as chill as ever and unbothered by the load on his back or the fact that Jaws could be circling him right now, looking for a snack. “We would’ve had to spend more energy to fight the flotation device every time we went under. It would’ve pulled you up, just when you needed to go down.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought of that. For a smart woman, I wasn’t living up to my expectations.
“Shouldn’t you get back on the board?” I asked, my voice shrill. “You know, before a great white eats you?”
He flashed me a wolfish grin. “If a shark eats me tonight, then it was my day to go.”
“What about the stuff you said about fighting like hell for our lives?”
He expanded his smile. “I saidyourlife, recall that?”
“What about your life?”
“It’s not like I’d volunteer to go into a shark’s mouth, but if I lost nature’s contest, at least I’d go down knowing I spent my last few moments of life in the ocean I love.”
“Burial at sea.” I cracked a sinister smile. “Once the shark poops, of course.”
His startled laughter echoed over the watery expanse. “Good one, Sorceress.”
“How about you spare me the shitshow?” I managed a shaky grin. “My nerves are shot. Get back on the board. Yes?”
“As soon as we get you situated.” He stretched his arm across the surfboard, steadying it for me. “Do you think you can scoot forward and sit up on your shins?”
“Nope.” I didn’t even dare shake my head. “If I move, I’llfall off.”
“Come on.” His smile rivaled the moon’s brightness. “I have faith in you.”
I was glad someone did, because I didn’t.
“Try it, please?”
My stomach sloshed with saltwater, and my limbs were as gooey as a beached jellyfish, but that grin—along with the way he’d set my body to tingle with his “please”—did something weird to me. The kaleidoscope of butterflies I’d never known about fluttered their wings in my lower belly and tickled parts of me that should not be this sensitive at the moment. Or ever.
