Page 24 of Kai
“Okay,” I mumbled. “I’ll try.”
Moving slowly, I crawled a few inches. The surfboard challenged my balance, or my lack of balance, I should say. Tentatively, I scooted forward on all fours until I settled on my shins and sat up.
“Beautiful.” He fiddled with a few things before he swam around and mounted the back of the surfboard in a smooth glide that barely swayed the thing. Then he was up on his feet, still wearing all his gear, minus the fins, which now hung from his vest. When I scooted around to face him, he held a tube in his hands, a contraption he elongated before he clicked on a button that converted the lower end into a paddle.
“You brought a paddle with you?” I asked, looking up at his face even though I was almost eye-level with some interesting parts of him.
“I brought many things with me,” he said.
“Are you always this well prepared?”
“I’m a Marine Raider, so yes.” He unzipped a compartment on his vest and extracted two pouches. After cracking the top, he handed one to me. “Concentrated protein and electrolytes in a few sips. Drink up. This should hold you over for a few.”
I didn’t admit how much I needed the drink that slid down my throat, quenched my terrible thirst, and smoothed the raw surfaces of my throat. Whether the salt or my screams had caused the abrasion, I had no clue, but I downed the silky fluid gratefully. Between my empty stomach and my parched mouth, I now knew how shitty shipwrecked sailors felt when lost at sea. I squirted the pouch and wolfed down that stuff so fast that a burp surprised me at the end.
“Sorry.” I covered my mouth and burped again. “Terrible manners.”
“You be you.” His chuckles were as comforting as the protein drink. “We’re not in the Astor world. Let me take that.” He stuffed my empty pouch back into his vest, demonstrating he was not just gorgeous, smart, and skilled, but environmentally conscious as well. He offered me his drink. “Want some of mine?”
“I’m not dumb enough to suck down the fuel of the guy paddling me to safety.”
“Smart point.”
He threw his head back and drew from the pouch. His throat bobbed as he guzzled down his drink. I fought another melting-between-the-legs episode at the sight of his wide shoulders, his powerful neck, and his masculine Adam’s apple sliding up and down on his muscular throat. Wrapped in the velvety night and bathed in the silver light, I must’ve been moonstruck because Kai was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.
Or perhaps I was just drunk on the Pacific’s water. Yeah. That had to be it.
If I had a list of the attributes I wanted in a man, gorgeous, strong, smart, capable, and environmentally friendly would all be up there. Kind, cool, collected, determined, and brave would be at the top as well. But I didn’t want a man andhad made it my mission in life not to have such a stupid list. On the contrary. My siblings called me the no-love sister. In my experience, with the exception of Nix and Dash, men fit into one of four categories: assholes, gold diggers, idiots, and my most commonly used, all of the above.
“You okay?” Kai scrunched his empty pouch and put it away.
“I’ll live,” I tossed out, making light of his concern.
“See?” He braced on his feet and paddled us forward, displaying enviable balance. “We made it out, and those fuckers don’t have a clue.”
“Awesome.” I stilled myself by sprawling my hands on the board and glanced up at him. “And dangerous. For you. I might yet beat you up. You scared the shit out of me with that midnight surfing crap. You’re a cocky-ass Marine, aren’t you?”
“I might be a little cocky, but you like me.” A grin pulled at his mouth as he changed sides and continued paddling. “You might as well admit it and be done with it.”
I pretended to glare at him. “I might be grateful for your help, Mr. King, but don’t let it go to your head.”
The wicked grin he flashed me sent heat to lick my lady bits. “Would it be rude to ask which head?”
“Rudeandinappropriate.” Moving carefully, I shifted myself around and stared straight ahead, kicking myself for craving the wrong head. It was shocking. Me. The unconquerable one. The one withoutthatsort of primitive need. Pressing my thighs together as if anytime now, my pussy was going to combust.
“I won’t ask, then,” he said, his tone playful. “But you do like me.”
“I do not,” I stated even though I shivered and licked my lips when I remembered our kiss. “I may even hate you.”
“You’re brutal.” He teased me with the smile in his voice.“You’re fierce. A menace to civilized society.”
“You got it.”
“It wasn’tthathorrible,” he pointed out as we glided over the water.
“I’m glad it was good for you,” I tossed over my shoulder. “It sucked for me.”
“Sorry about that.” He didn’t miss a beat. “Next time, I’ll make sure it’s good for you, too. That’s a promise.”
