Page 30 of Kai
No need to work myself into a state of heat with no relief in sight. I wasnothaving sex with this guy and that was final. Forcing my gaze away from him, I snooped around a little.
The catamaran, though much smaller than my father’s super yachts, provided just the right amount of space. The main cabin was brighter and bigger than I remembered from last night. Configured as a spacious open plan, it included a full galley with a kitchen island to my right, a comfortable dining nook to my left, and a lounge that claimed the space behind me and included a state-of-the-art navigation station.
I turned around. Incorporated into the open plan, the helm stood beyond the lounge, facing the forward windows. It included two steering wheels placed on either side of a door that exited right next to the mast and led to the bow. Tons of windows allowed the light to pour into the cabin, brightening an already light interior dominated by blond wood floors and cream leather furniture. The catamaran’s clean lines, efficient design, and elegant construction reminded me of Kai.
I angled to the steering station and gasped at the spectacular view that surrounded me on three sides. A spine of angular cliffs shot up to the sky, sharp blades piercing a wispy veil of fragile clouds. Steep slopes and razor-thin ridges cut through the rugged peaks’ emerald patina. From afar, the lush vegetation draped the elevations like a velvet cloak—rich, opulent, and vibrant. My breath smudged the glass as I pressed my nose to the window and took in the wild beauty surrounding me. If this wasn’t a vision of paradise, nothing was.
I ripped my eyes from the landscape and turned to find Kai, engrossed in his grill, framed by a punch of luminous azure. He fit well into my version of paradise. The naughty impulse to learn more about him had me sneaking down the stairs and peeking into the other hull, where I found another berth and en-suite that mirrored mine. The whole boat exuded a leathery scent, but Kai’s berth smelled like male heat, sunscreen, and hints of coconut.
“Hey.”
I jumped, whirled around, and braced into my fighting stance, only to find Kai standing atop the stairs, holding a spatula in one hand, his face expressionless. He’d caught me snooping.
Bad Cece.
“Aloha, Sorceress.” His vibrant eyes found mine, and a bemused smirk curled his full lips. “Easy now. The last thing Iwanna do is fight you. You’re not in trouble, and I don’t bite.”
If he kept that dazzling smile at work and those dimples provoking me,Imight bitehimin all the right places.
Stop it, will you? You don’t even like sex, and yet you sound like man-crazy Affie.I lowered my hands and came out of my fighting stance. Unlike me, Affie always knew how to have a good time.Would that be so terrible?
Kai widened his grin. “I would’ve shown you around, but I guess you chose the self-guided tour.”
Squaring my shoulders, I reminded myself that this man noticed everything. “I’m pretty sure that if our situations were reversed, you would’ve done some snooping, too.”
“Absolutely.” I spotted no judgment in his eyes. “Hungry?”
“I’m hungry, yes, especially for information.” I tossed my long bangs away from my face and raised my chin in the air. “How about you tell me more about my sisters, how you found me, what we’re doing here, and what happens next?”
“I can do some of that,” he said, agreeable as ever. “However, I like to work from the bottom up when tackling the pyramid of needs.”
“Huh?” I tilted my head and studied the man before me. “You know about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?”
“In true Astor fashion, you just called me dumb.” He let out an amused chuckle. “Just because I’m a lowly Marine and you’re a high and mighty scientist doesn’t mean I don’t have aspirations for self-actualization. How about we start at the lowest level of the pyramid with something simple, like food and drink?”
He’d just put me in my place with a hint of humor. Intellectual humor at that. And he hadn’t pissed me off. Remarkable. I blamed the warmth in his eyes and the playful mirth that carved those dimples. And then there was that sillygrin flirting with my lips, the one I tugged into a straight line, my standard procedure to avoid connecting with people.
Kai ambled to the outdoor table on the back deck. I followed on his heels. As I walked through the sliders, the chirps of birds and the rustle of the breeze added music to the cove.
Kai pulled out a chair and quirked an eyebrow.
“Very gentlemanly.” I taunted him with a smirk.
“Thanks,” he said, and I didn’t detect a single note of sarcasm in his voice. “I find it easy to reconcile opposites. A man can be a gentleman and not be an asshole. He can be both sensitive and strong. Strength doesn’t equate with toxic masculinity, and manners and kindness are not weaknesses in malesorfemales.”
Was that a statement of fact or a dig at me and my hostility?
Either way, it was impressive, kind of like the rest of him.
“That’s quite the little speech, Obi-Kai Kenobi.” Unlike him, I made sure irony dripped from my every word. “Why would I need to know any of that about you?”
“Not big on communication, I see.” His brown eyes glittered, but he kept his tone neutral and his hand on the offered chair. “I thought perhaps you’d feel safer if you understood who I am and what I stand for.”
What he stood for.
It was an interesting thing to say in a world where most people stood for nothing but themselves and their profits, a firm but gentle way to convey he had principles, another rarity. Add to this that he seemed to be relaxed and comfortable in his own skin, and I faced a formidable person.
Without resorting to violence or vitriol, he’d made his stand. With a few words, he’d proven that, unlike most men I knew, he wasn’t a sappy rag I could use to mop the floor with, or an arrogant, self-centered narcissist that wanted to sweep theground with me. He was his own man, and perhaps because of this, he reminded me of Nix and Dash.
