Page 53 of Kai
Only then did I disarm the RPG, stow it back in its case, and return it to my weapons cache. We’d avoided detection. Not that I was gonna let my guard down, but from a security standpoint, we were in decent shape.
When I turned around, I found Cece sitting at the edgeof the western rim with her legs dangling over the cliff, taking in the spectacular sunset. The orange rays of the sinking sun caressed her upturned face, coating her skin with a gilded glow that ignited her figure as if she were a living flame.
I lowered myself next to her, and leaning back, braced on my hands to enjoy nature’s ultimate performance and, even better, to admire the wonder that lit her gaze. Her eyes followed the sun’s descent as it nestled into a bed of low clouds swathing the horizon. Like Cece, the clouds seemed to catch fire, kindled with burned oranges and firing a fan of golden rays into the sky, the sun’s last, desperate attempt to maintain its rule over the sky.
Cece’s chest rose in a deep inhale as she took it all in. With her next exhale, I sensed her releasing the stress of the long day, or perhaps the tension of the three long years she’d spent alone. The stiffness that squared her shoulder relented. Her body relaxed.
She surprised me when she settled her right hand over my left. It seemed natural when I took her fingers, brought them up to my lips, and kissed her knuckles before I held her hand against my chest.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump. My heart beat a little harder, as if it wanted her to hear it, to acknowledge its existence amid the silence between us.
The smile she gifted was more than I could’ve hoped for, a beautiful sight on her usually serious face. When she leaned against my side and rested the side of her head against my shoulder, my heart skipped.
I lifted my arm and settled it over her shoulder. The contact soothed me like the view of the cove’s serene waters below. It also thrilled me. I couldn’t help feeling as if something was shifting between us, as if the coming darkness promised me the light of Cece, and the fire in the sky was a sign of rebirth.
We sat together, listening to the waves pounding the cliffs behind us, and to the last tweets of the birds as they found shelter among the cliffs and the trees. The cove below reflected the colors of the sky, adding fuchsias to the gilded water. For a moment, it was as if Cece and I existed all alone in the safety of each other’s company. It felt right, sweet as sugarcane, and yeah, meant to be.
I didn’t say a word, didn’t want to spoil the moment’s perfection, or interrupt the sense of peace that settled on us. Then the sun sank into the ocean and gave dusk its turn, short as it may be.
“That was… beautiful,” Cece whispered, her voice soft with awe.
“You’ve never noticed the amazing sunsets in these parts?” I asked.
“I was always too busy with my work.” A gleam of sadness passed through her gaze. “It seems as if I’ve been missing a lot.”
I planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head. “Time to catch up, then.”
Tightening her grip around my hand, she closed her eyes and took in another deep breath. “Even the air smells different tonight.”
“Different?” I asked.
“Sweeter. Crisp but floral with whiffs of pineapple and coconut. Special.”
“You’re smelling Hawaii, Sorceress, perhaps for the first time, even though you’ve been here for a while.”
“Well…” Her gaze roamed the view. “I’m glad I saw it, smelled it, felt it today.”
“What did you feel?”
“Something new,” she offered quietly. “Something… beautiful.”
Her pale eyes fell on me. Hope fluttered in my chest. Wasshe talking only about the view?
Don’t push her when she’s not sure, whenyou’re not sure.
“Next up, a scramble down the cliff and a night swim.” I released her hand, got to my feet, and got busy covering my cache with a tarp. We’d made progress today. “I brought headlamps for us.” I slid them out of my pack, turned with them in my hand, and found Cece standing only a few feet away from me. “Are you ready to get the hell out of here?”
“No.”
The desire I spotted in her stare heated my blood. I inhaled a leveling breath. Framed by the dusk’s blue radiance, her silhouette shimmered with the light. Her gaze pinned me in place. When she lowered her eyes to my mouth, my blood went into an instant boil and my dick turned to metal.
“Kai?” she breathed.
“I’m here,” I murmured, holding my breath. “Right here.”
“You’re a rare and remarkable man.”
“Says the rarest and most remarkable woman I’ve ever met.”
