Page 13 of Kai (Alpha Heroes #13)

Kai

Noon found us on Serenity, my sailing catamaran.

I’d moored it at one of the most remote spots in the Hawaiian chain, a secluded coastal inlet on the western slope of an uninhabited island, an area I knew well.

Wearing gloves, I stood at the fish cleaning station on the stern deck, whistling while gutting the fish I’d caught earlier.

High cliffs protected the cove from prevailing winds and curious eyes.

The sharp volcanic ridges that rose only a few feet from the beach split the long, narrow island and prevented land access to the cove where I’d moored Serenity .

The island wrapped around the cove like a protective horseshoe.

A convoluted route through a treacherous reef offered the only way in, and a narrow entrance protected the inlet.

I was one of the few people who dared navigate the route.

The cove was one of my favorite places in the world.

Serenity looked as if she belonged in a brochure as she stood against a background of blue-green waters, lush vegetation, and rugged volcanic ridges.

Sunlight shimmered over the calm water. Birds chirped and warbled all around us, hiding in the lush foliage that grew at the edge of the beach and climbed up the steep slopes.

The murmur of the small waves flirting with the hull and kissing the sand soothed my ears.

I embraced this moment of peace. On the beach, a curlew probed the sand with its down-curved bill, looking for a meal.

A speckled tern flew over the water, no doubt on the hunt.

Other than the birds and the fish clearly visible swimming in the crystal water, there was no one else around.

I cleaned out the fish’s guts and washed it in the outdoor sink. Then I scraped the scales. Rasp, rasp, rasp . Cece would wake up soon, and even though I’d fed her some hot soup and lots of water before she crashed last night, she needed a proper meal.

The NWO would no doubt assume I’d made a run across the main channel to reach the populated islands and head straight to Astor House.

By now, they were probably focused on combing the channel and surveilling every airport, seaport, and marina within range.

This was why I’d sailed us out here, away from the key transportation hubs and the main channel.

The only way they could find us here was if they homed in on Serenity ’s beacon, relied on satellite technology, or conducted a widespread aerial search.

The NWO had the resources to do all this, but I’d turned off the catamaran’s maritime beacon well before I sailed to Misty Island.

I’d also equipped my vessel with a surveillance system that would alert us to unwanted company.

In addition, I’d activated BB’s new experimental shield.

It was a marvel of innovative tech, a BB collaboration with NASA and the Pentagon, and yet the keyword was “experimental.” If it worked, it would make us invisible to the eye and safeguard our thermal imaging. If it didn’t work…

That could be a problem.

After downing a healthy dose of over-the-counter painkillers to deal with yesterday’s bruises, I’d swum to shore and set up cameras, lasers, and gear caches throughout the island.

A continuous live feed now played on my Tak and on the monitors of my navigation station.

I’d done all of this before noon. Then I’d taken a nap.

I felt good and ready for action. The NWO was not gonna get their hands on Cece.

Cece.

When she’d kissed me last night, prickles of awareness had converged on a certain part of me that had no business being in my business.

It was shocking. Never before had I experienced an erection during a mission.

For an instant, her scent had prevailed over all others, enveloping me with a hint of plumerias.

What were the odds that a woman, any woman, smelled like my favorite flower without wearing perfume?

As I hugged her to my chest and feasted on her lips, the notes of a mele played in my head. The way she clung to me and kept kissing me with such unexpected passion had me wondering if she’d been listening to the same Hawaiian love song in her head.

Holy shit . Could this be? Was there a natural attraction between us? Did it have anything to do with the connection Thena and Missy had talked about?

No way . I was an open-minded dude. But this fast?

I had to be making up shit in my head.

Maybe I’d been predisposed to like Cece. Perhaps my imagination was playing some kind of fucked-up game. Was the universe tossing me a bone at the worst possible time? An inkling of fear squeezed my gut. Was bitchy Life getting ready to fuck me and my mission over, big time?

I forced my jaw to unclench. With the fish cleaned and filleted, I set the meat on a clean cutting board, discarded my gloves, and, after stepping through the sliders, padded into the galley.

Serenity was only a year old. She still had that new boat smell.

I could manage all her sails with the touch of a few buttons.

She was sleek, fast, and loaded with the latest technology, a real beauty, and a dream to sail.

Dagger hadn’t been fully on board with me using my private boat. He knew the risks, but in the end, he understood. Serenity and I were partners, and this mission required an agile vessel that offered adequate protection and a measure of comfort to Cece.

My thoughts returned to her again. She looked exhausted last night, and not just from our ordeal. I had a feeling the last three years had taken a severe toll on her. The smudges beneath her eyes spoke of permanent exhaustion, the type of weariness that sifted into a person’s soul.

Still, she sure knew how to put up a tough facade and keep it on. When she got mad, the severity of her expression could make hell and the tropics freeze over. And when the little lines between her eyes deepened?

Watch out, world.

Thena and Missy had warned me that Cece used her attitude, sarcasm, and temper to keep people away.

But Sorceress had also kicked ass and risked her life for mine.

She had guts and heart, and she didn’t pretend to be anything other than who she was, a rare trait in a world full of Instagram fakes.

Hell, her sisters had told me she’d never even owned a social media account.

I loved the honesty that shone in her diamond-bright eyes.

I didn’t have to guess. She wore her emotions on her face.

Sure, she was all insolence, arrogance, and disdain when she was on the defensive, but she was also brilliant and brave.

When she smiled, the world around me lit up with color and felt like a much better place to me.

She was also gorgeous, and by that I meant everywhere .

I knew this because she’d been too exhausted to take care of herself last night. I’d ended up standing in the shower with her sitting on the bench, rinsing the sand and salt off her. It’d been no hardship to pour the gel on the washcloth and work the soap over her naked body.

My fingers had twitched with the need to skate over her pale skin, but I kept it as professional as the situation allowed.

Even so, I couldn’t help tracing the path of the suds with my eyes.

The bubbles slid down the slopes of her plump, tear-shaped breasts, descended to her flat stomach, and pooled on her lap, where a burst of pubic hair afforded her a measure of modesty.

Even now, I wondered: what would Cece taste like?

I chided myself for salivating at the thought.

Making a great effort, I got ahold of my horny, but barely.

Standing at the galley, I lined up my ingredients on yet another cutting board, reminding myself that indulging in sexual fantasies was wrong when someone as wary as Cece Astor had put herself in my hands.

And yet I couldn’t deny that her body was fit and beautiful.

Last night, I’d wanted nothing more than to toss the washcloth away and work the suds over the flesh of her breasts with my bare hands.

The warm water ran down her pale skin and dribbled from her peaks, forming small fountains.

All the while, I kept my cool even though my dick could’ve burned a hole in my wetsuit.

I’d been lucky she’d been too tired to witness me struggling with my boner. Even now, when I thought about her, I fought to keep it under control. It wasn’t smooth sailing. I craved to polish her pink nipples with my lips until they shone, to suck each one until she moaned with pleasure.

K-man, you’re fantasizing. Again. About a woman you just met.

She’s not just any woman. For some odd reason, I felt as if I’d known Cece all my life. What if I’m really her fate and she’s really my destiny?

Now you’ve gone off the deep end.

My grandmother’s words resonated in my head. A moon to my sun, a win to my losses, and a light in the darkness. All good news. No?

You’re not ready. Here came the same old argument. You may never be ready again.

I blew out a long breath. While I chopped the dry coconut flesh into small pieces, I recalled how much I loved what I saw last night, the beautiful body I washed with gentle care.

The intimacy of the moment felt like a torturous form of pleasure.

My blood boiled at the memory of a naked Cece.

She was on my catamaran, just a few steps down the stairs, naked and gorgeous, warm and safe in her bed.

Oh, fuck . My dick throbbed, and so did my balls.

Was I gonna walk around with a giant stiffy all day?

The other memories crashed down on my lust-fest with a punch of guilt and sorrow.

Not now . I set the chopped coconut aside and peeled the ripe mango before me. Remember: Opportunity. It’s time to open the doors. This could be a good start, Marine.

I’m ready, I reminded myself . I’ve worked hard to be ready, and I can choose to ride this wave or not. It’s my choice. If I decide to move forward, I could do this.

Maybe.

No maybes. Only yeses. Do you copy, K-man?

The mental back and forth pissed me off.

I took it out on the mango. Clank, clank, clank.

My knife hit the chopping block with excessive force.

I’d seen Cece at her worst yesterday. I’d also seen her at her best. She was strong and yet vulnerable, a beautiful contradiction.

For a guy who thrived on mindfulness and craved serenity, she was also a disruption.

When the mango was in pieces, I moved on to the pineapple. I grabbed it by the crown and chopped it off in one vicious blow, powered by a heavy hand.

Don’t lose your Zen, dude. The gods know you’ve worked hard to get it.

I slowed my knife and peeled and then cut the pineapple into small, even chunks. The rhythmic strokes restored order to my thoughts. I’d always chosen my battles carefully—place, time, weather, terrain. Once I committed, I fought to win. But this was different. This felt dangerous to my soul.

And yet the light I’d spotted in Cece’s eyes when we kissed had been nothing short of striking. She affected me in ways I didn’t understand.

Heads up, Marine. You better make sure you’re not turning water into flames. What if, after listening to Thena and Missy, this connection you’re feeling is all in your head?

Nah, I had enough self-awareness to know the attraction was there for me . But what about her?

Did I have a chance in hell of getting through her defenses? Had she felt our connection as keenly as I had? Did she want to explore me as I wanted to explore her?

My hand froze, and the knife hovered above the fruit.

I put the knife down. Well, shit . There was only one way to move forward, to answer all my questions, and to prove to myself that, after years of work, I was indeed ready.

Getting closer to Cece Astor was the fastest course to finding out what this was all about.

I was too curious not to engage, too attracted to her to ignore the warning in my gut, too determined to overcome my past.

I was ready.

Was she?