Page 20 of Kai (Alpha Heroes #13)

Kai

Cece hesitated before she gulped down the rest of her water.

Her throat rippled with her swallows, and I had visions of her lips sucking on something that wasn’t made of glass.

My treacherous dick seized the opportunity to torment me.

Since when did I get woodies just watching a woman drinking water?

When she was done, she held on to the glass with both hands.

Her knuckles tightened around the lucky tumbler.

I doubted she was aware of how passionately she sheltered it between her breasts.

Whereas I was hyperaware of the round glass pressing against her sternum, where I would’ve loved to start with a kiss before sliding my lips up and down her tempting slopes.

The tumbler pulled on her tank top, stretching the ribbed jersey and emphasizing the outline of her breasts and her taut nipples.

They poked through the fabric, standing tall and stiff.

In response, my dick of a dick pressed against the seams of my shorts, throbbing to get out.

I shifted in my seat. To say I was uncomfortable was an understatement.

It got worse. She ran her tongue over her lips, leaving them glistening.

I envisioned her mouth gleaming with my come.

I gritted my teeth and crossed my ankle over my knee.

Thank fuck the table covered my erection.

Either I was turning into a horny ape or my sexual attraction for Cece was next level.

I suppressed my rebellious boner. This was my chance to talk to her, to get to know her. I needed a tame dick and a clear mind.

“Cece?” I firmed my voice. “How long were you on Misty Island?”

She plunked the glass on the table and drew a big inhale that lifted those tempting breasts of hers before she puffed out the air. “I was at the lighthouse for almost three years.”

“Where were you before then?” I asked, trying to keep my gaze on her face and my dick under control.

“Traveling the Pacific under a covert identity.”

I appraised her closely. “How did you get a different identity?”

“Same way you’d do it.” She shrugged. “I bought fake documents on the dark web, of course.”

“Of course.” This was a woman who always got what she wanted. “Why were you traveling the Pacific before you landed at Misty Island?”

“Oh, that.” The chair screeched on the deck when she pushed it out. She got to her feet and began to pace. “For the first year, I searched for a very rare, specific type of algae.”

“ Turbinaria Pacifica Coronata,” I guessed.

She halted in her tracks and stared at me. “How do you know this?”

“I paid attention in class.” I smirked. “You mentioned Coronata over one hundred and ten times in your doctoral dissertation.”

“You counted?” She opened her mouth and closed it. “You read my dissertation?”

“From cover to cover.”

She shook her head and frowned. “Why?”

“I wanted to know you, how your mind worked.” I recalled the important details.

“Coronata offers a concentrated source of hexadecenoic acid, a key element to fight disease and inhibit the growth of HT-29 cancer cells. The algae are hard to find, and acid is difficult to distill into a stable compound, but you think it could work.”

She gasped. “You did read my dissertation!”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I thought only my professors read it.” She paced the deck again. “Hell, my sisters tried. They gave up, unable to understand what Affie called ‘the densest, driest, most unintelligible but smart-sounding scientific shit she’d ever attempted to read.’”

“Perhaps it was a little dry for a non-scientist.” I trailed her with my gaze as she ambled from starboard to port side. “But once I got the hang of it, I found it fascinating.”

“Fascinating?” She whirled to face me, her eyes wide.

“Yeah.”

“So…” Her throat rippled with a swallow. “You understood what I wrote?”

I grinned. “There you go again, calling me a dumbass.”

A hint of embarrassment flushed her cheeks. “I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, you did, but one of these days, I’m gonna prove you wrong.”

She bit down on her lower lip. “I’m sorry if I came across as an arrogant bitch.”

“No need to apologize, Sorceress. You’ve got the smarts that give you the right to brag. Here’s what I think. Based on your previous work, your current research aims to generate a reliable process to produce a stable compound to cure the disease that killed your mother.”

She studied me with those pale eyes of hers. “Where did you learn about that last part?”

“Thena and Missy. Remember? They mentioned you’re obsessed with finding a cure. You’ve been at it for most of your adult life. You’re very passionate about your work.”

She straightened her back and fisted her hands. “I’ll get it done.”

“I have no doubt whatsoever.”

Disbelief flashed in her blue-gray eyes, and a snicker escaped her pressed lips. “If you value your balls and want to keep your capacity to pass on your royal genes, don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not making fun of you, and my balls don’t like your threats, so back off, lady,” I teased, trying to make sense of her flareup. “Why are you so surprised I believe in your potential?”

“Because…” The words died on her lips.

She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away right before I glimpsed the hurt in her gaze. I caught her trying to hide the shift in her mood. She went from fierce to vulnerable right before my eyes.

I’d learned enough about the damage that Richard Astor had done to his children, how hard he’d been on them, especially on his daughters.

The scars he’d carved in each of his offspring were equally cruel and yet different.

When I put it all together, I had an idea of the kind of wounds he’d inflicted on Cece. He’d pulverized her self-esteem.

“You’re surprised I believe in you because of your father.” Fury vibrated through me knowing that Richard Astor had demeaned, denigrated, and disparaged this brilliant woman for most of her life. “The fucker put you down and denied your value as a person and a scientist.”

Her silence was her only admission. Standing on the deck with her mouth set in a grim line and her face hidden by her long bangs, she lowered her eyes and perused the deck.

For once, she looked fragile and forlorn.

I hated to see her defeated by her past and haunted by an asshole who could make her feel lesser from the grave.

I clenched my jaw. If I could, I’d revive Richard Astor just to kill him again myself.

“Not all men are like your father,” I said. “I’m here to protect you. I’m never gonna put you down or hold you back. If I ever accidentally get close to doing that, you’ve got my permission to call me out and punch me in the face. I’m not like Richard Astor.”

“I don’t want to talk about my sperm donor.” She slumped against the gunwales and closed her eyes briefly. “He’s gone. What’s the point?”

“I understand how you feel.” I’d dealt with my own demons. “If you ever wanna talk about it, I’m here.”

She forced a snort, but it didn’t come across derisive. “So now you’re also a therapist?”

“Hell, no.” I shook my head. “Just a fucked-up guy who’s been on a long search to find inner peace.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That’s quite the noble goal.”

“It’s a journey.” I smothered her cynicism with my sincerity. “Whenever I come across wisdom and serenity, my soul feels good.”

“Is that why you named your catamaran Serenity ?” she asked, and this time around, curiosity replaced the sarcasm in her tone.

“A reminder to keep me focused on the goal.” I went back to asking the key questions that remained unanswered. “How did you get permission to live on Misty Island?”

“Early on, I had a connection through the University of Hawaii, a mentor who hooked me up with the island’s owners. They allowed me to do research on Misty Island, the one place where you can find Coronata in substantial quantities.”

“What’s your work status now?”

She grimaced. “I have distilled the compound, but I can’t replicate the process reliably yet.”

“The scientific community won’t accept your findings unless you can create a process other scientists can replicate and verify.”

“Yes.” She ambled to the table, plopped down on her chair, and rubbed her forehead. “So, I need to keep working on it, instead of sitting on my ass, gorging on fresh snapper and sinful chocolate.”

“You gotta eat, lady. Sleep. Rest. Relax.” I studied her face. “You gotta take care of yourself so that your brain can work for you. I’m curious. What are you gonna do once you distill a stable compound?”

“You mean if I distill a stable compound?”

“No, I mean when. You don’t strike me as a woman who’d give up on a lifelong quest.”

“You’re not wrong.” She flashed me a crooked smile. “My plan was to go back to my mentor with my discoveries, but first, I need to ensure my sisters’ safety.”

He grinned. “Savior complex, anyone?”

“Says the guy who risks his life saving strangers for a living,” she shot back. “Don’t waste your wisdom on me, Obi-Kai Kenobi.”

“Wisdom? Me? Nah.” I blew a self-deprecating huff. “I’m more like a work in progress.”

“You, work in progress; me, wreck in progress. It doesn’t matter. I won’t give up on my research, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Good.”

She cocked her eyebrows. “Good?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “I like a human with mojo.”

She wrinkled her nose as if she’d caught wind of a stench. “I don’t care if you like me or not.”

I widened my grin. “I’m gonna hope you’re lying.”

She sneered. “You’re deluding yourself if you think I’m a likable person.”

“You are likable,” I said without hesitation. “ I like you a lot.”

“Liar,” she snapped. “I’m rude, vicious, and belligerent. I don’t give a damn about anything but my research. Hell, I broke up my family so that I could be free of my father and do my thing.”

“Aaaaand we’re back to wallowing in guilt,” I deadpanned, even though it killed me that she was so hard on herself.

“It’s true,” she insisted.

“Is it?” I challenged her with a stare. “Your colleagues admire you. Missy and Thena adore you.”

She drew back. “They do?”

“They think you’re brilliant, daring, sensitive, and sweet. I don’t know Affie, but I’m sure she would agree.”

She let out a startled cackle. “Right.”

“That’s what your sisters said, and so far, everything they told me about you is true.”

She squinted at me so fiercely that I wondered if the afternoon sunlight was bothering her. Just in case, I slid my shades from my pocket and offered them to her. She accepted them and put them on. She looked hot with my aviators perched on top of her nose.

I recalled the quiet sighs and moans that had drifted out of her berth this morning, and the words I’d made out when she didn’t know I could hear her. Get in my pussy, she’d whispered. I begged every god in the universe that, in her fantasies, she’d meant that order for me.

Fear and guilt ambushed me. I had to repress the surge, take a deep breath, and give myself the talk. Time to move forward, Marine . Time to test your mettle and prove your progress.

I had to tell her the other reason I was here. Then I had to let her choose what she wanted to do with that information.

Maybe she’ll laugh at me, and I’ll be off the hook.

That’s the coward’s way, I reminded myself . Didn’t you say you were ready to move forward? Then move, Marine.

“You’re beautiful,” I said as evenly as I could. “Your sisters told me so, but you’re even more gorgeous than they said. You’re also a great kisser.”

“Oh, please.” She slid the sunglasses down her nose, gave me an epic eye roll, and waved a dismissive hand in the air. “That was nothing. Adrenaline. Spur of the moment. Already forgotten.”

I defied the voice in my head that urged me to take that as her final answer and told her one of my truths. “ I haven’t forgotten it.”

“Well, you should.” She hardened her gaze. “You and I are not gonna be friends.”

“We are already friends.” I surprised myself by saying that so easily. “ Kissing friends.”

“Kai King.” She took off the shades and plunked them on the table as if she were throwing a gauntlet. “You’re making me want to kick your ass again.”

“Peace, Sorceress.” I pretended to wave a white flag in the air. “We can talk about the kiss later.”

“Or better yet, never again.”

If the curiosity I spotted in her gaze was any indication, she was both alarmed and intrigued by the turn this conversation had taken. This was the opening I’d been looking for. So, I went for it.

“I have a gut feeling we will not only talk about kissing at some point,” I said. “The probability is high that we’ll kiss again.”

“What?” She straightened in her chair.

“There’s something else I need to tell you.”

She raised her sweeping eyebrows. “Well?”

I cleared my throat and forced the words out. “Your sisters chose me for this mission.”

“Yeah, and for good reasons.” She stuck out her fingers as she counted. “First, you’re excellent at your job. Second, you’re a sea warrior. Third, you had the right skill set for this mission.”

“I’ll take excellent, skilled, and warrior, but they chose me for yet another reason.”

She whipped up her skeptical chin. “And that is?”

It was now or never. I didn’t think words like fate and destiny would go down well with Cece, at least not at this moment, but I had to give this a go. I reached out and settled my hand over hers.

“Your sisters think you and I have a special connection,” I offered. “They told me that somehow, in some way, you and I go together.”