Page 28 of Kai (Alpha Heroes #13)

Cece

“Rise and shine, Sorceress.”

A familiar voice woke me up from a troubled sleep filled with nightmares of the dreadful day I found out Nix had died in battle, and my response to the terrible news—denial, ranting, and raging.

Snippets of that day mixed with Father’s verbal abuse over the years as he accused me of being angry and unlovable.

Kai also appeared in my nightmares, his face blank, his body stiff, and his gaze distant as he turned me down up at the ridge.

“Time to seize the day,” the cheerful voice came again, followed by a set of knocks. “Did I hear a yes, please come in?”

“Um…” Was there an emergency? Had we gotten the all clear? “Come in.”

“Moving in.” The door opened, and Kai stepped in. “Please don’t shoot me.”

I sat up straight in my bed and blinked the sleep from my eyes. I’d put in another late night working on my data. My eyelids rasped like sandpaper. My throat was dry as a desert. I was fairly sure I looked like shit, especially compared to Kai.

He stood at the threshold with a tray in hands, as handsome as ever in a blue rash guard and banana-printed shorts, looking fresh. He flashed me the smile that melted my knees. I was relieved I wasn’t standing and determined not to fall to his charm.

“Are we leaving?” I asked, my voice harsh.

“No, but we’ve got work to do.”

“Work?”

“Have your breakfast and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Crossing my arms, I looked out the window. “I’m not talking to you.”

“I’ve noticed.” He lifted the tray in the air. “Smell.”

“What?”

“Take a whiff.” He rolled a hand in the air. “Go on.”

Glaring at him suspiciously, I sniffed the air.

“Noooo,” I cried out.

“Hot chocolate.” The sneaky man had the gall to grin. “I even hand-whipped the cream. Your sisters said hot chocolate was the one thing in the world you couldn’t resist.”

Ah, shit. They were right. I had distant memories of my mom consoling me with her special treat. The delicious scent filled my room and tickled my nostrils. My mouth watered, but I refused to cave.

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded in my haughtiest tone.

He lifted his shoulders and offered me a tentative grin. “Peace offering?”

“Ha.” I fought the sweet aroma, not to mention Kai’s mischievous eyebrow wiggle.

“Come on, Cece. Hot chocolate. It makes everything right. And…”

I rolled an imperious hand in the air. “And?”

“Banana bread,” he announced with a triumphal note. “Warm from the oven and buttered just how you like it. I made a theme out of it.” He jerked his chin towards his banana-printed board shorts.

“Oh, shit.” I sank my face in my hands, then ran my fingers down my cheeks and met his expectant gaze. “You’re killing me here.”

“Please?” Kai thrust the tray in my direction. “Think of it as nutrition. You need it.”

I needed it, yes.

“You are a sly SOB,” I grumbled. “You know that?”

“But am I a sly, successful-at-his-task SOB?” He lifted his eyebrows and curved his lips in a crooked smile that almost made me laugh. I caught myself at the last moment, but I’d reached my limit. Hot chocolate, warm banana bread, and Kai’s boyish charm?

I caved. “Okay.”

In a blur, the tray was on my lap. Kai himself followed. He crawled onto the bed, settled on the mattress next to me, and leaned his back against the headboard.

“Mmm,” I moaned when I took a sip from the mug.

“Good?”

“Amazing.” I bit down on a slice of banana bread and spoke with my mouth full. “And this… It’s sinful.”

“Sinful.” He smiled. “I like that word.”

With an indifferent shrug, I fought the power of Kai. “I don’t know why you’re going to all this trouble.”

“I want us to be friends again.”

Well, at least he didn’t hide his intentions.

“I don’t wanna talk about… you know.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Is that why you’ve confined yourself to your quarters?”

“No, of course not,” I lied. “I just have a lot of work to do and—”

“No worries, Sorceress. Don’t talk to me if you don’t want to. But I want to apologize to you for… whatever I did that hurt your feelings—”

“I have no feelings,” I said. “You didn’t hurt me, so—”

“Yes, you have feelings. We all do, and I need to apologize for hurting yours. I promised you we didn’t have to talk about it, but will you please accept my apology?”

“Fine.” I looked away. “We just have to get along until your mission is done.”

“If that’s what you want…” He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “We’ll focus on the mission, but I want to spoil you a little if you’ll let me.”

“There it is.” I poked my finger toward him.

“What?”

“The trick,” I said. “The ulterior motive.”

“No trick,” he assured me. “But yes to the ulterior motive.”

His honesty always disarmed me.

“But we don’t gotta tangle with any of that now,” he continued. “I honestly think you deserve a little spoiling.”

“I’m un-pamperable,” I declared, shielding my heart with my arrogance.

He frowned. “Is that even a word?”

My throat tightened. After my mom died, my brother and sisters had tried to pamper me. Hell, even Dash had tried, but I wouldn’t have it, wouldn’t accept it from anybody. I took care of myself. That’s when Affie made up the word and declared me “un-pamperable.”

“It’s a word invented for my dictionary.” My fingers traced the edge of the tray on my lap, and I swallowed a gulp to ease the sting from my voice. “As far as your desire to spoil me goes, I don’t even know how to respond when you say things like that.”

“How about you accept it as my truth and eat some more?” Kai stole the mug from the tray, and keeping his caramel gaze on me, took a small sip. “Yeah.” He returned it to the tray. “I’m good.”

“Good and cocky.”

“And cocky,” he agreed, stealing a slice of my banana bread.

“Hey!”

“Sorry.” He wolfed it down. “Think of me as quality control. Eat some more.”

I got distracted watching him eat. The sight was mesmerizing.

His sleek jaw moved with resolve, and his throat rippled as he swallowed.

I really wanted to run my lips over the side of his muscular neck and along the line of his clean-shaven jaw.

Instead, I stuffed myself silly and drained my mug.

Before I knew it, every morsel on the tray was gone.

“May I?” Kai said.

I drew back. “May you what?”

He motioned to my face. “You’ve got cream on your nose.”

“Oh.” I grabbed a napkin and cleaned my face.

“There’s a little left.” He swiped his finger over the end of my nose, then licked the cream off the tip of his index. “All gone.”

Tongue. Lips. Cream. Kai. The heat exploded from my core, prickled my nipples, and pooled in my clit. Oh, God. How I wanted to kiss him.

You will not give in to lust. I fisted my hands around the tray until my knuckles whitened. He isn’t interested anyway.

“Time to get ready,” he announced, bouncing off the bed all too cheerfully.

“For what?”

“You’ll see.” He took the tray from my lap and braced on his feet at the foot of the bed.

He was too attractive for his own good. Hell, I was too attracted to him for my own good.

I shook my head. “I’ve got work to do.”

“You do, but it’s not the kind you can do on your laptop.”

“I don’t understand.” I wrinkled my nose at him. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because the weather’s perfect, the sun’s out, the coast is clear of tangos, and the water is calm and warm.”

“So?” I asked.

“Swimming lessons begin today.”

“Swimming lessons?” I choked on my spit, broke into a coughing fit, and had to pound my fist on my chest before I could talk again. “Who said anything about swimming lessons?”

“It’s time for you to tick off that box on your list.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t boss me around.”

“Not trying to,” he said. “Don’t want to. Wouldn’t dare.”

“You just did!”

“Not really,” he said. “Today, we have to focus on the mission. Swimming is an operational requirement. You’re on water a hundred percent of the time. We need to be ready for anything. You already know how to fight and how to use a gun. You must be able to swim.”

“What? No! I can’t do it!” I insisted. “Don’t you think I’ve tried swimming before?”

He inclined his head. “You said you had, and I believe you.”

“Tried and failed ,” I reminded him crossly. “Nothing has changed. What’s the difference now?”

“I’m the difference,” he said with a certainty that startled me.

“I don’t—”

“Cece, you’re the quintessential fighter,” he spoke over me.

“If you learn to swim, you’ll have yet another tool at your disposal to fight your fears, to feel like the incredibly capable person you are, and to achieve operational readiness.

Admit it. Not knowing how to swim frustrates the hell out of you. I can teach you how to swim.”

“I’ve had many qualified instructors.” My voice came out shrill. “Nothing came of it.”

“You haven’t had me.”

I considered his handsome features and had to admire his confidence. He was right. I hadn’t had him. It was a fucking shame. But it was also beside the point.

“You’re brash. You know that? Thinking you can do the impossible.” My stare flew beyond the windows, where the cove gleamed beneath the sunlight as bright as his aura. “You’re not afraid of the water like I am. The ocean has always been kind to you.”

His eyes studied me closely. “Is that what you think?”

The flat note in his voice made me focus a questioning gaze on his face. “Am I wrong?”

“The ocean gives and the ocean takes,” he said flatly. “It’s the rule of the sea.”

Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask . It would only lead to more intimacy. I’d sworn off intimacy with Kai. It would also lead to more questions. But did I follow my own advice?

Nope.

“What has the ocean taken from you?” I asked, my voice tentative.

“A lot.” He hesitated and then added. “But it has also kept me sane.”

“How so?”

“I thought you didn’t wanna talk at all, but we could try it as long as you’re willing to talk about why you’re so frightened of the ocean.

” When I sealed my lips and shook my head fervently, he raised his eyebrows.

“Very well, then. Put on your bathing suit. Or don’t.

” He wiggled his eyebrows wickedly. “Either way, swimming lessons begin in ten.”