Turbulent Waves, page 18
Kai tapped her finger on the desk until Vivien covered Kai’s hand with hers to get her to stop. It was one of the little hints that she was giving birth to a hyperactive kid since she was starting to feel constant flutters. Kai was seldom still no matter what they were doing, and this kid was going to be a carbon copy of her.
“The vision convinces me it’s ours, and where it began could be one of two places.” She turned and put her arms around Kai’s waist, but they stared at the tablet, trying to figure out if it held any other clue.
“Two?” Hadley asked.
“The beach house where we met or the waters where Kai worked for our company. We spent more time out there than we did in the office, so that makes more sense.” She had a feeling it was the work option. “The beach is memorable and our start, but I fell in love on a sailboat in the Gulf. It was like my heart had come home, so let’s start there.”
“You’re a poet, my love, and you’re right.” Kai kissed her, not seeming to care who was in the room. “We need to go back.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Hadley asked.
“Clear the room,” Galen said. Oba and the others walked out in front of Laud, and Galen asked her trusted guard to stay. The door was locked, and extra security measures were put in place to make the room private. “Do you know what your plan is going to be?”
“There’s only one option after reading that. We all know it, so it’s time to get started. We have to be out in the open to draw these people out. No one can fight a battle in the dark, so it’s time to show ourselves and trust in the people we place at our backs.” Kai walked Vivien to a chair and sat next to her. “We need to move quickly, before our enemies get better organized. I think we have to assume they’re already here and in motion. They’ve probably learned from Pontos’s mistakes, so we need to eliminate all of the threat.”
“Are you leaving Vivien here?” Galen asked.
“Mom, I won’t place Vivien in danger, but I can’t force her to stay behind if that’s not what she wants.”
“And I don’t want. My place is with Kai. I think if I stay here, I might be safe, but no one will respect me going forward.” She didn’t have to say it, but she believed they all knew it was true.
“What’s your plan?” Laud asked. “I’ve got an idea of what it should be, but I’ll follow your lead.”
“Simply, the plan is to fight, and I need to bring the fight to me. Viv’s right in that we can’t hide here and expect anyone to follow us once the crown is ours.” Kai locked eyes with her mothers, and they were all quiet for a moment. “Pontos wanted me, Bella Riverstone targeted me, and whatever or whoever is coming wants to take me on. They need to fight me and beat me if they want to take over the realm. My loss will be seen as the downfall of your reign. That means I need to put myself out in the open, available to whoever it is coming for us.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you, but don’t complain about the extensive security going with you,” Galen said. “The moment something happens, I’m sending in everything we have. I don’t care if it makes the national news.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Kai made Galen laugh and stood so they could hug as Hadley put her arms around Vivien and hugged her as well. “Promise me you both will stay here, though. We need to find all the idiots who are helping these people, and I don’t need to be worried about you two. You stick close to Mom,” Kai told Galen. “Don’t make me ground you for not following orders.”
“We’ll see,” Galen said, which Vivien took to mean they probably wouldn’t. “Be careful and take care of Vivien. Don’t let her take any chances.” Galen opened her arms to Vivien and kissed her cheeks. “She’s a little compulsive sometimes but we love her anyway, so start practicing your mom voice.”
“I’ll put her on a leash if I have to.” She felt the heat in her ears once the words left her mouth, and she laughed along with Kai’s parents.
“As my younger staff like to tell me,” Galen said with a smile, “TMI, sweetie.”
They spent the afternoon packing, and it didn’t take much time to prepare the Salacia for travel, with Ivan and Ram accompanying them. Laud had sent out word and was in charge of deciding who would accompany Kai and Vivien onto land. Whoever she sent needed to be ready for war, like any military would be when there was an attempt at a power grab.
Galen and Hadley had come down to see them off, and she wasn’t surprised to see Oba with them. Oba closed her eyes and appeared to be saying a prayer. She stood next to Kai and waited along with the guards going with them. A prayer or two couldn’t hurt anything.
“Highness,” Oba said, stepping forward. She lifted her hand slowly, and Vivien didn’t stop her when she placed it on her middle and closed her eyes for another prayer. “Have faith in what you have with her, and rejoice in the life you carry. It means your reign will last for a thousand years.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at Oba when she offered her the small book in her hand. The blessing wasn’t one anyone in the realm made lightly.
“It was my mother’s,” Oba said. “It’s the story of the goddess and the basic prayers. You’ll need to know those when Kai becomes queen.”
The comment rang of a rock-solid faith that their future would be everything she wanted. A life focused on Kai and their children sounded in no way progressive, but they could be that and so much more if given the chance to live. “Thank you, and we’d appreciate your prayers while we’re gone.”
“That would be my honor, and if the goddess blesses me with any visions of the future, I’ll be in touch.”
“You’re a good friend to her, Oba, and I hope we can be the same.”
The airlock closed behind them, and she glanced around, glad to know all the guards riding with them, but this time there were quite a few other ships tagging along. Each of them was filled with guards and advanced weaponry. That made her feel better and she lay in Kai’s arms as they watched the bleakness outside whiz by. She called Frankie to let him know they were on their way back, and he invited them to dinner at Marsha’s.
“It sounds like things are going well,” she said when she put the phone back on the side table. The way Kai inhaled and let it out slowly made her smile.
As passionate as they were, she was glad they could be quiet together. It was what she’d wanted when she actually spent time thinking about the kind of relationship she wanted. Kai held her like she wanted to be with her and because she enjoyed having her close. She didn’t go through the motions because she wanted to gain something from her she wasn’t willing to give. It sounded simple, but that hadn’t been her experience up to now. Her family’s wealth had always been a factor when she allowed anyone into her life.
“It’s a good thing he can follow directions.” Kai laughed as she combed her fingers through Vivien’s hair.
She lifted her head and smiled down at Kai. “Do I want to know what you’re talking about? I always pushed Frankie into having a love life, but I don’t know if I want the blow-by-blow.”
“He was worried he’d drown that night we went skinny-dipping, so I told him to just stop overthinking it and jump in. His body would know what to do.” Kai reached up and ran her thumb across her lips. “I think he figured out that translated into more than just swimming.”
“You’re giving romance lessons?”
Kai laughed again. “When you’re madly in love, you want the whole world to join you. This is so good it’d be selfish not to share.”
“My life would be so empty without you.” She bit Kai’s thumb gently and rolled on top of her. “Swear to me that you won’t take any chances that’ll leave me alone.”
“Baby—” Kai said, moving her hands to her back.
“No, you promise me. I spent my life looking for the meaning of the shell you gave me, and I’m glad I never gave up. It led me right to you and this world you’ve opened up to me, but it’ll mean nothing without you. Promise me.”
“I promise, my love. It’s why we have all these people with us, and after some real estate purchases, they’ll be close by. I’ll never leave us exposed to any kind of danger.” Kai moved her leg between Vivien’s and kissed her. “It’s amazing the goddess saw how much I would love you, and I don’t think she’d go through all this to have it end too soon. All we need to do is have faith in each other.”
“Yes, but you’re the first one to run toward danger. I saw it when you faced Pontos, and it scares the hell out of me.”
“My life will be about loving you, but I can’t turn my back on any threat that will try to destroy what we stand for.” Kai held her close. “I’ve never understood the allure of taking total control of a people. Once you do, what’s next? What else is there? I mean, look at what’s happened on Atlantis. Something like that never ends well.”
“You have a good heart, so you’ll never understand that kind of thinking. All I want is for you to come out of this whole. I have plans for you.” She kissed Kai and slipped her hand under her T-shirt. The warm skin made her smile.
“I’ll follow wherever you lead.”
Kai touched her with such gentleness and devotion it made her want to weep. She saw the love in Kai’s eyes, and it awed her to the point she couldn’t look away. “I love you so much.” She rested her head on Kai’s shoulder and sighed. “I feel very lucky.”
“You aren’t the only one, and it makes me sound sappy to say this, but I can’t stand to be away from you for a minute. I’m sure you’ll be sick of me before too long.”
“As if.” She pinched the skin on Kai’s side and laughed. “See, everyone thinks you’re this big macho warrior, but I’m glad I get to see the softer side of you.” The way Kai laughed made her happy. There was a joy in it that lightened her like nothing ever had. “What exactly are we going to do when we get back? It’s been home for my entire life, but it doesn’t feel like that anymore.” They hadn’t stopped to discuss their future in more practical ways. Where would they live? Would Vivien keep working, or did being part of the royal family mean her job was under the sea now? The questions had been in her mind for a while, but now they finally had some time to talk it over.
“It’ll be what you make it. I’ll never keep you from your family, so we’ll spend time with them, but the job you have now might have to change.” Kai ran her fingers up and down her back, and it made her shiver. “We have plenty invested in that field of business, and we might reach a point where we’ll share more of our technology that’ll move humans away from fossil fuels. That’ll take a lot of debate, considering what happened last time.”
“My father will be thrilled you’re putting that off for now.” Winston Palmer’s identity was wrapped up in the company their family had founded. She and Franklin had been groomed from the very beginning to continue the Palmer legacy, and her father had given them little choice in the matter. “In our own way we have a lot in common with your people—my father won’t let go of the old ways easily. We also have to talk about the fact that he’s having trouble reconciling his memories of what happened to you. I doubt he’s stopped thinking about it since we left.”
“Frankie will come into his own at the helm, and with our help, he’ll lead Palmer into a new way of doing business.” Kai’s hand moved under her waistband and stopped.
“Is that why you picked us?” She’d never thought to ask. Their company was profitable, but nothing compared to the big boys in the industry.
“Buying stock with an eye to changing major companies is basically a quagmire of red tape that got us nowhere. The big boys, when it comes to oil production, move with the speed of dinosaurs, so a company like yours is perfect. Palmer is a good size to be an agent for change, and proven changes within your operations that yield results could steer the industry. Like the land expanders I installed. The board thought they were a waste of resources until they weren’t.”
“You’re a smart egg, honey.” She smiled when she felt Kai’s hand move to her butt. “You’re also sexy as hell.”
“It wasn’t all my idea, and you’re the sexy one here.” Kai reached between them and unbuttoned Vivien’s shorts.
She lifted her hips and sucked on Kai’s neck when Kai pulled her shorts and her underwear off. “I’m rapidly losing interest in this conversation.”
“Good.” Kai kissed her as she put her hand between her legs, then encouraged her to sit up.
She hoped no one could see in the window when she came down on Kai’s fingers, but even an audience wouldn’t stop her right now. It felt incredible, and she could feel how wet she was as she moved up and down, taking Kai in. “I love you, and I love being with you like this.” It was all she could say as she moved faster. “I’m coming, oh, I’m coming. I can’t…hang…on.” She hated that the orgasm overwhelmed her before she had a chance to really enjoy herself, but she was too lethargic to care.
“Should I beat my chest now?” Kai held her with her free hand, and the joke made her snort.
“I’d say you’re full of yourself, but you can totally beat your chest.”
She sat back up and took her shirt off with Kai’s eyes on her the entire time. “If anyone saw you like this, they’d know why I go all head over heels for you.”
“No one can see in here, right? We have enough people with us that we could be entertainment for a few Peeping Toms.” She glanced at the window and tapped on it.
“No, I’m not a sharer. The window’s tinted, so this is a private view.”
She enjoyed the way Kai always watched as she got naked. That intense gaze made her feel beautiful. Kai sat up and pressed their bodies together and started touching her again. The slowness of it was magical, and she moved against Kai as she kissed her. Kai’s tongue in her mouth made her soar, and she stiffened as she moaned.
“I think I’ve said this before.” She pressed her forehead to Kai’s and squeezed her sex around Kai’s fingers. “The things you do to me are wonderful.” Her phone buzzed, and she wanted to ignore it but picked it up when Kai said it was Frankie. “Don’t think about any funny business,” she said to Kai. “Hey, did you forget something?” she asked Frankie. She put him on speaker and tried to move away from Kai, but Kai shook her head and kept her fingers right where they were.
“You guys are being summoned to the big house,” Frankie said, sounding upbeat.
“We’re about two hours from the mouth of the river, so we should make it,” Kai said. She moved her thumb over Viv’s clit, and she widened her eyes while shaking her head. “We have a boat waiting to take us to the platform, and we’ll hop a helicopter from there, so we won’t be late.”
Kai’s thumb pressed and stroked a little harder, and she bit her lip, trying and failing to hold back a moan.
“Viv, you okay?” Frankie asked.
“I’m fine, just moved wrong.” She pinched Kai’s earlobe, but that smile was chipping away at her resolve.
“Okay. Get ready for a night of planning. Mom’s taking your comment about getting married before you’re hugely pregnant seriously. With luck and no glitches, that’ll happen in two weeks.” Frankie laughed, and she came close to groaning. “And don’t groan. I’ll run interference for you with Marsha’s help.”
She inhaled sharply when Kai’s touch became firmer. “You’re reading my mind now?” She couldn’t help lifting her hips slightly and coming down again.
“If I did that, I’d be blushing badly.” He laughed, and Kai smiled as she wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m kidding, but I know you two. A long trip with nothing else to do means you’re killing time doing something else.”
“Okay, stop teasing Viv. Let your mother know we’ll be there.” Kai laughed and Frankie hung up.
Vivien dropped the phone on the floor with her clothes, not caring who else called them. “You are a huge troublemaker.” She would’ve continued, but Kai stroked up again, and it made her stop talking. “Do you want me to touch you?”
“I need you to kiss me and let me have you,” Kai said. She never let up moving her hand and pressed her lips to the side of Vivien’s neck.
The desire ratcheted up, and she couldn’t help but move with Kai as she filled her up and drove her insane. There was no way to hold back when Kai kissed her and moved her hand faster.
“Ah,” she grunted out, unable to breathe, much less form words. The orgasm rushed through her, and she took a deep breath when her body finally let go. “You make me crazy in such good ways that I don’t have a way to adequately describe it.” She spent a long moment kissing Kai and threading her fingers through Kai’s hair.
Kai lay back with her on top and smiled up at her. “Like I told you that first night I saw you. The thing I thought first was how beautiful you were. I couldn’t take my eyes off you, and I’m lucky I get to touch you like this. You are so much more than that, though, which really does make me lucky.”
She touched Kai and enjoyed the way she responded to her touch. Kai was wet and ready, and it didn’t take long to get her to come as hard as she had. They had time for a nap when they were done, and she smiled when Kai woke her up by kissing her all over her face. It was nice to be quiet for a bit and enjoy the feel of Kai against her.
“Let’s take a shower. We should be close when we’re done,” Kai said, helping her up.
They were standing in the galley when Edil gave the command to surface. The area around them was clear of any boats or air traffic, and she watched as Ram and Ivan swam lazily around, having been released before they surfaced. The Palmer boat Isla was navigating pulled alongside them, crewed entirely by women, and she had to guess Palmer now had more than one of Kai’s people on their payroll. It’d be the easiest way to guard them without arousing suspicion.
