7
Hollyn woke to the sound of the cabin door shutting, and she felt Kai’s absence immediately.
As the events of last night came to her, she knew she should regret losing her mind so completely, but she didn’t. If anything, she had hoped for a repeat this morning. A thrilling shiver ran over her at the thought.
Now, though, with Kai slipping out the door as if he were trying to avoid her this morning, Hollyn had to wonder if he were feeling a day-after remorse.
Twice now, they’d brought each other to orgasm, and though Hollyn knew her talking pet seagull Bertie would have warned her to put an end to what she was doing, Hollyn had every intention to continue to explore whatever she and Kai had. She was convinced she could walk away from him when the time came, and that she would be able to let him go in the end. After all, she had to. Once she no longer had to run from her father, once she’d freed herself from his forever, she planned to cash in on all her treasure hunting finds and buy her own sailboat. Jesse and she, and now her mother as well, would sail the worldtogether, finally able to set their own course without constantly looking over their shoulder wherever they went.
Just the thought of the freedom and independence that would be hers sent a soaring joy through her. Right now, it was her motivation to throw off the covers and face whatever awaited her today.
She readied herself as best she could and exited the cabin up the bulkhead to the deck. The minute she stepped into the blinding sun, she covered her eyes but reveled in the feel of the heat on her skin. The sea spray misted her face, and she sighed in contentment. Once again, she was drawn to the front of the boat where she could watch the bow cutting through the waves. It mesmerized her, and she could only imagine it was the feeling men experienced when they heard her voice.
She couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. She wanted to do nothing less than watch the push and pull of the water as the boat propelled forward toward their unknown destination.
Only a hand on her shoulder broke the spell, and she glanced over at Kai as he propped his arms on the railing beside her.
“I asked if you were alright.”
“Did you? I didn’t hear you?”
“I know. I asked a few times without a response. I didn’t know if you didn’t want to be bothered or if you were purposely ignoring me.”
Hollyn wondered if he were regretting what they’d done in the light of day. Did he worry that she would get attached? She was fairly sure he had nothing to worry about.
“I guess I zoned out. I love watching the water. It calls to me in a way.”
He nodded as he said, “That’s something I can understand. Sometimes, I watch the water and feel a pull to dive in.”
She met his gaze, feeling understood in a way she never had before. She’d never met someone who was as connected to thewater as she was. Sometimes, it felt like a piece of her soul got lost and found its way into Kai.
The thought was crazy and scary, and she had to remind herself that whatever was between them had a shelf life. The reality didn’t stop her from leaning into him though, liking the warmth of his skin against hers as their arms touched on the railing of the boat.
“How did you become a pilot, so far away from the water?”
He turned thoughtful as he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers, as if he couldn’t get enough of touching her. She had to admit that she liked his touch and felt a need to be in physical contact whenever he was near.
“My parents worried I’d never find my path in life. School wasn’t a place where I thrived, and I didn’t have a lot of options. I didn’t have a lot of direction, not when I couldn’t help but look back instead of forward. My parents had always been honest with me. They never wanted to hide the truth, but it left me a little lost.”
Hollyn fought the need to wrap her arms around him. She was sure it would be a mistake, sending the wrong message to her heart. She needed to pull back before she got a little too invested.
She pulled her hand free of his and put a few inches between them. She covered the move by facing him and asking, “So, how did that lead to flying a plane in the northeast United States?”
He laughed and shrugged. “I met a grizzled, old pilot by the name of Hutch. His actual name was Logan Hutchinson, but he went by Hutch. He took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew. He was hard on me when I needed it, and I grew up quite a bit. It helped me let go of my hyper focus on my past.
“I flew helicopters over the Hawaiian Islands for a few years, then planes between the islands and the mainland. Eventually,I followed Hutch to the east, and we settled in West Virginia. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry. It must have been hard to lose your mentor.”
He nodded and sighed heavily before he said, “Yes and no. Right before he died, he told me to look for the medallion that matched the image on the shell around my neck. It was the first time I realized it might have been more than random chance that placed him in my path. Now, I have to wonder the same about Akamu.”
“Speaking of which, where is Akamu?”
“He stayed up through the night, watching the captain and crew. He said the captain never went below to rest.”
They both lifted their gazes to the bridge, and Hollyn watched the silhouette of the captain move around the small space as he sailed them to their destination.
Kai turned away first as he said, “When I saw you were on deck, I sent him to our bunk to get some rest. He didn’t want to go into the interior of the ship at first, but I convinced him he needed to get some sleep if he was going to stay up all night again. He finally caved.”
