by Unknown
“Just past midnight,” Kalel answered.
“You’re not thinking of leaving me babe, are you?” Kai pouted a bit and pulled me into his arms. “You have no idea how long it’s been since I held a woman.”
“My parents will be worried…”
“So call them,” he suggested.
“They will want to see me…”
“I’m afraid they can’t. You can’t leave until I trust you. I need to know you won’t betray me and my family. I know without a doubt that you mean us no harm, but I need to know you won’t divulge our location, that your loyalty extends out those doors before you can leave. We live without protection around this home. I cannot and will not risk us,” he stood his ground. Sadly, I understood where he was coming from and didn’t blame him for being so careful.
I softly sighed. “Let me call them. I need to go home at some point to get clothes and my phone charger though.”
“I will personally escort you later,” he offered.
I shook my head in agreement and got up off the sofa. I walked toward the picturesque window and stared out at the peaceful water. The thing was, I knew I was safe here. Now I was worried about Auggy’s plans. Listening to the brothers, understanding their stand in all this, I realized an attack, though possible now that I affirmatively knew their weak point, was not what I wanted to bring upon them. I didn’t want to lead two armies further into war. Ideally I would like to initiate and barter peace between them. And now I also had to worry about my parents. If Kai went with me and they’re home, he’d be able to read their thoughts. He’d uncover my mission for sure. I glanced over my shoulder at the brothers to ensure my thoughts were really protected. If they read any part of them, they weren’t bothered.
I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket where it had sat silently for hours. Sure enough I had seven missed calls and two texts. Three calls were from my mother, two from Mel and two from Craig. One text was from Mel ‘checking in’ and one text was from Craig asking ‘what’s up.’ I didn’t doubt Kellan was with them and set them up to reach me although Mel probably added a tank of fuel to the fire.
I called my mom first; her nerves would be the worst.
“Lexi?” she answered.
“It’s me Mom,” I replied. She sighed in relief.
“Where are you? Are you okay? Please tell me you’re coming home…” she rambled, which wasn’t like her. She must be distraught. I turned to Kai and thought, I know I can’t tell her where I am but can I at least tell her who I’m with? He and Kalel exchanged looks before they nodded once in agreement.
“Calm down Mom. I’m safe. I’m really okay. I’m with the Leaders of the Bladangs. Kai, his brother Kalel and Gabi have been very hospitable. They’ve asked me to stay a while and, well, I really like it here so I said yes,” I detailed as much as possible and tagged a story with it. I knew she’d pick up on it. “I’ll be by tomorrow with Kai to get some clothes and my charger,” I announced hoping she would arrange to be away.
“I can’t talk about this Alexa,” she snapped and hung up.
I was in shock by how she reacted. I was frozen with the phone still to my ear. My mother had never hung up on me before. I had an idea as to why she did it, but was caught off guard nonetheless. I turned to Kai. “I think she’s mad at me…”
“She’ll get over it,” he shrugged.
“I know that but I’ve never made her mad before. I… She… She’s never done that to me before,” I fumbled to convey my thoughts correctly and the restrictions were beginning to frustrate me. I hadn’t even been there a full twenty-four hours and my thought constraints were irritating me.
“It’s okay babe. She will get over it. And in the meantime, I have no problem distracting you.” Kai was suddenly embracing me from behind. He sensually yet playfully kissed my neck where my blood pulsed. Then he did something I’d never felt before. He ran his teeth gently over the skin of my neck in the same spot he kissed moments before. I squirmed. I was embarrassed because it turned me on. It sent a ripple of warmth throughout my body. He of course noticed my reaction and chuckled lightly before doing it again. The second time was more intense. He made me want to rip off my clothes right there. I never knew I could feel this way. It was an overwhelming reaction I’d never experienced in the deepest connections with Kellan. My fear was though that he would continue and so would I…
I pulled away taking a deep breath. “I have… um… I uh… I need to call two more people back,” I stuttered to regain control; I was blushing like the school girl I was.
“Sure. I’ll be waiting when you’re done,” he whispered beside my ear. He kissed my neck and returned to the couch.
It took me a minute to recover. I’d never reached such a dangerous point of desire before. Every teen goes through puberty and gets their hormones sent into overdrive. That was a one on the ten scale compared with Kai just now.
I peered over at him. He was gloating with a smirk on his face. He gave me a flirtatious wink. Still, I was caught up in him for a brief moment; I felt myself smile back at him.
Oh gosh. What am I doing?! I cannot hurt Kellan… no matter how tempted I am.
I dialed Mel and moved back towards the windows.
“Hello?”
“Hey Mel, it’s me.”
“Oh thank God! I was worried sick. I’m so glad you called even though it’s late. I couldn’t sleep. All sorts of crazies were in my head over you. You know I worry if we don’t talk for a day,” she blurted. I looked at the clock on my phone.
“Oh, it is late. I wasn’t thinking. Don’t worry though, I’m okay. I’m going to be away for a while. I’ll fill you in when we meet up again.”
“Lex, this so does not sound like you. What’s going on? Are you really okay?” she pressed. I cringed internally worried that she would say too much. I wasn’t beside them but I knew Kai and Kalel were listening to my entire conversation.
“Relax, I’m fine. Is Craig there or did your boyfriend leave?” I threw in the word boyfriend so the brothers wouldn’t get suspicious of my loyalty or truth telling when I called him. I did tell them I was single.
“He’s at Kellan’s,” she replied. I could tell she was upset with me for being so vague.
“Okay, thanks. I’ve gotta call him back so I’ll talk to you later. Don’t worry. Love you,” I said trying to get her off the phone.
“I love you too. I guess I’ll talk to you whenever then,” she stated. Her tone went from stressed to relieved to worried to finally dreary throughout the course of the call. I felt bad but couldn’t offer her any comfort or information. Her response made me even more anxious to finish what I’d started here as soon as possible. I closed my phone and immediately returned Craig’s calls.
“Lexi?” It wasn’t Craig on the other end, it was Kellan. He sounded slightly frazzled.
“Hey… Is Craig there?” I asked hesitantly. I hated doing that to him, but I had no choice. I had to cover myself.
He sighed in defeat, “Yea.”
“Hello love. What’s crackin with you?”
“Nothing. I was just returning your call,” I answered. I was talking to Craig but now longing for Kellan. I wished I was in his arms and that all of this was over with.
“Well, I was checking to see if you were free tonight. Care to scamper around with a mate or two?” Craig was smarter than I thought originally. He knew just what to ask to skirt around my situation.
“Sorry mate but I’m going to be hanging out with the Bladang leaders for a good while. They invited me to stay with them. I like it here so I said yes. But I’ll definitely call you when I’m back in town,” I replied. I heard glass shatter in the background, no doubt from Kellan.
“Well love, it seems I have a bit of a mess to clean. Stay in touch or else I’ll send the hounds,” he chuckled. I thought he was partially serious, but I didn’t plan on testing him.
“I will. Talk to you later.” I hung up. I clung to the phone and held it tightly
to my chest. I was trying to hold back tears but failed. Of all the times I needed strength for some reason I stood there weak.
I looked out the window until I had my emotions under control. As I turned around I bumped right into Kai’s arms. I didn’t hear him approach. And glancing around I didn’t hear Kalel leave either.
“He went to deal with a few trespassers,” Kai explained having read my thoughts.
“Oh, of course.”
“I hate when women cry. Tell me Leka, why are you upset?” he pushed sincerely. I felt like he really did care.
“Lay-kuh?”
“That’s your Hawaiian name, well your nickname. Your full Hawaiian name is Aleka, but I will call you Leka for short. It reminds me of a beautiful flower,” he smiled. Kai’s charm surprised me. I envisioned the Leaders to be ruthless bastards with little emotion aside from rage under their solid exteriors. They’d proven to be the opposite though. Kai felt more human to me than Kellan. Though he’s older, I think it was our vivid, accessible emotions that allowed us to connect on a certain level.
“Do you sleep?” he asked running his fingers through my ponytail.
“Yea. Two or three hours is fine,” I answered.
“May I?” he checked, his eyes pointing towards my hair band. I nodded with approval. He gently released my hair and continued to play with it.
There was silence surrounding us; something I had to adjust to losing. His fingers entwined throughout my strands. I was instantly reminded of Kellan doing the same. It was like receiving a gentle massage. Though we were quiet, I felt us getting closer. I looked up into his eyes. I saw him drawing nearer but made no effort to move away. Then finally his lips touched mine. His lips were soft. Kai pressed delicately against my own. There was a sensuality to it, something deeper than on the surface. Dare I say he’s a better kisser than Kellan?
Oh God! What am I doing?! I’m cheating on Kellan. I’m enjoying the kiss of another man and comparing the two…
“Relax Leka. Allow your mind to drift away and…”
I yanked back startled. “Holy sugar plums! I… you… in my thoughts… in.. my.. in my head…” I stumbled to make sense of it. I thought you could only connect like that with one person, your soul mate, when you kissed. How was it that Kai did it with me just now? Kellan and I were meant to be… weren’t we?
“Don’t overthink. You have all of eternity to figure that stuff out. When you get older you’ll learn to live in the moment,” he chuckled amused by my analyzation.
“You’re probably right,” I sighed. I knew I’d re-evaluate the situation again, but for now I just needed a few hours of reconditioning sleep.
“Let’s go to bed,” Kai prompted. He led me upstairs to the last bedroom on the right.
I wasn’t sure what I expected but the room fit Kai perfectly. The décor brought you to a beach front resort on the Hawaiian Islands. The walls were a beautiful ocean blue with large framed photos of the mountains, shark caves, flowers, beaches, shops; he had a photo for everything to love on the islands. The furniture was a mixture of dark and light wood and there was a balcony complete with a hammock. Though in some ways the room was borderline cheesy a.k.a. the floral comforter; other aspects added authenticity like the used surf board in the corner and the large conch shells on display.
“It takes me home,” he said. He stood by the door watching me look around.
“It’s nice. Even though it’s night, I feel like the sun is shining down on me,” I smiled.
“That’s nothing. Come watch the sunset in Waikiki with me.” He was suddenly on the bed patting the spot beside him. I joined him. He pressed a button on a remote and a large flatscreen TV lifted from the foot of his bed. It spanned the entire width of the mattress. With another button the TV was on and showed the beach. There were men, women and children walking around on the sandy shores; a time stamp in the bottom right showed 7:12PM.
“This is live?” I checked.
“Yes. Isn’t it beautiful? The water there is from a picture, a brilliant blue that glimmers in the sun. It’s very different from the muddy waters here.” He sounded homesick and miserable.
“Why don’t you go back?” I asked the obvious.
“It’s not that simple Leka. I cannot desert my responsibilities here.” I understood what he meant. I wished I could desert my mission, but alas, I wasn’t able to.
“Somehow, I knew you understood,” he confirmed my thoughts. “You are young, but you have an old soul. Do you know what your name means?”
“No,” I shook my head.
“It’s Greek. It means defender of mankind; protector. It says you are noble. You live up to it based off your thoughts and actions here,” he explained taking my hand in his.
This wasn’t supposed to be happening. I felt so comfortable with Kai. He’s fearless and strong yet humble and romantic. He carried depth but he didn’t need to since his emotions lay on his sleeve at all times. He fascinated me; I was intrigued by him. What scared me the most was I could easily see myself falling in love with him. But I loved Kellan. We connected on a level unreachable by most couples. We’re supposed to be together forever… right?
Being here had only made me question what I had with Kellan more. Being with Kai was confusing my certainty and blurring my future.
“Leka, stop thinking. Don’t tie yourself down so quickly. You have forever to choose a mate. And trust me, love at sixteen is very different from love at twenty-six,” he chuckled lightly.
“But I only have nine years to have children or a child…”
“Is that what you want?”
“I think so…”
“Nine years ago you were seven. Have your wants and needs changed since then?”
“Of course,” I replied. “Oh, I see where you are going.”
“You’re a smart girl,” he winked. He held out his arms. “Now come watch the sunset with me.”
I scooted within reach and he pulled me into his arms. I relaxed to the sound of the waves crashing and the birds singing in a land far away. The sun was nearly invisible with only it’s rainbow glow reflecting on the clouds and sea.
I focused in on a little girl about five years old. She wore a pink ruffled one piece swim suit and wet pig tails dripped down her sides. Her dad diligently scooped sand into her plastic molds and they patted the sand in tightly together. What drew me to them was her dad always let her flip over the molds even though half of them fell into a pile of nothing since the little girl wasn’t coordinated; she didn’t move fast enough. The other half were far from perfect with crumbled chunks and only parts of the shape visible.
Despite her consistent failure to deliver a perfect replica of the mold, her father never lost his patience. He laughed with her, encouraged her and praised all of her failures simply because she tried. You have to really love someone to stay by their side failure after failure without an inkling of frustration. That sort of love is truly unconditional. Had I reached that level of love with Kellan? Was I even close? He was quick to reprimand me when I lied about my diet needs and in the cafeteria when he discovered I’d told Mel. But he just did that because was worried and wanted to protect me… right?
“Go to sleep Leka. Your thoughts are giving me a headache,” Kai said laying back on the pillows with me.
“Sorry,” I blushed. Out of habit I curled up in Kai’s arms the way I did in Kellan’s. Kai was bigger, thicker. His muscles bulged whereas Kellan’s were just there. Size meant nothing in the vamp world. A thin Tim could destroy a steroid Sam in the blink of an eye and vice versa. You never know with us.
“Leka,” he sighed.
“Sorry,” I giggled. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him smile and laugh silently.
Chapter 12
“Good morning sunshine,” Kalel knocked on the door which was halfway open. I shot up and looked around. “He’s downstairs.”
“Of course,” I replied. “What time is it?”
“About 5:30,” he answ
ered. “You slept like a baby. You must have had either a good evening or a good dream,” he smirked.
“Ha ha,” I mocked. “I can’t believe I slept that long. Usually two hours is fine.” I was still in shock over my rest. I never slept that long or that good. Did that mean I truly did feel comfortable here? That I could let my guard down for an extended time here but not at home?
“Alexa…”
“Yea? Sorry…” How easy I forgot to not over think around them.
“Come down for breakfast,” Kalel invited.
“Breakfast?”
“You’ll see,” he smiled.
I followed him, and the scent, downstairs. It smelled like a full southern breakfast was cooking away. Kalel led me into the dining room which had a full buffet of food on the table.
Gabi was serving up the food onto plates for the two men who were already seated, one of which I recognized from yesterday.
“Alexa, this is Art. You should remember him,” Kalel introduced.
“Yes, of course. Hello again,” I waved.
“And this dashing gent is Rafique,” he announced. “He’s Gabi’s fiancé,” he whispered.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he smiled. He was tan like the brothers with black hair slicked back. Though he wasn’t old, my guess thirty, he had a few lines of wisdom on his face – that’s what my dad called them anyways.
“You too,” I replied.
At that exact moment Kai walked in with a large bowl of berries – strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries – all tossed in a red liquid acting as a dressing.
“Good morning sleepy head,” he greeted. He set the bowl on the table. “Take a seat.” He motioned to a chair. I sat down, a bit confused by the idea. Kai sat at one side of me and Kalel the other; they both took one of my hands and the others joined until we linked in a circle. They bowed their heads and closed their eyes. It was then I realized they were going to pray; for some reason that hit me in the heart. I copied their moves as Kai spoke.
