by Angel Payne
No. What was happening? What the hell was the rest of this moisture?
The answer came from the massive fist in her chest and the sharp pricks behind her eyes.
In horror, she pulled away from him. She tried the same thing with Kellan, but judging from the trajectory of Tait’s eyes when she looked up, the pair had already exchanged some message via their mysterious “Bat Signal” connection. Kell had already received his friend’s silent alarm. “Whoa,” he soothed, looping an arm around her waist. Nevertheless, she tried escaping again—not an easy feat when trapped by a hulking man who still had his most significant muscle buried inside her body. “Whoa, sweetheart. Ssshh; it’s all right. It’s—”
“Stop,” she snapped. His tone, so strong yet soothing, made her composure nearly impossible to regain. “I know it’s all right. I just…need a minute.”
She pushed a hand to her face. Tait slid down so he sat properly on the couch in front of her, tugging at her fingers on the way. “A minute to slam the silver dome back on?” He tightened his hold, a wordless command for her attention. “I don’t think so, babe. No running, Lani. No hiding. Especially not here and now.”
“Please,” she whispered. “I…really need…”
That did it. The effort of forcing out even those words, and she was done. The wall of her composure, weakened so much by her sexual release, started caving to the rest of her emotions. The sobs detonated in her chest like clay skeet discs, the debris flying into every corner of her soul. As Kellan finally slid his cock out, she collapsed forward onto Tait, dumping her tears onto the chest that was so perfectly made for capturing them.
Poor Kellan, with his arm still caught between them, simply pressed against her back and kissed her nape. His tenderness made her cry harder. “T is right,” he told her. “Keep the covers off, sweetheart. You’re safe with us. You always will be.”
If that wasn’t enough reason to let the barriers fall more, Tait lifted his hands to frame her face, compelling her gaze to meet his. The smile in his eyes was the dark amber of an August sunrise. “Your tears are an extension of your surrender, babe. A beautiful one. Every one of them is another gift to us, Lani. We want all of them. We treasure all of them.”
Kellan’s gruff laugh spread warmth between her shoulder blades. “And they say I’m the one with the perfect words.”
Tait scowled. “The fuck they do.”
“You two are making it hard to lose my marbles here.” Despite her watery giggle, more tears came. The wall buckled harder. Everything she’d dammed up for two years—the loss, the fear, the loneliness—gushed past her careful barriers, spilling out in huge sobs. She managed a tattered breath while battling for familiar mental footing, anything that felt familiar again. But their hands, Tait at her face and Kellan along her waist, continued turning her into a weeping mess.
“That’s it,” Kellan whispered into her ear. “Go ahead, sweetheart. We’ve got you. We’re both here, and we’ve got you.”
She grimaced. “I’m…I’m afraid.”
Tait thumbed away her tears. “You don’t have to be. Feel us here, around you, holding you. We can handle it. Let us take it from you. Let us have it all, sweetheart.”
What choice did she have but to obey?
The last of the tears were the worst. They heaved out, violent and racking, in a soul-scrubbing both blissful and terrible. True to their word, Tait and Kellan were there for every moment, even after Kell pulled her back up and carried her to the comfort of the bedroom. Their voices and their touches surrounded her, cradled her—which only worsened the confusion that came in the stillness of the night afterward, as the two soldiers quietly snored.
Taking care not to wake them, she slipped out of bed and stood watching the world outside, still so drenched and wind-whipped. But in several places, the clouds had started to break apart, indicating the storm would be rolling away soon.
She stared at the two halves of a human storm sprawled in the bed. Thunder and lightning. Wind and rain. Eruption and magma.
Kellan and Tait.
Her incredible force of nature on four legs.
And soon, they’d be gone too.
Never to be really hers again.
She gulped hard, silencing the cry that begged for release against the admission.
Feeling anything for these two, besides the given of raw lust, is a mistake. You knew it from the moment you first saw them on the beach, Hokulani. You still know it, as inescapable fact, in your spirit of spirits.
“Gods help me,” she whispered. But the strength she expected, deep in that spirit core, never came. Her only answer was the lonely moan of the wind and the ravaging pound of the rain.
An aching sigh escaped as resolve gripped her anew.
She had to reclaim that spirit before it was too late.
She had to summon her heart back home before it left on a military transport in a week.
Chapter Sixteen
“Satan’s flaming balls. How did trouble follow you asshats like a goddamn rain cloud to that island?”
Franzen always did have a way of hitting the thematic nail on the head.
Tait propped his elbows on his knees, now covered by a pair of light pants, and loosely laced his fingers. He caught Kell’s eye roll before the guy leaned toward the cell phone resting on the lanai table. It was still soggy and cloudy out here, but the porch gave them the privacy needed for the call to their CO, along with good sight lines into the house, where they could see if Lani woke up and came searching for them.
Kellan scooted in a little more before responding, “With all due respect, Captain, it’s not officially our trouble this time.”
“Yeah, damn it. You’re right.” Franzen sounded like Grumpy the Dwarf crossed with Kaipo, his big Samoan friend from the convenience store down the road. Whether Franz had always possessed the slight accent, or it gained strength when he spoke to people on Kauaˋi, Tait wasn’t certain. Didn’t matter at the moment. They had a bigger tuna on their plate to fry. “Look, I’m sorry,” Franz muttered. “Lani and Leo are like family. I figured you’d meet them sooner or later during your stay, but now I’m glad it was sooner instead of later. This bullshit with Benstock… I didn’t know it had gotten to the point of Benson harassing her like this.”
Tait smirked. “Too bad you’re not here to meet his little band of merry men, Franz.”
Kell palmed his forehead with a chuckle. “Damn. Can’t believe I skipped that part.”
“Slash-tonic’s losing his touch. Seriously, Captain, you would’ve eaten those boys for breakfast.” He cut his laugh short when Franz didn’t hop on that one to issue a good bacon or Pop-Tarts joke. “Franz? You still there?”
“Yeah, yeah.” There was a hint of bemusement in the man’s reply. “I’d just forgotten what it sounded like to hear you laugh, T-Bomb.” The man didn’t let the awkward moment stretch for too long. “Band of merry men? I’ll take your word for it, though I have some ideas based on the one time I had the pleasure of meeting Gunter.”
Kell curled a smile at their captain’s caustic tone. “‘Pleasure,’ eh?”
“Psshh. Our afternoon tea lasted for two minutes before I told him to go to hell. Bastard made an offer on our place so he could use it as a tennis club for the resort.”
“You mean the resort that isn’t going to be a resort?” Tait stated.
Franzen’s huff filled the line. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Slash, you’re absolutely sure you heard the guy from Benstock say Pyongyang and Tehran?”
Tait traded a troubled glance with Kell. It wasn’t like Franz to question their intel, even if it had come verbally. But this situation wasn’t like any other. This mystery wasn’t happening in some foreign land, to complete strangers. It was going down in the man’s own backyard, directly involving people who were “like family” to him. A little hesitation, perhaps denial, could be understood.
For a few minutes.
They’d made this call, even risked Lani
overhearing it, in order to enlist Franzen’s help. That urgency was stamped on Kellan’s face as he returned, “Those aren’t words a guy has trouble understanding, Captain. And though I was on a cell, I made the call from downtown Lihue. The connection was good, no static or interference.”
Franzen exhaled for a good ten to twenty seconds. “Okay, I believe you, man. It’s quite a crazy story, but I’ve heard crazier.”
“So what’s our next move?” Tait asked.
“You two aren’t doing anything except making sure Lani and Leo are safe, though that duty roster is subject to grow once I get the CIA’s take on this. We’ll likely have to interface with several of their field units, but I’m going to start with Colton to try to expedite things. You’ll need to be patient. As of right now, I’m putting you both back on the time clock. Start keeping logs. You’ll report in twice a day; I’ll let you know ASAP whether that’s to me or a CO with a team positioned closer to the island.”
Kellan tilted his head, illustrating the depth of his thought. “And positioned farther away than you in other ways?”
“Yeah, yeah, Swami Slashie. You got me. Look, I won’t gloss coat this for you boys. I care about the Kails—a lot. When their parents went down with that plane, it was like part of our family was gone too. Lani and Leo have been through ten years’ worth of pain in the last two, and I promise serious pain to any and all scumbags who add to that.”
He traded glances with Kellan again. What if we’re a couple of those pain-inducing scumbags?
“Gentlemen? Are you still with me?”
It didn’t escape Tait that they both drummed nervous fingers on their thighs because of a voice in a box smaller than a SIG magazine. “Affirmative,” he stated. “Here and acknowledging you, Dragon.”
He purposely used Franz’s call sign in hopes of shifting the man back toward a mission logistics mind-set. But fate wasn’t in the mood for leg ups today.
“That’s mighty good to hear, T-Bomb—especially from you.”
“Especially from me why?”
“I sent you there to deal with your past. Hokulani Kail is more than a passing look-alike for a big piece of that past—in walking, talking, sass-slinging form.”
And moaning, writhing, climaxing form. And screaming, too, if his cock hadn’t been buried in her throat…
He gritted his jaw to force the image from his mind. “Uhhh, yeah. It didn’t escape my attention, Captain.”
“And yet you’re still functioning.”
Beneath his breath, Kellan cracked, “Guess you could call it that.”
Tait kicked him in the shin. “Lani’s an understanding person.” And insightful. Generous. Smart. Sweet. And passionate… Holy hell, is she passionate… “Being around her and Leo has been…weirdly therapeutic.”
“I know the feeling.”
His reflective mood was replaced by a surge of alarm. And yeah—he went ahead and admitted it—jealousy. Had Franz and Lani been an item? Were they still? “Uhhh, you do?” He had no idea how he kept his tone so neutral.
“Absolutely. The vibe between those two is addicting. They’re good kids. And Hale Anelas… Well, you’ve probably discovered that the place lives up to its name. There’s something magical about that little valley.”
They’re good kids. Whew. So Franz looked at Lani like a little sister of sorts. Now he just hoped the “of sorts” part had casual connotations, not protective, testicle-stabbing ones.
“Agreed.” Kellan jumped in, ensuring he didn’t have to shoulder this part of the conversation alone. “We convinced Lani to let us help with a few repairs around the place. T’s been great with the horses.”
“Horses?”
“Believe it or not, my boyhood wasn’t completely wasted,” he answered to the amazement in Franz’s voice. Uncle Jonah had made sure of that, thank God. “Been around a few flying hooves in my time and managed to avoid most of them.”
“Outstanding.” Their CO burst back into his hoo-rah GI Joe mien, accenting with a loud hand clap. “Sounds like you’re making progress, then—which makes me even more grateful that you two are in the right place at the right time. Mahalo, Sergeants, from everyone in my ohana.”
From everyone in my family.
Tait purposely didn’t look to Kellan now. He already knew what evidence he’d see on his friend’s face. The same conflicted conscience that stabbed guilty needles into him.
“Captain, there’s no need for that. I’m just glad to be doing my job again.” At least every word of that was the truth.
Kellan helped guide the conversation deeper into the safety zone by cracking, “Oh, yeah? Tell that to my Remington, sitting in the closet here with nothing to do.”
Tait rolled his eyes. “I still can’t believe you brought that thing.”
“The sniper rifle stays in the closet, Slash,” Franz mandated. “With any luck, this is going to be a babysitter’s club of a gig for you. Easy and fast. Make sure Benson doesn’t go near the Kails or the ranch, and stay sharp on gathering more intel.”
“Roger,” they answered in tandem.
“Let’s round the wagons up again in ten hours, at nineteen hundred hours. Call me at the same number unless I text otherwise.”
“Roger,” Tait repeated.
“Maybe by then we’ll find something for me to shoot,” Kell muttered.
“Dear Christ,” Tait retorted.
“Sergeant Rush, keep your hands off the Remington. And Sergeant Bommer, keep your hands off Hokulani Kail. And both of you, try to keep the island intact for another day, would you? Dragon is peace outtie.”
The line went ominously silent.
Tait still leaned and peered at the phone’s window, making sure their CO had really hung up before falling back in his chair, slamming the butt of a fist against his forehead. “Fuck. Me.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Now he tells me to keep my hands off her?”
Kellan sank into a chair opposite him. “I think I feel shittier. He thinks I’ve been sitting around mooning over my rifle.”
“He pinned half of it right. You have been mooning, in a sense.”
“Ha fucking ha.”
“True fucking true.”
Kell’s eyes bugged before he slammed them shut and shook his head. “Why do I feel like we just slept with the boss’s sister?”
“Because we did.” As crushing a weight that settled on his chest from that, his next admission took his lungs into the freshly crushed category. “But that’s your issue to deal with now.”
“What do you mean?”
He cocked his head. “I mean that you don’t have to worry about me going gonko over everything that’s recently…errr…transpired. I may have thrown out a few morose moons of my own over Luna, but I’m shooting way more straight with this situation.” He leaned forward again, deliberately casual with the posture to balance his dip into serious intent. “What happened last night…was a gift. One I’ll never forget. So thank you.”
Kellan’s dark perplexity wasn’t on his list of expected reactions. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He spread his feet and cupped his knees with both hands. “Tait, I can’t believe you don’t see the gift you gave me, not to mention Lani.” He snorted, seeming damn near amused. “The way she reacted to that spanking…the place where it took her…she looked so fulfilled. So peaceful. And holy shit, when she finally orgasmed…”
He laughed, watching his buddy’s eyes roll back. “Pretty good, eh?”
“Thought I’d never get my cock back.”
“Not necessarily a bad thing.”
“Not at all.” Kell cleared his throat and joined in on the laugh. But a second later, he sobered again. “I had no idea,” he murmured. “I had no concept at all about what this D/s stuff could really be like.”
Tait smiled. “I’d always sensed there was a Sir Kellan buried under that thick skull somewhere. You kept coming back to Bastille with me, so I knew you remained curious.” He
shrugged, another attempt to diffuse the impact of his words. “But you’re not the first one who’s been scared off by witnessing that kind of an intense connection.”
Despite softening the statement, he braced himself for Kell’s backlash. The man never let anyone past tab one or two on his well-ordered emotional file, where there was never anything out of place or needing to be “examined.” His parents were still together, sent him cards for every holiday imaginable, and doted equally on Kadian, his younger sister. He’d come from the heart of baseball-and-apple-pie USA, meaning there couldn’t possibly be anything missing in his head or his life. In this friendship, Tait was the fucked-up one needing advice—and Kellan never forgot it.
Until, apparently, today.
His buddy lifted a smile that actually touched on self-deprecating before answering, “Connection. Shit. Yeah…that’s what it is, isn’t it?”
“There’s no way you can give a subbie what she needs without it,” Tait offered. He let his smile grow reflective as he went on. “To watch her skin shiver then form little drops of perspiration…to feel the pulse beneath her wrists and neck…even to hear her every breath and know that you can heighten all of it with the power of your domination… Hell yeah, connection is key. It’s everything.”
“It’s amazing.”
His friend’s confession came on a guttural grate. To Tait, it was also the most meaningful thing his friend had ever said. “Amazing is also a damn good way of putting it,” he replied.
“But for her, too, right?” Kell lifted a stare that was darker than usual. “For the submissive. She’s just as connected back to you, isn’t she?”
He nodded. “Her freedom to let go and fly comes from your strength as the Dom.”
“Which was what you gave to Lani last night.” Kellan let his hand go flat on the table. “And exactly what she needed. So who’s the one thanking who for gifts around here?”
Tait turned his gaze out toward the sea. The turquoise and azure depths still swished with whitecaps, clinging to the violence from last night’s storm. His psyche felt the same way. Part of him craved to be back on that couch, lost in the sensual symmetry of what the three of them had shared; another part already accepted the fleeting fantasy of it…perhaps the stupidity of it.
