Fated (Enchanted Gods Book 2)

by K. K. Allen

  I open my mouth then close it just as quickly. I don’t want to say too much for fear of my heart telling me lies. Oh, how I want it all to be true.

  “I sense you don’t want to tell me something, and that’s okay. Perhaps that was a lot to take in.”

  “Thank you.” I clear my throat, knowing I need to get off this subject completely. “So, what’s so important that Rose is willing to leave Apollo Beach?”

  Charlotte puts on a more serious expression that reveals the small lines across her forehead. She sits back in her chair and chews on her bottom lip before answering. “Isaac has some news regarding the pollution and there possibly being someone who can help us.”

  I don’t need to ask my next question. Charlotte can see my face and knows me well enough. She adjusts herself in her seat. “Isaac believes there may be a descendant of Poseidon living in Apollo Beach. If it’s true, we need to find him. He might just be the key to protecting the sea.”

  “What does this Poseidon descendant do? How can he help?”

  “He protects the sea and all its inhabitants, along with the Vallis, who are Triton’s descendants. They work together, for the most part. Together, our powers are much stronger than individually.”

  “You speak as if there’s only one Poseidon descendant,” I say. “Aren’t there more?”

  Charlotte nods. “Oh yes, dear. Poseidon’s descendants aren’t completely extinct, but they are extremely rare. Bumping into one is close to impossible. They usually keep to themselves, but because of the work they do, they encounter more danger than the descendants of any other god. With Rose’s detective skills and Isaac’s knowledge of this lone descendant, they will surely find him—and hopefully, then we’ll be closer to extracting the pollution from the bay.”

  Charlotte excuses herself, and I finish my cereal dinner in deep thought before heading to Rose’s den. When I arrive at her door, I can hear her speaking angrily to someone over the phone. Not wanting to interrupt, I stop in my tracks. She could be talking to anyone, but her tone reminds me of the phone call she took in the car before my first Enchanters meeting.

  Hating the fact that I’m eavesdropping, I knock twice before she calls for me to enter. As I shut the door behind me, her ear is still to her phone.

  “I’ve got to go.” She lets out an exuberant sigh and shakes her head. “Don’t you dare.” She darts a glance at me. “We’ll have to pick this up later. I’m sorry.” Rose sets the phone on the receiver and looks up at me with a pinched smile and gestures for me to sit. “Sorry about that.”

  I ignore her and stand opposite her, gripping the top of the chair. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Charlotte just told me that you’ll be going to visit Isaac tomorrow. I wanted to wish you a nice trip.”

  Rose softens considerably. “Thank you, dear, but won’t you come with us?”

  I shake my head. “I made plans with Johnny. We’re going out on his boat.”

  Surprisingly, Rose doesn’t probe. She seems distracted—exhausted even. Secretly, I’m doing somersaults in my mind. An entire day and night with Johnny with no distractions or interruptions is exactly what I dreamed of.

  “Rose…” I have to talk to her about the strange conversation I had with Robert, even though I sense my timing is not great.

  She raises her eyebrows, letting me know it’s okay to ask.

  “I was at the energy plant today—”

  “What?” Rose’s voice raises decibels, and I reel back in shock. “What were you doing there, Katrina?”

  I am so confused by her reaction. “I went to check out the Manatee Viewing Center—”

  Her color seems to return, but she sags into her chair. “Oh, and you saw that it was closed.”

  “No,” I answer, uncertain how to respond. “I mean, yes, it was. There were a few manatees there, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about.” I sigh, hoping she’ll let me finish before interrupting and scaring the living daylights out of me again. “I ran into the operations manager at the plant. He said he knew you. Robert, he said his name was.”

  Rose’s jaw moves, and I see her shoulders quiver slightly. “Yes, I know Robert.”

  “He thought you sent me there. I told him you didn’t, so he didn’t reveal to me what he would have, but, Rose, there was something in the room near the turbines. I got a good glimpse of it, but I couldn’t make out what it was. It was well protected.”

  The entire time I speak, I watch Rose for a reaction, but she’s good at remaining aloof. Rose knows exactly what is behind that door.

  “What is going on at the plant? Is it something I should know about?”

  “No.” Her voice is sharp, cold, and every muscle in my body freezes in response.

  My heart rate quickens as I watch Rose lose it. She grips the edge of her desk and closes her eyes. I just watch, unable to comprehend the emotions that this conversation brought on her.

  Silence stretches between us as I try to remain patient. Eventually, Rose finds her calm and opens her eyes. “I’m sorry about that, Kat, but you must never talk about the plant again.”

  “Why?” I’m about to fight back, but then I see it in Rose’s eyes—the same eyes that used magic to throw me onto the couch when I refused to believe I had magic in me.

  “This is not a discussion,” she answers sternly. “You’ll forget what you saw at the energy plant, you will never go there—and you will never bring this subject up again.”

  I awake the next morning thinking about my boating date with Johnny. My smile is quickly replaced by a frown when I think about my last conversation with Rose. She’s hiding something big, something that affects me. Yet it must be so big that she thinks she needs to keep it a secret from me too. I’ve never seen my grandmother react so fervidly.

  Determined to put the conversation out of my mind and focus entirely on Johnny, I rip off my covers and sort through my closet for the perfect outfit. I don’t think I’ve ever agonized over clothes so much, but I want today to be perfect.

  My eyes lock onto an aqua-blue triangle bikini top with an adjustable string and matching scrunch bottom. I hold it in front of me, my heart fluttering. When I purchased a bunch of suits recently, I never thought I would actually have the guts to wear it. But the blue reminds me of Johnny’s ocean eyes, and that’s enough of a sign for me to make the selection.

  Overcome by giddiness, I stand in front of my vanity mirror and slip a short white tube dress over my suit. I skip the makeup and leave my hair down. I place my hand around my emerald and take a few deep breaths before pressing the stone back against my chest. Not that it will be of any use to me around Johnny.

  Rose and Charlotte are already gone for the day, so I make a quick breakfast, ride my bike to the Grille and lock it up on the bike rack, then head to the marina. Johnny is at the far end of the dock, jumping off a large yacht that has me doing a double-take between him and it. Surely, this isn’t his home. From his stories, I imagined something so much smaller.

  He walks toward me with an easy smile. “Hey, there.”

  “Hey, there yourself.” I smile back, my heart feeling like it’s going to explode.

  I wish I could see his eyes, but they’re covered by dark shades. Still, just the sight of him takes my breath away. He’s the complete opposite image of the man I saw jogging on that first night in Apollo Beach, dressed all in black, with a darkened gaze and harsh glare. Now… he’s the epitome of a Greek god dressed in white shorts and a shirt that clings to his body like it was made for him.

  “Just in time,” he says. “You ready?”

  In awe, I look over his shoulder at the three-story gleaming white vessel that stands tall above the water. I have nothing to compare it to, but its tinted windows, untouched paint, and mahogany wood trim appear brand-new. “You’re going to drive this thing? By yourself?”

  He chuckles and takes my hand. “Yes, but you’re going to help.” He tugs me closer, places his hands on my waist, and lifts me onto the edge of
the yacht so we’re at the same height. “Make yourself comfortable while I get us going.”

  He starts to untie the thick blue rope from the dock, and I walk past the back deck and through the main doors to get to a spacious living area. Tan cushioned bench seats take up an entire side of the main room. Blue walls and glossy mahogany counters and embellishments reveal a richness I was not expecting.

  There are very few personal touches around the room—the odd throw blanket here, an antique clock there, a gold globe, and a few framed family photographs. Johnny is just a young boy in all of them, and he stands between two smiling adults. They look like they were such a happy family.

  I pass through the living room and enter a kitchen beside a set of stairs that lead down into a narrow hallway. I’m amazed by how spotless the yacht is. It doesn’t seem right that twenty-two-year-old lives here alone. I look over my shoulder to find Johnny still preparing for our departure at the stern of the boat.

  I make my way back to the entrance and lean on the doorframe. “Impressive.”

  “It’s just a home, but I wanted something I could grow with. Something I could be happy with anywhere I went.”

  My chest squeezes, and I frown. “Do you intend on going somewhere, Johnny Pierce. Because if that’s your plan, I should probably get off this boat right now.”

  He looks up at me with a grin. “Worried you might miss me?”

  He’s teasing, but his question isn’t funny at all. My heart aches as if it’s already attached to him. Suddenly, he frowns and stands up before pulling me to him. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, at least not without you.”

  My lungs refill with relief. “Do you need help?” Not that I know how to do anything he probably needs.

  “Nope. We’re all set.”

  He takes my hand and leads me through the living area and kitchen, to a set of glass doors. Inside sit two plush leather chairs and a dashboard filled with an array of colorful buttons, speakers, and knobs. I watch in admiration as Johnny flips a few switches and pushes the right buttons before starting the engine. He calls someone on the microphone and schedules our marina exit before finally idling out onto the water. Effortlessly.

  From this angle, I see a different view of Apollo Beach. It grows smaller and smaller behind us until we’ve exited the bay and moved into the Gulf. “Where are we going?”

  He shrugs. “Nowhere.” He smiles. “Everywhere. I just thought we’d cruise and see where we end up.”

  I edge closer to him, not wanting to distract him from whatever he’s doing, but he pulls me in front of him so that he’s steering the boat around me. At some point, when the only thing surrounding us is water, I catch sight of a dolphin jumping in and out of the water parallel to us. I relax and rest my head on his chest while watching the playful mammal. Eventually, it disappears into the water, and Johnny slows the yacht completely.

  I lift my head from his chest. Looking out at the water lifts all the tension my body has been building up until this point. I feel free. It reminds me of the moment I accepted who I’d become as an Enchanter—there was a euphoria that came from knowing nothing could touch me.

  “Come,” he says. “I want to show you something.” He takes me back out the entrance, around the side of the boat, to a set of stairs leading to an upper deck with a partial roof. I’m surprised to see another set of chairs and a steering wheel, along with a much better view of the Gulf.

  I can feel Johnny’s eyes on me before I look up. “It’s amazing out here.”

  His eyes are soft, but he takes in a deep breath like whatever he’s feeling is heavy, then he wraps his arms around my waist. “I’ve never taken anyone else out here.”

  My heart catches in my throat at what I think he’s telling me. No one, as in, no girls. No girlfriends. “Not even Roy?” I tease.

  He laughs and shakes his head. “Are you kidding me? Roy couldn’t care less about a yacht like this. He prefers his small boats, his shack of a house on the inlet, his broken-down truck, and his banged-up van.” Johnny shakes his head fondly. “But he’s happy.”

  I explore his eyes, which are the most beautiful blue with the perfect sky at his back. “Are you?”

  Something flickers in his gaze. “I am. If you had asked me that a couple months ago, my answer might have been different. But lately, I’ve been trying to let stuff go and stop focusing on the things I can’t control. Right now, I just want to focus on you.”

  My heart stutters. “You seem to be all I can focus on lately.” A small smile pushes up my cheeks. “And trust me when I say that’s a good thing.”

  His eyes narrow on mine, this time playfully. Then he leans in, stopping briefly to speak. “Please tell me you had a hearty breakfast this morning.”

  I grip his shirt and hold him to me. “The heartiest.”

  Finally, his lips touch mine, and it’s like all the agony and anticipation built up since our last kiss is all seeping to the surface. There’s nothing rushed in how our lips move, how our tongues tease each other’s, or how his strong hold squeezes me so tightly to him, like he can’t get close enough.

  Our kiss isn’t draining my power like it did the last two times. In fact, the opposite seems to be happening. My lips buzz, and my body tingles as an electric current races through my entire being. But it doesn’t stop there. It feels like the current is leaving my body and traveling straight through his, and now we’re floating high above the Gulf as I come alive beneath my skin.

  Fingers glide up my spine then back down to the arch of my back before slipping lower, until he’s cupping my ass in his massive palm and bringing the fabric of my dress with it. A groan slips from his throat to mine, and then he’s the one to break our hold this time.

  He gasps in a deep breath and stares down at me with a look that reveals shock and confusion. “Did you feel that?”

  For a second, I wonder if he’s talking about what I felt, but there’s no possible way he felt that. It was like I was energy sourcing through him instead of through the sun beaming high above our heads. “What do you mean?” I ask, knowing it’s much safe to ask rather than to make any assumptions.

  He looks almost embarrassed now, and he shakes his head with an awkward laugh. “Nothing.” He smiles, though it doesn’t meet his eyes. “Want to swim?”

  I want to talk to him more about it, but I don’t know what or how much I should say. “Yes. Let’s swim.”

  I wait for Johnny to lower the anchor, fascinated by how natural his movements are. I can’t imagine handling a yacht of this size is easy at all, but he makes it look just that. A pang of sadness hits me when I realize the reason he’s so good is because he was left alone with no choice other than to figure it out.

  “Is this the same type of yacht you and your parents had?” I call to him.

  “It was older, but yeah. Same model and size.” He pulls down a ladder, which drops into the water, then turns back to me while lifting his shirt over his head.

  I admire his chiseled form for a quick second. It’s not like I haven’t seen him shirtless before, but the fact that we’re alone at sea makes me hot all over. I pull my sundress over my head. Johnny’s quick, but I see his eyes sweep over me, and I swear my entire body blushes in response.

  “Let’s jump in together.” He secures my hand in his. “One. Two. Three.” We leap off the boat and hit the warm water with a splash. When I pull myself to the surface, Johnny is right there, wasting no time to pull me to him and wrap my legs around his waist.

  “Are you a good swimmer?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I am. Why?” I angle my head. “Wanna race?”

  “No.” He laughs, and his hands slip down over the skin my bathing suit bottom fails to cover while his lips draw closer to mine. “I want you right here.”

  His words are so husky, I can feel the reverberations in my chest before our mouths mold together in another heated kiss. His hands roam slowly while the intensity of our liplock deepens. I didn’t know it could
feel like this. It’s like my body could catch fire from a friction that burns in my core, but everything is catching. Our bodies. My heart. My soul. And I don’t want it to stop until there’s nothing left but the ashes of this untouchable moment.

  My back hits the ladder and that’s when I feel him—hard and eager—pressed between my legs. Curious to know the entire length of him, I grind against it, fully aware of the inches it grows with my movement. A guttural sound escapes him before he flips us around, so his back is to the ladder now. His palms move to my rear and he holds me there, rocking against me like he’s inside of me.

  My body aches with the mental image of Johnny touching me in the same place I feel him now. Suddenly, that’s all I can think about—hands, lips, teeth, breath—on every inch of my body. A hand slips beneath the fabric of my swimsuit bottom, grazing bare skin then sliding to where it’s knotted together on the side.

  I swear he’s about to unknot it and strip me bare right here, right now, and do ungodly things to me. I don’t dare try to stop him. But then Johnny’s mouth slides to my neck, and he lets out a frustrated groan. “Don’t look now, but we have a visitor.”

  I’m too confused not to look over my shoulder to see what he’s talking about. We’re in the middle of the ocean. Who in the world would find us? But then I spot the shiny nose of the dolphin who’s poking his head out of the water and smiling at us.

  I laugh in surprise and turn to Johnny. “It came right up to us!”

  Johnny rubs the dolphin’s back and leans down, scrunching his face. The dolphin reciprocates by touching Johnny’s nose with his.

  “Wow,” I whisper as I watch the interaction. The dolphin’s beady eyes turn to me.

  Johnny laughs. “This is my friend, Kat. You’ll like her.”