wrath of the Sea Queen (213 page)

"I
can
't
feel our baby.  I
don't understand why. 
Salma said she sensed a change, but could
n
o
t tell what
had changed
. 
Vin, w
hen you touch m
y stomach
, can you
still
feel him?"  C
a
eli was almost afraid to hear
his
answer. 
To her surprise,
Vin refused to run his hand
across
her
belly
.

"If I answer that, either way, you will have more questions
. 
You will spend too much time worrying about the baby instead of taking care of yourself. 
For once, I agree with Salma.  I think it
would be
best if you
focus on
yourself right now.  You cannot care for the baby if you aren't
well
."

Though it wasn't the response she hoped for, it
was the one
C
a
eli
expected
;
nearly identical to Salma's answer
. 
When it was all said and done, she
was relieved
that Vin now knew
everything
that
had been
weighing
on her mind
. 
Vin
responded
exactly
as
she
knew
he
would,
with
continued love and support
and a
tiny
bit of
protective anger.

Vin told C
a
eli
what he and Ben
l
earned
about Max's mother.  She was intrigued
by the similarities
to her
plight
and
asked
several
questions that Vin could not answer. 
C
a
eli
had many more
questions
that she was too tired to ask. 
Before long, the steady rain began to
intrude on the serenity of the ocean waves with the sound of its own drumbeat
.  Vin noted that C
a
eli could barely stay awake, so they moved inside.  Vin closed them in for the night, making sure all the doors and windows w
ere
locked.  All the curtains were drawn. 
T
he lights were out except for a small nightlight near the
bath
room door.  It cast a soft, blue-tinted light across the room, hardly bright enough to see by.

A
s they lay next to each other, C
a
eli
enjoy
ed
the simplicity of
relaxing
alone with Vin
.  There was no
immediate
disaster
to avert
,
and
she was not
over
t
ly sick or
in pain
.
  She let her weariness ease he
r into a more settled
state of mind.
 

"
Finally, all caught up.  I'm sorry it took me so long.  I needed to sort out the confusion in my head before I could explain it
to you
in
any
sort of logical manner.
"

"I
understand
." 
Vin
turned to
look at
C
a
eli
lying next to him
in bed
with her eyes closed as she spoke
.

"
How are you feeling, C
a
eli?
"
  Vin whispered in her ear as he ran his
fingers
through her hair.  He was
lying
on his side, still trying to resist the nearly overwhelming
urge
to draw her close. 
Vin
knew that she was tired and that it was still too soon; although the vision he
glimpsed
within her robe earlier
was difficult to
ignore
.  Recalling the sight, Vin's emotions began to get the better of him once more.  He
let hi
s fingers
roam
playfully
along
the
smooth skin of C
a
eli's
neck and shoulder. 
She
sighed
in that sweet, soft manner that made him shiver
with his need for her
a
s
she
snuggled closer
.

Vin
cautioned himself.  He
knew there was something unusual about the way these feelings came over him now. 
Something he heard echoed in Apela's story about his night in the cave with his wife. 
It wasn't as if
Vin
didn't always
feel this way about
C
a
eli
.  Vin loved
her
more than life itself
, and she drew forth the strongest and most incredible emotions in him
.  But,
ever since
Rika touched him
in the cave,
Vin
could
n
o
t seem to set his passion
for C
a
eli
aside.  It
constantly
boil
ed
near the surface.  Vin
ignored
the
nagging
hint of trouble at the back of his mind
.  H
e could not find it within himself to question
his
feeling
s
any further at th
at
moment
.

"
I feel like
cashing in your rain check
,
"
C
a
eli replied, sharing the sudden urgency of his
desire
as she looked over at
Vin
, shirtless in the warm air.  The navy blue
color
of
his
lightweight s
horts
matched the color of the
satin
nightgown that fell to
C
a
eli's
mid
-
thigh
, where
Vin's
hand now
traveled
.  Both
materials
reflected in
Vin's
bright blue eyes
, making them
sparkle
in the dim light
.  As she looked into
his
eyes, C
a
eli
saw
a fire burning there
.  She
felt her own desire push all other worries
aside.  Her lingering pain and weari
ness were minimal compared to the
undeniable
need she felt
to
be close to Vin.

C
a
eli
longed for
th
at
closeness.  Her heart began to beat faster as
she
thought about the amazing man she
ha
d
married.  C
a
eli moved
even
closer within Vin's
embrace and kissed him, inviting
him
to find out
exactly h
ow she felt.  She was excited to feel the warmth of his response as he
leaned over
her, accepting her invitation.

"
But
the rain j
ust stopped
," Vin whispered.

"
No it didn't
,"
C
a
eli
smiled as a
loud peal of thunder rumbled overhead and
,
t
his time, neither one pulled away. 

CHAPTER
47

Pete woke early the next morning feeling better than he had in weeks
, months even
.  He could not believe the
abrupt
change.  He was able to shower and dress himself
without tiring
.  Such exertion would typically have required at least an hour's recuperation.  Pete rushed out of the room to find Maku and share the good news. 
Unfortunately,
Maku was patrolling the grounds with another man from the guard unit, so Pete
had
to wait until he returned.