Whatever Reeves learned in retraining, it must have really focused on certain aspects, like pleasing his woman. You’d think a guy who lived in a sector that couldn’t even curse wouldn’t understand how sensitive she’d be after that. Not him. Reeves had always been sensitive about everything. Her body was no different. He soothed her pain in only the way he could.
She lied there, tangled up with him, her hands holding onto his sweaty form and her head tucked next to him. He gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek.
“Naptime,” he said to her. “A couple of hours. Then, we gotta get back to it.” He noticed her look. “Not that. We can do that again later, but not next. Responsibilities.” He smirked and gave her another kiss. “If anyone else ever came, I could never hold him the same way. Even though you were my one shot, you never were-“
She put her fingers on her lips. She already understood. “Naptime.”
“21 SECONDS!” REEVES shouted in delight. “You did it. Hey, sex loosened you up good.”
Seraphina repeated the trial ten more times, but she had finally locked in 21-22 seconds with her flipping. Had she had no superpowers after losing her virginity, she wouldn’t be doing that. “Less pat on the back, Reeves?”
“Okay, sorry. I am man,” he said. “Proud of my accomplishments. Sex is one too, but I’ll be more polite. Get on the hood,” Reeves insisted. “I didn’t have you do this because- “
Seraphina flipped easily back into the machine from the hood.
“-I knew it would be easy after all that,” Reeves finished. “Now, time for the hard part. I have piloted us over water but try not to fall. I’ll lower the ship down further for this next part.”
OH, I KNEW IT WAS COMING, Seraphina thought as she coughed. “Learning how to fly?” Yeah right, there was more. She knew it, and from working so long on the airship, she knew what she had to do wasn't going to be easy. This is where the chance for death came in.
" We're in a tower, on a tall tower, on its side. There isn't enough time to grab it from the other side of the tower than come running back to the landing hole." Reeves gave her a strained smile. "Sidekicks usually don’t know how to fly. In this case? I don’t either, but we still need to get where we need to go. See that big blue button next to the exit hole? Push it, fall, and it will shoot out at a 75-degree angle. You must catch the board and ride it to the surface. In this case, the surface is water."
"It's a skyboard, a waterboard, and a skateboard?" Seraphina cocked an eyebrow at him. "I have to grab a board in mid-air and ride it down."
"For snow, ice, you name it," Reeves placed his two middle fingers down with the rest of his fingers and thumb shooting up. "Once you get the hang of it, it's fine. When you get the hang of it, it'll be your favorite departing method. The sensation, Seraphina, its a thousand times better than anything except sex. Nothing is better than sex. Not by a long shot. I am talking about sex again, sorry." He stopped himself and patted his finger and thumb together. "Anyhow, let's try it. When you hit the water, climb back up the ladder and try again. Ready?"
Seraphina looked out the door. “Any advice?”
Reeves shrugged. “Trust your intuition? When you’re ready.”
Seraphina took a deep breath, preparing herself for the freezing waters below. "Okay." She pressed the button and jumped.
Chapter 28
Reeves stayed still and waited for the inevitable yell and the sound of a large splash. No one ever made it on the first try. He kept the elevator retracted in favor of a ladder for her to climb. She would need to, several times over. He watched as she climbed back up the ladder, apparently freezing but tried again. He heard a yell again and a large splash. Good thing when no one caught the board it programmed itself to always come back or this training would be much longer.
TEN MINUTES LATER...
“R-REEVES?” SERAPHINA shivered. “I-I-I c-c-could actually g-g-go for s-some s-sugar. H-hot ch-chocolate. What I wouldn’t g-g-give.”
Reeves grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. “Sorry, this is all I can really do for now.” He rubbed the blanket against her skin that was gleaming with droplets. Last time he made her get wet like that, she had been mad as a bull, but this time there was no ounce of a rebellious streak. The front of her blue blouse was wet too, quite apparent with the perks in front. He just had sex, was he really thinking about it again? Well, he needed to stop it. This was serious business. A time for play and a time for work.
“I-I don’t think I-I’ll ever make this.” Seraphina interrupted his thoughts.
“This is the hardest part,” Reeves agreed, moving his attention toward her face instead. It was hard not to see how much she had changed since their first days of training. Not only had she lost some weight, but her skin had become tan, rich. Her eyes, even though she was jumping in and out into the water, were so filled with life and spirit. He found himself smiling at her. “It’s like riding a bike though. Once you learn it, you’ll never lose it. You're getting closer, trust me.”
“Th-th-this is so hard. C-can’t I just h-h-help out without a board?” Seraphina asked. Her voice shivered, as well as her body against him.
"I’m afraid it’s not that easy. The test won’t be over that, it will be over what I’ve done with you. The rest is up to your Adventurer to teach you.”
Seraphina just held the blanket closer to her body. “It’s f-f-f-f....” She couldn’t seem to get the words out anymore. “F-f-freezing.”
Reeves couldn’t push much further for that day. “We’ll take a break from this, I don’t want you to get hypothermia.”
“Oh, I-I-I’m probably past that p-point,” Seraphina said through her shivers.
“Are you tired or confused?” Reeves asked.
“A little t-tired,” Seraphina said, “but not really confused.”
“You’ll be fine.” Reeves went and got her another blanket. “Please take your clothes off.” Seraphina cocked her eyebrow at him. “Not for that, I swear. You need to warm back up. Take your wet clothes off and put some dry ones on. We’ll try tomorrow, but no more today. I’m sorry you must practice in cold water, but this is where you will do the test most likely. I want you to understand your conditions.”
“Plus f-falling in freezing water is a v-very good reason to latch onto that stupid b-b-board.” Seraphina took off her clothes unabashedly. “Toss me the towel.”
Reeves tossed her the towel so she could dry off.
“Do you think I can really do this?" Seraphina asked. "Oven rings and jumping to a machine was one thing. Leaping for my life for a board, it’s a whole other ballgame.” Seraphina wrapped the blanket tightly around her. "This kind of thing is for video games; it shouldn't be for real life. Okay, I'm dressed again.”
“It’s not just for a board,” Reeves explained as he slipped off into a corner instead of turning around. “Once you can catch the board, you can catch anything. You never know what could happen in midair.”
“Good point,” Seraphina said as she rubbed her head with the blanket, trying to dry it out. “It’s just that I have a much better chance of catching hypothermia than it.” She tossed the towel away.
“Don’t worry, we’ll practice everything else again. It’s always advantageous to stay on top of things,” Reeves said as he started to push some controls. "Let's get the fire started."
"Good idea, from water to burning fire," Seraphina said, muttering her own opinion.
Chapter 29
“Stop worrying so much and just trust yourself.” Reeves insisted to Seraphina as she began her fourth dive for the board. He waited for the inevitable splash, but it didn’t come. He looked out the door and laughed. “Yes. See, I told you that you’d get it.”
Seraphina laughed as she rode the strange board in air. Finally, she got it before she even started chattering this time.
“Come back. Let’s do it at least twenty more times perfectly,” Reeves insisted. “It will not be as easy if they do decide to test you on la
nd instead of water.”
“For land?”
Reeves watched as she raced inside. “Don’t worry, I told you. Once you get it once, you’ll get it again and again. You want to practice many times before land. Just in case, it’s smart.”
“I could die.”
“Don’t think about what’s underneath you, just go.” Reeves said. She’d never die, he’d find a way to catch her, but he couldn’t let her know that. She needed to be at her best. “Don’t worry, before you know it, you will be comfortable in the air. Okay?”
Seraphina groaned. “Okay. Twenty times? How about fifty times or maybe one hundred perfect times?”
Reeves looked at his watch. “If you want, you may practice until three. Then we should practice over Hidden Secret.”
“Should I make a will?” Seraphina asked. “I’d like to rewrite my will.”
Reeves chuckled. “You’ll be OK. We’ll be up high enough that if you fall wrong, you might break your leg instead of dying."
“Break my leg instead. Sounds better than committing suicide,” Seraphina agreed.
“After a few times, I shall teach you how to fly the airship. It's a bit tricky. After that, we're done. The test will begin the next day.” Reeves watched Seraphina’s worried look. “Don’t worry. You're going to do an awesome job.”
“Oh, I hope so.” Seraphina sighed, “I really hope so.”
AT 3:00 OVER HIDDEN Secret...
“You can start anytime you want.” Reeves insisted.
Seraphina felt the wind blow through her hair as she stared down below. She had a small audience down there. “Are you sure I won’t die if I miss?”
“Most likely not.” Reeves approached the opening slowly. “You did this over one hundred times over water.”
“Water versus land, there’s a difference.” Seraphina bit her lip and closed her eyes. “You know I’m not real comfortable with this. If I was on medication would I be screaming right now at myself?”
“Most likely,” Reeves had to admit. “Don’t worry, just imagine its water.”
“Can we go down lower?” Seraphina asked as she tried to make things out.
“Can you see Jackson and Simps? Are they happy or sad?” Reeves asked Seraphina.
“Jackson looks scared, Simps is looking for something to eat,” Seraphina said
“We are down low enough then,” Reeves said.
“Actually, no, wait. No, no, uhhh that might not be Simps. I don’t think that’s them, I can’t even make the kids out.” Seraphina tried to lie. It didn’t work. “You’re not gonna fall for that.”
“Desperate times, desperate measures. You’re gonna be okay.” Reeves insisted. “Do I need to push you off?”
“You better not,” Seraphina frowned. “I have to time this just right.”
“Okay then, one minute.” Reeves crossed his arms. He didn’t want to get bossy, but they didn’t have time for her to get the heebie jeebies. She could do it, she just had to trust in herself. “Forty-five seconds.”
Seraphina closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she hit the blue button and plummeted to the ground below. Even though the land below approaching must have been scary to her, she still managed to catch the board.
“See?” Reeves laughed as he yelled down at her. “No splatter, you did it. Now come up.”
Seraphina sighed with relief. “Scary, but you were right.”
“You will make it every time.” Reeves insisted. “As long as you think and have faith in yourself. It's all about finding your inner self," he pointed to himself. "Let’s practice this until six, then I have to show you how to fly the floating rewot.” He pointed back out toward the door. “Have fun.”
Chapter 30
“So two hours to learn this whole horizontal tower?” Seraphina seemed skeptical. “How hard is this going to be?”
“Not too hard." Reeves gave her a manual. “Some is new to me too, so I can’t show you everything. Basics are here and more advanced are there.” He flipped through the book and went dead center to the middle of the airship. He took the remote and bleeped it on a symbol that said CA in calligraphy. "Just hit FLY." A navigation wheel much like what an old-fashioned ship would use had popped up. “To go right, go right. To go left, go left. Just be gentle, this is an airship that used to be a tower. It's like a massive big boat. Yacht spaceship.”
Seraphina walked over and looked at it. She grabbed the little shaft and started to steer. “Whoah.”
“Okay, nope, not that fast.” Reeves stopped her hand and turned it back. “Go too fast and you’ll flip the airship over. Remember the word gentle?” Seraphina grabbed the handle and did it much slower. Reeves looked at Seraphina. “At this speed, we’ll complete a turn in what, two hours?”
“Too fast, too slow. Not as easy as it looks.” Seraphina spun it a little faster, but the airship started to tip. She quickly turned it the other way. “Dangit, this thing won’t go straight.”
Reeves grabbed at the base when he started to slide. The tower was tilted and moving fast. “Turn it slower.”
“I am, it’s not slowing down,” Seraphina insisted. She was turning it as slow as she could handle. “We’re still flipping.”
“It doesn’t stop on a dime, Seraphina,” he pushed himself forward as he made for a reach. “You pushed it too far. Keep it steady and hold on.”
“Why isn’t this working?” Seraphina asked. “We’re still flipping.”
“You turned it too fast, you got scared and turned it the other way incredibly faster.” Reeves held on tightly to the wheel. “We’ll probably completely flip first.” He looked around for things to grab. "Grab the cupboard on the right; I'll grab it on the left." Seraphina jumped over to Reeves’ cupboard handle and went around with it until they were standing on top of it. She stared at the navigation above her head as the tower steadied itself. “I was hoping we’d completely flip.” Reeves hid his agitation as he jumped and grabbed the base of the navigation. He started to turn it quickly. “Hang on again.”
After the tower was back to its original position, Seraphina went back over to the wheel. “I’m not very good at this.”
Reeves made a small tsk sound with his tongue. “You’ll do it this time, I’m sure. Don’t flip it too fast either way. Steady, right or left.”
“I think I’ve finally got it.” Seraphina was pleased. “It’s like driving a car, except it can spin around if you go too fast. Oh, and no brakes.”
Reeves looked at his watch. 7:45? They needed to shower as well, so she made a decent impression. “Good. Now, you need to take a shower and go to bed. You must have plenty of energy. Don’t chat, don’t talk, we need complete sleep tonight. We are already late. Okay?”
“Are you joining me in the shower?”
“Yes.” No. “No.” He winced. “I want to, but we . . .” He looked at his watch. “Never know the future.” He took her by the hand and drug her to the shower. Before he even started anything, he flooded her with kisses again. The last day was tomorrow. They both knew it. A decision would be reached tomorrow. This time they each just got undressed as he turned the shower on over them. They held and kissed each other, holding onto the moment. It was less about the sex, more about the time they had. Decisions couldn’t be ignored. Choices needed made. This was the only time they had left, for them. Even though they were getting hit with water, they still seemed to each work up a sweat.
“I want to end every day like this,” he whispered into her ear. “No matter what, I want to stay with you, Seraphina.”
“If I fail-“Her words were interrupted as he kissed her, stopping her.
“If you fail, if you have to go back to it all, I’ll find a way to rescue you again,” he insisted. “I won’t let you leave me just because you are restricted. Just don’t go to Timothy. I can’t.” He shook his head and buried it into her neck. “He can never touch you like this. No more kisses. No more dates. Don’t let your hypersensitivity rule you, just call for m
e? I will handle him.” He kissed her neck softly. “I will handle anyone coming after you.”
“Reeves.” She couldn’t anymore, nothing was the same as it had been. “I.” She loved him. He stared right back at her, understanding. Both understanding. Still. “I love you.”
Oh, that smile. She couldn’t even describe it. Half naughty, half nice. All Reeves. “I love you.” He kissed her again so gently as the water slid down their backs.
She felt him pick her up with his extra strength. Damn, he was so powerful sometimes. Even in the early days of meeting him, she had marveled at him more than once. He held her in one arm as he ducked down for his pants out of the shower. She heard a familiar crinkle again. They were going to be buying lots of stock in condoms if they made it through this. Moved against the tile again gently, he placed himself inside of her like he belonged there. Then he held her on him, his body strength more than willing to hold her. They rhythmically held each other so tight, moving and flowing against each other as they continued to kiss.
“One of these nights, I am going to explore every inch of you,” Reeves promised. “When I can play and don’t have to work.” He leaned her against the shower tiling again as he rubbed her breasts gently, picking up speed against her.
She arched her back lightly against the tile of his shower as she felt her release. He kept moving inside of her as he found his own. “Reeves.”
“No matter what,” he promised. “No matter what. I’ll be there with you, Seraphina.” They held each other for a few minutes, just breathing each other’s scent as the water did it’s work against them. They both helped to wash each other, stealing kisses between. Reeves turned off the shower, picked up her naked form and moved out with her. He gave her a towel as he dried himself off too.
Reeves Page 19